Seong-un stomped out of the Threed Adoption Agency. It, too, had been proven to be a dead end. And, sadly, it was the only other adoption agency in all of Eagleland which he had not gone through.

However, he still had a few more days until he was due to return home. So he decided that it would be worth it to just take the rest of this day to wander about Eagleland and sight-see, then maybe try the agencies again.

"Where would be a good place to sight-see be?" he wondered slightly out loud. Not thinking, he rubbed his ring. The jewels on the ring glowed brilliantly, then gave off a beam of light which led off into the distance.

"What?" Seong-un audibly thought. He lifted his right hand and looked at his ring. The beams of light were coming from it.

Perplexed, Seong-un chased after the beam coming from it. As he ran, he knocked himself down with a boy ten years younger than he was, wearing a track uniform. Seong-un quickly apologized, dusted himself off, and continued running. The boy shrugged and continued practicing.

As Seong-un began to run through the Two-Three Tunnel which connected Twoson to Threed, he was sighted by many Threedbound cars, who thought someone had eaten one too many Skip sandwiches, well-known for their containing large amounts of laxatives.

Slowly, but surely, the fatigue of this running — completely unrelated to Skip sandwiches, mind you — began to take its toll on Seong-un.

Ugh... he groaned. I wish I could run faster. His ring's jewels glowed again, and his speed quadrupled. In no time, he was out of the Two-Three Tunnel. As he ran through the forests south of Twoson, he felt uneasy, as if he had been there before.

He stopped as he smelled the overwhelming stench of odorous mushrooms. Seong-un looked around. Moving towards him ... were large humanoid mushrooms. Shrooom!!! after Shrooom!!! after Shrooom!!! approached him.

What have I gotten myself into? Seong-un demanded of himself.

----

Grinning broadly, Raltise stepped across the doorway and into Luna's apartment. He now understood the punishment that plagued his young master. Of course, he chuckled to himself, it would be unfitting to tell Talus who the girl was at the present time. If young master asked, then he would have to tell it, but a simple distraction would remove him from the area.

"Yes, I am hungry for vittles! I demand food, humans!" Raltise shouted, alarming the residents of the room. Venus, in the process of resting Luna on the couch, stared at Raltise oddly.

"I suppose I could whip something up in the kitchen, depending upon what Luna has. Are you really all that hungry?"

Raltise risked a glance at Talus, who was staring at the collapsed Luna with a faraway look in his eye. Any moment, and Talus would ask him the all-too-important question.

"Yes, quite! I have an unquenchable thirst for...beverages! You shall lead me to them, yes?" He demanded, staring at Venus hopefully. Venus shrugged, unsure of what to make of the situation. With Raltise in tow, the former singer walked into Luna's kitchen and began looking through the fridge.

"Let's see...eggs, milk, butter, cheese, hot-dogs....Schmitt's?" Eyebrows raised, Venus pulled out a case full of bottles. Raltise snatched the container, hugging the bottles to his chest.

"I'll take those," He snapped, immediately attacking the cap with his teeth. The sooner his mouth was full, he reasoned to himself, the sooner he would be unable to answer Young Master's questions.

Meanwhile, Venus had now switched to the pantry. She glanced at each of the boxes inside, taking them into account.

"Flour, Graham Crackers, Sweetened Condensed Milk, some limes-"

"Wait," Raltise paused, looking up from his bottle, "Limes?" Venus nodded slowly, not seeing where he was going. Raltise's crimson eyes glittered as he gaped at the ingredients, a tiny trail of drool forming at the corner of his mouth.

"Perhaps, woman, do you know how to produce a pie made of...key lime?"

Venus raised her eyebrows again. Thinking quickly, she glanced back at the ingredients.

"I don't see why not," She acknowledged, picking up several limes. Raltise squealed with glee, clapping his hands together.

"Ooh, a key lime pie, just for me! I'm so excited!" He gasped, grinning broadly. Venus stared on in horror as Raltise began to jump up and down, first softly then gradually with more force. She opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn't find the words to accurately describe what she was seeing.

"The pie should be ready in about an hour..." She stuttered finally, turning back to the ingredients. Raltise continued to jump up and down, stopping only when he heard the sound of his master's voice.

"Raltise..." Talus called, his voice soft and strained, "Where are you?"

Bringing the bottle of Schmitt's to his mouth as quickly as possible, he mumbled his reply in between swallows. Sure enough, Talus barely heard him. Raltise's lips formed a smirk of triumph against the opening of the bottle.

Yes yes, I see it now! I have responded to my master's wishes, yet if he is unable to hear me, I need not respond again! I have beaten the system! Raltise paused for a moment. Still, there will not always be Schmitt's for me to drink when Young Master calls! Perhaps, yes, perhaps it would be safer for me to retreat form the scene! Quite so!

With that, Raltise scanned the room with his eyes, desperately looking for an exit. A quick searched yielded a single door in the corner of the room, presumably leading to a bedroom of some sort. Raltise quickly dodged into the room before Talus had a chance to summon him once more.

Once securely inside the room, Raltise took stock of his surroundings. As he had guessed, he was now inside Luna's bedroom. The walls were painted a simple white, balancing a silver and white checked bed in the center of the room. Aside from a dresser and a mirror, also both silver and white, there was nothing else of interest in the room.

"Yes, this place shall do for now...this angelic, white paradise," He muttered, shuddering to himself. "I shall turn it into my citadel of death, my one refuge from Young Master!" Pausing to only admire himself in the mirror, he strolled through the room. It was the that a small treasure chest on her dresser caught his eye.

The chest, a strong chocolate wood, was the only thing in the room that was in no way silver and white. Intrigued, Raltise wandered over to the chest and opened the lid.

A flash of light from the window bounced off of two sky blue lenses, temporarily blinding him. Raltise staggered back, rubbing his eyes furiously. As his vision gradually recovered, he looked into the box, shielding his eyes.

Inside rested a pair of silver spectacles, fitted with pale blue lenses. A crack ran through the right eye, cutting straight through the glass and into the chrome frame.

Raltise grinned maniacally as he fingered the frame of the glasses, the wheels turning in his head. If Talus were to never see the glasses, then there would be no tangible proof of his knowledge of Luna, and then his memories could never be jogged...

Glancing furtively around the room, Raltise made his decision. He pocketed the glasses in one swift move, closing the chest in the same motion. The grin spreading across his face, Raltise pressed the bottle of Schmitt's to his mouth and drank heartily as he exited the room.

-----

Talus sat at Luna's side, buried memories taunting him as though he were a cat batting at a shoelace. No matter how long he looked at her, the memories evaded his grasp. Her bright eyes, her flowing hair...all of it seemed to come from another lifetime, one that he could not place, no matter how hard he tried. Talus thought of summoning Raltise once more, but that would entail leaving the unconscious girl beside him. He wanted to protect her, not to leave her; to keep her safe from all harm.

Harm, Talus echoed silently, the full impact of the word hitting him. Rasheed and Dio were still at large, he thought slowly, and there was no telling how quickly they would put their plans into motion. If they were revived, as he suspected they would be, there was only one person who could take them on...

"Ma'am?" Talus called, looking up toward the kitchen. The singer in question stepped out of the kitchen, rubbing stray crumbs of graham off onto her apron.

"Please, call me Venus," She replied, taking a moment to glance fondly at Luna's resting form. Talus nodded.

"Venus, would you happen to know where Ness Lee lives?"

Venus paused and looked at Talus strangely. She raised an eyebrow, straightening her apron at the same time.

"Why, don't you know? He lives in this very apartment building with Paula Polestar, right below this room!"

Before Talus could respond, Raltise bounded gleefully into the room, a cardboard tube in tow.

"Look what I found when I was pawing through Luna's garbage! This great cardboard tube!" Raltise swung the tube through the air, imitating a swordfighter on the grounds. Talus rolled his eyes at his servant.

"Raltise, not now," he muttered, turning to Venus. "What's Ness's number?"

"Oh it's 765-8377. Here's the phone," She replied, handing Talus a white cordless phone. Before he could reach it, Raltise intercepted the phone with a whack from his cardboard tube.

"Haha, the phone is mine!" He grinned, grabbing the cordless. Flashing his decaying teeth, he stared down at his brown tube. "Can you believe that someone would just throw this away?"

Talus stood up and tried to grab the phone from Raltise. "Do I believe that someone would try and throw away garbage? Yes. I think maybe-ACKK!"

The boy doubled over and fell to the ground as Raltise beat him into submission with the cardboard tube, putting it down only to dial the phone. Talus cringed as he heard ringing noises on the other end.

-----

Ness and Paula sat opposite each other on an old couch, sipping tea slowly. The two had stayed up late to watch a movie, and now they were having a quick drink before bed. During a pause in the conversation, Ness slipped his hand into his jacket carefully.

"Paula, there's something I've been meaning to ask you for a long time," He started, kneeling slowly. Paula, immersed in her tea, failed to notice his movements and answered blankly.

"Well, what is it?" She inquired, blowing on the hot liquid. Ness, undaunted, smiled strongly and spoke again.

"Paula Polestar, will you mar-"

A sharp ringing of the phone cut off the desperate Romeo, causing his Juliet to rise from the sofa and walk away. Ness cursed silently, uncupping the hand around the tiny box in his jacket pocket.

On the other side of the room, Paula picked up the phone, putting it to her ear.

"Hello, Paula and Ness' apartment, Paula speaking!" A shrill falsetto shrieked back, piercing Paula's eardrums.

"It is I, Luna...uh...Lunason! Luna Lunason! I have called to invite you over for tea and...uhm...Key Lime Pie! It is a quality pie, to be sure! Indeed, Yes! Uhm...Indeed!"

Paula raised her eyebrows, staring at the phone for a minute before responding.

"Are you feeling alright, Luna? Your voice is quite high!"

Several voices ran together in the background before Luna responded. "Well, I've been sick! You know, it's going around!"

"What's going around?"

Another pause. "Uhm...Shingles! They're very bad this time of year, you know!"

"Alright, but isn't it a bit late for guests?" She asked innocently, confusion written across her face. Ness, his head buried in his arms, could hear the shrill response from the other side of the room.

"No! Er, No, not at all! In fact, I have many a friend who would like to meet you! Do you want to come upstairs and say hello? If you don't, they will be very sad!"

"Oh, alright, if it means that much to you!" Paula replied, still confused.

"Good, good! Come as soon as possible! Oh yeah, and bring Ness too. Bye!" A click from the other end terminated the conversation, leaving the confused Paula with nothing but a dead line. She hung up the phone gingerly, almost afraid that it would strike her.

"We're going to a party now?" Ness cried, minutes away from snapping. Paula nodded in earnest.

"It's Luna-"

"I know, I could hear her all the way over here!"

"Yes, and she's sick! With...shingles! I think we'd better go visit her!"

Ness ground his teeth together angrily. "Shingles? You can't catch shingles!"

"Enough!" Paula snapped. "We're going, whether you like it or not! And we're bringing chicken soup!"

-----

Ness and Paula stood outside Luna's door, about to go in, when a cry from inside rang through the air.

"Say it, Dammit!"

"The tube is civilization!"

Ness and Paula stopped in their tracks. Both voices were familiar, yet foreign. Left with no other choice, Paula knocked on the door.

"Luna? Are you in there?" She asked, fear striking her heard with sudden ferocity. Following the sounds of a quick scuffle, the same shrill voice from the phone could be heard.

"Let yourselves in; I'm just resting!"

Shrugging, Paula turned the knob and opened the door wide. In her path stood the Nightmare Demon and the deceased Talus. Rolling her eyes back into her head, she fainted dead away into Ness' arms.

Ness grabbed Paula before she hit the ground, having not yet looked up. When he did, he was in for the surprise of his life.

"Hello, young protector!" The falsetto shrieked, beckoning him forward, "Care to join us for some tea?" Raltise stood over Talus in a yellow and green Hawaiian shirt, swinging a cardboard tube dangerously close to Talus' eyes. Ness gaped, completely taken aback.

"You! I thought I killed you! You blew away, just like the bad guys in Harry Potter! I watched you die, I saw it!" He gushed, staring ahead in pure amazement. Raltise grinned widely, putting the cardboard tube behind his back.

"I couldn't die, knowing I'd never get to see your charming face again!" Raltise leaned forward to pinch Ness' cheek, but Ness swatted the pale hand away. Pressing his palms together, he powered up a powerful ball of PSI Rockin'.

"Well then, I'll finish what I started!" Ness glowered at Raltise, the rage on his face transcending mortal emotions. Raltise dropped the cardboard tube instantly, Talus standing up at the same time. The two stared at each other in horror; the ball would surely kill them both. With a high scream, the two men grabbed each other in a quick hug, holding on for dear life. Raltise's right leg was raised behind him as he shrieked back at the young protector.

"Ness, don't hurt me! I'm too powerful to die!" But it was not Raltise's words which stopped Ness' attack. Venus stepped in front of the two men, shielding them from the attack.

"Ness, you're going to destroy the whole apartment if you fire off that blast! Sit down - we have a lot of talking to do!"

Moments later, Ness was sitting on the windowsill, palms flat against it, his legs crossed slightly. Paula and Luna had been put to rest on the expanded couch, where they slumbered peacefully. Ness drummed his fingers impatiently. It was then that Venus emerged from the kitchen, holding a steaming key lime pie in her hands. A look of utmost concern was on her face.

"Ness, please try to relax. We're all as confused as you are, so just try to make the best of it. I'm sure this will all make sense soon enough. Here, have something to eat." She set the pie down on a nearby counter, and was about to cut the fresh crust open when the whole thing was snatched up in a blur by two pale hands. Venus blinked once, twice, then looked up to see Raltise, his hand deep in the pie. He pulled out a mound of crust and delicious filling, stuffing it by the fistful into his mouth. He smiled contentedly, the filling smearing all over his mouth and cheeks. Venus sighed.

Ness glared intently at the Nightmare Demon. "Alright, first thing's first. Where did you come from!?" He demanded sternly. Talus, who had been leaning against a wall near the door to the kitchen, immediately pushed himself off it and stepped forward.

"I think I can answer that. Five years ago I was sent to Hell for...well...I guess being too angry at the time of my death. And as for Raltise, I guess whoever's in charge of dealing out punishments thought that he deserved eternal torture, so they reanimated him solely to punish him. I'm sure he can vouch for that, and -- hey! Put that pie down!" Raltise's crimson eyes darted to Talus, widening, and he shielded the pie with his body. Talus lunged at him, trying to wrestle it from his grip.

Almost instantly, the pie tin clattered to the floor, and Raltise pulled the cardboard tube seemingly out of thin air. He brandished it, ready to strike Talus a heavy blow, when the youth's hands lanced out and gripped the tube firmly. He wrenched it out of Raltise's hands, his face turning red from anger, and he snapped it in half. He then threw it on the ground and stomped on it a few times.

"No! NO MORE TUBE! Stop it with the godawful tube! Stop it stop it stop it!!!" He cried. The tube was naught but a crushed wreck on the ground, and Talus kicked it into the corner. Raltise squealed and dove after it, wrapping it in his arms and cradling it.

"Tubey!" He howled. "I love-d you, Tubey! I love-d you!" He shrieked, tears streaming down his face, that ultimately broke into a muted sobbing. Talus scratched his head, frowning uneasily, and turned back to Ness.

"...Yeah, as I was saying. We were both sent to the big hot place down under, and I don't mean Fire Springs. But I'll cut straight to the point -- earlier today I noticed a pair of ghouls escaping through a Demon Gate -- oh yeah, there's a Demon Gate in Hell, it's the only way out -- and on a hunch, I followed them. Raltise helped me escape and the two of us tracked them to Onett...to your house, Ness."

Ness's eyebrows quirked. He leaned forward, clearly concerned. "Yeah? And?"

"Your house, Ness. It's gone."

Ness leapt forward, his eyes wide, his hands balled into tight fists. "What do you mean it's gone!?" He screamed.

Talus folded his arms across his chest, closing his eyes and looking down. "I mean exactly what I said. The whole thing exploded in a massive fireball. But that's not all --"

He was cut short as Ness grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back somewhat. The Protector's knuckles were white with tension. "What about my mom!? And King!?" He glared into Talus's soft brown eyes.

Talus's eyelids drooped somewhat, as if he found something really ironic about the situation. "Aren't you forgetting someone?" He pushed Ness away, and the Protector backed off. "Yes, yes, they're fine. Mostly. Your mom had left that morning, so she was nowhere near the explosion. King had found companionship with a group of other people, so he's fine. But your sister..."

Ness blinked. "...Sister?" He paused. Then a moment of recognition drifted over him. "...Oh! Tracy! What happened?"

Talus gritted his teeth. "I understand now why she's doing what she did..." He muttered under his breath before clearing his throat and continuing. "The ghosts that I saw. They were looking for her. They've told her lies, Ness. They've played on the jealousy she feels for your success. They've told her that you're trying to kill her."

Ness's face was a sea of utter perplexity. "But why would they do all this?"

"Ness...you never knew? Tracy's a psychic too. And probably more powerful than even you. They're trying to use The Light inside her to revive themselves!"

This was all too much for Ness to bear. He felt his comfortable reality shattering around him, like broken panes of glass. The sister he had known all his life...had the same gifts as he did? The Protector was in a state of shock. Talus continued.

"They're got her in their clutches, Ness. They're twisting her down a lonely and dangerous path. If something isn't done, your sister could bring about her own death; or worse, the end of us all! We don't know what these ghosts are up to but it can't be anything good. And if Tracy thinks you're out to kill her, don't you think it's a good bet that she'll try to go after you first? If the world's protector is gone, who will keep it safe? They're using her, Ness. Like a puppet. And we need to sever the strings."

Raltise, who had been sobbing in the corner, immediately perked up. "Did someone say...puppets!?" He cried shrilly. Talus muttered something incomprehensible under his breath and kicked the half-empty pie tin across the floor. Raltise squealed in delight and dove upon it, set upon devouring it. Ness looked past Talus to the Nightmare Demon, and scowled once again.

"But you're still not explaining what's up with him. Why did you even let him come with you?" Talus curled his lips.

"Don't worry about him, he's harmless. They made his form finite -- meaning he can't do a single thing above what a regular human being can do. Plus he's bound as an eternal servant, thanks to his punishment." He grinned. "Go ahead, tell him to make you a sandwich! He can't refuse."

Ness frowned, inching away. "Nnno, I'll take your word for it. But anyway, we're going to need to get out of here as fast as possible and find my sister before she brings harm to anyone."

"And what about bringing harm to herself?" Talus raised an eyebrow.

"Huh? Oh yeah, that too. Anyway, we should get moving as soon as possible--"

A tender yawn from the couch caught Ness's attention. He arched his head toward the sound, and Talus and Venus did the same. Raltise continued devouring the pie. Luna opened her eyes groggily, rubbing the sleep from them, then propping herself up on her elbows. As her vision cleared and came into focus, she became aware of several figures present around her. She frowned as she scanned them, unsure of what to make of it. Then she spotted Talus. She stared at him wide eyed, her mouth slightly agape, a sea of emotions gathering at the corners of her eyes, ready to burst the floodgate and stream out. Talus returned her gaze, clearly struck by something, but unsure of what to make of it. He frowned, his mouth also slightly agape as the gears in his head turned, but nothing clicked.

An awkward silence followed.