Welcome to Gaia! ::

*The necromancer walked forward. He carried a sword at his side, which he then drew from the sheath.* "I knew you'd fail, Vlad. You were always weak. Everyone's weak, after all. I mean, how do you think I got all these bodies? I killed a lot of people to do this, Vlad. And now, finally, it's time. Watch, as I kill your friends, Vlad. I want you to suffer before you die." *The necromancer went to Eclipse first. He stabbed him in the heart, then in the head, and Eclipse floated out, watching the scene unfold. Vlad cringed. Next, he killed Ryudo, the Sachiel, then Samshel, Then he came up to Teldra.* "No..." "Oh, very much yes, Vlad. Very much yes! Now watch as she dies, and you remain completely helpless!" *He stabbed her, laughing the entire time like the sick, maniacle b*****d he was. hen he walked over to Vlad.* "You know? I think I'll kill you slowly now... Let you feel the pain as your heart slowly fails..." *And the necromancer slowly drove his sword into the least vital places on Vlad's body, one by one, until Vlad fell unconcious of bloodloss. then, he severed Vlad's head, ensuring that he was dead. He laughed endlessly as he walked out of the cave, his voice echoing continuously against the walls.*

*The dream ended, and they were back in the void filled with dreams again. Vlad had hated reliving that memory.* "There's good news, though, guys. That necromancer still got what was coming to him. I came back, killed him myself, and rescued that warrior and the lady. Whatever god there is thought that I wasn't done yet and sent me back. I made sure that the necromancer could never cause any harm again... And he never did."

"Woah... What just happened?" *The voice came from back where there bodies were. Vlad's head jolted around to look. There, in the void, was Jarus. Vlad went over to him quickly.* "Jarus??? You're alive?!?" "Vlad? What the heck is going on here?" "To tell you everything would take to long to explain. For now, just seperate from your body. It can't come to harm here, it seems. I'll sum up what we're doing as quickly as I can for you, okay? We're fighting our way through dreamscapes set up by a very powerful evil. He's trapped us in our minds, and the only way to get to him, we think, is to get through all these dreams. There are quite a few left, and for this one, which happens to me my set, we need to enter my seperate dreams and... well, do whatever to complete them. The main problem is that we can't actually have our physical forms move in my part, so we can only have the six of us that can seperate participate in the dreams." "So... Kind of like the battle with Rantine, only real?" "Pretty much, I'd say." "Hmm... Alright then. By the way, who in the world names their kid Rantine?" "Never mind that now, we have to go." *Jarus seperated from his body and floated over to the group with Vlad.*

*As they entered the last dream, they found themselves in an open plain. Behind them was a city. A small, old, and strong city. At the front gate was Vlad and some mercenaries who were in the area. All of the mercenaries had swords and bows on their backs, obviously skilled in close range and long range weaponry, with the exception of one, who was a monk, and carried no weaponry. They were talking to a village elder, and were obviously being given orders for some kind of mission ahead. As they came closer to the group on the ground, Vlad and the group could hear what the elder was saying.*
"I must thank you again for taking this job... I realize that the chances of success are slim... But now, remember. You must get the staff, or there is no doubt that balthazar will crush our village with ease. As I said, the staff is in the cave to the south... Just watch out for the demons. They won't give up without a fight."
"Yes sir. We'll get it."
"Thank you, really. Now go and save us, please!"
*And so the mercenary group, with Vlad as their leader, started walking around the village. The entrance to the village was facing north, and the cave was to the south. The dream sped up, and suddenly, they were at the cave's mouth. It was a massive cave, with natural light flowing in from the walls at regular intervals, almost as if it had been the house of a giant.* "Alright, take control now. but be careful, those demons the elder warned about are... powerful, to say the least."

*Jarus took to the monk, and Vlad took over himself... As usual. After everyone had settled, Vlad began advancing into the cave. There were many rooms, each one massive, and with no visible end to the chain of them in sight. In the distance, some growls and roars could be heard, but it was still all very far away.*

*And just like that, Lucifer appeared next to them.*
"They are annoying, aren't they?"
"Lucifer! If you can just get in here any time you want, what the heck have you been doing this whole time?!?!?"
"Relaxing. I like watching a little mayhem now and then. But anyway, technically, I am a demon. Lord of the demons, yes, but just like a king of men, still one of them. And most of the ones I control have at least a bit of a brain... But then again, when they've been stuck in a one-way holy forcefield that holds only full demons, they tend to go a bit crazy. Not that these ones were very sane to begin with. They were under the control of another form of me, and one that practically drove everything into madness... Including his own minions. Great at causing havoc, but a bit too good at it, you know? Well, I'm going to be helping you a bit here, just for some fun... And to get rid of some demons who no longer deserve the name."

"I'm the epitome of evil! No holy shield can hold me! Well... Unless my good friend, the epitome of good, god herself gets directly involved. Then, she has the upper hand. And yes, She and I ARE on good terms. Besides, the holy shield is up ahead, in the room where the demons are held, as well as the staff you're looking for. It's about five rooms ahead, so get prepared now. And no, none of you qualify as demon enough to be held in by the shield."