Daryl touched down at a small, unobtrusive gate in a hillside. The directions in her father's journal had proven accurate-- it had taken a great deal out of her to fly that far, however. She pulled a flask out of THE BAG (TM) and sipped at it lightly-- the sugary caffineated beverage within provided a quick burst of energy. After a minor rest, she withdrew the keys to the Underground and held them in her hand, heavy brass keys on a thick ring.

The gods had given Phebrizo the keys in hopes that no more heroes like Orpheus would try to revive lost loved ones from Hades's domain. Apparantly they hadn't realized the depths of his sick sense of humor.

"He thinks I'm going to fail." she said aloud. "Mother thinks I'll fail too. But I'll prove them wrong. And I WILL have my X-sama back. There's no stopping me."

The words rang hollow in the empty air. Shaking her head rapidly to clear it, she grasped the keys and took them to the series of locks in the gate to the Underground.

--Darylohki, who says "It's your move, Hades."

i'll be Hades (For now that is)

Hades: Damn Daryl is coming.

teleports

Hades: And shes coming your you X.

X: What? Daryl? NO!

Jordan hopeing someone else takes over, or they can stick me with the job. Note: Hades isn't evil. He is just doing his job. Oh yeah, if X is in on this. He better give me a way to contact him, or I might screw something up. (Like something major)

*Deep Within The The Bowels Of The Underworld, Hades Sat In Thought, A Frown On His Face, Watching As A Fake Hades Made A Twit Of Himself* Hmph.... Foolish Imposter.... I Must Remember To Smite Him Later.... *Hades Gazed At A Small Orb Floating Silently In Front Of Him, The Scene Changing From The Delusional Hades/Jordan, To Daryl* .....I Knew Someday Orpheus's Descendant Would Try To Come Here.... I Guess I Must Make My Preperations.....

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

*As Daryl Opened The Gate To The Underworld, The Loud Roar Of A Beast Was Heard.... And From Within The Dark Opening Came The 3 Headed Dog Cerebus.....*

because the hellhound was a GRUESOME sight. Three heads, each mouth dripping with foam, all barking at once in loud, LOUD unison.

It was so close to Dischord that Daryl almost lost her dinner.

--I WILL not throw up, I WILL not throw up.-- she told herself, and the nausea faded. Drawing her lute, she began to play a beautiful tune-- the one her father had recorded in his journal as the one that calmed Cerebus.

--I'm not sure if it will totally work a second time, but it might get him to sit and talk with me instead of trying to eat me alive.-- she thought to herself.

Then, she sang the words that she had set to her father's music, hoping they were bardic enough.

"Each Orpheus must to the depths descend,
For only thus the Poet can be wise,
Must make the sad Persephone his friend,
And buried love to second life arise;

Again his love must lose through too much love,
Must lose his life by living life too true,
For what he sought below is passed above,
Already done is all that he would do;

Must tune all being with his single lyre,
Must melt all rocks free from their primal pain,
Must search nature with his one soul's fire,
Must bind anew all forms in heavenly chain;

If he already sees what he must do,
A task that I must take the victory,
Well may he shade his eyes from the far-shining view.
And I'll return, a happy ending story."

[OOC: No offense, Jordan, but this is a pre-planned scenario. Hades and I have BUSINESS to attend to.]

--Darylohki, who expected to meet Charon first, but I don't mind if Hades remodels the underworld-- those drapes were ATROCIOUS!! ^_^

*Cerebus, The Three Headed Hellhound Blinked. As Two Of The Heads Looked At Each Other, The Third Spoke, Its Voice Like Gravel* That Song.... You Are The Child Of Orpheus.... Hades Knew You Would Be Coming Someday..... *The Left Head Panted, Its Eyes Twisting About In Its Sockets, Its Voice A Near Shout* BUT.... BUT CANT WE EAT HER!?!?! CMON! LET ME EAT HER! *The Right Head Sighed, And As It Spoke, Daryl Noticed Its Voice Was Strangely Soft And Melodic* sigh.... all you ever think of is eating.... would it really hurt us for once to maybe just convince hades to allow us to play with these visitors instead of killing them all? fetch a ball.... have them pet us.... maybe give a tour or two of our favorite place to bury bones...

*The Left Head, Its Eyes Nearly Rolling About In High Speeds, Went Nearly Nuts* PLAY WITH THEM!?!? ARE YOU DAFT, WOMAN!?!? WERE THE GREAT HELLHOUND OF HADES! WE SHOULD BE KILLING! MAIMING! DESTROYING! BURNING VILLAGES IN OUR WAKE! ABDUCTING THE WOMEN AND RAPING THE SHEEP! AND YOU WANT TO PLAY!?!?! The Two Heads Began To Snap And Bicker With Each Other Until The Middle Head Finally Spoke Will You Two SHUT UP!?!? The Other Two Heads Blinked And Went Silent Sometimes I Think Im The Only Intelligent One Here....

The Middle Head Then Looked At Daryl Child Of Orpheus.... You Shall Be Allowed To Pass. However.... I Will Warn You.... To Accomodate The Many Souls That Constantly Arrive Hades Is Ever Changing, Ever Different.... So If You Expect The Same Trip As Your Father, Think Again. And Be Aware, Our Master Hades Will Not Be Happy To See Another Foolish Bard Intruding Into His Realm. Now Go, Before I Decide To Let His Fool Eat You. *The Middle Head Motioned To The Left Head, Before Stepping Away From The Entrance To The Entrance To The Underworld*

"Understood, Cerebus." she walked carefully past. "I knew that you would recognize the song, however."

She looked at the slathering left head and shuddered inwardly, then vowed to send the right head a package of nylabones if she ever got home.

********

Daryl felt like she had been walking for hours. She didn't dare to risk flight, for fear that she would lose her way in the swirling mists, but kept to the well-marked path. Her feet were cut by the stones, and the sandles she had foolishly opted to wear offered little protection. She watched the path ahead of her to find the most smooth passage, which was a good thing, since the path abruptly ended in a river of pure black water.

"Ewwwwwww . . ." Daryl shrank back. This was it. Orpheus's description HARDLY gave it justice. It was . . . the River Styx.

"Now to hope that my masterpieces really deserved to be called that." she whispered as a rowboat approached. The ghastly specter within raised an eyebrow, with a look that clearly said "What is one of quick nature doing here?"

Before he could leave, Daryl drew her lute and began to play, using the most bardic charm she could muster.

"Tutti fatti a sembianza'un Solo
Figli tutti d'un solo riscatto
In qual'ora inqual parte del suolo
Transcorriamo quest'aura vital,
Siam fratelli, siam stretti ad un patto:
Maladetto colui cheolo infrange,
Che s'imalza sulfiacco che piange
Che contrista uno spirto immortal."

She sang the Italian words, translating in her mind simultaniously:

"All made in the likeness of the One,
All children of one ransom,
In whatever hour, in whatever part of the soil,
We draw this vital air,
We are brothers; we must be bound by one compact,
Accursed he who infringes it,
Who raises himself upon the weak who weep,
Who saddens an immortal spirit."

Daryl prayed deep in her heart that Charon was as much of a literary scholar as she had heard.

--Darylohki, who is WAY too into being an English major, ne?

*The Cloaked Figure Looked At Daryl, And A Sigh Could Be Heard.* Let Me Guess.... Your The Child Of Orpheus, Arnt You? The Figure Shook Its Head So Now, Just Like Your Cheapskate of A Father, I Bet You Plan To Have Me Take You Across The River Styx, Not Even BOTHERING To Pay The Customary Two Gold Coins..... Like Those Damn Songs Can Pay For My Meals! Its Not Like Hades Gives Me Free Meals You Know..... *Charon Sighed Again, And Motioned To The Boat* Fine. Just Get In The Boat. *As Daryl Climbed In, Charon Hung His "Head"* I Dont Even Know Why I Bother Sometimes...

*It Had Been Minutes, Hours, Days.... Daryl Had Lost Track Of Time Since They Had Departed The Shore Of The Styx..... But All She Knew... Is That Charon Wouldnt Quit Bitching* .....So Does CHARON Get Any Gratitude?! No! Never Mind The Fact That I Transport The Souls Of The Dead Across The Styx! And THEN I Get Stuck Transporting You Cheapskate Good For Nothing Bards! Sometimes I Wonder Why I Took This Job! "Imagine The Glory" They Said! "Imagine The Pay" They Said! "See The Glory Of The Underworld" They Said! BAH! Do I Get Any Breaks?! Noooooo! Nothing But Transporting Souls Day After Day! And Its Not Like I Get Any Benefits In This Gig! Damn Unions..... Cant Even Get Hades To Fork Over A Good Dental Plan.... And Those Young Souls Dont Even Realize How Good They Have It! Why, Back In MY Day......

*Finally, After What Seemed Like Days Of Nonstop Bitching, They Finally Reached The Other Side Of The Styx. As Daryl Climbed Out, Charon Motioned At Her* Fine. Go You Ungrateful Whippersnapper. Keep On Prancing Into The Underworld. If You See Hades, Tell Him I Said He Can BITE ME! *With That, Charon And The Boat Departed From The Shore And Began Rowing Back Into The Mist. As Daryl Headed Deeper Into The Underworld, She Thought She Saw.... A Woman In The Distance?*

After all, so much bitching and bitching without being able to scream "CHARON NO BAKA!!" and smack the old geezer a good one was draining to her, but nonetheless, she did indeed see a woman in the distance.

Dragging one foot in the dust, so she could find her way back to the path, she approached the woman.

"Um . . . hello?" she waved a hand at her.

--Darylohki, who wants to see where this is going.

(OOC Note: This Was Done With Daryl Over AIM)

*The Woman Looked Up. She Was Dressed In Plain, White Robes, Har Hair, Black As Night, Came Down To Her Ankles. She Moved Gracefully, Like A Swan. In Her Hands, Were Flowers.... She Looked At Daryl, And Daryl Noticed Her Eyes Were Pure White.... She Was Blind. As She Spoke, Her Voice Was Soft And Quiet* hello living one..... *Daryl blinked, not sure how to respond.* <Daryl> "So . . . you're one of the spirits that inhabit this realm?" *Daryl felt INCREDIBLY foolish, but couldn't very well walk away after being noticed.*

*The Woman Nodded, Before Kneeling Down At The Path. She Was Tending To Some Flowers That Were Along The Path* yes little one, i am.... *Daryl was rather stunned about the plants in Hades-- a place that she assumed was barren ground.* <Daryl> "How in the name of all that is Bardic did you manage to make flowers bloom HERE? She Smiled Softly beauty can be found anywhere, little one.... even in the underworld..... hades allows me to care for these flowers since i cannot reside in tartarus or the elysian fields....

<Daryl> "Really?" Daryl was again puzzled. "You can't? Why?" *She Lowered Her Head, Pain Upon Her Voice* because of my sorrow.... for my son..... <Daryl> "Really?" Daryl was moved. "That sounds awful. Did something happen do him? Did he do something?" *She Sniffled Slightly, Tearing Up* i.... dont know..... i died..... shortly after he was born.... <Daryl> "Ohhh . . ." Daryl felt awful. Death wasn't her greatest concern for much of her life, being as immortal as any god, but she knew that it was a sensitive subject for mortals. "So he's still alive?"

*Her Fingers Stroked The Petal Of One Of The Flowers As She Spoke, The Sadness Evident In Her Voice* i.... dont know.... <Daryl> "That's . . . that's really sad. What's your name, if I may ask?" *She Stood Up, And Pressed A Small Flower Into Daryl's Hand* my name is lilithia. *Daryl took the flower reverently, then tucked it in her hair.* <Daryl> "My name's Daryl. Nice to meet you." she slipped her hand into Lilithia's and shook it.

She Smiled little one... if you.... if you ever see my son... tell him his mother loves him. <Daryl> "I will. If I ever make it through and out of this place I promise I'll seek him out. Does he have a name? Anything I can identify him by?" She Nodded his name was jonathan. <Daryl> "Very well. I have to get going now. Is there anything else I can do for you? Any song you'd like to hear? I'm a bard you see . . ." Somehow it seemed inappropriate to boast about her demi-godhood to this woman, but Daryl was determined to help her out.

*The Woman Bent Down Again, And Began To Tend To The Flowers* no.... you have done enough, little one.... and i thank you..... *Daryl bowed her head, realizing too late that Lilithia couldn't see it.* "Very well then. Goodbye." *She walked back to the path, and continued forth in a slight daze.* "I hope I can make it through this-- I'd hate to disappoint her AND X."

Daryl walked on for what seemed like years and years. Her feet hurt like she never had thought possible in all her life. She was beginning to wish she had invested in some tennis shoes when she finally arrived.

The throne room of Hades.

It was a very gloomy hall, with dark, blood-colored tapestries, ending in a dais with two thrones. Upon them sat two gods, Daryl guessed it was Hades and Persephone. Persephone wore gray robes, her skin a pale ivory, while her hair was jet black. She wore fine jewels that glistened coldly in the somehow-blue torchlight. Hades, beside her, was as pale, but his hair was pure silver. He had the coldest blue eyes Daryl had ever seen, but was strikingly handsome. His scepter was ivory, topped with a human skull, and his piercing gaze appeared to be looking everywhere at once.

Swallowing her fear, and promising her mind that she'd have a panic attack LATER, when there was time, Daryl strode forth.

"Hades-- You know why I'm here. I have come to claim a soul that was prematurely taken away. And I WON'T take no for an answer!"

--Darylohki

[Hope this doesn't mess up anything.]

Charon: "Ugh, another one. What's it going to be this time, a ronada? A dirge? A blinkin' RAP?!"

SYE: "Actually, Charon, my good fellow, I believe I've got something for you...*digs around in his Bag*...flitched it off some whip-wielding pansy named Bellmonte...ah, here it is."

*SYE offers Charon the Red Crystal (props if you remember the game!)*

Charon: "Ah! My lucky bloodstone D20! Ha ha! Blasted DM Persephone will never cheat me out of a critical again! Climb abord, fleshling!"

*Hades Looked At Daryl, And Spoke* Ahhh, The Child Of Orpheus. I Was Wondering When You Would Finally Arrive. Have A Seat. *A Chair Slowly Raised From The Floor, Along With A Table In Front Of The Thrones Of Hades And Persephone. Persephone Waved A Hand, And A Small Silver Tray Appeared. 3 Bone China Cups Appeared On The Tray, Along With Some Small Plates And A Thing Of Cookies* <Persephone> Would You Care For Some Tea, Dear? *Persephone Picked Up A Small Tea Kettle Also On The Table, And Poured Some In Each Cup. Daryl Blinked, A Sweatdrop On Her Head. She Had Expected Something Different* <Daryl>N...Nani?!?! Hades Sighed Come Now, Just Because I Am The Lord Of The Underworld Doesent Mean I Am Devoid Of Any Manners Whatsoever.

*Daryl Took a Seat, Accepting One Of The Cups. Hades And Persephone Took The Other Two, And The Three Sat In Silence For A Few Minutes, Drinking. Finally, Hades Set His Cup Down On The Table* I Know What You Are Here For. You Are Here For The Soul Of The One Called Liquid-X. But I Cannot Release Him. Daryl Set Her Cup On The Table <Daryl> But... But... Persephone Traced A Finger Along The Arm Of Her Husband Hades <Persephone> Dear.... Hades Shook His Head I Cannot Release The Soul Of Liquid-X For I Am Not The One Who Holds Him Here. Daryl Blinked In Suprise <Daryl> NANI!?!?!

A Small Clear Orb Floated Down In Front Of Daryl Normally, I Would Balk At Returning Souls.... However, This One Has Caused Much Trouble For Me. The Judges Can Not Even Decide Whether He Should Be In Tartarus Of Elysia..... Because He Has Decided His Own Fate. *The Orb Glowed Slightly, And In It Appeared X. He Was... Suspended In A Room.... Chains Wrapped Around Him, Attached To All The Surfaces Of The Room. A Large Metal Mask Was Grafted On His Face, His Mouth, His Ears, His Eyes, All Blocked. He Hung There, In Silence....*

Those Bonds Are His Own. When He Arrived Here, He Felt So Strongly About What His Fate Should Be, His Powers Twisted The Very Underworld Itself To Create Those Bonds. He Has Punished Himself. *Hades Picked His Cup Up And Sipped, Before Speaking Again* Those Same Powers Have Begun To Warp Other Parts Of The Underworld... And... If Something Is Not Done Soon, He Will Damn Himself To A Fate Far More Worse Then Any Tartarus Could Devise....

Daryl nearly dropped her teacup, but a burst of willpower allowed her to set it down carefully. She studied the vision before her with shakey eyes. Her hand flew up to her mouth to stifle any sobs that sought exit.

--Oh X-sama . . .-- she thought numbly. --What EVER could have caused you to believe that you deserved THAT?--

As her mind tried to digest this horrific image, a door in her brain creaked open. A VERY old memory, going back hundreds of years, stumbled out.

She had been young. A human would have considered her only about 8 or 9. She, at that time, lived with her father on "This Planet," since her mother wanted nothing to do with the young demi-goddess. The now-immortal Orpheus didn't mind, for in his tiny daughter (She was very short, even then, for a demi-goddess), he was beginning to find some of the happiness he had left in the Underworld with Eurodice. Her lessons in barddom were done for the morning. Since she and Orpheus lived alond in a thick forest, she had no playmates, but she contented herself with exploring and practicing her powers in the woods. She left her light hawk Bubbles home that day-- she was fully intent on having fun, and the hawk was too much like a surrogate parent to allow that.

"Be sure to come home before dark, honey." Orpheus called, hard at work on a new lyre.

"Hai, Otousan!!" Daryl giggled and fluttered off.

"When DID she learn Japanese Anyway?" Orpheus wondered.

***

Daryl flew and flew, not strong enough to go very high just yet. She sang a simple song as she went--

[OOC note: This is to the tune of "Three O'Clock Fairies from "Sailor Moon Super S" (the movie). No, this is NOT a translation-- this is just a little song I made up to go with the tune. S'all good, ne? ^_^]

"Oh don't you hear the simple song,
A tugging, pulling melody?
In the night below the moon,
Three O'Clock Fairies have come for me,

Quickly heat the kettle dear,
Eat just a little chocolate kiss,
The stars are shining in the sky,
Three O'Clock Fairies I will not miss!

Ah, Ah, the Apple Pie!
Oh, Oh, the Caramel!
Pixi Sticks and Fruit to Mix,
Chocolate Milk and Cook-ies!

So quickly heat the kettle dear,
Eat just a little chocolate-- OOMPH!!"

Daryl hadn't been watching. A branch came out of nowhere and she hit it at full force, right in her gut. The wind knocked out of her, she fell limply towards the forest floor. On the way, a net stretched to catch birds caught her, but was too badly rigged to stop her fall. She became entangled and fell further to hit a canvas sheet, rigged to cover the captured fowls once the hunters returned. That too tangled around Daryl, and her world became VERY dark and stifling. She began struggling, but that only tangled her worse. It wasn't long before she felt the ground drop out from under her.

She had managed to roll into a nearby stream

No sight.
No sound.
No motion.
No AIR!

It was horrifically cold, and the wet material clung to her ever tighter, as if it wished to meld with her skin. Daryl tried to scream, only filling her lungs with water as a result. It seemed as though everything had disappeared in the world, leaving her so horribly alone that she couldn't even think . . .

Except one thing.

--Somebody help me PLEASE!!--

The world began to slip away . . .

The next thing she felt was a pair of arms, hauling the canvas/net package she was in upward and out of the water. She immeadiately began coughing and whimpering as the water drained away. A sound of surprise (she wasn't sure what was said, the canvas was too thick) came from outside, and she felt someone poking her. A general wail that could have been "Get me OUT of here PLEEEAASSSE!!!" flew forth from the trapped demi-goddess, but it came out sounding more like a strangled sob.

Immediately, a bunch of canvas was pulled away from her in a bunch, and she heard what sounded like a knife working away at it. A few moments passed where Daryl whimpered hysterically, but soon a passable hole was made, and a slim, pale arm reached in and took her by the hand. Again, the Canvas interfered, but she could tell that whoever was outside was telling her to calm down. She ceased her crying and waited as the hand disappeared and the knife went to work again. Soon, she was free, and looking at a boy, about her physical age, with dark hair and questioning eyes. Daryl's fears disappated and she tossed her wet hair over her shoulder.

"Arigatou!! I'm Daryl-- Who're you?" she asked, with youthful exuberance.

**********

The memory faded.

Daryl was shocked. She hadn't thought of HIM in centuries.

--Why now?-- she wondered. --And who WAS he?-- But her fickle memory would not yield up the boy's name.

Getting back to the business at hand, she turned to Hades.

"Alright. What can I do to save him? If you tell me nothing, expect the worst malleting you've ever had in your entire existence."

--Darylohki

Hades Siped His Tea I Cant Tell You, Daryl... *Daryls Eyes Went Fiery, And She Pulled Out A Mallet, Prepared To Strike* Because I Dont Know Myself. All I Can Say, Daryl, Is That He Needs To Be Convinced To Release His Hold On The Underworld. To Destroy The Bonds Of His Own Making. *Hades Motioned With His Hand, And A Door Opened* This Passage Leads Deeper Into The Underworld. At The End, Lays X. I Cannot Tell You What You Will Find Along The Way, As Much Of That Section Of The Underworld Has Been Twisted By X. But It Is The Only Way I Can Think Of.

*Daryl Looked At Hades, Then At The Doorway. Without A Second Thought, She Went Through The Door And Began Her Descent. She Travelled For Awhile. It Seemed Like Hours.... When She Heard A Voice Behind Her* Hello, Child Of Orpheus. *She Turned Around Her, and There Stood A Young Boy With A Cane Who Looked... Familiar....* I Shall Be Your Guide.

-------------------------------------------------------
*Meanwhile, SYE Found Himself In A Rather.... Unfortunate Position* <SYE> SCAT! SHOO! Leave Me ALONE! *SYE Hung From A Wall Off The Underworld, Underneath Him Was A Rather Hungry Cerebus* <Cerebus Right Head> FOOD! FOOD! CMON! JUST A NIBBLE OF YOUR LEG! OR A PEICE OF THIGH! CMMMMMMMMON!!!!! SYE Suddendly Pointed In Another Direction <SYE> Look! Its That Little Chuck Wagon That Runs Through The Underworld And Puts Food In Your Bowl! All Three Heads Of Cerebus Looked In The Other Direction And SYE Dropped To The Floor <SYE> YOINK! SUCKERS! *SYE Took Of Running. Cerebus Figured Out It Had Been Duped, And Took Off After Him*

--This is TOO WIERD.-- she thought. --Did someone read my mind? This is that kid . . . the kid I was thinking about . . .--

She shook her head rapidly to clear it. --Ah well, at least I have an adorable chibi-bishonen as my guide and not some big scary monster thing.--

"Hallo." She said. "What's with the cane? And what should I call you?"

Daryl hoped her pale face didn't show her aprehension. She was ready to give it her all, and no SPOONY mind tricks were gonna work on HER.

--Darylohki

Excal: Heh, why am I not surprised I'd end up in Hell.

*Excal looks around his surroundings.*

Excal: Well, I suppose things could be worse. Then again, it seems that I've lost my weapon here. Figures I wouldn't be able to bring anything except my clothing to Hell. Huh, what's that?

*Excal stops to listen as he hears a sudden rumbling sound of something large stampeding his way, and a cry of distress that sounded strangely familiar.*

Excal: Huh, is that? It is, SYE!

*Excal soon gets confirmation of that as SYE runs right into him knocking them both down. Cerberus runs up right after him and stands there looking at them.*

Right head: OOOOH, MORE TASTIES!

Excal, who's just here to make life even more difficult for SYE.

The Childlike Guide Turned Away From Daryl Right Now, Child Of Orpheus, My Name Is Not Important. Now, Follow Me, There Is Much You Need To Learn Before You Can Hope To Finish Your Quest..... *He Began Walking, As Daryl Followed Behind Him* Now, Child, To Free The One Called X, You Must Begin To Understand Him. And To Do That, You Must Be Able To Understand His Nature. *As They Walked, He Continued His Speach* To Understand His Nature, You Must Understand That Of Reality Itself. First Of All, Child, Everything Has Some Connection To One Or More Of The "Base" Elements. These Are Life And Death, Good And Evil, Balance And Chaos, Time And Space. EVERYTHING Has Some Connection To At Least One Of These Base Elements.

*The Continued To Walk, And Daryl Noticed How The Underworld Was Beggining To Look.... Different.... Darker.... And More Sinister. The Guide Continued To Speak* These Base Elements Cannot Exist Without Its Oposing Element. Chaos Cannot Exist Without Balance. Good Cannot Exist Without Evil. Life Without Death. Or Time Without Space. Next, There Are Lesser Elements. These Would Be Elements Like Harmony and Discord, Love And Hate, Or Pain And Pleasure. These All Have Some Basis On One Or More Of The Base Elements.

Next, There Are Beings Like The Eternals. They Draw Their Power From One Of The Base Elements, Like Time. This Makes Them Powerful, Yet They Are Weak Against Another Element. A Being Like Infinija Is A Prime Example. Then, There Are Gods. They Usually Draw Upon One Base Elemental, Or A Few Lesser Elementals. Hades, Who Draws Upon Death, Is A Prime Example. Demi-Gods Are Next. They Are Not As Powerful As A God, But Are A Bit More Flexible, Usually Drawing Upon More Lesser Elementals. You, Child, Are A Prime Example.

Then, There Are Mortals. They Are Weak, In That They Do Not Draw On Any Specific Elemental. However, They Are Also The Most Powerful In That They Can Adapt And Draw On ANY Elemental. They Can Control Time And Space, Life And Death..... They Can Be Good Or Evil, Balanced Or Chaotic.... They Are Weak, Physically, However Their Ability To Adapt Is Beyond Anything Else.

And Then, Child Of Orpheus, Their Are Beings Like X. They Have The Adaptability Of A Mortal, And Yet They Contain The Powers Of One Of The Very Base Elements. These Beings Are Rare. They Are Both The Strongest, And Yet The Weakest Of All. The Guide Stopped And Looked At Daryl Do You Understand, Child?

. . . trying hard not to mallet her guide for CONSTANTLY calling her "child."

--I'm a full grown demi-goddess, thank you very much.-- her mind thought sourly. --You don't need to be so damn condescending!--

She paused, threw her anger to the winds and looked at her young guide.

"Ok, I already know a good amount of this. Especially the part concerning myself and the gods. So-- X-sama is one of those hybrids but not a demi-god. What else are you going to tell me?"

Daryl looked at him intently, and was keenly aware of his chibi-bishonenness.

--Oh he'd BETTER answer quick before I throw him in a pair of elephant underwear and beg for iced coffee and make an utter ass of myself because he's not REALLY a chibi no chibi is that philosophical waaaaaaaaaa . . .--

--Darylohki, of the HUGE Shouta complex!

Eighth quickly flipped off Excal, and whipped three sticks out of his Bag.

SYE: "FETCH!" *somehow tosses three sticks off in three totally opposite directions, each with equal velocity*

Cerberus: .oO(No!! Canine instincts...taking over! Must fetch! But...which one?!?!?) paralysed by indecision

SYE: "Now, run away!"

Excal: "Where?"

SYE: "There! That's where the unusually evil evilness is, so that's where the problem is!"

Right: Finally! Someone who's playing with us. Let's go chase that stick.

Left: NO! LET's HUNT DOWN THAT ONE!

Middle: I suggest we go after the biggest one.

Right: Which one is that?

Middle: The one that threw the stick and that is trying to escape from us. He went that way.

Left: WHAT! HOW DARE HE TRY TO TRICK THE GREAT HELLHOUND OF HADES AGAIN!

Right: I prefer to think of this as him playing fetch using himself as a stick. Really very considerate of him.

Middle: Well, now that we're in agreement, let's go!

*The great hellhound bound after them. Meanwhile, Excal and SYE quickly found themselves at the River Styx.*

SYE: Zounds, we seem to have a bit of a problem. But Charon'll be nice enough to ferry us across.

Excal: You sure?

SYE: Oh yes. I'm a repeat customer.

Excal: Why am I not surprised. Er, it sounds like your little friend is back on our trail. And I sure as hell don't wanna swim in THAT and it seems Charon is currently halfway through ferrying another group of people to that side.

Excal, running interference.

*Daryl And The Guide Reached A Large Room. He Stopped* Here Is The Beggining, Child. Here You Shall Begin To Learn Of Past Events. *He Waved His Cane, And Images Began To Form* Many Years Ago, Child, There Was A Woman Who Wanted Nothing More Then A Child. For Days, She Prayed Hoping They Would Be Answered. Then, One Day, They WERE Answered. The Base Elemental, Chaos Itself Heard Her Prayers.... And For A Reason That Shall Never Be Known, Manifested Itself In Human Guise. In A Moment Of Weakness, She Had An Affair With It. And The Next Day, It Was Gone. She Would Soon Learn She Was Pregnant.

She And Her Husband Were Happy. However, The Guilt Of That Night Weighed On Her Mind, Along With The Fact She Noticed Her Husband Was Drinking More And More. Daryl Watched As The Scene Played Out Before Her Then, She Gave Birth. She Was Happy. However, Her Husband Was Becoming A Drunkard.... And Showing Signs Of Irrational Behavior.... But She Figured It Was Just Stress, And Ignored It. Then... One Day About Two Or Three Years Later, She Could Not Withold The Truth Any Longer. She Told Him Of Her Affair. And, In A Violent Fit, He Killed Her.

The Father Then Began To View His "Son" As Nothing More The Chattel. A Worthless Creature That Was Not His Own. The Father Blamed The Boy For His Killing His Wife. And Instead Of Killing The Boy, The Sole Reminder Of His Wifes Infidelity, He Decided To "Punish" The Boy. For Years, He Treated The Boy As Scum. Nothing But Worthless Trash. He Convinced This Boy That His Mothers Death Was HIS Fault. He Would Beat And Torture Him, Sometimes Letting Him Go For Days Without Food Or Water, Chained And Unable To Move.

*The Scenes Played Out Before Daryl, The Guide Spoke* Then, One Day, The Boy Snapped. His Mind Could Not Take What He Believed Was His Fault. The Pain, The Hurt, The Anger All Blended Together. And The Powers That Lay Hidden Deep Within Emerged. Because His True Father Was Chaos, He Had Those Powers Deep Within. And In His Rage, He Broke Free, and Went Nuts. Later, He Awoke.... No Knowledge Of What He Had Done. His Father Missing.... Blood On His Hands... His Clothes.... The House He Had Lived In Engulfed In Flames.... And All He Knew Was That Somehow... It Was His Fault. That Boy, Was The One Who Would Become Liquid-X....

Daryl was frozen in place. NOTHING hurt her more than a) Seeing her Bards Hurt, b) Seeing a Chibi Bishonen hurt, or c) Seeing her friends hurt.

She was getting two out of three right in front of her.

She couldn't hold back the tears, though she managed somehow not to become hysterical.

"How could ANYONE," she said with venom, "DARE to do that to a child?!" Her anger grew and grew until her aura began to show it, glowing golden in the darkness of the Underworld. Then a thought occured to her. She pulled X's pendant out of her pouch.

"Does this have anything to do with it? I found it in some ruins . . . but that was in Etermina . . ."

--Darylohki

Eighth gets a bit irritated by all this, with the drooling hellhound and the screetching Furies above and the PKE meter in his back pocket squacking irritating "Atchung! Bvigen Bvardique Energviezne Nhearbvie!"

SYE: "Oh, for the love of spoony...HOLD IT!"

Cerberus obediently skittered to a halt.

Left Head: "You're mine now, fleshling! I'm gonna tear out yer guts, eat 'em, flamebroil your @$$, and eat it, then I'm gonna claw your head up, crack it open and--"

SYE: rhetorically "Eat it?"

Left Head: "--yeah, and...OI! This is my speech!"

Right Head: "Sorry about this, he gets like this sometimes, always so impulsive."

Middle Head: "Sure, leave me to do all the formal work, thanks...*ahem* Cower now, tresspasser, before the awesome Guardian of the Gate. Why have you dared to trespass in the land of the dead, yadda yadda, 12 000 GP fee plus your soul, yadda yadda."

Left Head: "But his pancreas looks so juicy!"

Middle Head: "I'm surprised you know what a pancreas is."

Right Head: "You two disgust me. sighs So, what's the story, friend?"

SYE: "I think this has all been a misunderstanding, actually. You see, my friend here, Excal--"

Excal: "Hello."

SYE: "--is, in fact, dead, and, as such, has every right to be here."

Middle Head: growls "Then why did he flee!?"

SYE: .oO(I dunno, maybe the fact you're a 2 story triple headed fire-breathing abomination was a contributing factor?!!!) "As for myself, I have documented proof of my death. All of them. *pulls out a thick, thick sheaf of papers*"

Right Head: "Hmm... flips through with paw ...yes, these are all valid, all notarized by Death, wow, even the Frequent Resurrectee Seal of Approval...I think he's got us here."

Left Head: "But I'm sooooooooooooo hungry!!!!"

SYE: tosses it Kefka

Left Head: "YUM!"

Kefka: "Nooooaaarrghlesplattersplatteargristle!"

Excal: "You had Kefka in your Bag?!"

SYE: "Little @#$ just didn't know when to shut up."

Middle Head: "Very well, you are free to enter Hades. But I'm warning you...one mistake and..."

Right Head: mouth full of Kefka "Phwell rare rhor 'ead 'ff!"

SYE: "Yes. Thank you. Now, let's see, there should be a Karmic Balance monitor around here somewhere, that'll give me a better idea as to the problem..."

Excal: Err, is that thing over there a Kharmic Monitor?

*Excal points at something on the other side of the River Styx.*

SYE: So it is! Well then, let's get on the boat.

Excal: There is no boat. It's on the other side.

SYE: Then there's only one thing to do. We wait!

*And so they wait. While they wait another person arives. He's around 18 years of age, wearing leather armour, and is carrying a longbow. However, he looks with somewhat concealed dread at the water. While the two watch him, Charon arrives.*

Charon: I just get back from ferrying that bunch across and there's already a crowd waiting for me! And YOU! I just brought you over here a few minutes ago! Why d'you want back across?

SYE: Well good sir. I was headed to Hades and took a wrong turn and ended up going this way. And my friend here kindly turned me in the right direction.

Charon: Fine, I'll take you across again. But you gotta pay me again or I'll toss you into the river. Now you, another dead person. Can you pay?

Excal: What currency? Dollars, Gil, Rupees, Drachmas?

Charon: I'm not picky. Here in Hades we take 'em all.

Excal: Excellent. (pulls out a pouch full of gil) Here you are.

Charon: And you. What the? Why's a God here? And a Norse one too! Aren't you supposed to be in Valhalla?

Llewelyn: Um, I'm here to try and track down one of the Vanir who's carrying some important information we don't want getting out. I've determined he's escaped to here, Hades.

Charon: Bah, why should I let one of you Norsemen across? Why, back in the good ol' days Gods would stick to their own myths and locations. None of THIS, nosiree.

Llewelyn: So you're saying that you can't take me across?

Excal: Just curious, but if you don't take him across. Doesn't that mean that you'd be stuck with another Norse character left inside Hades?

Charon: Your point?

Excal: Well, it seems to me you have a choice of letting him in for a bit to get rid of this guy and then he leaves and you're both happy. Or, you turn him away and that other guy stays here as long as he likes. And not only that, but he'll use this place as a sanctuary because he knows he cannot be chased here. As you can see, it's in your interest to let him across.

Charon: Fine then. If you want him across so badly. Then you two can look after him while he's here. And if he returns without the two of you, then I'll have the great pleasure of seeing you both writh in eternal torment.

Excal: Sounds reasonable enough.

Excal, VP cameo!

*As The Three Prepared To Cross, Something Happened. In A Coincidence That Would Probably Never Be Explained, And That Involved Intense Mathematical Equations That Had No Real Relevance To The Occuring Events Other Then A Stray God Of Irony Who Happened To Like Intense Mathematical Equations, A Rock Fell On SYE. A Big Rock. A Very Big Rock.* <Excal> Oh My God, They Killed Section_Yea Eighth! Lleweyln Chimed In <Lleweyln> You Spoony BAKA'S! *As Excal And Lleweyln Looked On In Suprise, A Familiar Figure Appeared. It Was Death* <Death> Allright, Im In A Hurry, So Lets Make This Qu....Wait A Second... *Death Noticed Where He Was. As The Second Dead SYE Crawled Out From The Rock, He Saw Death. Death Blinked. SYE Blinked. Death Blinked Again. SYE Blinked Again. Death's Eye Twitched. SYE Blinked A Third Time. Death Pointed A Finger At SYE* <Death> You AGAIN!?!?! How In All That Is Spoony Did You Die WHILE ALREADY DEAD!?!?!

*Excal, Who Was Getting Rather Used To This, Motioned For Lleweyln To Be Quiet* <Death> Do You Realize I Havent Had A Break In Over A Century Thanks To You?!?! ARGH! *SYE Said Nothing, And Handed Death A Small Card. Death Pulled Out A Small Device, Punched A Hole In The Card, And Handed The Card Back* <Death> There! I Hope Your Happy Now! Stupid Spoony..... *Death Vanished, And SYE Dusted Himself Off* <Excal> Hey SYE, Whats That? SYE Said Nonchalantly Just My Frequent Death Card.... If I Die Ten More Times, I Get A Free Toaster..... *And With That, The Three Boarded Charons Boat*

Before Daryl's guide could answer her question, the underworld was rocked by a massive earthquake. She was knocked, most unceremoniously, on her butt.

"Itaaaiiii~~~~~" she murmered. Only when she was sitting down could she truly appreciate the hell her feet were going through. "I be hurrrtiin . . ."

Tucking X's pendant safely in "The Bag!"(TM), Daryl unwound the ribbons from her legs and removed her sandals. Wincing, she tied the ribbons around her bruised, bleeding, and damaged feet. They were quickly stained crimson with her blood but they stifled any further bleeding. Putting the sandals back on, she stood and looked at her guide.

"Well, are you just going to look at me and sweatdrop or are you going to tell me more about X-sama?" she said pointedly.

--Darylohki, whose fingers ache more from typing those infernal papers than her feet hurt from this "infernal" journey. (Oh, that's SO punny!)

The Childlike Guide Turned Around And Continued To Walk Deeper Into The Passage Come, Child. We Have Much To Do and Little Time In Which To Do It. That Earthquake Was Because Of X. As The Underworld Changes And Warps To Fit His Punishment, It Makes Our Way More Dangerous. *The Sound Of His Cane On The Stone Floor Echoed Through The Passage. As They Walked, New Images Began To Appear On The Walls* After That First Slip Into Madness, He Was Alone. Scared, Bleeding, Bruised.... The House, The Only Thing He Really Knew, Was Burning. And Somehow He Knew It Was His Fault. His Father Was Gone.... Probably Dead By His Own Hands.

He Didnt Know What To Do, So He Began Walking. He Travelled For What Seemed Like Months To A Young Child, But Was Probably More Like A Day. He Came To A Town. He Was Hungry, Tired, Cold, And New Little Of The World Around Him. It Was The Beggining Of A New Hell For Him, As He Was Treated Like Dirt By The Townspeople. Forced To Live In The Gutters Of The Town, Begging For Food, Eating What Food He Could Scrounge From The Trash. To The People, He Was Nothing More Then Another Little Street Urchin, Destined To Live And Die In The Filth. Beaten By The Guards For Simply Being In The Way..... Scorned By The Villagers For Percieved Crimes He Could Not Fathom..... He Lived This Way For A Year... And Then....

*The Images Changed Before Daryl's Eyes.* One Day, His Powers Surged Again. A Guard Nearly Beat Him To Death Because Tripped Into Him. X Lost Controll, And When He Awoke, The Town Was In Flames. The Bodies Of The Townspeople Lie Around Him, And Once Again, He Lay There In A Pool Of Blood. The Dead Around Him, All By His Hand. He Didnt Remember How, But Deep Down He Knew It Was Him. *The Guide Continued, As Daryl Watched* And So He Travelled Again. His Young Dreams Often Filled With The Screams Of The Towsnpeople As He Slaughtered Them In A Rage. He Continued On, For Many Night, Until One Night A Small Light Of Hope Shone On His Life.....

*Charon's boat arrives at the other end of the river Styx and the three passangers get off of it.*

SYE: Ah, excellent! There's the Kharmic Balance Monitor! (heads off to check its readings.)

Llewelyn: So, now what...

Excal: Dunno, I've never been here before. SYE over there might know his way around, otherwise it would probably be best to get ourselves a guide.

Llewelyn: Er, yes. What is your friend?

Excal: I don't really know. All I know is that he can occasionally be surprisingly tough, and that if you kill him, he'll only pop up again somewhere else. How about you? You're actually a Norse god?

Llewelyn: Well, not really... It's just that when I died, I was chosen by the Valkyrie and then she sent me to Asgard. And when I got sent up, I was given the title of 16th Level God. How about you?

Excal: Just a plain old mortal. However, lacking the support of any deity, I got sent here. At least, any deity with authority over dead people.

*Just then they both feel a fairly massive Earthquake. They try to keep their footing as the ground rumbles beneath them. Then after a bit, it stops. The two of them get their bearings.*

Llewelyn: What just happened? There's not supposed to be earthquakes here.

Excal: I don't know. Maybe SYE would know? But, where'd he dissapear to?

*The two of them look over by the monitor only to see death standing by a long, but very thin crack in the ground that hadn't been there before. Then, before their eyes, a very thin SYE crawled out of the crack.*

Death: I shoulda known it'd be you again! Most people are content dying just once or twice in their lifetime but with you it's at least that many times a day!

*As Death was spechifying, SYE stuck his thumb in his mouth and blew, somehow inflating himself back to his normal thickness. Then he pulled out his card. Death glared at him as he pulled out his device and punched the card. Then, without another word, Death left.*

Llewelyn: Is he always dying?

Excal: No, but then again, we aren't always working in the closest proximity so I wouldn't know what's normal for him...

SYE: Alright, I know which way that general evilness is!

Llewelyn: General evilness?

SYE: Yeah. Thing which is very evil and does things like earthquakes and dropping very big stones on people.

Excal: But what about Llewelyn? If we don't help him with his quest and escort him around, then we're gonna end up writhing in eternal torment.

SYE: Well, how do we know that this evil isn't what he's searching for?

Excal: How do we know that it is?

Llewelyn: It might now be it. But it's the best news we have.

Excal, exams done and over with!

"I am sure this may be . . . familiar to you, Child. It was getting late, and X was alone when he heard noises. Another child, caught in a net. He freed her. Or, to be more precise, he freed YOU, Child."

For Daryl it was one of those moments. It was . . . when the world suddenly turns black with a white lightning bolt perfectly perpendicular to your head. When you are so stunned that you can do nothing but revert to memory . . .

****

"Arigatou!! I'm Daryl-- Who're you?" the soaked demi-goddess asked, with youthful exuberance drowning out her previous fear.

The young X looked at her . . . he was cold . . . wet . . . dirty . . . and yet . . . something about her . . . "I . . . I'm . . ." he searched his mind . . . "I'm . . . I don't . . . have a name . . ."

"No name, huh?" Daryl blinked. "I've never met someone without a name before-- except all the cute little puppies and kittens that come around the house . . .and those nice bears too!" Daryl remembered the wolves and the lynxes and the bears fondly.

X nodded slightly . . . unsure of what to do or say . . . no one had ever really treated him nicely before.

"Do you like not having a name?" Daryl asked, very inquisitive and very naive. "It must be fun-- your parents can't really call you home, can they? So you can play all day!"

X lowered his head slightly . . . no Home . . . no Parents . . . He looked up.

"Y-yeah . . . I guess it's . . . fun . . ."

"Well . . . is there anything I can call you?" The young bardic spirit spoke up again. "I mean . . . I don't like just saying ‘hey you.' My daddy says that's rude." Daryl probed further, noting that this young man wasn't smiling as much as people she was used to. This unnerved her slightly, but only enough to prompt her curiosity.

X's mind, on the other side, raced as he thought . . . and he remembered a small doll he used to have . . . before his father burned it as punishment. "Uh . . . X . . ."

"Ecks? That's a good name for you." Daryl nodded approvingly, storing the name away for future use. "Hey!" She got a sudden idea. "You wanna go play? I know a nice place in the woods that shouldn't be too far from here if I don't miss my guess! It's got a BIG mountain and a nice little waterfall! Animals come there all the time to hear me play my harp!" She brandished said instrument with a bardic flair.

The boy blinked. "O . . .Okay . . ."

Daryl grabbed him by the arm and dragged the young "Ecks" along with her until they reached a peaceful grotto. Moss covered big rocks at the base of a large hill, undoubtably Daryl's "mountain." Birds winged through there and occasionally a deer would come to drink. No predators DARED show their face there anymore-- Daryl's malleting skills were just as good back then as in the present time.

"This is my secret place, Ecks." she said seriously as he stood, taking it all in. "You're dead meat if you tell anyone about it."

X nodded, "Okay . . ." He looked around. It was . . . peaceful. "It's Nice . . ."

Daryl smiled. "You wanna hear my new song?" she turned to him impishly, sitting down on a rock.

"Sure." X nodded then sat down, looking around.

Daryl grinned happily, tuned her harp (which had somehow survived its dunk in the stream, being an "Orpheus Imperial Training Harp" ["Your young, learning bards CAN'T break it!" is the slogan]), and settled down to play. She sang as she played, a cute little song to spring, but the words were juvenile and Daryl would come to forget that song in years to come.

The little ditty wafted around on the breeze, the tune calming the young X . . . and, for the first instance in the longest time, he was at peace, listening to the melody.

Daryl, on her side, was PLEASED as punch to FINALLY have someone to enjoy her music. Animals are one thing, but having a real live PERSON hear her work (besides her father) was a new experience. She was particularly happy that "Ecks" looked so relaxed-- he lay back in the grass as he listened with a calm expression on his face.

Daryl played for a long time, occasionally stopping to ask "Ecks" if she had missed a note somewhere. She received nothing but positive feedback. Finally, she stopped.

"Ok, enough practice. It's time to play." She tagged "Ecks" lightly. "You're it! I'm gonna hide, and you're gonna find me! Hide your eyes and count to 50!"

X Blinked. "O-Okay . . ." He closed his eyes and did his best to count.

The bardic demi-goddess giggled and ran over to a tall tree. She hitched up her skirt and climbed up a few limbs until she was able to hide in the leaves, then turned to watch for "Ecks's" pursuit.

X, back at his spot, finally managed to count to 50, despite the struggle he had to remember the numbers. He uncovered his eyes and blinked, not really knowing what to do, never having played before. "Uh . . ."

Daryl frowned slightly, waiting impatiently. "Ecks" didn't seem to be doing anything. She soon grew lonely in her hiding place. Discreetly, the young girl reached up and grabbed a few branches and rustled them loudly.

As the noise permeated the clearing, X looked up. Slowly, he began to walk up to it.

Daryl waited as X got closer and closer, but finally, unable to bear the suspense, squealed and leapt from her hiding place, running for the big rock that she had deemed "Base."

"WAH!" X fell on his back from the surprise.

"SAFE!" Daryl laughed as she struck the rock, then turned quizzically to the young boy on the ground. "You're pretty bad at this game, Ecks." she said candidly. "Howabout we play a game YOU'RE good at? What do you usually play?"

X climbed to his feet slowly. "Uh . . . I've never . . . played any games before . . ."

"Nani?!" Daryl's eyes widened. "You STUDY ALL THE TIME? Your fingers must hurt!" Daryl ran up to him and grabbed one of his hands to examine it, then frowned. "Hmm, no string burns . . .how do you keep from hurting yourself if you practice all the time? You must be a spectacular bard!"

X blinked again "B . . .Bard?"

Daryl ignored his question, looking very excited. "You should have told me! So what instruments do you play?"

"Instruments . . .?"

"I play the lute, the harp, the marimba . . . well there's not a lot I don't play." Daryl grinned. "My daddy taught me a lot of different instruments. I'd guess you as the PIANO type. Am I right?"

X blinked once more, wondering what she was talking about. "Uh . . ."

"Or maybe the flute? That would explain your fingers-- they wouldn't have to work as hard on a woodwind . . ." Daryl began to walk around "Ecks," inspecting him critically. "You COULD be a drummer, but your upper shoulders don't suggest that kind of exercise . . ."

X looked nervous, unsure what she was talking about, and so just nodded his head.

"Hey! That's great! You can accompany me!" Daryl pulled a drum out of nowhere and placed it in front of X. "Do you sight-read well? Here, this music is pretty easy." she pulled some parchment out and placed it on a rock near "Ecks," a conglomeration of notes that would have puzzled Yo Yo Ma.

X's blinker almost broke from all the blinking he was doing. "Uh . . . but . . . I . . ."

"Hm?" Daryl looked up from pulling out her own music and tuning her lute.

"But . . . I . . ." X started, not knowing what to say. "I . . . what's a ‘Bard?'"

Daryl stopped cold, shock flying through her system. "Guh?! Y-you . . . you don't know . . . what a . . . a bard is?"

"N--No . . ."

Daryl was totally shocked, and her face showed it. She had NEVER, in her LIFE met ANYONE that didn't know what a bard was. "You really don't know? Um . . . uh . . ." This was a VERY awkward moment, as Daryl tried to remember WHAT a bard really was. She had never had to explain it before. She thought hard, and, to her great relief, came up with what her father had once told her.

"A bard," she recited primly, "is the highest form of musician. They came from an ancient order of Minstrel Poets, and over the years learned to cast magic using their music. Bards strive to right wrongs and triumph over evil, the force of their harmony overpowering the strongest forces of Dischord. And I am their patron-- or I will be one of these days. Do you understand? <Yes> <No>"

"Uh . . ." X blinked "Uh . . . yes?"

Daryl sighed, relieved. "Well, it's clear you're not a bard, if you don't even know what they are. What ARE you then? A dancerfighter? A Composer?"

X blinked, still confused. He had never encountered someone that demanded so many answers about himself. "I . . . er . . .I'm Me?"

This was a new response, one Daryl didn't expect. She smiled warmly. "Wow! That's really neat! You're training to be you! That's kinda what I'm doing, if you stop to think about it. I never really considered that . . . that's a COOL way of thinking about it, Ecks!"

X smiled a little, happy to have actually done something right " . . . . . Thanks . . ."

Daryl smiled back, very pleased to see a smile on his face. Then, her smile faltered as she gazed at the darkening sky. "Ack-- it's getting late. My daddy will be worried if I'm not home before dark." Daryl frowned, hating to leave her new friend. "Hey, can we play again tomorrow?"

X nodded "Sure!"

"WAI!" Daryl smiled and hopped up and down a bit in youthful exuberance. "Meet me here tomorrow, when the sun is at its highest! I'll bring a picnic lunch!"

X Nodded, Smiling "Okay . . ."

Daryl's wings sprouted and she fluttered off, turning to wave as she went.

--This is cool!-- she thought to herself, giggling. -- Now there's a REASON to come out here in the woods!--

*****

The images in front of Daryl began to fade, as the guide motioned with his cane.
"Do you remember now, Child?"

Daryl blinked, coming back to reality with a start.
--THAT was X!?-- she thought numbly. It all made sense now-- in her childish mind, his name had been imprinted as "Ecks," so hundreds of years later when meeting him again . . . she had . . . forgotten. Suddenly, she paled. "You mean . . . that . . . oh god . . ." she covered her mouth with her hand, feeling sick to her stomach. "you mean that . . . I left him alone . . . too . . .?"

The guide motioned with his cane, and more images appeared.
"Every day the two of you met, in that glade. Then, one day, you vanished. The first friend X had ever had . . . he waited there, never leaving that spot for days. Sitting, hoping you would return. Yet you never did. And finally, close to death, he had to leave.

Daryl was crying again, not able to fully take in all of this. The sick feeling in her stomach grew with every word.

"But . . ." here she screamed the last: "BUT IT WASN'T MY FAULT!! IT WAS MY FATHER! HE MADE ME LEAVE!!"

Liquid X
--Darylohki, who apologizes if she changed too much while editing! ^_^

Eighth confidently strode over the endless Plains of Asfodel, casually stepping between the billions of condemned souls.

SYE: "Yes! This is the way to it!"

Excal: squeezing through the crowds "To what?"

SYE: "Oh, just a minor karmic perforation. Typical when the force balance of a region is neglected for so long (honestly, not as if Hades has anything to do but brood all day, you'd think he'd take the time out to defrag his Chi Drive every few millenia!)."

Llewlyn: picks way through a clump of black poplars "All these lives...waiting eternally for a redemption that will not come..."

SYE: "Okay, left here! Now, there's a bit of a transition in energy levels here, so be prepared for a bit of a--"

Excal and Llewlyn sneezed.

SYE: "--shock."

Llewlyn: "'Od's blood!"

Excal: "Wow. Nice place."

SYE: "Eh, Elysium elshmesium. Too blinkin' cheery."

The trees dance to the music, the sun (despite being blocked by 1.8 km of solid earth) glows gloroiusly, acropoli and courtyards bustle with laughing shades, some quaffing angoras of wine, others in congo lines...

Passing Rabbit: "Welcome to the Isles of Blest! Enjoy your stay!"

SYE: "Go away." kicks the Rabbit

Excal: "Eighth!"

SYE: "They just get on my nerves grim look. pulls out PKE Meter As suspected. The Joviality Index is about six trillion times higher than usual. grabs a passing shade Hey, you!"

Shade: "What's up, dude!"

SYE: "Act contemporary, we've readers!"

Shade: "Oh...er...What is up, brave spirit?"

SYE: "Any geological changes around here lately? Any new buildings/hills/etc.?"

Shade: "Verily, there was a big one a few minutes ago. Moved that old man and the stone three leagues from his old spot."

SYE: "The giant hill over there?"

Shade: "Yup."

SYE: "Thanks."

Shade: "Keep foot-loose and fancy-free!"

SYE: mutters "Git."

Eighth and the others march on over, Eighth fighting off friendly bushes and cheerful sunflowers. An ancient man sits at the base of the towering hill, scowling.

Excal: "Hey, isn't he the guy who has to push a rock for all eternity or something?"

Llewelyn: "Indeed, his face looks like that depicted in the legend. But where is his mighty burden."

Old Man: muttering "...just not fair...I do my job, I'm doing the time, s'not right fer him to do this, I've got rights..."

SYE: kneels next to him "Hey! Syphilis! How the hell ya doin'!?"

Old Man: roars "For the nth time, it's SISYPHUS!!!! Give the condemned some respect! And that pun was in bad taste!"

SYE: .oO(Crotchety as ususal, I see.) "Hill's looking, oh, half a million meters higher than I last saw it! And since when were you in the high-rent district?" motions to joyus surroundings

Sisyphus: "Bah! Blinkin' Hades! We had a deal and he broke it!"

SYE: "I'm listening. *takes out notepad*"

Sisyphus: "So I'm working with old Metamorphicus (that's the rock, great listener), and we're rollin' up the hill, and we're just about the height where I can see Tantalus few leagues over and laugh, when all sudden-like whoosh! Right in the middle of Happy-Land! 'Course, Metamorphicus, he's always been under a lot of pressure, used to his routine and all, he hears all this strange noise and sees those disturbing flowers BACK! BACK I SAY! swats away a huge smiling buttercup ...well, he just snaps! "....!!!!!" he says, and just roars up the hill! Me and him, good friends and all, so I tries to catch up, calm him down, then bloop! Hill goes vertical, and down I go!"

Excal: "And you think this is Hade's doing?"

Sisyphus: "Little (ohsohonorableandmercifulblesshisname) twit! We had a deal! Eternal punishment in exchange for eternal changelessness! I push the rock, get some relaxing menial labor, and satisfy the gods at the same time! Nothin' about changin' the hill!"

SYE: "Don't fret, Sissy, I don't think this is his fault. Probably that X fellow or something."

Excal: "Liquid X is here?"

Sisyphus: "Yeah, little angsty upstart roars in thinks he can set up his own Hell without even discussing the rent! I tell you, back in my day, if you wanted a punishment like his you had to bargain for a goodly sixty millenia! 'Dem contract lawyers 'r tricky."

SYE: "Looks like he got here and used the existing karmic perforation to punish himself somehow. Since the lands of Hades are really a topographical representation of its spiritual balance, the extreme evil of his thoughts created a magnitude scribbles on pad 8.7 depression. This probably started attracting the other punishments zones like some sort of X-Zone spell, so the mainframe automagically moved the perforation here, to Elysium, to create a positive counter-depression. It's slowed the changes, but according to that karmic station, HadeServe can't produce enough positive afterlife to keep up with X's punishment."

Excal: "So, what do we do?"

SYE: "Well, we're going to half to climb this thing, enter the depression, and fix it. That'll cut off X's hard-link to the karmic allocation network. Someone'll have to rehab him to finish the job."

Llewelyn: "Like us?"

SYE: "Nah, Daryl's got that covered."

Excal: "Oh, and thanks for telling me she was here, Eighth."

SYE: "Welcome."

Daryl's tears were flowing again as she tried to explain . . .

****

"Cya tomorrow, Ecks!" she had called over her shoulder to her friend, who waved goodbye genially. She was carrying the basket that had held their lunch, one that she had put special care into making. It had been fun to sneak all the food past her dad-- she had even managed to get a hold of some coffee, which was bitter but made her feel grown up when she offered it to X. The both of them drank it for a time, not wanting to admit how bad it tasted. Then Daryl had a wild idea to make the coffee better-- she played a song that caused ice to appear, then added sugar from the sugar bowl she smuggled away, then finally some milk from her jug . . . voila! Daryl's first iced coffee!

The memory of the coffee, and a desire to try new and different flavors in future consumed her mind, so she hardly noticed her father's pained expression when she arrived home. They ate dinner as usual, but her euphoria was fading and she soon realized that she was carrying the weight of the conversation.

"Daddy? Daddy what's wrong?" she asked.

"Daryl-- we're leaving." Orpheus said simply. "Pack your things."

Daryl only found out years later, after reading her father's journal, the reason for leaving. Orpheus realized that his tiny daughter was already as good of a bard as he was, and was not growing in her art. He figured that his presence was only dragging her down, so he resolved to make himself absent, as much as it pained him to leave her behind.

But then, Daryl only knew that her father was taking her away from her home, and wept bitterly all the way back to the celestial court.

"Song-- it's your turn." Orpheus deposited Daryl in Chocolate Song's arms and disappeared.

"DADDY! DADDY WHAT DID I DO!? DADDDYYY!!!!!"

****

Song, an intolerant parent, was quick to have Daryl shuffled off to Demi-god Playschool. Daryl was a late start, and had a lot of trouble making friends. Her sunny personality was forever clouded with thoughts of her father and of Ecks, but, understandably, more of her father. She wished Ecks well, but her abandonment left little feeling in her heart for anything. She clammed up and became a bitter, surly student that bullied everyone she could. She excelled in her bardic powers, but let no one near her, for fear that they would one day leave like Orpheus did. Then one day, she had retreated to a clump of bushes where she was having a good cry. She was suddenly interrupted.

"Hey, bonehead." a sour young man's voice broke into her funk. "You're in my bushes. Get out."

The pilot light in Daryl's soul sputtered to life.

"Nani . . .?" she turned to him dangerously.

"I said you're in my bushes. Get you and your cooties out of here STAT." the young demi-god, about her age, said cooly, crossing his arms. He was dressed all in black with a grand cape, and his long chestnut hair fell down his back in a fair imitation of said cape.

Daryl slipped a hand into hammerspace.

"You have three seconds to apologize to me before I knock all your teeth out, you jerk!" she fumed. "Don't you know who I am!?"

"You're a wimpy girl who cried all over my secret spot." the boy answered, without a touch of fear. "I found that spot when I arrived here yesterday and I won't have some GIRL ruining it!"

"I'm gonna kick YOUR SORRY BUTT!" Daryl snarled, pulling out the biggest mallet she had.

The boy was very surprised, but just managed to slide out of the way.

"YOU DELIBERATLY DODGED!!" Daryl screamed, then was on the attack again.

The young boy was soon running for his life within the confined space, at first rather calm, but succumbing to hysterics as the maniacal bardic spirit pursued him with the eyes of a demon.

"WAAHHH!" He yelped, "Leave me alone you CRAZY GIRL!!!"

"TAKE THAT, YOU JEEEEEERRRRKKK!!" Daryl finally connected her mallet with the boy's head. He slumped down into the dirt, his eyes swirling.

"Itaaaaaaiiiiiiii~~~~~~" he moaned.

"Teach you to treat a LADY like that!" Daryl sniffed.

"Who's a lady?" the boy croaked, but half-grinned placatingly to avoid a second malleting. "I'm sorry I was rude to you-- that enough?"

"Hai." Daryl waved a hand at him, suddenly tired. She wanted to return to her self-pity and angst, she wanted another good cry. Perhaps if she had, the bardic wars would never have occured-- she would have remained a minor demi-goddess at best and spent her time loafing around and eating grapes like her mother. But the boy she had just beaten up was going to change that.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Daryl." Daryl answered.

"Mine's Valen-- I've never met a girl that could beat me in a fight." Valen held out a hand and, surprised, Daryl shook it. "You also seem to be the only person here worth hanging out with."

"I guess you're not so bad, if you can take a malleting of mine." Daryl admitted grudgingly, unable to help liking that odd little demi-god who had interrupted her so rudely.

"Say, you ever thought about beating up some of the dorks out there? They seem to need it pretty bad." Valen grinned, running a fist into his hand. His canine teeth were very evident when he smiled that way, a smile that Daryl came to associate with his bloodlust.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Daryl smiled for the first time, rubbing the back of her head. "I've wanted to take some of 'em out, but a few are too strong for me to handle. Take that snotty incarnation of the Black Mage's spirit!"

"Yeah, what a JERK! I'll help you-- let's kick his sorry butt!" Valen grabbed her hand and pulled her out into the sunlight, in more ways than one, as the two of them proceeded to get into the first of many grand Playground Wars . . .

****

" . . . It's not like I WANTED to forget him . . . but so many years passed, and I never thought I'd see him again! It-- it was a horrible time in my life. I know it can't compare with X's pain, but . . . It was the worst thing that ever happened to ME. I was young and selfish-- what else COULD I do? WHAT ELSE COULD I HAVE DONE!? WHERE DID I GO WRONG!?!?"

Daryl continued sobbing, feeling worse and worse every second, and collapsed to her knees in the dirt.

"How can I even THINK about saving X when I abandoned him like that? He must . . . he must think I'm the ditziest blonde this side of California. To forget . . . to forget . . . my dearest friend . . ."

--Darylohki

You Underestimate Me, SYE *Llewyen Jumped At The Voice Behind Him. Everyone Turned And Saw Hade's Standing There* <SYE> Hades? How Did.... Hades Waved A Hand Dismissivly Know You Were Here? Did You Really Think A Being Like You Could Sneak Around The Underworld Without My Noticing? Hades Shook His Head But What You Are Thinking Is Impossible, Eighth. Under Normal Circumstances A Karmic Perforation Is A Simple Thing For Me To Fix. However, There Is Much You Dont Understand About The Nature Of The Underworld. It Is Alive, Constantly Growing And Expanding To Accept New Souls. When X Arrived Here, His Powers Caused Him To Link To The Underworld, Causing The Perforation. Right Now, X And The Underworld Are Bonding. To Sever Or Disconnect That Grip Through Anything Other Then X Being Convinced To Release It Would Not Only Cause The Destruction Of HIS Soul, But EVERY SINGLE SOUL In Here.

Hades Turned And Began To Walk Away X Is The Offspring Of Chaos Itself, SYE. Now Stop Messing With Things You Dont Understand And Leave The Underworld, Before You Inadvertantly Cause More Damage Then You Might Realize. Hades Vanished

You Underestimate Me, SYE *Llewyen Jumped At The Voice Behind Him. Everyone Turned And Saw Hade's Standing There* <SYE> Hades? How Did.... Hades Waved A Hand Dismissivly Know You Were Here? Did You Really Think A Being Like You Could Sneak Around The Underworld Without My Noticing? Hades Shook His Head But What You Are Thinking Is Impossible, Eighth. Under Normal Circumstances A Karmic Perforation Is A Simple Thing For Me To Fix. However, There Is Much You Dont Understand About The Nature Of The Underworld. It Is Alive, Constantly Growing And Expanding To Accept New Souls. When X Arrived Here, His Powers Caused Him To Link To The Underworld, Causing The Perforation. Right Now, X And The Underworld Are Bonding. To Sever Or Disconnect That Grip Through Anything Other Then X Being Convinced To Release It Would Not Only Cause The Destruction Of HIS Soul, But EVERY SINGLE SOUL In Here.

Hades Turned And Began To Walk Away X Is The Offspring Of Chaos Itself, SYE. Now Stop Messing With Things You Dont Understand And Leave The Underworld, Before You Inadvertantly Cause More Damage Then You Might Realize. Hades Vanished

The Guide Turned Away From Daryl There Is Still Much You Dont Understand About The Way The Universe Works, Child. One Must Suffer Through Pain To Truly Treasure The Happiness They Have. When X Met You As A Child, For One Brief Moment He Experienced Happiness. He Had A Friend For The First Time In His Life. That Moment Became A Treasured Memory, And Would Be The Single Light In The Darkness That Would Guide Him For Many Years. He Began To Travel Again. One Day, Hungry And Near Death, He Passed Out. When He Awoke, He Found Himself In a Monestary. A Priestess Had Found Him, And Brought Him To Safety. There, He Was Treated And Was Allowed To Life In Safety With The Other Children.

He Lived This Way For A Year Or Two, Learning How To Read And Write. He Also Began To Learn Of His Hidden Abilities. Powers He Could Use. He Kept Them Hidden, Afraid Of What The Other Children Would Think. Then, One Day, His Life Changed Again. The Monestary Was Growing Old, And In Need Of Repair. That Day, A Part Of The Roof Ended Up Collapsing, And A Young Girl Was Caught Under Part Of The Debris. The Priestesses Could Not Move The Debris, And The Girl Would Die Before Help Could Come And Remove Her. Seeing No Other Choice, X Used Desperate Measures. Stepping Forward, He Unleashed Some Of His Power, Destroying The Debris.

This Would Ultimately Prove To Be A Mistake. The Priestesses, Seeing This Display Believed X To Be A Demon. Before He Could React, They Took Him, And Chained Him. He Was Called Demon, Devil, Unholy Child.... The Child Of Darkness. His Act Of Compassion Was Ignored, And He Was Punished Simply For Possessing A Power Most People Would Not Understand. And, As They Prepared For His "Cleansing" Which Would Have Resulted In His Being Destroyed, He Snapped. He Would Later Awake, The Monastary Destroyed And Everyone Slain.

The Guide Motioned For Many Years He Would Travel, This Pattern Of Abuse And Destruction Would Continue, Towns And Kingdoms Destroyed As His Powers Would Surge Beyond Control Due To Fear And Abuse. Then, One Fatefull Day, A Group Of Wizards Who Had Heard Rumors Of The "Child Of Darkness" Appeared. He Was Captured, And Held. For Many Days They Debated As To His Fate. They Feared That If They Tried To Kill Him, His Powers Would Destroy Them. So, They Did The Only Thing They Could. They Gathered Their Powers, And Banished Him Into Another Plane Of Existance. Another World......

in favor of deep, burning anger.

As anyone that has met the Bardic Demi-goddess knows, there's NOTHING worse in her mind than mistreating a child, bishonen, or bard.

As the guide spoke of X's banishment, another memory popped up in her mind . . .

******

For years, Valen and Daryl were thick as thieves at Demi-god Playschool and eventually at Demi-god Elementary, Middle, and High. The two led their own gang, "The Yellow Fangs," of which they were the only constant members. It was actually years before they realized that they were completely opposite powers, and by then they didn't care. Daryl's sunny personality came back, once she realized that her mother knew Valen's parents, and it wouldn't be too hard to contact him if they were separated. It got even happier in response to Valen's mostly sour outlook. The two of them balanced each other's emotions, and were very healthy young demi-gods until . . . IT happened.

Yes . . . PUBERTY.

Valen was older than Daryl by a bit, just enough that they hit that infamous adolecent period at just about the same time. Several demi-goddesses started to notice Hellmaster Phebrizo's comely young son, and several demi-gods noticed Chocolate Song's lovely daughter. Before he knew it, Valen was knee-deep in fangirls and Daryl was rejecting suitor after suitor while dreaming of bishonens OTHER than the chibi kind. Several years passed that way, until Valen realized that the only girl not pursuing him was Daryl. He secretly began entertaining the prospect of courting and winning her, to the extent that nothing else really mattered. When he finally approached her, he was sure that his feelings would be returned. However . . .

"You have GOT to be kidding, Valen!" Daryl giggled, thinking it was some big joke.

"N-no, I really mean it." Valen said soberly.

"Guh?!" Daryl was shocked. Of course she LIKED Valen, but not in that way. She tried to tell him so, of course, but Valen was and still is not one to take no for an answer.

Then, Chocolate Song, who had been noting Valen's courtship with approval, got the bright idea of using Double Bite Three.

Valen tried to convince himself it was right. He made the customary argument with his father, but his heart wasn't in it. He drowned out her protests in his mind as he allowed a pint of blood to be drained from his body. Not looking at her, he readily drank hers. He ignored her threats, shouting, angry words as she was forced to complete the ritual.

Daryl would not forgive him for years and years and years, not until she had broken the curse. The image of him standing cooly to one side, willingly going through with the ritual, made her sick. After it was over, she stood with her shoulders shaking as Valen faced her, as fearless as the first day they met. Angered beyond her limits, she reached into hammerspace.

"VALEN NO BAKA!!!" She screamed, tears running down her cheeks. He wasn't expecting it, so was felled by the mallet. He was thus unable to stop her as she returned the mallet to hammerspace and jumped into it herself, not to be seen in the Celestial Court since.

*****

Remembering her trip through hammerspace, barely clinging to her sanity, Daryl shuddered and turned to the guide.

"Where did he end up?" she asked, surprisingly calm now.

--Darylohki

Eighth mopes at the bottom of the great hill. Sisyphus rants to anyone who cares to listen. And the trees dance.

Excal: "So, uh, now what?"

SYE: "Stupid Hades thinks I don't know how to do a successful defrag without zapping the BIOS, bah! I set up the kriffing server, for blood's sake! And I can't exactly leave until this matter's done else the entire Celestial Council will come down on my head!"

Llwelyn: "Curious, in all my time in Valhalla I never heard of such an organization. What is it?"

SYE: "Eh, a bunch of evil-minded bureaucrats with no imagination. Regulate the activites of the Gods and the stability of the multiverse and such."

Llwelyn: "Sounds important. Yet why have I not heard of it? Surely Valkyrie would've mentioned something about it?"

SYE: "That's because they didn't have an enforcement division up until six millenia ago. That's when I 'volunteered.'"

Llwelyn: "I'm curious to know why."

SYE: "Community service. Apparently the gods get narked off when some clever mortal figures out universe creation. Stuck-up little..."

Excal: "*clears throat* Um, my question?"

SYE: "Well, since Hades (the moron) doesn't want me touching the X thing guess we could work on Llwelyn's quest. Oh, and making you not dead, of course."

Llewelyn: Great! Now all we have to do is find this guy!

SYE: Easier said than done. Do you have any idea how spoonin' large this place is? And then there's those Furies. Damnation this! RAGE that!

Excal: I'm curious. Can you tap into that kharmic network thing and just see if you can find a Norse figure? I mean, we know that Llewelyn stands out so this guy ought to as well.

SYE: Something like that? It'll be easy for someone with my MAD SKILLZ. Just let me hack in and take a quick look see...

Llewelyn: But won't Hades come back for you if he catchs you hacking in?

SYE: Eh, him? He's not as good with this thing as he thinks he is. He'll catch me if I go after X but something easy like this and my 133t skills will leave 'im in the dust.

Excal: So, find him yet?

SYE: Yup. Right in the heart of Tartarus. Ah, the memories that place brings back.

Excal: Errr, swell. Well, let's get going.

Excal, well, at least the quest is somethin to do.

The Guide Motioned With His Staff X Ended Up Here. *The Scene Before Daryl Was Horrific. Two Huge Armies Fought, Bodies Covering The Landscape. The Land Was Nearly Barren, Covered In Years Of Blood And Gore* On This Plane, There Is Eternal War. Two Large Armies Made Up Of The Damned Clash, Destined Forever To Be Locked Into Battle. The World Is Nearly Dead, Having Been Used Up From The Thousands Of Years Of Fighting. And Yet It Still Goes On.

X Lived Here For A Good Majority Of His Life. He Learned To Fight, To Survive. Yet He Never Got Used To The Stench Nor The Sight Of The Dead. As He Got Older, His Dreams Worsened, As He Was Constantly Haunted By Lives He Had Taken. Then, One Day, He Saved A Being From Death. This Being Was Ixthacatar, One Of The Few Remaining Shadowcasters. He Realized The Potential In X, And In Gratitude, Became X's Master, Teaching Him The Way Of The Shadowcasters. These Skills, That Allowed Him To Create And Use The Shadows Of Himself, Would Also Help Him Control His Own Powers. When X Finally Became Good, He Was Gifted The Title Of "Liquid" Or, In Ixthacatar's Tounge "Master"

And For Many Years They Would Fight, Train, And Survive On The Plane. And Then, One Day, They Were Caught Between Squads Of The Two Sides. Ixthacatar Sacraficed His Life To Save X. X, Watching As His MAster Bled To Death In His Hands Due To An Attack Ment On Him, Snapped. X Was The Only One To Walk Away From That. Later, He Discovered A Way To Travell The Dimensional Planes. And Soon, Left, Trying To Find His Way Home.

Daryl tried ever so hard to simply concentrate on X's story. She DEMANDED that her mind shut up and stop dredging up old memories, but it refused . . .

*****

Falling.
Falling.
Falling.
Endless nothing.
A few Mallets.

She must have fallen through Hammerspace for YEARS. Her mind had long before shut down, and she was on her last few brain cells when it happened-- she landed with a bump on something big and scaley.

A massive hand closed around her limp form as her mind returned in a flash. The sudden knowledge that she was going to die woke up all the dead synapses and conscious thought as she looked into the massive maw of a giant beast.

There was a sudden calm.

"Oh well." she breathed with amazing clarity. "I guess it's better than being boiled alive in oil."

The mouth abruptly shut and a pair of glistening black eyes blinked sleepily.

He had only been yawning.

"Oi, What's this, then?" he asked through his mouthful of teeth.

"Nani?" Question marks appeared around Daryl's head. The beast paused and, ever so carefully, took her right arm between his free thumb and forefinger and inspected it closely.

"Well, now I know 'oo's been stealing me best mallets. 'Oo might you be?" the beast grunted, setting her down on a block of Onyx that appeared out of nowhere.

"Um . . . I'm Daryl, the incarnation of the Bardic Spirit." Daryl answered numbly. "Who are you?"

"Me? I be Tucker, maker of Mallets."

"You make mallets?" Daryl's spirits began to lift.

"That I do." Tucker replied, rubbing his scaley jaw absently. "And then all these arms come in here and take 'em. Now that I finally have one of yew in 'ere, I'm not sure just WHAT I should do with ya."

Daryl thought quickly.

"You know, I always wondered just WHO made such great mallets in here." she said sweetly. Part of it was true-- each and every mallet was hand-crafted and made to extremely good standards.

"That's awfully sweet of ya to say." Tucker smiled broadly. "I didn't think anyone appreciated those things when they took 'em."

"Do I EVER!" Daryl latched on to this thread. "I use 'em on HENTAIS and BAKAs . . . ."

The two of them chatted for some time, Tucker enlightening her on malleting techniques and making her even more deadly with them than she had been before.

"Well, I've enjoyed our talk." Tucker finally sighed. "But it's time yew left 'ere."

"Really?" Daryl blinked.

"I'm just glad to know you're swipin' me mallets for a good purpose." Tucker nodded. "'Ere, go through this portal-- it will take you wherever you want to go."

"Thanks, Tucker!" Daryl grinned. "I'll always think of you when I'm malleting the bakas!"

"Yew do that, lil thing." Tucker laughed.

Daryl walked through the portal, only one destination in mind.

--A world with bards that need my help.--

****

Boy did she get it.

The guide paused, so she looked at him.

"Go on." she nodded. What OTHER things would she remember? And just HOW long could she keep from glomping that chibi bishonen in front of her?

--Darylohki

For Several More Years, X Travelled The Planes, Searching Dimension After Dimension For His Home. As He Searched, He Was About To Give Up Hope, When He Sensed It. He Detected Someone. He Used It As A Beacon, And It Lead Home. The Guide Motioned With His Cane You Were That Beacon, Child. For The First Time In Years, He Had Finally Found You Again. But You Had Forgotten Him. Twice, You Had Provided His Light In The Darkness.... And You Had Forgotten Him. He Grew Angry At Himself, And Did The Only Thing He Could Think Of. He Picked A Fight With You. And So The Bardic War Started.....

The Guide Turned And That Is The End Of This History Lesson, Child. You Already Know The Events That Would Come..... And We Are Here. *They Walked Into A Room, And There...... Was The Chained X.....*

but rallied quickly. She had done her crying. She had done her hysterics. It was time for action, and she PROMISED her mind she'd cry it out later. Now was a 911 situation. She had to buckle down and carry out her mission. Saving X took TOP priority, and . . . well, she was going to do it.

Still, the sight before her was horrific. The image of X tethered in his own hell by his own devices would haunt her dreams for years to come, but she tethered her rebellious brain and forced it to behave.

"I'm not going to ask you how to do this." she turned to the guide. "You'd just call me child again, and I can't take that. I need something from you though."

The guide looked at her questioningly as she beckoned him foreward. She leaned down, as if she was going to whisper in his ear, then . . .

GLOMP!!!!

Daryl grabbed the guide and hugged him tight, pinning his arms to his sides. Then, just as abruptly, she put him down, only JUST avoiding a swift smack from the guide's cane. A look of triumph crossed her face.

"If I managed to do THAT to YOU of all people, I'm sure I can win this one. X-- I'm getting you outta there!"

--Darylohki, who ALWAYS gets her chibi Bishonen!

There was time, and Daryl's mind took advantage of it, while she soberly tried to size up the task in front of her.

***

After leaving hammerspace, Daryl found herself in a whole new world. "This Planet" was populated by some of the most colorful characters in the multiverse, and she met many friends here. She even attended an academy for a time to hone her knowledge. While there, she met up with the likes of Kuja, Rezo the red Priest, The Four Wanderers: Son Goku, Cho Hakkai, Sha Gojo, and Genjo Sanzo, The Black Swordsman Gattsu, and other such colorful characters. Making friends of some, enemies of others, but defending her bards throughout. It was during this time that she REALLY came into her own as a demi-goddess.

One day, she was surprised to see a group of Adventurers, engaged in deep philosophical discussion about "This Planet." Unable to resist, she lurked nearby, listening intently to what they said, especially a master parodist who entertained the group with humorous pictures making fun of the irony in that world. All was well until . . . Daryl heard some disparaging remarks about . . . her bards . . .

Determined to be civil, she approached the group. In a well-thought-out, pleasant discourse, she spoke about the bards she knew and loved, defending them against the accusations. She closed in a friendly fashion, then prepared to leave when a voice stopped her.

Someone DARED to argue with her.

--Nani!?-- her mind narrowed its eyes. --Who DARES to challenge me?--

That one dissentor was Liquid X, and the rest, faithful reader, you know.

***

Finally putting together her memories cohesively, connecting "Ecks" with X, and hearing his history caused Daryl a few moments of reflection, but it was done. She was ready. She had regrets-a-plenty, but a chance at redemption. She pulled out her harp.

"Ok, now to think this out."

Daryl carefully inspected the imprisoned X, noting just how the chains curved and twisted, and thinking hard. She strummed a few chords to help her think. A few careful prods in the right places of her mind yielded up a tune. One perfect for the occasion.

"Let's do this."

--Darylohki

X hung silently in the room, his body chained, his senses by the binds of his own design. The Guide looked at Daryl.
"He cannot hear you, Child. He is locked within his own Hell . . . why not just give up and go home?"
Daryl turned to him cooly.
"Because that's not in my nature. I have to do what my disposition calls for."
The room shook, as X slipped further into his own nightmare.The Guide turned away.
"You risk your own death, Child. Each moment, his hold becomes stronger. The underworld changes. And you risk destruction to save him. Are you willing to risk your own soul for his, Child?"
"In a heartbeat," Daryl said softly. "I love him, and nothing can change that. Maybe I am a ‘child' as you say, but . . . it would kill me if I DIDN'T do this. Now, are you going to tell me something USEFUL? If not, get the hell outta here so I can think."
The Guide suddenly thrust out his staff. Before Daryl could react, he caught X's pendant with the tip and, with a flick of his wrist, sent it flying. He caught it.
"Do you know, Child, even X doesn't realize the true significance of this . . ."
"YOU GIVE THAT BACK!!" Daryl reached out and grabbed the guide's wrist. "Don't you know how RUDE you are, you dimwitted excuse for a park ranger?!"
Daryl went all swirly-eyed as the Guide hit her on the head with his staff.
"I've KILLED men for less than that." she snarled angrily, a vein popping. "Chibi or no, you're FAST approaching my hit list."
"You could not harm me, Child." The Guide said with infuriating calmness. "There is much you do not know. And even if you could kill me, you would end up killing X . . . for we are bound together."
"Nani!?" Daryl blinked. "Why didn't you say that BEFORE!? You SHOULD know how to do this, ne? Ne?"
The Guide shook his head. "No, I do not. We are not the same being, Child. While we are bound, I am not he. You see, I am the Underworld itself.
Daryl fell over. "That . . . that's odd . . . so I'm . . . walking around inside you . . . ewwwww . . ."
The Guide nodded, "You could put it that way, yes. You see, I am a living being. I grow and change to accomodate the souls that arrive. When X came, he took hold of me. And when you arrived, he desired two things. His punishment and your protection."
"Oh boy . . ." Daryl stood up. "This doesn't sound very good."
The Guide held the pendant and began to manipulate it. Small clicks could be heard as he twisted, pulled, and pushed at it, its form changing more every second.
"So, I became your guide, as well as X's warden."
"What . . . are . . . you . . . doing?" Daryl blinked and watched.
The Guide played more with the pendant.
"Even X doesn't realize the secret behind this pendant, Child. He doesn't even remember his true name. All secrets lost to Him . . ."
Daryl watched, wide-eyed, as the pendant continued to change, until . . .
With a final click, the pendant was back to its normal form. With one major difference.
"THIS is the secret of his pendant . . ." The front of the pendant opened, and he tossed it to Daryl. Inside was a picture . . . of a baby held by its mother . . . a face whose memory was lost in time . . .
The color drained from Daryl's face . . . "Oh . . . it's . . . it's . . . it's her! Lilithia!!"
The Guide nodded. "Yes child . . . Hades and I knew . . . which is why Hades never told her. Hades knew the pain it would cause her to know what her own child was doing.
Daryl's hand closed around the pendant. "No kidding. Even I wouldn't want to be the one to tell her that." She nearly fell over as the Underworld suffered yet another convulsion. "It's getting worse. Look . . . I think I have an idea of how I can reach X . . . and unless you give me a better plan I'm going to try it. Ok with you?"
The Guide turned away from her.
"I am simply the guide, child. The choice of action is your own."
"Got it." A light flickered in Daryl's eye. Being the demi-goddess of barddom had its advantages: one of them was knowing how sound worked. You could stop up your ears ALL you wanted, but . . . well, the famous deaf composer Beethovan had figured it out too. If you have EVER heard, you can pick up . . . the vibrations. Reaching into "The BAG!" (TM), Daryl hauled out her largest harp, with the heaviest strings-- The Bass Harp of Truth and Justice. Carefully, she leaned it over until it was touching one of the chains. The Guide watched Daryl in silence, waiting to see her plan unfold.
Starting at the lowest register, Daryl began, starting with . . . her scales.
C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C . . . The notes came slowly, and she plucked with a heavy hand, letting each one resonate before she went on. She did all the major and minor scales one at a time, gathering her bardic forces for each note. Soon, her aura was glowing so brightly she couldn't bear to look at herself and had to hit each note by heart. Then, once the scales were over, she began her song. It was a simple, childish song . . . the first she had ever played for X . . .

[To the tune of "Butterfly" by Yoko Kanno From "Brain Power'd" (Again, NOT a translation)]

"Butterfly, Bu-uterfly,
Why do you fly, and leave me behind?
Butterfly, Bu-uterfly,
Hope will come soon, though seasons may die.

I wait with light that shines in the dark,
You light on my finger as if you could tell,
My heart takes wings as the sun arrives,
And gives to the night its death knell.

Butterfly, Bu-uterfly,
Come back to me, and always be true,
Butterfly, Bu-uterfly,
I'll wait for you dear, I'll wa-it for you . . ."

Ever so slowly, X's head began to stir. Though blind, gagged, and deaf, his head turned to Daryl. Euphoria coursed through her body. --Beethovan, remind me to give you a GREAT big kiss next time I meet you!!--
She continued strumming the harp, bridging the gap between songs before she started again . . .

"Deep in my soul,
Love so strong, it takes control,
Now we both know,
the secret's bared, the feelings shown,
Driven far apart, I make a wish, on a shooting star . . .

There will come a day,
Somewhere far away,
In your arms I'll stay,
My only Love,
You've reached the deepest part,
Of this secret in my heart,
I've known it from the start,
My only Love-- My Only Love . . ."

X still hung there, unmoving . . . yet . . . the chains slowly began to crack.
Daryl steeled herself and emitted the maximum amount of bardic power for the final chorus:

"There will come a day,
Somewhere far away,
In your arms I'll stay,
My Only Love,
Even though you've gone,
Love will still live on,
The feeling is so strong,
My only Love . . ."

And the last words she spoke with the most feeling she had ever uttered.

"My Only Love."

The Chains Cracked And Split, And Were Near Their Breaking Point . . .
And Daryl finished with a final riff on the harp, shattering the chains completely. Then, utterly spent, she fell to her knees, breathing hard and leaning on the strong harp.
X dropped from the air, landing in Daryl's arms. In that one, brief moment of contact, something happened . . . images flooded Daryl's mind . . . In what seemed like an eternity, but was only a matter of minutes, Daryl came to know what it was to be X. The screams of the dying, the Sight of the dead, the blood of the innocent covering him, the smell of fire and death, the sound of children, men, and women all begging for mercy or for whatever god they believed in . . . all of them filled her mind as if she had been there, in his place . . . all so real and vivid . . . and suddenly, the visions were over, and X lay there in her arms.
Daryl was stunned for a moment, realizing that, at long last, she had actually found someone whose angst was justified. The thought floored her completely, as did the fact that the X she knew and loved carried such a past. However, she again promised her mind to panic later. Shaking her head quickly, she gently turned his face up towards hers.
"X? X?? Are you alright??"
X groaned, and slowly his eyes opened.
"Nnnnn . . . Holy Spoon . . . What hit me . . .?"
Daryl smiled widely through her newest batch of tears. "X-sama!! You're ALRIGHT! YOU EVEN SAID SPOON!!!" She pulled him close in something akin to a death grip.
X Groaned
" . . . Mind telling me just what the spoon is going on?"
"You don't remember?" Daryl drew back to look at him. "What with the getting blasted and dying and making me go on this long journey and cut up my feet and worry sick about you!?!?" Daryl let out in a single breath.
X held his head as he stood slowly. "Ugh . . . I remember getting blasted . . . everything was dark . . . and then I . . ." X went quiet as he lowered his head. "I relived everything . . . all those people I killed . . . I . . ." he shook his head "Ugh, feels like I died and went to Hell . . ."
Daryl sweatdropped.
"Ummm . . . well . . . that's not important right now . . . the MAIN thing is to get out of here before Hades notices . . ."
Right on cosmic cue, X was gone, and Daryl was back in the throne room of Hades.
"Good work, Child." he said.
Daryl stood up.
"NANI!?! WHERE'S MY X-SAMA!?!?!?!"
Hades looked at Daryl.
"There is one last thing that must be done, Child of Orpheus.
"Eh!?" Daryl quivered with rage. "I thought I DID everything. I GOT him out of that angsty FUNK, and you say there's MORE!?"
Hades shook his head, "I am sorry, Child of Orpheus. If it was up to me, your task would be finished . . . however, there are some rules even I must follow.
Daryl sighed. "Yeah yeah . . . I'm SURE." --I bet you just get your jollies out of putting ppl through your damned red tape, you old goat.-- she thought privately, then continued. "Now what? If I don't get my X-sama El rapido there is gonna be some DAMAGE I _won't_ be held responsible for." She glared at the god of the Underworld.
Hades looked her in the eye, unwavered. "You must follow the same task as your father. You must walk to and out of the entrance to the Underworld, without ever looking back."
Daryl paled and half fell over. "You . . . you're kidding."
Hades shook his head. "I do not kid, Child."
"Grreeeeaaatt." Daryl squared her shoulders, feeling bitchy and itching to mallet something. "Before I go, I'm MAKING SURE OF THIS. I can turn around as SOON as I go outside the gates-- correct? I'm NOT gonna fail because of some DUMB technicality."
Hades shook his head again. "You must both be outside the gates, Child."
"Ok . . ." Daryl sighed. "I'm blaming you if I go several extra miles . . . but I'm NOT screwing this up. Bai, Hades. If I ever see you again it will be a million, billion years too soon."
With that, Daryl turned and began to walk, just the way she came, and Hades said nothing as she walked out, but he shook his head slowly in a dimisssive gesture.
It was JUST as long going out as it was going in, but worse. Daryl's feet were no longer protected by the ribbons, and each footfall was like rubbing her feet on coarse sandpaper, but she said nothing. There was no thought in her mind except "DON'T TURN AROUND," her father's voice echoing in her mind.
Suddenly, as she walked, X's voice was heard.
"Daryl . . .? Help me . . . please . . ."
Her back stiffened. "Dammit, Hades, you ARE a BASTARD." But . . . through supreme willpower, she kept walking. As Daryl continued on, X's voice began to fade. She soon reached the river Styx.
"I can do this, I can do this, I can do this. CHARON! YOU BASTARD, GET OVER HERE!" Daryl yelled loudly. And it was with a story best left untold that Charon finally dropped Daryl off on the other side, still smarting from a mallet wound to his foot.
"Damn ferryman." Daryl swore as she stomped up the embankment. It wasn't long until she encountered another obstacle . . .a chibi version of "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night"'s Alucard, who ran past Daryl giggling in elephant underwear.
Daryl's teeth ground into each other. "Must NOT look, must NOT look . . ."
Suddenly X's voice was heard: "Edward! Put your clothes back ON!! I don't CARE if your important part IS covered with a bishonen ribbon!"
Daryl's teeth made VERY dangerous sounds as a whine escaped her throat. "No nono!! NO!" she straightened. "I WILL NOT BE BEATEN!!!!" Roaring angrily, she ran along the path, ignoring everything with cries of "YOU ARE SUCH A BASTARD HADES!! I'M GOING TO RIP YOUR HEAD OFF AND SPIT DOWN YOUR BLOODY STUMP OF A THROAT FOR THIS!!!"
Meanwhile, as Daryl ran, she passed what looked to be . . . a small pink bunny conversing with Death.
"Damn Lagomorphs!" She continued, running out of breath and leaving bloody footprints behind on the stone floor. Her heart rose-- the gates to the Underworld loomed ahead of her out of the mist. She ran and ran on, sobbing for breath, but, as she neared the gates, the sound of screaming issued from behind her.
"No, no no nonononononono!!" Tears fell from her eyes. "I CAN'T look! I CAN'T HELP! I'm SORRY BUT I CAN'T!!!!!!" Her feet pounded harder and harder as the gates came closer and closer. And suddenly . . . there was silence . . .
This time it required a SUPREME effort of willpower to keep from turning around. She suddenly realized just WHY Orpheus had given in and failed. She had an extreme urge to turn and see-- was X still there? But just in time she remembered to face front.
"I'm NOT going to fail." Curiously she saw in front of her, on the other side of the gates, a familiar face. "Valen?" she questioned. Said incarnation of Dischord was reclining on the hillside outside the gates, but at her query he jumped to his feet and blinked. He looked past her with an odd expression on his face. Daryl mentally noted to kick his sorry ass later and remembered NOT to look too. She laid a hand on the gate, and there was no sound whatsoever . . . just quiet . . .
Gritting her teeth one final time, Daryl ran outside. Then, her voice shakey, and still facing front, she called out.
"X, if you're there, you're gonna have to come in front of me, cause I'm too fricking scared to turn around." Her shoulders began shaking as she awaited a reply . . .
And . . . still there was nothing . . . just silence . . .
Her heart sinking, Daryl cautiously, took some more steps further, walking more and more and more.
--Could this be an illusion?-- she thought numbly. --Am I not all the way out of the Underworld?-- In a straight line, with a dazed look on her face, Daryl walked away. Valen, blinking, looked from the gates of the underworld to the Incarnation of the Bardic Spirit.
Minutes . . . hours . . . days . . . weeks . . . the waiting seemed to be an Eternity . . . and suddenly she felt it-- A hand on her shoulder. Before she could react, she was turned around. X pulled her close . . . and kissed her.
Daryl felt nothing but his touch, wrapping her arms around him absently and going totally limp. The stress finally caught up with her and she abandoned her iron will in favor of losing herself in the embrace.
Valen gave the two of them the trademark Touya cat-eyes.
"Get a ROOM, why doncha?" he sniffed, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes.
Daryl's mind finally decided to cash in on all the emotions she had been stockpiling. Burying her face in X's chest, she wept loud choking sobs clinging to him for all she was worth, and slowly building towards the immense joy she would feel as soon as she realized that her underworld journey was FINALLY over.

--Darylohki
X
and a lil bit from Lord Valen of Dischord, Last of the Bard Hunters

X hung silently in the room, his body chained, his senses by the binds of his own design. The Guide looked at Daryl.
"He cannot hear you, Child. He is locked within his own Hell . . . why not just give up and go home?"
Daryl turned to him cooly.
"Because that's not in my nature. I have to do what my disposition calls for."
The room shook, as X slipped further into his own nightmare.The Guide turned away.
"You risk your own death, Child. Each moment, his hold becomes stronger. The underworld changes. And you risk destruction to save him. Are you willing to risk your own soul for his, Child?"
"In a heartbeat," Daryl said softly. "I love him, and nothing can change that. Maybe I am a ‘child' as you say, but . . . it would kill me if I DIDN'T do this. Now, are you going to tell me something USEFUL? If not, get the hell outta here so I can think."
The Guide suddenly thrust out his staff. Before Daryl could react, he caught X's pendant with the tip and, with a flick of his wrist, sent it flying. He caught it.
"Do you know, Child, even X doesn't realize the true significance of this . . ."
"YOU GIVE THAT BACK!!" Daryl reached out and grabbed the guide's wrist. "Don't you know how RUDE you are, you dimwitted excuse for a park ranger?!"
Daryl went all swirly-eyed as the Guide hit her on the head with his staff.
"I've KILLED men for less than that." she snarled angrily, a vein popping. "Chibi or no, you're FAST approaching my hit list."
"You could not harm me, Child." The Guide said with infuriating calmness. "There is much you do not know. And even if you could kill me, you would end up killing X . . . for we are bound together."
"Nani!?" Daryl blinked. "Why didn't you say that BEFORE!? You SHOULD know how to do this, ne? Ne?"
The Guide shook his head. "No, I do not. We are not the same being, Child. While we are bound, I am not he. You see, I am the Underworld itself.
Daryl fell over. "That . . . that's odd . . . so I'm . . . walking around inside you . . . ewwwww . . ."
The Guide nodded, "You could put it that way, yes. You see, I am a living being. I grow and change to accomodate the souls that arrive. When X came, he took hold of me. And when you arrived, he desired two things. His punishment and your protection."
"Oh boy . . ." Daryl stood up. "This doesn't sound very good."
The Guide held the pendant and began to manipulate it. Small clicks could be heard as he twisted, pulled, and pushed at it, its form changing more every second.
"So, I became your guide, as well as X's warden."
"What . . . are . . . you . . . doing?" Daryl blinked and watched.
The Guide played more with the pendant.
"Even X doesn't realize the secret behind this pendant, Child. He doesn't even remember his true name. All secrets lost to Him . . ."
Daryl watched, wide-eyed, as the pendant continued to change, until . . .
With a final click, the pendant was back to its normal form. With one major difference.
"THIS is the secret of his pendant . . ." The front of the pendant opened, and he tossed it to Daryl. Inside was a picture . . . of a baby held by its mother . . . a face whose memory was lost in time . . .
The color drained from Daryl's face . . . "Oh . . . it's . . . it's . . . it's her! Lilithia!!"
The Guide nodded. "Yes child . . . Hades and I knew . . . which is why Hades never told her. Hades knew the pain it would cause her to know what her own child was doing.
Daryl's hand closed around the pendant. "No kidding. Even I wouldn't want to be the one to tell her that." She nearly fell over as the Underworld suffered yet another convulsion. "It's getting worse. Look . . . I think I have an idea of how I can reach X . . . and unless you give me a better plan I'm going to try it. Ok with you?"
The Guide turned away from her.
"I am simply the guide, child. The choice of action is your own."
"Got it." A light flickered in Daryl's eye. Being the demi-goddess of barddom had its advantages: one of them was knowing how sound worked. You could stop up your ears ALL you wanted, but . . . well, the famous deaf composer Beethovan had figured it out too. If you have EVER heard, you can pick up . . . the vibrations. Reaching into "The BAG!" (TM), Daryl hauled out her largest harp, with the heaviest strings-- The Bass Harp of Truth and Justice. Carefully, she leaned it over until it was touching one of the chains. The Guide watched Daryl in silence, waiting to see her plan unfold.
Starting at the lowest register, Daryl began, starting with . . . her scales.
C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C . . . The notes came slowly, and she plucked with a heavy hand, letting each one resonate before she went on. She did all the major and minor scales one at a time, gathering her bardic forces for each note. Soon, her aura was glowing so brightly she couldn't bear to look at herself and had to hit each note by heart. Then, once the scales were over, she began her song. It was a simple, childish song . . . the first she had ever played for X . . .

[To the tune of "Butterfly" by Yoko Kanno From "Brain Power'd" (Again, NOT a translation)]

"Butterfly, Bu-uterfly,
Why do you fly, and leave me behind?
Butterfly, Bu-uterfly,
Hope will come soon, though seasons may die.

I wait with light that shines in the dark,
You light on my finger as if you could tell,
My heart takes wings as the sun arrives,
And gives to the night its death knell.

Butterfly, Bu-uterfly,
Come back to me, and always be true,
Butterfly, Bu-uterfly,
I'll wait for you dear, I'll wa-it for you . . ."

Ever so slowly, X's head began to stir. Though blind, gagged, and deaf, his head turned to Daryl. Euphoria coursed through her body. --Beethovan, remind me to give you a GREAT big kiss next time I meet you!!--
She continued strumming the harp, bridging the gap between songs before she started again . . .

"Deep in my soul,
Love so strong, it takes control,
Now we both know,
the secret's bared, the feelings shown,
Driven far apart, I make a wish, on a shooting star . . .

There will come a day,
Somewhere far away,
In your arms I'll stay,
My only Love,
You've reached the deepest part,
Of this secret in my heart,
I've known it from the start,
My only Love-- My Only Love . . ."

X still hung there, unmoving . . . yet . . . the chains slowly began to crack.
Daryl steeled herself and emitted the maximum amount of bardic power for the final chorus:

"There will come a day,
Somewhere far away,
In your arms I'll stay,
My Only Love,
Even though you've gone,
Love will still live on,
The feeling is so strong,
My only Love . . ."

And the last words she spoke with the most feeling she had ever uttered.

"My Only Love."

The Chains Cracked And Split, And Were Near Their Breaking Point . . .
And Daryl finished with a final riff on the harp, shattering the chains completely. Then, utterly spent, she fell to her knees, breathing hard and leaning on the strong harp.
X dropped from the air, landing in Daryl's arms. In that one, brief moment of contact, something happened . . . images flooded Daryl's mind . . . In what seemed like an eternity, but was only a matter of minutes, Daryl came to know what it was to be X. The screams of the dying, the Sight of the dead, the blood of the innocent covering him, the smell of fire and death, the sound of children, men, and women all begging for mercy or for whatever god they believed in . . . all of them filled her mind as if she had been there, in his place . . . all so real and vivid . . . and suddenly, the visions were over, and X lay there in her arms.
Daryl was stunned for a moment, realizing that, at long last, she had actually found someone whose angst was justified. The thought floored her completely, as did the fact that the X she knew and loved carried such a past. However, she again promised her mind to panic later. Shaking her head quickly, she gently turned his face up towards hers.
"X? X?? Are you alright??"
X groaned, and slowly his eyes opened.
"Nnnnn . . . Holy Spoon . . . What hit me . . .?"
Daryl smiled widely through her newest batch of tears. "X-sama!! You're ALRIGHT! YOU EVEN SAID SPOON!!!" She pulled him close in something akin to a death grip.
X Groaned
" . . . Mind telling me just what the spoon is going on?"
"You don't remember?" Daryl drew back to look at him. "What with the getting blasted and dying and making me go on this long journey and cut up my feet and worry sick about you!?!?" Daryl let out in a single breath.
X held his head as he stood slowly. "Ugh . . . I remember getting blasted . . . everything was dark . . . and then I . . ." X went quiet as he lowered his head. "I relived everything . . . all those people I killed . . . I . . ." he shook his head "Ugh, feels like I died and went to Hell . . ."
Daryl sweatdropped.
"Ummm . . . well . . . that's not important right now . . . the MAIN thing is to get out of here before Hades notices . . ."
Right on cosmic cue, X was gone, and Daryl was back in the throne room of Hades.
"Good work, Child." he said.
Daryl stood up.
"NANI!?! WHERE'S MY X-SAMA!?!?!?!"
Hades looked at Daryl.
"There is one last thing that must be done, Child of Orpheus.
"Eh!?" Daryl quivered with rage. "I thought I DID everything. I GOT him out of that angsty FUNK, and you say there's MORE!?"
Hades shook his head, "I am sorry, Child of Orpheus. If it was up to me, your task would be finished . . . however, there are some rules even I must follow.
Daryl sighed. "Yeah yeah . . . I'm SURE." --I bet you just get your jollies out of putting ppl through your damned red tape, you old goat.-- she thought privately, then continued. "Now what? If I don't get my X-sama El rapido there is gonna be some DAMAGE I _won't_ be held responsible for." She glared at the god of the Underworld.
Hades looked her in the eye, unwavered. "You must follow the same task as your father. You must walk to and out of the entrance to the Underworld, without ever looking back."
Daryl paled and half fell over. "You . . . you're kidding."
Hades shook his head. "I do not kid, Child."
"Grreeeeaaatt." Daryl squared her shoulders, feeling bitchy and itching to mallet something. "Before I go, I'm MAKING SURE OF THIS. I can turn around as SOON as I go outside the gates-- correct? I'm NOT gonna fail because of some DUMB technicality."
Hades shook his head again. "You must both be outside the gates, Child."
"Ok . . ." Daryl sighed. "I'm blaming you if I go several extra miles . . . but I'm NOT screwing this up. Bai, Hades. If I ever see you again it will be a million, billion years too soon."
With that, Daryl turned and began to walk, just the way she came, and Hades said nothing as she walked out, but he shook his head slowly in a dimisssive gesture.
It was JUST as long going out as it was going in, but worse. Daryl's feet were no longer protected by the ribbons, and each footfall was like rubbing her feet on coarse sandpaper, but she said nothing. There was no thought in her mind except "DON'T TURN AROUND," her father's voice echoing in her mind.
Suddenly, as she walked, X's voice was heard.
"Daryl . . .? Help me . . . please . . ."
Her back stiffened. "Dammit, Hades, you ARE a BASTARD." But . . . through supreme willpower, she kept walking. As Daryl continued on, X's voice began to fade. She soon reached the river Styx.
"I can do this, I can do this, I can do this. CHARON! YOU BASTARD, GET OVER HERE!" Daryl yelled loudly. And it was with a story best left untold that Charon finally dropped Daryl off on the other side, still smarting from a mallet wound to his foot.
"Damn ferryman." Daryl swore as she stomped up the embankment. It wasn't long until she encountered another obstacle . . .a chibi version of "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night"'s Alucard, who ran past Daryl giggling in elephant underwear.
Daryl's teeth ground into each other. "Must NOT look, must NOT look . . ."
Suddenly X's voice was heard: "Edward! Put your clothes back ON!! I don't CARE if your important part IS covered with a bishonen ribbon!"
Daryl's teeth made VERY dangerous sounds as a whine escaped her throat. "No nono!! NO!" she straightened. "I WILL NOT BE BEATEN!!!!" Roaring angrily, she ran along the path, ignoring everything with cries of "YOU ARE SUCH A BASTARD HADES!! I'M GOING TO RIP YOUR HEAD OFF AND SPIT DOWN YOUR BLOODY STUMP OF A THROAT FOR THIS!!!"
Meanwhile, as Daryl ran, she passed what looked to be . . . a small pink bunny conversing with Death.
"Damn Lagomorphs!" She continued, running out of breath and leaving bloody footprints behind on the stone floor. Her heart rose-- the gates to the Underworld loomed ahead of her out of the mist. She ran and ran on, sobbing for breath, but, as she neared the gates, the sound of screaming issued from behind her.
"No, no no nonononononono!!" Tears fell from her eyes. "I CAN'T look! I CAN'T HELP! I'm SORRY BUT I CAN'T!!!!!!" Her feet pounded harder and harder as the gates came closer and closer. And suddenly . . . there was silence . . .
This time it required a SUPREME effort of willpower to keep from turning around. She suddenly realized just WHY Orpheus had given in and failed. She had an extreme urge to turn and see-- was X still there? But just in time she remembered to face front.
"I'm NOT going to fail." Curiously she saw in front of her, on the other side of the gates, a familiar face. "Valen?" she questioned. Said incarnation of Dischord was reclining on the hillside outside the gates, but at her query he jumped to his feet and blinked. He looked past her with an odd expression on his face. Daryl mentally noted to kick his sorry ass later and remembered NOT to look too. She laid a hand on the gate, and there was no sound whatsoever . . . just quiet . . .
Gritting her teeth one final time, Daryl ran outside. Then, her voice shakey, and still facing front, she called out.
"X, if you're there, you're gonna have to come in front of me, cause I'm too fricking scared to turn around." Her shoulders began shaking as she awaited a reply . . .
And . . . still there was nothing . . . just silence . . .
Her heart sinking, Daryl cautiously, took some more steps further, walking more and more and more.
--Could this be an illusion?-- she thought numbly. --Am I not all the way out of the Underworld?-- In a straight line, with a dazed look on her face, Daryl walked away. Valen, blinking, looked from the gates of the underworld to the Incarnation of the Bardic Spirit.
Minutes . . . hours . . . days . . . weeks . . . the waiting seemed to be an Eternity . . . and suddenly she felt it-- A hand on her shoulder. Before she could react, she was turned around. X pulled her close . . . and kissed her.
Daryl felt nothing but his touch, wrapping her arms around him absently and going totally limp. The stress finally caught up with her and she abandoned her iron will in favor of losing herself in the embrace.
Valen gave the two of them the trademark Touya cat-eyes.
"Get a ROOM, why doncha?" he sniffed, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes.
Daryl's mind finally decided to cash in on all the emotions she had been stockpiling. Burying her face in X's chest, she wept loud choking sobs clinging to him for all she was worth, and slowly building towards the immense joy she would feel as soon as she realized that her underworld journey was FINALLY over.

--Darylohki
X
and a lil bit from Lord Valen of Dischord, Last of the Bard Hunters

X hung silently in the room, his body chained, his senses by the binds of his own design. The Guide looked at Daryl.
"He cannot hear you, Child. He is locked within his own Hell . . . why not just give up and go home?"
Daryl turned to him cooly.
"Because that's not in my nature. I have to do what my disposition calls for."
The room shook, as X slipped further into his own nightmare.The Guide turned away.
"You risk your own death, Child. Each moment, his hold becomes stronger. The underworld changes. And you risk destruction to save him. Are you willing to risk your own soul for his, Child?"
"In a heartbeat," Daryl said softly. "I love him, and nothing can change that. Maybe I am a ‘child' as you say, but . . . it would kill me if I DIDN'T do this. Now, are you going to tell me something USEFUL? If not, get the hell outta here so I can think."
The Guide suddenly thrust out his staff. Before Daryl could react, he caught X's pendant with the tip and, with a flick of his wrist, sent it flying. He caught it.
"Do you know, Child, even X doesn't realize the true significance of this . . ."
"YOU GIVE THAT BACK!!" Daryl reached out and grabbed the guide's wrist. "Don't you know how RUDE you are, you dimwitted excuse for a park ranger?!"
Daryl went all swirly-eyed as the Guide hit her on the head with his staff.
"I've KILLED men for less than that." she snarled angrily, a vein popping. "Chibi or no, you're FAST approaching my hit list."
"You could not harm me, Child." The Guide said with infuriating calmness. "There is much you do not know. And even if you could kill me, you would end up killing X . . . for we are bound together."
"Nani!?" Daryl blinked. "Why didn't you say that BEFORE!? You SHOULD know how to do this, ne? Ne?"
The Guide shook his head. "No, I do not. We are not the same being, Child. While we are bound, I am not he. You see, I am the Underworld itself.
Daryl fell over. "That . . . that's odd . . . so I'm . . . walking around inside you . . . ewwwww . . ."
The Guide nodded, "You could put it that way, yes. You see, I am a living being. I grow and change to accomodate the souls that arrive. When X came, he took hold of me. And when you arrived, he desired two things. His punishment and your protection."
"Oh boy . . ." Daryl stood up. "This doesn't sound very good."
The Guide held the pendant and began to manipulate it. Small clicks could be heard as he twisted, pulled, and pushed at it, its form changing more every second.
"So, I became your guide, as well as X's warden."
"What . . . are . . . you . . . doing?" Daryl blinked and watched.
The Guide played more with the pendant.
"Even X doesn't realize the secret behind this pendant, Child. He doesn't even remember his true name. All secrets lost to Him . . ."
Daryl watched, wide-eyed, as the pendant continued to change, until . . .
With a final click, the pendant was back to its normal form. With one major difference.
"THIS is the secret of his pendant . . ." The front of the pendant opened, and he tossed it to Daryl. Inside was a picture . . . of a baby held by its mother . . . a face whose memory was lost in time . . .
The color drained from Daryl's face . . . "Oh . . . it's . . . it's . . . it's her! Lilithia!!"
The Guide nodded. "Yes child . . . Hades and I knew . . . which is why Hades never told her. Hades knew the pain it would cause her to know what her own child was doing.
Daryl's hand closed around the pendant. "No kidding. Even I wouldn't want to be the one to tell her that." She nearly fell over as the Underworld suffered yet another convulsion. "It's getting worse. Look . . . I think I have an idea of how I can reach X . . . and unless you give me a better plan I'm going to try it. Ok with you?"
The Guide turned away from her.
"I am simply the guide, child. The choice of action is your own."
"Got it." A light flickered in Daryl's eye. Being the demi-goddess of barddom had its advantages: one of them was knowing how sound worked. You could stop up your ears ALL you wanted, but . . . well, the famous deaf composer Beethovan had figured it out too. If you have EVER heard, you can pick up . . . the vibrations. Reaching into "The BAG!" (TM), Daryl hauled out her largest harp, with the heaviest strings-- The Bass Harp of Truth and Justice. Carefully, she leaned it over until it was touching one of the chains. The Guide watched Daryl in silence, waiting to see her plan unfold.
Starting at the lowest register, Daryl began, starting with . . . her scales.
C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C . . . The notes came slowly, and she plucked with a heavy hand, letting each one resonate before she went on. She did all the major and minor scales one at a time, gathering her bardic forces for each note. Soon, her aura was glowing so brightly she couldn't bear to look at herself and had to hit each note by heart. Then, once the scales were over, she began her song. It was a simple, childish song . . . the first she had ever played for X . . .

[To the tune of "Butterfly" by Yoko Kanno From "Brain Power'd" (Again, NOT a translation)]

"Butterfly, Bu-uterfly,
Why do you fly, and leave me behind?
Butterfly, Bu-uterfly,
Hope will come soon, though seasons may die.

I wait with light that shines in the dark,
You light on my finger as if you could tell,
My heart takes wings as the sun arrives,
And gives to the night its death knell.

Butterfly, Bu-uterfly,
Come back to me, and always be true,
Butterfly, Bu-uterfly,
I'll wait for you dear, I'll wa-it for you . . ."

Ever so slowly, X's head began to stir. Though blind, gagged, and deaf, his head turned to Daryl. Euphoria coursed through her body. --Beethovan, remind me to give you a GREAT big kiss next time I meet you!!--
She continued strumming the harp, bridging the gap between songs before she started again . . .

"Deep in my soul,
Love so strong, it takes control,
Now we both know,
the secret's bared, the feelings shown,
Driven far apart, I make a wish, on a shooting star . . .

There will come a day,
Somewhere far away,
In your arms I'll stay,
My only Love,
You've reached the deepest part,
Of this secret in my heart,
I've known it from the start,
My only Love-- My Only Love . . ."

X still hung there, unmoving . . . yet . . . the chains slowly began to crack.
Daryl steeled herself and emitted the maximum amount of bardic power for the final chorus:

"There will come a day,
Somewhere far away,
In your arms I'll stay,
My Only Love,
Even though you've gone,
Love will still live on,
The feeling is so strong,
My only Love . . ."

And the last words she spoke with the most feeling she had ever uttered.

"My Only Love."

The Chains Cracked And Split, And Were Near Their Breaking Point . . .
And Daryl finished with a final riff on the harp, shattering the chains completely. Then, utterly spent, she fell to her knees, breathing hard and leaning on the strong harp.
X dropped from the air, landing in Daryl's arms. In that one, brief moment of contact, something happened . . . images flooded Daryl's mind . . . In what seemed like an eternity, but was only a matter of minutes, Daryl came to know what it was to be X. The screams of the dying, the Sight of the dead, the blood of the innocent covering him, the smell of fire and death, the sound of children, men, and women all begging for mercy or for whatever god they believed in . . . all of them filled her mind as if she had been there, in his place . . . all so real and vivid . . . and suddenly, the visions were over, and X lay there in her arms.
Daryl was stunned for a moment, realizing that, at long last, she had actually found someone whose angst was justified. The thought floored her completely, as did the fact that the X she knew and loved carried such a past. However, she again promised her mind to panic later. Shaking her head quickly, she gently turned his face up towards hers.
"X? X?? Are you alright??"
X groaned, and slowly his eyes opened.
"Nnnnn . . . Holy Spoon . . . What hit me . . .?"
Daryl smiled widely through her newest batch of tears. "X-sama!! You're ALRIGHT! YOU EVEN SAID SPOON!!!" She pulled him close in something akin to a death grip.
X Groaned
" . . . Mind telling me just what the spoon is going on?"
"You don't remember?" Daryl drew back to look at him. "What with the getting blasted and dying and making me go on this long journey and cut up my feet and worry sick about you!?!?" Daryl let out in a single breath.
X held his head as he stood slowly. "Ugh . . . I remember getting blasted . . . everything was dark . . . and then I . . ." X went quiet as he lowered his head. "I relived everything . . . all those people I killed . . . I . . ." he shook his head "Ugh, feels like I died and went to Hell . . ."
Daryl sweatdropped.
"Ummm . . . well . . . that's not important right now . . . the MAIN thing is to get out of here before Hades notices . . ."
Right on cosmic cue, X was gone, and Daryl was back in the throne room of Hades.
"Good work, Child." he said.
Daryl stood up.
"NANI!?! WHERE'S MY X-SAMA!?!?!?!"
Hades looked at Daryl.
"There is one last thing that must be done, Child of Orpheus.
"Eh!?" Daryl quivered with rage. "I thought I DID everything. I GOT him out of that angsty FUNK, and you say there's MORE!?"
Hades shook his head, "I am sorry, Child of Orpheus. If it was up to me, your task would be finished . . . however, there are some rules even I must follow.
Daryl sighed. "Yeah yeah . . . I'm SURE." --I bet you just get your jollies out of putting ppl through your damned red tape, you old goat.-- she thought privately, then continued. "Now what? If I don't get my X-sama El rapido there is gonna be some DAMAGE I _won't_ be held responsible for." She glared at the god of the Underworld.
Hades looked her in the eye, unwavered. "You must follow the same task as your father. You must walk to and out of the entrance to the Underworld, without ever looking back."
Daryl paled and half fell over. "You . . . you're kidding."
Hades shook his head. "I do not kid, Child."
"Grreeeeaaatt." Daryl squared her shoulders, feeling bitchy and itching to mallet something. "Before I go, I'm MAKING SURE OF THIS. I can turn around as SOON as I go outside the gates-- correct? I'm NOT gonna fail because of some DUMB technicality."
Hades shook his head again. "You must both be outside the gates, Child."
"Ok . . ." Daryl sighed. "I'm blaming you if I go several extra miles . . . but I'm NOT screwing this up. Bai, Hades. If I ever see you again it will be a million, billion years too soon."
With that, Daryl turned and began to walk, just the way she came, and Hades said nothing as she walked out, but he shook his head slowly in a dimisssive gesture.
It was JUST as long going out as it was going in, but worse. Daryl's feet were no longer protected by the ribbons, and each footfall was like rubbing her feet on coarse sandpaper, but she said nothing. There was no thought in her mind except "DON'T TURN AROUND," her father's voice echoing in her mind.
Suddenly, as she walked, X's voice was heard.
"Daryl . . .? Help me . . . please . . ."
Her back stiffened. "Dammit, Hades, you ARE a BASTARD." But . . . through supreme willpower, she kept walking. As Daryl continued on, X's voice began to fade. She soon reached the river Styx.
"I can do this, I can do this, I can do this. CHARON! YOU BASTARD, GET OVER HERE!" Daryl yelled loudly. And it was with a story best left untold that Charon finally dropped Daryl off on the other side, still smarting from a mallet wound to his foot.
"Damn ferryman." Daryl swore as she stomped up the embankment. It wasn't long until she encountered another obstacle . . .a chibi version of "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night"'s Alucard, who ran past Daryl giggling in elephant underwear.
Daryl's teeth ground into each other. "Must NOT look, must NOT look . . ."
Suddenly X's voice was heard: "Edward! Put your clothes back ON!! I don't CARE if your important part IS covered with a bishonen ribbon!"
Daryl's teeth made VERY dangerous sounds as a whine escaped her throat. "No nono!! NO!" she straightened. "I WILL NOT BE BEATEN!!!!" Roaring angrily, she ran along the path, ignoring everything with cries of "YOU ARE SUCH A BASTARD HADES!! I'M GOING TO RIP YOUR HEAD OFF AND SPIT DOWN YOUR BLOODY STUMP OF A THROAT FOR THIS!!!"
Meanwhile, as Daryl ran, she passed what looked to be . . . a small pink bunny conversing with Death.
"Damn Lagomorphs!" She continued, running out of breath and leaving bloody footprints behind on the stone floor. Her heart rose-- the gates to the Underworld loomed ahead of her out of the mist. She ran and ran on, sobbing for breath, but, as she neared the gates, the sound of screaming issued from behind her.
"No, no no nonononononono!!" Tears fell from her eyes. "I CAN'T look! I CAN'T HELP! I'm SORRY BUT I CAN'T!!!!!!" Her feet pounded harder and harder as the gates came closer and closer. And suddenly . . . there was silence . . .
This time it required a SUPREME effort of willpower to keep from turning around. She suddenly realized just WHY Orpheus had given in and failed. She had an extreme urge to turn and see-- was X still there? But just in time she remembered to face front.
"I'm NOT going to fail." Curiously she saw in front of her, on the other side of the gates, a familiar face. "Valen?" she questioned. Said incarnation of Dischord was reclining on the hillside outside the gates, but at her query he jumped to his feet and blinked. He looked past her with an odd expression on his face. Daryl mentally noted to kick his sorry ass later and remembered NOT to look too. She laid a hand on the gate, and there was no sound whatsoever . . . just quiet . . .
Gritting her teeth one final time, Daryl ran outside. Then, her voice shakey, and still facing front, she called out.
"X, if you're there, you're gonna have to come in front of me, cause I'm too fricking scared to turn around." Her shoulders began shaking as she awaited a reply . . .
And . . . still there was nothing . . . just silence . . .
Her heart sinking, Daryl cautiously, took some more steps further, walking more and more and more.
--Could this be an illusion?-- she thought numbly. --Am I not all the way out of the Underworld?-- In a straight line, with a dazed look on her face, Daryl walked away. Valen, blinking, looked from the gates of the underworld to the Incarnation of the Bardic Spirit.
Minutes . . . hours . . . days . . . weeks . . . the waiting seemed to be an Eternity . . . and suddenly she felt it-- A hand on her shoulder. Before she could react, she was turned around. X pulled her close . . . and kissed her.
Daryl felt nothing but his touch, wrapping her arms around him absently and going totally limp. The stress finally caught up with her and she abandoned her iron will in favor of losing herself in the embrace.
Valen gave the two of them the trademark Touya cat-eyes.
"Get a ROOM, why doncha?" he sniffed, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes.
Daryl's mind finally decided to cash in on all the emotions she had been stockpiling. Burying her face in X's chest, she wept loud choking sobs clinging to him for all she was worth, and slowly building towards the immense joy she would feel as soon as she realized that her underworld journey was FINALLY over.

--Darylohki
X
and a lil bit from Lord Valen of Dischord, Last of the Bard Hunters

Llwelyn: "So, into the very depths of Tartarus must we three travel."

And so they travel.

And travel.

And travel.

And travel.

And arrive.

And blink.

Llwelyn: "By Valhalla... 'tis worse than I ever imagined it!"

Excal: "Geez, that's...grotesque!"

SYE: "Oh yeah."

Arnold the Damned: "Welcome to Tartarus. Can I take your order?"

Llwelyn: "Come, Arnold! I am here on orders from Valkyrie to retrieve your soul."

Arnold the Damned: "Would you like fries with that?"

Llwelyn: "Arnold, are you feeling all right?"

Arnold the Damned: "Our special today is Hellsnake MvikNougat, only 73 lifetimes of damnation. Interested?"

Llwelyn: "[grabs Arnold] Good heavens, man, snap out of it! I'm here to get you out of here!"

Arnold the Damned: "Please sir, you're wrinkling my uniform!"

Llwelyn: [steps back, dumbfounded] "He must be cursed to tend this...food purveyance location for all eternity."

Excal: "With eternal acne to boot."

SYE: "Hrm. [scans the menu] I'll have a Gargantuan Fried Id with a side of Ego Biscuits. Oh, and two souls, Excallian and Arnoldollon varieties. To go."

Excal: [blinks] "That's actually on the MENU?!"

SYE: "Yeah, [points] right under, "Unhappy Meals", see?"

Arnold the Damned: "Uhh, I'll have to check with my manager on that, sir." [walks away]

SYE: [gets the others in a huddle] "Right, here's the plan..."

How long have I been here now? A few hours? A few centuries? This place is quite definatly unlike anyotherplace I've ever been. Thought it's mainly thanks to this accursed feeling of timelessness that I haven't felt anywhere else before. The strange thing though is how it feels like the exact opposite of the timelessness I felt at the End of Time. There, no matter how much time I spent there, it felt like I had barely spent any time at all. Here, a second feels like forever.

*Excal looks through the tunnel, but it looks much the same as everything else. Just a plain smoothbore tunnel with the same uninteresting grey shade throughout. Nothing and nobody else as far as the eye can see.*

Sigh, things were better when I first arrived here. When I had teamed up with SYE and Llewelyn. Though that memory is becoming dim in the mist of time, though I have no idea how long it's been since I saw them last... And that confrontation when we finally found the guy. SYE tried to buy his soul and mine. Unfortunatly, this little robotic cat comes to the window and tells us that he can't buy any souls without a special Hades choice card. A card which one must be a demi-god, god, embodyment of a major element, or an Eternal to recieve. He then proceded to tell us off for wanting the sould of his new bag boy since he'd apparently lost two personnel recently. At this point, Llewelyn spotted the guy running away so he pulled out his long bow and prepared to fire. At this point a giant Yeti like thing and the person cutting the meat turned to face us. The butcher in the back apparently preparing some technique as the yeti just charged. I can still remember Llewelyn saying "In the name of all the gods! Finishing Blow, Layer Storm!" as he released a swarm of arrows which turned the yeti into a furry pin cushon. He didn't hit his target though. However, that didn't matter the poor guy ran right into the path of the butcher as he unleashed a technique which I think he called Cleave. Guy just fell to pieces in front of us. After that, we ran until we got back to the River Styx. Llewelyn's job was done and he had to go. And SYE had already pissed Hades off personally before going and joining on an assault on Tartarus.

And so I found myself alone. And then I wandered around a bit before I found myself here. I can't remember how I got here. No, scratch that. I don't want to remember. I can feel that should I look behind myself, the light at the end of this tunnel would be waiting there. But whatever it is that lay behind me, all I let myself remember is that whatever it is is worse than the monotony that has become my life. And so I continue.

I wonder? How is everyone doing up there? Do they miss me? Probably not. I was never that strong... Everytime I competed against one of them I lost. I know I have the credit for beating Epsilon, but I was on the verge of defeat. I couldn't have held up much longer. And of course, when ever I allowed myself the illusion of being equal, I could always count on Bob or TallPanzer to remind me of my place. Daryl never did answer that challenge I made back when I first arrived here. And TallPanzer, he simply mocked any effort I made by taunting me and then running off. Then again, if I was ever as strong as I felt, then I would turn around, wouldn't I... Well, I hope someone is looking after Boco. I'd hope for the others to do well without me, but that would be pointless as I as never needed in the first place...

Excal, 100% angsty introspective.

Excal rounds a corner, his mind a manic-depressive minnow in a fishtank of despair (and a horrible poet), and hears a faint "Whoop!" in the far distance.

Voice: "Ha ha ha! Yeeeeeeeeaaaaah! Who's the mench, suckah! Ah ha ha! Whoop whoop whooop!"

Excal, devoid of any pressing obligations, ambled towards it, shouldering between the innumerable shades of the Fields of Asphodel. Two vaguely bipedal shapes, each attempting to lean against the other but stumbling as they keep leaning in the same direction, stagger towards him. As he moves closer, they become vaugely familiar.

Voice: "Oi, there's the little @#$@# now! Yoo hoo! Exx-khelllly! C'm over here!"

Excal: "Eighth, is that you? You look horrible!"

SYE: "Naw, whaddyah talking about, my gutz is always hanging out like this! And who needs a face anyways, eh?!"

Excal: "Is that Llwelyn?"

Llwelyn: "My spleen..."

SYE: "Don't mind him, he's just got a crossbow through the midsection. S'cuse me, gotta pick up my arm, ish around here somewhere..."

Excal: "So, the siege on Tartarus didn't go so well?"

SYE: "Are you kidding! HA! [playfully jabs Excal, then cradles his fist in agony] You should've seen it! Me an' him [gestures towards Llwelyn with his recovered limb], back to back, Furies all around us, arrows ripping flesh like, like, like arrows, Fire spells 1 through 89200.87 (beta), kicking and punching and--"

Llwelyn: [hollowly] "--The horror...the horror--"

SYE: "--slashing, why, old L here, he went and rushed twelve Demonknights with a single arrow in 'is quiver t' cover me--"

Llwelyn: [wobbling a bit] "--You pushed me you dishonorable bit--"

SYE: "--yeah, and we shot anna hacked anna juliened our way through Hade's legions and I craaaaawled up to Mr. Bigshot-Pyromaniac's throne, and I grabbed him by his robes of human flesh like this [attempts to demonstrate on Excal, but lacks the needed digits], and I pulled meself face to face and I said, 'We ain't leaving this place 'till we gets the soul of Arnold the Damned and Excal of the Whatever He Is, and this here Bolt of Testicular Discomfort says we're gonna get it now!'"

Excal: [slightly awed] "And he gave it to you?"

SYE: "Naw, I nicked it when he was throwing us into the Abyss."

Llwelyn: [from the ground] "So...deep...."

SYE: "Aw, come on, man! It wasn't even half as bottomless as it was supposed to be! Anyway, 'ere's Arnold!" [offers him a small paper sack with the words "Disgruntled Meal" upon it]

Llwelyn: [moans]

A holy light envelopes the beleagured god, and a distant voice says, "Return, my noble Einherjar!" As he vanishes, it adds "Battle awaits you!" His screams of despair echo away into nothingness.

SYE: "Oh yeah, this is fer you..." [offers him a bloodied wrinkled document]

Excal: "Wow! An official New Lease On Life! Thanks Eighth!"

SYE: "Yeah, whatever. Enjoy it, kiddo. Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a couple'a billion Megaelixers back home with my name on them."

Eighth stumbles forward a few steps, stomps a wayward Elysian rabbit a new mudhole, and falls between the cracks of existance.

*Excal looked down at the scroll and read it.*

Scroll: This parchment releases one vigilante, Excal Irius Burned, from Hell on the grounds that he died before his time due to one (1) being outside the normal flow of this reality which is either a) a being ignored by collective reality at the time of the killing, or b) an eternal or other such of its ilk. Upon use of this scroll the soul shall pass immeadiatly to the body. DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT COLLECT 200 GIL.

Excal: Thank you SYE for what you went through to get me this. I'm pretty sure I don't deserve it, but I'd be a fool to not use it. And maybe now I can do what I need to do, if I can only figure out what that might be...

*Excal holds the scroll in front of himself and it disintigrates. Shortly afterwards Excal's form falls apart and the caverns are once again empty.*

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

*The first thing Excal noticed was that he was on his back. He rarely laid on his back. And never in such a formal position. Obviously, someone else had laid him like that. As that would only happen if he were dead, he figured it was a safe bet he was back in his body. He then opened his eyes and confirmed it. Looking around he saw Reako sleeping nearby, and Krono looking concerned over the sleeping form. Excal tried to move, but his muscles felt stiffer than usual. He then noticed that he must have made a sound as Krono turned over to look at him.*

Krono: Welcome back to the living.

Excal: Thank you. What's become of Infinaja?

Krono: Sealed again.

Excal: Good. Anything happen while I was gone?

Krono: Daryl brough Liquid X back from the underworld, the two chibi's she found wandered off on a quest of their own. Valen's wanderering around somewhere, Eidolon's vanished without a trace. Bob's gone off again, and SRGPI's wanderering. That about covers it.

Excal: I see. How's Reako doing?

Krono: Weak but recovering, being possessed by Infinja took a lot out of him, amongst other things.

Excal: And Boco?

Krono: He showed up at the Sun Palace as we were leaving. He's been right there by your side ever since we got here. As you can see, he's sleeping right now.

*Excal nods shortly and then wakes up his chocobo. Then he starts checking his equipment. After seeing that everything is to his satisfaction, starts putting Boco's saddlebags on him.*

Krono: Would you care to say where you're going?

Excal: No. Then again, I don't even know myself. However, if ever anything large happens, I'll be sure to drop by and lend my aid. Well, see ya later, Krono.

Krono: Till we meet again, Excal.

*Excal mounted Boco and took off.*

And so I continue my quest. I thought that I had reached the end of my quest when I started fighting in the Bardic Wars. But while those wars and everything I've been through since have ended that quest. Indeed, I could go back to Tyrsis with several worthy prises to my name. But, I'm still as weak now as I was then. My own personal quest as not yet ended. And until then, I must travel and discover what I must do...