"We'd better go after him," suggested Eric, starting to look for a way up. Riley's path to the surface was regrettably useless.
What actually happened to him? PikaChan asked the voice, which was currently occupying her mind.
He's been possessed by the 'Darkness'... it replied, ruefully. I should have been able to prevent it.
The "Darkness"?
The Darkness has lived deep within Riley for longer than I've been conscious in his mind. The voice paused for a minute as it examined the underground passage ways, then suggested they turn left.
"Maybe we should go left here," PikaChan suggested to the others, passing on the advice. They took it not knowing what else to do.
Back in PikaChan's mind, the voice continued. The Darkness is Riley's inherent weakness. It's been lying dormant, waiting for years for a time to emerge and take over his mind.
But what is it? How can we stop it? PikaChan was starting to get worried Riley was gone permanently.
It's not permanent, but it's possible it'll last the rest of his life...
What do you mean last the rest of his life?! PikaChan all but yelled at the voice.
I mean there are only two ways to fix it ... either he has to be confronted by a very close friend ... or he has to die, it finished matter-of-factly.
We can't kill him!
Well, the only other way is for us to pit him against his best friend, or... it trailed off.
PikaChan was silent for a moment. What do I have to do? she asked.
Are you sure about this, Heza? She gave her affirmation mentally. If you're sure... The problem with Riley is this whole thing was caused by his pure hatred for his father. Riley rejects everything of his origins that has to do with his father. He accepts who he is, but what his father made him kept a flame of hatred burning inside him, and now it's flared up.
But why does he hate his father like that? What did he make Riley?
That I can't tell you, it will be up to Riley to tell you ... if you can save him. I don't think just fighting him is enough. You might need his dad's equipment to actually defeat "Yami" Riley. His dad's equipment to break the hatred for the father...
Then where do I get it?
Riley never had a chance to retrieve it from home before we left Onett. It must still be at our home. But wait...
By that time, the group had made their way above ground and emerged into the sunlight. They quickly picked out the shape of Riley intricately dancing around, taking swipes at poor Seong-un, who was trying desperately to avoid the attacks of the younger boy.
Eric stepped forward. "We better do something about this," he said slowly ...
After another missed attack, Riley growled at Seong-un before lunging towards him with another attack. "I hate you for everything that you are ... and I hate you for everything you made me! I WILL destroy you!"
"He thinks that's his father he's fighting!" blurted out PikaChan.
Eric and Seong-un were utterly surprised by the statement, not having heard what the voice had to tell. Riley didn't seem to have even heard her before attacking Seong-un again. The now extremely confused boy barely managed to dodge the attack.
Having attempted an uppercut with his sword - which missed, luckily for Seong-un - Riley wasn't able to see Seong-un as he tripped and landed behind some convenient cover. Having lost his target, Riley lowered his sword slightly.
He turned his sights to Eric and PikaChan.
"Any ideas?" questioned Eric anxiously.
PikaChan nodded. "We need to get to Onett. There's something there that can help us. Just grab on to my hand and we'll teleport."
"But what about him?" objected Eric, motioning towards their injured comrade. "We can't leave him here alone."
PikaChan paused. "Good point. I'll go, you stay here and stall him."
"STALL him?!?!"
"Only for a bit. I just need to go to Onett, grab something, and get back."
Before Eric could protest again PikaChan had dashed away, speeding up for her teleport. In the blink of an eye she was gone.
Eric spotted Riley approaching him, swinging his blade with a psychotic look on his face. He knew what he had to do. Clenching his fists, he powered up his PSI....
----
In the midst of the battle, Amber and King had taken to hiding behind the banquet table with Jimmy. King barked and growled furiously. <You stupid horses! Go away! Leave us alone!>
Amber clung to him, half for security and half to keep him from lunging into the fight. She didn't know what they'd do if one of the horsemen found them. The table was up against the wall, keeping them mostly out of sight and harm's way, but if they were found... She glanced over to Jimmy, who was curled up in a ball, trying unsuccessfully to become invisible.
They would be dead as doornails.
Risking a peek around the edge of the table, Amber could see Teddy and Luna fighting War, their swords clashing in a melee of metal. And there was Dan, trying desperately to keep Death from touching him. Then, as she glanced around, her worst fears came true. Her eyes caught those of Famine. They stared across the room at each other.
Then, quick as lightning, Famine spurred his horse across the room. Amber screamed and leapt up, backing herself against the wall.
Famine grinned grotesquely. "What've we got here? A couple of cowards!" Reaching down from his horse, he grabbed Jimmy roughly, hauling the bank robber to his feet. Jimmy was paralyzed as Famine held the scales in front of him.
Amber was frozen as well, completely overtaken by the sight of the scales. She couldn't move, she couldn't shout. I have to do something, she thought, but I can't do anything! He's going to kill us! I wish he would just turn around and leave us alone, we haven't done anything, just go away, please go away...
GO AWAY
She heard her own voice as if she had shouted at the top of her lungs. But she hadn't moved, she hadn't parted her lips, not even to breathe. And yet it was as though the horse had heard her too. It reared back, nearly throwing Famine off. The moment they were free of the spell of the scales, Amber ran forward, grabbed Jimmy, and scrambled out of the hall.
She was completely unaware of what she had done. Her hand had been in her pocket the whole time; she'd unconsciously been holding the Rallets Gem since before the horsemen had attacked. When Famine threatened to kill her, the gem gave her the power to turn his horse away and save herself. The cameraman's prediction was coming true. She was learning to control her power.
----
It wasn't in Paithan's nature to be down for long. After a sudden feeling of hunger struck his stomach, he had the sudden impulse to stand up. He looked around as if he'd set foot in the area for the first time. He ran from one side of the road to the other, looking off of each side, following the shoreline, looking for any way across the water to Fourside. He jumped off of the bridge and ran along the edge of the water, looking for a sand bar to cross or a boat or a magical device lying in the sand that would teleport him across the water or something like that.
Paithan did manage to find something in the sand, much to his excitement. It wasn't a magical device though, to Paithan's dismay. It was a manhole. It had a rusty cover that looked like an army of ten men couldn't move, to be sure, but to Paithan it looked like a Golden, Shiny Manhole of Hope. Paithan stumbled into it immediately.
He banged on it, pulled on it, kicked it, threatened it, pleaded with it, kicked again, gave up, and pulled on it again, in that order. He finally pulled on it with all of his strength and fell down when his grip gave way when he noticed that the hole was already halfway open, and probably was the whole time. Not embarrassed in the least, Paithan headed down into the hole, climbing down the ladder that was conveniently build into the shaft. Looking down, he saw that the tunnel below was lighted well, he could hear the water flowing.
Paithan climbed down the ladder with the fluid motion. The ladder was fairly long, Paithan found out why at the bottom. As he suspected, this was a sewer pipe that ran from Dusty Dunes to Fourside, running under the strait between the two.
As if to emphasize the small population of Dusty Dunes, the sewer water running in the center of the tunnel was clear and almost looked drinkable. The tunnel itself was made of amazingly clean and shiny metal, not at all grimy like most sewers. An elevated walkway ran along each side of the circular tunnel, lit by strangely bright, white lights. Paithan looked down each direction the tunnel went. No one was around, so he started off in the general direction of Fourside.
Paithan wasn't a particularly fast runner, but considering his being vertically challenged, he was fast enough. He had a lot of stamina, though, and could go long without rest. He began to notice the walls becoming more dirty, more grimy as he neared Fourside. The walls gradually turned from the bright silver of new metal, to dull silver, to grey, to green-tinged, to an almost snot-like color, sort of a greenish-brown mixed with rust. The white lights dimmed as he went, eventually going to yellow, then to dim brownish lights that barely allowed Paithan to see the floor, which was gradually becoming slippery with slime. The water, however, continued to run clear. That is, until Paithan finally came to an intersection, which meant he'd reached Fourside. The tunnel ran straight into another tunnel that ran perpendicular to it. A single light hung over the intersection, where the waters collided, churned, and bubbled. The swift moving clear water of Paithan's tunnel flowed right into the chaos of the intersection, mixing with the ugly, greenish muck that flowed from two of the other tunnels, combining to flow as one down the tunnel that flowed south, to Paithan's right.
Paithan looked down each of these tunnels, not sure where to go from here, when he heard voices straight ahead. That problem solved for him, Paithan backed away from the edge of the walkway to get a running jump. He sprinted to the edge, propelled off of the edge of the elevated walkway, flew over the swift-flowing current of the water below, and landed nimbly on the other side.
Paithan looked back and gagged. It smelled much worse on this side.
He ran down the tunnel toward the voices, breathing out of his mouth as much as possible. Luckily, intersections didn't occur too often in these sewers, though that wasn't saying much for the person who designed them.
Paithan eventually came to a side tunnel, one that branched off from the walkway instead of the flowing sewage below, and didn't have any water at all in it. Voices were coming from it, yelling, pleading, rage induced grunts and roars, clanging of steel against metal and rock. This was obviously where Paithan wanted to go.
He arrived to see Riley advancing upon Eric, who tried to banish his look of fear with limited success. Nevertheless he pulled himself into a fighting stance, concentrated into-
He tripped.
Scrambling to his feet, Paithan looked at what tripped him. Seong-un lay at his feet, attempting to go unnoticed. Paithan frowned and knelt beside him quickly.
"Hey, what’s going on?" Seong-un looked at Paithan, still more confused by the look on his face. Paithan couldn't blame him. Not everyday you get such a crowd in the sewers. Seong-un placed a finger over his lips and pointed at the ensuing battle.
Eric gathered himself together and began concentrating, hoping to prepare a PSI ability to stop Riley. Unfortunately, he'd lost too much time before he was ready. With a burst of speed brought on by the change, Riley reached Eric and delivered a solid body check.
Despite the size difference, Eric fell to the ground, hard. As Riley drew his sword again, a burst of purple energy crackled along the blade. Between the 'Black Wall' attack, and the energy flowing around Riley's sword, Eric guessed he was using a Dark elemental, and tried a much faster Darkness shield. It wouldn't make him invincible, but maybe it would let him absorb a hit without losing a limb.
Riley swung in a downward arc, attempting to end the confrontation quickly, but Eric dodged out of the way and drew his own sword. Having left another large gash in the concrete, Riley quickly swung his sword back up and attacked Eric again. This time, however, his blade met steel and Eric forced it away.
Even your father could defeat him, analyzed the new, dark voice in Riley's mind.
"You're going to fight me with a sword?" taunted Riley. "I bet even my father could beat you when he was my age ... and I can beat dad, so you don't have a chance."
Eric gritted his teeth. With the way Riley could move, he didn't have enough time to use a PSI powerful enough to do any damage.
As Paithan appeared and began speaking to Seong-un, the duel was going entirely Riley's way. Eric couldn't manage to hit his opponent at all, while he took several hits himself. Even though the shield prevented him from being cut, he still felt the pain as Riley's blade streaked across his flesh.
When Seong-un placed a finger over his lips to shush Paithan, Riley missed it because Eric managed to change the momentum of the battle. He knocked Riley's sword high, and scored a slash right across the boy's chest. Instead of the silence of flesh being cut, the air resounding with the clash of metal on metal. Through the new opening in the leather jacket Riley wore, and the shirt under it, one could now see Riley was wearing a chestplate. Eric's attempt to avoid killing Riley worked against him - the attack wasn't strong enough to go through armor.
Eric turned around again as quickly as he could, but he wasn't fast enough. Riley grasped Eric's weapon-shoulder tightly, and the older boy was overcome by an extreme pain - Riley was channeling the same energy that had crackled over his blade.
"This ends now. You will not stop me from finding him again," growled Riley. Eric dropped his sword because of the pain. "Where is he?"
"Wh ... who," squeaked Eric, partially paralyzed by the shock he was receiving.
"My father! Where is he!" yelled Riley.
"I don't know!"
"Then die!"
Riley released Eric's shoulder and then spun around. As he turned past Eric again, Riley brought his sword up in a vicious slash. Eric was lifted up slightly and thrown backwards by the attack, he landed with a thud. If it weren't for the shield, the attack would certainly have been fatal.
With both opponents defeated, and his real target lost, Riley sheathed his sword to look again. He lifted off the ground slightly and began moving forward, one arm in front of him in defense, the other over his sheath in case he needed his sword.
Knowing he seemed to be Riley's main target, Seong-un wisely chose to hide when Riley defeated Eric. It paid off immediately as Riley passed right by him, not noticing. The latter then pushed through Paithan who tried to get him to stop, knocking the man to the ground and continuing deeper into the city.
----
Almost as quickly as she had disappeared from Fourside, PikaChan arrived back in Onett, albeit having a rough landing. As soon as she touched ground, she slid across a path of ice that had adhered to the sidewalk.
"Yeeeeeaaaaaaa!" Using her PSI, she stopped herself from sliding before she ran into the tree that had suddenly "appeared" in front of her. She leaned against it for a minute to catch her breath.
*So...* PikaChan asked the voice. *Just where is this place? 's not like I've been all over Onett.*
*Let me take you there,* the voice said. PikaChan felt her legs begin to move, even though she wasn't moving them herself.
*Woah, creepy,* PikaChan commented. *I feel like I'm possessed or something.*
*I don't normally take control of people's bodies like this. But I have the feeling that explaining the way to you would be a little hard.*
Before long, the voice had led PikaChan to the southern part of Onett, where a small building lay, somewhat secluded from the rest of the town.
*So, this is it?* PikaChan asked. *Now where would I find this 'equipment' of Riley's dad's...*
*It's on the top floor. You'll have to climb that tree to get in,* the voice said. PikaChan looked to her right, seeing a tall, barren tree.
She shuddered. *I'm not good with trees, especially when it's snowing.*
*Well, can you think of another way to get up there?*
PikaChan thought for a moment, rubbing her chin. She disregarded the snow that fell on her shoulders. *If I had one of my flying Pokémon with me, then I could get up there. But that would be a bit of a distraction.* She sighed and looked down at the pearl-colored ground.
The voice was silent for a few moments, then it spoke up again. *Can you levitate?*
PikaChan looked up in surprise. *That's it! Levitation! But... I haven't done it in years. I don't know if I can-*
The voice cut her off. *You're always doubting yourself. Have some confidence in your powers, will you?*
However, she still had doubts, despite the encouragement the voice was giving her. *All right... I'll give it a shot...* She closed her eyes and began concentrating deeply. The voice silenced, as to not break her concentration.
After a few moments, PikaChan felt her feet lift from the ground. She felt herself swaying a little, but she still concentrated with everything that she had. Before long, she had floated up to a window that had been carelessly left unlocked, and she quickly grabbed it, opened it, and pulled herself inside before she lost her concentration. She fell to the floor with a thud.
*Crap! I hope nobody was downstairs and heard that...* she thought to herself. She stood up and dusted herself off, then looked around, her brown eyes coming to rest on a short sword and a small shield that had been hung on the wall, as if they were decorations. *That must be them. Right?*
*Yes. Hurry and get them, so we can get back to Riley.*
PikaChan nodded, then pulled a nearby chair over. She stood on it, using the wall to steady herself, then took the shield and sword off of their hangers.
Due to the headache that had suddenly appeared in her head from using the levitation technique, however, she lost her balance and fell backwards off of the chair. "Ow!" she said out loud, as she hit her rear end on the floor.
Both she and the voice said nothing, as the apparent sound of footsteps became heard. They sounded as if they were getting closer to them. *Crap! Crap crap crap...* She silently cursed herself until the voice spoke up again.
*We need to get out of here.*
*But my head hurts from using levitation, I can't just jump out the window 'cause I don't wanna impale myself on this sword in the event that the sheath comes off while I'm flying through the air, and I don't have enough room to teleport without using more energy!*
*What's more important to you right now? Your energy, or Riley?*
The question struck her dead-on. *... You're right. Why am I worrying about myself?* She quickly pulled herself together, and whispered a phrase to herself.
"Teleport Gamma!"
In the blink of an eye, PikaChan warped out of the room just as the doorknob to the room began to turn.
------------------------------------------------
PikaChan arrived back in Fourside, and surveyed the scene. Seong-un and Eric had fallen, but weren't in too bad condition, considering Riley was on a rampage. And Paithan had somehow managed to find his way to them, yet he was injured too.
She looked around, but Riley was nowhere to be seen. On an impulse, she ran over to Eric and grabbed him by his collar, lifting him up. "What happened? Where's Riley?" she demanded.
Eric coughed a few times. "He left after he beat the snot out of us... Paithan showed back up, but he wasn't any help, Riley took him down too. Now I don't know where he is," he answered nervously, in fear of making PikaChan more angry than she already was.
"Crud..." PikaChan whispered to herself, letting go of Eric's collar. "I went all that way for nothing?"
*It's not a total loss,* the voice said, *at least you got the equipment. Now, the problem is finding Riley so we can get him back...*
After PikaChan let go of his collar, Eric fell back down. "Hey, watch it, I'm really in pain here. And to make it worse, I don't think I have enough PSI energy left to even get up." He held his side. "Don't worry, I didn't let him slice me, but he's got a wall that he can tackle into. And it hurts. I think it's homing too." He turned to Paithan, "Hey, can one of you guys spare an aspirin?"
Paithan reached into his pockets, pulling out not only a bottle of water and some aspirin, but a PSI Caramel as well. "Here, take what you need." Eric took all of them, got up, and checked his own coat. Luckily, again, nothing was missing.
"PikaChan, I think he went into the center of the city, but I'm not too sure."
----
"This is insane!" Ness cried as he swung his bat toward Pestilence. The mighty horseman merely raised an arm, deflecting the bat and sending his horse rearing forward, causing the Young Protector to stumble back. He stopped alongside Paula, who held her Frying Pan before her face, as if shielding it.
Famine growled as he oriented himself once again, realizing his prey had escaped. He let out a high pitched groan of irritation and jerked the reigns of his midnight steed, turning it toward the other combatants. It was then that he spied Skulryk, face down in the cake. He grinned cruelly, and with a vicious shout, set his ride into a gallop. As he did so, a strange little turtle-like man ran in front of him, waving his arms frantically. He wore a chef's hat on his head.
"No!" The peculiar man shouted. "Zees is....masterpiece!" He cried before diving out of the way of Famine's horse. There was some acute irony in the fact that Famine was making a beeline for a cake, but nevertheless as he came within range, he reared his horse back, attempting to crush Skulryk beneath the hooves. However, before he could do so, Dan yanked the drunken reporter out of harm's way. Skulryk's head lolled to the side and he grinned at Dan.
"'Eyyyyy." He slurred. "You know, *hic* I love you maaaan." Dan grumbled and continued dragging his ailing comrade away, yet as he did so Famine had recovered control of his horse and was making another assault toward the two. He let out a vicious warcry -- before being struck in the side of the head by a wayward stein. His horse stumbled, and Famine grabbed his head in pain. He turned to the left to see Talus grinning roguishly at him, Chase by his side, readying another magic attack. Talus glanced briefly at his ally, and the two nodded to each other.
Another boulder materialized out of thin air and hurtled toward the horseman. As he attempted to steady his horse to dodge, he was caught off-guard as Talus hurtled through the air, his leg extended. The young man landed a flying kick straight to Famine's face, sending the demon tumbling off his steed. The unmanned horse reared up in confusion. With a mutter, Famine got to his feet, fumbling about his cloak before producing his set of scales. As he leveled them to prepare a spell, Talus lanced out with a roundhouse kick, sending the scales across the room.
Chase and Talus stood off against the horseman who had no horse, and grinned. Talus glanced at his comrade. "See Chase? They're not so tough once you get them on the ground." He smirked.
Yet as he said this, Famine lunged at him, extending a sickly white hand. He shoved it into Talus's face, and as the young man's eyes focussed on the appendage, a flash of light erupted from the palm. Talus immediately felt a wave of nausea encompass him, and he collapsed to the ground. Chase's eyes widened.
"That's not good, is it?" He muttered as he kneeled down beside Talus. Famine waved his arm, and the scales rocketed across the room back into his palm, he leveled them at the two.
Luna swung her sword in an arc, and the blade clanged heavily against the mighty weapon of War. The heavyset horseman laughed wickedly and laid a quick punch to Luna's midsection. The girl stumbled back, winded, and collapsed to the ground. Teddy took one look at this, and in a futile attempt to distract the bloody warrior, swung his own sword. On contact with Hell's armor, the Altian-forged warblade snapped like a brittle twig.
"Aye, ye be no match for the burning legions of Hell!" War bellowed. Blood seemed to shake from him as his frame shook heartily. He lowered his sword, and peculiarly the blade seemed to get longer. At last, the sword pressed against Luna's neck, pinning the girl who was trying to get up. Teddy froze.
Chartreuse, Narcy, Saffron, and Indigo all struggled bravely with Death. Chartreuse let loose a flurry of punches while Saffron lunged at the ghastly figure with his sword. Both were deflected by a seemingly unknown source. Narcy fired repeatedly with her revolver, the shots seeming to do no damage whatsoever. Queen Cirra ran to the side of the fallen warriors, examining them. Suddenly, Death turned sharply, and trotted away. Chartreuse looked after him in perplexity.
Ness and Paula launched an impressive display of PSI energy in Pestilence's direction, sending the horseman stumbling back ever so slightly. Ness grinned and, charging his bat with the energy within him, hurtled it like a projectile straight for Pestilence's head. To his surprise, the Horseman caught it with one hand, and in an instant, the imbued wooden weapon was reduced to splinters by a mere tightening of a grip. In the same motion, Pestilence readied an arrow and launched it at the stunned Protector. Ness's eyes immediately snapped to attention as the arrow left its source, and he made an attempt to dodge. Yet, he was not fast enough, and the shaft went clean through his shoulderblade. He let out a gasp of pain.
"Ness!" Paula screamed, running to his side. She knelt down, cradling him in her arms, holding his head up. Ness shuddered as the shock of the attack set in. "Ness, be alright..." She whispered. She looked up to see another horseman approaching, perhaps ironically -- Death. The leader of the horsemen extended a skeletal hand, and a strange red energy seemed to spiral about it. Paula looked down at Ness once again.
A silence fell over the battlefield.
Ness coughed, wincing, and looked into Paula's eyes. He grit his teeth. "This looks like the end..." He whispered. "But Paula, remember I'll always love --"
His words were cut short as a furious explosion shook the banquet hall. Debris and dust flew into the air, choking those combatants caught in its wake. All heads turned to one of the oak double doors, which had been blown clear off their hinges. Two booted feet stepped through the wreckage, accompanied by a body wrapped in a stylized red trenchcoat. Buttons ran the length of the coat, and ended at the throat in a sort of turtleneck. Perched upon the figure's pale face were a pair of yellow tinted spectacles, which seemed to accentuate the individual's gruesome yellow smile. He glared at the assembly through deep crimson eyes, which seemed to dance with an eerie fire. In each gloved hand he held a heavily modified blaster. Inscribed into the side of the weapon in his left hand was the word Love; in the opposite, the word Peace emblazoned the surface.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen!" Raltise smirked menacingly at each horseman in turn. "I've journeyed here to relieve you of your lives!" He cried. In the blink of an eye, he crossed his arms, leveling the blasters to the side, and fired. Bolts of blue energy erupted from the barrels of Love and Peace, searing the smoky air. The horsemen, not expecting this eventuality, were slow to react. The bullets struck War and Pestilence respectively, and the horsemen were immediately encompassed in a bluish sheen as the icy bolts from the Altian weaponry did their work. Raltise leveled the blasters forward once again, and began firing a volley of shots at Famine. By this time, the remaining two horsemen had recovered from the shock of the Nightmare Demon's presence, and began evasive maneuvers. Raltise arched his head toward the group of Altians in one part of the battlefield.
"The demons of Hell are vulnerable to ice!" He shouted as his blasters followed Famine's movements, continuing to pour out a steady hail of shots. The group immediately sprung to action. Chartreuse flicked his wrist, freezing Death in his place while Saffron launched a flurry of ice shards at the creature. His aim was true, and as the shards contacted with the unearthly horseman's cloak, they pierced the fabric. The leader of the horsemen toppled off his steed, collapsing into a heap of bones on the floor. Famine's sickly eyes widened at this.
"Wow, we killed Death. I think." Chartreuse frowned before turning to Famine. Saffron, too, turned and launched another volley of shards in his direction. These, accompanied by Raltise's ice bolts, were too much for the horseman, and he ducked behind a table for cover. In that instant, the icy barriers around War and Pestilence shattered, and with a roar the two horsemen resumed their assault. Immediately, they noticed the fallen body of Death, and a collective gasp erupted from the two.
"Aye, this be terrible news!" War cried. "We must regroup." He nodded to Pestilence, and with a shout, the two turned their horses and galloped toward the windowed front of the banquet hall. With a twirl of his finger and a flit of motion, Famine was also once again upon his steed, and followed them out. With a crash, the three remaining horsemen dove through the stained glass windows and disappeared over the hill.
A crowd gathered around the heap that was once Death. Since his fall, his horse had mysteriously vanished, as if it were nothing but air. Chase, helping Talus to walk, brought him forward, where Cirra used her healing magic to tend to him. She looked up at Raltise in the meantime, who was blowing smoke from the barrel of one of his guns.
"So...we killed Death?" The ghastly one shook his head.
"No, no...only his physical form. His spirit persists, but it will be quite some time before he can be reincarnated. Regardless, he is not a threat for now...yes...but the other three are. The remaining Horsemen are scattered for the moment, but it will not take long for them to rally themselves once again. I give it...maybe ten minutes. We don't have much time. The ice may halt them, but it won't stop them entirely. We were lucky today. Yes...nevertheless, I suggest we flee while we have time." Raltise reached into his trenchcoat, pulling out a small bag with the word Zanzibar inked on it. He pulled something out of the bag and held it before Luna. She drew back in surprise. Raltise grinned.
"Donut?"