I had returned to reality. A single black tear fell from my left eye and rode down my cheek as I smiled. I summoned a blade of light to my hands, but this weapon was far different than my typical longsword. My light sword bore the image of an old two hander. I gripped the weapon close and stared at Genesis as he powered up. As silence began to invade, we charged at one another. This was the final round of the most brutal training of my life. I did my best to dodge the power filled punches of Genesis’ Child of Eden form. I leaned my head to the side as I saw a straight heading right towards me. In that moment, I ran my light blade through Genesis’ gut and twisted it, pulling the sword out through his side. The wound regenerated as quickly as blood spilled from his body. Genesis kneed me right in my stomach, forcing me to choke on the air I breathed. His hand grabbed me by the shirt collar and launched me towards the wall. I was helpless as I watched him practically fly past me in the blink of an eye and intercept my hurtling body with a devastating kick. I hit the floor hard and tumbled a few feet further from the force of the kick. My body shook as I struggled back to my feet. Genesis immediately dashed right up to me and attempted to land another devastating punch to my face. I quickly swung my blade out and sent Genesis rocketing towards the ceiling. I swiftly raised my palm upward toward the ivory sky and unleashed a massive surge of light energy. Genesis was engulfed by the blast and slowly began to plummet towards the floor. He quickly corrected himself and landed on his feet, kicking off towards me. I dodged his attacks and cut into his shoulder. Blood sprayed onto my face as my blade cleaved into flesh. Genesis pulled away, taking my sword with him. I quickly recalled the ethereal blade to my hand and twirled it a few times to show off. Genesis was getting a bit infuriated with my newfound ability.

"I won't bow to you yet!"

"You will! And then you are going to tell me everything, Genesis!"

I swung my sword right at Genesis throat. In that split second, Genesis caught the blade in his hand and crushed it in his grasp. I leapt back and fired another blast of energy right at Genesis. Genesis struck his hand out and summoned a Mind Gate, using it as a shield. He rushed out from his barrier once the blast dissipated. He threw a straight toward my jaw, which I bobbed out of the way of. Genesis quickly caught my dodge and tackled me to the ground. I wrapped my legs around the Child of Eden and flipped him up and over my body, slamming him into the ground. I pulled back and rose to my feet, summoning my sword to my hands. Genesis ran at me as my blade came down towards him. I cut into his arm as he drew closer.

"Fuck!" He flinched as blood was pulled from his veins on the edge of my sword.

He brought his foot up towards my cranium and tried to sweep through. I managed to duck and run my sword through his femur. Genesis cried out through clenched teeth as I stabbed his leg and pulled the weapon free. Genesis was limping for a few moments as he tried to regenerate. All I had to do was lay my weapon against his throat to get him to finally back down.

"You are going to tell me the truth right fucking now!"

I pointed my blade down at him. Genesis merely looked up at me, trying to think of a way out of his predicament. There was none. I left him without options. He sighed to himself and reverted back to his normal body. Just as he was about to speak we were so rudely interrupted. Terra came bursting into the training room in an almost panicked state.

"Guys! You need to come see this!"

*****

Goose had been called up to Lockhart’s office. It had been quite a while since Lockhart made his presence known to us Demons, but in the privacy of his office he had been hard at work strategizing. Goose sat in a comfy leather wingback seat as Lockhart regaled him of a new lead to aid in the fight against this new threat. A lead that was anything but expected.

"I’ll cut to the chase. We received a message."

"Who’s it from?"

"It would seem that it was sent by the Ministry."

Goose seemed to be a bit taken back by the mention of such a group. He leaned in closer to the desk as he stared into Lockhart’s more than blissful eyes.

"Are you sure about this. We don’t exactly see eye to eye and I doubt Nina is making that any better."

"They wouldn’t have contacted us if the situation wasn’t as dire as it is. You heard what Genesis said after the raid. The Rabbits are in control of the police and soon they may even worm their way into the remaining seats of the City Council, if they don’t just flat out destroy it."

Goose sighed as he leaned back, pulling his hat down slightly over his brow.

"What do we tell the Demons?"

"Enough to convince them, but for our sakes we let the Ministry do the talking."

"With all due respect sir, this is so fucked up."

Lockhart gave a simple nod as his expression turned grim.

"Believe me, I know. Someday, they’ll learn of the true cruelty of the world they now live in. But, not today."