Sha'uri had been gone for some unknown amount of time. It could have been days, weeks, months or more for all she knew when she arrived back on Exodii. It might only have been minutes or hours for that matter. Her arrival this time took her back to the Citadel. It was as it had been when she had left. The time away had been strange for her in that place Bob had taken them to. Oddly, it didn't feel like home to be here anymore. Yet she was compelled to be...

Her senses told her that no one had been here since she and Bob had left. However, she was smart enough to realize it was probably being watched. It was time to remedy that situation.

She moved inside the place and began to take stock of its condition. There were some repairs needed and she set to work about doing that. A few disabled droids were found and Sha'uri had them fixed up in no time. They had just been waiting on minor repairs. She was careful to reprogram them to take solely her orders, setting up her own encryption codes. The droids were soon moving to do repairs while Sha'uri set about initializing the cloaking device and shields. For now, psionics would mask them from detection.

Then Sha'uri moved deeper into the bowels of the Citadel....

She moved deeper into the Citadel until she was in the very central core, a place not even she had been before. She had never needed to, but now that she was alone here, she needed to know every nook and cranny of the place. Her steps slowed as she came to a pannel. Psionic residue was strong here... something had happened here a long time ago. She came to a stop, her strong form stood still as her eyes took in the details and her psionic sight interpreted the past.

The pannel was blown from the inside and yet great magic was still present there. Shards of a rock like substance was imbedded in the metal and some on the floor around that pannel. She knelt down to pick up a piece but her hand wouldn't finish the action.

"Galen..." she whispered and all she could see was image of his form.

He was moving frantically to that pannel with cornerstone of Woodshadow Castle that they had found on an island not too far from Dar Oma. He was trying to put it into that pannel, but it wouldn't fit. He forced it in, breaking off shards. He managed to close the pannel. It seemed to be working, lights flickering on and as he walked away.... the pannel blew. Strangely enough he'd gotten enough information to locate the castle, but the cornerstone was destroyed.

Fear began to set into her as her hand shook. she couldn't pick up those pieces and the more she was there, the more the fear grew. It was exactly like the fear she'd felt near the castle itself. A maniacle laugh escaped as she realized the connection.

Just then, an alarm signal went off indicating something was coming in close proximity. She quickly moved away from the pannel to another one, pulling up a screen that would show what was arriving. A shuttle it was. One shuttle landing outside the Citadel doors.

"So... send a team to investigate? Or are they sending me lunch."

The smile was evil as she turned to head back upstairs.

The Citadel had moved swiftly across the arctic land and south to a place almost exactly on the othe side of the planet from Exodii City. It travelled through the sky until it reached the high peaks of the Krexarn Mountians just north of the city named Krexarn. By the time the morning light reached Exodii City, the Citadel was gently touching down within the highest and mostly uninhabited valley north west of Krexarn city.

Darkness blanketed the land which made it easier for those at the Citadel to look down upon Krexarn and see the city lights twinkling in the darkness hardly ten miles away. The Citadel was so high and positioned just right that they could actually view the night lights from G'Brinek, a city some one hundred fifty miles to the south, and O'Syra, a city along the coast to the east just as far away as the other.

Krexarn, G'Brinek and O'Syra were the largest cities in the two hundred mile area. And although Krexarn was the smallest of the three, it rivaled the size of Waterdeep.

In the course of time shifts, Sha'uri had discovered that she did not need to kill people in order to gain benefit from their souls. The seven (which were Liam, Nathan, Alan, Gunther, Mikel, Sam and Geoff) played a major part in this discovery. She needed them, alive. So she had learned to skim off the tops of their souls like taking cream off of milk. A little went a long way. It drained their desire for escape. It drained their independence and caused them to cling to her even more. It solidified their oneness.

"Everything's secure, Mistress. There's a small village to the east side of the valley." Liam informed Sha'uri as they both stood atop the fortress overlooking the view.

"Good. I'm sure they have noticed us by now. Take two of the men with you and an escort of six battle droids. Find their leader and invite them to dinner for as soon as they can come.... as a sign of good faith with new neighbors. Tell them that we had to set down for repairs and may be there for a few months. That I would like to meet with them to discuss this situation further." Sha'uri gave the order.

"As you wish, Mistress. Is there anything else?"

Sha'uri thought about this as she reached over to stroke his cheek, sifting a morsel of creamy soul into her own. His eyes closed and he leaned towards her, wobbling slightly from the heady drain. It wasn't painful in an unpleasant way. She found her own stance distracted from a perfect balance while the sweetness of his soul was devoured.

Yet Sha'uri did not drain him completely, merely took a small portion. Even for as careful as she had been, she could tell he hadn't replenished what she had taken the last time. She needed more people. Sifting was really a slow killing if continued regularly without enough time between. It seemed the more she sifted them, the longer it took for them to replenish.

"Yes. Ask them if they have .. say... ten people or so who would be willing to work around the grounds... For pay of course. The place could use a good clean up crew and grounds keeping. You may escort them back with you or else they may come with their leader when they come for dinner. Make sure you leave directions and leave a cleared trail." Of course she wanted them to think she was there on friendly terms. How else could she lure them in to be ...er... for dinner?

"As you wish." Liam bowed and walked away.

Tic .......

Tock.......

Tic.... Tock...

Tic...Tock...Tic..

Tock tic ...tocktic..tock..

Tictockticktocktictocktictocktictock

The walls of the Citadel were cold and damp, darkness surrounded her like a blanket of gloom over the insanity spurred in her head. It was quiet, empty.. no one was there except Sha'uri waiting for death to come near. Hands tied, bare feet, tanktop and pants the only protection for her as the arctic wind blew outside, its whistle cutting through the walls of the complex. Her stomach lurched and something writhed within.

The alarms went off in every clock throughout the complex marking the time at six. Sapphires flashed open, mouth gaping wide with what seemed to be the silent scream as her stomach writhed much more violently.

Then suddenly it burst open with entrails spewed across the room.


"Ahhhhh!!!!!!!!!"

Sha'uri woke up screaming, bolting upright in her bed holding her head from the nightmare, feeling her stomach to see if it were intact. Sweat dripped from every pore and her sapphire eyes wept with tears. Confused, disoriented, Sha'uri couldn't remember what had happened to her or why she was even in bed. She didn't even remember going to sleep.

After a few moments she tried to calm herself, assuring herself that none of this had taken place, that she was safe in her Citadel and not abandoned. Had she forgotten everything?

Pulling back the covers, she stepped out of bed and went to the full length mirror along the wall. The outfit snugged close to her body was hardly enough material to call it an outfit... G-string attire was all it was. It wasn't anything she was aware she even had.

"Who's..."

But before she could get the question past her lips, her eyes shifted in color... sapphire flared with Amethyst. The memory came clear again as she struggled hopelessly against the strength of the Abyss. Even as it brought her to her knees, her cry began to mix with a ferral laughter. She stood and looked at those Amethyst hues burning brightly within.

What have you done?

"What haven't I, princess?" she purred, primping her hair in the mirror.

Oi .. she's taken over a whole village, don't ye know? Diminished their souls, took control an fed 'er immorality. Ferral Slut!

"Oh now mother... You taught me everything I know." she stuck her finger into her mouth up past the second knuckle and pulled it out slowly. Then played a kiss towards the mirror.

Ye'll come 't regret it. I dun care how strong ye think ye kin become, it won't make a difference. This thing with ye... ye'll lose!

"Silence!"

Amethyst hues flashed, diminishing the others. She continued to primp her hair for another moment when the voice behind and to the side of her took her at full surprise.

"She's right..."

Sha'uri turned to look at herself on the other side of the bed, except this one was dressed for battle. "What in the ... who are... oh, no.. you Are me. What am I doing with you?"

"Time travel. Real time travel or you have no chance to succeed."

"What do you mean?" She pointed to the bed and moved to sit on it, making herself comfortable for thIs explanation.

The other sat down as well and began the story.
"See... when I'm from is about three hours from now when you get the idea to replicate a few others of yourself so that you can move through the village cemetary and begin raising your army of undead so that we could conquer the large city below, take them over and raise up their dead, and so on and so forth so we could beat Alex and taking over the whole world. In the end, it didn't matter... we kept losing you, the original. We've tried going back in time to change this but so far it keeps ending the same way but we loose our copies in each time. Now I'm the last copy, but I have good news. I've finally figured out who is helping your son and when they arrive thanks to RhyDin's town drunks who are easily bribed. They saw Cadence go to see these Guardians as they call themselves and I've got the time they left... so I can greet them properly when they arrive."

"Why not make more copies of me?"

"Fair question. You'll find that when you go to make the copies it doesn't work like before. You have another locked inside of you that you didn't devour. And then there is your conscious. They'll throw a wrench in things. You won't be able to make more of you then what comes out... and its at the cost of your own soul. The more of us you make, the weaker we all are. I can't tell you how many to make or else I may not have succeeded in finding this information that we've needed. I'm confident that this time we can succeed anyway."

"So what's your... Our plan?"

"Skip time, grab the one called Valeria. She's the thorn that causes us to lose every time."

"Then make it so."

Thirty minutes later....

A hard knock on the bedroom door awoke Sha'uri from her slumber. She heard the door creak open as the guard entered and made his presence known.

"Mistress... You asked me to wake you at the appointed time. It is time."

At first she was going to reprimand him harshly until she felt herself naked beneath silk sheets. It reminded her that she had given her previous attire to the other.

Dark red silken sheets were flipped back enough to give her a clear line of sight to the guard. A moment of probing his mind found the answer.... Her other had given him that order.

"Thank you. Find Liam... Collect the others. Begin elimination of the villiage .... descretely... starting with their leader.... save back the children who have not yet hit puberty, lock them in the dungeon. There are enough of them to suit my purposes ... for now. Do this all descretely, take a day or two if necessary, but not too much time. We don't want them to realize it and launch retaliation. Understood?"

The guard nodded.

"And have no one disturb me until the task is finished. I have... things that I will be doing as well... things of a delicate magical nature. Is that clear?"

Again the guard nodded.

"Good. You may go."

She watched the guard leave, turning round to face her as he shut the double doors. She lay there for another few moments trying to put the pieces together of what her other self had told her. A thought occured to her as she smiled and moved herself out of bed.

"I can always adjust the number later..."

An evil smile to be sure as she moved to her closet and began rumaging through the contents for something to wear.

Later that next morning...

The curtain of time was opened and Sha'uri stepped through with Starfire. They were outside of the Citadel grounds in the mountain overlooking the place. It was daytime, midafternoon. Sha'uri touched her communication device.

"Oh Sha'uri to Citadel. I need the shields dropped in my location so I can bring a small army in Teleportation would be much much easier."

"Uh... acknowledged. I thought you were napping. I appologize that I didn't know you left. You said not to be disturbed after the long ritual. However, we have no record of your leaving."

"Yes, yes, I know. It's okay." she didn't but figured as much. So the ritual was done and her other was sleeping. "Don't worry about it. Just leave this section opened for five minutes so I can transport them all inside. They... don't like the sun."

"Understood."

The teleportation was swift, taking Starfire inside the complex. The place was the medical center of the complex. Sha'uri swiftly activated a holographic medical doctor and set the hologram to work on Star's wounds. The medical equipment was highly advanced, healing cuts within minutes, setting bones and mending them in hours, getting them on the way to a fast recovery. Though not as fast as magical means, they certainly were much faster then normal means.

"His bones will be mended in few hours. He should be able to walk on it then, though it won't be as good as new until tomarrow morning." the doctor informed them.

"I'll be back later." She replied and stepped through time by herself leaving STarfire alone with the medical doctor while the hologram worked to mend the bones and cuts on the young one..

Within the alotted five minutes, Sha'uri had moved the skeleton army to the dungeons and brought Onyxia to the med lab before the shield was put back in place as ordered.

The Lycan was placed into a stasis chamber and kept unconscious and immobile this way.

Sha'uri didn't go back to the infirmary where Starfire was at. She returned to her bedroom to play catch up with herself....

Shaking her head visibly, the thoughts were disturbing to her. The signs gave her a sense of a bad omen... one less then before. That had never happened yet. It occured to her that finding Vanyel was also something that hadn't happened before, as was defeating the girl, Valeria.

She began to question herself on why she brought him along... yet she knew it was to recruit him to her whim, as much as it was a curiosity for what happened to him. She needed to find out his story...

Her gaze turned back to her original. She could sense her weakness after casting the replication spell. The thought occured to her that perhaps this time something in the equation had weakened her original self and made her more susceptable to her burried side.

"This won't do. It can't be, not after all I've been through."

She saw the weakness and knew the omen was bad, the precognition of the end was strong, or so she thought. Amethyst flame flared in her gaze.

"Not this time..." Anger and resolve flared in her emotions. Blinded by her lust for revenge, her focus was for nothing else. The copy lashed out to the original, hand aimed to wrap fingers round her throat...

The original had awoken upon the sound of the voice in her room. She had remained still and quiet, listening and waiting to see what the other would do. She had sensed the other coming after her, bed shifting with the weight of the motion, the moment the lunge was made. Even as weak as she was in that moment, she was still able to keep the copy from sensing her... and thAt was her advantage. It allowed her that split moment to deflect the attempt at her throat and lunge in with her own attack with the other as a silent spell was cast .... a beam of searing light shot from her fingertips and directly for the heart of the copy while sharp fingernails cut through the skin, reaching up from under the ribcage to both of her hearts.

The copy felt the disintegration of her heart as her existence melded back into the original. Bones, flesh, spirit, power .... everything absorbed back in becoming one with herself ... and the other copies. They, too, recieved a share of the essence and power.

The attack was swift but the pain of death and the intensity of essence and power melding back into herself kept her screaming in both agony and bliss for what seemed like several moments. She was not the only one effected. The newly made copies woke screaming in their cocoons as the power was also transferred to them as well. Memories and power of the copy destroyed flooded into them. The end result was more of relief, like a part of themselves had finally come home.

Yet the relief was limited as the memories began to be realized. Something strange had happened, something they hadn't foreseen, something they didn't understand. None of them could pinpoint it.

As the copy was the one to die, there was no mess to clean up. Everything had been absorbed. Sha'uri got out of bed, and although still somewhat weak, the death had given her renewed strength. It had given the three copies added strength. They were waking simoultaneously and clawing out of their cocoon's.

Sha'uri moved to the bathroom and began the bathwater. By the time it was ready, the three had gotten free of their serogate wombs. She helped them one at a time into the tub, then set up food and drink from the replicator for them all.

Picking up an apple, she flipped on the comm device. A brief conversation with Liam informed her the village was concurred and they were all waiting for her next orders, resting up while doing so. The children were locked up in the dungeons as ordered.. all 257 of them. It had been a fair sized villiage of about 1500 souls.

"Fifteen hundred.. that will add nicely to the undead I brought from RhyDin, easily over 2000 together." she had already aclimated the memories to her own. "If we play our cards right, we should be able to venture in over the next few days and increase that by raiding their cemetaries and invade the other small villages nearby."

"Yes, M'Lady.... there are three others within ten miles from here, each having about 200-500 in population and an unknown in the cemetaries surrounding them. We could easily have another 1000 - 2000 in our ranks. Then we'll be ready to attack the major city."

"Very good, Liam. Tonight we rest and dine.. and play. Set the holograms up for watch. You boys need a break."

"Aye, Mistress. It will be appreciated." Liam replied. "I will inform them right away."

"We resume taking the other small villages on the morrow. See you at dinner..."

His trance like state gave Starrie a dreamlike connection delayed in time. Sha'uri was unaware of that connection until Starrie left the bewildered holodoctor in the infirmary and ran down the hallways.

The hologram, being unaware that Starrie was Vanyel in a younger form, was naturally unaware that the boy's healing ability did in fact heal him faster then normal. It was why the boy didn't fall and rebrake his bones when he tried to walk on it. Records of a Vanyel Askeveron, being of a draconic race suspected to be of like nature to Sha'uri, were in the system.

When the boy fled the infirmary, the holodoctor immediately alerted security and Sha'uri.

"Sickbay to Security and to Mistress Sha'uri. I have a patient fleeing sickbay, the one our Mistress brought in. He seems under emotional distress, probably due to his broken ankle. He tried to fry me with some sort of electrical attack. Had me frozen for a moment, long enough that he got out of my grasp. I'm Okay, as far as I can tell. I'll do a diagnostic right away. However, this, of course, is not why I contacted you. His treatments were finished but it hasn't been enough time for the natural process to solidify the bone. It might even be concieved that it's a miracle it hasn't broken again. Of course, after the shock he gave me, it's possible he's not exactly as human as I was led to believe by his appearances alone. He's heading east down the corridor, just about out of my sight."

Alanyl and Ahjin were coming down an intersecting corridor, heading for the one Starrie was running down. They watched the boy zip by the intersection just after the boy's thoughts blared in their heads and the call from the holodoctor was sent over the citadel com system.

Both men had noticed a strange sensation about the Mistress not long before... pain and pleasure. There were no lasting sensations or calls for help and things seemed to normalize as far as they could tell. Both men knew her appetite for sensual experimentation lately and chalked it up to just being that.... a bit of S.M. They thought Tobias was surely in the room with her then.

Alynyl was the first to react, reaching up to the pin and activating his com badge. "Alanyl here. Ahjin and I just saw the boy pass the corridor. Apparently, he's a telepath. I don't know if you all felt it, but his thoughts just came blasting in my head. He's looking for Sha'uri and worried for her. We're in persuit behind him."

The two, father and son, gave each other a glance then took off after the boy.

By now, Liam had set up the holographic security men throughout the building and around the perimeter of the Citadel. Having heard the holodoctor and Alynyl, Liam had begun the process of routing some of the holographic men towards that area. More holograms were sent to Sha'uri's room within a moment after Alynyl made his call.

Liam responded likewise. "Holographic troops on the way to help the pursuit and more sent to Sha'uri's room."

It took Sha'uri a moment to realize what was going on after Starries thoughts rolled in. She finally realized he must've sensed her assination of one of her selves. It was the only time she projected anything. Starrie had obviously felt it but had some kind of delay in his response. She wondered what kind of drugs the holodoctor had given the boy, and couldn't help but grin.

She knew the other men had felt her display of pleasure and pain with the other copy's death, but also knew they were all thinking the same thing.... that she must've been enjoying herself with one of the other men. She, of course, let them just think that.. most thought Tobias was with her, while Tobias was seething jealously for not being the one to do that to her.

"Well girls... guess the cat's outta the bag now. Might as well just let them see us." Her gaze went across the room to her other three selves. They were developing quirks that their memories didn't have from before. Something was definitley different this time and they all knew it.

One was clearly a warrior type, strong and with a mindset almost constantly ready to fight... hot, intense and emotional. In fact, she was already dressed with a set of citadel armor and checking out the weapons on display along the wall. Primed, pumped and ready for combat. "I hope this doesn't take too long. I want to go train with Hank."

The second was calm, cold and intellectual. She was dressed in normal blue and grey robes, her hair pulled up into a loose bun, dangling soft curls round her neck and edged her lovely face. She was already pulling the books off the shelft to study them further. "It was inevitable.", she commented as if that was a fact that should've been calculated long ago.

The last was a bit more docile, diplomatic and clearly a seductress of the worst kind, dressed in g-string apparel beneath see through purple teddy and silk laced bathrobe. High heeled slipper shoes were on her feet. She was lounging in an overstuffed chair, legs dangled over the side as she sat sideways in the chair where it was by the fireplace. She was munching on a banana in a most slow and seductive display. She'd obviously seduce anything. She'd already propositioned the other two while they were all bathing. The warior took her up on it. And still... the nymph wanted more. "Niiiiice..." she purred. "I love bright young teenage boys...just let him come to momma.. I'll take goOod care of him. Let him sit on my lap... I'll kiss aaaall his boo boo's away!"

The original gave a brief roll of her eyes. There must've been something about the copies and seduction... she also knew there would need to be slightly different designations given to them if they were going to have a prayer to coordinate themselves properly.

Sha'uri's voice came in clear to her men through their comm badges. "Drop pursuit to capture... just corral him in. Let him come to me."

"Aye. Understood. I'll hold back the troops and block off corridors while Alynyl plays sheep herder." Liam replied and re-routed the holograms to comply. The troops backed off and Liam began to shut off corridors to help herd the boy into Sha'uri's room.

Alynyl and Ahjin persude the boy from a fair distance behind, clearly unconcerned that he would get too far away.

All four Sha'uri's were waiting for Starrie. The original stood before the door several steps from the opening and let her presence be felt in his mind yet her thoughts were silent to him. She kept her mind silent, as did the copies, focusing only on where Starrie was at while they were waiting for Starrie with the double door's to her bedroom opened wide.....

"A-are you all the one I was speaking with before she left?"

The warrioress pulled a klingon bat'telh down from the wall, gripping it in both hands as she turned round to face the newcomer, weapon held level before her yet in a relaxed pose at waist level. Lavender hues glanced over the curves of the weapons with adoration before they cooled, lifting to take in the weaknesses of the boy, like a predator sizing up its prey.

Another set of lavenders glanced up from the book she was reading with a disinterested stare of annoyance. It was clear this one would rather be reading then dealing with this, and in fact she did shift her gaze back to the book.

A third set of lavenders perked anticipation and lust. "Ahh, Starrie..." she purred while one of her legs slipped from the arm of the chair revealing a possible lack of undergarments beneath her skimpy outfit as one foot came to rest upon the floor spreading her legs wide open.

The image was interrupted by the shift of the original as she stepped into the line of sight between Starrie and the purring one. Hands on her hips, she stole the boy's gaze, amusement at his stammering.

"Yes, we are. We are her, she is us." she replied in unison with the others, their voices like one.

"They are me." the original replied alone while the other's thoughts flitted to their former preoccupations, one on thoughts of violent battle lust, another on the heartless strategies of power she was reading and the third was clearly stroking the coals of her desires. They were representative of the evil within the original, the evil of the Abyss.

The original smiled. "I guess now is as good a time as any to meet them. Meet Number One." She pointed behind and to her right without really looking back.

The warrior gave the boy a nod. "You can call me Number One."

Sha'uri, the original, pointed with her other hand to the one with her nose in the book. "Here is my Number Two."

This one begrudgingly looked up with a cold snake like stare. The sarcasm was thick in her monotoned reply. "Yeah, I get to be the wonderful designation, Number Two ... for now." She smiled a snakes smile. One could get the impression that calculations for the other copies demise was already underway, but it was hard to say for sure.

"And this is Number Three." the origianl replied, shifting to step to the side and let him see her.

"My favorite number... Three isn't a crowd in my book." The third snatched the edge of her garment and was pulling it down to her upper thighs while she brought her other leg to the ground with the other. She seemed to wipe her fingers on the material for some reason. Pleasurable thoughts went through her mind of him sitting on her lap while she ate him seductively. She clearly did nothing to stop anyone from seeing that. Even while she entertained her appetite, it didn't go unnoticed what his real condition was and there was concern in her gaze as well.

"Why don't you come sit down." The number three offered soothingly as she stood up and patted the arm of the chair. "Darling, you look as if you're about to collapse. Come on, Luv. Let me take care of you."

The original nodded in agreement. "She's right. You should sit down, relax.. They won't hurt you. They are me, even if a bit..." her mind searched for the right word. "... split from me in their own ways. They are a wonderful tool. And if your loyalty remains true, I'll teach you how to do this some day."


"We'll teach you anything you want to know." they said in unison with their own individual flair, projecting images and emotions of .... battle lust, calculated greed of power, and pleasurable desires.

Number One and Two went back to doing what they were before the boy came in while number Three moved to and doted on the boy. The original simply kept to the side and watched them all for a moment or two just to see what they would all do.

"So... How's the ankle?" she finally asked.

He reaches out, touching the power surrounding him, accepting it readily this time as one does an old friend, a familiar and much-missed presence. Not the overwhelming, massive intrusion of million of minds merging with his own, but now focused, controlled, ready to obey and to show him what he is looking for.

Reaching out, searching for that presence he remembers, the touch of a mind that he now, for some reason, feels a connection to in a way that he doesn't recall ever feeling before...not even between himself and his master, nor between himself and his parents.

He couldn't say why it's there, why he has to find her...to try and save her, to bring her back from the dark place she's gone.

Perhaps because of that connection, like a touch of destiny in itself. Perhaps because he knows what it is she feels that has caused it, the loss of so many and so much that was once held dear, has felt it himself, and been brought to the same dark place. Only the benefit of training that she hasn't been through had brought him back from the edge of the same abyss she had slipped and fallen so far into.

And even knowing that, he faces the very real possibility that he will be the one to end her life...thanks to the vision seen by Briarius and the strange woman, Jalek.

It is a while before his search yields the result he is looking for...that familiar presence.

Sha'uri.

He homes in on it, his mind focusing, rushing towards it, the feeling of danger, nascent and nebulous, driving him towards her...

...just in time to see a bizarre scene, that of Sha'uri...lunging at Sha'uri...?

Copies...just like Alex and Briarius said...but why...?

The thought is cut off at the sudden shock of what happens next, as he sees the one that had appeared to be sleeping ends the life of the one lunging for her. The power of that one's essence being released, then absorbed again, transmits a sudden shock through the Force that is nearly enough to send him reeling back to his own body, and it is with desperation that he clings to the only other presence he can think of.

Hers.

The link is established as he draws to him all the power he can reach within his mind's grasp through that sudden, harsh onslaught. It is still only just enough, and for a while, he drifts, his Force-presence only just clinging by bare threads, semi-conscious within unconsciousness.

When he manages to focus himself again, it is with a start, seeing not just the one he is now linked to, but...four of them...?

By the Force...four of them...how is this possible?

Even as that thought crosses his mind, he remembers to check the shields he had placed in his mind, ensuring that protection remains in place after the tumultuous shock of power had hit him, and is relieved to find that they are still there, as strong as before.

Somehow, it comes to his mind that the one whose mind he is touching, the one he is linked to now, is the original. Her thoughts are closed to him for the moment, but he is certain of it just the same, and he watches as the four of them introduce themselves to a young man that is unfamiliar to him.

He reaches out, very carefully focused upon her and nothing else, excluding the others from his thoughts. More time to contemplate that later. Through that link, no words yet, but instead a sort of mental nudge, a tap to her mental shoulder, gentle but insistent, just before he mentally whispers her name into her mind.

Sha'uri...

Sha'uri...

So quiet... so distant.. so faded she almost didn't hear the unfamiliar thought whispered in her mind, touching her conscious like a tap on the shoulder of her soul.

It wasn't her diminished side or her mother speaking, it wasn't her copies or even Vanyel. It was a voice she was hearing for the first time and yet, as she thought about it, had heard so many other times before... in other lives.... in other times....

Strangely, she was experiencing something that could only be described as... guilt. Part of her suddenly wanted to run away.

But she was shielding herself wasn't she? That's what surprised the original more then anything. So why was she hearing it?

She had no clue that Sharilis had used her own mental strengths and helped open the pathways, drawing Aquil in through the cracks of Sha'uri's protections to allow him through to the original. Sharilis was almost powerless in some respects, but in others ... she was the true master of the mind with her psionics and magics.

It had been her intent all along to play possom and let Sha'uri think she was incapable of doing much when all along Sharilis was using her strengths tactically hidden. It was Sharilis that covered the sound of Aquil's thoughts from reaching the minds of the copies, keeping them clueless to his connection. Although she couldn't stop the sensation of surprise of the original from being felt by the copies.

"They're aspects of you, Sha'uri... Lust.-" He pointed to Number Three.

"-Ambition.-" Pointing to Number Two.

"-And War." Pointing to the first, with the weapon in hand.


Amethyst hues had flashed ever so lightly and briefly with Sapphire from the sound Aquil's voice, although on the outside she seemed to be responding to what Vanyel had just pointed out.

The tainted side of Sha'uri couldn't sense what her mother was doing, though she could sense the confusion of the other copies as their gazes were sent her way. Oddly enough, Sha'uri had an urge to cover this new and hidden conversation from them. She wasn't even sure if it was a conversation, thinking it was possible it was just a memory. So she went with the surprised look, directing it as if Vanyel had been the cause of the surprise.

"Yes! Actually... I guess. I hadn't thought of it until you said something, but they do seem to resemble just that... War, Ambition and Lust. This actually has never happened before. It's not normal." it wasn't a total lie. She had been perplexed by the odd formation of the personality differences in the copies. They all knew it was strange. They all thought it was caused by the death of the copy being absorbed back in not only during the ritual but drawing the base in from another time.

For the moment, she ignored the voice in her head, not wanting to chance a response until she could figure out what was going on. She had to get away from the copies, lessen the proximity. They were too close and, with their personality differences, could potentially be distracting or worse at this point. It was a lot to take in, in such a short amount of time. For all she knew, the voice was just a memory emerging and she was about to freak out for nothing.

"Anyway, your ankled healed. And we are part of what is called... a Soul Dragon. I mean, a race called ... that. But I guess you forgot that too, Vanyel.... I mean Starrie......sorry, but you will always be Vanyel to me."

She paused with a sigh. She had been stuttering. She had to get out of that room."Ladies, I'm going to let you explain all that to him again. I have some pressing matters to attend. Number Three.... take care of him."

The third one nodded with a smile, only too pleased to have him in her charge. She knelt down to touch Starries newly healed wound, rubbing it gently with her fingers.

Number Two eyed Sha'uri suspiciously, thinking the original was acting strangely but decided that making three others of oneself while killing a fourth was bound to make for strangeness. Again she put her nose to the book except this time she switched the book for own with arcane marking in order to study a few spells. "Don't be gone too long dear. We have things to discuss.... and an army to finish making."

"Why else would I be leaving? Scouting for graveyards." the Original quipped as she turned and walked away.

Number One simply nodded, cast a brief glance at Vanyel as if a warning... the small bit of lightning had not gone unnoticed by her. This one was just making sure he knew she was not afraid of it or him.

While Sha'uri the original abruptly left the room, Number Three smiled at Starrie and kept rubbing his ankle gently. Her head only a few inches from his own."So does that help your memory?"


-----------

The original left the room, guarding her thoughts and abandoning her focus on the copies. She felt that Vanyel would be all right with them and they were developed sufficiently enough to handle him. And he would be all right if he didn't feel threatened too much. She needed to focus on this new voice, figure out what was really going on.

Her steps were few as she turned away from them all before her form shifted to simply teleport herself to a hill at the far end of the Citadel complex, almost a mile away. It was at the very edge of the shields. From there, she crossed to the other side of the shields and found a fair sized boulder to sit on. There she sat and focused on the voice that had prompted her only a few moments before, searching for it while keeping her thoughts hidden from her other selves.

Interesting trick, Aquil ... Brave, too. Got anything else to say?

Yet something was happening while she tried to concentrate.. and she became aware... or reminded of the other part of herself hidden away and the mother who gave her life... only now she realized just how quiet they'd been lately.

Welcome 't the insanity... her mother's voice was clear, sarcastic and ominous.

I should've known... Her thoughts held a grating tone.

Aquil.... this one began to plead.

What, Run?! What am I gonna do to him here? huh?

Tha's enough Lass.

Or what... you're gonna mind screw me?! The darkness within her laughed, and then laughed some more with realization. Oh... that's what it is. You're good, Mother, I'll give you that. You almost had me believe it. He's not here is he. You just pulled up that memory didn't you. Why the distraction, huh? It's Vanyel isn't it. You just wanted to get me away from Vanyel.

T'would be a lie if I denied it outright, daughter. Ye knew I'd be rightfully concerned. I do nae care if ye're the whole evil of the Abyss er nae, tell me ye're nae so stupid as 't believe I'd sit in here idly watchin ye corrupt our kind! Tell me I raised ye better then this! The voice of Sharilis raised with anger, baiting the response that was about to come...

It was all a ruse again. The argument Sharilis was picking with her daughter was being used again, another distraction for the Evil while Sharilis drew what Good was left of her daughter and the contacting lines from Aquil into another place, safe within what small cocoon of protection that she could offer them, now that the original was split in four. The voice of Sharilis and the Evil one faded as the shield from Sharilis cut them off from that arguement. It was only then that the good Sha'uri felt safe enough to prompt him again.

Aquil? It's okay... we're safe. But we don't have much time. My mother distracts the Evil for now. Speak quickly, tell me little, but ask what you need. her voice shook with nervousness.

I knew it...there is still good in her...in you.

Sapphire hues full fear also looked at him with a spark of hope and something else... adoration. There was a lot for him to take in and she admired him for boldly trying, even though she realized it was almost foolish of him. Still, she admired him for his efforts every single time they came to this point.

For her it had been many times; her mind full of various memories of this point and time and she knew them all. For him, it was many times but his memory naturally held nothing of the others, except perhaps shadows, ghosts of hints at best to the bits and pieces of the time looped events, fragments that even with concentration would be unnoticed except maybe by those genetically and magically or otherwise enhanced specifically to notice loops in time. At best, most normal people might be lucky enough to feel a sensation of de jas vous in this place, after being in a place so many times before. Perhaps he did, but didn?t realize it.

In any case, she tried to shield him of all those memories, not wanting to ruin the smile he now held. She wasn?t so sure she?d ever seen him smile like that before.

True, in the times past he'd smiled and shown some measure of relief every other time. But it seemed that the more they went through this, the more he seemed relieved and the deeper the smile. Or perhaps it was just her own perception; hopefilled that it would actually be the last time they met this way and they could move on from this terrible but necessary loop in time. She so wanted to move past it all....

For a moment, he's not sure how to ask, how to say what it is he wants to know. It feels, in a weird way, almost like he's asking her out on a date, though he doesn't know why his mind should make that comparison.

Either way, his smile never ceased to amaze her of the comfort it gave, and for a moment it drew a small bit of a hopeful smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Unlike him, though, the last thing on her mind had anything to do with dating. Yet she felt herself drawn to him. Even so, this small surge of hope wasn't enough to quell the sense of danger this situation could present.

It was a risk, a terribly high risk they were all taking and could still prove to be a mistake as it had been in the past. Fear of that danger quelled her smile back to a sober expression.

I've seen what happened...to you, how you became...this way. The things that have happened to you, the losses you've endured...the Abyss. Is...is there any hope...that you could be helped, that the evil in you might be expelled?

He was saying everything that he had before?

She couldn't help but wonder if there would always be this sense of denial. His words hit hard what the past/future had held before. The smile faded to a frown and the sapphire hues held the promise of proverbial tears in this spiritual place. The mist of regret, loss and despair began welling within sapphire gems.

It's... Complicated. It isn't about saving just me, Aquil. In fact, it's more about saving you then it is me. You've beaten your own darkness, but you have not yet tasted it from the depths of the Abyss...

There was something urgent and specific in her reference to him, a clear reminder of how close he'd danced with darkness himself, as if she knew, and did know, of his destruction of the village that had murdered his mentor. She continued to explain, hoping that every time she tried to tell him, things would be one step closer to closure for this nightmare, once and for all.

We've been here before, Aquil.. many times, even though you think it's only your first. It's not ... not for me. Sure... it can be expelled from me, but not without horrible consequences. Just simply kill me and the Abysmal Evil will flood from me like all the gates of every hell knocked off its hinges, wide open and flowing into the world, into you ... and yOu will succumb and lead the way to the destruction of everything... this world and anything connected. That's what happened the first time we went through this ... been fighting it ever since.

Her gaze held his with warning for a moment before they seemed drawn to the side, hearing the argument between her Evil self and her mother. Aquil was mostly protected, perhaps he could hear the voices, but Sha'uri could hear them well enough to know what they were saying. The words between her mother and other self were spoken viciously, the tones demonic and for a moment she felt her mother faltering in their protection.

Fear within her increased and she held a hand up as if warning him, or reaching for him. It looked and felt like both. She was fearfully quiet for a moment before she sensed the protection strengthening again and returned her gaze to him. Her tones were gently urgent.

We don't have much time. You have to destroy this body, all my connections to my soul have to be severed in order to free me of it. You have to destroy the copies first or the Evil will loop back through them again. They are why you fell the first time, though they are the means the time loop was first drawn because at that point you sought to destroy me entirely instead of saving me. We come closer to solving this every time we go through this, I think, but it's not over. I hope Alex sensed this. I hope he protects Lyndra. The Evil seeks her, too. She's the Avatar to Sharilis. If she finds her.... If the evil breaks her... Aquil... there will be nothing to protect me from it, or her or anyone.

Her hand would grip his tightly; the other hand came up and touched the image of his cheek as if to emphasize the urgency. It strengthened their connection...

Aquil, Lyndra must be protected!

Even as she told him, she saw the mistake it had been the first time they'd gone through this .... A flash of his memory came to her. It wasn?t taken, it just happened as it did every time. It was of the connection he'd had with everything before, the quick mental image of Lyndra and Voec in the midst of a tender moment and through that the sense of their surroundings.

It would be enough that Sha?uri knew where they were and knew the Evil would discover it as it had done before. As of yet, she hadn't figured a way around that one. But this was a new time, another chance.

In this time, she could do something to give Lyndra a fighting chance. She gave an image of her own memory to Aquil.

The memory of their conversation here from the time before, slightly different from the way this was turning out to be. When the conversation had ended before, Aquil had tried to make it to the moon with his fighter in time to save Lyndra himself ... but this time Sha'uri showed him how he had failed that attempt in the past. He would be too late. One of the copies would've gotten to her and as Aquil arrived She would vanish with Lyndra laughing at his efforts ...

This was Sha?uri?s warning to him not to go that way this time. He would never make it in time to save Lyndra.

The image of the past ended and sapphire hues stared urgently into his coppery gaze. She couldn't help but long to go with him out of this place. It was not a good choice of course. There were ties she could not deny, ties to her mother and to herself that one day she knew she would have to face. She dreaded this, and yet hoped for it, longed for it, begged for it .... a small price to pay in light of the consequences of not. As long as the abysmal evil was within her, there would never be hope to vanquish it. As long as it connected with anyone here, all hope was in vain. The fight would continue on?

Hope for the end laced urgent tones softly pleading through her fear.

Kill me, Aquil... Please.. Promise me.... promise me you'll do it without hesitation. You have to...at the right time, kill me. Please?

It's... Complicated. It isn't about saving just me, Aquil. In fact, it's more about saving you then it is me. You've beaten your own darkness, but you have not yet tasted it from the depths of the Abyss...

There was something urgent and specific in her reference to him, a clear reminder of how close he'd danced with darkness himself, as if she knew, and did know, of his destruction of the village that had murdered his mentor. She continued to explain, hoping that every time she tried to tell him, things would be one step closer to closure for this nightmare, once and for all.

We've been here before, Aquil.. many times, even though you think it's only your first. It's not ... not for me. Sure... it can be expelled from me, but not without horrible consequences. Just simply kill me and the Abysmal Evil will flood from me like all the gates of every hell knocked off its hinges, wide open and flowing into the world, into you ... and you will succumb and lead the way to the destruction of everything... this world and anything connected. That's what happened the first time we went through this ... been fighting it ever since.

It's the strangest feeling, the sensation of d?j? vu felt twice over. Even as she speaks, he can feel it - the Force, a touch of it opening his mind to memories he both has and has not experienced, little random snatches that fit in perfectly with what she's saying.

It never occurs to him to question it for even a moment. Even as she reaches out to him, his hand finds hers, their fingers interlacing as though they had been dear to each other for years.

For her, he realizes, it very well could be.

He senses that protection weakening, the warning, the fear and urgency in her eyes, and in that moment he wants nothing more than to take her from here, to protect her...to fight for her, even to die for her.

Not as he would any other...this feeling is borne out of much more than a mere sense of duty, for with the feeling comes a sense of fierceness, a fire he had not felt since being very, very much younger, in a different time and place, though there is no darkness to accompany it this time.

We don't have much time. You have to destroy this body, all my connections to my soul have to be severed in order to free me of it. You have to destroy the copies first or the Evil will loop back through them again. They are why you fell the first time, though they are the means the time loop was first drawn because at that point you sought to destroy me entirely instead of saving me. We come closer to solving this every time we go through this, I think, but it's not over. I hope Alex sensed this. I hope he protects Lyndra. The Evil seeks her, too. She's the Avatar to Sharilis. If she finds her.... If the evil breaks her... Aquil... there will be nothing to protect me from it, or her or anyone.

Those words bring a rush of denial. How can he do it? Knowing what he knows, knowing the spark - the very powerful, bright ember - of light that remains here? His own hand comes up to caress her cheek in this vision, a tender touch that reveals to her everything he knows, everything he's seen, though she no doubt knows it all already - the Force vision at the memorial park in which his body now sits, safe and far from where they now touch in mind and spirit, the flash of understanding, the deep core of him and his own darkness that allows him to relate so deeply to her.

How could he bring himself to kill someone so...

Aquil, Lyndra must be protected!

Even as she told him, she saw the mistake it had been the first time they'd gone through this .... A flash of his memory came to her. It wasn?t taken, it just happened as it did every time. It was of the connection he'd had with everything before, the quick mental image of Lyndra and Voec in the midst of a tender moment and through that the sense of their surroundings.

It would be enough that Sha?uri knew where they were and knew the Evil would discover it as it had done before. As of yet, she hadn't figured a way around that one. But this was a new time, another chance.

In this time, she could do something to give Lyndra a fighting chance. She gave an image of her own memory to Aquil.

The memory of their conversation here from the time before, slightly different from the way this was turning out to be. When the conversation had ended before, Aquil had tried to make it to the moon with his fighter in time to save Lyndra himself ... but this time Sha'uri showed him how he had failed that attempt in the past. He would be too late. One of the copies would've gotten to her and as Aquil arrived She would vanish with Lyndra laughing at his efforts ...

This was Sha?uri?s warning to him not to go that way this time. He would never make it in time to save Lyndra.

There are too many things here, too many contradictions. Knowing what he knows, how can he just...turn away...how can he not go to save the person that needs it most, to protect the one before him...?

His hand leaves hers as they stare into each other's eyes, both hands resting against her cheeks now. Even as the tears bloom in his eyes, looking into hers, he feels something in himself stir, warm and sweet, and yet at the same time painful. He would gladly give his own life to protect hers, no matter the cost if he can save her, this beautiful woman that has managed to stir so much in a touch, in a memory or two...

The coppery eyes close, the tears spilling over at the thought of ending her life. Sha'uri...please...don't ask me to...I...I can't...

The memory that takes him next rocks him to his very core.

He sees two visions at once - one of utter destruction, chaos, a world destroyed and ruled by darkness, stripped of life, devoured by evil.

And in the other, he sees life. Hope. A future. A world made whole, and, for the very first time, his place in it - a temple that reminds him so strongly of the one he remembers from Ossus, grand and yet somehow simple. A place for this long lost, far-flung Jedi to begin bringing his life, lessons, and teachings that he has learned from so very many to a whole new place that has never completely known it.

Fresh grief brings new tears, even as he realizes what the vision had meant, what Sha'uri had been saying all along.

The first vision hadn't been showing him a world ruined by her, or rather, by her evil self...

...it had shown him the ruin he himself would bring, should things not be done differently this time.

Pain etches every word that she hears from him, the sorrow and reluctance clearly outlined in every quietly uttered word, and it is not until he has said the last one that he finally opens his eyes and looks back into hers.

I...I promise you, Sha'uri...I will do what you ask of me, when the time comes...I will...be the one to...kill you.

There could never have been two more difficult words for him to say than those. He can feel the weight of them like a physical thing, but he says them...and means them.

Alex will probably not be happy with his knowledge of what will happen to Lyndra and Aquil's failure to at least try to stop it, given the knowledge he has. Some may even think he was manipulated by the evil in Sha'uri now, may question whether he can truly be trusted.

With one, perhaps two exceptions amongst them all, they wouldn't understand - Aquil has been to the depths of darkness, and knows what it feels like.

And he feels nothing like it from this vision before him.

What comes next is borne of a strange impulse, and where it comes from he doesn't know, or care to question. That stirring of feeling, yes, and the want, the need to seal this promise with something...and to let her know that he does, indeed, intend to do as she asks.

His hands at her cheeks tilt her face tenderly up to hers as he leans in close, touching his lips to hers, a soft, tender, bittersweet kiss.

The Evil one exasperated as the psychic shock was destined to give herself a headache as well. She felt that kiss and sensed her good side trying to keep information from her. She realized what it was the moment the attack came. Her good side was trying to protect Lyndra.

The avatar was a huge key and source of power? ultimate revenge on her family, her mother. Her mind linked with all three copies?.

Prepare yourselves for a little trip when I get back. Number One, kick ass! But you might have company this time. Bring Lyndra if you can, but you need to get out alive!

Then her attention went to the spell to scry on the Exodian Compound, or as much of the area around it as she could. The bowl was taken from a pocket, set on the rock beside her as she fill the bowl with water. A hand hovered over the surface as she used her magic to still the water. Then the spell was swiftly cast.

She didn?t have to wonder where she was scrying to, she knew the exact location of the compound and the road right beside the entrance. She knew at least this much of the place. She gazed into the bowl and saw nothing revealing of the compound itself, hidden behind a fog that the shield created. However, she expected this. Outside the shield, though, she could see Alex standing there with Cadence, Lupinius and Kegan? and about a hundred dwarven soldiers all in a row. Crossbowman to be exact. She knew of Kegan, but Alex had developed the relationship with Magril more then anyone.

?So? the troups are about there. Good, you?re guard is down. Time for me to drop off a little present.?

Pulling the amulet from her pocket, she cast two spells in quick succession. One to allow it to fall light as a feather, and the other to teleport the amulet fifty feet above their heads. The air around the amulet began to glow amethyst, swirl and pull the amulet into the center. Then with a quick snap, it disappeared to reappear in the scrying field, falling as light as a feather from about fifty feet above Lupinius.

Once the package was dropped off, she headed back to the Citadel to prepare to raise the army of the dead ?.

In the split second before he is pushed, he senses several changes, subtle shifts that he picks up.

The first thing that he is aware of is being lost, a sweet, tender warmth that steals through him as they connect in a way that seems to stretch out into eternity. Never before in his life has he felt this depth of connection, never dreamed it possible. The realization makes the moment that much more bittersweet, as he remembers he promised to kill her.

On the heels of that comes the sudden awareness that their connwction, this joining has brought down the mental barrier that Sharilis had erected...as well as his own carefully constructed shields, leaving the both of them vulnerable...to the four very dark, suddenly enraged minds to which he realizes he is now connected to.

Just as he realizes this, just as all four are turning their attention this way, before they truly know he's there, he feels himself flung away with a hard mental push.

Go tell Alex! Lyndra can still be saved! Now Go!

He wants to go back, even knowing that he would be facing a mental attack by four minds at least as powerful as his own, to shield her, that single bright light amongst all that darkness...but it's too late. Already he can feel the tidal wave of mental energy, powered by rage and darkness, rolling towards him, as fast as thought.

For a moment, he feels it in himself, an echo of the past. Anger, frustration, rage. And that beckoning, tempting, siren call of darkness in himself, begging to be released, promising him victory, if only he will let go and use it...

No.

He's given in to that once before...but never again.

He manages to sever the connection, just as that wave front of mental energies reaches him. Bright, silvery pain erupts in his mind, followed swiftly by blackness...

He opens his eyes, back in his own body once again, aware somehow that several minutes have passed since the link had been cut. The perspective is strange, and it takes him a moment to realize that he's no longer sitting up, but rather laying flat on his back.

Moving to get up, there is another dagger of pain that sinks into his forehead. Reaching out to the Force, he lets the energies wash over and through him, pushing pain and fatigue aside.

There will be time for licking his wounds later.

Right now, things need to be done. In an eyeblink he is in his feet, Force-enhanced muscles propelling him at inhuman speeds as he runs back to his fighter, reaching out to find and touch Alex's mind.

Alex, you have to get to Lyndra NOW! Sha'uri or one of her clones is trying to kidnap her, and I can't get to her fast enough. I'll explain later, but you need to get to her RIGHT NOW!

He reaches out with the Force ahead of him, towards his fighter, hitting the canopy release. A single, lithe leap carries him from the ground to land neatly in the cockpit, closing the canopy and starting the ship up.

Moments later, the fighter is up and arrowing towards the military compound to fill the others in on what he's found out.

The deed was done. Voec was dead. Number Two had a smooth time of it .. but not entirely with the whole endeavor.

The teleport took her to just outside the Citadel shields were Number Two materialized in the cemetery, just outside the small village they had just overtaken. It was where they were going to meet later that evening, the first place they would begin to raise their undead army from.

Although Voec fought hard against the pull on his soul, he had no chance to withstand such a thing. Most beings could not, even if they did put up a good fight against it. In the end, Sha'uri's will and enhanced ability was too strong for them to resist. His screams of agony and flailing attempts to resist only added flavor to the sordid deed. And she smiled all the more wickedly, reveling in the power she held over him.

Voec's soul had been consumed and his body fell lifeless to the ground. His form remained in the humanoid shape. She yanked his heart from his chest and teleported just the heart back to the spot it had been only moments before. She was sure the splat of the heart hitting the ground before them would get their attention.

She checked her watch and made the call.

"Number Two to Liam. Drop shields and let me through in precisely twenty two minutes, thirty seconds from my mark. Mark."

Then she lifted Voec's body and brought it to a newly made altar in the center of the cemetery. There she laid his body down and cast a spell of invisibility on him before she stepped away. A Cube of Force was put around the body to protect it from being touched, and another spell added to prevent its teleportation from the spot.

The call was made but as she was attempting to step back in time to that moment when the shields would be down, something seemed to bar her movement. She tried again and it seemed to hamper her some more. She concentrated on it and began to feel the lines of magic, taking some time to do so.

"What the...."

They were definitely there, slowly forming a barrier and it was obvious to her it was specifically to block her from moving through time.

"But how? from where? and who?"

Again her gaze caught the time and she realized she had only a few more moments before the shield would come down for her.... which is what she had instructed Liam to do. It would look stupid for her to miss that moment and have to call him back again.

Like Hell....

A foul curse escaped her lips and she quickly moved with lightning speed to the edge of the shield just in time to step through safely. Once she was on the other side, she teleported herself to the room where she had left her original self and Number Three.

"Miss me?" she quipped tearsly with a foul expression.

"Whatever it is, I didn't do it." Number Three remarked oh so innocently.

"Something go wrong?" the Original frowned.

They all looked between each other while Number Two could only relay the sensation of the failed attempt to move through time.

"Briarius." came the voice from the doorway as Number One walked back in. She had felt the attempt too. "Who else could do something like this?"

Number Two nodded. "You know how devious he is. And He's capable. But I still felt a connection to the time lines. It's either not done or he doesn't have our blood, specifically."

Number Three pipped in, "If he's connected with Alex, he can procure some of our blood. Several years old, but our blood all the same. He has the means to perform any ritual. Better count on it anyway."

The Evil one contemplated all this. "Find him. This ritual he's doing must be destroyed before he completes it. I sensed my attempt not as strongly blocked as yours, subtle though it was... the strength of it had a difference, which means... The more he completes, the more he blocks us and perhaps for longer periods of time. We need to be able to move through time and with this... This hasn't happened before."

They were all silent in thought. Finally the Original spoke up again. "Number One, do Physical searches to find him. Number Three, keep an eye on both our guests and help in the searches. Number Two, figure out which ritual he's doing so we know how to stop it. Meanwhile we've still got an army to raise... which I'll do the first. It'll take me all night but I'll do it myself I can not be disturbed. The next army.... I'll need some help. So don't screw this up. They must've figured the time loop or are finally getting risidual memories from it. We need to end this, this time around. In the end, Aquil must be destroyed or we are defeated."

Step? Step?.

Step? Step?. Step?

The soft rhythmic crush of foliage beneath a pair of hard boots was the only sound carried through the now deserted town. The name of it was already forgotten, if it were ever known by her before, or anyone else for that matter. There was no sign along the edge declaring the handful of buildings as a town; just a hefty piece of plank nailed to a pole and a single word carved simply into the wood: Welcome.

The stench of the massacre was already thick in the air. It was a smell she was beginning to associate with power, a scent she drew deeply in through her nostrils and into her lungs. It was clear in which direction the men had laid all the bodies to wait not for their resurrections but for their transforming animations.

Lavender hues tinged with sapphire flames gazed over the corpses, which were in piles of fifty as instructed. For a moment, the lavender faded slightly from her eyes with a hint of remorse in them. Only for a moment and the moment was gone, shifting the color to a deeper lavender.

She, the Original, moved to the first pile of corpses and cast a spell, causing the entire mound to rise slightly off the ground, as if an invisible floating disk lifted them up. Then it followed her as she walked away and headed to the next pile, using telekinesis to lift those bodies up onto the floating pile. She moved from pile to pile, and so on, until the disc couldn?t hold anymore. Then she moved through the cemetery several hundred yards outside of town.

As she approached, the spell protecting the cemetery was brought down. She entered the place and came to the alter. Voec?s heartless humanoid body still laid upon the stone, chest gaping open and empty of the hearts that once beat within. Even now, she could feel the prompt for his soul as the clerics of the Exodian Forces tried to connect for a resurrection. It would, of course, not work. She was not giving up the soul that was once the lover of the one she needed to catch and control. The bait would hopefully prove to lure Lyndra in and snag her.

By now, the knowledge had come to Sha?uri and all of her copies of other developments in the Citadel. Plans had been made and she was prepared to meet up with them.

?Goddess willing, they will all be ready.?

Her gaze shifted upwards through the opening in the trees, looking overhead and to the west as the dead moon, Tol, prepared to disappear beneath the horizon with Marta, the living moon, not too far behind it ? A sign of the times.

Sha?uri moved about pulling items from a bag of holding and setting things up in preparation for the ritual of mass animations, all the while chanting softly the prayer to open the connection to the Dread Goddess of Night. Soon she had everything set and in place.

Once again, her gaze went upwards just in time to see the last bits of the moon disappear beneath the western sky.

?Thus the phase of the Dark Moon begins ?? she whispered.

?Indeed, a crossway for you..? The feminine voice behind Sha?uri took her by surprise. The accent was thick and almost unrecognized, if not for the roll of the tongue along the r?s.

Sha?uri spun around to see a dark skinned woman, the tone a dusky hue of evening and the eyes shone like ebony. Her black hair was loose and flowing and her dress was like the midnight sky. The material was not unlike the hooded robe Sha?uri herself had round her shoulders, a gift left to her by her own mother. The similarity was not overlooked.

?Did she send you?? Sha?uri asked.

The Dark one nodded. ?Three days ago. We?ve come on her behalf.?

?We?? her gaze darted around, but Sha?uri didn?t sense anyone else nearby. A suspicious brow raised, yet it was clear the woman was hiding nothing.

?I am D?Shala, priestess daughter of the Goddess of Night. She showed me your coming and her acceptance of your service. The rest are coming. I will give you control once we have completed animations here ? and just like I have, you too shall become Daughter of the Dread Goddess.?

?Hecate ?? her smile deepened, eyes glittered with lust for power.

?Who else?? D?Shala grinned. ?Ready??

?Indeed. We start with him.? She pointed to Voec. ?He is? special.?

The two set about performing the task. The knife was drawn and the ritual began, slicing Sha?uri?s hand to secrete the blood bonding Voec?s body to Sha?uri?s control, which allowed some unique abilities between them. The rest of the bodies were animated into zombies, skeletons, wraiths and ghosts, among other undead things. They spent the night animating these bodies, sending them to retrieve others from cemeteries around the surrounding countryside and then animating them as well.

There were many mass graves in the area caused from when the Change occurred. A few hours before the morning?s light glowed in the eastern sky, Sha?uri?s army had been increased to nearly 5000 undead.

Voec stood beside her along a ridge overlooking the valley and the night lights of Krexarn. His eyes no longer held a draconic shape, they were pupiless and black as the pits of hell with only a small softly glowing pinpoint of amethyst flame. His visage betrayed no emotion yet his stance clearly awaited the Original?s bidding.

D?Shala stood behind them both. ?We have only a few thousand to add to your army, though they are some of our strongest daemon ilk. However, there are others nearby who may approach you to join, followers of Erythnul have been spotted lurking around. In the meantime I will go meet with our army. We will be ready by next evening. Then we will join you in battle at the appointed places. May the Goddess guide you to victory.?

?Drog!!? the dog faced gnoll barked as his scout came into view. He waited until the subordinate finally stopped in front of the gnoll leader. ?What did you find??

?More undead crawling from ground. They go to small village. Looks like they the only ones home.? Drog grunted.

?Someone is raising them, rat brain. You look other places around there?? the look that Kobash gave Drog could?ve sliced the gnolls head clean off if it had been made of a physical blade.

Drog nearly gulped and let out a small whimper. ?Place of dead. Two women. One fair skinned, the other darker. Can?t tell if human or Elf. I heard chanting and the name Hecate. Looked to me they raise an army.?

?Hmm? . But for who and against who? Must be against Krexarn. Bah, doesn?t matter. It?s war! I think we wanna be on their side. Send messengers to others. Get you gear! We go to war ? south!?


Three hours later and the group of gnolls were walking into the throng of the undead. Sha?uri had already spotted them long before their arrival. Gnolls were generally evil and tended to run in packs, yet they would usually keep a central local hidden for their pregnant and children. She knew who they usually followed, and that was a welcome thing to her. So, of course, the undead stepped aside and made no move to attack the gnolls as they entered. They, too, would become a part of her army.

Messengers travelled swiftly along the ground; magic flared increasing the whispers through out the mountains within a hundred mile range. Even the wind whispered of war stirring through the leaves and rippled in the bubbling brooks and streams. And by evening, many followers of Erythnul, both barbaric from the mountains and civilized factions in the city, would also become a part of Sha?uri?s army. Those in the city remained there and word was sent to strategically place them.

Her army was increased to over 15,000?.

Had anyone ever amassed such a size in such a short time pulling from factions that normally wouldn?t combine? It was clearly, for those that knew, the darkness of the Abyss reaching out to its kindred brood.

Her job was relatively ? tame.

At first, she made frequent trips between Vanyel?s cell and Onyxia?s tank. However, Vanyel had gone from quiet gibberish, to incoherent whispers, to flat out just staring at the wall as if in some deep meditation ... or trance. Where ever his mind was, it was clearly not there. Her trips to see him became fewer and further in between. He was, for the moment, harmless. Still, she kept him locked up in that room?..

She began to spend most of her time dealing with Onyxia, torturing her dreams with visions designed to mentally strip her confidence ... which was already tainted to begin with. Even so, Number Three was impressed by the loyalty so tenaciously clung to by the lycan. She?s either very lucky, and I?m jealous of that? or she?s stupid gullible, and I plan to have fun with that. Either way, I?m going to have fun trying to exploit it.

She grinned as she stroked the side of the tank right next to Onyxia?s cheek.

?Your experiments seem to be going smoothly.? John, the holographic doctor, remarked.

?Indeed?? Number Three purred. ??feeling the emotions rise and fall in her.. it?s almost orgasmic, to have that kind of control on someone. Too bad you can?t feel them, John.?

?It?s ? difficult to say if I do or not. My programming is so advanced that even though it looks like I?m mimicking emotions, I could be actually having them and not know it. Does that make sense??

?It does, and sometimes that?s true. You do feel sometimes. I was referring to you feeling what I?m feeling while mentally? pushing her dreams.?

?Oh, sorry.. I thought you meant.. never mind.? Clearly the hologram was confused.

?Number One to Number Three?? the voice came over the intercom.

?Three here.? She replied softly, seductively pushing the dreams on the lycan once again. The emotions began to stir and Number Three couldn't contain them from others.

Number One clearly felt them.

?Nice touch? but don?t get caught up in those for too much longer. Although I must admit they do have a pleasant background? flavor. But we both know that all good things must come to an end. The Original has been sent to deal with Briarius? we begin our confrontation when the sun sets. Make your preparations.?

?Oh pooh?? Number Three pouted. ?I was going to go for the ultimate rush this time.?

?Well then you better make it a quickie, lover. We?ve got more exciting things to do, like crush our enemies, have them driven before our feet and hear the lamentations of the women.?

?Oh, well that can be fun too. All right? one more quickie before I wake her up then.?

?I?ll prepare the infusions.? John remarked and moved off.

Number three returned her attention to Onyxia, smiling evilly as she began to whisper and nudge the lycan?s dreams once again, infiltrating into her Dreamscape.........