The entire world was in chaos, or so it seemed. There were soldiers filling the streets, jets flying overhead at all times, and gunfire could be heard in the distance. The wilderfolk losing control had, at first, initiated a silent war inside the many nations, some of them vying for control of the wilderfolk themselves. In less than twelve hours, civil wars erupted across the globe, plunging everything into chaos and forcing the silent war to the forefront. Massive explosions had been going off all night, and many major cities were in flames. Inside this planet's version of the U.S., long-held political and ideological divides suddenly burst into violence and all-out civil war. The people no longer wanted their government telling them what to do, and were out of patience for the slog of laws they would have to wade through to change things. The wilderfolk going berserk was simply a spark to begin a much larger flame. The people were through with their government not telling them everything, and revolted suddenly and violently.

Much of the same thing happened in Russia, China, and Japan. The U.K. erupted into a fireball of chaos and anarchy. The police forces were quickly overwhelmed by the people, and France, Germany, Italy, Spain, England, Scotland, Ireland, and countless others fell into complete chaos. In southern and central America, the gang leaders usurped the government, and through their iron firsts, order reigned. The people under their rule silently argued whether or not the previous government was more or less corrupt. Most argued the corruption was the same, simply closer to the surface. The world's armies were torn in two, half of them joining their civilian brothers and sisters, and the other half striving to protect the world they had been trained to preserve. Nearly every large country was torn into pieces by civil war in the short time of two days. No nuclear weapons had been launched, but internet, TV services and radio were all shut down. There were guerrilla forces everywhere, and any wilderfolk that were unlucky enough to caught out in the open were gunned down by them. The Sanctuaries that had been set up underground and in the backstreets of the world were raided and burned down, scattering the wilderfolk to the winds.

Kane, Matilda and Persephone had found shelter from the ensuing chaos inside of an abandoned apartment building, and were at a stalemate at the moment. Persephone was unsure of what she wanted, or where she wanted to go. She wasn't even sure she wanted to meet her mother after all. She had answered a few questions, but she felt like she had more. She simply didn't know where to begin. Matilda was watching the chaos out the window, waiting for the time to move out. She wanted to get Persephone away from this chaos, somewhere safe, somewhere they could both be safe. But to do so, she would need power, and a lot of it. She knew how to open the portal to get home, but she didn't have enough power. There was only one creature she knew of that would possess that kind of magical potency, and the thought of returning to him made her skin crawl.

"You should go talk to her." Kane said softly, sitting beside Persephone's bed. Persephone looked up from her book briefly, glancing at Matilda who was standing at the window still. She seemed cold, distant and unloving.
"What would we even talk about." Persephone said under her breath, going back to her book.
"I'm sure you could find something." Kane said.
"Please." Persephone said, rolling her eyes. Kane saw Matilda's ears flatten against her head subtly when Persephone said that.
"May I?" SwitchBlade said softly from the air around Kane.
"Go ahead." Kane said. He wasn't sure what SwitchBlade could say to convince her, but he was willing to let him try.

SwitchBlade appeared on the other side of Persephone's bed as a tall man composed of gentle flames, with his arms folded in front of him.
"Persephone." He said assertively. Persephone glared up at him and closed her book. Kane saw Matilda's ear turn towards them, but otherwise she remained stationary.
"She has changed, Persephone. Look at her arm." SwitchBlade said, nodding towards Matilda. She had her arms crossed behind her, and on her right arm, she had a single spiral of bright grey fur beginning at the back of her palm, and reaching all the way up her arm, before reaching her neck and continuing upwards to her right eye, where it stopped. She had a single streak of grey hair of the same color and brightness above her right ear.
"So what." Persephone whispered.
"More than physically, child. Can't you feel it? She feels now." SwitchBlade said, bending down to whisper next to Persephone.
"I knew her once upon a time, hundreds of years ago. She was a cold, heartless beast, incapable of love and bound to her instincts." SwitchBlade said softly. Persephone saw Matilda's tail twitch nervously, and could feel her listening to them.
"She has changed, child." SwitchBlade said softly. Matilda was no longer listening, however. She couldn't move, and her every muscle was tensed. Her whole right side felt like she was being electrocuted, and her vision began to fade to white. She was filled with a sudden surge of energy, and had a vision of a massive portal composed of stone and iron. She saw a powerful four-winged beast holding the portal open, and saw a little girl trapped inside an iron coffin, screaming for help. She saw herself rush forwards and rip the girl out, and vanish through the portal. She gasped for breath as she staggered back and fell to the floor unconscious.

The only cities that didn't fall into anarchy were the cities that Zavoyevatel had his towers in. As once the fighting began, towers of solid stone a hundred feet tall and fifty feet thick sprang up in a circle around each one of them. His guards rushed out into the streets soon after, calming the panicked people as best they could and ushering them into safe places. Zavoyevatel, with King's help, sent out a psychic broadcast that called to the wilderfolk, telling them to go to his towers. There they would be safe while he prepared the portal.

"So this does what, precisely." Zoe said, standing in front of the portal with her arms crossed. She didn't like the look of it. It was ancient, she could tell, and it had runes carved across it's stone surface in a language she couldn't read. Which only disturbed her more, as she was a self-taught scholar, and could read most any language on the whole of Theresia, from Runic to Goblin. But not this one.
"I have it attuned to the specific energy that Theresia produces, and once it has enough power, it will create a bridge through the void and bring all of my stray children home. I will need to hold it open for a time, in order to get all of you through, and I will need time beforehand to assure the portal will bring you all to Ak-Dovurak." Zavoyevatel said, running his hand over the stones. It had been so long since he had been home. What had changed, he wondered.

"Uh huh. And this energy will come from where?" Chip asked, standing next to Zoe and reading through a series of notes that Zavoyevatel's lead engineer had handed him.
"I will siphon it from this world. I have my towers placed in specific locations across this world, and though it lacks magic, there is a massive surplus of power that we can harvest. But it will be raw, unfiltered power. And that is why I need you, child." Zavoyevatel said, looking down at Zoe and smiling warmly. Zoe felt like she was looking up at her long-lost father, and wasn't sure what to make of that. He seemed to be open, and hadn't given any hints of lying so far. If he had, King would've surely picked up on that, right?
"You need me to convert it into mana, right?" She asked, looking at the coffin-like metal sarcophagus attached to the portal with thousands of densely bundled copper wires.
"Yes. It will be an enormous amount of power, more than you've ever felt before. Do you think you can do this?" Zavoyevatel said, raising one eyebrow at her. Zoe grinned at him and felt a swell of pride in her chest.
"Just wait and see, old man." She said, grinning wider.
"Why are there two of those... 'not-coffins'?" Chip asked, closing the notepad.

"I don't feel good about this." Siren said softly, sitting back in her bed. They'd moved her from the medical wing to Pulse and Prism's room. Zoe had healed her wounds, but she still felt sore.
"I don't either." Pulse said, pacing uneasily back and forth by the window.
"He's had seven hundred years to design this thing, right?" Prism said.
"But why wait until just now to put the plan in motion? Why does he need me?" Siren asked.

"He said none of his army had the power to manipulate energy like Zoe, and you copy powers, another feat none of his army could pull off." Prism said, brushing her hair as she sat on the edge of the bed. Siren opened her mouth to say something, but closed it instead.
"What?" Pulse asked, stopping his pacing.
"I... I've seen things." Siren said softly.
"What?" Prism asked, pausing her hair-brushing.
"I think I tapped into Moondust's power. I saw myself in a box, just like the one he has down there, and I saw myself disintegrate. I don't know, maybe it was a bad dream, but it felt real." Siren said.
"We'll need more information about it, definitely, before we decide on anything." Pulse said, resuming his pacing.
"We can ask Zoe." Prism suggested.
"She's good at this kind of thing, right?" She added.
"I guess it's as good a place to start as any." Pulse said, sitting down on the other side of Siren as Prism scooted herself to the head of the bed, sitting next to Siren. Pulse held one of her hands, and Prism held the other. Pulse sighed and laid his head back against the head of the bed.
"I missed you both so much." He said softly.
"I missed you too." Siren said, squeezing both of their hands.
"We'll ask her in the morning, okay?" Pulse said, kissing the top of Siren's head gently.
"Okay." Siren said quietly. She didn't have a good feeling about any of this. She especially didn't trust Zavoyevatel, or anyone who called themselves a God-King, at any rate.

King was meditating in his room, sitting cross-legged on the bed, scouring the world for any signs of Matilda. But there was so much chaos, so much death all at once, it was hard for him to pinpoint where she was. And on top of that, her energy was completely different now. Something had drastically changed, seemingly overnight. He thought it would make her stick out like a sore thumb, but he was apparently wrong. Suddenly he heard a familiar voice calling through the chaos to him.
"Daddy?" Someone said, clear as day. He focused through his mind's eye to see his daughter standing before him, holding his son's hand.
"Tina." He whispered, beginning to cry.
"Arnold." He sobbed, holding his hands out to them. They approached, but as they tried to take his hands, they passed through like fog. King lowered his hands as tears of joy poured down his face.
"Nice to see you, dad." Arnold said, his voice distant and echoing as he grinned at him.
"I'm sorry it took us so long." Tina said, smiling sweetly at him.
"It's okay, baby. You're here now, that's all that matters." King said, wiping his tears away.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you. Either of you." King said.
"I understand, Dad. Really." Arnold said.

"So the dragon king, he's taking all of you home?" Tina asked.
"What about us?" Arnold added.
"The Legion gave me something, a crystal that can hold souls." King said, pulling the crystal out of his pocket and holding in front of him with both hands.
"I can gather all of you into it, and bring you home. But..." He paused as tears ran down his face again.
"I don't know if I'll be able to bring you back to life." He said.
"I understand. But it'll be okay, dad." Tina said, walking to him and placing her hand on the crystal.
"You can visit us, right?" Arnold said, placing his hand on the crystal as well.
"Every day." King said, smiling. Both of them vanished in a dull flash of light, and the crystal now held two small pinpoints of light inside it. King closed his eyes and broadened his focus across the globe once more, reaching out to the souls Matilda had released, coaxing each of them into the crystal he held. There were souls from all across time, from this world and Theresia, some of them thousands of years old. He opened his eyes hours later, and looked down at the crystal in his hands to see countless pinpoints of light filling it, making it glow a brilliant, bright blue light. He shielded his eyes and placed it gently in the simple wooden box the Legion had given him.
"I've done it, Hilgred." He whispered. After ten long years, he'd done it. Now all that was left was to kill Matilda, once and for all.

Nichole was sitting in her room, gently drying herself off and looking more closely at her mechanical parts. The machinery was becoming more and more complex as the days wore on, and her scars where they attached were receding at a rapid rate. She could feel the towel's lush, soft fabric on her metal fingertips as she rubbed it against her head, cleaning her ears gently. She paused as she moved the towel down across her eye, feeling the towel brush against the metal now embedded in her skull. She looked at herself in the mirror and was filled with fury. She pulled her fist back to shatter the mirror, but someone's massive hand caught her arm. She looked over to see Micheal standing there, with a concerned look on his face.
"I'm hideous." She said softly, yanking her arm out of his hand and turning away from him. She sat down on the stool and pulled her towel tighter around herself.
"Only if you let yourself be." Micheal said, leaning against the door frame. Nichole scoffed and looked at him over her shoulder, her mechanical eye clicking as she rolled it.
"What kind of philosophy is that?" She said, running her hands through her hair and picking up a brush.
"You know I've always said beauty is on the inside. Because on the outside, you look like a sandstorm hit you directly in the face." Micheal said, grinning.

Nichole wanted to laugh, but she was almost certain Micheal had just told her she was beautiful. She was distracted, and paid for it when her mechanical hand snagged in her hair.
"You're a fiery storm of anger and passion, Nichole. Mechanical limbs won't change that. You'll adapt and overcome them, I'm sure of it. You're the most capable woman I've ever seen, someone to whom I compare all others." Micheal said, walking up behind her and untangling her hand, taking the brush from her and running it through her hair gently.
"You..." Nichole paused as she felt her cheeks flush. She hated that.
"You think I'm... beautiful?" She asked, turning and looking up at him. Micheal took her hands and helped her to her feet. He held her face in his hands and looked deep into her eyes.
"Like a dancer who got hit in the face with a fastball." Micheal said, grinning at her. Nichole held his hands and laughed, then hugged him tightly, still laughing.
"Wouldn't it have been so much easier just to say yes?" Nichole laughed, a single tear of joy running down her cheek.
"Yeah but it's so much more fun like that." Micheal said, hugging her back and swaying back and forth.

He reached down and tilted her head up to him, holding her chin gently. Nichole looked deep into his deep green eyes and felt butterflies in her stomach for the first time in decades. She smiled at him warmly, as another tear ran down her face. Micheal wiped the tear away gently, and leaned in, kissing her gently. Nichole was shocked, but not opposed to it. Micheal leaned back from her, and grinned at her shocked face.
"I-I, uh..." She stuttered, unable to speak as her cheeks flushed bright pink.
"I've loved you for a long, long time, Nichole. And I don't know if we'll survive this ordeal. I don't want either of us to die. But if we do, I don't want you to die not knowing that I loved you." Micheal said softly, holding her hand in one of his, and caressing her face gently with his other hand. Nichole began to cry again, and wrapped her hands around his neck, pulling herself up to him and kissing him passionately.

Zoe had walked into their room silently, her head buried in the notes on the portal. She opened her mouth to say something, but when she looked up, she saw Micheal and Nichole locked in a passionate embrace. She snapped her mouth shut and backed out the door as fast and as quietly as she could. She quickly shut the door, and absorbed any hints of sound energy it could've produced as she swiftly walked away. Chip caught up to her in the hallway soon after.

"Did you talk to them?" He asked.
"Not yet. They're, uh.... Occupied." Zoe said, grinning at him.
"How? Is she having trouble with her mechanical limbs again? I can help her." Chip said, turning around and heading for their room. Zoe lunged back and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him away.
"What the hell?" Chip asked as Zoe dragged him along.
"They are. Occupied. As in indisposed. As in..." She paused to clasp her hands together.
"Occupied." She said, blushing, but still grinning from ear to ear. Chip just stared at her blankly.
"I don't get it." Chip said after a few seconds.
"Motherfucker, Chip. They're having sex." Zoe said, laughing and walking away.
"What? In her condition? She'll tear something!" Chip said, turning back to go to their room. Zoe grabbed him by the back of his shirt and dragged him down the hall, laughing all the way.
"What are you doing?" Chip demanded, trying to shake her grip off.
"Come on, you king size geek. We're gonna go look that portal over, now that 'holier-than-thou' isn't hovering over it like a overbearing parent." Zoe said, hoisting Chip to his feet and shoving him towards the elevator.
"I am curious, but she really shouldn't be doing that kind of activity in her state." Chip said as he stepped inside the elevator.
"I'm sure if something were to go wrong, they could handle it." Zoe said, smiling as she pressed the button and leaned against the bar at the back of the elevator.

"I can't wait until we get home." Zoe said, relaxing for the first time in what seemed like ages.
"I know. I've got so many experiments I've got to run. Going through the portal gave me a barrage of ideas." Chip said. Zoe silently congratulated herself for changing the subject.
"I'm gonna get a god-size promotion for this one, Chip." She said as the elevator came to a slow halt about midway down the tower. The doors opened and one of Zavoyevatel's guards walked in.
"Going down?" Chip asked her.
"Yes. Our father wishes me to escort you to the portal. There's been some unrest in the city as of late, and he's increasing security measures." She said, pressing the button for the bottom floor as the doors slid shut again.
"We're more than capable of taking care of ourselves, lady." Zoe said, rolling her eyes.
"I am not doubting your abilities, I'm simply following orders." The Guard said.

"How long have you two been in your Legion?" The guard asked as the elevator began to descend again.
"About, what, thirty years now?" Zoe asked, looking over to Chip, who nodded, not taking his eyes off the guard.
"Thirty years? You don't look that old." The guard said. Zoe and Chip both glared at her briefly, and then looked at each other. Chip rolled his eyes as the elevator came to a slow stop.
"There's a recessive gene present in the later generations of wilderfolk, especially in the Amelian Lineage. It's officially known as dwarfism." Chip said, walking out past her as the doors opened.
"We hit about fifteen years in age,