"One watch, as ordered." Pestilence split a gruesome grin, his decaying teeth jutting out of his skull like some sick jack-o-lantern. He licked furiously at the bug lodged within them, and then his plagued eyes darted to Famine.

Famine's smug look spoke volumes. His malnourished lips curled in a ghastly sneer, and his tiny pupils scanned the massive figure before him. He jerked the reigns, causing the black horse to turn to the side. He pointed a gaunt finger at Death, while the other hand rummaged about the inside of his cloak. He at last procured a cigarette, and placed it to his lips. He snapped his fingers, and a spark ignited the end of the cigarette. He inhaled deeply and scratched the stubble on his chin.

Death's skeletal hand retreated into the folds of his flowing cloak, and when it returned, a peculiar watch dangled from a gold chain. Two eyes stared from the face of this watch, and the hands were distorted in a wild way. Death extended his hand, and the figure before him extended his own equally gnarled one. With a clatter of metal, the watch dropped into the shadow's hand. A slow, cruel smile slithered over the creature's lifeless face.

"Excellent." It intoned. "You have done well, my Horsemen. Now return to those who have...summoned you." It emphasized these last words with acute sarcasm.

War nodded. "Aye, sir! We won't let ye down!" He bellowed, twirling his sword above his head as he pulled on his horse's reigns. He was halted in his tracks by another booming command from the shadow creature.

"Do not let Dio or Tracy know what has transpired here. I am sure Rasheed is quite aware, yet even he cannot grasp the magnitude of this. Go now, my warriors, and bring swift death to the living." The figure waved his hand, ordering the four away. With a flash of eerie light, the Horsemen vanished from the plains of Hell.

----

Venus rose shakily from her chair. She looked from Chartreuse to Narcy, and then clasped her hands before her. "We should be off, then." She stated.

Chartreuse waved a hand. "I'll summon Indigo shortly. But for now, feel free to wander around the castle grounds. I'll have our chefs prepare a delicious feast to send you off with. It'll be ready within the hour." He smiled warmly, squeezing Narcy's hand -- although no one saw this. "But for now, relax! Enjoy yourselves! I'm sure you're due for some rest."

Dan rose from his seat, a look of fatigue setting in on his face. "Yeah, I sure could use a nap. I feel like I'm in some story where the writer can't grasp the concept of time." He muttered. Skulryk snickered at this and stood as well, stretching, a yawn escaping his throat.

"I could go for some rest as well. Although I'm sort of worried about Lucky...ever since we got split up." He frowned. Talus stood.

"Well, let's be off. I'm sure two people here could use some...private time." He grinned at Chartreuse, who scowled in return. Talus shrugged disarmingly in response, an elated smirk dancing on his lips. "Come on, Raltise!"

The Nightmare Demon bolted from his chair, standing stiffly upright. He held one hand in the air, a single finger extended. "Yes, mastah'!" He shouted before marching out behind Talus. Luna followed, her hand on Venus's shoulder, leading the latter out. The rest of the group quickly piled through the door.

----

Ten minutes later, the group had gone their separate ways. Dan and Skulryk had parted company for some rest; Amber had wandered off into the recesses of the castle, King by her side, while Ness and Paula took their leave in a private chamber. Teddy and Jimmy had taken to perusing the castle armory, while Venus decided to head into the village to see what excitement could be had. Chase wandered off to parts unknown -- no one chose to question him. Raltise had found amusement in pestering the cooks while they worked.

Luna bit her lip, hugging the cold stone wall within the shadows of the arched doorway. She peered outside into the bright courtyard. It was all very beautiful -- four walls of medieval stone encircling a small paradise. The grass was lush and green here; various flowers bloomed in the garden, reds, oranges, purples, blues and yellows mingling in a wonderful display. Several tall trees dotted the field -- and in the center of it all rose an ornate stone fountain, the calming waters babbling gently from it. A massive skylight enshrouded the courtyard, keeping the snow out and the warmth in. Her eyes at last focussed on Talus, who had seated himself on a stone bench, and was staring aimlessly into the tranquil fountain.

Luna inhaled sharply and strode into the light, unable to shake the uneasiness in her stomach. Talus noticed her approach and arched his head in her direction, a smile breaking on his face. "I had a feeling you'd be here." He grinned. "I'm not sure why, but I did." Luna smiled weakly at him and slipped onto the bench beside him, placing her hands on her lap. She looked down at them, unable to utter a word for the longest time.

"I...I've thought about you for these past five years...and I never thought I'd see you again. When you walked through the door it was like a miracle. But God's just playing a cruel joke." She whispered, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

Talus frowned. The memories were volatile now, trying violently to resist Hell's curse. Some of them had already seeped through. He looked away. "Whenever I've thought about the past, about what happened at the time of my death, it's always been like there was a piece to the puzzle missing. A very important piece that I was forgetting, and it drove me mad more times than I care to remember. But now it's as if I've been given a second chance to reclaim the life that I lost." Luna looked up.

"So you're saying...you remember?" Hope flitted wildly on her tongue.

Talus shook his head slightly. "No...at least, not totally. It's slowly been coming back to me, but every time I try to remember, my head feels like it's going to explode. But I do remember a few things...I remember holding someone's hand...the hand was very soft, very warm and loving...and I remember seeing a pair of eyes that seemed to change colors as if on a whim. Those eyes were crying. And I remember stopping Ness from attacking a girl with lavender hair. That was in the mall...the night the Puppets attacked. The night I lost..." His voice trailed off.

"Talus, look at me."

Talus frowned, turning his head in Luna's direction. His gaze met two crystalline eyes, watering at the edges, and an anguished face framed by flowing lavender. Luna raised her hand and gently caressed Talus's face, near his right eye.

"...This is the one, isn't it?" She inquired. He lowered his head.

"Yeah, that's the eye I lost that night. So it was you. But..." He winced as his head began to throb in pain. "No matter how hard I try, I can't remember anything else! It's like I know you, and yet I don't! And...and." He paused, blinking. "And my glasses, I still haven't found them." He said, changing the subject slightly.

Tears streaked Luna's face. "I...I kept them safe in a chest, and I went to get them when I locked myself in my room...but they were gone. I don't know what happened to them."

Talus bit his lip. "Well...if you had them, then that would mean..." He was cut short as Luna held a finger to his lip, her hand then slowly moving to the left side of his head. Talus lowered his head as she held him, and the two embraced. Luna sobbed silently. "Please, don't cry..." he whispered into her ear.

"A feast! A feast! A most delectable feast! Yes, dinner...is served!" An enthusiastic voice called from the shadows. Raltise bounded forward and the two quickly separated. Talus stood.

"Well, I guess we should go get something to eat." He said, smiling weakly and holding out his hand to her. She sniffed, taking it and standing herself. The two slowly moved toward the archway, passing the grinning demon and receding toward the banquet hall.

As they left, the grin slowly faded from Raltise's face. He stood alone in the courtyard. "My, my, Young Master...perhaps I...was a bit rash..." The unearthly one murmured, his face framed in a frown of perplexity. He slipped the blue tinted glasses from his pocket, holding them in his left hand, and he traced the crack across the right lens with his thumb. Raltise sighed, and looked at the artifact in his hand. His face was a mask of contemplation. "Perhaps..." He whispered, pocketing the glasses once again and clasping his hands behind his back. Raltise looked upward toward the skylight, his face set rigidly, and he thought.

----

As was tradition, the feast was held in the palace's expansive great hall. Despite the short notice, the chefs had managed to come up with venerable mountains of food, forcing the tables to buckle to support the weight. Once all the guests filed in, Queen Cirra the first stood in the center of a raised platform at the head of the room.

"I want to thank you all for coming to this feast on such short notice," She began, holding up her hands for silence. A hush immediately fell over the room as they stared up at their respected leader. Although she had been ruling Altus for only 5 years, she had fast gained a reputation as a fair, levelheaded leader.

"The feast tonight is being held in honor of our young guests, the protectors who fought and defeated the nightmare demon five years ago." Apparently, no one had alerted the Queen that the nightmare demon was very much alive, and was in fact sitting out in her palace's gardens in heavy contemplation. "So, as we eat this meal," She continued, "Let us all think of the heroes who have made such a feast possible! With that, Dig in!"

Light conversation floated around the table as the occupants of the room dug into their plates, eating anything and everything in sight. Altus was well known for its culinary expertise, and the chefs had outdone themselves tonight. The table was lined with freshly baked scones, an expansion selection of fruit tarts, and the finest cheeses and breads that money could buy. To drink, Altus offered fresh October Ale and Strawberry cordials, which were consumed heartily by all.

"Mmph, this food is fantastic!" Skulryk mumbled to Dan, stuffing a biscuit into his mouth. Dan stared down at the table, tears forming in his eyes.

"There's no meat..." He whispered, in a state of disappointed awe. Wiping a drop from his eye, he sullenly piled half a dozen fruit tarts on his plate. He slowly picked at them with his fork, listening to the excited banter around him.

"Luna, have you had the scones? They're delicious!"

"I know! Talus, could you pass them to me? They're right over there!"

"Hey Ness, drink some of this Strawberry cordial! I've never tasted anything like it!"

"Paula, this is amazing! I wonder why they don't have anything like this in Eagleland?"

"Even if they did, can you imagine how much it would cost?"

Dan tried to keep himself entertained by the conversation, but it was to no avail. The food around him was tainted by his desire for a cheeseburger, or a piece of ham, or anything meaty!

Desperate to keep his mind off of the wonders of meat products, Dan stared around the hall. Like the Altian symbol, the northern pointed cross, the room had four points - each one marked with an ornate doorway in the center. Dan eyed each door out of boredom. They seemed exactly the same, and it was only when Dan squinted that he noticed a subtle difference. A light seemed to be shining from behind each door - White in the East, Red in the South, Black in the West, and pale, almost transparent in the North. Dan rubbed his eyes, unsure of what he was seeing.

"Skulryk," Dan asked, tapping his friend on the shoulder, "Do you see something wrong with the doors?"

The sound of four doors snapping off their hinges reverberated through the room, striking with the ferocity of thunderbolts. With a great shout, the occupants of the room jumped from their seats to face the doors. One for each doorway, surrounding the room were the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Pestilence strode forward from the East, kicking up a disease cloud in his wake. His dirt-ridden horse bucked into the air, but the horsemen held fast. The rider's coattails fluttered out behind him as the horse came back down to all fours, snorting with indignation. Holding out his bow, Pestilence delivered his ultimatum.

"Hear me now, Altians! The time of the Apocalypse has come! Surrender your kingdom or none shall survive!"

With a mighty roar, War raced into the room from the south to join his comrade. Blood dripped from both him and his horse as he swung his mighty blade over his head, slicing through the air with all of his strength.

"Yer kingdom is as good as gone, Altian Scum! Prepare ta meet yer maker!"

From the east, a black horse trotted arrogantly into the room, Famine perched atop the ancient saddle. Lifting his scales high into the air, he shouted his own calling into the noiseless room.

"The scales of judgement have not tipped in your favor, foolish mortals! Soon you shall feel the gnawing hunger of boundless pain!"

The group was completed when Death emerged from the north door, riding upon his ethereal steed. A bony finger emerged from under his cloak to point out at the group before him. A hiss escaped from his cloak; a signal. The three remaining horsemen held their weapons out, ready to commence battle.

"This is the end, adventurers!"

-----

Rasheed, Dio, and Tracy had left the temple some time ago, and were now walking through the woods toward the bottom of Threed. Rasheed slammed his foot down with each step, displacing branches and rocks as he muttered a string of vulgarities that would make a drunken sailor blush.

"Mother of God!" Rasheed snapped, suddenly turning around. Dio jumped nervously, but Tracy's expression remained impassive.

"Where the hell are those horsemen? They haven't reported back to us, they've been nothing but trouble, and they're wasting my time!"

"Don't forget, Rasheed," Tracy responded, glancing down briefly at her fingernails, "It was your dumb idea to summon them. I understand that you can't do anything yourself, but-"

"Shut up!" A pale pink froth formed at the edges of Rasheed's lips as he ground his teeth together, desperately trying to control his anger. Tracy's new attitude would be a priceless asset when it came time to open the underworld, but there was no way he would be able to handle it until then!

"I need to get rid of all this anger somehow," He muttered to himself, staring down at his finely polished boots, "Otherwise I could compromise the plan!"

"Hey look, a fair!" Rasheed snapped his head up just in time to see a large circus tent several yards away, lined with various booths and games. A twisted grin formed on Rasheed's visage as he eyed the 'shoot the moving duck' game, momentarily abandoned. Dragging Dio and Tracy along for the ride, he pulled on his partner's arm none too gently.

"Hand me that shotgun," He commanded to Dio, pointing at the duck stand. She would have protested, but the look of insanity in his eye again forced her to submit to his whims. Wordlessly she walked to the empty stand, and with a quick look both ways, she grabbed the shotgun from its place. As an afterthought, she grabbed a nearby folding chair.

I might need to sit down to watch this, Dio grimaced. Dragging the chair and shotgun over from the stand, Dio handed her partner the loaded weapon. Without another word, Rasheed fired it into a crowd of people near the circus tent. Screams rang through the air as people scattered in every direction.

"Rasheed, what the hell are you doing?" Dio shrieked, cupping her hands around her mouth to be heard over the din. Rasheed's smile contorted into a twisted smirk as he loaded the weapon and fired again.

"De-stressing!" With another loud shot, Rasheed fired at a person running in the opposite direction. The person dodged at the last second, and the bullet hit the lock on one of the animal cages on display. A mighty bear 7 sprang from the prison, swinging his paws around furiously. Rasheed grinned wickedly, pausing yet again for ammo.

Dio stepped away nervously to look for Tracy, but to her horror the young girl was already tossing psychic flames into the mayhem. Her eyes wide with horror, Dio could do nothing but sit back and watch the practice round for the massacre that would occur when the dead were unleashed.

----

"Crud..." Dan muttered. "The horsemen are back!"

Skulryk downed the last of his drink and braced himself. Talus, though he doubted the odds, slipped into a fighting stance, as did Chase. Dan grabbed a carrot from the table and aimed it rather foolishly as if it were some sort of gun (whose purpose was perhaps, in some highly intelligent, always-grammatically-correct Digimon fan's mind at least, to produce a barrage of tasty orange vegetables). Ness drew his bat, and Paula her frying pan. Teddy wielded Luna's sword, though not for long, as she hastily grabbed it from him. A bit saddened, he instead unsheathed a sword he had borrowed from the armory. Amber stood still, fingering the gem in her trenchcoat pocket, with King poised near to her in a somewhat protective stance. The others, too, prepared themselves.

No sooner had the heroes drawn their weapons than the horsemen began to charge.

Dan rapidly launched assorted fruits and vegetables, including many carrots, from the table in Death's direction. Those shots that hit their mark had absolutely no effect on the cloaked skeleton or his horse. As he approached, Dan managed to dodge rather ungracefully out of the way.

In the center of the room, a melee was beginning to form. Luna swung her sword deftly, but War's armor seemed too tough to penetrate. Teddy's sword, as well, had little effect, and anyone who happened to be caught near War was hard pressed to avoid his massive swings.

It's a good thing he gave me these brass knuckles, Chase thought as he and Talus exchanged blows with Famine. But I don't think they'll make much of a difference.

War grinned. He knew perfectly well that these so-called heroes didn't stand a chance, but toying with them was certainly a welcome change of pace. He let out a hearty laugh in the midst of the battle.

By now the banquet table had been overturned and the food spilled onto the floor. Jimmy cowered behind it, his arms covering his head. King was barking his head off, and Amber held tightly to him for some sort of security.

Chase dropped back from the midst of the melee, held his arms out in front of him and almost self-consciously shouted two words:

"Crag Crush!"

From thin air, a massive boulder came into existence, and hurled itself at Pestilence. Chase watched confidently as came down on its target, but Pestilence adroitly avoided the boulder at the last second. Chase frowned.

From somewhere close by came a feminine voice with a question Chase did not expect.

"Don't you mean Crag Press?" The voice belonged to a certain Fire Shaman who was in attendance at the banquet; and the question caught Chase off guard such that he nearly lots his wits in the middle of combat.

He turned to the voice's source. "Anna?!" This was Anna, the Fire Shaman he had read and heard about. Anna nodded. "I didn't like the name Crag Press," Chase added. "But how did you know about it?"

The instant he asked this, he realized he knew the answer already.

"Siris O'Brien used that spell," Anna responded. "You must know him."

Chase neglected to acknowledge this. "I guess I have more explaining to do. But not right now."

He turned his attention back to the battle at hand.

----

"Where is he?" Riley demanded to his inner voice.

He's everywhere. But the voice seemed different, somehow.

At that time, as if the Norns had it in for Seong-un, the temporal rift appeared above Riley and discharged Seong-un, plopping him directly on top of Riley.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry!" Seong-un said supplicatively as he scrambled off Riley and brushed the dust off.

Riley looked at Seong-un angrily. There, that's him, said the voice, egging Riley on. Riley's eyes narrowed. His rage overflowing, he raised his sword above his head and jumped towards Seong-un.

"DIE!" Riley yelled.

Panicking, Seong-un combat-rolled away from the arc of Riley's incoming sword. Stumbling to his feet, Seong-un steadied himself.

"Centaurus Flare!" he called out. His body ignited, and his flameself burst towards Riley ...

...who slashed at the flames, slicing them in half. The flames harmlessly passed by Riley on both sides.

Riley growled and lunged at Seong-un again, who also dodged away.

This seems familiar for some perverse, inexplicable reason, Seong-un murmured in his thoughts. And these powers ... governed by the constellations ...

"Aaah!" he yelled, dodging an attack by Riley which knicked him. Looking at the slender cut, he exclaimed, "You cut me!"

Riley was silent. This was his purpose; the target of his purpose deserves no pity.

----

Skulryk looked around the former grounds for the feast, with the Horsemen of the Apocalypse flying around him. He would normally take this great opportunity to get some incredible exclusive footage, but, with his camera and notepad in the palace, Skulryk was able to do nothing but panic.

Upon realizing the peril that his life was in, he chose to do the only logical choice. He ran around screaming like a little girl.

"DEAR GOD! I'M GOING TO DIE! SOMEONE, ANYONE, PLEASE HELP ME!"

His screams did receive a response, as a tall Altian man slapped him across the face. "Dear god, boy, get a grip on yourself!" He frowned, then took a bottle filled with red liquid out of his cloak. "Here, take a small sip of this. It'll... calm your nerves."

Skulryk grabbed the bottle, tilted his head back, and quickly finished off the entire bottle. "Thank... Thank you." He said, handing the bottle back to the man.

The man stared at Skulryk, then the bottle, then at Skulryk again. "What have you done? I said a small sip! Did you even know what that was? That stuff was 170 proof!"

Skulryk stared back. "That stuff is... alcohol?"

"Well what did you think it was?" the Altian said. "That's one of our most potent drinks here! Two shots can put a grown man under! I've never seen anyone drink an entire bottle before... I hope you know how to hold your liquor..."

Skulryk stared back, his vision blurring. "I almost never drink... guh?" He looked around. He didn't know that Luna had a twin before.

The Altian looked at Skulryk in fear. "Oh dear god..."

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

Dan looked around nervously. Famine was circling around him and several other Altians, slowly closing in. "SKUL!" he yelled. "I could really use some backup here!"

Skulryk stumbled over. "Eyyyyyy!" he said, in a slurred voice. "Dan, mah man! Ahahaha! Whatsh goin down?"

Dan stared for a moment. "Skulryk, what is wrong with you? What's going on? The HORSEMEN are attacking, remember? The HORSEMEN of the APOCALYPSE?"

Skulryk gave a dopey smile. "Horshmen, eh? Well let’s see here... Arhhh! I'm sure I can take out all eight of them. Nah, all TWELVE of them! Eighty! Ahahaha!"

Famine, who had been circling around Dan's group, took note of this. Snickering to himself, he said "Oh my, I have to tell War about this. This is classic!" He took off to where War was wreaking havoc.

When War looked over, he couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Well that truly is a sight to see! Looks like some young fool can't hold his liquor! And what a time to get drunk! Ahahaha!"

Skulryk was oblivious to all this as he stumbled across the battlefield. "Hey, babe!" he shouted. "Why don't you and yar twin there come on wit me? We can have some fun!"

The lone Altian woman, who had been fleeing to safety, took the time to slap Skulryk across the face before continuing to shelter. Skulryk shouted out after her "Aww, tough lovin! Hey! Baby! You an your twin don't know what you're missin!"

Skulryk's grand spectacle was brought to a close when he came over to a large table which had an enormous cake on it, obviously made by the best chefs in Altus. It was here that he passed out, falling face-first into the cake and going into a deep slumber.

The Altian man looked over to Skulryk, shaking his head. "That guy is going to have one hell of a hangover."