"So, I've brought you Naaro and served your purposes. What do I get?" Rexxor asked impatiently, having been waiting quite a while now to receive his gift. Belial sighed, and looked over at Rexxor. He answered, "Alright, Rexxor, follow me...I shall give you your reward." Rexxor chuckled, smirking as he said, "Well it's about time. I can't wait to be powerful enough to take over Naaro's homeworld. The Tyranosaurian homeworld of Quorum is nowhere near as lovely as Yoshin...all the better it will feel to turn it into a lifeless rock." Belial waved a hand, and the top of the pyramid lowered like an elevator, descending into the lowest level of the pyramid. Belial walked forth, Rexxor following.

After a walk through several twisting and interconnected corridors, Belial came to a large stone door. He thrust his hands up, uttering, "Iyegis malorath." With those words, the chamber began to shake, and the stone door rose, letting off loads of dust and sand in the process. As Rexxor coughed from the dust, Belial walked through it and into the chamber, his eyes focused on the weapon within. It was the ancient and powerful sword of Darius the Younger, a young general who had defeated Belial's mortal form and his army five hundred thousand years ago. While at first glance it appeared to be a normal Roman Gladius-style blade, it was much more than it seemed. The sword was forged in the fires of Ormuzd, the inferno that was home to the fire djinn known as the Efreet. When Darius the Elder opened the rift to Cocytus so that Darius the Younger could enter with his army and destroy the band of monsters who had been attacking using portals from that planet, an Efreeti named Hm'z appeared and presented the young general with the blade. In a year-long campaign against the beasts of Cocytus, Darius discovered the blade's power: this seemingly-innocent sword had the ability to slash through the enchanted skin of Belial's mortal form as well as any material as strong or weaker than Belial's skin, and could also control the element of fire. With this blade, firestorms could be called down upon an enemy legion, lava flows could be redirected with ease, and most any other available form of fire (or smoke) could be used for an attack, defense, or anything else the wielder of this sword wanted to do. It was dubbed Exuro, and with its power, Darius and his army layed waste to the beastly plague of Cocytus. The campaign came to a close at the pyramid built by Belial to declare himself ruler of Cocytus. There, both armies fell in a bloody battle, their leaders included. Belial was brought down by Exuro; Darius by Belial's lethal venom. Fortunately for Belial, the Essence of Evil had been watching the serpentine monster's every move, and had dubbed him worthy of being charged with the task of finding him a physical host for his return to Reality. He was sent into the Unsoul creators of Hell, all the evil removed from his soul and the tiny bit of good that was inside him discarded into the Realm of Nothingness. The evil within his soul became a soul itself, and the body he possesses today was developed as a projection of the evil soul that would be put inside it. Belial then returned to Cocytus, and built these catacombs to store the weapon that slew him. This was indeed one of Creation's Weapons, for it had slayed a great evil, and had a secret: Pyrina, the Phoenix, also had a part in forging the weapon, assigned to do so by the Prime Dimensional Essence itself. Of course, Belial had no intentions of giving this to Rexxor...

Naaro stood in the darkness, leaned up against a tree in the forest, his eyes focused on the four stopped nearby. *I can finish them here and now, and be done with it,* he thought to himself. He had waited long enough; now it was time to kill. Seeing as Ocelot had disappeared and returned to its place on Yoshin when Naaro's transformation occurred, he was now armed with a new weapon, the Epitaph. It was a sword-like weapon, made of enchanted stone, and it had sharp edges on either side of the blade. However, this sword did not have a point. Instead, it was flat and sharp all the way up to the top, where a spinning apparatus with 4 curved steel blades attached to it had been placed. In battle, the apparatus would spin, and the short steel blades would also spin, able to do serious damage when swung into an opponent. Carved over it were several arcane, unholy words written in a language even the wisest of Unsouls could not understand. This was the weapon he drew when he attacked the person closest to him, Vector. Naaro jumped out of nowhere and sunk the spinning blades of the Epitaph into the unsuspecting yoshi's back. Vector's eyes widened and he leaped forth, grabbing his back, which bled profusely from the deep gashes in it. Rynn, Jaded, and Ian glanced quickly in Naaro's direction only to be slammed to the ground by a wave of supergravity brought down from the sky upon them. Jaded, fighting the strength of the gravity, leaped into the air, making sure not to the break the 10-foot limit, and brought his broken broadsword down on Naaro. Naaro met Jaded's swing with the Epitaph, and opened his eyes wide, two burning beams of dark energy firing from them and piercing Jaded's chest. The mercenary fell, temporarily hurting before adrenaline took over and removed the pain from his body. By now the others were back up, and ready for a fight. "You are foolish to resist the power of the Essence of Evil. Submit now, and he may spare you from an eternity spent in the harshness of Anti-Reality." The group prepared their weapons, and charged as Naaro smirked viciously...

Naaro was still smirking when Jaded and Ian hit the ground. They weren't getting up again anytime soon, for they were in a place where an evil being like Naaro was being fed more constant power by the planet's dark aura than all 4 of opponents combined. While it may have seemed like an impossible feat given the strength of Jaded, Ian, Vector and Rynn, it was happening, and that was all they needed to be proved wrong. Rynn and Vector had already been tossed to the dirt, and Naaro decided it was time to send them to Anti-Reality. He put the Epitaph away, and walked up to the one closest to him, Rynn. He smiled as he looked down at her. "You loved me so...too bad you never knew I would become the embodiment of Evil's will, eh?" He chuckled, and began summoning the rift to Anti-Reality. As Naaro slowly opened the rift, Rynn received a faint telepathic message from an unknown source. It told her: "Bring...Naaro...planet...Zion...remove...evil...from..."


The message reminated in her head. While Naaro's cold battle tactics were beginning to make her doubt that there was any hope for her beloved, this message lifted her spirits. She rolled over and looked over at Naaro, knowing that she only had one choice. "Love...Naaro...it's me, Rynn. I know you're in there, Naaro, this evil that's come over you couldn't have possibly removed your love for me. Fight it, Naaro...there's someone on a planet called Zion who can help you, but we need to go there in order to remove the evil from you. Please beloved, fight it off..." She pleaded sincerely, with tears in her eyes. Naaro chuckled, and replied, "I'm afraid he can't hear you, darling. I, the Essence of Evil, own his body now. He is my physical incarnation. My evil influence is stronger than any force you could comprehend on this planet, it's what enabled him to defeat you all so easily. He can't possibly hear you with my power controlling hi---" The Essence was interrupted as Naaro suddenly began to shudder. There was definitely a fight going on inside his body, darkness and light contesting for possession of his soul. Right now, darkness held the upper hand, but Rynn's words seemed to be helping. Realizing this, she began to cheer him on.

"Come on, Naaro! You can do it! Fight off the darkness! Do it for me! Do it for Kai!" Naaro clenched his teeth and shut his eyes tightly as the dark power controlling him began to feel pain. Great pain. Rynn's words were a catalyst to the light battling for Naaro's soul, causing its strength to grow. Naaro cried out and fell to the ground, quivering. By now, Jaded, Ian, and Vector had recovered enough from the beatings they had taken to get back on their feet. Rynn got to her feet herself, and dropped to her knees beside Naaro, tears in her eyes. "Naaro...Naaro, speak to me!" A weak Naaro gazed up weakly at Rynn, answering, "Rynn...the fight going on inside me is a lot to handle...while you were able to help me win it temporarily, I was only able to knock out the darkness, not purge it. Soon...it'll be back...get the Weapon...get to Zion...and get this out of me..." As the last word left his lips, his eyes closed. Rynn let out a wavy sigh, indicating her sadness. Kai was crying as well, afraid his father was dead. Jaded, Ian, and Vector looked on grimly, a bit worried, but also rather relieved that Naaro was out of it, considering his earlier treatment of them. Jaded looked up and over toward the pyramid. He saw Rexxor's ship, the <i>Andromeda</i>, and he suddenly got an idea. "Rynn, you familiar with how to fly a ship?" he asked her. She shook her head 'no', when Vector spoke up. "I know how," he said, unaware of Jaded's plan. "Alright...Vector, seeing as you know how to fly, I have a request of you. Think you could pilot Rexxor's ship?" he asked Vector, stroking his chin in thought. Vector looked at it, and nodded, replying, "Yeah, I think I could fly that." Jaded nodded, saying, "Good. Well then, Vector, you think you could take that ship and fly Rynn to this Zion place while we get the Weapon?" Vector nodded. "I can do that. I think we should get going before he wakes up again. That sword's just a bit painful." Jaded nodded, and turned toward the pyramid as Vector and Rynn carried Naaro over to the <i>Andromeda</i>. Jaded and Ian aided them in getting Naaro onto the ship, then all four walked over to the pyramid and stepped onto it. As they stepped on, their pendants disappeared, and their curse was lifted. Rynn and Vector boarded the ship, waving good-bye to Jaded and Ian. Rynn, realizing something, asked the two, "What about you two? How are you going to get back to the Spectrum after you get the Weapon?". Jaded chuckled, and replied, "Don't worry about us, we'll find a way back." Rynn nodded, and disappeared back into the ship to sit with Naaro in the bedroom. The ship's doors closed and its engines started up as it took off, soaring into the sky and disappearing as a small flash. "Here goes nothin'," Jaded remarked as he and Ian ascended the steps of the pyramid...

A pile of rocks lie in the corner of the room, apparently from some sort of landslide. Belial stood quietly in the chamber of the Exuro, waiting. He had instructed Moloch to wait at the top of the pyramid for the return of a victorious Naaro, and was surprised and puzzled as to why Moloch had yet to come down and let him know Naaro was back. Atop the pyramid, Moloch looked down grimly as Jaded and Ian ascended the steps. They had somehow captured Naaro, and the two yoshies had left with him while these two had stayed behind, probably to deal with him and his master. He smirked to himself as they drew closer; if the physical incarnation of the Essence of Evil couldn't do it, then he certainly would. "Welcome back," he greeted as the two stepped onto the top platform of the pyramid. Jaded got right to business, demanding, "Hand over the Creation's Weapon. We know you guys got it, and we want it, pronto." Moloch chuckled, and replied, "Creation's Weapon? What might you be talking about?" Ian was the next to speak. "We're talking about the powerful weapon you're apparently keeping in this pyramid." Moloch smirked, and realized what they were talking about. "Oh, you mean Exuro?" he asked. "Yeah, that's what we mean," Jaded replied. Moloch then broke into hysterical laughter. "Like we'd let you have that!" he yelled as he laughed. Jaded growled, tired of the demon's chatter, and delivered a strong punch to Moloch's face. Moloch's head whipped backward, and he almost fell over. When he got back up, he growled and opened his wings, revealing his gored chest and spraying a stream of blood onto Jaded and Ian. Ian pulled out the Quicksilver and let a blast fly, striking the demon in his stomach. Moloch roared and dropped to one knee. Jaded leapt into the air, elbow-dropping onto the demon's head and slamming his face into the platform hard. Moloch lied there in pain for a few minutes before he got back to his feet and unleashed a flurry of dark blasts. Jaded made several deflections with his sword before charging and slamming the broken blade through Moloch's already-gored body. Moloch's eyes went wide, and he dropped backward, tumbling down the side of the pyramid to the ground below. His body was then dragged into the sand by a pair of skeletal hands. Jaded smirked. "Easy enough," he remarked as Ian searched the platform for some way of getting into the pyramid. "If it's inside the pyramid, then we should probably have to go through here," he said as he searched. Jaded folded his arms and waited, knowing it wouldn't take Ian long to find them a way down. He was right. "Found it!" Ian exclaimed as he flicked a switch on the side of the platform. The platform revealed its elevator nature, descending into the pyramid. Unfortunately, Jaded and Ian were unaware that someone had beat them to the Weapon...

The elevator soon reached the bottom level of the pyramid, revealing the catacombs to Jaded and Ian. The two ran through the catacombs until they came to the chamber. Jaded walked forth as Ian glanced around the doorway and surrounding area. When Jaded reached the platform, he discovered that the Creation's Weapon was already gone. "Damn, they beat us to it!" he cursed, slamming a fist on the platform. Belial was nowhere in sight. Ian then took off, shouting "Hey!" Jaded turned, and saw Ian running off. He quickly followed. As they rushed through the catacombs, Jaded caught up enough so that he saw who Ian had spotted. One was dressed in a green cloak and had blue hair, the other was dressed in blue and had long purple hair. Before long the pursuers had chased the pursuees to the elevator. The one in the green cloak cackled, taunting the two with, "Looks like you two were a bit too late! Good luck finding the next Weapon, you'll need it with your horrible ability!" Jaded growled, and leaped with all his might, landing on the platform to the surprise of the two pursuees. Ian was up there quickly after, and the elevator had reached the top of the pyramid once more. The two made an attempt to bolt, but Jaded grabbed both of them in his arms and squeezed them tightly, making sure they weren't going to get away. "Let me go!" the female pursuee demanded, flailing in Jaded's arms. The male was also flailing, though not as much. Ian got to business. "Alright, you two...who are you?" he asked, rather calmly. "Pfah, why should we tell you?!" the male snapped back. Ian sighed, and requested, "Let em go." Jaded reluctantly obeyed, dropping the two. They re-adjusted their clothing, and stood. "Now," Ian began, "Who are you?" The male was the first to respond. "I am Vole, member of the Twilighter Council. We attacked your friends on the Spectrum earlier...fools were flattened by our power." The female was next. "And I am Jadea, also a member of the Twilighter Council. Thanks for letting me go, that was getting uncomfortable." "Which one of you has the Weapon?" Ian asked. Vole chuckled, removing it from his cloak. "I have it. See? Right here." Ian held out a hand, requesting, "Hand it over." Vole scoffed. "You expect me to give it up that easily?" he asked, moving to put it back. It was then that Jaded pulled out his broken broadsword and gave him a threatening glare. Vole snarled, and decided this wasn't worth his time. "Here, take it!" he growled as he tossed Ian the Weapon. "Thanks," Ian said with a smile, putting Exuro away for now. Vole replied, "Don't let it get to your head...there's much better Creation's Weapons waiting for us, you can have that one. We don't need it. Come, Jadea, let us depart." With that, Vole disappeared in a flash of golden light. Jadea growled at the two, and followed suit. Jaded looked over at Ian. "Well, now what?" he asked. Ian smirked, and replied, "Take my hand, I think I might have something that'll do the trick." Jaded nodded and took Ian's hand. Ian closed his eyes, and the two disappeared in a flash. Before Jaded knew it, he and Ian were back on the Spectrum, surrounded by passengers who were just getting back on their feet. "Looks like those two Twilighters weren't bluffing..." he said as he went to help someone up. CR, noticing the return of the two, went over to congratulate them on picking up the party's first Weapon...