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The silence in the room was overwhelming; no one could say anything as they sat in silence around the unconscious black dragon. What they had seen was unbelievable...

They had just seen one of their friends almost shoot himself, one get captured, and one become a monster...

"Would anyone like to break the silence?" Holi said quietly. Kane huffed.

"This has all happened so fast," he said. They all looked at the clock on Bezimen's wall.

"Few hours ago Teya was taken," Darrow grumbled. "Then Cyllea."

"And not to mention something else I still have no idea how to even begin to comprehend," Holi whispered, looking at Eve. She looked at Dameon. "Did you ever see that before?"

"When he wakes up, he's the one to tell you," Dameon said quietly. "Not me."

"Dameon! If you know anything then it's your duty to tell us!" Holi looked up at him. Kane grunted in agreement. Dameon looked at Darrow questioningly.

"Well, if he's gonna tell 'em eventually," he said with in a gruff tone. He sat up in his chair and looked around. "We uh...we saw him do...that...before. When we fought Dirge. After Cyllea...yea..."

"Died?" Holi asked. Kane looked around warily.

"Died?" he asked in disbelief. "Like as in death died? Meaning she had no pulse? She's a zombie?"

"Not quite," Dameon said. "Dirge sorta...broke her neck. But now she's alive...so are my children..."

Holi looked at Dameon in wonder. He looked back at her and nodded.

"Yea...I don't know how it happened and I can't explain it at all. But I just know that it did happen and if that means my children live then I don't care about knowing it," Dameon said with a shake of his head. He pulled his hood back, his shiny metal skull gleaming like a polished helmet.

"So she's a zombie?" Kane asked again. Dameon looked annoyed.

"Not a zombie...she just came back. A zombie is an empty corpse, Cyllea still had a soul when Eveser resurrected her," he explained. "Like I said I don't know how...I couldn't do it before my children died. That's a godly power, resurrection is a form of magic that either the extremely powerful or the absolute divine may wield. Not a machine or a dragon."

"So then how did you two use it?" Holi asked.

"I...don't...know..." he reiterated his point very clearly. There was a grumble from the couch...

The whole group rushed over to the dragon.

Eve dreamed again...he dreamt himself again in this world of blackness...

"Eveser Dimonis," the usual voice spoke to him as though it were right next to his ear. "Vessel of Bahamut."

"I'm tired of this!" he cried. "I demand to know! WHAT ARE YOU?!!?"

"The time is not yet right, Eveser Dimonis," the voice said. "You must wait until you are ready."

"I AM ready! Tell me NOW!" he screamed.

"The time is not yet right," it responded. "Upon our being we swear to you all will be revealed soon. Once you have faced the Most Dark and realized will the time be right at last. Have faith Eveser Dimonis!"

He opened his eyes slightly, looking around at a room full of concerned faces...and Dameon who Eve could only assume was concerned. He blinked a few times and then smiled.

"What'd I miss?" he asked. Holi smiled and stroked his cheek. Everyone else backed off and let him regain himself, helped him sit up slowly so as not to disorient him.

"Where's Cyllea?" he asked. Darrow patted him on the shoulder. Eve looked bewildered for a second then came to reality...

"Oh...right," he said sullenly.

"Eve we have a lot to talk about," Kane said. The black dragon sighed.

"What about?" he asked. There was no emotion in his eyes as he spoke...completely devoid of anything. He was about to speak again when there was a clanking noise and the group turned to see Bezimen's wall open once again. The insect stepped out of his workshop once the doors opened carrying a small briefcase. He looked triumphant.

"Eveser! You're awake! Wonderful, how are you feeling my friend?" he asked politely. Eve smiled lightly.

"Been better Bez," he said. "What's in the box?"

"What you have asked for," he said with a click. He held the briefcase out to his friends, allowing each of them to look inside. In the case there were six small earring-looking devices, modeled after studs. They were in pairs of two. Small, metallic, with what appeared to be speakers housed in the body. They each took one a pair, except for Dameon, and looked at them funnily.

"Are these the null frequency emitters?" Kane asked. Bezimen nodded.

"Try them on!" he said excitedly. Everyone looked at eachother for a minute before clamping the small, magnetic studs into the lobes of their ears. Dameon looked around.

"What about me?" he asked.

"You do not have ears," Bezimen said. "So Bezimen has made a different form of device for you!"

He chimed as he pulled out a small grey thing with a strap on it. He handed it to Dameon.

"Strap it to your wrist," Bezimen instructed. Dameon did so and pressed the only button on the device. There was a low humming for a second and then a sort of heaviness hovering in the air around them. Dameon's eyes turned bright blue.

"That's it!" he said happily. "That's it! That's the frequency!"

"Ahhh Bezimen what would we do without you?" Kane said and gave the large insect a warm embrace.

"Let's see Grimlock try and pull his mind tricks on us now," Holi said with a laugh and hugged Dameon.

"We have no time to lose," Eve said, rising and stumbling for a split second before regaining himself. The rest of them stood up and headed towards the door. All but Bezimen. Eve turned around and looked at him.

"Bezimen? Aren't you coming?" he asked. Bezimen rubbed his claws together, looking down at the ground then back up at Eve.

"The battle zone...is not a place for someone like me," Bezimen said with a small smile. "I prefer to remain here."

Eveser stepped up to him and put his paw on his friend's shoulder.

"You've done more for us then we should have asked you for, my friend," Eve said with a smile.

"And you will always be welcome here, all of you," he said, looking around at the rest of the group. They all smiled and nodded happily.

With one last smile they all turned towards the door and walked out. The midday breeze was warming as the sun had begun its slow descent behind the horizon. Eve looked out over the city with determination in his eyes.

"Cyllea," he thought. "I'm comin' for ya baby..."

"So where do we start?" Darrow asked. Eve turned to Dameon.

"Well Dameon? You were a bad guy...how does one go about tracking down the current ultimate evil?" he said with a smile. Dameon chuckled.

"Do you mean to say that my position has been filled?" he said, his eyes deepening in color light-heartedly. Holi rested her head on his shoulder.

"Not for long," she said, licking his cheek. He reached up and stroked her chin with his cool metal claws, making her blush.

"To begin," he said suddenly, stepping forward. "We're gonna need some more equipment."

"Where would we get it from?" Kane asked.

"The old Behaku Palace," Dameon said. "I had a stash there with some rather useful items we could use."

"That sounds like a good idea, maybe we can find something to deal with this thing?" she said, pointing at the bracelet. Dameon looked at it with a grumble.

"Oh yea...forgot about that," he said gruffly. "Well I guess we'll have to get it off somehow eh?"

"But how?" Darrow asked. "We talked about this before...but we still didn't figure any way to get rid of the damned thing!"

"Wait! I'd had an idea before Grimlock took Teya a few days ago," Eve said. "I think I made sense of it!"

"Well?" Dameon said happily. "Let's hear it!"

"Ok," Eve said. "The curse says 'let one who loves you be your plight'. A plight is a bad situation, right? Well, what's the worst situation you can imagine? A choice between your love...and your powers..."

"What are you saying?" Dameon asked.

"Who is the only person that thing has reacted to? Who's the only person who loves you Dameon...?" Eveser asked. Dameon looked down at the ground and at Holi, unsure. Eve smiled. "Exactly..."

"So Holi's the only one who can open this thing?" he asked. Holi held her hand over her heart and stepped back.

"Me?" she asked. Dameon looked between the both of them. "But I'm not magical...I don't have any powers that could..."

"You don't need to," Kane said, starting to understand. "Whether you have powers or not you only need to love Dameon...that's all it'll take!"

"Precisely! Why else would it shock you and only you?" Eve asked. Dameon's eyes turned a shade of purple.

"A defense mechanism!" he said in shock, turning to Holi. "It's trying to keep you away! It makes perfect sense; the Carnians didn't even feel love, they'd have no idea how to break the curse!"

"But...I..." Holi stepped back, looking unsure. "What would I have to do?"

"Well...that's where my insight trails off..." Eve said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I imagine you just have to pull it off?"

"The Eye," Darrow said. "Maybe the Eye is what's holding it together?"

"That's good thinking! So if you can break the Eye then the bracelet comes undone!" Dameon said with a smile. He turned to Holi. "Baby...this is it!"

"I don't know if I can," she said hesitantly. "I don't want to be the death of you if we're wrong..."

"You'll be the death of me if we don't try," he said reassuringly, holding her cool hands in his. "Please...just try..."

"I..." she looked into his artificial blue eyes. She looked unsure for a second and let her gaze drift down to the ground. Then her hands squeezed over his and her eyes shot back up to stare at him. "Alright."

"Yes!" Dameon said happily. "Everyone stand back! I don't really know what'll happen once my powers are released..."

"Well, what do I do? Just pull it off?" Holi asked.

"Pull from both sides of the gem," Dameon said and held his arm out to her. The Eye glowed brightly, pulsating with its eerie green light. Holi nervously reached out for the thing and went to grab it. With a flash, it sent off another arc of electricity that made her jump and recoil in pain!

"Ouch! Dameon..." Holi said sadly.

"It's the only way..." Dameon said, looking at her lovingly. "Please...for Kerrigan and Dexter..."

She looked like she was about to cry for a second, then shook her head and adopted a new personality. Her features grew hardened and she set her jaw as she reached for the bracelet once again. As expected she felt the stinging pain of the electricity surge through her hand and she drew back, if only for a split second before lashing out again!

She wrapped her claws around both sides as the sparks leapt forth from the Eye's failing countermeasures. The pain in her hands was enormous, but she couldn't stop, not while her babies needed her...

She gripped the two sides as tight as she could and strained as she started pulling in opposite directions. Dameon felt a strange surge of cold immediately rush through him, like naked skin exposed to cool air. He could see Holi's face contorting in pain as she pulled and pulled as hard as she could.

She groaned from the effort, but didn't stop for a second...

The Eye was getting weaker...its self-defense mechanism was doing nothing to this creature that gripped it. Dameon swore as he looked at the crystal that he could see the reflection of an inhuman pupil darting around desperately...

Small cracks began to creep their way across the frantic gem's surface...

Holi felt it too, incredible power bursting through her muscles.

With a scream and a final, powerful yank, the Eye shattered into bits and a huge pillar of green light erupted from Dameon's wrist into the sky!

Holi was blown backwards, landing with a thud on the ground as she gently cradled her raw and damaged hands. Kane rushed over to her and covered her with his wing to protect her.

The cool feeling Dameon had felt suddenly became hellishly hot! It burned through every cell in his body; he couldn't help himself as he cried out in complete agony!

The green light enveloped him as small arcs of green electricity coursed over his body, wrapping him in a cocoon of energy!

His screams drowned out all sounds besides the powerful electrical noises. Everyone watched in awe...

His screams became deeper, sounding less artificial...

They actually began to sound...organic...

The light began to dissipate, swirling and becoming more of a fading tornado than a pillar. In the center they could see someone, but...it wasn't Dameon...

He was hovering above the ground by a few feet and lashing out wildly at the green energy, furiously slashing with foot-long black claws! His hair was equally wild, long and black, flowing like a river of oil across the tempestuous winds! The creature had skin, dark reddish-beige with ornate tattoos running all across his arms and chest. He was buff, a muscled, beefy-looking creature as well! His arms were large and defined and his chest was inhumanly ripped! The black hair swirled about his face, concealing all...

The tornado began to die down, the creature still slashing and hacking at the passing energy arcs and the green light that semi-surrounded him. His razor-sharp claws cut it like paper, letting it fade away on the wind until finally he plummeted to the ground, hitting with incredible force and laying still.

The group was petrified. They had no idea what the hell had just happened or what the hell to do!

"Eve..." Kane asked. Eve looked at him and held a finger to his lips. He began approaching the creature slowly.

It lay in a fetal position, unmoving save for the deep breaths its chest heaved with. Those claws had to have been at least a foot long and looked like they could split a bone in one slash. Eveser moved ever closer to it...

"Dameon?" Eve asked. The creature gurgled and shuddered slightly. It was completely naked in the cool breeze that ran along its skin. "Dameon? Are you alright?"

Holi stood up and began walking towards the creature as well. Eve motioned for her to go back, but she shot him a stone-faced glare and pointed for him to step away. With a surprised look on his face, Eve stepped away...

"Dameon?" Holi asked quietly. The creature grumbled. "Dameon? Baby?"

She took a few steps forward and kneeled next to the shape of the strange beast. She gently ran her damaged fingers over the creature's shoulder. It shuddered for a second...

Without a moment's notice it shot up with insane speed! It grabbed Holi and pulled her against its chest with one arm. It snarled savagely at the others, its face now semi-revealed.

Its mouth was full of conical teeth, like pikes embedded in his jaw. The tattoos ran up its neck and stopped at his chin. The skin of its face was the same shade as its body, but slightly lighter.

It growled viciously and raked its claws in the air, still holding Holi to its chest protectively. Holi looked up at it and gripped its powerful arm which it had wrapped around her.

"Dameon!" she said forcefully. It stopped and looked down at her.

"Let. Me. Go," she ordered. The creature snorted and then released her with a cautious claw. She stood in front of him, as tall as she could make herself, trying to look as strong as she had the ability to at that point.

"Dameon...that's your name, remember?" she said slowly. The creature looked at her funnily.

"Dameon..." it said. Its voice was incredibly deep and demonic.

"Yes! Yes, that's YOUR name," she said, taking a few steps towards it. "Remember? Remember my name?"

"Holi..." it said slowly. Holi looked excited and walked closer to Dameon.

"That's it," she cooed. Dameon shook his head, closing his eyes tightly. "Just be calm...we're your friends!"

"Friiiiieeeeeeendsssss," the word rumbled out of the malevolent maw. Holi finally reached him and looked up at him lovingly.

"There you go..." she took his hand. He was the same height he was before, but bulkier for obvious reasons. "Do you remember him?"

She pointed to Eve. Dameon made a sound resembling a scoff, and then rolled his eyes and looked down at Holi as though he assumed she was treating him as a child.

"Dragon," he said. "Friend!"

"Good...good," Holi said happily, stroking the back of his hand. "And them?"

"Tiger," he mumbled, looking at Darrow. Then he turned to Kane. "Gryphon..."

Dameon put his other claw to his head and pressed gently against his temple.

"Dameon Swade...Carnian...no more..." he said quietly. "I am Dameon Swade..."

The last sentence came with complete clarity, with his usual voice if a little less mechanical...

"Dameon!" Holi said and leapt at him! She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, beginning to cry softly. The others rushed over to him and stood behind Holi.

"Welcome back," Eve said with a smile. For the first time in Eveser's entire life, he saw Dameon smile back...

"I'm...whole," he said with a larger smile. "Skin...sensation...smell, sight, touch, taste, heartbeat, lungs, blood! I'm alive!"

Dameon held up his claw and watched his green energy familiarly curl around his palm like a snake. He smiled happily.

"My powers are back," he said. "I...didn't hurt anyone did I?"

"No," Kane said with a smile. "We're all fine...a bit curious, but fine!"

"So this is what you used to look like?" Darrow asked.

Dameon smiled. His voice had returned to its normal pitch by now. "I...never thought I'd ever see myself like this again...god I feel so much stronger!"

"Now that you don't have to regenerate, you have access to your full power," Eveser explained.

"I've never known myself to be this powerful," Dameon said in shock.

"Well, you learned some new things during your time as a Behaku Lord," Holi said and gripped his hand tightly. "You have more than you started with."

"I just hope I can use it for the right purposes," Dameon said, looking at his hands. He suddenly shivered and looked down, clearing his throat. "So...it's getting a bit chilly out here for some of us..."

They all laughed.

"So why don't we make our way back over to Bezimen's place and ask for some clothes?" Eve suggested. Dameon smiled.

"Actually, I think I might want to do this myself," he said, his palms beginning to glow green. He opened his hands wide and held them to his chest. There was a flash of green light and Dameon removed his hands. There were two hand-shaped metal plates where he had placed his hands.

Before the group's eyes, the plates spread and grew and moved like rippling liquid over Dameon's naked body. They took the form of the familiar armor he had worn in his fight with Seros the first time...his Skeleton King's armor...

In an instant, the metal took its form and was complete. It shone in the moonlight, his black-metal armor, completely flawless.

There he stood.

"There we go!" Dameon said happily. "Now then everyone...shall we continue with our plans?"

"I think we should deal with some more pressing matters first..." Kane said from behind him.

"Like wha--" Dameon turned around to see Kane standing next to Holi who was cradling her burnt and broken hands. Dameon's face took on an emotion...sadness...

"Wow, that's the first time I've ever seen Dameon feel anything..." Eveser said to Darrow. "I mean actually SEEN him feel anything..."

"Holi," Dameon said, stepping closer and kneeling down before her and holding out his claws. "May I?"

"Dameon..." she whispered. She knelt, delicately holding her hands out to him. He took them tenderly in his black-clawed hands.

He closed his eyes and his hands around hers ever so gently.

"These hands that toil, day and night," he chanted slowly. "Lay broken in the cold moons light. But through my will, unto each one, let the damage be undone..."

With his final words he blew into his closed hands. There was a whisper through the air, like some homesick geist whipping through the breeze. When he unclenched his claws, Holi gasped.

Her hands were perfect...like the burns had never even been there!

"Dameon...I," she began, but was silenced when he pressed a claw to her lips.

"I owe you many more," he said, standing up. She tucked herself into his side and held him tightly. "Now then gentlemen, I presume there's nothing more important than that. Shall we?"

"To the Behaku Palace?" Darrow asked. "Are you sure it's safe?"

"Ask her! She's been living there," Dameon said, pointing to Holi.

"Well? Are they safe Holi?" Eve asked.

"If I remember correctly I disarmed all the traps and shooed away all the nasty vermin...or ate them..." she said with a wink. Dameon petted her head with a smile.

"I knew there was a reason I stayed with you," he said. Holi jokingly elbowed him in the ribs.

"So, let's go home for a bit hm?" she said with a smile, wrapping her arms around Dameon's waist.

"Agreed," he said and held her back, taking care to avoid her with his claws.