Guardian

by Thule117

Resurgam

Silence reigned over the clearing, as everypony present stared in open mouthed shock at Celestia and Luna, their horns still glowing as they maintained the Proiectura Anima.

"How. . . ." Twilight asked, her voice trailing off as she struggled to comprehend what she had just seen. Celestia shook her head.

"Truth be told, even we don't exactly know where that spell came from." She explained.

"When we were lost in the memories of Derran and his brothers, all we remember for sure, is desperately wishing to save them. To undo the horrible fate that had befallen them." Luna chimed in, as Celestia nodded in agreement.

"Then suddenly, it was as if the spell just popped into our heads, and we simply cast it without thinking." Now it was Luna's turn to nod, as she scrunched up her face, trying to recall exactly what she felt at the time.

"I remember. . . for just an instant, it felt as though somepony was guiding me. . . telling me how I could help." Twilight stared at Celestia and Luna in sheer wonder.

"I had no idea you two even had that much power." She commented, her mind buzzing as she tried to calculate it all.

"All seraphim have access to massive reserves of mystical power my Lady." Twilight and the others jumped slightly, as Derran's voice softly rang out from where he sat. "You and Lady Cadance only recently ascended, so it likely will not begin truly awakening in you for at least another hundred years or so. However, in time, you will doubtless come to feel it too." Rainbow stared at Celestia and Luna with a skeptical expression.

"Yeah. . . so, where was all that power during Chrysalis's first attack, or any of the other times we could really have used it?" She asked with a cocked eyebrow, a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

"Rainbow!" Twilight cried out, mortified. However Starlight nodded her agreement.

"Rainbow actually has a point princess Celestia. I mean, not to put too fine a point on it, but you couldn't even stop the Smooze at the last Grand Galloping Gala." Celestia opened her mouth to reply, but Derran beat her to it.

"I fear, my ladies, that you are confusing 'not wishing too', with 'not being able'. Ladies Celestia and Luna have immense power, but they are hobbled by the fact that using that power to solve every problem could have dire repercussions." Starlight gave Derran a quizzical look.

"How do you mean?" She asked, Derran gave her a small smile as he replied.

"Well. . . suppose Lady Celestia had simply teleported Chrysalis and all her minions to the other side of the planet during the first changeling invasion? If that had happened, it may have solved the immediate problem, but it also would have deprived Lady Twilight and her friends, as well as Lady Cadance and Lord Shining Armor, of a vital opportunity to grow. It likely also would have meant that the kingdom of the changelings would never have fallen." He explained. Rainbow gave Derran a look of profound disbelief.

"Oh come on. How would the Princesses have possibly known about any of that?" Derran sighed.

"I believe I already explained to you that Lady Celestia can see the future, correct? It may interest you to know, this power extends to all alicorns to some degree or another, though Lady Celestia has always been especially gifted at it, and it comes with the realization of their full powers. I am willing to wager, that miladies could have stopped any number of the unfortunate events that befell this land, but held back due to their premonitions." Celestia nodded.

"Derran is correct, often the hardest part of my and my sister's job, is constantly having to resist using our power to solve every problem." Here the solar princess's face fell. "I cannot count the number of times I've had to watch my little ponies suffer, and still had to force myself not to intervene." Luna nodded sadly in agreement.

"As can I." She admitted. "Did you all really think I was sleeping on the day of Cadance's wedding? I was holed up in my room, struggling not to simply teleport every changeling in Canterlot into the depths of a black hole." Rainbow looked confused.

"Why not do it anyway? I mean, you're the princesses, is anypony really gonna argue if you bend the rules a bit?" Luna shook her head.

"How do you think Nightmare Moon was created?" She asked sadly. Derran visibly stiffened at the name of Luna's twisted, altered self, but he said nothing. "There was a moment, just before she emerged, when every instinct I had, urged me to speak to my sister about how I was feeling. . . and I ignored it out of spite. It was a small thing, but. . . ." Luna trailed off, with a pained expression, her eyes flicking nervously to Derran, who nodded as if in acknowledgment that he knew they needed to talk about it, but that it should be done later.

"That is the burden of the Seraphs." Derran explained. "To prevent the greater pain of the future, they are often forced to ignore the pain of the here and now." At that, everypony went quiet, thinking about how terrible a feeling it must be to want to help somepony, but to know that doing so would likely make things worse.

"I. . . I had no idea." Twilight commented sadly. Celestia gave a small smile.

"I'm sorry I never told you about my and Luna's true abilities, but I was afraid if I did, that you would constantly lean on me to tell you what to do all the time. I was worried you might stop making your own decisions, and that you would never grow into the amazing pony I knew you could be. Please forgive me Twilight." Twilight shook her head and gave a small smile.

"No, you did the right thing. I just wish I had known sooner, so you and Luna didn't have to endure all this alone." Celestia and Luna smiled, trying to hide their tears as they nodded.

"Wait, something just occurred to me." Starlight commented. "Did you know Derran and his brother's were going to come to Equestria?" Luna Shook her head.

"We did not. Strangely, our power never seems to tell us anything directly in regards to Derran and his brothers. We believe it is because they are not from our dimension. The closest we ever came was when we prevented Derran from killing Discord, though at the time we had no idea the role he would play in aiding Equestria, or even when he would play it for that matter. We only knew it was vital that Discord live." Twilight and the others nodded, before Rainbow Dash spoke up again.

"That reminds me, what exactly did Discord do to make Derran hate him so much?" To the surprise of everypony present, Celestia, Luna, and shockingly even Derran, suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"He. . . ." Luna began, before trailing off, a blush of embarrassment coloring her face. Celestia hemmed and hawed a moment, before finally letting out a sigh.

"He. . . broadcast my, Luna, and Derran's, first night together to the entire city of Bridledown using illusions." She stated, her cheeks coloring to match her sister's. Suddenly everypony froze, their faces universally reddening, all except for Starlight.

"Wait, that's it? He just showed everypony what happened the first night you met?" She asked, feeling confused, Derran's interactions with Discord being one of the few memories of his she had not been privy to. Derran shook his head.

"No my lady, our first intimate night together." Suddenly Starlight's eyes became the size of saucers, as her face turned crimson. Now understanding all too well Derran's furious reaction to the mystical trickster.

"Ok, that. . . explains a lot." She stated. "So. . . what happened after Celestia gave you and your brothers back your youth?" Starlight asked, suddenly desperate for a change of subject. Celestia and Luna, seemed to agree with that unspoken sentiment. As they turned to Derran, who promptly closed his eyes, falling once again into the depths of his millennia old memories. . . .

The Doom Slayer sat within his tent, and, for what felt like the thousandth time in the last hour, struggled not to go on a murderous rampage, as he considered the report he had just received. His brothers, men he had once thought the most disciplined, hardened, and relentless force in the multiverse. Were at this very moment, eating, drinking, laughing and celebrating, with a hoard of colorful, magical, talking ponies. It had been just over a day since the event that Musashi had described as a quote unquote, miracle, and the news could hardly have been worse.

It had started when Musashi and Michael had spirited the unconscious princesses back to their castle, accompanied by nearly every member of the Legion who wasn't on guard duty. Carrying the pair of insensate mares back to Bridledown, they had refused to leave their side, until one of the resident healers of the town could be summoned. Even after learning that all the monarchs needed was a bit of rest, their escort had stood vigil outside their castle, waiting like an army of lost puppies for the princesses to wake. As if that wasn't bad enough, the instant they had awakened, the princesses had again invited the Legion to join in their idiotic festival. The Doom Slayer had eventually sent one of the few brothers who had remained at the camp to check on the situation, and see what was taking so long. The messenger reported he had arrived just in time to see his brothers take their first few tentative bites of the food, and then start bawling like infants at the taste, which they claimed was like the legendary ambrosia of heaven. Before long, the Legion lost all semblance of military discipline. Laughing, singing, and joking with the absurdly colored equines of the town, as if they were long lost allies.

The Doom Slayer stewed beneath his tent, going through the report in his head over and over again. It was now clear to the Doom Slayer, that his brothers had chosen to all but abandon their oaths. Ever since coming to this horrid place, they had grown more and more defiant. How swiftly they had cast aside their vows and bonds of brotherhood, all for a few superficial comforts, and the mewlings of a race of inhuman weaklings! Even his commanders had abandoned him, talking as if these creatures were some kind of heavenly saviors. It was intolerable! However, worst of all, was that even Michael, his most trusted ally and subordinate, seemed also to have forsaken him. Michael had sent no word after he and the others had left, nor had he told the Doom Slayer of their intent to defy his orders, and join in the feast these creatures had set up. The Doom Slayer, was alone.

"No. . . ." He declared softly, as his eyes flashed in the darkness. "I've always been alone. . . I just didn't notice it till now." Now the Doom Slayer saw the truth of it, his brothers had never been truly loyal, they had simply clung to him out of desperation. They were like an ivy vine, too weak to stand on their own, they leaned upon him to support their frail lives. No, even that wasn't right, they were more like parasites, leeching off his strength and prowess, then happily abandoning him the moment something better came along! The Doom Slayer ground his teeth and clenched his fists as he thought about it. His skin itching, as a faint, almost invisible red glow suffused his body, and his eyes seemed to, for just an instant, become pools of crimson light. Rising, the Doom Slayer felt his body burn with the urge for violence. His brothers had abandoned him, no, worse, they betrayed him! This couldn't be allowed to stand! They were his soldiers, sworn to his service! His commands were absolute, and any who refused them. . . .

"My Lord Doom Slayer, permission to enter?" The Doom Slayer was suddenly distracted from his building wrath by the hail from outside his tent. For a moment, his thoughts became jumbled, as he struggled to recall what he had been about to do, his head clearing a moment later as he answered.

"Yes, fine, come in brother Geb." The Doom Slayer and the rest of the Legion had long ago learned most of each other's names and basic characteristics. The Doom Slayer personally, had, over the last thirty years, learned the names, faces, voices, and general skills of all ten thousand of his brothers. Geb was a member of the Elder Guard, a mid ranked soldier who's skills in magic were matched only by his mastery of swordsmanship. Entering the tent, he came without a helmet, the dark brown skin of his shaved head covered in the ritualistic tattoos common to most residents of the land of Pharos.

"What do you want brother?" The Doom Slayer demanded, wanting to get, whatever this was, over with as quickly as possible. Briefly, a look of indecision flashed across Geb's face, before becoming one of determination.

"Forgive the interruption my Lord, but something was uncovered recently that I think you should be made aware of, regarding how we got here." The Doom Slayer glared at his brother for a moment, before motioning him to continue. "During our divinatory examination of the local area, we discovered a point at which space time seems to distort, following Astarius's theories on meta-spacial dynamics, we can extrapolate that-"

"Get to the damned point!" The Doom Slayer snarled, his teeth bared in a manner not unlike an enraged animal. Geb hesitated for an instant, flinching at his lord's anger, but then nodded.

"Er, yes, of course my Lord, a thousand apologies." Geb stated, as he tried to ignore the feeling of being trapped in a cage with a rabid tiger. "Simply put, there is a small, but significant, risk, that the naturally occurring portal between this world and Hell, could be reopened, given the proper magical-" Geb was stopped dead, as the expression on the Doom Slayer's face underwent a ghastly transformation. Where once there was a look of barely controlled anger, mixed with impatience, now there was a psychotically unhinged looking smile. Moving in a way that for some reason reminded Geb of a cobra slithering up to its prey, the Doom Slayer positioned himself so the two of them were face to face. With only a few inches separating them, the Doom Slayer's burning gaze bored into Geb. The aura of savage, almost inhuman majesty his lord had, was almost overwhelming to him, making Geb feel like a lone ant before an enraged elephant, as the Doom Slayer spoke.

"Are you telling me. . . that we could reopen the portal? That we could go back to Hell, and finish our mission?" Geb, unable to speak as his Lord's increasingly sinister presence seemed to fill the entire tent, simply nodded. As the Doom Slayer pulled back slightly, the horrifying smile never leaving his face, Geb found his voice again. His tone was hesitant as he replied fully.

"With the proper application of magic, it is well within the realm of possibility. In addition, as the portal is natural instead of artificial, I believe this can be done without risk to this world. But. . . if we were to go through. . . and if the portal were fully shut behind us. . . there will be no way to reopen it from either side." As Geb finished, the Doom Slayer turned on his heel to head for the tent entrance, speaking as he went.

"Get ready to reopen the portal ASAP. Tell anyone who gives you trouble that it's a direct order from me." Suddenly the Doom Slayer's demeanor darkened once again, as he spoke in a low growl. "I'll go fetch the rest of our brothers and give them the good news." Geb sputtered for a moment, a thousand fears and questions entering his mind. However, by the time he regained his ability to speak, the Doom Slayer was long gone.

As the Doom Slayer approached the almost comically named town of Bridledown, he felt his jaw clench. From atop the hill overlooking the town and castle, he had a clear view of his brothers, as they laughed, ate, drank, and talked with the ponies as though old friends. The Doom Slayer felt his eyes narrow, as he noticed that every one of his commanders and their lieutenants, including Michael, were gathered around Celestia and Luna. As he watched, the Doom Slayer felt his blood boil, when he saw Leonidas smile as he poured a drink for a laughing Celestia, as if he were a mere servant! For an instant, the Doom Slayer's vision dissolved into a red haze, as he saw a vision of Leonidas's severed head impaled on a pike of rusted iron. Yet, as swiftly as it came, the image vanished, and the Doom Slayer began heading down the hill. However, as he got closer, he saw the group around Celestia and Luna part slightly, as the two princesses gestured to a band that had been playing nearby.

As the band went quiet, Celestia and Luna's horns began to glow. It was like a silent signal, as ponies and humans alike, lapsed into silence, turning their gaze toward the princesses. Even the Doom Slayer, his every fiber screaming at him in rage, found his steps unconsciously slow, and then halt, as music flowed forth from conjured phantom instruments. Then Celestia opened her mouth, and began to sing. . . .

Song: i believe by Christina Perri

In some far off corner of his rage addled mind, the Doom Slayer realized he knew this song. He could not recall exactly when he had heard it, or under what circumstances, but he was certain he knew it. At first he had no idea how the music for a song from D'nur could possibly be known by the two princesses, till it occurred to him that they must have lifted the song directly from the memories of him and his brothers. As he listened to the lyrics, the Doom Slayer, felt himself momentarily paralyzed, held firmly in place by the sound, despite the roaring voice within commanding him to put a stop to all this.

Celestia's voice was beyond beautiful, far outside the ability of even the most gifted poet, or writer to describe. It was strong and powerful, yet gentle and loving. It was a voice that inspired, that could convince armies to lay down arms, or kings to give up thrones. Then Luna added her voice to the refrain, and the effect was somehow driven to even greater heights, to the point it seemed they could charm the Darkness itself into harmlessness. At times singing together, and at times taking the lyrics in turns, the sound of the two united, was like listening to a serenade by the angels of the Light themselves. As he listened, the Doom Slayer, superficially, displayed no reaction, his face frozen in a cold frown as the roaring fury within him continued, yet, even so, he remained rooted to the spot. Meanwhile, all around the Doom Slayer, men who had stood unmoved by all the horrors of Hell itself, broke down into tears. Crying like children at the sound of the two princesses voices.

As they sang, the two princesses walked through the crowd of men with an ethereal grace. Here and there, they paused to wipe away tears, or even offer a loving embrace to the distraught figures of the Legion. Throughout it all, they sang, the lyrics never wavering even for a moment, as they offered what comfort they could to those around them. For the Legion, it felt as if, slowly but surely, the endless emotional wounds of battle, were finally able to begin closing. The song of these two creatures, not even human, acting as a balm to deaden the pain of their loss, and give hope for a brighter tomorrow.

Finally however, the song began to wind down, and the Doom Slayer broke from the spell, drowning the emotions the sound inspired with his anger. Stubbornly doing his best to prevent himself from being caught up in the song. Yet, despite his best efforts, the Doom Slayer nevertheless felt something inside him was struggling to make itself known. Flashes of images that seemed familiar, but he could not remember clearly, ran through his mind. Visions of a red haired woman singing this exact song in a Feyland accent in a. . . bar somewhere? When had that been? And who was the woman? A haze of red clouded the memories. . . were they memories? Or was this a trick? For a moment the Doom Slayer considered that the song was some kind of hypnotic enchantment. But he was unsure, this certainly didn't feel like magic, or at least, none he had ever heard of. It felt more like the song was trying to make him recall a dream, or a childhood memory. However, as the song ended fully, the images it had conjured were subsumed completely into the red haze of his fury, and the Doom Slayer once more remembered the purpose that had brought him here. As nameless hatred again blotted out all else from his mind, the Doom Slayer did not even notice the tears. . . he had unconsciously, wiped from his face.

Striding forward, the Doom Slayer waited for his brothers to finish crying and compose themselves. Despite their watering eyes, the members of the Legion were universally smiling with gratitude. Nearly ten thousand pairs of hands applauded the princesses, with a sound like rumbling thunder, as they smiled and took a modest bow. However the applause abruptly stopped, as the Legion finally noticed their lord standing in their midst. Ignoring the looks of apprehension from his brothers, and the hostile glare that Musashi shot him, the Doom Slayer spoke.

"Warriors of the Legion! I have excellent news! Our staunch brothers in the Elder Guard, have informed me that they have a way to open a portal back to the realm of our hated enemies, and return us to the fray!" Glaring at the princesses out of the corner of his eye, the Doom Slayer felt his bile rise, as he continued. "Even better, I have been assured that we are able to do so without endangering the world of our. . . generous hostess's! So make ready my brothers! For tomorrow, our enemies die!!" Dead silence greeted this pronouncement, along with a fair number of uncertain, or outright disbelieving looks. Glancing around, the Doom Slayer decided he had had enough. It was time to remind his brothers what it meant to be Legion. "Is there something you wish to say. . . brothers?" The Doom Slayer growled, his tone one of clear challenge, as he glared from one pair of eyes to the next. Like an alpha wolf, daring his pack mates to meet his gaze. Predictably, none did, though he could still see a mix of anger and sorrow in their sidelong glances. However, then, a voice rang out.

Surprisingly, to the Doom Slayer at least, it was not Musashi, but rather one of the rank and file. Brother Kados, a low ranking member of the Iron Guard, stepped forward. A man of average height, Kados had sandy, light brown hair, green eyes, and a kindly face. The Doom Slayer seemed to recall he was well liked by his squad mates, and had a track record of being a loyal and stalwart member of the Legion. Moving to stand respectfully before his lord, he spoke.

"Lord, ah know we all swore an oath, a warrior's oath, ta' see this mission through to tha end, but. . ." The Doom Slayer stared at Kados with a stony expression, even as his eyes blazed like a pair of smouldering brands, but Kados refused to look away. "but mah Lord. . . aint it. . . haven't we done enough?" The Doom Slayer's expression didn't shift even an inch, as he replied in a voice like the rumble of a volcano before it erupts.

"What are you trying to say brother?" He demanded, his voice oddly calm despite its tone. Kados took a deep breath.

"I mean. . . we killed six of the lords of Hell, raised their palaces ta' the ground, an' slaughtered their armies. We made the Legion feared by Hell to tha point that we got the last three lords runnin' scared. If. . . if'n that wasn't good enough, d'ya really reckon that the Light would'a sent us here ta the gates ah' Heaven itself? Ta actually meet the Seraphim?" As Kados finished, the Doom Slayer's expression changed to a look of near apoplectic rage, however his voice was deadly calm as he spoke.

"I'm sorry brother, I must have misheard that. . ." He began, taking a step toward Kados, his voice so cold it almost ceased to sound human. "did you just say, that you think those creatures over there. . ." Here The Doom Slayer gestured toward Celestia and Luna. "are Seraphim?" Kados was clearly unnerved by the look his lord was giving him, but bravely continued to make his case.

"Well. . . yeah, I mean what else could they-" Kados was silenced swiftly and brutally, as a blow like a cannon shot cracked across his jaw, instantly sending him to the ground. Even from a distance, it was clear Kados had lost consciousness, and that his jaw was likely broken. Several members of the Legion moved to intervene, however they were driven back, by a glare from the Doom Slayer that was nothing short of unholy. Members of the Legion actually took a step back in fear, and ponies hid behind chairs and under tables, clutching at each other in terror. As a wave of pure, wrathful malevolence seemed to radiate out from the Doom Slayer, like the shock wave of a bomb. Despite no outward change in appearance, it was as if he had become some terrible incarnation of nightmare, as he spoke in a voice that trembled with rage.

"The Seraphim. . . do NOT exist!" He declared, his voice filled with pure unbridled hate, as his eyes seemed to glow with a light of pure wrath. "Where were the Seraphim, when your homes burned to the ground?!" He roared, his voice echoing strangely, as his volume grew in direct proportion to his anger. "Where were the Seraphim when your families were slaughtered?!" He demanded, his presence seeming to fill the area, making his brothers and the ponies shrink away from him, as if he had transformed into some sort of monstrous titan. "WHERE WERE THE SERAPHIM WHEN ALL OF D'NUR WAS DEVOURED BY HELL ITSELF?!!!" He bellowed, glaring at his brothers, many visibly flinching as his gaze seemed to bore into their very souls. "NOWHERE!!" The Doom Slayer roared, spittle flying from his mouth as he continued. "I WAS THE ONE WHO SAVED WHAT WAS LEFT OF OUR WORLD!!" He screamed, his voice no longer sounding remotely sane, as he seemed to somehow grow more monstrous with every word. "I WAS THE ONE WHO TURNED YOU ALL INTO A FORCE STRONG ENOUGH TO OPPOSE EVEN HELL'S MIGHTIEST DEMONS!! I ALONE!! WAS THE ONE WHO SLEW THE SIX LORDS OF HELL ACCOUNTED FOR SO FAR!! ALL IN SINGLE COMBAT!! I AM THE ONE TO WHOM YOU OWE LOYALTY!! I AM THE ONE TO WHOM YOU OWE YOUR VERY LIVES!!" Here the Slayer seemed to calm slightly, his voice suddenly sounding almost broken, as he continued in a near whisper.

"You swore to me, all of you! That you would stand with me, until every one of the lords of Hell lay dead! You swore on the spirits of your families, your friends, and all of those brothers who died getting us this far!" Here the Doom Slayer drew his sword, and stabbed it into the ground before him, his voice suddenly becoming far louder, as his words became less formal. "You wanna stay?! Wanna go back on your word?! Fine! Here's your chance! I invite any asshole here who thinks he's man enough, to try and beat me! Kill me, and you win the title of Doom Slayer, and the right to run the Legion as you like!" Placing his hands atop the pommel of Unmaker, the Doom Slayer fixed his gaze on the stunned group before him. "So. . . who wants a crack at being top dog?" He hissed. There was a long pause, during which no one moved or spoke. Then Michael stepped forward.

"My Lord I-" He was forestalled from speaking farther by an upraised hand, and a look of pure venom.

"I don't want to hear a damn word out of you brother! It's now all too clear I've been listening to you way more than I should, so you keep your fucking mouth shut!" Glancing around, the Doom Slayer registered mostly looks of confusion, before locking eyes with his commanders, his blood singing, as he dared the leaders of the various Guards to take him on. "COME ON!!" The Doom Slayer roared. "WHO HERE HAS THE BALLS TO THROW AWAY THEIR OATHS AND TAKE DOWN THE DOOM SLAYER?!!" Nearly a minute passed, but no one stepped forward. The Doom Slayer nodded savagely. "That's what I fucking thought." He hissed. "Alright then, since you all still apparently have some small sense of duty, here are your new orders: tomorrow at dawn we are going to open a portal back to Hell! We are going to finish what we started! And any man that tries to run, or refuse the order, gets executed as a traitor! ARE WE-"

"I WILL CHALLENGE!!" Called out a voice that directed every set of eyes to Musashi Yamato, as he stepped forward. Whether out of fear for his brother, or out of his staunch commitment to protocol, Leonidas reached out a hand to stop him, but Musashi pushed it away. The Doom Slayer grinned, even as he looked at his subordinate with a gaze that was nothing less than caustic. All around them, the Legion and the ponies held their breath. None of them noticing the surreptitious look of warning Musashi shot over the Doom Slayer's shoulder toward Michael, nor did they notice Michael moving his hand away from his sword in response.
Moving toward his lord, Musashi never broke eye contact as he continued speaking. "I don't wanna fight you boss, but there's something wrong with you!" He declared, drawing his sword as he continued speaking. "We've all known it for years, but we never said anything! Because no matter how crazy or violent you got, you were still the best damn leader we could have asked for!" The Doom Slayer's eyes registered no emotion at Musashi's admission. Instead, his insane grin widened, as all eyes flicked between the two warriors, unable to decide on whom they should focus. "But now. . ." Musashi continued, as he slowed his pace slightly, studying his master, fully cognizant that the Doom Slayer would jump him before he finished speaking if he saw an opening. "now you can't even tell your enemies from your friends." Stopping just outside the reach of the Doom Slayer's sword, Musashi glared into his lord's eyes, refusing to acknowledge the fear he felt in the back of his mind as he did so. "So it looks like I need to remind you, that we ain't just your troops. . . ." Holding Justice in two hands, Musashi adopted a dueling stance. "We're your brothers!" The Doom Slayer's grin turned to a snarl as he replied.

"I think we both know. . . I no longer have any brothers." He hissed, as he readied himself, vowing internally that this fight would not end, until the commander of the Dragon Guard lay dead. Glaring into each others eyes, the Doom Slayer and Musashi squared off. The Doom Slayer's eyes blazing with murderous intent, while Musashi's simply stared back with a steely resolve, mixed with genuine sorrow. Musashi had not been lying, he truly did not want this fight, and not merely because the odds of him winning were all but nonexistent. Musashi respected the Doom Slayer, the entire Legion did. The Doom Slayer had over the years become a mythical figure to them all, the avenging angel of death, who had led them to victory after victory in a war that defied all logic and sense, with nothing more than steel and determination. . . and now Musashi was about to fight him. Time seemed to stand still, as the two prepared to launch themselves at one another. Under his breath, Musashi, for the first time in decades, uttered a prayer. Resisting the urge to glance at Celestia and Luna, he recited the words in a whisper, recalling the kindly face of his first sensie. The old man had told him to recite it whenever he felt afraid. Musashi had not used it since the first days of the invasion of D'nur, not because it had stopped working, but because he had thought he had no more fear left. Now, as he stood before a man who most in the Legion now regarded as almost a living war god, he realized that the scared little boy from all those decades ago, wasn't quite as dead as he thought. "Oh Seraphim who watch over us. . . grant me stillness and serenity. . .that I might see the path to tomorrow. . . ."

Gripping his sword, Musashi and the Doom Slayer circled each other, never breaking eye contact. Stopping suddenly, the air between the two seemed almost to vibrate, as they prepared to attack. Musashi raised the tip of Justice just a centimeter, while the Doom Slayer drew Unmaker back a quarter inch. The surrounding air seemed to thicken, as pony and Legion alike, stood frozen in horror at the realization that this was actually happening. In every creature present, a sensation like a spring being wound was felt. The feeling intensified as the two warriors shuffled forward slightly, one with eyes blazing with hate, the other seeming as though he was desperately searching for some trace of the man he had once known. Members of the Legion clenched their fists, as ponies covered their eyes, the springs inside them all just one crank away from being released. However, just before the thread of tension snapped, and the pair of warriors began a battle that would rend the Legion asunder, a booming voice rang out.

"ONE DAY!!" It cried, powerful, but feminine. The Doom Slayer and Musashi abruptly stopped short, each staggering, as if broken from some strange hypnosis. Taking a step back, the Doom Slayer and Musashi, stared in confusion at the one who had interrupted their duel.

"What?" The Doom Slayer growled, his scarlet eyes fixing Luna with a look that severely tested her bravery. Somehow managing to hide her fear, Luna explained.

"We ask that thou cease this fighting, and that thee, Doom Slayer, spend a period of twenty four hours at our and our sister's castle." She elaborated. "If we cannot convince thee to remain in that time, then thy brothers agree to follow you without complaint, and we shall grant thee any favor that is within our power to give." The Doom Slayer let out a scornful laugh, almost unable to believe what he had just heard. Did this absurd excuse for a monarch really think she could stop this?

"Why the hell would I do that? You two haven't got a damn thing I would ever want, and I can end this just as easily by killing this traitor." He spat, gesturing at Musashi with his blade.

"Actually my Lord," Interjected Khamun tentatively, flinching as the Doom Slayer turned his attention to him, the furious glare rattling him to his core. "I, uh, d-don't know how much you k-k-know about this kind of magic. B-b-but even with every mage we have working together, c-creating a p-portal like that will take at least a f-few days." Averting his gaze from the murderous look his lord gave him, Khamun finished rapidly. "B-but if the princesses lend us a little power I think it could be done in a few hours." He squeaked. For a moment, the Doom Slayer looked like he was going to completely lose it, but then his expression suddenly shifted. The same disturbing smile they had seen on his face just before the mind reading, suddenly reappearing.

"Alright. . . ." He declared, to the stunned amazement of every being present. His voice sounding almost friendly as he continued. "I don't know what game you're playing, but if it gets us out of this miserable pit any faster, I suppose I'll do it. You have twenty four hours to convince me, but when you fail, I expect you to pay up in full. . . understood?" Luna and Celestia nodded.

"Verily." Luna replied, hoping against hope that she wasn't making a huge mistake, as the Doom Slayer turned to Musashi.

"As for you," he growled, his rage suddenly reignited. "once we're back in Hell, kiss your rank goodbye! Command of the Dragon Guard will go to Lieutenant Raiden, along with that hellbane of yours, and you better count yourself lucky I don't just fucking execute you. Are we clear, brother?" Glancing at Luna and Celestia, Musashi nodded, and sheathed his sword. Then, suddenly, Musashi started laughing.

"You know, it's strange. . . we've only known these two for a day or two, hardly any time at all." He remarked between guffaws. "Entrusting our fate to them, hoping they could reach you when even we can't? Sounds like insanity. . . ." Here Musashi ceased laughing, returning his gaze to the Doom Slayer with an absurd smile on his face. "But insanity or not, I still wholeheartedly believe they can do it."

"Hope. . . is the first step on the road to disappointment." The Doom Slayer growled, his tone one of disgust as much as rage. Musashi simply continued to smile as he replied.

"Oh this isn't hope. . . it's faith." He stated flippantly. "And I got a feeling that maybe, just maybe, mine will be rewarded." He declared, as he turned to walk away. The Doom Slayer seethed as he watched his subordinate depart, just barely resisting the urge to put a dagger in his back, as he glared at the worried faces of the princesses.

"You'll see what faith gets you soon enough brother." The Doom Slayer hissed under his breath, a dark smile appearing on his face. "I promise you that. . . ."

"We believe this is a poor decision sister." Celestia whispered, as she and Luna moved toward the room they had given the Doom Slayer with supreme caution. Luna gave her sister a look of annoyance, that utterly failed to hide how uneasy she was.

"It is our only option sister, whatever plagues the Slayer of Doom, it is abundantly clear it is partly mystical in origin. Simply talking shall not rid him of this malady." Luna replied. Celestia looked unconvinced.

"Just because we were unable to reach him via dialog-"

"For ten hours!" Luna interrupted, her tone exasperated. "Over the course of which, all we learned was his penchant for threatening physical violence, his utter disdain for manners, and his impressive command of profanity laced insults. All things we were already quite aware of." Celestia sighed, conceding her sister had a point.

"Even so, this feels like a gross violation of his privacy." She countered, unwilling to give up the fight. Luna rolled her eyes.

"What privacy? We already know virtually everything about him thanks to our mind connection spell earlier. Save for the memories that were clearly blocked by-" This time it was Celestia's turn to roll her eyes as she finished her sisters sentence.

"A dark presence residing within his subconscious." Celestia sighed. "We are not disagreeing with thee sister. The force you speak of was likely what caused our spell to act so erratically. It should never have caused us to see so much so swiftly, or to overwhelm us so completely. Not to mention that, as thou did, we art certain we felt some kind of malevolent force trying to get into our mind while it was happening." Luna nodded before giving her sister a smirk.

"Indeed, though at first we had thought that it was merely an error caused by thine advancing years." Celestia shot her sister a dirty look.

"We are the picture of youthful energy thank thee very much. Besides, thou art not that much younger than us." She declared huffily.

"Then explain how we received more letters of romantic admiration than thou last Hearts and Hooves day?" Luna asked smugly, Celestia's face scrunching up in annoyance as her cheeks reddened.

"Thou only beat us by two letters! It is hardly worthy of note! Besides, the previous year we received four more than thou, so there." Luna simply smirked.

"Face it sister, tis our flank that brings all the stallions to the yard. Verily, tis better than yours." Celestia frowned, biting back the reply that neither of them had even had so much as a coltfriend since they were fillies. As they had arrived at their destination. The door to the Doom Slayer's room rose before them, suddenly seeming far larger than it should have. "Thou art certain he is asleep?" Celestia asked nervously. Luna closed her eyes, her horn glowing softly for a moment, before opening her eyes and nodding.

"Indeed, he is fast asleep. . . curious." Celestia arched an eyebrow.

"What is so curious about that? Surely he must be exhausted considering such a full day?" Luna shook her head.

"Yes, but we would think a warrior this capable, to say nothing of paranoid, would be a far lighter sleeper. Indeed, we half expected he would refuse to sleep at all, given his obvious lack of trust for us." Celestia slowly nodded, her expression becoming a frown.

"Verily, then let us proceed with caution. Is thy spell ready?" She asked. Luna nodded.

"The spell should allow both of us to see into the parts of his mind that he kept hidden before. I suspect even he has forgotten what lies beyond those mental barriers. If it is possible to rescue him from whatever darkness holds sway over his mind, the answer lies there." Celestia nodded as the two princesses soundlessly entered the Doom Slayer's room, silently closing the door behind them.

There he lay, his eyes closed and hands clasped over his breast, his chest rising and falling at a steady, relaxed tempo. The Doom Slayer looked oddly peaceful in the depths of slumber, his once more youthful body giving no hint to the violent nature he brazenly displayed while awake. Yet, even in repose, there was no ignoring the aura of power that flowed from him, causing the hairs of the princesses coats to stand on end. This close to him, the princesses dared not speak, for fear of waking the deadly creature before them. Celestia merely giving Luna a determined nod, as she closed her own eyes in preparation.

Luna took a deep but silent breath, as she focused on her specially modified dreamwalking spell. Ever so gently, her consciousness left her body, and with a faint motion of energy, coaxed her sister's to join her. Invisible to all outside the dream realm, they appeared to each other as translucent, ghostly figures, floating effortlessly in midair. Nodding to one another, they turned toward the figure of the Doom Slayer, still fast asleep. In their current state, with eyes now able to see into the psychic realm, the body on the bed seemed to glow with an unholy aura of red and black flames. The Doom Slayer's flesh appeared drawn taught over his bones, as ephemeral wounds of festering red energy covered him from head to toe. With every breath, an unholy red glow illuminated his body from the inside out, revealing bones that seemed oddly warped. As though struggling to resist being bent into a new, vastly different, shape. Hesitating for just a moment, the princesses looked at one another with determined expressions, before diving head first into his body. . . .

Darkness, eternal, omnipresent, darkness, blocked every one of the princesses senses as they descended into the depths of the Doom Slayer's mind. Sight, sound, smell, even touch and taste, seemed drowned out by the ebon eternity they found themselves in. Only the faint psychic connection created by Luna's spell, let them know they hadn't been separated, as they fell ever farther into the inky abyss. Finally, and with a sudden abruptness, they found themselves standing before a massive door, seemingly floating in the endless void around them. The massive double door was made of a strange dark grey stone, scorched black, and leaking blood and midnight black ichor from a series of large runes carved into its surface. A spiderweb of deep cracks stretched across the doors surface, and an unholy red glow seeped out from the depths of the fissures. Oddly, the doors were already open wide, the massive chains and lock that presumably held them shut, hanging loosely off the fastenings on the doors surfaces. Luna glanced suspiciously at the space between the open doors.

"This. . . this is some kind of mental fortification. A construct created by, and reflecting, the will of its creator. . . we have never encountered one so powerful. The Doom Slayer's will. . . it is like a wall of pure steel. . . ." Celestia nodded, she didn't need Luna's commentary to know how powerful this door was, she could feel it. It was like standing before a mountain, a mass of power that made any who stood before it feel as small and inconsequential as an insect. Whatever kind of mental training the Doom Slayer had gone through, it had made his mind a nigh unbreakable fortress.

"Didst thou have much trouble opening it?" Celestia asked, staring warily at the door, as though afraid it might attack somehow. Luna looked at Celestia as if she had grown a second head.

"Hast thou taken leave of thy senses? Nopony could open this door by force, or at the very least, not without employing the most invasive and powerful of spells." Luna said, shuddering as she considered the likely aftermath of such an attempted mental attack. "It may be possible to trick it open, or bypass it in some way, but we cannot even begin to imagine how such a feat might be accomplished." Celestia gave her sister a curious look.

"Then how is it that the entrance lies open?" She asked, suspicion clear in her voice. Luna shook her head.

"We can only assume that it was already opened, though I am uncertain how or why. . . ." Celestia frowned as she gazed at the open door. However, before she could speak, a voice was heard. It was faint, almost to the point of being inaudible, however there was no mistaking it, it was the sound of somepony crying. Turning to face her sister, Celestia gave her a questioning look, that after a moment, Luna responded to with a determined nod. Deciding that it was now or never, the pair moved toward the door, took a deep breath, and then boldly crossed the threshold. However, no sooner had they fully entered the area beyond the door, than it slammed shut behind them with an earth shattering 'BOOM'. Glancing back, Luna struggled to contain a brief flare of panic. They were now trapped within the confines of the Doom Slayer's mind. A mind that, if the door they had just walked through was any indication, was riddled with insanity.

"Well, now no choice remains, let us not tarry, onward!" Celestia declared, pointing dramatically with a hoof. Luna supposed her sister intended the comment to be inspiring. However Celestia was unable to fully conceal the hesitance and uncertainty in her voice, and so the attempt fell flat. Nevertheless, the two sisters continued on, ever deeper into the void beyond the door. Unlike the outside, here it felt less like they were floating in endless darkness, and more like they were in a vast underground cavern with a floor of perfectly smooth obsidian glass. The space felt immense, and they could detect no visible trace of walls or a ceiling. Moving in silence, they squinted into the darkness, struggling to see something, anything, that might indicate where the sound of crying was coming from. "Hark. . . the cries grow louder." Celestia commented.

"Sister! A light!" Luna cried out, pointing with her translucent hoof toward a point far in the distance. Straining her eyes to the limit, Celestia saw Luna was correct. A faint pinprick of illumination could be seen on what could tentatively be called the horizon. It was small, but rapidly growing, as if every step the sisters took covered miles instead of feet, and the cries volume grew with it. Eventually resolving into a male voice, laced with more pain and sadness than a sane mind should have been able to endure.

"Please, forgive me!" It wailed, before once more descending into incoherent sobs of anguish. Breaking into a gallop, the princesses finally closed the distance, to reveal the source of both the light, and the heartrending wails.

The being before them was emaciated, to the point that every bone in his body was clearly visible beneath his skin. He shook as though in the grip of a powerful ague, and every breath seemed to be a struggle to draw. His black hair was plastered against his head, as tears trickled endlessly from a pair of eyes sunken deep into his skull. Wearing a tattered and stained brown burlap loincloth, his eyes were the only part of him that still contained any life. Each a magnificent blue, that reminded the sisters of chips of the purest arctic ice. However, that beauty was badly marred by the look they held, one of unbearable torment and regret. The hunched over figure sat before a blazing fire, emanating from a small pile of logs, that seemed far to small to support the immense blueish green flame consuming them. As the sisters watched, the figure buried his face in his hands, as he gave another tortured wail.

"No. . . I swear, I never meant for this, I loved you, I. . . ." Here the figure became silent for a moment, as if listening to someone speaking. "You are right. . . I was weak. . . it was all my fault. . . I must take responsibility. . . ." His voice sounded beyond broken, as he scrabbled forward on his forehooves, or hands as humans called them, and knees. His face twisted into one of absolute self loathing. "I must make this right. . . I must-" The figure whirled around as Celestia cleared her throat. His eyes becoming wild, almost to the point of being feral. Interposing himself between the two sisters and the flame, he glared at them for a moment, before his body shuddered violently, a hacking series of coughs bringing him to the verge of complete collapse. "Who. . . who are you?!!" He demanded between coughs, his expression suddenly becoming fearful, as he glanced over his shoulder at the flame behind him. Celestia and Luna stared at the strange figure before them. It was Luna who responded first.

"Thou art. . . Derran Grandel?" She asked softly, she had no idea how or why, but somehow, even as she asked the question, she knew with absolute certainty that she was right. The wretched figure stared at her with wide, frightened eyes.

"H-how do you know my name?" He asked, before suddenly the light of comprehension dawned in his eyes. "W-wait, are y-you. . . Luna and Celestia?" He asked, as though scared of the answer. Luna nodded.

"Indeed, thou art correct. How did thou-"

"You must go!" Derran interrupted, his expression becoming briefly angry, before another hacking cough overtook him. As he struggled to recover, Derran crawled to once more face the fire, turning his back to the princesses. "You do not belong here." He whispered, as he once more stared into the ominously flickering blue green flame. Celestia stepped forward. Glancing over Derran's shoulder she squinted, trying to determine what it was that had so consumed his attention. The flames gave off no heat, in fact, it seemed instead to radiate an unearthly chill, that made the skin beneath Celestia's coat feel clammy. As she gazed into the fire, Celestia struggled to see anything apart from the flickering flames themselves. However, after a moment, she beheld a shadowy outline within the blaze, and a faint, almost inaudible whispering, that echoed faintly within her mind.

"They died because of you. . . your weakness caused their deaths. . . they needed you, and you failed them. . . ." The whisper was cold and filled with a venomous hate, despite its doleful tone. However, what truly surprised Celestia was not what the voice said, but who the voice appeared to belong to. It was Derran's! Then suddenly, as Celestia watched, the image in the flame changed, to reveal two figures. Both human, one was a mare in her late thirties, while the other was a young filly that Celestia estimated to be around twelve. Both had fiery red hair, and both were weeping with their faces in their hands.

"Why didn't ye protect us?!" The mare demanded, her tone accusing and filled with misery. "Ye swore to stand by me! To always be there far' me, but when aye needed ya tha' most where were ye'?!" Now the filly spoke, raising her head from her hands to look at Derran and Celestia with a twisted hateful expression. "You promised to always protect me daddy! To keep me safe! I thought you loved me daddy. . . WHY DID YOU LET THEM KILL ME?!" Celestia frowned as she listened, hearing and seeing the truth that Derran no longer could. The voices of both the mare and filly were distorted, overlapping with the hateful rhetoric of the Derran within the flames. Turning away, Celestia looked at Luna, who nodded, indicating she had seen and heard it too.

"A prison. . ." Luna murmured. "Not of steel and stone, but of self hatred." Celestia nodded, as she moved to stand between Derran and the flame. She had no idea how long Derran's mind had been in this state, but it was clear it was on the verge of consuming his consciousness completely. If she and Luna did not snap him out of it now, he would be gone forever. No time for gentle coaxing, their only hope was the direct approach.

"Thou must snap out of this Derran! Thy family loved thee, this flame is but a manifestation of thy own guilt! The fuel this fire relies upon is naught less then thine own hope and love! Thou must wake up!!" Derran gave no sign that he heard Celestia's plea, seeming to stare right through her and into the flame. It was as if the flame had sensed what Celestia was attempting to do, and had tightened its grip on Derran accordingly.

"We saw thine family in thy own memories! They would never blame thee for what happened! The voice thou hear is false! Thou were a good husband and father! Do not heed the flame's lies!" For a moment, Luna thought she had gotten through, as Derran's head shifted to look with a blank expression at Celestia.

"You need to leave. . . ." He declared, his voice sounding almost mechanical. "He is coming. . . and he doesn't like visitors. . . ." Celestia stared at Derran, opening her mouth, she was abruptly interrupted by Luna.

"SISTER!! BEHIND THEE!!" The warning came just a second to late, as Celestia felt something smash into her from the side. Had she been in her physical body, the blow likely would have broken her right wing and half of her ribs. Even so, she screamed in pain, as her ethereal body deformed before popping back into shape. In a flash, Luna was at her side, helping her to her hooves as a hideously distorted voice spoke.

"You know. . . when I set up this little trap, I was sure it wasn't going to work." The voice hissed. "I mean, who in their right mind would willingly reenter a mind that came within an inch of snapping their twig the first time around?" Here the voice gave a sadistic chuckle. "But then. . . you bleeding heart types are always so predictable. . . thinking you can save everyone if you just hold on to hope." Recovering herself, Celestia finally saw what had hit her, and her eyes went wide.

The creature before her was monstrous. Nearly ten feet tall, its massive, over-muscled body loomed over the princesses like an unholy titan. Its skin was coal black, lined with pulsing distended veins, that glowed as if they contained magma rather than blood. Chitinous red plates encased the creature's torso, shoulders, forearms, groin and shins, in a grotesque approximation of armor. Seated atop a neck like a tree trunk, was a head whose eyes were like pools of scarlet light, veins of brilliant glowing crimson extending out from them like cracks in a broken mirror. A mane of thick razor sharp black spines sprouted from his head, and extended down his neck and back, in a disturbing parody of hair. Two slit-like nostrils, were clearly visible above a mouth of vicious, needle-like teeth, the color of obsidian glass, that sprouted from flaming red gums, the creature's lips pulled back in a cruel smile. A set of large ribbed horns, sprouted from the sides of its head, twisting back, then up and forward like some sort of vile crown. Stalking toward the princesses on disturbingly human feet, the beast flexed its long powerful looking fingers, each ending in razor sharp ebony talons. As it moved, the monster straitened its back, to unfurl two immense bat wings, shot through with veins of glowing red. Finally, and most disturbingly, the creature was wreathed in black flames, that flared with every step it took. Celestia and Luna stared at the monster before them with horrified expressions, as it continued to speak.

"Let this be a lesson to you stupid whores! HOPE IS DEAD!!" The beast roared. Snapping its clawed hand forward, Celestia and Luna cried out in pain as they were sent flying backward by an explosion of scarlet energy. Recovering as swiftly as possible, Celestia fired a shining beam of pure force at the monstrous giant, only for it to pass right through the creature. Glaring at Celestia, the beast let out an earth shattering roar. "DON'T YOU GET IT?! THIS IS MY MIND!! MY WORLD!!" Rushing forward at a speed to great for the eye to track, the monster scooped up Celestia in its massive hand. Its voice becoming a thunderous growl as it held Celestia up to its misshapen face. "And my world. . ." It hissed softly. "is a world of hurt!" Celestia screamed in pure agony as her body was engulfed in the same black flames dancing across the creature's flesh. Clamping her mouth shut, Celestia struggled to keep from crying out again, as she looked at the monster holding her. Just having time to notice a strange decoration on the creature's red chitin breastplate, that looked like an oddly detailed human face, before Luna appeared. Rising into the air and screaming out her wrathful defiance, Luna unleashed a blast of pure darkness from her horn against the unholy thing attacking her sister. Only to stare in horror, when it to, passed through the thing's head, to no visible effect.

"We do not understand, this is a dream, our magic should be able to affect you!?" The monster sneered as it cast Celestia aside, before blasting Luna from the sky with beams of blazing scarlet flame from its eyes. Sending her spinning end over end, till she struck the ground with a cry of pain. The horrid giant's voice was like an earthquake as it replied.

"I'm no dream you insufferable bitch!! I AM THE DOOM SLAYER!! " This pronouncement was punctuated by the creature stretching out its hands to levitate Celestia and Luna into the air like puppets on strings. Pulling them into position before it, the monster sent the princesses crashing into the ground with the force of a meteor. Letting out a roar of unbridled rage, the proclaimed Doom Slayer began pummeling the princesses with every ounce of its unholy strength. Had the princesses been nearly anywhere else, such blows would have been child's play to evade or deflect. But here, in the depths of the Doom Slayer's psyche, the only limit to the power of this monstrosity, was its imagination. Celestia and Luna bore the pain of the attacks in silence, refusing to give the monster the satisfaction of hearing their cries.

Behind the Doom Slayer, the consciousness of Derran Grandel sat oblivious. Tears of sadness and regret flowing from his eyes, as the hateful words of his illusionary family washed over him. However, suddenly, something occurred to him. It was a faint sensation, almost drowned out by Kira's voice, once more demanding to know why he had failed to save their daughter. . . It was those strange creatures, they had looked oddly familiar, he could swear he'd seen them before, or at least, something like them. He recalled hearing their names awhile back, though he couldn't recall where. "Have I seen them before, or am I just imagining it?" He wondered, maybe he ought to ask if they had ever met? However, just as he was about to look around for them, Terrisa's voice exploded in his head, sobbing that he was now too selfish to even listen to her anymore. Desperate to prove that he was still paying attention, Derran refocused himself on the flame. But in the back of his mind, the feeling persisted, and he continued to wonder. . . .

Celestia struggled to her hooves, before being smashed down again by a fist half the size of her entire body. Pain coursing through her being, as the sensation of her every organ bursting, and every bone breaking, tore through her. In the back of her head, Celestia thanked her and her sister's lucky stars, that their real bodies were safely in the physical world. However, at that moment, almost as if reading her mind, the Doom Slayer paused in its assault. Once more levitating her and Luna into the air, so they were level with its gaze.

"I know what you worthless nags are thinking." The beastly creature hissed. "You're thinking I can't actually kill you in here, just because I can't hurt your real bodies." Here the Doom Slayer gave a grotesque smile, as it grabbed the princesses and slammed them into the ground. Now, finally they did scream, as their legs and necks were impaled on jagged spikes of black crystal, conjured from the shimmering glass-like void that was the ground. "Ahhh," The Doom Slayer declared with sadistic relish. "there are those screams you were holding back!" Pushing down again on the princesses bodies, the Doom Slayer licked its lips with a long forked tongue, as it continued. "The thing is, I don't need to kill your bodies." It snarled." "I just need to break your MINDS!!" It roared, as it sent bolts of black lightning into Celestia and Luna's helpless forms. The princesses screamed, the pain so great they didn't even realize they were making any sound. Thrashing around on the spikes that held them fast, Celestia and Luna's ethereal flesh constantly tore and reformed, adding another tone to the cacophony of agony being inflicted upon them. Finally however, the Doom Slayer relented, straightening up as it let out a cruel laugh. "HAVING FUN YET?!" It demanded, its vile grin growing wider.
Celestia, beaten but unbowed, somehow managed to raise her head enough to shoot the Doom Slayer a defiant glare. "Awe, what's wrong little horsie? ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!!" It roared, before once more letting out a hideous booming laugh. Celestia, struggling to form words around the spike going through her neck, spoke, her vocalizations so faint they were unintelligible. The Doom Slayer smiled coldly. "Hold that thought little horsie." It declared, as it took hold of the spike going through Celestia's neck, and tore it free with a vicious twist. Celestia gasped in pain as the Doom Slayer leaned down a bit. "Now. . ." It drawled, mockingly putting a massive hand to the pointed bits of flesh that passed for its ears. "what was that you were saying?" Celestia glared at the monstrosity before her with a look of absolute contempt.

"Thou. . ." She declared slowly and deliberately. "art not the Doom Slayer!" She hissed, tears of anger flowing from her eyes, as she finally understood what the creature before her was. Suddenly, the monster looming over her, stopped laughing, its expression becoming one of pure wrath.

"You think you're clever don't you?!" The black and red giant snarled, its eyes blazing, and its voice echoing strangely, as its hands became wreathed in black fire and scarlet lightning. "But a clever bitch, is still just a bitch!" It declared as it pulled back its fist, not noticing until it was too late, that Luna had managed to free her neck as well. . . .

Luna winced as she finally managed to pull herself partly free of the spikes, grateful for the distraction her sister had provided. As she suddenly knew exactly what she needed to do. How she had gained this knowledge, even she had no idea. Perhaps some of the information provided by the mind reading spell had a slight delay before it became fully known. Perhaps the knowledge had come to her by virtue of being inside the subconscious of the one to whom it had happened. Or perhaps it was simply absurdly good fortune. Regardless of the reason, Luna now knew exactly what she needed to say. Tears flowed from her eyes as she spoke in the royal voice, her words echoing out clear and true, in a last ditch bid, to save a single lost soul.

Derran Grandel had not stood upright in a very long time. Ever since that day, so many years ago, when in his dreams, the Doom Slayer had brought him here and shown him this flame. The Doom Slayer, had told him the flame was something very special, just for him, when he wasn't helping lead the legion. Derran had been hesitant at first, arguing that he had a responsibility to help run the legion at all times, even if the Doom Slayer was the one doing all the fighting. Not to mention, the Doom Slayer had looked and acted very odd when he showed him the flame. The Doom Slayer had looked bigger, and he was wearing an odd armor that looked more like the carapace of a giant insect. Black, with red veins running through it, the armor had featured an odd 'hood' of sorts, that had all but covered the Doom Slayer's face. Encasing him from head to toe, Derran felt it looked less like the armor had been donned, and more like it had somehow grown around the Doom Slayer's body. The Doom Slayer had also constantly been twitching, as if not entirely able to control his own movements.

Derran had initially intended to question the Doom Slayer, however, the instant he had looked into that dancing flame, "just for a minute" the Doom Slayer had assured him, he found himself entranced. All thought of the Doom Slayer and the changes afflicting him vanishing into nothingness. There, in the depths of the bluish green bonfire, he saw Terissa and Kira, alive and well! As Derran sat down before the fire, they had promised that as long as he sat before the flame, he would be able to speak with them. However, they had warned, should he ever leave, the flame would go out, and he would never again be able to see them. Derran had swiftly promised not to leave, it not even occurring to him to question the situation. He finally had Kira and Terissa back, even if only as phantoms in a dream, why worry? After all, if this were some kind of demonic trick, the Doom Slayer would have immediately destroyed it.

So Derran sat, and for a time, he had been content to simply speak with Kira and Terissa, and relive all the happy memories of their shared lives. However, not long after, the conversation began to take a turn toward dark subjects. Kira and Terissa pressing Derran to tell them how they had died, and under what circumstances. He had initially tried to brush off their questions, but they had refused to let up, their tone growing ever more heartrending, until, eventually, he relented. However, once he had told them the story, they had demanded an answer to a new question, one they ultimately would never stop asking . . . why didn't you save us? Derran had tried his best to explain, tried to tell them how sorry he was, but it didn't matter. And why should it? It was his fault, Kira and Terissa were quick to point out. The least he could do, was sit there and listen to the condemnations of the ones he had failed. . . and so he had. Ever since, Derran had sat, he had kneeled, and he had crawled, but never once, in all that time, had he stood.

That all changed, when he heard the voice. It was almost inaudible through the rage filled screams and misery filled accusations, but he heard it. A powerful, deep, yet unmistakably female voice, one that, for all that it was muffled, hit Derran like a lightning bolt. What the voice said, was not a speech, no rousing call to action, in fact it was only a single sentence. Yet its power. . . was undeniable. In a flash, Derran was on his feet, ignoring the enraged screams of the fire, as he cast his gaze at the scene behind him. Memories long forgotten and ignored, whirled in his mind, as the fire behind him guttered and died with a final, psychic shriek of rage. The words he had heard echoing in his mind like thunder: 'Remember Terissa's final words to thee!' For an instant, Derran stared at the fallen forms of Celestia and Luna. Just long enough. . . to see the glittering liquid leaking from their eyes. Then. . . his body exploded into motion.

The monster raged, as it considered that its plan may have backfired. It was supposed to be simple, try to lure the two magical horses into its mind by revealing its presence during the mind reading spell. Not enough to tell them what was really going on. Just enough to make them think that if they were able to enter its mind alone, without his brothers causing any additional interference, that they could 'help' him. Then when the they inevitably reentered its mind again to try and figure out what was happening, the monster would trap them there and destroy their psyches. Finally, when it awoke, it would direct its host to kill the princesses mindless husks, tell its brothers the princesses had tried to mind control it, and destroy the rest of the ponies, before returning to Hell.

The plan had gone well at first. The creature had used the memories of the four brothers it had brought to have their minds read, to help conceal itself. It had chosen the four very carefully, selecting only those who it knew had endured the most trauma during the invasion, and subsequent decades in the Legion. Using their combined pain to nearly overwhelm the princesses consciousness's, and hide its true nature. Initially the idea had worked so well, that the monster had thought it might be able to destroy the princesses minds with just it and its brothers combined trauma alone. However, instead of breaking, the princesses had rallied, and proven themselves far stronger than the monster could ever have imagined. What's worse, they had given his brothers the one thing the creature knew they must never have. . . hope.

Now, the creature's entire grand design was at risk. The princesses knew what it was. Truth be told, the creature had no idea why that was bad. In fact, it wasn't even entirely sure it knew exactly what it was. All it knew was that it had first awoken about ten or so years ago, though it knew it had been growing for far longer. It had awoken attached to another being, though it never really learned how it got there originally. At first it didn't have much control, and the only way it could influence the one it was attached to, even a little, was by granting the body it was in a tiny bit of extra power. Over time however, it grew, covering the one it was attached to like vines slowly covering a tree or house, feeding on and encouraging the being's rage to sustain itself. Then, one day, it learned how to manipulate the one it was growing on more directly, subtly at first, but with ever increasing degrees of influence. However, no matter how strong it grew, it was never quite able to gain complete control of its host. Even now, it was painfully aware that the one it had grown upon, with sufficient motivation, could wrest back control. Fortunate indeed then, that its host now only cared for killing, and was easily manipulated by the promise of bloodshed and carnage. That said, it did still need a little persuading to convince its host to kill innocent targets. A constant, eternally infuriating reminder, that the host was still capable of reasserting dominance.

The creature longed for true control. To be able to completely direct things as it desired without the need to worry about its host. Countless times it had tried to fully suppress its host's will completely, to erase and replace its mind fully with its own. However, each attempt had ended in failure. Yet, nevertheless, it knew that the day it would be able to achieve its goal was fast approaching. It did not know exactly how it knew, but it did. It was as if someone was whispering into its mind, telling it exactly what it needed to do. Heck, that was how it had come up with this plan for the princesses in the first place. Regardless of how, the creature knew what it needed to do to gain full control. First, it needed to stay in Hell, the whispers assuring it that only there could it truly grow. Second, it must kill the last few lords of Hell. Third, and most importantly, it must destroy Derran Grandel completely. Once it did, something wonderful would happen, and it would finally have the control it so desperately wanted, so the whispers foretold.

Now though, everything was going wrong, the whispers had ceased, and the creature was bereft of guidance. It needed to get back to Hell. And to do that, it needed these princesses gone. The creature hated them, beyond reason it hated them. It did not know why, but every fiber of its consciousness screamed out in rage whenever it saw them. Hurting them now felt good, it felt right! They needed to die! It had come to far to be stopped now! They would fall, as had all the other insects that had sought to interfere! When the creature understood Derran Grandel was in its way, it and the whispers had made the fire to destroy him! Whenever its brothers, or more accurately, its host's brothers came close to getting in the way, it had forced them back into line! Now, as it raised its arm, it prepared to finish this latest threat to its goal. As it brought its fist down on the elder princess, its only, all consuming thought was: "I WILL be complete!!"

Then suddenly. . . its strike, a strike that could have turned a mountain into gravel, was stopped dead. By the hands of a man who's icy blue eyes, burned with rage. . . . The creature just had time to blink in shock, staring, as the emaciated, sunken eyed figure held its fist at bay with both his hands, his muscles straining nearly beyond their limits to stop its immense fist. Before the beast was sent hurtling through the air by a punch, carrying all the force of a runaway freight train. . . .

Derran struggled to stay on his feet, as he turned to look at the princesses. His body was wracked by agony, as he reached out to grip the thin crystal stalagmites jutting from their ghostly forms. With an effort that was nothing short of inhuman, he smashed the crystals to shards, pulling the princesses free of the jagged broken stumps. He knew this effort was killing him, but he did not care.

For decades, he had assumed the request his daughter made as she died, was motivated by nothing more than a deathbed delirium. The random nonsensical firing of neurons in her head, as her brain died. However, the moment he had heard Luna's desperate plea, it had all fallen into place. Somehow, impossible as it may have seemed, Terissa, in her final moments, hovering at the precipice of death, had foreseen this day. Derran had heard many tales of people who in their last seconds of life, gained the power of prophecy. The stories saying that it was power gifted by the Light to especially pure mortals, to give aid to those they left behind. Never once however, had he thought the stories anything more than tall tales. . . until now.

Derran did not know if Terissa's words were meant to save him, or to save the princesses. Indeed, even as he pulled the sisters free, he felt his strength fail completely, however, it did not matter. His little girl, had wanted him to help these creatures. Derran remembered his daughter, his real daughter, the one the fire had almost made him forget, and she had always placed the needs of others before her own. . . . Derran remembered a time when she had found a baby bird that had fallen out of a tree, and climbed up it to return the bird to its nest. The entire trunk of the tree had been covered in razor vines, but she hadn't even hesitated. By the time she had reached the nest, her dress was shredded to ribbons, and every inch of her body covered in vicious cuts and scratches. She had returned home bleeding, dirty, and with bits of razor vine still in her destroyed dress and hair, but she had been smiling, because she had done it. . . she had saved that little bird. Terrisa would have helped the princesses, even at the price of her life. She had seen them in pain, and with the last of her strength, had begged her father to do what she no longer could. And so. . . even if it killed him, even if it extinguished his very soul, even if it meant leaving his self imposed crusade against Hell unfinished, Derran would fulfill her wish. . . .

Celestia and Luna watched as the consciousness of Derran Grandel, now finally freed after a decade of soul leeching imprisonment, fell to the ground. The last of his mental strength having been used up. Even as the princesses watched, his body seemed to flicker, like a candle flame caught in a draft. His spirit held together only by what was left of his once mighty will. As he looked up at Celestia and Luna, Derran's eyes burned with conviction, even as they reflected an almost endless sorrow.

"Run. . . ." He wheezed out, even the simple act of speaking seeming to take a titanic effort. "He will. . . be back!" Derran declared, forcing himself up on his hands and knees with little more than sheer determination. "I will. . . hold him here. . ." He declared, before his body seemed to shimmer, like an image seen through the disturbed water of a pond, and he fell once more to the ground.

"Art thou mad?!" Luna demanded. "Thy consciousness is barely holding together!!" Derran shook his head.

"You. . . must. . . survive. . . ." He choked out, as his body once more distorted before returning to normal. Luna suddenly wore a determined expression as she turned to Celestia, her mind practically spinning as she formulated a desperate plan.

"Sister, we think we know how to help Derran, but we will need thy help!" Celestia nodded, as a distant roar of pure rage shook the ebon earth.

"Thou shall have it my sister, what dost thou require of us?" Luna closed her eyes, her face a mask of concentration as she replied.

"There is a spell that can allow us to channel our magic into another's dream self, temporarily empowering them. We intend to use the spell to allow both of us to transfer our united power to Derran, hopefully restoring him to the point he can resist that monstrosity." Luna explained, as another roar sounded, this one much closer. "The spell was never designed to work in quite the way we intend to use it, however we believe it is our best option." Celestia gave her sister a mildly concerned look.

"And if it should fail?" She asked, feeling the ground start to tremble, as the form of the roaring beast appeared in the distance. The black flames covering its body highlighted by its burning red veins, as it charged toward them at an unnatural speed.

"We are uncertain." Luna replied, her horn beginning to glow. "It may simply fail without effect, or it may destroy him, and us, instantly." Celestia did not hesitate as she nodded.

"Do it. . . we have not come this far to turn away now." She declared, looking down at Derran, even as he pleaded with his eyes for her to reconsider, despite his consciousness visibly struggling against dissolution. However Celestia just shook her head, a small smile appearing on her face as her gaze softened. "Thy life is worth saving Derran Grandel. . . even if thou doth not believe it." She declared, as another roar split the air. The massive creature was nearly upon them. As Celestia joined her magic to Luna's, the monstrosity leapt into the air. A flap of its massive wings sending it fifty feet into the sky before it hurtled down toward the trio, its right fist cocked back and wreathed in blazing black fire. Roaring, the monster struck at the prone form of Derran Grandel, and the world evaporated in a nova of black flame. . . .

The monster let out a thunderous shout, as it charged like an enraged bull toward the three figures in the distance. It had been caught off guard by Derran's desperate attack. The monster honestly didn't think his mind had enough force of will left in it to manage walking, let alone execute such a powerful attack. After so many years of being beaten down and drained by the flames of his own perceived failures, Derran's consciousness should have been close to evaporating. It hardly mattered however, this last act of petty defiance had reduced Derran's spirit and will to the point where his mind was hanging on by the barest thread. One final push was all it would take to send the last vestiges of Derran Grandel into oblivion. The monster would have preferred to destroy him in Hell, as the whispers had instructed. However, not only had he freed the two princesses, he had managed to reopen the gates of his mind for them to escape. That actually was a problem. The monster could not hope to defeat them outside this mentally constructed pseudo-dreamworld. This was the only place in existence it could hope to actually destroy them. If the princesses took the opportunity Derran had given them, they would escape, and easily be able to restrain or kill the mortal shell sustaining the creature!

It had no choice now but to fight. Years of manipulation, of growth, of careful planning and execution, all of it would be wasted if the princesses got away! The beast let out a bellow of absolute fury as it bore down on its targets. If the creature could just finish off Derran! Erase his consciousness at last and gain full control of its host! Then it could slam the mental gates shut, and deal with the princesses at its leisure! It was close, oh so close! The idiot princesses were still with Derran, still foolishly trying to save the ghost of a man who should have given up the fight ages ago! Leaping into the air, the monster focused its will, conjuring flames of purest hate to its hand. Its will was strong, Derran's was nonexistent, once he was gone there would be nothing left that could stand in its way! "I WILL HAVE CONTROL!!" the monster screamed internally. "I WILL HAVE MY ASCENSION!!" Letting out a final almighty roar, the monster slammed its fist into the prone form of Derran. A massive explosion of black flame and crimson energy blinding the beast, and making the entire mindscape shake. . . just an instant after two beams, one of blue, and one of gold, connected the princesses to Derran. . . .

At first, the beast thought its attack had worked, as it felt its fist resting on a solid surface that, for an instant, it believed was the ground. Then the afterimages from the explosion dissolved, and the beast saw the truth. A man, now stood before him. . . no longer the pathetic wretch of a moment ago, he wore a shining magetech armor suit, of polished dark blue and brilliant gold. Ancient in design, it resembled the fabled armor of the Night Sentinels, save that it had no helm. The face of the man was of noble countenance, yet strong featured, the face of a prince, or young king, right out of the tales of antiquity. His hair was cut short, in the style of a soldier, no. . . not a soldier. . . a conqueror. As the beast took in the man's face, it trembled internally. The man's expression was like ice, bespeaking of a rage so great that it had come full circle, into a terrible and unforgiving calm. Worst of all however, were the man's eyes. Two pools of burning golden fire, each centered around pupils of midnight black, in which stars and galaxies swirled, the only part of the man giving voice to the maelstrom of wrath within. Across the man's body, flames of gold and blue flowed, flaring into a pillar of pure power around him. The creature took a staggering step back. It just had time to note the princesses behind the man, each tethered to him by a tendril of pure energy flowing from their horns. One of midnight blue leading to Luna, the other of shining gold leading to Celestia. As the creature took another involuntary step backward, the princess's ethereal faces each gave a triumphant smile.

"YOU!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!!!" The creature screamed, its voice a mix of hatred and fear. Luna simply gave a superior looking smirk.

"We may not be able to harm you in this world of thine own creation. But, he can!" The creature's eyes widened in horror as Celestia chimed in.

"Thy design has failed parasite! Derran Grandel. . . IS FREE!!" She declared joyously. For a moment, the monster simply stood there, shaking with rage. Till finally it could bear it no more. With a blood curdling howl, it launched itself at Celestia, its hideous face twisted even further by an insanity born of incomprehensible fury.

"I'LL TEAR YOU APART FOR THIS!!!" It screeched, its voice thundering like an avalanche. Only to be intercepted by Derran, his eyes blazing with hatred, even as his voice was like an arctic wind.

"No. . . you shall not." He snarled, his upturned armored palms each halting one of the monsters massive fists as if the creature was no more than a child. "You shall never harm anyone, ever again." Derran declared, as he ducked inside the monster's reach, and struck him in the solar plexus. Despite the blow looking less like a punch, and more like a light tap with Derran's knuckles. The creature was sent skidding across the ground for several meters, before doubling over and falling to its knees, desperately gasping for air.

Soundtrack: The Hero by Battlebeast

Derran stepped forward, cracking his knuckles, his face was a mask of stone, as he glared at the creature before him. Rising unsteadily to its feet, the creature actually put its guard up, as Derran cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders, as if merely just awakening from an unexpected nap. Just as the monster was about to launch its own attack, Derran's body seemed almost to vanish, before reappearing before the creature, and striking it in the stomach with all the power of a pneumatic hammer. The beast barely had time to register the pain, as Derran swept its legs out from under it. Before smashing it to the ground with an elbow strike to the back so quickly, that gravity didn't even have time to exert itself.

Grabbing the fallen creature by one massive arm, Derran twirled it around once like a carnival ride, before hurling it into the air. With the power of the princesses coursing through him, Derran leapt into the air with the speed of a rocket. Surrounded by the aura of gold and blue fire, Derran shot through the air like a blazing comet, bringing his armored knee into the still flying monstrosity's gut with a force usually reserved for artillery shells. Before bringing his fists together over his head, and sending them crashing down onto the center of the monster's back with the fury of a lightning strike.

Blasting into the ground with enough force to crater the obsidian-like floor, the monster snarled in pain and anger, as it struggled to its feet. Meanwhile, Derran floated to the ground as gracefully as a feather, his arms folded across his chest, as the beast roared, staggering drunkenly as it rushed at him. The creature got no more than two, steps before being struck again in the gut by a vicious uppercut. The force of Derran's strike actually lifting the monster into the air, he then, impossibly, kept the creature there with a flurry of blows that were too fast for even the princesses eyes to track. Rising steadily into the air, Derran used a combination of deific strength, and gravitational pull, to keep the monster suspended helplessly over his head as he pummeled him with a speed and ferocity, that were utterly beyond human. The pair were nearly twenty feet in the air when Derran suddenly dropped to the ground again, freezing his opponent in mid air with an aura of blue and gold. Bending his legs and roaring, Derran pulled his right fist back as far as he could, before making an almighty leap. Blasting off the ground in a cloud of glittering obsidian flakes, Derran struck the immobile monster with a straight punch to its center of mass, cracking the armored carapace around its chest, as it was sent flying through the air like a cannon shot.

Watching from nearby, Celestia and Luna were stunned, when the flying figure of the monster smashed through the previously unseen ceiling of the cavern, eighty meters overhead. Beyond, a hole like that through a pane of shattered glass, brilliant daylight shone with blinding intensity. Not waiting around, Derran jumped, shooting through the hole like a bolt from a crossbow. Glancing at each other, the sisters nodded, as they sped toward the opening with a single flap of their wings, following the tethers connecting them to Derran. Once on the other side, they saw that they were in an idyllic local, filled with rolling hills and forests, with a mighty gleaming city visible on the horizon. They did not need to be told to know where they were, and why. They had seen this place in the Doom Slayer's memories. The once iron grip the monster had on Derran's mind, was failing. His mindscape reorienting itself to the thoughts and recollections of its original consciousness. Derran Grandel, had, even if only in memory, finally come home. . . .

It did not take the princesses long to spot Derran and the monster. By sheer dumb luck or superb reflexes, the monster had managed to land on its feet. Deep twin furrows were dug into the dirt before it, terminating at its misshapen clawed toes. A mute testament to how much force it had landed with. Not wishing to waste its good fortune, the beast raised its massive clawed hands, it fired a beam of pure red and black flame at the figure of Derran, standing a short distance away. Again seeming to vanish and reappear, Derran evaded the beam with laughable ease, the energy blasting toward the horizon before striking a mountain, the power of the beam detonating with the force of a nuke. Silhouetted by a holocaust of expanding mystical shock waves and burning rubble the size of meteors falling from the sky, Derran materialized level with the creature's head, to strike it with a vicious sidekick to the temple. Breaking off one of the monster's horns, Derran's kick sent it flying through the air once again. Once more Derran disappeared, looking like he was caught in a strobe light, Derran seemed to flicker in and out of reality to fast for anyone to possibly keep track. And with each reappearance, he struck some part of the monster's body with a punch like a meteor, or a kick like a battering ram. His speed growing ever greater, till it seemed as it the creature was being attacked by six or seven identical clones of Derran all at once.

Materializing a final time, Derran sent the beast hurtling through the air perpendicular to the ground, its back facing the grassy earth. Appearing flying in mid air beside the monster, his back to his enemy's, and reaching over his head and behind his back, Derran seized the monster by its lone remaining horn. Swinging it over his head, Derran slammed the monster face down into the earth with a strength that was nothing less than titanic. A veritable geyser of loose soil and rocks fountaining forty feet into the air from the impact site. Derran then teleported a short distance away, to stand with his feet firmly on the ground, his arms once again folded, as he allowed the monster to rise. Getting shakily to its feet, the monster seemed battered, but unbowed, as it let out a roar that seemed to shake the very sky. Turning to glare hatefully at Derran, the monster spoke, spitting blood, and broken jagged teeth, with every word.

"YOU!!" It bellowed, staggering forward, just barely managing to keep from falling. "I SAVED YOU!!" It shrieked, falling briefly to one knee as it continued forward, step by shaking step. "IT WAS ME!! ALL OF IT!!" It screamed, raising its fists to the heavens. "YOU. . . THE LEGION. . . MICHAEL! WE SURVIVED BECAUSE OF ME!!" Staggering to a halt, the creature pointed a single clawed finger at Derran. "You. . ." It spat, it's voice a low snarl. "you're WEAK!! You never had what it takes. . . you never had the will to go all the way. . . . TO COMMIT TO THE CAUSE!! YOU COULD NEVER WIN THIS WAR ON YOUR OWN!! YOU'LL ALWAYS NEED ME!!" Then, with a scream born of pure unfiltered hatred, the creature lunged at Derran's standing form. For an instant the beastly abomination almost seemed to have gained an upper hand. As it suddenly rained blow after fiery fisted blow onto Derran's unmoving form. The creature's limbs moving so fast, and its attacks hitting with such force, that the dueling pair became engulfed in a black and red inferno, the ground cracking around them as the very air seemed to catch fire. However, when the beast finally ceased its attack, its eyes widened, and it retreated back several paces. As it saw that its furious assault. . . hadn't so much as scratched its target. Derran still stood, neither cut, burn, nor bruise, on him or his armor, the ground beneath him was melted to glass, and foot wide rents extended out from beneath his feet in every direction, yet he remained inviolate. For a time Derran did not move or speak, simply staring at the creature, his eyes never blinking, and his expression never shifting.

"Tell me their names." Derran demanded, his voice empty of even the faintest emotion.

"What?!" The creature snarled. Derran's eyes narrowed just a hair.

"The names of the ones we seek vengeance for. The two people I treasured more than any other, the ones who's deaths lead me down this path. . . . Tell me their names!" Derran demanded, his eyes flashing dangerously. The monster stared at him, seemingly confused.

"I don't know and I don't-" The beast was cut off as Derran's right hand, wreathed in gold and blue light, smashed through the center of its massive chest plate. His hand piercing it at the exact location of the strange human face decoration Celestia had noticed earlier.

"Wrong answer." Derran hissed, his voice as steady and cold as steel, even as his eyes filled with tears. As with an almighty heave, he pulled something out of the monster's chest in a spray of blood and gore. Without even a glance backward, Derran hurled the massive hunk of pulsing flesh to the ground behind him. Now. the monster screamed. Falling to one knee, it howled in agony as it desperately reached toward the large blood drenched lump Derran had removed from it. Teleporting to one side, Derran grabbed the creature's wrist, before slamming his palm into the thing's elbow. Inverting the joint's direction with a sickeningly wet crunch of bone. Letting out a shriek of torment, an expression of panic appeared on the monster's twisted features.

"If you kill me, you'll die!" The creature pleaded, suddenly sounding desperate. "The whispers told me. . . if I am not in control by the time of endings, you will fall!!" It babbled desperately, as Derran calmly turned away, no longer wishing to give the creature the courtesy of eye contact. Using a bit more of his borrowed power, to conjure a sword to his hand. Made of golden light, flames of midnight blue flickered along the edges of the blade, as Derran held the weapon before him. His expression as stony faced and empty as that of a statue, Derran kept his back to his enemy as he replied.

"You waste your breath." He declared, as he stared at the blade in his hands. "For even if I were fool enough to believe you, inside. . ." Trailing off, Derran whipped around in a blur, slashing out with the sword in a single flash of movement. "I am already dead." He finished, as the monster's head fell from its shoulders. . . .
As the body of the monster discorporated into a sludge that seemed to merge with the surrounding mindscape, Derran turned to stare with pure venom, at the now moving hunk of flesh he had pulled from within the creature's torso. "I never did trust you. . . ." He declared, as the oblong hunk of gore split open, and the thing within, wiped away the bloody slime hiding its features. . . revealing a face nearly identical to Derran's, save for its blond hair, and blood red eyes. . . . "I should have found a way to dispose of you long before now. . . and I should never have been so stupid as to allow you to take control of my body!" Derran stated, his tone like acid, as he advanced on the figure with the sword clenched in his hand. "It is long past time that I corrected that mistake. . . ." The figure gave a hacking cough, before looking up, as Derran stood over him.

"Do it. . . ." The figure declared softly after a moment's pause, his expression oddly sorrowful. "Even a guy like me, knows I don't deserve to live after this. . . ." Raising his sword, Derran's eyes flashed.

"How curious. . . that a demon, should wish to die like a man." Derran hissed. Yet as he moved to bring the sword down, the mystical blade evaporated in his grasp. Derran's eyes widened in confusion. The fight had barely tapped a fraction of the total power the princesses had given him, surely he could not have run out already? However, the cause of his weapon's destruction was revealed an instant later. As the ghostly forms of Celestia and Luna, interposed themselves between Derran and his doppelganger. "What is the meaning of this?" Derran demanded, his tone calm, though still holding a distinct edge.

"Thou must not kill the Doom Slayer!" Luna pleaded. "He is a part of thee! If thou should slay him, thine own mind would die too!" She declared. Derran bristled, his eyes flashing.

"That. . . thing!! Is not a part of me!" He snarled, his tone filled with rage. Celestia shook her head.

"Our sister is quite correct, thou art two pieces of the same whole!" She agreed. "The Doom Slayer was corrupted over time by some external force! It twisted his desire and purpose till he could no longer see the truth of his actions!" Celestia explained, her tone one of faint pleading.

"HE IS THE CORRUPTION!!" Derran roared, his eyes bulging in his head. "HE WAS NEVER A PART OF ME TILL THE DEMONS CAME!! HIS VOICE IS, AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN, THAT OF EVIL!! MY WEAKNESS ALLOWED HIM CONTROL ONCE!! NEVER SHALL I, NOR ANY OTHER, SUFFER HIS DARKNESS AGAIN!!" Derran shouted, his eyes blazing with hatred as he moved to end the Doom Slayer's life with his bare hands.

"Please, we beg of thee! Thou must spare him! Thou hath a good heart, broken though it may be, it was beautiful once! Please, do not let thy anger destroy it!!" Luna cried, as Derran moved to push her aside. Suddenly though, he halted. . . as he saw the tears in the corners of her eyes. Taking a deep breath, Derran managed to just barely calm himself. For several minutes he stood there in silence, before his hand snapped out to point at the Doom Slayer's prone form. Instantly, manacles of pure light snapped shut around his wrists, ankles, and neck, Derran's mental world responding to his revived will. Then, with eyes filled with restrained wrath, Derran spoke in a slow deliberate voice, as the shackles began to slowly pull the Doom Slayer into the ground of Derran's mental landscape.

"Though I cannot fathom the logic of your request. . . I am in no position, now or ever, to refuse you." He stated, before turning on his scarlet eyed twin, his face an unfeeling mask as the Doom Slayer's waist slipped beneath the surface of the earth. "Remember this. . . monster. . . it was not I who spared your life this day. . . it was them." He declared, gesturing toward Celestia and Luna. "You and I both are wholly unworthy of such compassion. . . yet still they give it freely. Once I am again in the waking world, I intend to do whatever I must to repay that debt." Here Derran took another deep breath. "You will aid me in this, you are, and henceforth will ever only be, a weapon, a tool! You will never have control over my body again, unless it is by my will and my order!" Derran's gaze now became so intense it seemed as though it could melt steel. " And if ever I should think, for even a moment, that you are attempting to take control of me, I will run myself through on the spot with Unmaker. This I swear unto the holy Light itself! Do you understand?!" Derran demanded, his tone as sharp and unforgiving as a steel blade. The Doom Slayer did not even hesitate before nodding, his shoulders now level with the ground.

"Yeah. . . yeah I got it." He replied, his voice hollow with regret. Derran took another deep breath, his eyes burning with righteous, uncompromising fury.

"Never forget this day monster. . . the day that the Seraphim themselves, spared your life. . . ." He snarled. Again, the Doom Slayer nodded, then, as he looked over at Celestia and Luna, his eyes seeming to momentarily shine with conviction and awe. As his head finally slipped beneath the ground, and with a voice that sounded nothing less than reverent, he replied, his voice echoing strangely as he was pulled deep into the depths of Derran's mind.

"If I only ever remember one thing. . . I swear. . . it'll be this."