The end of the world was nigh at hand. Zaha Torte stood atop a craggy rock formation, staring down at the group of Sorcerer Hunters below him, laughing that such weak people should try to challenge HIM of all people. Carrot Glace stood staring in awe at Zaha, wondering why somebody would want to destroy the world and how they were going to accomplish it. Tira Misu and Chocolate Misu stood in front of Carrot, trying to shield him from Zaha, who said that Carrot housed the mighty destruction god. Gateau Mocha and Marron Glace stood closer to the front line, effectively forming a wall of brawn and magical strength before the others. Closer to the back, standing in reserve, stood Strawberry Limone and Runella Limone, a.k.a. hunter Rune, who wondered why they were even there for this final battle since they were only junior hunters. The final resorts, should the others fall, were Alex West, a.k.a. hunter Ice, and Andrew McAnirlin, a.k.a. hunter Orion.
     “Release unto me the destruction god!” Zaha demanded as the section of earth they were on continued its suicide descent towards the planet below.
     “We’ll never do that,” Chocolate said, “we will not allow you to bring about the destruction of the world.”
     “Then you shall perish!”
     A force wave tore through the area, throwing the weaker people from their feet. Marron, Tira, Chocolate, and Gateau leapt over the force wave, striking out at Zaha with their weapons and such. Tira and Chocolate managed to snag him with their whip and line, giving Gateau time to move Carrot to a safer distance, Marron threw a magical scroll at Zaha, a crater being dug in the path of the seal as it traveled. A mighty explosion resulted, yet when the dust cleared Zaha was still standing, not a scratch on him.
     “Damn!” Carrot said, a little disturbed by this turn of events, “He’s strong.”
     “That was one of my strongest spell casts,” Marron said, “and he doesn’t have a scratch upon him.”
     “Was that supposed to hurt?” Zaha said, stepping towards the group, “Would you like me to show you what real pain is?”
     “Second string’s up to bat,” Ice said as he, Rune, Orion, and Strawberry leapt over the other five, each ready to show their worth. “And you’re going for a fall!”
     “What are you guys doing?!” Tira exclaimed, “You’ll get yourselves roasted to a crisp by his spells.”
     “We have spells of our own, remember?” Orion said, smiling at her, “Besides, us junior hunters need to prove that we can do your job.”
     The four landed in battle ready stances, magical auras forming about them. Zaha looked at them and smiled a pleasantly evil smile. “So Big Momma believes that your little spells can defeat one as mighty as me? Bring it on.”
     “If he insists,” Ice said, brushing his hair back to reveal the pointed ears of his half elf bloodline. He smiled somewhat evilly at Zaha while performing the motions for a spell. “Anaku... ra-zu-omu... ranaku-tsuramu... izu peku naomu....”
     Zaha arched and eyebrow in the direction of the hunter who had some inkling of how to utilize magic, especially some of the more forbidden spells in any culture.
     “Flame Breath!”
     A magic circle formed around Zaha, burning him with the searing flames of the Fire Dragon King. The magic circle dispelled itself a moment later due to inside interference, and Zaha broke free, a little angrier now that the second string proved to be more powerful than the first string.
     “How dare you utilize a spell like that on me!” Zaha snarled, globe of spirit energy forming around the group.
     “He’s a freakin Necromancer!” Strawberry said, “That makes our job a whole lot harder!”
     The globes glowed before showing the past of those in the area.

     ‘Where are we?’ Orion thought as he floated through space, ‘I don’t think I have a past in this world.’
     ‘We all have pasts somewhere,’ Strawberry’s voice said, ‘We just need to locate the roots of those pasts.’
     Below them were little Carrot, little Gateau, and little Marron, playing as children do with their games. Walking up the lane near them was none other than Zaha Torte, a happier and friendlier version of him. Little Tira and little Chocolate ran up to him and called him daddy, accepting gifts of flowers from him.
     ‘Should we even be watching this?’ Ice’s voice asked as he floated, seemingly disconnected from his own manner of speaking, ‘I mean, this is the past for the actual hunters. What about our pasts?’
     ‘I think he may be getting to that,’ Rune’s voice said as she floated nearby, ‘We’re just witnessing the happier times for Chocolate and Carrot and those guys.’
     The scene around them suddenly shifted to Zaha with his sword poised over a very terrified young Carrot. Standing in the background, unaffected by flames, stood a young Ice, an equally young Orion, and a very terrified Rune and Strawberry, both as young as the others.
     ‘We were there,’ Strawberry said, ‘We were there when Zaha found out about the destruction god inside of Carrot and vowed to free it.’
     ‘They might need our help more than we know,’ Ice said, ‘and as soon as we return to the real world I’m gonna force feed that guy something beyond twilight and flowing crimson blood.’

     “So..... you were our father?!” Tira said, snapping all of them out of the trance, “You lying bastard!”
     “You doubt me, young Tira,” Zaha said, laughing evilly, “But it is true, and I want to release the destruction god within Carrot and use him to my advantage.”
     At this moment Carrot began to freak out, his eyes growing wide and rolling back in his head. Tira and Chocolate ran to his side, only to be thrown back as he thrashed about. His fingers began to extend themselves as when he underwent the Zomatrope transformation, and he howled a beastly howl.
     “Carrot!” Ice said as he looked back for a moment.
     “Don’t worry about him,” Marron said, “concentrate on Zaha. I’ll take care of my brother.”
     The four junior hunters turned back to the task at hand, namely the evil demonic guy before them who controlled the powers of the dead. Orion formed his light spear and hurled it at Zaha, wincing as the spear shattered against an energy shield. Rune leapt at him, both swords drawn and glowing, and swung. The first swipe was blocked when Zaha caught hold of her hand. The second swipe brought itself home, cutting through the material of Zaha’s robes and through the tough flesh beneath. A loud cracking sound filled the air as Rune’s right wrist was broken in two places and the hunter was tossed to the ground like yesterday’s garbage.
     “Runella!” Strawberry cried, running to her sister’s side, “I’m here for you sister.”
     “Damn him,” Orion said as he began lobbing lance after lance at the advancing form, “damn him, damn him, damn him!!”
     A blinding light behind them, followed by a cease to the screaming, alerted them to possible trouble. When they looked, Marron was in Carrot’s arms, limp as a rag doll, and Carrot was more or less back to normal.
     “Marron?” Carrot said, “Marron, c’mon, speak to me Marron. You can’t leave me. Marron, don’t leave me. MARRON!!”
     “How foolish,” Zaha said, “what a way for one of the pier gods to die, sealing in the god of destruction. What a pity.”
     A spire erupted from the ground before Carrot, taking Marron’s body with it as it impaled it. Carrot looked on as the body turned to stone, the look of death frozen on the face as it was petrified. Carrot began to advance towards Zaha, but not before he was stopped by Gateau, who in turn was stopped by Ice and Orion.
     “Leave this to us,” Orion said, “if we fall then you can avenge Marron’s death and ours as well.”
     A whip wrapped about Orion, pulling him from his feet. He was dragged to the back line and to a very concerned Tira, who said, “This is for your own good beloved. I don’t want to lose you just yet.”
     A line wrapped around Ice, pulling him from his feet as well. He soon found himself dragged to the back line and to an equally concerned Chocolate. “You have so much to live for,” she said as she untied Ice, “You junior hunters have your entire lives ahead of you, so don’t be so eager to throw them away.”
     “But what about Gateau?” Ice asked, concern tingeing his voice, “If the big lug bites the big one I’m gonna be damned unhappy!”
     A cry of pain filled the air a moment later, followed by two loud cracks as Gateau’s muscular forearm was broken in several places. He sailed through the air and through a building a moment later, colliding with everything in his path and grunting as he did so. He crashed into a column of stone a moment later, spitting blood as he did so.
     “Gateau!” came from four very frightened people. “We’re coming Gateau!”
     As Chocolate, Carrot, Tira, and Ice ran toward Gateau, Zaha leapt into the air, one hand glowing as he cast a spell. A ghostly hand formed before Gateau and entered his chest, wrapping itself around his heart and other internal organs. The hand squeezed, placing the brave hunter in a state of horrendous pain.
     “This will teach you to respect your father, you insolent child!” Zaha said, laughing maniacally.
     “Mister Mocha,” Strawberry cried, watching Zaha torture her idol so. She finished splinting Rune’s wrist before grabbing one of her swords and charging at the evil one before her. She leapt into the air, muttering an incantation. “By the earth that bore this and the mind that gave it shape; By the rown of this hilt and the runes that mark it; by the cold steel of this blade and the white hot flames that created it; By the blood that it has drunk and the souls that it has eaten...” she visually cringed as she said the last line, since it disgusted her. “Know thy hour!”
     She swung downward, releasing the sword like a missile. Zaha managed to turn his head to see her throw the weapon, but he couldn’t block or move in time. The sword passed through his body, the hilt breaking in his back as the blade continued on its downward path to lodge in a rock beneath him. Strawberry formed a shield around herself and her sister before the blade exploded in a blinding flash of light and a wave of energy. When she regained her sight she was shocked to see that Zaha was still standing, the hilt laying on the ground beneath him in a shattered mess.
     “You’re not strong enough to beat him,” Rune said as she coughed a little, “and you diminished my power a bit while you were trying to show how strong you were.”
     “Sorry sis,” Strawberry said, “guess I don’t know my own spell strengths.”
     An unearthly scream filled the air, alerting them to Gateau’s distress. The hunter was being dragged through a building by his chest, the sound of his screams heart wrenching. He finally emerged, blood oozing from his mouth, his eyes glazing over. Zaha opened his hand and squeezed it shut in such a violent manner that Gateau released one last scream before his body went limp. A spire rose up from the ground and impaled him, his body turning to stone a moment later, a peaceful and dreamy look frozen onto his face.
     “What a pity for the god of strength to die in this manner,” Zaha said before laughing maniacally, “he was no match for me.”
     “Gateau?” Ice and Strawberry said in unison when they saw their friend impaled in this manner. They turned to Tira and Chocolate, who apparently were the next ones up to test their strength on Zaha Torte.
     “Chocolate, Tira, don’t do this,” Carrot said, “just kill me and end this. Save yourselves.”
     “We can’t do that darling,” Chocolate said, “we simply can’t kill you.”
     “Yeah Carrot,” Tira said, “we’ll do our best to defeat him.”
     “Don’t do  it,” Orion said, running up to Tira and wrapping his arms around her, “there’s still so much I want to do with you, so much I wish to see you, so much I wish to tell you and discuss with you.”
     “Beloved, there’s no need to fear,” Tira said as she rubbed Orion’s arms, “I’m sure we’ll meet in the next life at some point.”
     “But... but... but...” Orion stammered as Tira leapt free of his embrace. Chocolate joined her in the air a moment later, their weapons flashing through the air. Zaha simply looked at them and the sisters found themselves wrapped up in line and whip alike. They cried out as their lines tightened around them, cutting off their air and cutting into their flesh. Two more spires erupted from the ground a second later. The first impaled Tira, and both Orion and Carrot gasped in horror after this was performed.
     “T...Tira?” Carrot said. “No, Tira, you can’t leave me. You can’t.”
     “TIRA!” Orion cried, “My love, my dearest, my beloved....”
     “Orion.... Carrot,” Tira gasped, “Get him... for me...”
     Her body turned to stone a moment later like those of the other three. The second spire pierced Chocolate’s body a moment later, jutting out from between her breasts. She cried out in pain as this was performed, and Carrot stared in horror.
     “Darling.... I’ll always... love you...” Chocolate said, a tear sliding down her cheek as she turned to stone. The tear clattered to the ground near Carrot’s feet, petrified like it’s shedder. Carrot bent down and picked the tear up, looking at it before clasping it tightly in his hand.
     “Carrot, get out of here,” Ice said, leaping between him and an energy blast from Zaha. The blast ricocheted off of the shield and arced through the air, blowing a building asunder.
     “I’m not leaving,” Carrot said, “not until I avenge the others.”
     “You bloody fool,” Orion said, launching lance after lance and spell after spell at Zaha, “Save yourself so that Zaha doesn’t get the destruction god within you!”
     “Just give up,” Zaha said, flattening Orion with a spell blast that he couldn’t block. A spire rose up from the ground beneath him, impaling him through the stomach. Ice stared on as his best friend was killed in this manner, tears welling up in his eyes, hate replacing sadness a moment later.
     “ANDREW!” Ice shouted as he watched Orion turn to stone, a peaceful expression on his face. He turned towards Zaha a moment later, his talisman bracelets and necklace forming as he growled towards the wizard. “You bastard! You bloody bastard! You’ve taken my friends from me, you killed one of the few people I really cared about, and you want destruction. Well, I’ll give you destruction.”
     He began to advance towards Zaha, chanting a spell under his breath.
     “Lord of these dreams that terrify...”
     The bracelet around his left wrist began to glow an eerie blood red.
     “... Sword of the cold and darkness...”
     The talisman on his belt glowed an eerie blood red, joining its power with that of the first bracelet.
     “... Free yourselves from the heaven’s bonds...”
     The bracelet around his right wrist began to glow the same shade of blood red.
     “... Unite with my power, unite with my body, and let us walk the path to destruction together....”
     The talisman necklace glowed the same shade of blood red, completing the link of the magical talismans. A globe of darkness formed in his right hand, which he clasped to form a blade of blackness.
     “.... Power to smash even the souls of the gods. Ragna Blade!”
     Ice leapt into the air, the sword fully materializing as he held it above his head. He slashed downward, the blade meeting resistance from Zaha’s energy barrier. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he poured all of his energy into the spell, hate giving him additional strength. He proved strong, but Zaha proved he was stronger, flexing his barrier to throw Ice through the air and into the ground, a crater being blasted out from the impact.
     “Ice!” Strawberry cried as she ran towards her fallen friend. A spire erupted from the ground, catching her in the back and impaling her. A second spire erupted beneath Rune, impaling her as well. The sisters turned to stone a moment later, no sign of pain on their faces.
     “So I now have the two of you to your lonesome,” Zaha said, floating towards Carrot and Ice, “The one who possesses the destruction god, and the one who wishes to bring destruction unto me. I can have some real fun with this.”
     Carrot stood still, afraid to move, not sure of what to do next. Zaha stopped before him and set down, staring him in the eyes.
     “Are you going to unleash the destruction god, or am I going to have to cut you apart to find it,” Zaha said, growling at Carrot.
     “Take me instead of him,” Ice said as he dragged himself out of his crater, “My power is a thousand time stronger than his.”
     Zaha looked at Ice, delving into his brown eyes, looking into his soul and spirit. Inside of the junior hunter rested the spirit of the goddess of fire, Amarla, and her twin sister Kyrie, the goddess of darkness. Zaha arched an eyebrow when he saw this, since Ice was a male, but the spirits inside were female.
     “You possess strong powers, young Ice, and they rival that of the destruction god,” Zaha said, “so I might as well take you and leave young Carrot alone. But I won’t do that, because, you see, I want the destruction god, not two goddesses, so I should kill you.”
 Ice took to the air, his talismans glowing again as he began a spell.
     “Golden lord who floats endlessly upon the sea of chaos, come forth and unite your powers with the ruby eyed lord of darkness. An ancient covenant made between light and darkness, chaos and being, which must be broken in times like these. Come before me, grant your power unto me, and let the fools who stand before me be destroyed by the power you and I possess. Dragon... Giga.... S...”
     Ice never got to finish the incantation, though, for Zaha caught him off guard and punched him in the stomach, knocking the wind from the junior hunter. The follow through sent Ice careening off into the shadows, where he collided with a wall and fell to the ground, semi conscious. He was vaguely aware of the powers inside of him protecting him from any more harm before he lapsed into unconsciousness.

     Across the river of time, a basketball struck the pavement, bouncing high into the air to be caught by somebody who looked remarkably like Gateau. On a bench nearby, reading a book on sciences of some sort, sat a man who looked a lot like Marron. Standing atop an overpass and viewing everything, stood a pair of women who looked like Tira and Chocolate. Tira’s glasses weren’t as dark as they had been in the alternate time stream, and her eyes glittered with some daydream or another. Passing beneath the overpass  were a pair of women who looked like Strawberry and Rune, both engaged in a conversation. Passing before them was a young man who looked remarkably like Orion, and he was chatting on a cel phone with somebody.
     “Say, this sure is peaceful, isn’t it?” Tira said as she looked down at everything.
     “Yeah, it sure is,” Chocolate said, sighing happily, “I almost wonder if something should be wrong here.”
     A pair of young men drifted into their view, both with short, dark brown hair, but one had a long pony tail in back, and for some odd reason they felt a sense of deja vu, like they should know these young men. They looked down again, only to see the spot empty.

     “Maelstrom!”
     Lightning and tidal waves tore through the area, striking Zaha with an intense amount of spell energy. Ice was in the process of giving a victory sign when the evil one emerged, surrounded by a barrier of soul crystals.
     “Damn, I need more power,” he said to himself as he formed a globe of darkness between his palms, “Garv Flare!”
     A dragon shaped beam of dark fire leapt from his hands, crashing into Zaha’s shield, cracking one of the gems. Zaha absorbed the spell a moment later, returning the energy to its sender in the form of multiple Garv Flares.
     “Crud!” Ice said as he ran from the spell strikes, “I can’t... keep this up... for long...”
     “That was a tasty spell,” Zaha laughed, “I shall have to remember it for later use.”
     Ice concentrated spell energy into his talismans, turning them blood red once again. He leapt into the air, summoning forth the black blade of darkness once again. He swung downward, releasing several smaller blades of blackness. Zaha deflected these blades, not noticing the main blade until it smashed through one of his soul crystals.
     “Why you little brat,” Zaha snarled, summoning a force wave. Ice sailed through the air, crashing through several stone pylons and into a boulder before coming to a stop. Zaha floated after him, hate flashing in his eyes. “How dare you utilize a spell in that manner. The black blade you used has incredible spell properties, yet I cannot use it or copy its powers.”
     Ice grinned evilly at him, incanting a spell under his breath. ‘I need this spell to work more than anything in my arsenal thus far...’ “Goddess’ of the sea and skies, join your powers now. MAELSTROM!”
     A more powerful tidal wave washed over Zaha, combining with lightning strikes by the thousands. Ice used this moment of distraction to take to the sky, a hasty retreat in mind.
     ‘I need a spell that’s more powerful than anything I’ve used since this battle began,’ he thought as he sailed along, ‘but that would require me to use.... I can’t use that spell, not even in this world. It’s just too powerful, and might erase everything and everyone along with the enemy I’m trying to defeat. The Ragna Blade is ineffective, my Maelstrom spell is only half complete, and I can’t fire off my combined spells in time.’
     As he flew he spotted Carrot in the center of the four spires that had impaled his friends and brother. The other three spires were nearby, his own friends still on them. A glimmering below Rune caught his eye, and upon closer inspection it turned out to be one of her Runic blades.
     “This weapon could be just what I need,” he said as he picked it up, the runes shining as he touched it.
     “Need for what?” a creepy voice said from behind him. Ice whipped around to face Zaha Torte not more than two feet from him. “You’re not going to try to utilize that thing upon me, are you? Because if you are, I must warn you that it won’t work.”
     ‘Sword, give me your strength,’ Ice said in his mind, the runic blade glowing in rainbow colors. Zaha backed off a foot or so, then laughed maniacally.
     “Fool, it won’t work on me! Your spells are useless against me!”
     “Darkness beyond the blackest pitch, deeper than the...” Ice began to say, blackness enveloping the blade. He ceased casting a moment later, flipping out of the way as several spires erupted from the ground he was just standing upon. He came back up in a battle stance, the sword before his body once again, the blade glowing once again.
     “Golden lord who floats endlessly upon a sea of chaos, come forth and join your power with the glowing silver goddess of the sky. An ancient pact that was made in ancient times between light and dark, chaos and being, that must be broken in times like this. I call upon thee and pledge my allegiance to thee. Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed by the powers that you and I possess...”
     The sword glowed, darkness and blinding light enveloping the blade as the spell was incanted. Zaha watched in amusement as Ice chanted the spell, yet when he felt the extent of the power of the spell he backed off a little more, the soul crystals glowing brighter to enforce the shield.
     “God Giga SLASH!”
     The resulting wave of light and dark struck the shield, rebounding off into the air and eventually arcing behind them to strike a building, which crumbled instantly. Ice swung the glowing blade a second time to release another blast, only to have the runic blade crumble in his hands.
     ‘Damn, I guess Rune’s swords weren’t meant to harness this type of energy,’ Ice thought as he flipped away from the energy release. He stepped on something and slipped backwards, landing hard on his rear and skidding a few feet.
     “You fool, I told you that your weak spells wouldn’t work on me, now submit to my will and DIE!” Zaha shouted, cackling maniacally as Ice managed to pull himself to his hands and knees.
     “I... I won’t give up,” he said as he crawled forward a foot or so. He stopped when he found what he had slipped on. “Orion’s... amulet.”
     Spires erupted around him as a strange glow was emitted from his talismans. Zaha smiled evilly since he thought he would be rid of one of his troubles, yet the glow increased in power, shattering the spires around it. From the dust and debris stepped Ice, a mass of ribbons surrounding his body. The ribbons shrank inward and solidified, forming violet body armor, black gauntlets with black and gold and violet jewels, and enough weaponry to take out anything mortal.
     “Brought forth by the silent star, Saturn, a warrior to protect the light. I am the warrior of darkness, of death and rebirth, and of silence, Warrior Saturn.”
     Zaha simply laughed at him and began lobbing spheres of dark energy at the fool who stood before him. From the smoke and chaos below leapt Saturn, glaive in hand, the blade glowing as he charged it with energy.
     “... Flames of the nine hells, imbue my weapon with your power. Giga FLARE!” he shouted as he swung the blade downward, an energy bolt of pure blackness erupting from it. The energy bolt turned into white hot flames a moment later, which engulfed Zaha in temperatures in excess of ten suns.
     “I see you have grown stronger,” Zaha said as he emerged from the smoke and rubble of the spell strike, one of the soul crystals completely gone, two more cracking, “Yet it won’t save you from me.”

     On a beach outside of the city sat Tira and Chocolate, both immersed in hunk watching. Nearby, in another set of chairs, lay Strawberry and Rune, who were both absorbing some major rays. Behind them walked the same two young men, who stopped to admire the water for a bit.
     “There he is again,” Chocolate said to Tira.
     “I see,” Tira said, turning her head a little.
     “Don’t look at him,” Chocolate scolded.
     “All right, I won’t look.”
     A few moments passed before Chocolate said, “Is he still there?”
     “Yep,” Tira responded, “and he is sooooooo fine.”
     “Which one?”
     “Both of them, I guess. I like the one with the dark tan, though. He looks like he’s outside a lot. The other one is rather pale.... I’d say he had a desk job.”
     Silence followed for a few more moments.
     “Do you get that strange tingly feeling?” Chocolate asked as she looked at the two, who were immersed in a conversation.
     “You mean that one that races up and down your spine and moves across your back?”
     “That’s the one.”
     “Yeah, I’m getting it right now. I felt it in the park the other day too, almost like...”
     “Deja vu,” the two said in unison. They turned around, only to see that the two were gone again.
     “Well, that’s it for hunk watching for a while,” Tira said as she stretched out, “yet I felt like I knew them from the past.”
     Strawberry and Rune, meanwhile, were engaged in the same sort of conversation. Tira and Chocolate glanced over at them, and the glanced back, the tingly sensation running through all four of them.
     “Do we...” Tira and Chocolate began to say.
     “... Know you?” Rune and Strawberry finished.
     The four looked at each other in a puzzled manner before sitting up.
     “I’m Tira, and this is my sister Chocolate. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
     “I’m Prunella, but my friends call me Rune, and this is my sister Strawberry. Likewise it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintances.”
     “Did you get that strange deja vu feeling just now?” Strawberry asked.
     “Yeah,” Tira replied, “It was the strangest sensation, and the same thing happened when we saw those young men.”
     “I feel like we should know them, but I can’t place the feeling,” Rune said, “It’s really odd, isn’t it.”

     Saturn sailed through the air, crashing through several walls before coming to a rest against the support for the remains of a highway. His glaive came to a rest several feet away, and approaching him was Zaha, who held Carrot by the throat and shook him violently.
     “Release unto me the destruction god, boy! I want what is rightfully mine!”
     “Leave him be,” Saturn said as he lobbed an icicle lance at Zaha. The lance disintegrated in mid flight and a moment later he found himself being slammed through the concrete support structure.
     “I don’t know why I didn’t kill you in the first place,” Zaha muttered in Saturn’s direction, “It would save me a lot of trouble and save you a lot of energy.”
     Saturn crawled out of the rubble, his armor battered and broken in places, his cargo pants torn, and his boots scratched up. He reached beneath his armor and took from it five golden rings, which he wrapped around his left bracer. The jewels in his bracers and in the hilt of his sword glowed a moment later, imbuing him with insane amounts of energy.
     “Never get on my bad side,” Saturn said as he unclipped his sword, the blade glowing brilliantly as he channeled light energy into it. “Light beyond the whitest dawn, brighter than the brightest sun. Lord of light who shines like silver among a sea of stars. I call upon thee and swear myself to thee. Let the fools who stand before me get their just desserts by the holy light of judgment! God SLASH!”
     Saturn leapt into the air, a circle of light surrounding his body. The light spun before him, concentrating around his sword as he swung downward. The ring of light sliced through the air, erupting into a beam a moment later. The spell struck Zaha’s shield, shattering two more soul crystals and severely damaging a third. A moment later Zaha’s shield collapsed due to a lack of power.
     “Victory,” Saturn said as he landed and reclipped his sword to his back.
     “You claim victory too early,” Zaha said, a spire erupting from the ground beneath Saturn without warning. A moment later the warrior of silence found himself impaled, his life force rapidly leaving him.
     “Carrot... fight on... and avenge us...” he said moments before he turned to stone, his star sword falling to the ground and embedding itself there. The Orion amulet slipped from his hand and somehow managed to set itself on the sword hilt, glittering in the odd light.

     Across the boundaries of time and space reality bent, warped, and was torn apart for a moment, belching forth a spirit. The spirit took solid form, a history writing itself, contacts and allies suddenly gaining knowledge about him. The person blinked and took a moment to run his fingers through his medium length brown hair, teasing his bangs back out of his face. A moment later his bangs drooped back into his face. He then sighed and went about his daily business.
     He walked through town rapidly, not really paying much attention to his wanderings. As he rounded a corner he crashed headlong into another person, their glasses skittering across the ground. He picked the glasses up and helped the person to their feet.
     “Here you go...” he said, blinking as the person slipped their glasses on. The young man who owned the glasses looked remarkably familiar, and the golden brown eyes that looked at him seemed to hide something deep inside. “...Mackenzie, is that you?”
     The person blinked back, focusing their eyes on the person before them. “Xander,” he said, “....long time, no see. How have you been?”
     “I’ve been fine,” Xander said, setting to the task of recovering Mackenzie’s books and papers, “I guess fate brought us together today.”
     “Yeah, fate,” Mackenzie replied as he stooped to help Xander. As they worked to clean up Mackenzie’s class notes and stuff a young man passed by, and that sent the hairs on the backs of their necks to tingling. They turned their heads, colliding with one another as they looked.
     “Are you two O.K.?” a tall and well built blonde man asked, offering his hands to the two.
     “Yeah, we’re fine,” Xander said, taking the man’s hand. He was instantly hoisted to his feet, nearly colliding with the man’s incredibly  muscular arm. Both felt the spark of deja vu, and looked at one another deeply, intently.
     “Hey, a little help,” Mackenzie said, grabbing the man’s other hand. They both instantly felt the spark of deja vu as well. The man hoisted Mackenzie to his feet quite easily, and the two nearly had a collision themselves.
     “Do we know you?” Xander asked, gazing at the person before him.
     “Not that I know of,” the man said, “my name is Garret, and my friend is Mathias.”
     From behind Garret stepped another young man with long, flowing black hair and features to make any woman jealous. He bowed and said, “How do you do?”
     “Did you feel that deja vu feeling?” Mackenzie asked as he shuffled through his papers, trying to get them back into order.
     “Yes,” Mathias said, shrugging deeper into his jacket, “it felt quite strong when we neared the two of you, and I’ve felt it on and off for the past few days.”
     An older woman with silvery hair stopped near them, slipping her glasses from her face. The four men looked at her and realized how beautiful she was.
     “Do you believe in deja vu?” she asked, smiling at them.
     “Yes, and more so lately,” Garret said.
     “Of course,” Xander and Mackenzie said, “we seem to feel it all of the time.”
     “Then won’t you have tea with me?” the woman asked. The four nodded.

     “Alex, where are you? Where did you go Alex? Answer me Alex!”
     A young man with long black hair and piercing green eyes trudged his way through the ruined city, a cape of black lined with green billowing out behind him. Upon his forehead glimmered a golden crescent moon, the sign of a guardian. He wore black chest and shoulder armor with golden trim, red jewels set into the shoulders, a tunic of many shades of green, tight jet black pants, and black calf high boots. Clasped to his belt in back was a silver bladed sword with a double crescent pommel.
     “Damn, where could he be?” he asked nobody in particular, “If Luna found out I lost my charge then I’m going to get screamed at to the 24th power.”
     A stray blast of energy sailed past his head, the wind blowing his hair about his face. The explosion behind him sent his hair blowing in the opposing direction, his eyes highlighted by the flames. He sighed loudly, drawing his sword before saying, “Chances are where there is a wild and chaotic battle he is sure to be there.” Then, with cat like reflexes, he leapt into the air towards a rocky projection. From there he leapt from outcropping to outcropping, following the sounds of chaos and shouting.
     As he neared the sounds of battle he noticed that they became quieter, some voices silenced altogether. Then all at once the sounds ceased, and this caused the hairs on the back of his neck to bristle.
     ‘This is bad,’ he thought as he shifted his sword hilt from hand to hand, ‘if the battle were a victory then I’d at least be hearing Alex’s cries of victory, but I can only hear the wind and some crackling of energy and...’
     He broke off from that train of thought, launching himself skyward and onward, his cape billowing out behind him.
     Many minutes and several great leaps later he came upon the remains of the battle scene. Unfortunately it was the body of his charge that he chanced upon first. With tear brimmed eyes he looked skyward to the peaceful facial features of Warrior Saturn.
     “How could you let that happen to you kid?” he asked, shifting his gaze towards the ground. There he noticed the sword and amulet together. “Your sword managed to make it out of the battle better than you did. Looks like Orion didn’t transform into his more powerful self,” he added as he sheathed his own blade before pulling the star sword from the ground, the amulet sliding around his wrist and shrinking to become part of his gauntlet. “Well, I will do what is written in the guardian’s code of honor and conduct and avenge you.”
     Over a nearby ridge came the sounds of sword fight, and he followed these to see Carrot and Zaha engaged in mortal combat. It was apparent who the stronger man was, for every stroke that Carrot gave he received two in return. Star muttered a combination prayer and curse under his breath before he leapt into the air, sword flashing as he swung it above his head.
     “Spawn of evil, prepare to meet thy fate,” he screamed, swinging the blade downward. Zaha moved his sword, deflecting Star’s attack off to one side before swinging around to deflect Carrot’s attack. Star flipped off and landed in a crouch, the sword held before his body.
     “Who are you, and what is your business here?” Zaha demanded, turning his attention to Star.
     “I am guardian to the Warrior of silence, the warrior of death and rebirth, and the warrior of the hunt,” Star replied, standing. He took a moment to tie his hair out of his face before saying, “You killed them without realizing the power they controlled, and now their power rests with me.”
     Zaha stared in shock when Star showed him the Orion amulet embedded in his bracer, and gasped when he saw the symbol for Saturn encrusted upon the chaos emerald embedded in the hilt of the star sword.
     “That... that...” Zaha stammered, unable to form words.
     “That is one of the seven legendary chaos emeralds,” Star replied before clipping the sword to his back, “The other six also belonged to Warrior Saturn, who you impaled upon your spire of death. I now own them as well, so if you kill me you will never get their power.”
     Zaha slashed at him, meeting with the bracer on Star’s right wrist. The young guardian flipped into the air, unclipping the sword from his back before engaging in a sword battle with the bringer of darkness and destruction.

     “So the four of you experienced deja vu when you came together?”
     Mackenzie, Xander, Garret, and Mathias were seated in a local coffee shop, the lady with the silver hair also sitting at their table. She was the one who had asked the question before taking a sip of her tea. Around her the other four ate and drank assorted edibles.
     “That’s right,” Xander said, taking a bite of a piece of chocolate cake before downing half a cup of mint cocoa. “I felt it when I ran into Mackenzie today, and again when Garret helped me to my feet.”
     “Same here,” Mackenzie said, munching on some cookies.
     “Us too,” Mathias and Garret said in unison.
     They continued on in silence for a little while longer before the woman said, “Do you believe in magic?”
     “What?” the four said simultaneously.
     “Not the type you see at birthday parties where someone pulls a rabbit from their hat, or those slight of hand tricks that almost everyone knows. I mean real magic that requires heart and soul to use, to cast, and to learn.”
     “I believe in it,” Xander said, fingering the medallion around his neck that contained the symbol for Saturn instead of a star.
     “As do I,” Mathias and Garret said.
     Mackenzie shrugged. “I guess I believe in it as well.”
     “Do you believe in reincarnation?” she asked, the light reflected off of the table shifting for a moment. When the light resettled there sat Big Momma in all of her glory.

     During the battle between Zaha and Star, Carrot ran away to hide from him who wished to release the Destruction God. Star took notice of this and followed the best he could, dodging and blocking all of Zaha’s sword blows to the best of his abilities. Unfortunately Carrot found an open manhole cover and fell down it head first, slamming his chin on every ladder rung on his way down, where he discovered that sewer swimming isn’t much fun.
     “Bleeeech,” he said, spitting a fountain of putrid water before coughing up part of his breakfast. “I...I’m alive,” he said a moment later, looking himself over, “but I’d better get to a safer place so ol’ Zaha Torte can’t find me!”
     As Carrot ran off to find safety, Star dropped down the manhole, making a much more graceful landing than Carrot had. A light globe appeared over his head as he emerged from the water, and he blinked as he looked around. Above him he heard Zaha cursing under his breath, and felt the walls shaking as the wizard worked to break through the ground to get to him.
     “He’s coming,” Star said as he looked for a way to run, “better move!”
     He took off in the direction that Carrot had traveled in, leaping over debris, bounding off of the walls when things blocked his path. As he neared a dead end he noticed a stream of bubbles coming from the water and no sign of Carrot.
     “That idiot,” he sighed, bending down to look. An energy blast caught him in the back, sending him through the air and into the metal grate that blocked the tunnel.
     “So guardian, I see you can’t even protect yourself,” Zaha said with much scorn in his voice, “give me the emeralds and the sword and I might let you live.”
     “Never,” Star muttered as he unclipped the sword from his back, “I’ll never let you get that type of power.”
     As Zaha fired off another blast, Carrot popped up from under the water, gasping for breath. The energy blast struck him in the back and sent him crashing into the grate as well, where he impacted with a sickening CRUNCH.
     “So, I can kill two birds with one stone,” Zaha said as he neared the pair, energy chains binding Star’s arms to his sides, the star sword falling from his hand. Zaha grasped them by the throats and lifted them from their feet. He applied pressure to their throats. “Now release unto me what I desire - the Destruction God and the power of the chaos emeralds!”

     “This is just peachy. We need to find this person in this big city and then all will be revealed. This must be some sort of joke!”
     “Just shut up and run for it!”
     The two people who were arguing were none other than Xander and Mackenzie. Behind them were Garret and Mathias, who struggled to keep up with the other two. People moved out of their path as the four ran through the center of town, and those who didn’t got bowled over with an apology shouted back to them.
     “Didn’t she say to head for the park at the center of town?” Mathias asked as they passed the walkway over the highway. The four doubled back, took the stairs, and nearly collided with four young women who were also in quite a hurry. One wore glasses and had pink hair, one had long strawberry red hair, one had strawberry blonde hair, and the fourth had long violet hair.
     The one with the glasses, upon seeing them, dropped the present she held in her hands. Garret leaned down and scooped up the package, handing it to her with a polite, “You dropped this.”
     “Oh, thank you,” she said, accepting the package. They felt a spark of deja vu, which spread over the entire group.
     “Are you heading for the park by any chance?” Mathias asked.
     “The big tree in the center?” the strawberry haired one asked.
     “To meet someone...” Mackenzie said.
     “Who can answer our questions...” the violet haired on finished.

     “Release unto me the power I desire,” Zaha spat, an aura of pure evil energy forming around him, “Give me the destruction god and the Chaos emeralds!”
     “Alex, Andrew, please help us,” Star choked out.
     “Marron!” Carrot cried, fighting against Zaha’s gasp, “Marron, please help me!”

     “Brother?!” Mathias said, staring off into space, “I have a brother. I’ve always had a brother.”
     “And we have always been together,” Xander and Mackenzie said in unison, “and we have abilities to help all we can.”

     “Gateau! C’mon big guy, I really need you right now!”

     “Carrot! Carrot, I’m coming to help you!”

     “Rune! Strawberry! Please lend me your strength. Help me in this hour of need!”

     “Master Star, where are you?!”
     “Show us the way to you master, so that we might lend you our aid!”

     “Tira! Chocolate! You too! Help me please!”

     “Darling?! Darling, where are you?”
     “Carrot! Hang on Carrot! We’re coming for you!”

     Zaha strengthened his grasp around Carrot’s throat while saying, “Give me the destruction god!”
     “It’s my destruction God and you can’t have it!”

     Elsewhere in the stream of time and space a flash of light enveloped Tira, Strawberry, Chocolate, and Rune, their clothes melting away, leaving them naked in space.

     Atop the floating continent the four spires which held the bodies of the Sorcerer Hunters vanished, leaving a shower of sparkles to drift to the ground. Around those four the four holding the junior hunters also vanished, leaving sparkles and rose petals to float to the ground.
     Zaha stared in awe as Marron, Gateau, Tira, and Chocolate reappeared, clad in outfits less than they had been wearing previously. The destruction God floated in space, a peaceful expression upon its face, Carrot floating above its upturned right hand.
     “The destruction god,” he said after a moment.
     “Will never be yours,” a voice said from the shadows. Gloves of light appeared above four figures, each clad in some degree of armor.
     “You... you... you... what are you?!”
     “We are the junior hunters, defenders of the weak against evil pains in the butt like you!” Andrew said, leaning on his sword.
     “You greatly underestimated our powers,” Rune said, holding her daggers with the blades pointing towards her elbows.
     “You shall now pay for trying to destroy us,” Strawberry added, leaning on the handle of a large battle axe with runes inscribed on the blade.
     “He who desires death and destruction, now accept your punishment,” Alex said, his chaos emeralds glowing, the blade of his sword glowing as well, runes glowing upon it.
     Zaha looked past the four before him to see the other Sorcerer Hunters having a very happy reunion with Carrot. He growled and began to step towards the group on the hand of the destruction god, only to meet Andrew’s sword crossed with Strawberry’s axe.
     “Where do you think you’re going?” Andrew demanded.
     “We’re not finished with you just yet,” Strawberry added.
     Zaha grumbled more, an energy field forming around his body. He ceased his powering up, though, when Alex held his sword above his head and began to recite a spell incantation.
     “I call upon the twelve signs of the zodiac and pledge my life so that they may be summoned forth. By the blood red tides of hell I command the celestial gate to be thrown open. Unleash the crushing blow of destiny!”
     Inky black figures began to swirl around the sword blade, forming a cloud of darkness beyond blackest pitch. Alex swung the blade to his side before slashing through the air before his body while screaming, “Nightmare FURY!”

     “Must you really go Zaha? It’s been awfully lonely without you here.”
     “Yes, I must leave to find a new meaning to life. Fare the well Big Momma. Farewell Haze Knights. Take care Sorcerer Hunters and junior hunters.”
     As Zaha Torte turned to go, the light fell upon the sorcerer hunters, all huddled near a very happy Carrot. The light then shifted to the Junior hunters, who were joined by Star, and all of whom waved to Zaha.
     “Take care Mister Torte,” Rune called.
     “Farewell Master Zaha,” Andrew shouted.
     “Bye daddy,” Tira and Chocolate cried, “We’ll miss you.”
     Without looking back Zaha gave one final wave and walked off into the sunset, his robes billowing out around him. As he vanished into the impending darkness, Big Momma said to nobody in particular, “You never change Zaha, but I hope you find what is good in life and in this world this time around and not what is evil.”
     “And all it took was one hit with the Nightmare Fury,” Alex said under his breath, still waving after Zaha with the others.