Boomerang hadn't expected to think, see or breathe ever again. And yet, he was doing all three things right now. The last thing he remembered was dying in the Ancient Arena coliseum at the hands of the human warriors, Jack, Rudy and Cecilia.

But now he was alive again, with his partner Luceid. The gray-blue wolf-shaped Guardian looked just as confused as he was.

Suddenly a large, but glorious unicorn appeared before them. Boomerang felt the aura of a Guardian.

"I am Odoryuk, Guardian of life," the Guardian neighed softly. "You are no doubt wondering why you are alive." Odoryuk paused for an answer but didn't get one. So she continued. "We Guardians cannot die by normal means. As you remember, you were bonded with Luceid-" (Boomerang detected just a note of hate in Odoryuk's voice, as she spoke the name, Luceid was to her a traitor after all.)- "at the time of your death. It is because of this, Boomerang, that I was able to salvage your soul and bring you back to life."

Boomerang didn't drop to his knees in a display of ecstatic gratitude. Rather, he just said, "Thank you kindly. I will remember the gesture," and turned to leave.

But a less soft neigh called him back. "Boomerang!"

Boomerang turned back.

"Before you continue with your newly regained life, I want you to understand something. The first time you died, I was so impressed with your last brave moments that I saved most of your soul so you could return to this world as Boomerang Flash. But then, you sought out the Innocent One and her friends and engaged them in combat once again." The unicorn's eyes narrowed. "The war is over now. If you behave similarly in this life, when you die..."

Boomerang finished for her. "...I'll stay dead."

Odoryuk nodded. "Exactly." She turned her gaze towards Luceid. "Though I cannot deny you resurrection, you are expected to behave also."

Luceid said in wolf speak,

Odoryuk nodded again. Then she started to fade. "Farewell, Boomerang; Luceid." Then she disappeared.

Boomerang looked around. "Where do you think we are, Luceid?"

Luceid barked and indicated with her head a building in the west. It was the Ancient Arena.

Death hasn't brought us far, Boomerang thought. At least not physically.

"The Ancient Arena seemed like an interesting place, watching other people fight and not necessarily doing it yourself. I think this visit we should spend more time there."

And so off to the west they went.

The castle/coliseum was much busier then the last time the duo visited, boomerang supposed now that the war was over, people were seeking violence elsewhere.

The demon and Guardian did not seem out of place, Boom's clothing covered any demonic features, and Luceid looked enough like a normal dog -if a big one. They managed to get seats for the next big battle.

It was to take place between some hotshot human whose name wasn't mentioned and a demon called "Badnews." The fight lasted a while a while and drew lots of blood. When this occurred, the man in charge of the arena, "Duke" Peguci, cried out in jubilation. Boomerang labeled him as an "eccentric" and ignored him.

Finally the human gained the upper hand and managed to knock put Badnews. Boomerang and Luceid turned to leave, intending to look around and explore, when a dying scream was heard. Boom looked back and saw the human warrior holding a sword that was stuck in Badnews' head. Boom and Luceid exchanged glances.

Meanwhile, the Duke was overcome with laughter, and the human warrior was bowing to the audience.

This isn't right..., Boomerang thought. There should be no death in peace time battle... I thought this was all in fun. But clearly it wasn't.

"C'mon Luceid," Boom said. We're going to look around."

They did, and they found the place Boomerang had been looking for, the area behind the battle grounds, where the demons were kept. Specifically, they were in a small pit guarded by a human.

"Careful, sir," the guard warned, though he was obviously just trying to look good. "These beasts are vicious."

Boomerang ignored him and just passed through into the pit. The demons were visibly shaking and clearly afraid.

"What's the matter? What's going on here?" Boom spoke in demonspeak.

The demons were relieved to see a kinsmen. So relieved that they trusted Boom completely, immediately. "Oh, it's awful, sir," one said. "They just keep us locked up in here and starve us, and then, and then,..."

"And then they inject us with some sort of poison that makes us go berserk!" another said.

"We can't control ourselves! We have to fight! And if we lose, we die!" said a third.

Boomerang contemplated for a moment. Then he walked back up from the pit. The guard was puzzled by the conversation just held that he couldn't understand.

"How do I get to Duke Pegucci's balcony?" Boom asked.

"Huh? Why do you want to know? What's going on here?"

Boomerang lifted the guard over his head and poised him over the pit. "If you don't tell me, I'll accidentally drop you. I understand you have been starving these poor creatures. I think you'll be welcome." Boomerang knew, but the guard didn't, that of the demons there, only the Lizardmen were carnivorous, and even they wouldn't eat a creature as intelligent as a human, though they had made such threats during the war for scare purposes.

"N-n-no, p-please. I'll tell you," came the shaky response. He did. Boomerang put him down and he and Luceid followed the directions.

As they ran up the stairs and approached the balcony, some guards appeared, but were made short work of. They finally arrived at the balcony that seated Pegucci and overlooked the combat area. There were two more guards, but they fell to sword and claw. Several members of the audience (and the Duke) screamed. Others seemed just as happy to watch this as a fight in the stadium.

Boom raised his sword to the Duke's neck. The arena's most frequent spectator hadn't even stood up from his throne. "W-what d-do you wan-"

Boomerang didn't let him finish the obvious question. "Your obsession with violence has cost many lives, both human and demon. Now you will see your last blood, Pegucci; your own."

-Wait, Boomerang, don't.-

Boomerang turned to his supposedly canine companion. "Why not?"

Luceid explained without emotion. -The Guardians consider it a great sin to take the life of a powerful person such as the one at your mercy here, no matter how much blood on his hands. If we are to try to stay in Odoryuk's 'good book,' then we must let this man live.-

"Metaphorically speaking, I believe our names are already engraved in the stone of the bad book," Boom responded. "We have already killed all these guards."

-Perhaps we will be forgiven. If you truly want revenge on this man, then let him live to see how his hobby has been destroyed.-

Boomerang considered. Then he lowered his sword and spoke to the Duke. "We have decided to let you live. But on this one condition."

"Oh, yes, any-"

"You retire your management of this arena and give it to me."

"What!?" The Duke said, shocked.

"If it is any help, I will just declare myself manager. My first order of business is to announce that there will be no more killing in the battles to take place here. Any disregard to that rule will result in some form of punishment, probably death after all. Second, any demons held prisoner here will be immediately released. Third, the price to participate in the battles here will be doubled. I cannot imagine how you lasted this long with such a small profit. Fourthly, the inn keeper is extorting the monopoly he has here. He will charge thirty gella just like every other inn. Fifthly..."

"Jack" Van Burace found himself once again in the city of Adelhyde. It occurred to him that someone who had dedicated their life to traveling, such as a "Dream Chaser," rarely just set out in one direction, but rather, events caused them to go around in circles. This was the case with he and his traveling companions Hanpan and Rudy.

Hanpan, a wind rat who had been Jack's companion long before he met Rudy, crawled out of Jack's jacket collar. "What do you think Cecilia called us here for?" inquired the blue rodent. Cecilia was the princess of Adelhyde and occasional traveling companion.

Jack shrugged, boosting Hanpan up to ear level. "No clue. What do you think, Rudy?"

Rudy rather unhelpfully said that he didn't know either.

And so they entered the castle in hopes that Cecilia could tell them. She was seated on her throne, dressed in elegant princess robes, though she preferred to just dress in normal clothing.

"Hey! What's up, princess?" Jack said. The comment was not considered as rude as it sounded. The castle workers knew that the party was on a first name basis, even if they didn't like it.

"Hello, Jack, Rudy, Hanpan. Good to see you again," Cecilia replied, though she seemed preoccupied. "Umm, someone came here, looking for you..."

A familiar figure came into the room. The Adelhyde guards tensed, apparently uneasy with a demon present.

"Zed!" Jack cried out the demon's name, and Rudy echoed it.

The last time he met the group, Zed would have probably said something along the lines of, "That's my name, don't wear it out," but now he just said, "Hello. It's been a long time since I've seen you."

Jack turned to Cecilia and demanded, "What's he doing here?!"

"I don't know," came the simple reply. "Why don't you ask him?"

Zed spared Jack of the task, explaining why he had come, about the change of demon politics and his new goal.

"So you see now my predicament," he said when he had finished.

Rudy nodded, and asked if Zed required them to go to the Elw dimension to acquire information about making new dimensions.

Zed nodded back. "That is indeed it. So... will you go?"

"Rudy, Hanpan and I will go," Jack stated. "The princess has a country to run."

Cecilia glared at him. "Speak for yourself. This little mission is of great diplomatic importance. I should be going if anybody is."

Jack shrugged, though secretly he was happy to have the group reunited for another adventure, even if a boring sounding one. "All right, we'll leave right away."

"Wrong again. You've all traveled far, and it will do us all some good to get something to eat, and catch up with Zed. Plus, we will need some time to prepare."

Zed smiled. "Thank you, your highness. Thank you everybody. You have no idea how much this means to me."

When the party woke up the next morning, Zed had already left for the Forest Mound, where he and some other demons would wait during the mission.

"Is it just me, or has Zed changed alot since we met him last?" Hanpan queried.

"I guess it just goes to show how some lives can be turned 'round," Cecilia responded. "Anyway, shall we be going? I'll teleport us to the Mound."

"Right, let's get this over with," Jack said.

"You won't be needing your weapons," Cecilia said, eyeing Jack and Rudy's various artillery.

"Hey, were I go, my sword goes. Right, Rudy?"

Rudy agreed that his ARMs were a part of him, and wouldn't feel right without them.

Cecilia gave up, and invoked the teleportation spell.

After a wish of luck from Zed, the party entered the machine that linked Filgaia to the Elw dimension. As with previous times, the process was uncomfortable, as one would imagine from your atoms being reduced into pure light and soaring across All Creation. But they all arrived intact in the beautiful re-creation of Filgaia.

Despite it's beauty, it wasn't really that big, and it was hard to miss Tarjon Village, the main population center of the Elw's.

"We should talk to Emiko first", suggested Cecilia, "he's the friendliest and seems to know the most."

Emiko, the kindly old Elw who knew the group from the demon war, gave the group a warm welcome, (unlike the kind of welcome they would have gotten from any of the other Elw's should they have dropped in on them) but when they told him of their business he seemed rather shocked.

"Certainly a strange request, to recreate Hiades so that the demons can thrive again," he said. Then he considered. "But now that I think about it, it would be a possible solution to our problems."

"So you'll tell us how to do it?" Jack asked.

Emiko smiled. "I wish I could. But that knowledge is unknown to me, in fact, the only people who could tell you - maybe even the only people who could do it at all - would be the council of elders here in Tarjon."

Rudy asked hesitantly whether they would appreciate such a request.

"Quite possibly not. They would probably much rather have the demons die out forever, and they almost certainly wouldn't want to share their secrets with humans. We can only try."

Jack decided he had to open his mouth. "But what if they say no?"

"Let us not go there."

The answer was decidedly a resounding No.

When Rudy asked why, the head elder (or at least the one standing in the center of the room) replied:

"If the demons were to have a planet of there own again, they might increase in numbers and power, and nothing would stop them from invading as before."

"But they won't!" Cecilia protested. "As we've told you, the demons have turned over a new leaf. Under Zed, they're completely harmless. They don't want to fight anymore, they only want to live. And besides, why should you care whether or not the demons have the strength to invade? Any one of them that sets foot here gets warped to the Forest Prison."

Rudy added that the demons had only invaded Filgaia because they didn't have a home anyway.

"Yeah!" Jack yelled agreeably. "You're probably just being touchy with your secret magics after all."

He was rewarded with several dirty looks from the elders, but in truth not all of them were against recreating Hiades. They knew that when a country or people were desolute from losing a war, that it opened the doors for people like the Quarter Knights to appeal to the people with promises of better living and retribution, and take over. But the elders that thought this way were in the minority.

Suddenly a strange look came over the face of the lead (?) elder. "I could do it for you... but first I'll be needing a book... a magic book in the forest prison." At this, murmurs were passed around between the other elders.

Emiko frowned. "I haven't heard of any such book. What do you need it for?"

"Um... there's a special incarnation in it that we'll be needing."

"When we were in the Forest Prison before, we never saw any such book," Hanpan said.

"Neither were you looking," the head elder explained quickly. "Now please, be on your way so we can get to work."

The party thanked them and left the building.

"I don't feel right about this," Hanpan worried. "I'm sorry, but I don't trust those guys."

"You think too much, Hanpan." Jack said.

Emiko shook his head. "I can't help but think that I would have heard of such a book, if it existed"

Cecilia spoke up. "As suspicious as the elders were, there really is no danger in the Forest. Zed says that demons have tried to get in the Elw dimension since the war ended, so the demons already in the prison know not to attack us. What's the worst that could happen?"

They tried not to speculate.

The Forest Prison, as it always was, was deep, dark ,dense, had an odd echo and was downright spooky.

The party (Emiko had stayed at Tarjon) proceeded carefully, for it was very easy to get lost in the Prison. Though the Forest was full of demons, nobody was seen until-

"It's that squirrel!"

The rest of the party jumped upon hearing Jack's sudden cry. "What?" Cecillia demanded irritability.

"That squirrel--don't you remember him? He's the one who gave us directions when we first came here: the wrong directions, let me remind you. Princess, give him a whack with your wand, I want to give him a piece of my mind."

Cecillia, wanting to avoid a argument, didn't even ask how Jack could be sure that this was the same squirrel and took out her magic wand that allowed her to understand the language of animals and tapped the creature on the head.

"Hey you rodent! What's the big idea! We got lost 'cause of you!" Jack shouted. "Well? What do you have to say for yourself?!"

The squirrel paused a moment before answering. When he did, the Forest seemed to get even darker, and a evil aura could be felt around him. -I need not say anything for myself other then I aim only to deceive.- The voice that appeared in the party's heads was not like other animal translations, but something more sinister.

Suddenly the area around them exploded into a darkness as dark as the darkest shade of black. When it dissipated a bit, the party saw that the squirrel had transformed into something considerably more hideous. It looked not unlike a black panther (the party was beginning to guess the creature's favorite colour) but with glowing red eyes and sharp white teeth. It also had large pointy ears coming up from it's chin. The party stood and gaped. It was Rudy who was able to ask the creature who it was.

"I am Diablo Pire, the Guardian of Deceit," the creature answered, in the same voice as the squirrel form.

At first the party wondered how something so obviously evil could be a Guardian, then they recollected that there was also a Guardian of death.

"It takes a Guardian to give people the wrong directions?" Jack sneered.

"I seek only to cause deceit wherever I can," Diablo answered. "My very existence causes people to create their own deceit, too - such as when the Elw elders told you that there was a special book in this forest."

Hanpan decided to save his bragging for later.

Jack spoke up. "Enough chiter-chater. Nobody gives us the wrong directions and gets away with it. I could use a good fight." He drew his sword.

"I agree," the deceitful one answered, with a grin. "It is also my job to do away with those who would promote truth." With that, the party was hit with a blast of dark magic.

The blast was powerful, but the party had been hit with worse. Jack hit back with a colourful Fast-Draw technique whilst Cecilia cast a spell to try and find out Diablo's weakness (if he had one). Strangely enough for a monster of his evilness, it turned out he was vulnerable to darkness. Cecilia attacked with a spell of that element. If it had any effect on the beast, it healed him. Cecilia realized that everything about Diablo was deceitful.

Rudy was having a similar problem. His targeting system on his Arch Smash ARM told him that he was locked on to the creature, but when he fired it, nothing happened save for an explosion in the distance.

The battle was waged on, but Rudy's ARMs dilemma was a big handicap. Suddenly Diablo smashed his head into Jack, then did the same for Cecilia. Things were beginning to look bleak for our heroes... but out of nowhere Diablo was attacked by a flurry of spears, arrows and spells. A band of demons had come! They weren't staying, however, as they grabbed Jack and Cecilia and ran back into the forest, beckoning Rudy and Hanpan to follow. They were all too glad to.

Meanwhile, around the mystical Forest Mound, Zed was becoming concerned. Did it take this long to find out how to create a planet? Perhaps Rudy and company had even convinced the Elw to recreate the planet, and were waiting for the process to finish before reporting back?

Eventually, Zed decided to convince a Adlehyde guard to go through the portal to the other dimension. The bewildered guard returned and reported that the party had left for the Forest Prison and hadn't come back.

Zed wondered what could go wrong in the Forest Prison. Maybe all the demons there weren't as friendly as he thought? Or maybe the group had tripped over a twig and have all broken their ankles. Whatever the case, it was clear they needed help. Zed decided he would go in and see what could be done.

It was hard, however, for Zed to convince his comrades that this was the best action. They argued that there was no known way out of the prison. Perhaps, they said, if Rudy and co. were rescued, they could convince the Elws to let Zed go, but this was unlikely. Zed's wife was also clearly against his going. Some demons offered to go in his stead.

"Friends," said Zed, "if the trouble really is that our comrades in the prison don't believe that the war is over, who else can convince them it is?"

This stopped the argument. Then one demon spoke up. "But sir, you mustn't go alone. I know who can help you!"

"I can fend for myself, mate." Zed responded. "There's no need for you to come with me."

"Not me!" the demon replied, quickly. "I heard that Master Boomerang had risen from the dead, and is running the Ancient Arena coliseum!"

"Indeed?" Zed said, quite dubiously. "Was Luceid also there, serving drinks in a tuxedo?" This was met with laughter.

" Luceid was there, without a tux," the demon said, indignant. " I saw them myself. So did other people." Heads nodded.

Zed pondered this turn of events. Should this be true, then what kind of assistance could he expect from Boomerang? He seemed indifferent to what the Quarter Knights ambitions during the war, but would he really take the other side? Zed decided to find out.

At the gates to the Ancient Arena, Zed was greeted by a polite demon.

"Welcome to the Ancient Arena, now under new management."

Zed, bewildered, walked through the arena. It was filled about two-thirds with humans, the rest were demons. Everybody seemed too preoccupied with the battles that were going on to notice.

Zed looked up at the throne room that overlooked the battle ground. Boomerang was indeed sitting there, with a crown on his head and Luceid at his side. Zed made his way up to that room.

"Boomerang?" he asked. Boom paid him no attention, nor did Luceid. "Hello, Boomerang?" he repeated.

Boom sighed and turned partially to face him. "You may refer to me as 'my lord.'"

Zed replied, "I will not. You aren't my lord. In fact, it may just be the other way around."

Boom faced him fully now and narrowed his eyes. "Who dares say so?"

"Don't you remember me? I'm Zed, the Quarter Knight's former lackey."

"Ah yes." Zed felt that if he had told him that it was snowing outside, he might have gotten a bigger reaction. "What is it you want here? You may place bets downstairs."

Fighting back irritation, Zed inquired, "Boomerang, are you at all aware of what's happened since your, er, death?"

A pause. "I must admit I could be enlightened further."

Zed told the whole story; the end of the war, the mantle of demon leadership being placed upon Zed (he ignored Boomerang's snicker), the wish for a new Hiades, and of Cecilia and company's latest quest.

A great interest of the last two events failed to appear over Boomerang's face, but his interest existed nonetheless. He glanced a second at Luceid, and the decision was made.

"You realize," Boom said solemnly, "that we will be warped instantly to the Forest Prison, unlikely to ever exit."

-That doesn't apply to me,- spoke Luceid. -I may come to the Prison and leave as I please.-

"We can't be sure of that," warned Boom.

-If not that, then what can we be sure of? Perhaps the Prison traps only demons and dog shaped Guardian traitors named Luceid, but why assume so?-

Zed sighed a heroic leader sigh. "I'm not even sure there is anything we can do, perhaps the party is in no danger at all, but a feel this may be the best way to achieve our goal."

"Not to mention," added Boomerang, looking at the ceiling, "scoring some points with the folks upstairs."

Luceid growled at this. -Funny how you only find religion when your own skin is at stake.-

After some teary good-byes, patriotic salutes, half-hearted reassurances and discussions as to who will be the next leader of the demons, the party took the longest step of their lives onto the transport platform in the Mound.

For a few moments they experienced the same thing Jack and co. did in their warping, but suddenly there was a dark red flash and a sudden change of direction, and Zed and Boomerang appeared a few metres above the Forest Prison ground.

"Ouch," said Zed after landing and observing the surroundings. "Where's Luceid?"

Boom concealed his slight worry. "She probably appeared in the Elw dimension version of the Mound. She'll find her way."

The forest appeared as it had been described to them. The two demons noticed they were close to the entrance of the prison. It was shiny and bright, and it looked out into the beautiful Elw dimension. Traveling through it would very likely feel like traveling through Hell into Heaven, the demons realized. Unfortunately, this they were unable to experience for themselves, as the way was barred by a forcefield that was like a solid plastic wall.

Soon, Luceid appeared and ran into the Prison. As a test, she also walked out and then in again. Then she was instantly on Hanpan and co.'s trail.

-They went this way.-

Along the path, nobody was found but the trail got stronger, and Boom noticed some footprints. A small crater in the ground was also discovered, it looked as if it had been created by a ARMs explosion.

Eventually they reached a large clearing. Here there were a great variety of footprints, among them some of considerable size. There were some spears and arrows on the ground.

Luceid gave her report. -I still smell the humans, but also some demons.- Her nose twitched. -I also smell something... very nice, but I cannot say what.-

"It looks like there was a battle here," Zed muttered. "I wonder who attacked first - our guys, or Cecillia and friends?"

"I wouldn't draw any conclusions yet," recommended Boom as he indicated one of the larger footprints. "These prints resemble ordinary paws, but no creature that size has paws, none that I know of, anyway. Perhaps demon and human were battling it."

Everyone paused a moment in thought. Then Luceid spoke.

-I can smell both the parties of demons and humans along this way. Their scent grows ever stronger.-

They continued their search.

Jack opened his eyes slowly. He felt a little groggy; Diablo had a real hard head. Upon checking his surroundings, he noticed he was inside. The walls and ceiling of this room were made of wood and mud. The whole place had a damp smell to it. He noticed he was lying on a pile of leaves, and that Hanpan was curled asleep beside him.

"Pss, Hanpan, wake up," whispered Jack as he nudged.

Hanpan half opened his eyes. "Hm?"

"Where are we?"

"Oh, you're awake." Hanpan yawned, then crawled out the door. "Hey, Cecillia, Rudy, Khatuke, Jack's awake."

"What, might I ask, is going on?" Jack asked.

Just then Cecillia and Rudy came in, followed by a thin Cerenian, which is normally a contradiction in terms.

"I em Khatuke," the demon said.

"Hello," Jack responded.

"How are you doing?" Cecillia asked.

"Quite fine thank you, though a little knowledge could do me good. How long was I out?"

Rudy informed him that the figure was about only six hours. Cecilia had also only regained consciousness recently as well.

Before Jack could ask for further explanation, Khatuke gave it to him. " 'U are in va demon dewelling in va Fahrust Prisun. We wescued 'u from Guarsien of Deceit." He had some trouble with human language, but the fact he spoke it at all showed that he had more cultural knowledge than most demons.

Cecillia interrupted him. "Which was awfully decent of you, considering what we did to you guys last time you were here."

Khatuke waved a dismissing hand. "All in va pasht. We musht try and forget."

Hanpan spoke up. "Now that we are all awake, what do we do now? Zed is probably wondering where we are."

"What we do now," Jack explained commandingly, "is get out of here and make those Elws tell us what we need to know, this time without listening to any lies!"

All agreed. Only... "I have tried using the Escape magic." Cecillia said. "I felt that it should work and that it was perfectly safe, but when I actually cast the spell, nothing happened."

"Eees Deeyablo. 'E not vant 'u to leave Prisun."

"What's up with that guy, anyway?" Hanpan asked.

Khatuke took a moment to gather his thoughts, then - "Fah lone time Deeyablo terrohize commoonity. As 'e tell 'u, ees job es to cause deceit. 'E esspecialy like to cause it among va races. 'E deceive 'umans to hate demons and vice-vohsa. Eees pahtly becose of 'im vat Eeyoos still saspeeshas of 'u. 'E make up lies and rumahs, make zem cohshas."

"So you're saying," Cecillia asked, "is that if we could defeat him, we would be able to win the Elw's trust?"

But Khatuke shook his head. "Pwabably not. Deestrust go back foh ages. But eef you deed defeat 'im, it be good foh all peoples." A gleam of hope appeared in his eye.

"Then that's what we'll do," stated Jack. "The only way out of here seems to be through him, anyway."

A demon suddenly burst into the room and started yabbering excitedly. Khatuke responded in similar fashion.

"What's up?" Hanpan asked.

The other demon went away and Khatuke faced the group again, bewildered. "Eet seem zat there are people 'ere to see you. Of all people, zey are-"

"Zed and Boomerang!"

-And Luceid.-

Rudy was first to ask what Boom and Luceid were doing alive, and bringing everybody up to date on everything took awhile.

Needless to say, B, L and Z joined the campaign against Diablo, as did a party of warriors from Khatuke's village. Though Diablo could be any where in the forest, the party headed for the northern exit knowing they would be stopped.

Suddenly Luceid stopped in her tracks. -I smell it again... that inexplicably nice smell...-

Rudy noted that it could be Diablo disguising his scent. Indeed, what appeared to be a tree slammed it's head into Boomerang.

Boom was knocked back a few metres but Luceid was already attacking. She bit Diablo leg, but with a hideous snarl he threw her off.

Zed leapt out and stuck his sword into the beast as Jack attacked with his Trump Card Fast Draw. Zed then wrestled his sword out. As Guardiens were spiritual beings, this didn't create the mess it normally would have, but Diablo roared in pain nonetheless.

He didn't get a chance to recover, either, as Cecillia blasted him with holy magic and the demons blasted him with spears. Rudy also tried his Phaser ARM, much to the dismay of a nearby tree. He gave up and began to attack with his sword. Boom and Luceid then got up, and continued the assault.

This continued for a while. In truth, Diablo had never really stood a chance against such an onslaught. But, as a last desperate move, he knocked Jack some distance away, and leapt away from the crowd. He then prepared to put Jack in his teeth.

Rudy, realizing that this was as good a time as any to see through deceit to find truth, he picked up the Arch Smash and fired. At first, nothing happened, then brilliant rays of light blasted out through Diablo, and he faded away. This drama was the habit involving the death of real bad guys.

Diablo's death was met with great celebration, especially from the Khatuke demons. Thanks to Cecillia's incredible healing abilities, there were no fatalities. The party decided to return to the village to rest. Nobody mentioned what was still on their minds, however: that they still didn't have a way to get the demons out of the Prison.

Cecilia rematerilised before the group.

"Well, I've warped out, and I've warped back. It seems Diablo was the source of the blockage, or at least the blockage that was blocking the warp spell."

"That's great," Zed said. "Now try it with us demons."

She did. Only Cecilia warped, the rest stayed behind.

As Cecilia rematerilised again, Khatuke shook his head. "We alveady try all zat. Eef zere ees exit at all, ees not 'ere. Only Eeyoos know."

"Hmm," Jack hmmed. "I doubt we will be getting much help from them."

Rudy suggested that perhaps Vassim would know. The estranged Elw scientist had helped the group before, and he appeared very knowledgeable.

"It might be our only chance," agreed Boomerang. He indicated the bored canine Guardian. "Take Luceid with you, also - not that she needs my permission to go." He amended quickly.

Vassim's lab was on the other side of the forest prison, and was easily warped to. As normal, he was at work with his studies. He was surprised to see the company.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. The group explained all that had happened, and what they had come for.

Vassim frowned. "Hm. That is quite the ambitious task. I don't know if there is any way to remove the barrier of the prison."

-Surely there must be some way. You haven't even heard a rumor?- Luceid asked, tensely.

"The only possibility I can think of is the island in the north-east," Vassim said. To Rudy's inquiry, he added, "Through my telescope, I have seen a building of some sort there. It looks quite ancient. It may have nothing to do with anything, but it is the only thing I can think of."

"It would be worth a try, I suppose," Cecilia mused. "But how will we get there? We would have to fly."

"Then fly we shall!" Vassim exclaimed. Nearby was something lying on the floor, covered by a cloth. "Behold, my newest invention!" he said as he unveiled the device. It was a crudely constructed flying machine, good for about six people, supported by two helicopter propellers.

"Will it work?" Jack cautioned.

"Yup! It can fly all the way to Tarjon and back. I've tested it."

"You're sure now?" Hanpan asked.

"It's absolutely safe, I can assure you. I will be on board as well; I have always wondered what is on that island."

Cecilia enthused, "Well, let's go!"

The wood and rusty metal vehicle was dragged outside and boarded. Vassim sat down in the pilot's seat. "All right, everyone, buckle up," he said, and everyone managed to comply, including Luceid with a little help. "Everything ready? Good, good. We're off!"

The propellers started to whirl noisily, and soon the machine was airborne. It was soaring away from the lab and heading northeast.

Cecillia looked down and saw the clouds below the floating continent. "I wonder what's down there?"

"I don't!" Hanpan spurted out. He was sitting in Jack's pocket, his hands over his eyes. "Watch what you're doing, Vassim!"

Despite Hanpan's concerns, the craft landed on the island without incident. There, the group could see the building Vassim had described. It was tall and towering, but it wasn't very wide or long. It was made from a brownish stone though except for a large square opening right in the top it was otherwise undetailed.

"It looks like it was built around the era of the first war with the demons," Cecilia commented.

Rudy suggested Vassim stay where he was with the craft, and the group approached the structure. As they got closer, they could see what was in the opening. Seated in it was a large statue of a bird, with wings laying down beside it. It looked not unlike a pigeon, save for the fact that it's beak was larger and more curved.

The group made the error of dismissing this "statue" as mere decoration, for as the got closer to the main door of the building, the bird's eyes began to glow blue, and then with a terrifying screech, it lifted it's wings and took off.

"What on earth...?" Jack inquired.

-It's a golem,- Luceid guessed with education. -When the Elws buried the weapons after their use was finished in the war, they must have kept this one to defend this place. Look out!-

With this warning, our heroes managed to duck just as the Air Golem swooped over their heads. Frustrated at missing, it shrieked and came about face in the air. The group was then able to notice that it had strange blue jewels for it's eyes, wing tips and belly button. From these jewels shining laser beams fired.

The party performed a dance to avoid these bolts, as Rudy took aim with his Rocket Launcher ARM. However, the clever golem had positioned itself so the sun would be barricading his sight, and Rudy barely managed to take one of the beasts eyes' out. Cecilia was not so hampered with her Valkrye spell; the sparkling coloured bulbs that raced forth never missed their mark.

Annoyed and hurting, the Air Golem took another dive. The crew ducked again, but Jack jumped to the side as the bird soared passed and hit it with his Magnum Fang technique, but all he got for his efforts from his target was a small cry of pain and a whack form the wing.

However, this gave Luceid time to grab onto the beast's underbelly. She hung on as the golem flew up in the air. Though her opponent was constructed of stone, Luceid's claws and teeth were very sharp, as she proved by reaching up and mauling the neck.

The golem was in pain, but as Luceid was out of it's angle of fire there was little it could do. Instead it decided to just let the wolf be, since it knew that Rudy couldn't use his ARMs for fear of hitting the Guardian, and though Cecilia's magic would always find the right target, she had to be careful not to do any thing to loosen Luceid's grip. Meanwhile it continued to assault the party below with it's lasers.

However the wolf-Guardian had plans of her own. With care and calculation, she leaped onto the golem's wing. Seeing how the wing continued to flap, Luceid had to be sure she kept her grip and her claws dug in. To her dismay her extra weight had not hindered the golem's flight, as she had hoped. Therefore she took a compromised risk by removing one arm from the bird and slashing it along the length of the wing.

The Air Golem cried out once more and Luceid slashed again with a hind leg. The wounded wing now stopped flapping, but the bird was moving faster then before. Downwards.

The golem's pathetic flapping of it's remaining wing ironically only slowed it's descent to give time for Luceid to leap back onto the ground from a safe distance and turn her head to view the Air Golem crash noisily into the ground.

The group approached it when the smoke cleared. It was now a deformed mess with parts everywhere. Cecilia was in near tears.

"Sniff... It reminds me so much of our poor Earth Golem..."

A moment of mourning passed for the innocent but reprogrammed heap that lay before them. When, Rudy, Jack and Luceid left for the building, they had to call Cecillia to follow them.

Inside the great building there wasn't much. It was completely silent, not even any water dripping, as one would have expected in a dungeon. However, it wasn't foreboding as there were rays of light shining through small windows.

It was a relatively thin building, but tall, and a large, swirling staircase reached into the heights. At the top, there was nothing but a landing and a strange glowing blue ball.

Above the ball was a sign saying, in Elw and Human, "Energy for Forest Prison. Do not break."

"All right!" Jack exclaimed. "We found it!"

Cecillia turned to Luceid and said, "I think you should have the honour, Luceid."

Luceid nodded, leapt up into the air, did a flip and came down into the ball with her claws.

The orb shattered and for a moment all was brilliant as the energy escaped. Once it was gone, Rudy pointed out that they should check on things back in the prison.

They ran back to Vassim.

However, as they flying towards the forest, Vassim pointed something out. "Hey, look! It seems there is a commotion at Tarjon." The group agreed to check it out.

When they landed, it took a few moments to figure out the scene that lay before them. They saw both demon and Elw running around with their hands in the air. It seemed that the demons were happy and excited, while the Elws were fleeing panicked from the demons.

Eventually Zed ran over, followed by the only two calm ones, Emiko and Boomerang. Khatuke could also be seen in the distance celebrating.

"Guys, I'd like to extend my most gracious gratitude from all the demons here for releasing us. Now we can all return to our families." He was overcome with joy, and even Boom wasn't staring so intently.

"But... there's still the reason why we came," Jack said.

Zed sobered. "Yes, there's still that."

Just then the chief elder rushed over, panic stricken. "All right! All right! We'll give you whatever you want! Just don't hurt me!...er, I mean us."

"You know what we want," Zed growled.

"Ok! All we need is memories of the old Hiades. Then we Elws can combine our might and make a new world."

The group and nearby demons cheered.

Emiko merely smiled. "Now, it seems, there will be true peace."

"Finally! A chance to catch up on some sleep." Hanpan crawled under Jack's collar and promptly started snoring.