Skulryk and Lucky rode in the truck, which seemed to be falling apart with each mile they went. They passed by the Dusty Dunes Desert, which was now an icy wasteland. Getting through the desert was tough, because the snow had been quickly accumulating, and a plow hadn't passed by since morning.

"Where are we headed, anyways?" said Lucky.

"I don't even know..." Skulryk said. "I haven't really been away from Fourside too much except a couple times on business. I don't even know what's over here."

"Well," Lucky said. "There are a couple towns, I guess. Threed, Twoson, and Onett. Beyond that, I don't know. We certainly can't afford a plane ticket out of here. I don't know what we can do."

The truck passed through Threed, and as it entered the two-three tunnel, the car's heater shut off.

"Piece of crap!" Skulryk shouted, banging his hand on the dashboard. He grimaced, driving on.

About halfway through Twoson, the trunk popped open. The many potholes caused by the particularly bad winter led to the equipment falling out the back.

"Skul! We're losing our stuff!" Lucky shouted. He turned around in his seat to see amps, guitars, and instruments falling out onto the road. He bit his lip as he saw the cars behind them begin to swerve out of control and crash. "Uh... do you want to go back and get some of that?"

Skulryk shook his head. "I don't want any more drivers ready to sue us... And I don't know if this thing will start moving again if we stop. Is my camera at least still back there?"

Lucky checked, then grabbed the camera's case just before it bounced out the back. "Got it." He said. As the truck hit another pothole, the headlights flickered and went out. Skulryk just grumbled.

The truck, which was rapidly falling apart, entered Onett, and proceeded to drive straight through a stop sign. A car swerved once it saw the truck, coming to a stop after hitting a fire hydrant.

"SKUL! That was a stop sign! What are you doing?" screamed Lucky.

Skulryk had a look of horror on his face, as he told Lucky what the problem was. "The brakes just went..."

Skulryk tried to turn to avoid any people or buildings, but the next thing to go was the steering wheel, popping off right into Skulryk's hands. As Skulryk reached for it, the emergency brake did the same thing. Both passengers of the car screamed as the car headed straight towards a cafe. Just before impact, the hood popped straight up as well.

--------------

After the crash, the car stood inside the cafe, with the patrons of the cafe staring in shock. Although no one was harmed, it wasn't a common occurrence. A door fell off the driver's side of the car, and a man rolled out. Meanwhile, someone else came out the other side.

The man who had rolled out looked up at all the cafe's patrons, then sighed, saying: "Why did I ever leave Fourside..."

The sounds of a large crash, a deafening silence, and a sudden commotion awoke PikaChan.

*Hey, wait a minute. This isn't right.* She opened her eyes, seeing a few people huddled around her. A couple of them ran to the truck that had crashed in the window.

"Aaaa!" She shouted, springing up out of the seat and into the open space of the cafe. The blankets and tablecloths fell off of her. "Who are you? Where am I? How did I get here? What's with the truck in the window? What the heck's going on?!"

The group was a bit taken aback by her sudden outburst. They were speechless.

PikaChan reached behind her and unsheathed her katana, which had gone unnoticed since she was brought to the cafe. "C'mon, I want answers! Speak up, dangit!"

"Hey, hey now," Riley said, holding up his hands in defense, "put the sword down. We only tried to help."

"Yeah," Paithan said. "This guy," he motioned to Riley, "brought you in and you were unconscious. Then that guy," he motioned to Eric, who had run to the truck along with Paithan, "said you had hypothermia and cured you."

The others nodded in agreement. They were still at a loss for words.

PikaChan hesitated, then sheathed her katana. "Yeah, whatever." She turned and glared at Riley. "Why'd you bring me here? I was perfectly fine over by that tree-"

"I couldn't just leave you there," Riley said, blinking. "You were near frozen!"

Now it was PikaChan's turn to blink. "Frozen? Whaa?"

"You mean the whole time you had been sitting out there, you hadn't noticed?"

"No. I never feel cold. It's weird." PikaChan sighed, sitting down, her tail drooping. "Oh well. I guess I should be thankful, seeing as how you guys... erm, saved me. Yeah."

"Don't mention it," Paithan said. "Hey, what's your name, anyway?"

PikaChan rested her head in the palm of her hand, rolling her eyes. "PikaChan. That's my name, don't wear it out."

"PikaChan has an attitude," Paithan whispered to Riley.

The voice in Riley's mind was silent, a rare occurrence. Then it put together two syllables. He and Za.

"What in the world are you trying to come up with?" Riley suddenly questioned.

"What?" asked Paithan, confused.

"The voice in my head just tried putting two syllables together and got Heza somehow. Dunno what it means."

PikaChan blinked as he said this, but didn't react otherwise. Paithan was just plain puzzled. "Doesn't sound like anything I know."

Riley shrugged. "Sometimes it doesn't make sense."

Something Riley had said then occurred to Paithan. "You said you were talking to

a voice in your head?"

"Yeah, it gets annoying sometimes. But it's being quiet for once. I dunno if I should be happy or worried."

Paithan scratched his head idly. "Well, as long as it doesn't get you into trouble, I guess that's all right..."

"So what's with the ears?" Riley asked, very directly. "They're kind of cute."

"Cute?" PikaChan was surprised at the comment. "No one ever thinks they're cute ... they think I'm a freak of nature..."

"And I talk to a voice in my head. So what?"

"The tail's pretty funky, too," added Paithan.

PikaChan blushed slightly, she wasn't used to receiving compliments for her tail and ears.

----

The path to the overworld was a long and winding highway, covered with gravel made from the ground up bones of the condemned. The lines in the road were painted with blood, which seeped into the cracks and stained the white road eternally. Buzzards made from shadow energy circled the road, waiting to swoop from the sky and devour fresh prey. It was here, on this twisted avenue of decay, that the last steps to the overworld would be taken.

Rasheed and Dio stepped through the Demon Gate, entering the highway with utmost ease.

"It's clear sailing until we reach the surface," Dio stated, her voice small in comparison to the endless void surrounding the highway.

Rasheed acknowledged her with a quick nod, but his eyes remained locked on the exit up ahead. Without turning to face her, he softly replied.

"Are you prepared to face what we will become?"

Dio stared blankly, allowing his words to soak in. The final stand between Hell and returning to Earth was a stage of transition; when one escaped from hell and returned to the overworld, they would not yet have their normal body. Their form would reflect the body of a mere ghost, equipped with nothing but eyes, mouth, and two black horns. It was only when the body was revived that the person could be whole, physically freed from the bondage of hell. In short, Rasheed and Dio would return as ghosts until they could find a means to return their bodies - For them, it would be Tracy.

"Yes, I am prepared. For when our bodies on earth return, we can exercise the powers that have remained dormant in Hell for so long." Dio finally responded, her expression that of complete determination. Rasheed grinned ferociously upon hearing his, which happened just as they reached the end of the highway. The duo stepped through, out into the lighted woods just south of Giant Step.

-----

Tracy scowled again, in her plush armchair once more. Her body sank slowly into the cotton as she glanced at her bookbag, which was rested next to the TV. It seemed almost lonely, having suffered from much neglect over the years. As the girl glanced at the beaten bag, a dark thought occurred to her.

"Don't tell me I have that stupid homework assignment to do," She said suddenly, wracking her brain. Sure enough, her memory informed her that she had a single reading assignment, due the next time she had classes. Groaning audibly, she turned back to the TV.

"I might as well just fail the next quiz on the book. It would be more fun anyway!" Tracy reached for her glass of soda, but as her hand gripped it she noticed small, circular ripples forming. Every few seconds, the center of the beverage would ripple outward, pushing against the side of the container.

"Something's moving around the house," She muttered, staring at the ripples. As she strained to hear, a thumping noise could be heard from upstairs, progressing toward her. Bracing herself, Tracy turned around just as the noise reached the bottom of the steps.

The lights had been turned low in the process, casting shadows all around the room, including the bottom of the stairs. Tracy could see the tip of horns poking out from the shadows, but everything else was blanketed by the overwhelming darkness.

"Who are you? How did you get into my house?" Tracy snarled, stepping forward. A smooth, male voice replied gently.

"We have heard your yearning for power, young maiden - We are the ones who will bring it to you!"

Tracy narrowed her eyes. "What do you know about my yearnings?" She snapped, grabbing for anything that she could use as a weapon. A cardboard tube found its way into her hands before long, and she swung it forward menacingly.

"We know that you yearn to be the best," A female voice cooed, joining its male counterpart. "And we can help you!"

Tracy lowered her cardboard tube somewhat, raising a slender eyebrow. Her voice was suspicious, yet it held a childlike curiosity. "What could you possibly do to help me?"

A flash of light revealed two evil grins, with menacing curved fangs. "We can give you all the power you've ever wanted, power beyond your imagination!"

The cardboard tube hit the floor as Tracy stepped forward. A wicked smile formed on her face, matching those of the figures before her.

"Tell me more." She whispered, licking her lips before she could stop herself. The male voice chastised her gently, as though he were a parent scolding a disobedient child.

"We will tell you, after we dispose of the evidence."

"What do you mean?" Tracy inquired, taking another step forward. The voice replied with the same firm yet gentle tone.

"Come with us."

-----

At the cafe in the south of Onett, 12 people looked up just in time to see a white house on top of the hill explode in a hellish inferno, with three cloaked figures fleeing from the scene.

The four in the back room had been completely oblivious to the truck crashing into the cafe, as the walls of the interior of the cafe were rather soundproof. However, from a window they were able to witness the explosion of the house on the hill. King howled loudly as he saw his residence being reduced to ashes and vapor.

"Whoa," Dan said. "I guess something really is going on."

"We should check it out, I think," said Chase.

"You don't think we could just have some coffee instead?" Dan suggested.

"Nah." Chase grinned. "All I was doing was waiting for something to happen anyway."

King whimpered.

"I'm not sure he wants to go back," Amber said.

Chase rubbed King behind the ears. "We'll be fine, I think. Nobody would stick around after blowing up a house."

Dan began to make for the warehouse entrance, when Chase halted him. "Let's... go out the back. No point bothering the customers." He didn't know, of course, that the customers were already sufficiently bothered.

----

When the house on the hill exploded, Paithan's first thoughts were to drop Skulryk and run to check it out. In fact, Skulryk let out a slight gasp when we almost fell from the absence of one of his supports. But Paithan was quick to realize which was more important. He caught Skulryk in time. He helped Eric half-carry Skulryk to a seat. He wasn't so much injured as weak from shock. A special kind of shock one gets only when you crash an automobile. Lucky managed on his own. The shock was always much worse for the driver.

Paithan shivered from the cold wind now blowing through the hole in the wall. He looked at Skulryk. "You know, I wish you hadn't done that. It was perfectly nice and warm in here before your truck decided to park in the wall. There are plenty of parking spaces near here..."

Skulryk went livid, Eric looked at Paithan unbelievably, and Lucky looked at Skulryk worriedly. Paithan, however, was deep in thought, pondering the effectiveness of a cafe feigning being closed when, if it was closed, you really shouldn't be parking in the parking lot. After much thought, Paithan managed to conclude that this truck's current parking space was justified.

"Sorry, I guess I was a bit hasty." Paithan grabbed Skulryk's hand and shook it. "Hi my name's Paithan, what's yours?"

Skulryk, confused by this guy's strange behavior, forgot to keep looking mad and looked to Lucky for help.

Skulryk felt as if his brain was in a vice and being repeatedly hit by a hammer. He had a throbbing headache and needed a minute to even look up at the cafe. "Unngh..." he mumbled. "What happened?"

The people in the cafe concentrated more on the house which had recently exploded atop the hill, so Skulryk's words didn't catch any attention. Skulryk didn't need someone to explain anything to him though; he glanced around the cafe and his eyes fell upon the remains of the truck. "Oh..." he said.

He looked around at the other people in the cafe and saw an interesting assortment of people. "Ugh..." he said. "I think I suffered some brain damage. I must be seeing things; that girl seems to have yellow ears... and a tail. Heh..."

Paithan turned to Skulryk and whispered to him: "They are there. She has yellow ears and a tail. Yeah, weird."

This instantly caused Skulryk's face to light up as his reporter's instinct kicked in. "Wow! Hey, Lucky, is my camera OK? I gotta get this on tape! Something like this could make me some serious money! I could sell a freak like this to Mysterious Mysteries' freak-a-thon, or some sci-fi show like that!"

Pikachan turned and shot an angry glare at Skulryk. Riley yelled "Don't you know that that is very rude? How can you even say such a thing to her?" He continued giving him a verbal lashing. "Have you no respect for a woman's honor?"

"Uh... Sorry about that..." Skulryk said. "I did just crash through a wall, and my judgement isn't perfect..." He paused. "Still, I'd better make sure my camera is ok." Skulryk wandered over to the remains of the truck and looked inside. "Hmm... It's still there, but the case sure seems scratched up." He put the case on the table and opened it up to find the camera still perfectly intact. "Sweet!" he exclaimed.

"Alright, just why did you crash into this cafe?" said Paithan. "And who are you, anyways?"

Skulryk brushed dirt off of his jacket. "Well, to make a long story short, the brakes suddenly failed in my truck. And the steering, and just about everything else. I couldn't stop it, this was in it's way, and here I am. As for who I am... I was famous, once. The greatest reporter in all the land. But that was years ago. Then I figured that I would switch jobs, and be part of a band with Lucky over there... and everything's been a downward spiral in Fourside ever since. But this isn't any kind of sob story. Maybe now that I'm out of performing I can start doing what I love again; reporting."

Skulryk looked over to the window, where everyone was gathered. "What's going on, anyways?"

"A house..." Lucky said. "It just exploded up there! Completely out of the blue, man!"

Skulryk chuckled. "Weird, as soon as I get back to reporting, the action just starts coming to me. Heh..."

"I'm going go check it out. Seems a little too well orchestrated. I mean, every heroic story I've ever read begins with a bunch a strangers meeting in some near-abandoned place when BOOM, something explodes. Of course, then they check it out, each for their own reasons, but hey, this isn't a story, so why not, we can at least ask the fire department if they have any early theories as to why it happened. So, uh, who's with me?" Eric was cheerful, although his right hand was nervously gripping the dagger handle at his belt. He worked up a little nerve, and climbed over the truck debris and waited, knowing at least someone would join him.

The others were talking inside for a minute, but Eric wasn't paying attention. Then he saw everyone walk out the front door, Paithan and Riley helping Skulryk for a few minutes as the reporter regained the better part of his balance. PikaChan was last out, shaking her head. Eric jumped down and heard her mumble about being dragged into this.

"So, uh, did you check the back room, I think the others that were in there went back there." Eric asked as they walked through the streets of Onett. It was strange, Eric felt completely comfortable, minus the weight of the knives in his pockets, around these strangers.

"I did," Paithan had stopped and waited for Eric, who was walking behind everyone, "no one was there, but the back door was open. I think they went ahead, assuming we didn't care about anything but coffee."

----

Luna's eyes slammed open. Faintly, very faintly, she heard a gentle 'squeak', some distance away. She knew that sound... it was the squeaky floorboard in front of her apartment's front door. Full of adrenaline, she hopped out of bed, and tiptoed as fast and as quietly as she possibly could to her mantle place, and reached up.

Meanwhile, Teddy was fiddling with the door handle in the flickering hall light. Jimmy was behind him, tapping his foot in anticipation. Venus looked on Teddy's activities a little timidly.

"Shouldn't we knock?" she asked quietly, but Teddy seemed not to hear, and continued to jiggle the handle.

"It's this lock," he commented simply, and nudged the door with his foot. It swung inward, and he continued. "it's a bit loose."

Venus rolled her eyes carefully, and took a step forward to knock- but not before catching a flash of steel in the dying light, travelling in her and Teddy's direction at a speed that suggested instant afterlife. Her eyes wide, Venus firmly kicked Teddy in the groin, with a technique she had developed solely for the purpose of dealing with those too perverted for their own good, and unwilling to pay, then ducked. Teddy gasped in pain, and doubled over onto his knees, the silver lightning travelling just inches over his head, and then burying itself a foot into the wall behind the trio. Jimmy was flattened against a wall, eyeing the other two. He opened his mouth slowly.

"You said this was your friend, right?"

"Luna! Luna, it's only me, Venus! Hold you fire!" Venus said loudly, lifting her head from the floor, and surveying the scene. Teddy was still on the floor, his face a picture of pain, and whimpering. Luna, dressed in a set of red Chinese pajamas with a sword sheath on her back, stepped timidly out from next to the door.

"Sorry, I couldn't see you... but you were trying to open my door!" her glance transferred slowly from the scene in front of her, to her sword, which was embedded in the wall. She planted her foot on the wall and grasped the handle to pull it out, inch by inch. When it was finally free, she twirled it into its sheath, and turned to face the party. "So, um... sorry 'bout that... what's up, Venus? Who are these guys?"

The two men began to speak, but Venus got the first word in. "It's a long story, which I'd be happy to tell you... but to make it short, could you possibly let us sleep here tonight? I'll explain, but first, I think Teddy needs an icepack."

Luna shifted from foot to foot, and nodded. "Yeah... okay... I can unfold the couch for those two, and you can either sleep on the loveseat, or the spare cot, whichever you prefer... what happened to him, anyways?"

Venus gestured to the others, who reluctantly moved towards the open door. "A vicious boot attacked him."

"Ah." Luna replied simply, smiling at the men, especially sympathetically at Teddy, and showing them in. "boots can be vicious like that."

----

Dark shadows descended upon the now open and empty cafe. Paithan vaguely recognized the silhouettes of angry, caffeine-addicted businessmen in suites.

"Don't suppose that guy really cared if all of his coffee is stolen, huh?" Paithan directed his question to no one in general, but Eric was the only one near enough to hear him and assumed he was the one expected to answer.

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

"Well, he did lock himself in the back room with that guy, girl, and dog, and with all of you guys there, obviously something might be stolen. How would he know you were honest people?"

"The door was locked?"

"Yeah, but it was a simple lock. Not more than a second to pick. Oo, we're getting closer to the house!"

Eric watched Paithan catch up with the others. As he passed Lucky, Eric thought he saw Paithan's hand shoot from Paithan's side to Lucky and back. He blinked and looked again, doubted his sight. Paithan had been running, using his arms to help his run. It was impossible that anyone's hands could move that fast.

Eric realized that he was falling behind and forgot about it as he jogged to catch up.

The group stayed predominantly silent. No one knew what was going on, but they all knew they were about to find out.

Riley seemed to be the only one friendly to PikaChan, so walked next to her. Breaking the silence, he asked a question. "Where are you from, anyway?"

"Me?" asked PikaChan, still surprised anyone would be nice to her, let alone care. "I ... don't like to talk about that..."

Riley nodded. "I don't like talking about where I come from, either..." He paused for a moment before speaking again. "Is it something to do with how you got the ears and tail?" Riley was indeed very direct.

"How'd you know?"

Riley tapped the side of his head twice. "Whatever it is in my head can tell some weird things, sometimes. It knew I was going to trip over you when I couldn't even see you in the snow."

Just then Paithan ran past Lucky and did something suspicious. Eric didn't believe he had seen what he had, but Riley noted idly there was something up.

I'd keep my eye on that Paithan guy if I were you, suggested the voice.

Now what? asked Riley, who had obviously not seen it.

Looks like he pickpocketed Lucky, or something similar.

Good for him. Riley glanced over at Paithan. We can worry about that when and if Lucky notices something gone, or whatever.

The voice would have blinked if it had eyes. You're going to ignore it?

Riley sighed mentally. You should know me better by now. You aren't even sure, so I don't feel like making an accusation until we know.

"So how did you end up lying in the snow, anyway?" Riley continued.

"I teleported from Summers, and I just kind of landed here. Then I went to sleep."

"Awfully cold sleeping in the snow. And you said you didn't feel cold at all?"

"Nope. Never have."

Must be something she's wearing, suggested the voice.

No kidding, thought Riley in response, sarcastically. The bracelets, pentagram, or ring, obviously. The beads would probably be luck or something, pentagram might help against shadow, but the ring could have a jewel or charm in it to help.

You noticed ALL of that already? The voice was clearly surprised.

"Why would that surprise you?" asked Riley.

"Well, no one's ever thought I have powers or anything, they just say I'm weird," explained PikaChan.

"Dad always believed everyone has their own powers to help others at that right time. But he wasn't exactly normal, either. He was a shape shifter."

This time PikaChan asked a question. "Can you do anything cool, or is that voice all you've got?"

"Well, my father was a bit weird, but powerful, so I really don't know."

At this point the group was nearing what remained of Tracy's house.

----

A frown creased the lips of the young man with white hair. He stooped over the prostrate body of the Dreadlord, nudging him carefully with his foot. Tichondrius stirred, muttering something about Night Elves. He tapped him a few times, then delivered a well-placed kick to his ribcage. At last, the Dreadlord woke from his slumber. Talus jumped back, uncertain of what to expect. The towering creature rose, at first to his knees, then shakily to his feet, muttering and shaking his head to clear the cobwebs of sleepiness from it.

"You alright?" Talus inquired innocently. Tichondrius, his mind at last clear of the shadows of the dreamscape, focussed his deadly eyes on the small specter before him. Veins exploded from the sides of his temple.

"Of course not, mortal! I've failed in my duty as a gatekeeper!" His fist was clenched in rage, and in an instant, this fist came hurtling down toward where Talus was standing. The youth sidestepped casually while the burning fist slammed into the ground where he once stood, cratering the bedrock upon impact. Tichondrius immediately recovered, lashing out at Talus with all the fury of a Dreadlord, striking at him over and over, yet hitting nothing but air as the boy dodged each attack in an almost fluid motion, flowing like the gentle river, until at last he had had enough, and he leapt backward, out of Tichondrius' reach. The Dreadlord fumed.

Talus scratched his head. "You know, I expected a little more from a Dreadlord." He frowned. Tichondrius grew increasingly angry. The air about him shimmered as his body released an intense internal heat. Then, quite surprisingly, he calmed, and a malevolent sneer slithered over his lips.

"You can evade me as long as you wish, but if you try to make a break for this gate, I'll shatter your form to the winds." Talus stopped scratching his head, and placed his hands in his pockets again. He knew that the creature was right. There would be no way around him. No way to find where those two strangers had gone. Something about them unsettled him, and he knew he had to follow them. Yet how could he do this with this monolithic bellhop guarding the way? He considered taking him head-on, but he knew that this was useless. It would have been like going against Raltise once more -- despite how skilled Talus was in the martial arts, it would be like fighting a brick wall.

"You seem to be in a bit of a bind, Young Master." Talus arched his head to the left, to the source of the voice. Tichondrius did the same. Of all the coincidences possible, Raltise was there, his arms folded across his chest, sans apron, a wicked grin pursing his lips. Talus' eyebrows shot up in sheer amazement. His surprise grew as the Nightmare Demon approached him, meandering toward him casually.

"I see that you are attempting the impossible, Young Master. May I suggest merely reasoning with him?" Talus frowned.

"You're the master of deception, aren't you? Why don't you do it?" Raltise scowled.

"Was that an order?" Talus paused for a second.

"Yes."

Raltise swore under his breath, for he knew he could not refuse the orders of others given his punishment in Hell. Resignedly, he approached Tichondrius, ready to match intellectual wits with the Dreadlord. It was then that the Nightmare Demon noticed something peculiar. When Tichondrius had fallen asleep, he had slept on his side in such a way that his left eye was now puffy and bulbous. Images flitted about Raltise's consciousness, portraits of Kaptain K. Rool, smiling from an oily canvas. His crimson eyes went wide, and he gritted his yellow teeth.

"You're laughing at me, yes!" He cried. "You think this is all funny, don't you!?" His white hands began to ball up into fists. He looked an increasingly baffled Tichondrius square in the eye. Then he let out a shrill scream that echoed across the expanse of the Underworld.

"What are you grinning at!?"

Raltise leapt forward and struck Tichondrius square in the face with his clenched fist. The creature didn't even stagger from the attack, but as Raltise recovered from his rage, tears could be seen to be gathering at the corner of the Dreadlord's eyes. Within seconds, tears were streaming down his cheeks, and he was howling pitifully.

"You...you struck me! Why did you strike me!? Lord Archimonde, why don't you like me? What did I ever do to you!?" His legs gave from under him, and he sat cross-legged on the ground, sobbing pitifully. Talus approached Raltise, scratching his head in confusion, looking down at the crying demon.

"Well, that's one way to do it." He murmured, before stepping past Raltise and toward the demon gate. He raised his left hand in a waving gesture before he ascended the stairs. "Oh yeah, thanks."

"Wait, Young Master!" The Nightmare Demon cried, jaunting up the steps and grabbing his shoulder before he could step through. Talus turned irritably, staring his former nemesis in the face.

"What is it?"

"I wish to join you."

Talus' eyes grew wide, and his jaw dropped. "Join me!? Are you mad!? What's in it for you?" Raltise grinned.

"Why, nothing at all. I just wish a...vacation...from my harsh sentence."

"If you ask me, it wasn't harsh enough." Talus muttered. Raltise sighed.

"I understand your misgivings, Young Master, but as per my punishment I must act the part of the loyal servant to all I come across. It would not be possible for me to betray you. And my services may become a benefit..."

Talus mused over this. What choice did he have? He was obviously going to need some help if he ran into trouble, and Raltise might come in handy, if for nothing more than an alternative target. He sighed irritably.

"All right, Raltise. You can come along." He paused, raising a finger. "But the first thing you do out of line, I'm sending you back here. Got it?" Raltise nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course, Young Master! Let's be off!" He cried. The two stepped through the demon gate.

Upon the highway to the overworld, Raltise began dancing about, skipping and hopping in circles around Talus, who grumbled exhaustedly.

"Time to sing the Doom Song!" Raltise screamed uncharacteristically. "Doom doomdoom doom doom doom dooooom" He droned.

"...Kill me..." Talus groaned.