Now finally, explanations.....(Part 2)

(Author's Note: this is a reprinting from episodes: 3056, 3058, 10170, 10180, 10184,10186

Then, a sudden respite from the flames was felt by Lord Frederigo. He was somewhere else, and by the third stone of Dunkirk, he felt whole. Slowly, he opened his eyes, relishing the feeling.

Looking at the room about him, he saw it was built of carved obsidian, intricate and dark. The carvings took the form of angels and demons, though it was not certain which was which in some of the places. At various places, symbols, both sublime and blasphemous, adorned the walls.

Standing before him was a cloaked figure, its robes adorned with symbols much like those he saw on the walls. Slowly, it glided towards him, stopping about a yard from where he kneeled.

It drew back its cowl, and he saw it bore a woman's face. Her head was shaven, and a symbol that was an insult to the heavens was branded into her forehead. Frederigo felt his stomach churn momentarily as he noticed her mouth, which was stitched shut with a leather thong.

The glyph on the woman's forehead pulsed, and Frederigo heard a voice in his head. Several voices, actually, speaking in unison.

Does it please you to feel the suffering cease?

Frederigo was not sure how to respond.

"Ye...Y...Yes. It does."

What if we told you we could make the suffering go away forever.

"That...That would be wonderful..."

Would you do...anything, to make the suffering cease?

"Anything..."

Excellent. Then, Frederigo, what we require of you is a task...

Frederigo shakes his head, wondering what he was thinking, and comes to his senses.

Meanwhile, the elfin heart of Astra is still reaching out throughout time (piggybacking on the very process that Myridden had been trying to use in his search of a timeline to use) and reaches forward.....and finds Fred.

Frederigo shakes his head, wondering what he was thinking, and comes to his senses. That is, kind of.

Slowly, but with growing force he begins to.....giggle in delight as a warm, soft, wild and fey feeling invades his heart! It fills him, and for a brief mad/sane moment.....Fred's eyes are unbound and he sees through the absurdity of it all.

He laughs and glares at the demoness....as the room shifts and changes back to the very place that he'd been. Astra is nowhere to be seen (yet a small part of Fred's benumbed mind and heart whispers that she's right here with him.....somehow). At the demoness' feet lays the charred and smoking corpse of the Mage/Scientist Vincent Priceless, as well as Bobo. Fred finds a small part of him is sorrowful that the befuddled man (though not the gorilla creation) is dead. As horrible as what Vincent had done in "repairing" Fred, the young knight knew within his heart of hearts that the eccentric old man meant well. Indeed, he'd even tried to undo the damage (only to die from whatever magical backlash that had done all this). The backlash had killed Vincent and Bobo. It had teleported Astra away to somewhere far away (but some part of her was right with him.....). It had also brought forth this very demoness, who'd found the unconscious (but restored) knight and had tried to trick Fred into damning himself with a pale imitation of Hell (Fred shudders at the thought of what the REAL thing must be like)!

Fred does not know how he knows this, but he knows!

For a brief moment in time, as Astra's heart reached out and ensared his, his human senses are augmented to rival that of an elf.

Elves are more alert....more aware of the reality around them than their human brothers. Thus is why Fred is able to see the falsehood that the demoness (?) had tried to use in her attempt at getting Fred to damn his immortal soul!

The apparent demoness pauses in consternation as she senses the ruse has been revealed. Her/his master will be less than pleased. RF isn't the most forgiving of demons.....

The demoness drops her disguise, and a eerily familiar man appears before the laughing Frederigo. The man appears strong and solid, but shows signs of his skin being ravaged by some strange plague! As for the face.....that is hidden behind a leering brass mask!

Despite the fact that Fred can't see the face, his eyes widen as he suddenly "sees" who this monster is.

It is himself....but not himself. An evil, twisted version of himself!

The Brazen Man quickly raises his hand to end this fools life and perhaps find something else to appease his master when Fred's sword seems to fly out of it's scabbard of it's own accord and slices through the protective magical shield.....and the demon's black heart!

This Fred's sword is a magical sword made of a certain metal that only Allarians know how to make. This Fred himself had used his skills will apprenticed to a dragonsbane metal smith and had forged the sword with his own hands. Then he'd had his mage brother, Dredrick (who was skilled in magic....but a bit odd in a strange fascination with fire) enscroll the sword so it would slice through the spells and wards of dragons. The magical sword, combined with the quasi-mystical nature of the metal dragonsbane, is enough to slice through the twice dead man's spells......and end the fell creatures life!

That is....with the help of an unexpected arrival.....

A magical backlash travels up the sword and knocks Fred unconscious as the Brazen man falls to the ground. He feels himself dying and makes a fumbling attempt to heal himself before the wound catches up with him (while vaguely berating himself for being complacent with this toy). He might have been able to even save himself, if another swipe from behind hadn't finished the job started by Fred.

The Brazen Man's mask leers up at the demon who's claws dispatched him from behind. The Demon (the form for today), licks his claws and savors the blood.

"With just a hint of plague.....I like it," the Demon smiles at his sour looking comrades.

"If it wasn't the fact that the Norms were making a bid for instituting her mythos onto the entire multiverse.....I'd go and lay in your department's corrections handling facility before I'd ever work with the likes of you!" The Elder Rule grinds out, disgusted with the Demon.

The others look at him strangely. A Rule passionate about something? Showing feeling?!

"OH, for crying out.....don't you people read the interoffice paper?" the Rules mutters before they disappear again.....with their trophies.

Seconds later, as the ground begins to shudder as an earthquake of strange origin begins to shake the mage's tower.....Fred's unconscious body disappears.....and he awakens someplace else.

Myrddin looks around yet again to the featureless room, at a loss.

His Visions foretold NOTHING of this.

Nothing at all. The seer was scared, to say the least.

His charge, Astra (he'd tried to Rename her Moria....only to be told in a tight and annoyed voice to buzz off) was still too enthralled by this young man who'd appeared out of nowhere.

Human and elf where in a molten embrace, kissing and whispering softly to each other.

It was more than a bit silly to see in Myrddin's eyes.....that and annoying! The young man wouldn't even look over to answer his questions!

Nothing was what his visions said they should be!

The mage is sulking when Fred and Astra finally come out of their love besotted condition enough to actually be "sober" enough to actually acknowledge the mage.

"Uh.....sorry," Fred began, embarrassed at his behavior. Astra joined in.

Soon names are exchanged and stories told.....and all three of them are looking at each other wide eyed.

Fred had been tortured by a demoness, fooled into thinking he'd been in Hell and she'd rescued him for her own dark purposes (re: Only the touch of Astra's heart to his own saved him from doing a horrible thing, Fred admitted ashamedly. He swore to the wide eyed (and loving) Astra that he was in her debt and was in love with her....if only she'd have him. The incongruity of this elf/human relation didn't matter to him in the least.

Astra, having been changed into an elf to save her very existence, told him that she loved him and everyone had a breaking point....and saw that while Fred ALMOST succumbed to evil.....he hadn't. Fred was still very much the noble man. Her heart knew it and she knew it! She then tells the tale of how she'd gone into a magical grandfather clock and been stripped of her Anchor and cast adrift in time. Her very existence was in danger so Myriddin had attempted to change her to Anchor her. Fred was thankful for the mage for that, but his heart sank as to what Astra found she couldn't do with his father, Charles D'Honair.

"Dangerous to tamper with time," Fred sighed, "But brave for trying, my love."

Astra smiled....then frowned as a fact made itself known to her.

"Mage, I thought you said I'd have my old memories as well as my analogous sister's memories," she begins, noticing Fred start at that....and then look over at Myrddin was....keen interest (and possible hostile intent....if her heart was reading her love correctly). "It was the only way, Fred!

"But I only have my own memories.....despite this change," she says, waving her hands at her new body.

The mage look sighs, and says he has no idea why this is.....why she is still here......

".....why we are even in this place.....wherever it is." The mage says wearily, at a loss.

Fred has a million question still. The top one being is "How can this time paradox be happening?"

Astra has a few like that, herself.

He apparently doesn't need to wait long, for......

Fred and Astra blink and point as two figures suddenly appear.

"I have message that will explain," the Angel begins and pauses as Fred and the others drop to the ground and kneel.

Rule 4 makes himself invisible to the mortals as the Angel solemnly imparts his message to the ears of the mage and the young loving couple.

The gist of the message was that the Mage had been negligent in his duties.....squandering his gifts of Vision. The stunned seer was told, in no uncertain terms, that his gift of Vision was not an anchor to a fated death. Rather, it was a means to avoid it. Avoid it, and do some good for his nation.....his people..... the world. He was to go forth and aid Charles D'Honaire in his quest to kill the of the Southern Caverns AND the vile Dragon Mage known as Minestus!

"Your Mentor fed you lies and heresies because he was of the Cult of Fate," the Angel tells the wide eyed Mage, "Remember and heed these words: 'No Fate but what we make for ourselves!'"

Rule 4 chuckled softly, and silently, at the borrowing of the very words that John Conner gave his father to tell his mother in The Terminator! He wasn't malicious by nature, but sometimes it was so very FUNNY how certain phrases can be used....and how mortals would groan in consternation if they only knew..... how many of their most solemn phrases in the "Terra sector" were sometimes from recycled shows and such.

Indeed, eyes were rolling on Terra Prime at each new discovery......

The elves aren't aware of that....yet..... but will laugh as well in consternation and humor....also.

"But....what of them," the mage finally manages to say in a quivering, fearful voice as he points to Astra and Fred, who look rather interested in what this change will do to THEM!

"We will spare their lives and make them whole when the time line they are from changes....and time orphans them," the Angel says softly, "We have need of them. Now go."

The mage disappears without even a noise, and the human and elf look fearfully up at the divine being before them.

"What would you have of us?" Astra manages to say respectfully. Warrior princess she may be, there was no pulling rank on beings like heavenly hosts!

"My part is done," the Angel says softly, "'Tis his turn, now."

The Angel disappears from view and Rule 4 comes into view.

Calmly and quietly, Rule 4 gives the same sales pitch as his Chaos counterpart did to his Champion rectruits. He even shows the same "video" that encapsulates the job being offered, as well as introducing one of the Champions they'll probably meet from time to time.....

Basically, the elves repeat verbally what they saw in the "recruiting video" as seen in episodes 10184 and 10186....

Rule 4 ends the show, and the others blink and are suddenly floored by what is actually being offered here. They each are being offered to become a Champion!

Unlike the other offerees, they had heard stories and legends of it. They'd heard ballads sung of the heroic deeds done by Champions.

It was a dream come true and they jump at the offer before the Rule can even make it!

See, the Rules and Agents are careful in who they pick (when they get the chance). They approach people who have a certain.....spark.....a seed within them that could burst forth into a Hero! A person who loves making a difference. Saving the day. Righting wrongs and all that good stuff.

The transformation of a mortal into a Champion is a process that feeds that desire, and makes it bloom..... and makes the Champion forevermore love being what they've become.....it suites them....and it helps the Rules and Agents out when they need help with certain problems they can't handle by themselves for various reasons.

1. The two would be Champions stagger as they feel the room spin.