Letting two girls go and fighting alone? Check! Recklessly charging to the enemy without thinking? Check! Socked in the gut by the knee of the enemy and sent another thirty miles away? Amazingly checked!

Zam has had experiences with being kicked or punched in the gut, courtesy of Chrissel and her aggressive attitude, but it was nothing compared to the one the dude just gave him. Zam clutched on his stomach. He almost barfed his breakfast.

It only seemed like a few seconds until Zam could hear footsteps walking towards his direction. Zam looked up and could see the boy casually walking towards him, a smug expression plastered on his face.

The boy had neat, soft black hair that was hanging above his eyes. His black cloak glittered under the moonlight as it swayed in the wind. His mouth was covered with a black mask, revealing only his deep emerald green eyes of his face.

At the sight of this, anger and irritation welled up inside of the vampire. Who does he think he is? Acting all cool and hot stuff there. Zam got to his feet and wiped the blood off of his mouth which he got from accidentally biting his own lips with his fangs.

The boy stopped about five feet away from him and gave him a mocking smile. "How long has it been? Eight years? Nine?"

Zam bared his fangs. "I don't recall ever meeting you."

"You've forgotten too much," The boy shook his head. "And yet that's because we haven't. Well, at least not face to face." He sheathed a knife from his scabbard and started walking towards Zam.

"Whoa, whoa. Time out!" Zam did his best not to look scared, his hands raised up. "You didn't even tell me what's your name first."

The boy raised an eyebrow and reconsidered this, then a thin smile crossed his lips. "You're right. It'd be an honor to know your killer before death consumes you."

He raised his knife up and the sky rumbled in perfect timing. Zam almost stumbled to the ground. "My name is Nash Stormrage, padrone of the D Batch of Eldion. And I'm to obliterate your foul existence out of here!"

Zam's blood-red eyes lit up. "Not happening." Thank goodness this guy was such a stupid dude. With all his introduction and all, it gave Zam enough time to recover and wrestle him. Zam's wings fluttered fast and he lunged for Nash, pinning him down the ground.

"Fool!" Nash scowled, his grip on his knife tightening. He tried to slash it at Zam but the vampire dodged it and slammed the weapon away. While his right hand did the work of pinning down Nash, Zam used his left one to take something out of his pocket: a dagger. Zam wasn't really one to use weapons and mostly depended on his vampire instincts, but he decided to give it a go.

Nash narrowed his eyes. "It's better if you join my batch than stay with those weak girls. Your father will not be pleased with your weakness."

Zam gave him a glare. "Those girls that you just called weak, are my friends, and they kick butt no joke." He rested the dagger on Nash's neck. "And how do you know about my father?"

Nash laughed coldly. "You're serious? You don't know?"

Just when Zam was about to swing the dagger right through Nash's throat, Nash's fist met his face and Zam stumbled to the ground.

"Ugh," Zam lay flat on the ground and put a hand on his cheek where Nash had punched him. He muttered a few curses under his breath. "Oh gods, Zam, you're such a weakling."

"Riezen, do it." Nash ordered.

Zam heard the wind make a shh sound and a girl mumbling, "Lord Stormrage is going to kill you for plagiarizing his name and face."

"Nonsense!" Fake Nash threw his hands up in the air. "My real name and real face are both too handsome to be revealed. Plus he was the one who told me to not reveal my identity."

"Such a gross imbecile." Riezen muttered.

Zam stood up and dusted his shirt. He cleared his throat. "Hey, um, guys, I don't mean to interrupt your love quarrel, but just wanted to let you know I still live."

Riezen pushed her glasses back and gave Zam an unpalatable look which made the back of his neck tingle. "Boy, you are a joke."

The girl who somehow appeared out of nowhere stood next to Fake Nash. She had dark violet hair which was tied up into a long ponytail. The ends curled down to her waist. Behind a pair of rimless glasses, her lavender eyes glinted stunningly under the touch of the night light.

"Oh, you're absolutely right!" Zam grinned. "I've got a few puns in store. Wanna hear one? Why did the chicken cross the road?"

Riezen raised an eyebrow at Fake Nash. "Is he talking about Alectryon?"

"He's talking modern Earth," Fake Nash scowled. "Now do it!"

Riezen rolled her eyes. "No need to be so rude."

The girl teleported in front of Zam, catching him by surprise. Once Zam looked straight into her eyes, he froze in place. Oh, no. Zam thought.

But before he could react, Riezen whispered, "Hush.. Go to sleep, boy. You have a full day ahead of you." Her lavender eyes were so mesmerizing, Zam had to fight himself.

Another Memory eidolon... Don't fall for it, Zam... Don't.. fall...

"It's useless to fight against it, son of Gad," the girl whispered. "You're too weak. Now join the D batch and leave those weak friends of yours."

What..? Zam thought. His head started to hurt.

Riezen put a finger on Zam's forehead and gave him a lukewarm look. "Sleep."

Zam's vision started to somber. He fell on his knees, still in a trance. Riezen's voice echoed in his mind, lulling him to a slumber. Fake Nash walked up to them and despite Zam's distorted vision, he could see the evil glint in his eyes.

Then Zam's eyes lolled to the side and he blacked out, plunging to another set of his recent memories.

* * *

"Your father was powerful and strong. He was above man and woman. A special gem," Betty said in a hoarse voice, straightening out the tuxedo she was preparing for Zam without knowing so. "Until a problem weighed him down on his shoulders."

She looked up straight into Zam's orange eyes with glowing white eyes. The bleakness of her gaze unnerved him. "Yet, you... what can you do? What can you do to help him and the world?"

"Wait, hold up," Zam was just taking in what this lady was saying. Was she crazy? Yeah, maybe. But a part of Zam told him that what she said was no joke, especially with the serious look plastered on her face. "You know my dad? He's powerful? Excuse me, what? Above man and woman?" He put a hand on his forehead. "Holy macaroni, I must be losing it. This whole Eldion thing, meeting Teacup Girl, and now I'm talking to some crazy lady. Yep. I'm totally losing it. Wake me up."

Momentarily, Betty shook her head. "Little boy, you must learn to see reality. And this," Betty-or the woman controlling her, rather-waved her hands up and gestured around the room. "is reality."

"What? Making tuxedos and dresses in a rundown cottage?"

Beside Zam, Chrissel shot him a glare and nudged him. Zam looked at her and she didn't have to say what she was thinking: Behave, or meet my shoe in your face.

Betty frowned. "The world is ending, Chosen Ones," Betty looked at Chrissel and Zam, though it was hard to tell with her no-irises glowing eyes. "Zam, your father has chosen you and several others. He was the one that brought you all to this world to help him."

Zam wanted to laugh. To make a joke out of it or something, like he usually does. That was how he escaped problems-through feigned joy and humor. But when some lady you don't know is talking about the world ending and your jerk-father-who-abandoned-you-and-you-need-revenge, it's not really a topic you could dodge.

He took a deep breath. "Do you mind explaining everything to me all over again? I kind of dozed off in the middle of it."

"Zam!" Chrissel glared at him.

"No, it's okay, Chrissel Yukizu." Chrissel flinched at hearing her full name. "I understand it's quite a lot to take in, so let me explain once more."

Chrissel gave Betty an intimidating look but she didn't flinch. "How'd you know my surname?"

"Like I said, let me explain from once more, including that."

Chrissel's eyes darkened. "You never explained how you knew my surname, and that was the first time you mentioned it, for your information."

"Calm down, Teacup Girl." Zam said, poking her cheek.

"Stop calling me-"

"Just let the lady talk, Chris!" The irritation in Zam's tone surprised him. And it must have shocked Chrissel too because she immediately shut up. Sure, Zam wanted the information about his father quickly, but snapping at his friend like that wasn't right. Zam glanced at her but she avoided his gaze.

Thankfully, Betty broke the tension in the air. She cleared her throat. "I can't stay much longer. My power is weakening. So I require both of your full attentions."

Chrissel and Zam nodded.

"Good," Betty put the tuxedo she was folding on a table beside her. "Nine years ago, the creator of Eldion walked down the roads of Earth-your world. He disguised himself as a normal mortal strolling on Earth."

"Wait, aren't Eldion and Earth two completely different places?" Zam asked.

"Yes, they are," Betty's eyes glowed with much less luminosity compared to earlier. "In fact, they are parallel worlds. Earth is just a planet inside the galaxy of Milky Way, which was created by the goddess Agape."

Betty started taking an amaranth pink thread out of a basket of sewing materials that was placed on the table. She inserted it on a thread and started weaving, um, magically. The needle weaved in the air by itself, slowly making what looked like the sleeve of an asymmetrical dress.

"How-" Chrissel asked, but was cut off.

"Magic." Betty stated with simplicity. Like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah, I can totally see that. But we were wondering how." Zam said.

"Eldion is an alternative universe from your universe," the needle weaved with fast speed as Betty focused on it. Zam guessed she was the one controlling it. "4,499,967,993 years ago, Gad and Kolasis, the ruler of the Underworld, had a fight. Their fight led them into bringing destruction to the universes. Agape was a goddess of the universe-"

"And galaxies were a part of universes," Chrissel guessed. "This Agape ruled the universe, so when she found out Gad and Kolasis destroying a part of Milky Way, Earth..."

"She got mad and, BOOM!" Zam snapped his fingers. "Destroys Gad and Kolasis."

"I can see why your father chose you two," Betty gave a faint smile. "And your guesses are close. She didn't destroy Gad and Kolasis. Gods and goddesses have an ancient rule that forbids them from destroying each other."

Zam frowned. "But... if they're not allowed to, then how were Gad and Kolasis able to, you know, fight..?"

"Correcting myself, Gad, Kolasis, and Agape were the first batch of immortals and creators," Betty let out a sigh. "Gods and goddesses don't have a rule in particular that prevents them from destroying each other, but the three of them did."

"Oh, let me guess," Zam's orange eyes twinkled. "Since the three of them were the first creatures slash immortals slash creators, they needed to have some sort of... weakness. Which, in their case, was a sacred ancient oath. That's where fairness started."

Betty nodded in approval. "Ah, you're smarter than you look."

Zam gave Betty a grin and fist-bumped his chest. "Lady, I'm like the famous sizzling genius in my school! Front cover, model of teen vogue." He flexed his non-existent biceps.

Beside him, Chrissel made a gagging gesture.

"Anyway," Betty lay her eyes on the needle, which now wove the top of a dress. "That sacred ancient oath marked the start of fairness, as Zam said. However, 4,499,967,993 years ago, Kolasis broke that rule. He was the god of the Underworld, always surrounded with despair and sorrow of the petty mortals that died. He wanted to rule the surface, Earth. But Gad was the ruler of Earth, and when he didn't approve, Kolasis went berserk."

Zam whistled. "I can see why he'd go cuckoo. 32,007 years is a pretty long time to live, if you ask me."

Chrissel gave him a confused look. "Where'd you get the, uh... thirty-two thousand seven, was it?

"4.5 billion is the theoretical number of years Earth has existed," Zam explained. "Subtract that by 4,499,967,993, and that equates to 32,007."

Chrissel narrowed her eyes. "Screw math."

"Yes, that may be the case," Betty continued. "Kolasis released the dead, and that's how mortals started seeing 'supernatural' creatures everywhere. How the third eye started. It scarred mortals for life."

"My great grandma has a third eye." Chrissel said, playing her hair with her fingers.

"Right. Now, Gad was the ruler of Earth, so of course he knew what was happening, though it took him a few weeks to notice." Betty said. "The mortals were acting strange, and a new emotion, fear, was made. The surface was only a place of positivity, so this concerned Gad. When he found out Kolasis did this, he went in a rage."

"Duh, if some dude put a bomb in my house, I'd send them away a thousand miles." Zam said.

The needle went to work with the pink thread, now creating the bottom of the dress. Betty glanced at Chrissel and Zam. "The two rulers fought and brought destruction upon not just Earth, but to the galaxy too. That's how powerful their magic is. It made the balance of magic in the universe off and the parallel worlds started colliding. Agape became furious about this. Although she is just one of the three, she was the very first that descended, and she created the universe, making her much more powerful."

Chrissel raised her eyebrow. "That kinda sounds like symbolism that women and girls aren't weak, doesn't it?"

Betty smiled. "In fact, it does."

"Gee, ladies. I'm totally feeling the love here." Zam muttered.

Betty continued, "But even with Agape's powers, she also has her own limits. Yes, she was able to fix the Earth back to its normal state, but the magic particles of Kolasis and Gad had already spread out throughout the universe, making other parallel worlds unstable. Eldion was one of those unfortunate worlds. 4,499,967,993 years later, which was 65,000,000 years ago, Eldion contained too much magic, making it collide with Earth."

"To the eyes of the mortal, they thought it was the cause of a meteorite, but they don't really know reality. The destruction of the magic may have taken billions of years to be triggered, but the impact was strong. The destruction was a sight to remember..." Betty had a wistful look in her eyes, and for a second, Zam thought he saw the face of a young girl, around her twentys maybe, then it reverted back to Betty's.

"You've... been there, before?" Chrissel asked.

The lady just smiled, as if the answer was too much of a pain. Yet, Zam kind of understood that feeling. Just talking about his mom who has passed away gives him a heartache. Zam didn't, and still doesn't, know what was the cause of her death. Sometimes, some memories just aren't meant to be shared.

As for his father... well, who cares? He was a jerk for leaving him alone at such a young age.

"But I digress," Betty's expression turned serious. "We were talking about the creator strolling down the roads of the Earth nine years ago, yes?"

Chrissel and Zam nodded in unison.

"Yes, he disguised himself as a regular mortal when exploring Earth,"the light in Betty's eyes started to flicker. "He wanted to make sure his creation was doing well, and even with the second oath he made with Kolasis to make up for the destruction he made billion years ago, well, he wasn't taking any chances."

Zam raised his hand and Betty nodded to his direction. "I thought Agape made Earth. You know, since she's the goddess of the universe, and Earth was a part of the solar system and whatever."

"Well, technically, he is the creator and ruler of all planets. But Earth was the main one, since it had life in it," Betty explained. "Kolasis, however, rules only one Underworld, which was Earth's. This is because Earth was the only one that had life source, and if there's no life, then there is no death. Death is the only reason Kolasis is here."

Zam and Chrissel glanced at each other like, How long is this story? They both just shrugged and looked back at Betty.

"Anyway, when Gad explored, he met a woman."

Chrissel squealed, her light brown eyes sparkled in delight. "Ooh, this is leading to some love story, isn't it?"

Zam smirked. "How cute. Didn't know someone aggressive as a man could be so girly."

Chrissel rolled her eyes. "Haha. Funny how a midget can have such a loud voice."

"Whatever."

"Okay," Betty coughed. "So he met this woman and, well, Chrissel Yukizu guessed it. He fell in love with her. Which was a conflict."

Chrissel's eyes widened in shock. "How is love a problem?!"

"Love is always a problem," Zam muttered. "It comes and the next minute you know, it ditches you like a roller coaster ride."

"You sound like you've been dumped many times." Chrissel smirked.

"Shut up, Teacup Girl."

"It was a problem because Gad was immortal," Betty explained. "And the woman he fell in love with was mortal. Obviously, she has to die soon. And it wasn't just that. Gad was a creator and ruler. He has lived for billions of years. He should know better than get involved with a woman."

"Wait... if that happened twenty years ago, then their child, assuming they did have one, is still alive?" Zam said.

Chrissel looked at her golden rings-which apparently turns into a pair of blades that she named Twin Swords. "And if they had the child three years later... that child must be sixteen."

"Like me and Chrissel." Zam added.

"I'm seventeen." Chrissel said.

Zam blinked in surprise. "You're... older than me."

Chrissel then muttered a curse under her breath when she realized she revealed a personal information. "Yeah. I get the talk I look between thirteen and sixteen, so please, don't be one of those people."

An eerie smile crept on Betty's lips which made Zam feel uneasy. "The child does live today. And Gad wasn't the only one that had a romantic involvement with a mortal."

"Oh, please," Chrissel narrowed her eyes. "Don't tell me that Kolasis fell in love with the same woman. I just loathe love triangles."

"No," Betty shook her head. "Kolasis fell in love with another one, coincidentally at the same time Gad had. Their sons were born at the same year though in different months. Later on, Agape found out about this and became infuriated. She felt like a third wheel and like a servant-being the ruler of the universe and all. Instead of blasting them to bits, she gave them both new assignments, which was to rule the world of Eldion."

"Wow, harsh." Zam muttered.

"It wouldn't have been a problem for both if they weren't involved with someone," Betty let out a sympathetic sigh. "But they were, and so they had to leave their family, otherwise Agape would replace them with new creators."

Chrissel frowned. "If the three of them were the same batch and the so-called fairness was invented, then how does Agape take control over others' life? That's just not fair."

"Good point, girl," Betty nodded. "But like I mentioned earlier, Agape came in first before Gad and Kolasis. She was the creator of the universe. That's where the betrayal begins."

"Wait, what about the sacred ancient oath they made?" Zam asked. "Was that a fib?"

Betty smiled sadly. "The goddess later on revealed that the sacred ancient oath was just a random idea she made. She has control over everything, even the two powerful gods. Treachery already existed before that, but it became an even larger influence ever since."

"I'm guessing that everything those three do reflects on how the, um, mortals act." Zam felt weird referring to his own kind as 'mortals.'

"Yes," Betty said. She looked at Zam, the flicker in her eyes continuing. "Zam, you are a unique, kind, and smart person. So is your father, and he would never abandon you, know that."

Suddenly, everything that Betty was saying seemed to make sense. Like a set of scattered puzzles, fitting themselves together. "Are you saying..." Zam's voice faltered.

"Gad is your father, boy. And he needs your help," Betty said. "Kolasis had turned against him for the second time, and he can't do this alone."

It might have been Zam's imagination, but it seemed like Chrissel inched away from him like he was a serpent.

"But... what about my mom?" Zam's voice quivered.

The glow in Betty's eyes started to dim. "I do not have much time, Chosen Ones. I must take my leave."

Chrissel stared at her. "You didn't even tell us who you were."

"I'm just a memory eidolon, dear," Betty smiled. "Just another creature from the Underworld that was forced to serve Kolasis. I sensed the similar blood of Gad, and I am glad I followed it."

Before Chrissel or Zam could say another word, the glowing light in her eyes died down, and returned to Betty's usual grey ones. The needle with the roll of pink thread fell along with a pink amaranth dress beaded with sequences on her lap.

Betty gave them a flustered look. "Er.. did you say something?"

Chrissel glanced at Zam who, surprisingly didn't have any negative expression plastered on his face. He grinned at Betty and Chrissel. "Nah... Let's hit that Eldion festival!"

A stinging feeling of pain struck him in the chest as they readied themselves for the event.

* * *

WARNING: This chapter may give you some familiar sickness called Mental Abuse To Humans.
Beep-beep-beep.
Oops, too late to warn you on that. I'm sooo sorry... not. :]Ah, this chapter was so complicated (but aren't all of my chapters like that?). I had to research some science and math stuff. Ugh. Even my weekends are haunted by education.
Not complaining though, I love math. And I especially love learning about astronomy. (You guys know I'm a fool for astronomy... assuming you're a stalker/friend. Lolol)

Peace out~