Patrick: Nice of Mattimeo to let us use this lab. They must�ve got here before us. I wonder where Arden and Daltran are not though.
Crytos: I don�t know. Mattimeo must have been acting as a double agent.
Patrick: So?
Crytos: Who is he really loyal to?
Patrick: Good point.

Nar.: The door opened and Calia walked in. She was still groggy from being revived by the white mages, which gave her a tired look.

Calia: Hey guys. Have anything for a headache?
Crytos: No. Why?
Calia: �Cause I really don�t feel well�

Nar.: Calia�s face went pale and she fainted.

Patrick: Oh no! Calia!

Nar.: Patrick and Crytos rushed over to her. Crytos took out his smelling salts and put them under her nose. There wasn�t any response. Patrick checked her pulse.

Patrick: Well, she�s still alive. Let�s move her to the extra bed over there.

Nar.: Crytos and Patrick lifted Calia�s body and moved her to the extra bed. They wheeled the bed to the center of the room and placed it next to Morpheus�s bed.

Patrick: I wonder what happened�
Crytos: I don�t know� let�s put her into observation as well.

Nar.: Votor wandered through the halls of the castle, looking for a new sword to use. He opened the large doors at the end of one of the hallways and entered the room. The room held musical instruments, but one in particular caught his attention. In the center of the room, under a spotlight was the guitar of his dreams. It was an electric guitar with a transparent clear body and a light wood neck coated with plastic. The guitar had triangles marking the frets on the fret board that were white. Votor stared at it trancelike, with drool running down his chin. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve, walked over to the guitar and reverently picked it up. He held it in his hands and looked it over.

Votor: This is it!

Nar.: He started to play part of the song �Flame� by Hide.

Votor: �Dear my sun. Should I know how low and low? Dear my moon. Should I know ho low and low? Dear my stars hoshi no nage kikikeba Like a wind hon no chiisana koto darou��

Nar.: The room�s doors flew open. A man with bright pink and black hair walked in the room. He was wearing a green jumpsuit with black swirls on it.

Votor: Hide!
Hide: That�s my guitar.
Votor: I don�t think so�I found it.
Hide: Your point?
Votor: Well� if you want it, you�ll have to race me for it!
Hide: Alright�

Nar.: Votor and Hide climbed into two racing cars. They revved their engines, and then were off racing down the hallway.

Nar.: Tu�Qual opened his eyes. In front of him, was a blond woman with brown eyes. She was talking to another man, whom he recognized as his advisor Mattimeo.

Tu�Qual: Mattimeo!

Nar.: Mattimeo and the woman looked up at him as he tried to free himself.

Woman: Look who�s awake�
Tu�Qual: Who are you?
Woman: My name is Gabriella� And I have a proposition for you�
Tu�Qual: What?
Gabriella: In a few days, I shall be taking over Illyrium� and I was wondering if you�d help me.
Tu�Qual: What do I get out of this?
Mattimeo: Your life.
Gabriella: And rulership of that city in Trilanna� and your castle of the Crimson Moon.
Tu�Qual: That�s all? Who are you exactly?
Gabriella: I am the devil� your worse enemy.
Tu�Qual: How exactly are you going to take over?
Gabriella: For me to know and you to find out�Come with me.

Nar.: Tu�Qual was freed from his chains, and he followed Mattimeo and Gabriella into an adjoining room.

John: I can�t believe it. Calia wasn�t real?

Nar.: John paced back and forth in the small room. Luna watched him patiently, as she removed her cloak. The room was dark because the thick curtains were pulled shut to blot out the sun.

Luna: Well�I suppose it could be worse�
John: How?! She�s a completely different person and she�s going to marry that vegetable!
Luna: I guess you�re right�

Nar.: John stopped and looked at Luna.

John: This sucks.

Nar.: Suddenly, a car came crashing through the door. Its tires screeched as it attempted to break. It stopped an inch in front of John.

John: Hey! What do you think you�re doing?!
Votor: Sorry about that� Damn� I lost!
Luna: Huh?
Votor: I lost the guitar to Hide. Oh well.

Nar.: Votor walked out of the room without a second glance at the confused pair.

John: Riiiiight� Who�s Hide?
Luna: I don�t know.

Nar.: Morpheus looked around.

Morpheus: So this is my soul�

Nar.: The world had become a vast landscape. High above him, in a lavender sky four moons hung brightly glowing. Strange rock formations grew out of the grassy fields, each with a screen flying around it. Each screen played back at him some memory of his life. There were two types of memories. The ones he could remember clearly, circled gray and brown rock formations, while ones he couldn�t recall circled crystal rock formations. He walked up to a crystal memory. It showed himself as a little boy watching a baby being put into a basket by his father. Behind him, his mother stood, crying. He looked at a little card placed with the basket and half of a golden pendant. The card clearly said �Please take good care of our son, Sh�Doth Gasparte. We will return for him when the time comes.�

Morpheus: He�s my� brother?! How can this be�?

Nar.: Morpheus looked at another crystal memory. This one showed him being carried by his father to see his new baby brother.

Morpheus: What�? I wish there was someone I could�

Nar.: A hologram appeared to his right. It was of his mother and father.

Father: Hello son. I see that you have met up with your brother at last. We�re sorry that we had to block off your memories, but it was important that there be no evidence of your brother�s existence until he was old enough.
Mother: Sh�Doth is a special child, destined from his birth to save the world from its destruction. To accomplish this task, he may not survive, but he must survive until then.
Father: We�re counting on you son, since we are no doubt dead already. Beware those who seek to�

Nar.: The hologram flickered and disappeared.

Morpheus: What? No! Wait!

Nar.: Morpheus was alone again. He spun around and watched another figure appear. It was Calia.

Morpheus: Calia!
Nar.: Morpheus ran up to her and hugged her.

Morpheus: Thank god you�re here�
Calia: Another lie�? How could you�?
Morpheus: What?
Calia: I hate you! I wish you�d die!
Morpheus: Huh?

Nar.: Calia flickered and continued to speak.

Morpheus: You�re not real�

Nar.: Calia disappeared. Morpheus took a deep breath and looked around. Nothing. Morpheus looked around for a way out of this new world of darkness. A pinhole of light glistened in the distance, and from it, he heard music. He headed toward it.

Head Guard: What are you doing here?!
Daltran: Hi. I was wondering� Do you happen to have the keys to this cage?
Head Guard: Do you really think I�m that dumb?
Daltran: Hey, it was worth a try�
Arden: Are you sure you don�t want to give us those keys? It�d be really nice of you�
Head Guard: No! Now go back to where you came from.
Daltran: Damn.

Nar.: With that, Daltran whisked them off to another room in the castle.

Daltran: Now for the lock�

Nar.: Daltran cast a spell for a metal lockpick, which he used to free them. They stepped out into the room. The room was empty, so they left to find Morpheus.

Gabriella: Where is it�?

Nar.: Gabriella ran her fingers over Sho�s chest, frowning. She was halfway down his upper torso, when Sho grabbed her hands. He opened his eyes and looked at her.

Sho: Do I know you?
Gabriella: Where is it?
Sho: What?
Gabriella: The Golden Opal of course.
Sho: I don�t know, I�ve been dead the past day or so.
Gabriella: Dead? Dammit. I�m to late�

Nar.: Sho looked at Gabriella.

Sho: Who are you?
Gabriella: You�ll know when the time comes�

Nar.: Gabriella melted away into a mist and was gone. Sho looked at the hand that she had touched. It glowed red. Sho looked around him. To his left, Morpheus and Calia lay next to each other. Sho got up and unsteadily walked over to Morpheus. Morpheus looked paler than usual, and his skin had a waxy sheen. His breathing seemed a little shallow, but he was still alive. He then walked over to Calia. In the air between them, Sho could see a thin silvery thread connecting the two of them. It seemed to vibrate on a low frequency and he could hear a low droning noise in the still air around him. He reached his hand out to touch it, but it went through the thread without even disturbing it. He then looked down to see where it was coming from, but it didn�t seem to have any visible end. He looked at Calia. She looked like she was sleeping. Sho put his fingertips on either side of her forehead with the lightest touch that he could possibly manage so. He closed his eyes. Suddenly, he was hit by a wave of pictures and abstract raw emotion. He was thrown back and hit a wall. His body slumped to the floor, and that�s where he remained until the next morning.