The Darkness From Below
Part II
(Opening Theme-"Battery" by Metallica)

    Cecil held Rosa in his arms, savoring the feel of her cool nakedness 
against his skin.  They had just made love for what felt like the thousandth 
time during their honeymoon, and it was still as sweet as the first.  Now 
they were resting, Rosa's long blonde hair falling across the pillows in 
golden waves.  
    Suddenly, a massive glowing portal appeared in the middle of their bedroom.  
Rosa had barely enough time to cover her bare breasts before Rydia tumbled 
out of it, landing in a heap on their floor.  Another two feet to the right, 
and she would've landed right on top of them, which would have been rather 
awkward, to say the least.
    "Rydia!" Rosa cried, rushing to her friend's aid, her nakedness forgotten.  
As she helped the sorceress to her feet, her eyes could be seen-huge and 
shimmering with fear.  "What's wrong?"
    "Demon …" she mumbled, eyes wide and staring.  "He … he took my best … 
and he SAT UP … killed Leviathan and … and … Asura …"
    "What?!?" Cecil exclaimed, getting to his feet and quickly donning his 
underpants.  "We were barely able to take out those two seperately!  But he 
took them BOTH on?"
    Rydia shook her head numbly.  "Not … not a fight … he … sl-slaughtered 
them … and all the D-dwarves … too strong … had to … W-warp out …"
    "Hush, hush now," Rosa said, laying Rydia's head on her shoulder and 
stroking her hair.  "It's alright.  You're safe now."  She gently led her to 
a chair, which Rydia sat in, clutching at the arm rests.  She was now shivering 
in fear.  "She's in shock," she said to Cecil, while she went off to get some 
clothes on.  
    "Easy, Rydia, easy," Cecil soothed, taking her shoulders in his hands and 
forcing her to look at him.  "Now tell me … this demon … what was he like?"
    Shakily, slowly at first but with increasing speed, Rydia told him.  She 
described how he had destroyed her adoptive parents, and then shrugged off her 
strongest attacks like they were nothing.  Then she told them about his 
subsequent destruction of the Dwarven army, and his assault on the crystal 
chamber.
    "He was huge," she said.  By this time she had calmed down enough that 
she was reasonably close to normal.  "He was as tall as Rubicant … his skin 
was a dark purple, and he had these huge black claws on his fingers … and he 
had two enormous bat-like wings on his back.  And his eyes …" she shuddered.  
"It was like he could see inside me, could see my greatest fears and use them 
against me.  And at the same time … it was almost like there was something 
inside me, calling to him …"
    Rosa, who had dressed into her battle robes, looked at her husband.  
"Zeromus said he would live on … could he be back?"
    Cecil shook his head.  "I don't think so.  If it was Zeromus, why would 
he go after Rydia first?  Why not me?  I was the one that allowed us to defeat 
him, after all."
    Rydia also shook her head.  "It wasn't.  I could tell.  This creature was 
something completely different from Zeromus.  Something even more powerful and 
evil.  And I think he'll be coming after me."
    At that moment, the ship lurched.  The sound of a hundred boards being 
broken all at once filled the air, and the Valkerine began to fall.

******************

    The massive airship plummeted towards the Earth, smoke billowing out of the 
gaping wound that had not been there a second ago.  It fell almost five hundred 
feet before plowing into the trees of Baron, which, fortunately, the airship had 
happened to be flying over at the moment of impact.  It landed in a skid, and 
after ramming through a hundred acres or so of trees, it finally came to a stop.  
The ultra-dense ironwood used in the construction saved it from being shattered 
in the crash, but it would never fly again.
    In the bedroom, it was chaos.  Furniture had been thrown about wildly, and 
the three heroes within were rather battered (Rydia even more so than before).  
Rosa was currently slung over the fallen vanity table, holding a rather large 
gash in her forehead.  She mumbled "Cure", and a white aura flared dimly around 
her, closing the gash.  Rydia had landed in a corner, and was rubbing a bruise 
on her right arm from the impact.  Cecil was nowhere to be seen, until he 
staggered out of the side bathroom.  
    "What the HELL was that all about?!?" Cecil cried indignantly, once he had 
caught his breath.  
    Rydia's eyes were wide open with horror.  "It's him …"
    Cecil immediately snapped to action, grabbing his armor and his Crystal 
sword.  Rosa also grabbed her equipment, notching an arrow into the beautifully 
crafted bow.  Rydia hung back, trying to muster her aura back up to workable 
strength.  Together they cautiously made their way to the deck.
    The ship had landed mostly rightside-up, with a slight tilt to the right.  
Cecil emerged first, followed by Rosa and Rydia.  They warily searched for their 
attacker, but saw only dense forest on three sides, and a huge trail of 
destruction behind the ship.  Carefully, they made their way down the side of 
the hull to the ground, making sure to avoid the splintery boards that jutted 
out from the sides.  When they reached the ground, they stood close together, 
searching the darkness of the woods for any sign of what had brought them down.  
The stars gleamed down on them icily, Old Star to the north and Old Mother to 
the south.  
    Suddenly a blast of crimson energy seared directly over Cecil's head, close 
enough to singe his white hair.  He ducked, and the blast exploded against the 
side of the ship, sending splinters of wood flying everywhere.  The three heroes 
whirled in the direction of the blast, weapons at the ready, searching for whatever 
had caused it.  The woods were now dead silent, like the silence before a great 
storm …
    Another blast suddenly tore out from the right, ninety degrees away from where 
the first one had came.  It blasted into the ground not two feet from Rosa's foot, 
sending superheated chunks of dirt and burning grass up into her face.  She cried 
out and jumped backwards, almost knocking over Rydia in the process.  They quickly 
huddled back-to-back-to-back, trying to look out on all sides. 
    "The bastard's just playing games with us …" Cecil whispered, clutching his 
sword so hard his knuckles were turning white.  
    Suddenly, there came a wooden groan from the ship.  They turned and watched 
in horror as the crashed ship began to rise, first straight up, then at an angle, 
raising … raising …
    "It's him!" Rydia shrieked, pointing to the point at which the ship pointed 
towards the ground.  Clutching the enormous ship in both hands was Oni, purple 
muscles bulging, eyes burning with crimson light, claws sunk deep into the ship's 
rudder.  He looked at them and smiled.
    "Odd how we keep running into each other like this, isn't it, Rydia dear?" 
he rasped, bringing the ship directly up over his head.  His eyes flashed, as 
his muscles tensed …
    "LOOK OUT!" Rydia screamed, her green aura flaring brilliantly as Oni used 
the wreckage of the ship as a massive club, bringing down its titanic tonage 
down upon them …
    "FIRE4!"
    An enormous fireball suddenly flew out from Rydia's chest, impacting 
explosively with the massive ship-turned-club of the Valkerine.  It vaporized 
the upper thirds of the ship, so that the now heavily-splintered remains of the 
ship crashed harmlessly into the ground five feet away from the heroes.  
    Cecil and Rosa looked over at Rydia.  The Fire spell had never been THAT 
powerful …
    Oni, in the meantime, was nonplussed at the destruction of his massive club.  
Tossing its remains to one side, he formed his axe and began to stride 
purposefully over to the heroes.  He pointed a clawed finger at Rydia with his 
free hand.  "She's mine," he snarled.
    "The hell she is," Rosa retorted, pulling back the arrow and firing it in 
one super-quick, fluid motion.  It flashed through the night air like a ray of 
light, flying towards Oni's heart …
    And the demon caught it effortlessly, less than an inch from his chest.  
He held it out in his hand, and looked snidely at Rosa.  He then snapped it, 
letting the two halves fall lightly to the ground.  "Care to try again?"
    Cecil then charged the demon, oblivious to Rydia's cries of warning.  
He held his shield close to him in one hand, and swung with the Crystal 
sword with the other …
    Oni countered with his massive battle-axe, batting the attack away as 
though a child had made it.  He then attacked with a vicious sidestroke, 
which Cecil was barely able to counter using his shield.  Smiling grimly, Oni 
waded in, throwing blow after thunderous blow at the paladin, Cecil barely 
parrying each time.  Finally, the shield shattered after a tremendous overhead 
smash, and Oni brought the flat of the axe crashing against Cecil's head, 
sending the dazed knight to the ground.  Oni raised his axe for the final 
blow …
    "WHITE!!!"
    Massive white balls of holy energy suddenly swirled around Rosa, before 
combining and streaking towards the demon.  They blasted the unholy creature 
with purity from all sides, making him scream in agony.  He thrashed about, 
clawing at his chest, trying to make the burning energy escape.  When the spell 
finally died away, Cecil saw his chance.  Drawing the Crystal sword back, he 
thrust the blade through Oni's leg, piercing the flesh and causing black blood 
to gush out over the blade, bubbling and hissing.
    Oni bellowed in pain, and threw his head back.  He suddenly screamed out 
three words, as blood-red power flowed around him …
    "CRIMSON HELL SURGE!"
    Suddenly a blast of red lightning surged out of the sky, pouring into 
Oni's body and surrounding him with necromantic energy.  From the pouch at 
his side came a sudden flash of light, as Oni was surrounded by an orb of 
crimson power.  It exploded out, knocking the sword out of his leg and all the 
heroes down in a wave of burning energy.  Rydia, who was already extremely 
battered from her last two battles, was immediately knocked unconscious, 
falling limply to the ground, her emerald armor tarnished and dented.  
    Completely healed by the surge of power, Oni stalked over to the green-
haired sorceress, red electricity still crackling around his massive muscles.  
Grabbing Rydia by the hair, he yanked her up, then looked down at the other 
two heroes, who were still trying to get to their feet.  He sneered, flexing 
his clawed fingers.
    "Another time, fools … for now, I have what I came for," Oni snarled.  
A column of black fire suddenly exploded around him, as the demon blasted his 
way back to the Underworld.  As quickly as it arose, it disappeared … and 
Rydia was gone.

******************

    "No …" Rosa cried, staring at the spot where Oni had disappeared with 
their friend.  "No!  No, no, NO!!!"
    "Damn that demon …" Cecil growled, trying to comfort his new wife.  "We had 
him beaten, and then …" He trailed off, gently caressing Rosa's hair as she 
cried on his shoulder.
    After awhile, she stopped, and looked up at him with a dangerous glint in 
her eyes.  "We've got to get that son of a bitch before he kills her," she 
growled.
    Cecil nodded.  "But there's no way we can do it by ourselves … we'll have 
to contact the others.  Rydia is their friend, too …"
    "I shudder to think of how Edge is going to react …" Rosa muttered.
    They stood together like that for some time, holding each other in the 
moonlight.  The honeymoon was over.

******************

    "Ooooooh …"
    Rydia opened her eyes slowly, trying not to think of the aches that covered 
her entire body.  She looked dazedly around her, trying to surmise her surroundings.  
The first thing that she noticed was that she was chained upright to a wall, her 
arms and legs bound spread-eagled by cold metal restraints.  The second thing that 
she noticed was that she was stark naked.  On the heels of that was the realization 
that despite her lack of clothing, she was hot.  Which meant that she was back in 
the Underworld.  But where?
    Trying to ignore her embarrassment at being bound nude, she looked around 
her.  She recognized the technology immediately; she was in the Tower of Bab-Il 
again.  This was where they thought they'd lost Yang … and where they'd faced 
Rubicant for the first time.  While she was no less frightened, at least she 
knew where she was.
    "Ah, hello my little sorceress …" Oni said, entering from the hallway that came 
out from the small round chamber she was chained in.  He was in his human form, and 
was clothed in a light suit of chain mail.  He smiled darkly at her.  "So glad you 
could join us."
    Rydia struggled in her bonds, as she tried to tap into the magical power that 
she had been able to use since she was a little girl.  Nothing.  For some reason, 
she was completely unable to access her magics.  Oni smirked.  
    "I thought you might try to escape, so I used the Tower's technology to create 
an anti-magic field around you," he explained.  "After all, we can't have you 
taking something the wrong way and destroying my new fortress, now can we?"
    Rydia just snarled at him.
    Oni smirked as he opened the pouch at his side, and pulled out the Crystal.  
He held it up to her face.  "There are seven more of these in this world," he 
said.  The Crystal pulsed softly as he spoke.  "Where are they?"
    In response, Rydia spit in his face.  In a moment, the demon's face became 
hateful, and he promptly punched her in the stomach.  She tried to bow over, 
but the restraints held her fast.  She gasped in air, trying to keep from 
retching.  Oni looked at her, eyes burning.  He reached out and grabbed her by 
the cheeks, pushing her head against the wall and looking deep into her eyes.  
"Now, bitch …" he snarled.  "Tell me!"
    "Never," she whispered, which was all she could do.
    "Never, eh?" Oni replied.  He smiled … and began to change again.  His black 
hair grew longer and became a light gray.  His eyes changed from red to green, 
and his face became much more handsome, a lady-killer smile stretching across his 
face.  Rydia's eyes grew wide, as she saw Edge suddenly standing before her.
    "Hello, babe," he said, smirking in the way that so infuriated her and drove 
her wild at the same time.  "Long time no see, eh?"
    Boldly, he reached forth a hand, and gently caressed Rydia's bare breast.  
She moaned instinctively, as the nipple hardened underneath Edge's rubbing thumb.  
Smirking, he moved his face to her neck, and lightly kissed it.  He then moved up 
to her ear, and whispered into it.  "Now, my love … the Crystal?"
    She stiffened.  Her eyes flashed in anger as her head suddenly snapped forward, 
and bit into Edge's shoulder.  Hot blood bubbled out around her teeth as she pushed 
her jaws for all they were worth.  He yelled in pain, and violently wrenched her 
breast.  She cried out as pain exploded in her chest, allowing Edge to pull away.  
His eyes had gone from green to red again, and he quickly changed back to his true 
form.  Edge was gone; Oni was back.  He swung his hand in a vicious slap that rocked 
Rydia to the right, a red imprint already appearing on her cheek.  She glared back 
at him, a small drop of blood trickling from her nose.  She was grinning defiantly, 
his human form's red blood on her teeth.
    Oni was enraged.  Grabbing her by the neck, he slammed the back of her head 
against the metal wall.  Stars exploded and flared in her vision, then cleared.  
He placed his face less than an inch from hers, holding her by the neck to 
prevent her from biting him again.  They could have kissed, if that was his 
intention.  He then took her already offended breast in his other hand, and 
squeezed.  Hard.
    Rydia screamed as loud as she could, both in pain and to try to get him out 
of her face.  Instead he just snarled, and loosened his grip on her bosom.  
"Now … will you tell me where they are, or do I rip it off?"
    Rydia shook her head, defiant to the last.  Oni smiled grudgingly.  Most 
humans would have crumbled by now.  Moving his face away from hers, he then 
took his other hand away from her throat and put it on her other breast.  Black 
flames began to crackle over his arms and chest, and sparked from his eyes.  
Despite where his hands were, there seemed to be nothing sexual about what he 
was about to do …
    Black flames poured out of his arms, surging through his hands and into 
her exposed body.  Rydia screamed in agony as the flames ripped into her, 
burning her from the inside out.  Wave after wave of Hellfire blasted her soul, 
smashing through her mental barriers like paper.  The pain was huge, indescribable; 
the pain was the world; she was burning, burning …
    Finally Oni wrenched his hands off of her breasts, obsidian flames still 
crackling in his hands.  She dropped limply against the shackles, blood 
trickling from both her nostrils now.  Her abused breast was swelling, bruised.  
She was barely conscious.  
    Oni took her head in his hands, making her look into his eyes once more.  
The look of defiance was completely gone, replaced with cowed fear.  "Now …" 
he whispered, almost kindly.  "The Crystals.  Or I do it all again until you 
*do* tell me."
    Whimpering, cursing herself for her fear and weakness all the while, she 
told him where to find them.  Oni listened, nodding, occasionally asking a 
question as to the exact location of something.  When she had finished, he gently 
put an hand around her neck, then pulled back the other hand, fingers clenched 
into claws …
    And then plunged it into Rydia's chest, where it disappeared as though she 
were just an illusion.  Her eyes widened for a moment in surprise, then grunted 
and jerked forth as Oni yanked his hand out, something gauzy and pearl-white 
held in his hand.  It stretched, stretched … and then snapped out, causing 
Rydia to utter a final, horrifying shriek, and then fall limp against the 
restraints.  Oni held the quivering soul in his hand, considered … and then let 
it go, allowing it to float swiftly upwards to whatever awaited heroes in this 
world.  
    "Rest in peace, warrior," he whispered, then turned to the still-breathing 
shell.  Taking a bit of her blood on his fingers, he traced the sigil of the 
Malebolgia on her forehead.  Then, holding the corrupted Crystal in his hands, 
he began to chant …

To Be Continued …