Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Capricious Infection ❯ Act 18: HauntingGallows ( Chapter 18 )

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Capricious Infection

Act 18: HauntingGallows

By: Revamp

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Rezzi leveled her friend with an irritated expression, gazing the girl down through her darkened shades. It was a look that pierced Lannad's soul, a look that she had never seen her give. The blind girl's voice ran ice cold when she spoke. “You think you know what's going on, but the fact is that you don't. Stop wrongly accusing people when you know nothing about them. You drag capriciouscarnage into this like he's orchestrating it all. If you want to blame someone, then blame Oz and stop being so paranoid and suspicious because your religion crumbled apart after you obtained information about your Messiah.” Those words struck the priestess right in the heart. “The reason I'm quiet is because I am observing the situation, trying to logically deduce my options. I'm trying to find solutions to the problems, instead of running around with my head cut off and making rash decisions like you have. You went to the shrine, knowing Chaos could be there. You knew about all of this from the beginning and you never bothered to tell anyone. You just told Mae and Ringo. You had the opportunity to inform them all and you're being a hypocrite.”

Lannad was no different than she was. In fact, when it came to withholding information, they were the queens at it. Everyone had their secrets, and it was no excuse to automatically put her beneath the microscope and analyze her over every little suspicion when she could have easily done the same with her revelations of Chaos and Londa.

Light blue eyes hit the floor. Her friend was right. She was a hypocrite, but in many ways she refused to believe that she was as much of one as the prophet. Rezzi didn't bother telling anyone; even now she was still holding it in. Lannad knew it, but she couldn't prove it, nor could she make her talk.

“You don't understand anything,” her frown deepened, and her words grew colder. “I'm blind and I can see more than you can.”

“I don't understand anymore,” Lannad's voice was shaky and defeated. She never knew Rezzi could be so cut throat when it came to giving a good tongue lashing. However, it made sense with her intellectual nature. The priestess was confused, tired and everything was changing too fast. Dante, David and Rezzi….Tarvos and Oz came into the picture and everything was dumped on her all at once. Not to mention, people died every moment, and the whole mess put a great burden on her. Mae and Ayumi were dead, along with all of their families. It was almost too much to take or even think about longer than a minute.

How did Rezzi take it all so easily?

“I haven't changed. This is how I've been all along. If you didn't know me by now, then you never will. We've been friends for six years. That's long enough to know me.” It was just another paranoia concocted by her mind. Lannad needed to calm down. In reality, nothing had truly changed about them as people. They merely let more of themselves show due to the situation they were put in. The group of people was all just trying to survive and dance along the strings Oz hung from their limbs in order to save their paradox.

“You know everything, just like Oz and Tarvos,” Lannad knew that she did. Rezzi lived with Tarvos before the world ended and everyone was murdered. Surely she had to know something, because she didn't try to stop it.

“No, I don't. I did find out that Tarvos was a Dius, but only because his spell didn't work on me because I can't really see him.” That was actually an accident, but capriciouscarnage had warned her of the Messiah descending to Earth. However, she was going to disclose that piece of information.

“Did he tell you everything?” He had to have told her something, anything. Rezzi knew something. Lannad refused to believe otherwise, no matter how many times she was told.

“After a while, yes.”

Lannad was silent. Rezzi had finally told her all she needed to know.

“All I knew about was Tarvos. I didn't know about Dante or Oz. I was filled in on that later,” she cleared up the definition of “everything”. The blind girl didn't want to lead her friend into believing too much, she had already jumped to far too many conclusions on her own.

Dante came walking in and interrupted their conversation. Immediately, both girls' eyes were diverted to his new form. The newly transformed Dius looked like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming car.

“Dante?” Rezzi was the first to speak, her voice was uncertain. Somehow, the boy's blur was different, even in the darkness.

“Fuck,” he cursed under his breath. There was nothing much else he could say, other than the fact that he was screwed.

“You're Diablo now?” Lannad questioned upon seeing his new body.

Orange eyes looked to the side as he furrowed his eye brows and spoke lowly. “Don't jump to conclusions.”

“Your body rejoined you,” the blind girl stated.

“We'll talk about it later. I have to go sow up the gaping hole in Tarvos' chest.” This wasn't exactly conversation time. Even if the crazy fuck insisted he was fine, Dante knew better. He'd bleed himself dry in amusement if he didn't go in there and help him.

Rezzi's face morphed into one of concern. “He's hurt? How did that happen?”

“The dunderfuck probably stabbed himself with his own scythe,” Dante shot sarcastically. Actually, he didn't really know the whole story himself, other than he got his Dius body and human body to morph or something like that.

“We shouldn't keep you then. I'm sure he needs you,” Lannad wasn't going to ask questions. Someone was hurt, alien or not and they needed immediate care. Conversations could come later.

“He's probably sitting there, rocking back and forth, laughing unstably to himself…” He rolled his eyes before continuing. “Like always.” Dante dismissed himself and retreated into the bathroom.

Rezzi watched his blur disappear down the hall.

Lannad looked back to her. Her conversation with Dante was over, but it was far from that with Rezzi. “Tell me…Why didn't you fight if you knew what your powers were?”

“Because, if I use the Dimension Shatterer, then I get rid of the depths of this paradox. That means I put an end to other dimensions and the beings that exist in them. Oz said there are several times that run accordingly with ours. They are all paradox universes. If I shatter a dimension then I kill everyone in it. Those who live escape through the vortexes that Dante created.” It wasn't as if she could just mindlessly swing her weapon around or blast magic from it like the others did. No, her weapon had a specific purpose and powers that went along with it.

It was probably as dangerous as the Time Sword, or Tarvos' War Scythe.

Lannad blinked in surprise. “Dimensions? Wait, there are alternate dimensions that only harbor the souls of the dead. That's why spirits can coincide with the living, but on different planes. If you split their dimensions…”

“…then I wipe out their existence and chance for rebirth.”

“That's just the ultimate power of the Dimension Shatterer. There's got to be lesser powers.” If all else failed, Rezzi could just knock people out with it. That was better than sitting on her hands in battles without helping them at all.

“Maybe, but I'm afraid to use them.”

David slowly rose up; his normally combed and parted black hair was a mess of spikes. Slowly, he reached to his right, picking up his shades and covering his eyes. “Man, I slept like shit.”

Groggy, the teen got up and walked down the hall half awake and in search of the bathroom. He turned the corner, wiping his eye with his left hand and stopped at in the doorway when he noticed that the light was on. In front of him were Dante and Tarvos. Dante had his hands around Tarvos bare chest with one thread of bandages around him, but from David's perspective they looked like they were in a passionate hug. Both Dius looked at him, and the human continued to stare. A pause passed between them in a moment of awkwardness. “Nope, don't want to know.” David said in a calm, slightly sarcastic tone.

Dante huffed and rolled his eyes, pulling back from the reaper. “Oh, for fuck's sake, it's not that. I'm just trying to keep him from spilling his disgusting blue blood all over.”

“He really is just helping me,” Tarvos actually agreed with him instead of making some sort of joke. It was the least that he could do in return.

David scratched his head. “These days just keep getting weirder and weirder.” Not only were Dante and Tarvos getting along, Dante had turned from human to alien during his sleep. This was real Twilight Zone shit here.

“Hey David, have you see Ringo? The dude's just gone,” Tony said from down the hall and the sleep male turned to his friend.

“He left?”

Tony walked up to the door and happened to notice the two Dius in the bathroom. His face lit up with shock at the sight he witnessed. “Holy shit! You're…”

Orange eyes narrowed and Dante was sure he couldn't look any more pissed off with the situation. Now they were all going to make some sort of big deal about it. “Oh fucking god. Dislodge the fecal matter from your ears.”

“I mean, I knew it would happen but…”

Tarvos cut him off with a sly smile. “When I say something, I move mountains.”

Tony saw the crudely sewn hole in the Dius' chest and arched an eyebrow. What the hell was going on here? “What happened to you?”

Dante continued to bandage his exes' wound and when it was completed, he secured them. While he was no doctor, it would have to do. “I'll explain it later. For now, let's find that pretty fuck so you guys can stop bitching,” he had been through enough; he didn't need anything else happening to him. The day hadn't even started yet and he'd done more than put up with an enormous amount of bullshit.

David walked back into the living room to see that Oz was awake and sitting up on the couch. “Hey, have you seen Ringo?”

The alien adjusted his bi-colored glasses. “No.”

“He was here before we slept, right?”

“I saw him here,” Oz informed and put one arm on the back of the piece of red furniture; glancing back to the Time Guardian to be's worried expression.

“Do you want to help me find him? You could like, levitate around and cover ground,” David had what he thought was a great idea. Oz could cover more ground than they could because he was psychic. No doubt he knew where Ringo went.

The inquisitive alien quirked an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “I could levitate around and fly everywhere, looking for him but that would be pointless.”

“Why? Do you know where he is?” The human was a little confused at why Oz would find futility in searching for his friend, unless he knew something.

Then, the ominous words came. The words injected pure fear into his heart.

“He's dead.”

David's face lit up with shock. It was as if someone shot him straight in the heart and he was powerless to struggle against the bullet of fate. “What? How did he die? Did the aliens who came out of the warp holes get him?”

Well, it was an alien who came out of a warp hole, so his answer wouldn't be a complete falsehood. “That's pretty much what happened. They sucked him into a warp hole and killed him in an area of dead space.”

Then the dark-haired male's expression turned grave. He couldn't fathom why Ringo would go off alone. In fact, his friend had been absent and strangely quiet since Mae's slaughter, but David had only assumed he was in mourning. “Why did he go alone?”

“He felt he had a statement to make. That decision cost him his life,” the alien's words held darkness to them, mechanical and steely. Yet another one of their group had come face to face with the hands of death.

“Not again,” Lannad's head lowered in sorrow. How many more of them would die at the hands of foreign beings?

“Man…” Tony didn't know what to think. There had been so much death and carnage that it was becoming harder and harder to truly hold too much of an attachment to anyone, with the knowledge that they may die at any second.

“Oh, come on!” Tarvos interjected, shirtless with a hand on top of the giant N on the end of his War Scythe. “How long can you cry about people dying? At first, the sounds of your wailing was music to my pointy, little ears, but now it's lost its luster, like a worn out recording of an overplayed song.” Even someone like him grew bored of things that turned into mundane actions. It was a pitiful day when the grim reaper grew bored of the sounds of sorrow and pain.

“He's right. Crying won't fix anything. It won't make you bring him back.” At this point, Dante merely accepted death for what it was. So many people had died, and there was not enough time or tears to recover any of them.

Rezzi glanced in Time's general direction. “What now? We found the Grand High Messiah.”

“And Chaos,” David jerked a finger at the newly transformed Dante.

Bi-colored eyes scanned over them through dual colored spectacles with that unchanging look of contemplation. “It's simple. Now, you will go out and lay waste to this world.”

“Fuck yes! I love this part!” The reaper's voice burst out in a sudden fit of elation. He shook with mirth, clutching his scythe horizontally, close to his chest. Smile wide, Tarvos was chomping at the bit to go and commit acts of mass genocide.

Rezzi frowned and her gaze hit the ground, “I guess there are no exceptions.”

“I'll keep the main sector of the town alive,” Oz instructed. There was a specific method to his madness that only he and Tarvos knew. For now, they would need the center of town to carry out a very specific goal. It would serve as a foundation for a stepping stone on a massive trail across frigid waters.

“My parents live there,” David was relieved to know that if they stayed in the main center of town, they would be spared from the unforgiving chains of death.

“Mine too,” Tony noted. For him, this was great news. Even if others in his family were destroyed, he still had that thread of hope to cling to, something to fight for at least for the moment.

Lannad turned her gaze away. “Mine have been killed already.”

“That's not why I'm keeping that sector alive. I'm doing it because we still need functioning power. All of the plants and energy facilities are there. I don't want to throw this paradox into its dark ages yet,” the Dius noted and looked to the humans, then to the reaper. “Tarvos and Dante will destroy everything. All of you have a different purpose.”

Tony sighed in relief, “good, because I don't want to kill any humans.”

“You all will fight the aliens coming out of the time rips.”

“What?!” The axe wielder's body went rigid with fear and shock. How could he ask them to do such a task at their mediocre level? This was like suicide!

“Since Diablo and Dante have joined, some of the time rips have closed, but it will be a while before he regains himself enough to close all of them. Make sure that you kill off whatever comes at you. Only kill the warriors, and those who try to kill you out of self defense. Leave the young; they are of no importance or threat. I'm not entirely cruel.” Although his tone of voice was contradictory to his last statement. However, it was important that Oz keep the young alive. They would play an integral part of his plan on reconstruction.

“Man, I'm dreading this,” David wasn't sure that he was ready to carry out such a task. When it came to the beings of other planets, all advantages and disadvantages were complete unknowns. Every race was different, some were incredibly advanced, much like the Dius race and some probably had nothing more than strength and weaponry on their side, yet all were in constant war. A war that they were about to be hurtled into the middle of.

Oz placed two fingers on the yellow lens of his glasses. “This is part of your job, unless you want to be riled by another race.”

The dark-haired, cool guy felt a rush spring through his body. “No, that's cool. Having you around is enough. I think I like just dealing with one alien race.” Even if he wasn't sure if the Dius were right in the mass depths of the cataclysm that plagued them, he wasn't searching out any new dictators who might not have wanted the peaceful conclusion that Dius sought.

`I still don't feel right about this.' Lannad was uneasy, not just because they had to play undertaker to the populous of the world, but because she felt as if their destiny would only head towards dark ruin, rather than a lighted city of gold.

“Are we going out in teams again?” Tony wondered about the approach on their strategy.

Oz wrapped an arm around David's slender shoulders, pulling the boy towards him. “We'll go out in teams. I think that would be best. Diablo and Tarvos, you'll be your own team. You know your motives.”

“Ah yes, we'll pain the world in the twisted colors of a nice Picasso!” Tarvos was more than elated upon receiving his new orders. This was what being the entity of death was all about!

Dante, however, was more than irritated with his new name. “My name is fucking Dante,” he grumbled, correcting everyone who tried to refer to him by that old title. Diablo was dead as of this day. Not to mention he didn't feel right being called anything less than the name he had been given since his birth.

Oz quirked an eyebrow, his arm still around his admirer. “Well, fucking Dante-“

He was cut off.

“Don't start with me, asshole.”

The alien turned away from him, ignoring the rising anger in the chaos incarnate. “Tony and Lannad, you'll be a team. David and I will also be a team.”

The dark-haired boy in his grasp felt a happiness flood him for a moment before he made an observation. “What about Rezzi?”

“She can go with fucking Dante and Tarvos.”

“Stop it, you prick!” He was so sick of being made fun of, especially by some asshole alien hacker who thought he was hot shit just because he embodied time.

Rezzi nodded and looked towards the two, “I'll do that. I don't mind.”

Oz instructed them to head out and with a `right' said in unison, they set out to battle the aliens that threatened to take over the planet. Each not knowing what would be waiting around the corner, but they would travel forth with conviction and the passionate flame of determination in their souls.

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All around, red blood was splattered, tainting the seemingly pristine white of the Null Zone. A figure dressed in a dark teal suit peered down at Ringo's corpse with pastille teal eyes, bending down, he took the sword that was used to pierce Tarvos' chest. His dark blue blood was dried on the blade.

Such a weapon should not go to waste, especially one with this type of power. He would see to it that it was given a proper owner who was deserving of its special type of power.

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The earth was a battle ground, littered with calamity and bloodshed. The tumultuous battlegrounds turned friend against friend, and ally against ally all for the sake of making it a promised land for dying and dead races. The time warps created by Diablo made it possible for long extinct species to cross into their current paradox and restore their existence by creating cities from the demolished ruin.

Among these races stood five black, anthromorph dogs that stood around a mass of dead bodies. Their fur so pitch black that they looked like ominous shadows against the billows of smoke, sounds of explosions, and the haunting screams of the dying.

An alien woman let out a blood curdling scream as throwing knives were plunged into her skin, cutting deep within her flesh like the fangs of a vicious monster. Her form crashed to the ground and blood was spilled onto the land.

A black hand with white claws reached down, yanking off her pearl necklace as one of the anthromorphs stood above her, snickering as he bore his sharp teeth in a crooked, impish smile. He was short in stature, only coming to a height of four foot eight. His only signature piece of clothing was a green bandana that he wore around his neck, a black t-shirt and pants. He also had a diagonal scar over his left eye that stretched from his cheek to the top of his forehead.

“Ah yes, this should do. There's nothing like a good paradox plunder to leave you feeling satisfied. Boxcars will love this!” His young voice sounded in delight, before his happiness was cut short by the step of a boot.

He quickly looked behind him to find a site that filled him with dread. Before him stood a scantily clad Dius female with the body of an Amazon, dressed in something that resembled a dominatrix outfit that consisted of two strips of leather that ran vertically down either side of her body, covering her breasts and the sides of her stomach. Under her chest, strips of black crisscrossed as the strips joined into one long, flowing piece of fabric, adorned with a lopsided belt. This fabric only covered the front, leaving her black underwear exposed in the back. On her left thigh, she wore a belt strap with an intricate knife lodged in it. On her right, two strips of leather. Knee-length boots adorned her feet with an m cut on top, lined with pink and golden bracelets clanked around her ankles. She held out an intricate axe that resembled that or Nordic Gods. The female alien swung the weapon effortlessly over her shoulder with her gloved hands that only went over one finger. Golden bracelets on her wrists jingled as her gloves extended to her bicep and two strips of leather, spaced symmetrically apart were worn.

She was very beautiful with stunning eyes the color of cotton candy and lips and eye shadow to match. Long, wavy hair flowed from her back, ending below her butt and around her shoulders were two pink braids on either side, ending below her breasts and tied in large, red ribbons. Two yellow horns curved out of the sides of her head, resembling Aries the ram.

“Stop right there!” She commanded her voice strong and mature.

“Eh? What do you want, dame?” The black one questioned defensively though his mouth did not move, recoiling back as he held his treasure to his chest.

“I know what you've been doing, and I'm here to stop you,” the Dius' look hardened on her opposition. Above all, he was a criminal who needed to be brought to justice and she wasn't about to let him get away.

The dog arched an eyebrow. “Oh? Let's see if you can.” He challenged as he lunged forward with one of this throwing knives in an attempt to stab her.

She swung her weapon fiercely; driving it into the ground as he barely missed the attack. Her strike sounded with a crash, splitting the ground beneath her.

He landed back on the ground and leveled his opponent with a smirk twisted onto his pointed muzzle. “Well, you're not playing around, are you?” The dog chuckled. “You're my kind of woman.”

Pulling her axe out of the ground, the Dius pushed off of the ground with her powerful legs and shot out at her enemy. “I don't have time for this!” Launching herself into the air, her body spun and her axe went with it. A bust of energy shot off of her body and blasted the dog man back with such force that he was knocked off of his feet and sent into the ground with a smack onto his stomach.

Her heeled boot dug into his back as she stared him down with a stern expression. “Have you had enough, Clubs Cutlass?”

“You should worry about yourself, dear,” Clubs warned as a whip shot from behind him.

She dodged the weapon as it dig into the ground and somersaulted into the air, landing a few feet away and looked around to see that the other members of his group had surrounded her on all four sides.

“If you knew what was good for you, I'd advise you going back to whatever world you came from,” the female anthromorph spoke from her painted red lips. She was very feminine, but her pistols made her imposing. She was clad in a blue dress that had double rows of buttons in the front, was bound by a black belt and accessorized with blue eye shadow, white pears, and platform blue heels. Her nails were as red as her lipstick and she wore a trademark heart eye patch of a deep crimson.

“I cannot do that. I have nowhere to return to,” the pink-haired alien pointed her weapon at her. “I can stop you all. You're thieves and you need to be banished.”

“Why do you have such a problem with us that you would pursue us to this paradox?” A British accent sounded from the third member of their band. He had a corn cob pipe and was dressed in long coat tails, like a Victorian ball outfit without the under shirts. On his cufflinks were black diamond-shaped buttons. He also wore a monocle on his left eye and looked very regal. The dog pointed his sword at her, poised to attack.

“This place is a shit hole anyway. Most everyone here is dead. What are you possibly trying to change?” Another spoke. He had the same scar as Clubs and an x-shaped one on his cheek. He wore a dark blue coat with a white collar and cuff links. On the cuff links were spade-shaped buttons, as well as a spade shaped charm in the center of the red bow that was tied under the white collar of his under shirt. A black belt was worn on his hips, over the coat, which was cut straight across the bottom. Puffy pants of a similar navy color jutted out, covering his long legs with boots that resembled pirate boots, complete with boot covers. He held no weapon and didn't seem to present any kind of menacing aura.

Out of the entire group, it seemed that he was most level-headed.

“You're definitely not the intergalactic police. They're not fond of dressing like a dominatrix,” the final member poked fun of her. He was a burly dog who towered above the other members and was wide and bulky. He wore a red bandanna, had two gold earrings in both of his ears and wore something that looked Chinese. It was a piece of green clothing, lined in gold that only covered the front and back of him, leaving everything else exposed. It was tied with a white, cloth belt. He wore white, poofy pants with sandals, whose golden accents emulated the gold bands around his biceps and wrists. A diagonal scar was on his face as well, over the same eye and he held what looked like a giant barbell in his hands with spikes all over the ends.

“Because of you all, the time shift has been altered. I can't let you alter time anymore. You don't understand the devastating effects that it has on the different paradoxes,” the Dius tried to talk some sense into the criminal's minds, but they were having none of it.

“I don't think you understand quite what we're doing,” the burly one held his barbell up. “We're only here to obtain the Blood Ruby. Once we find it then we'll leave.”

“We, the members of the Cut Throat Crew, known throughout paradox space will transcend the confines of our purgatory and free those trapped within its confines,” the female dog made a heartfelt speech.

“Our race may be inferior to yours, but it doesn't mean that we'll cower at your putrid feet!” Clubs remarked, weary from being the ones who subjected to other races over the years.

“We need that stone. You can pursue us to the end of space if you want, but we won't give up that goal,” the burly one was also heartfelt about their conquests; it was as if their very existence relied on the results of this mission.

The Dius tensed. “What will you do if you obtain it?”

“It's essential to our existence that we obtain that gem. Terribly sorry to burst your bubble but you won't be catching us today. Cheerio!” The English speaking dog waved as he pulled out a long sword and cut a rip in time.

The laceration glowed in a psychedelic swirl of purples and reds as the group jumped inside, headed for another paradox.

“Oh no you don't!” The female Dius shouted and charged towards the time rip, hurling herself into it before it closed.

They were all propelled through time, the colors whirling past their forms in a blur as they moved at light speed. She tried to gain momentum in order to reach them before they were spit out in another paradox and caused the inhabitants grief.

The English dog glanced behind him. “Well, bloody hell, `ere she comes.”

“This will be entertaining to say the least,” his companion with the spades buttons replied.

“Say, do any of you gents know what paradox we've been whisked away to?” The user of the sword asked and glanced around at his fellows for a hopeful answer to his inquiry.

“Good question,” the female of the group said lowly, unamused with how idiotic her companion was.

“YOU used the Dimensional Sword, Diamonds. You tell us,” the burly one growled, shooting his friend a snarly expression.

Diamonds felt a bead of sweat run down the back of his head and became nervous. “Oh yes! Quite! Well…I don't really know. Let's see where we end up, shall we?”

“Why do I feel like this wasn't the best plan?” The female dog instantly regretted her life choices. Her so called affiliates had to be the stupidest of her race, which is sad for a race whose psychic powers preceded them enough to become oracles.

The strong man glared down Diamonds with a menacing look, promising pain to him. “If we end up in a horrible paradox, I'll take this barbell and ram its spikes through your face, Diamonds.”

This only made him more nervous than before. “Oh dear, then I'm hoping for the best.”

“Ha! Huu!” The offending alien swung her mighty axe at them, releasing red whips of glowing energy towards the escapees.

“Look out!” Clubs cried as they all managed to barely evade the whips of energy as they flew past. Clubs could feel the heat from one of them as it barely grazed him, enough to singe his black fur.

“She's trying to kill us before we reach the end of the warp,” the female noted, glancing ahead of her for any sign of reprieve.

“Foolish alien. She could create another Null Zone that way,” the one wearing spades noted. If that happened, then they would all fall victim to the creation of dead space and sleep in suspended animation until they died.

“I get it. If she destroys sectors of the warp zone, she'll trap us in dead space. This bitch is serious,” the burly one noted. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that this intrepid Dius would follow them to the seventh ring of hell and back if she needed to.

Diamonds was beginning to worry. “Bloody hell! Whatever shall we do?”

“There's the opening,” the female dog pointed to a bright light at the end of the warp tunnel. If they were able to reach it, that would be their ticket to freedom. All they had to do was last a few more minutes and evade the axe wielder's attacks.

XxXxXxXx

Dante, Lannad, Tarvos and Rezzi were walking along the demolished buildings of the cityscape, now painted in dismal shades of monochrome gray. As Oz stated prior, some of the warp holes had vanished. Before they would take another step, a large wrap appeared in the sky right above them. They all looked up simultaneously.

“What the fuck?” Dante questioned, confused as to why another warp hole would form even when he was calm.

“What is it?” Rezzi only noticed a shift in the blurs. She wouldn't see it as well as they could.

“That's the biggest warp hole I've seen in a while,” Tarvos had both created and seen his fair share of warp holes, and this was large enough to consume the entire sky. It lit all of their forms up in a brilliant purple hue.

Lannad shrunk back in awe at the mere size of such an apparition. “Do you think something is coming through it?”

The reaper grabbed his scythe. His normally calm expression morphed into something serious. “Be prepared.”

“Oh shit!” Dante shouted as two whips of bright red energy shot down from the sky, raining on them. He had no time to check on the others as a great boom was heard and the whole area was littered with rocks and billows of brown smoke. Everyone was knocked backwards. The newly transformed Dius could hear their screams of terror and shock, and then silence.

Tarvos lowered his forearms from his face. He lay there, knocked on his back with his wings spread out over the rubble and his right leg bent into the air. “Damn, I feel like I was decked by the mother fucking air.”

The Cut Throat Crew glanced around, peering through the dust and debris of the new world that they arrived in. From what they could assess, it had mostly been destroyed.

“I say, where are we?” Diamonds questioned as he glanced to his team mates for some kind of answer.

His muscular friend was pissed at his surroundings. He shot the English dog a snarl and took a step towards him, imposing and formidable. “This world looks like shit. You sent us to another doomed paradox, you bumbling dumb shit.”

Diamonds held his hands out, trying to look positive and rotating his palms. He attempted to quell his friend's growing anger. “Don't be so stab happy yet! Maybe this world contains the Blood Ruby, yes?”

Tarvos slowly stood, using his scythe as a crutch. His head was tilted down, and he choked back a laugh. “Heh,” he glanced up through the smoke. “Hey, you mother fuckers aren't allowed to die while I'm around. Get up and stop shitting your pants.”

Upon hearing the voice, the female dog's pointed ears pricked and she cast a glance to her fellows. “Let's go.”

The whole group ran off through the smoke, their footsteps echoed through the empty air as their forms disappeared in the fog.

Dante caught sight of them before they disappeared. “Who the fuck were those mutts?”

Lannad slowly pulled herself up from the ground and dusted off her dress. “They looked like gangsters or mob men. Do aliens have mobs?”

Dante's gaze went back up to the time rip as he saw something else faze through it. “Look! The time rip is shitting something else out!”

Seconds after he uttered that sentence, he felt a huge weight hit him, knocking him to the ground. His stomach hit the rocks, sending pain up his torso. Grunting, he turned his head to see black, pointed heels on either side of his face.

The pink-haired Dius who was chasing the Cut Throat Crew had landed on him, she was sitting in his lower back, holding her axe in her hand and looking dumbfounded.

“Get the mrgfph off!” The disgruntled boy's voice was muffled.

“Sorry about that,” the female Dius replied, swinging her shoe over Dante as she rose up and knelt to his side, resting her free hand on his shoulder. “Are you alright? I didn't hurt you, did I?” That had been a long fall and she outweighed him in muscle mass.

Dante sat up, rubbing a hand through his mass of black spikes. “No, you only smashed my fucking face into the ground. Who the hell are you?”

“So rude to talk to your fellow Twisted Land player like that,” Tarvos' voice was as amused as always. No doubt he knew this girl.

“What?” She blinked, unaware of it herself.

“You played Twisted Land with me?” Dante looked as if he had a realization.

“I played Twisted Land with a group, yes. I went under the screen name HauntingGallows.”

…To Be Continued