Deatheater found himself in a dark void, with darkness all around him save for a swirling purple light in front of him. It was almost blinding. Worried, he tried to reach for his scythe, but his hands grasped nothing but air. He tried to look around, but his eyes seemed to be locked on the purple light. Suddenly, a voice booms out. It was deep, and it seemed to be coming from every direction... “You will make... a powerful minion... for Alphos.... join me.... O reaping one.... let us harvest the souls of the weak... so only the strong exist...” Deatheater started to feel worry as a huge shadowy figure began to approach him. It bore four twisted horns on its head, and blue wispy eyes stared at him... “Join... me... I will give you mercy.” It says in a ghastly tone. “Mercy? You don’t have any mercy you filthy asshole!” Says Deatheater as he tries to get away from the approaching figure. However, he finds his body to be bound to the spot... “You... you don’t belong with these weaklings... I can grant you greater power... I can help you kill Draksos... But you must serve me first...” “You’re wasting my time!” Says Deatheater as he struggles to move his legs. Alphos ignored his comment and continued to speak... “I am destruction incarnate... you will help me find my meals... you will be treated well among the rest of my servants...” Deatheater saw the light fade away and blacken as a few more words echoed into his mind... “Whether you like it.... or not... you will fall into my grasp... happy hunting Reaper...” • Deatheater jumped out of his bed, gasping. He held a wide-eyed expression. He felt unbearable pain in his stomach region, where Alphos had sliced him. He looked next to him, seeing MagicSpaceKitty in the same stance as him. She looked at deatheater with wide eyes... “Did... did you see Alphos too?” She said with worry... “Sure as hell. Did the sorry excuse for a dragon talk to you about being his servant?” MagicSpaceKitty nodded, and she began to get up. Her wyvern, Scott, rustled its blue fur with joy as he saw his owner. He let out a small growl as MagicSpaceKitty stroked him, but soon he was on the ground, sleeping. Artemis walked into the room. She looked at the two wounded travelers, both lying in beds. Texas Jedi had suggested that they rest at a nearby inn... “Doing well?” Says the Archer, as she begins to sit next to deatheater. Both MagicSpaceKitty and Deatheater shook their heads sideways... “Alphos came to us in a dream... he offered us mercy if we would serve him...” says MagicSpaceKitty, putting Scott on top of the bed. “Then we should hunt the prey while it’s weak. Cell-3 talked about Alphos downstairs while we were waiting for Zen to get his lazy ass awake. He said that the wounds made by Alphos cause more than just physical damage. A manifestation of Alphos enters one’s mind when an open wound has been created by Alphos. Alphos controls the mind of the wounded, bearing little control at first, but eventually gaining complete control. We need to kill Alphos soon if we want to save you two from being brainwashed.” Says Artemis, looking at Deatheater with worry... “Ah, Don’t you worry about me...” Says deatheater as he begins to cough a bit, and he gets up from the bed, struggling while trying to stand. He had his Scythe propped up next to him, and he held it, using it as support as he tries to walk. Deatheater whispers something into Artemis’ ear as he begins to walk... “If I do succumb to the control of that damned lizard... I want you to kill me...” “What?!?” Says Artemis as she cuts him a confused and surprised look... “You’ve seen how merciless I can become in the battlefield. I don’t want to put my team in that situation. Especially you. I don’t want to hurt you. Please kill me if I do get fully controlled. Think of it as stopping my everlasting pain. I want you to be the one who ends my life. You seem to understand me the best out of the group. Better than that tin can asshole called Cell...” he responds... “But Deatheater... I.... I can’t. I can’t kill someone that I’m fond of...” Says Artemis... “Well then... let’s just hope that it doesn’t come to that...” Deatheater responds as the two head out of the room. MagicSpaceKitty picks up Scott and follows them. Scott whines a bit, and he jumps away from MagicSpaceKitty’s hands to the ground, and he starts walking with her. • Downstairs, a large room was present, with furs of animals hanging on the walls and some candles providing light to the room. A huge round table was present with the team sitting on chairs surrounding it. Zen was in the corner, his hands tied around his back and his eyes closed. Howard could be seen, expecting the now helpless Apprentice. Artemis, Deatheater, and MagicSpaceKitty entered the room from a small flight of stairs. Cell-3 greeted them, and he gestured them towards three chairs next to the table. SovietAdidas waved them over, and as they sat, he propped up his rifle on the wall and leaned against a bench. Cell-3 could be seen, standing directly in front of Zen. After a few seconds, the members of the team had their eyes locked on him. Onyxia and Scott both sat next to each other, each breathing quietly... “Alright... so we’ve decided to interrogate Zen. Let’s hope this goes well...” says Cell-3, breaking the silence. “I don’t trust him one bit. I’ll keep my sights on him...” Says Artemis as notches an arrow onto her bowstring. Cell-3 kicks Zen with blinding speed. Zen groans with pain, and he opens his left eye. He is greeted by a punch, sending him to the ground. He groans and he is pulled back up. He looks up to see Cell-3... “Aw shit, it’s you...” he says with a growl. “Who else?” Says TotallyNotThor as he moves closer to Zen. Cell-3 began to talk to Zen in a fierce tone... “Alright Zen... You’re going to tell us why Alphos has awoken and where he currently is, or else...” Cell-3 stops his sentence as his wrist releases steam, revealing a dark blue blade that had emerged out of it. Zen looked it with worry before he began to laugh... “You think I’m afraid of Death?” Zen Responds as Cell begins to signal Phoenix forward. Phoenix takes a deep breath as he gets out of his chair and walks towards Zen. His hands slowly light on fire, and he raises one hand in front of him. Zen looks at the fire with confusion. Suddenly he is met by a shower of flames as the fire in Phoenix’s hand explodes into a fountain of embers. Zen groans and writhes around as embers burn into his skin... “Stop! Stop! I’ll tell you what I know!” Says Zen as he starts to scream in pain. Cell nods to Phoenix, and the fountain of flames stops as he heads for his seat. The robot brings his wrist blade towards Zen’s neck. Zen opens his mouth and begins to talk... “Alphos was awakened by Ebony, another one of Draksos’ apprentices. Unfortunately, Alphos went the wrong direction when he was awoken and he ended up here. I came here in pursuit of him after hearing from nearby townsfolk about a dragon attack. Unfortunately I was too late to witness it but I didn’t know that until now. Then I stumbled into you and now here I am. Draksos also had wounded me for failing my task, and he’s never done that to any of his apprentices. I....I’m starting to think that he’s not normal. Draksos would never act that way. We apprentices are scared, and I’m kind of glad I ran into you guys. Ever since Alphos had been awoken, he’s been more cruel to us than ever. Ebony could be killed if she doesn’t get Alphos back to DarkSpire Tower, and Daigon is on his way to Lake MistCloud to awaken Myst, and if he fails he’ll have his arm cut off. Please... you have to liberate us. I don’t follow Draksos anymore. He’s forcing us to follow him. I can take you to Alphos’ next location, but you must promise me that you’ll spare the other apprentices...” Cell-3 had a look of surprise as he moved his wrist blade away. ManofLight began to speak... “So believable...” “I think he’s telling the truth...” says Diana with a calm voice. “Hell No. I would’ve had him killed...” Says deatheater. His response was followed by a quick nod from Hammerfist. “Well... the question is... do we want Alphos’ location at the cost of killing the other apprentices or should we just bring him along without juicing the dragon’s location out of him?” Says Cell-3. Robo Owl sighed and shook his head... “This is a terrible idea... Something bad will happen... I just know it....” he says. Howard pats the mech on the back as Notorious tries to speak... “Well.... time for a group.... vote.... I ... guess?” “One last question Zen. For you...” says Snowy as it begins to walk next to Cell-3: “Why didn’t you want to share all this information with us?” “Draksos threatened to use a dimensional rift to erase us from existence in a painful way if we told you even an ounce of information. Please... let me go with you. I can’t go back to Draksos. He’ll have my head on a pike...” Cell-3 began to gather the group around for another vote... Choice A:Get Alphos’ location but lose the option to kill the remaining apprentices Choice B:Don’t get Alphos’ location, but you can kill the remaining apprentices