Regis skipped through the cold, steel walled, subterranean corridors beneath the Arcturus Estate. With a childish grimace plastered upon his face he galloped gleefully down the long halls. His cheerful prancing finally brought him to a massive metal door at the end of one of the many labyrinthine tunnels. Regis looked up at the towering metal doors before him. The word "Grigori" was spelt out upon the gateway in massive iron letters. Regis' cheery grin turned to a mischievous smirk as he thought to himself how to get the door open.

"Step aside Regis."

Regis turned to see Lazarus approaching the door. He clenched his fist tight and threw a punch at the metal gate, blowing a hole in the massive steel threshold. Regis applauded Lazarus' efforts and approached his comrade with a kick his step.

"Nice one Lazarus! Remind me never to get on your bad side."

"Noted. Now then, let's get what we came here for."

The chamber the two pale men entered was massive. Wires and cables were strewn about the place in a dark web of technological significance. Every wire traced back through the web to a single, towering machine placed in the center of the room. It was a monstrous piece of hardware, its purpose as well as its origins were completely unknown. A terminal was hooked up to the machine right in front of Lazarus and Regis. The two men approached the monitor and Lazarus cracked his knuckles in preparation. Regis sighed to himself and sat on the floor as Lazarus began to type away at the keys. He was searching for something, something that was incredibly important not just to him, but the city as a whole.

*****

Terra and I searched through the rubble of the Arcturus Estate. As we navigated the field of soot soaked lumber and stone, we finally came across it. A metal box, with a metal door. It was the only thing that managed to survive Nina's immense power as she laid waste to the old mansion. As Terra and I approached the small metal hut, Genesis and Reaver caught up with us. As I perceived their approach, I turned to face Genesis.

"Why are you here?"

"To make sure you don't get yourself killed."

"And what about him?" Terra interjected whilst pointing at Reaver.

"Temporary alliance."

I sighed to myself, accepting the explanation for now as I turned to open to the door to the deep. Genesis put his hand on my shoulder glared at me.

"I hope you know what you are looking for down there."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means-"

Genesis suddenly stopped mid-sentence as a peculiar sound reached his ears. It was a repetitive sound, like a wave hitting the shore. It was steadily paced and getting louder and closer. He turned to face the bridge and looked out to the horizon. There he saw the source of that noise. Before us was an army, an army marching across the Estate Bridge. I turned my gaze to the bridge and witnessed the sight with my own eyes. An immense force of strangers wrapped in black shawls and wearing cartoonish rabbit masks.

"No way… There's more of them!?" I cried out as I summoned my blades.

"You've met them before!?" Genesis asked back at me.

"They attacked me before I could make it to the Ark."

Genesis unsheathed his blade while Reaver summoned forth his wall of Mind Gates. The swordsman shouted back to us as we all saw the masked army draw near.

"Get inside! Now!"

"Wait! Genesis, what the hell is-!" Terra shouted back.

"You'll get your answers later! All I can tell you is that you can't let the enemy get their hands on what's buried in the Estate! Now move dammit!"

I grabbed Terra by the arm and bolted for the door. I swung it open and threw Terra inside, while I followed behind. Terra threw a punch at me, angry that I had the guts to drag her like that.

"What the fuck Heaven!?"

"You heard him! We have no time!"

Terra sighed and calmed herself, but only slightly. We carefully descended down the dimly lit, cement staircase that the door led us to. The stairwell would lead us to the deep underbelly of the Estate. The place where Evo City's dark origins were kept.

*****

Regis rocked side to side as he sat cross legged on the floor, his boredom reaching paramount levels. Lazarus continued to type away at "Grigori's" terminal whilst Regis began to sing a soft melody to himself.

"Could you please stop that? I am trying to focus," Lazarus beckoned.

"Then hurry up. It's so boring down here."

"Shouldn’t be boring for much longer" spoke a new feminine voice entering the room.

The two pale men both turned and saw Terra and I standing in the doorway. Regis smiled at us and waved gleefully. My eyes, however, were locked on the man at the terminal. I recognized him instantly. He was there at the Ministry Square attack. He was the one with the powers that couldn’t be explained. Through clenched teeth I began to speak as I focused on a single object in my mind.

"You. What the hell is going on here? Who are you!?"

The man turned and sighed to himself. His vivid red eyes sent shivers down my spine as he looked upon the two of us.

"I suppose a proper introduction is needed now, since this will not be the last we will see each other."

"You sound confident."

"I am Lazarus, of the White Rabbits. Over there is my associate, Regis. Now then, what are two Demons doing all the way down here in Grigori's chamber?"

"Maybe we should be asking you that!?" Terra shouted, hoping to throw her own voice into the mix.

"Don't lie now! You two don't even know what this place is!" Regis cried out almost hysterically.

"Rest assured we have found what we needed and will no longer be of any nuisance to you," Lazarus said as he and Regis attempted to make their leave.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!"

Without even thinking I summoned that same sword from the Mind Gate and charged forward blindly. Lazarus snapped his fingers as I approached rapidly. Regis intervened and placed his hand on my chest. Suddenly a high pitched screech filled my ears. The sound was glitched and distorted. My Mind Gate and the sword disappeared and suddenly my vision went completely black.

"Heaven!"

Terra rushed in with her fists entombed. She leapt into the air and tried to bring her fist down onto Regis. Regis stepped away and suddenly vision returned to me. Regis smiled at the two of us with a barbarous grin. Terra and I grouped together as Regis looked to his partner.

"I should head topside and go check with our new friends."

Lazarus nodded as the other Rabbit attempted to leave.

"You're not getting away!"

Before I could even move, my body froze in place. I don't know how or why, but it had something to do with Lazarus' ability.

"Let him go!"

Terra charged at Lazarus, while Regis disappeared. Her fists rocketed forward aiming for Lazarus' head. Lazarus struck out his palm and Terra's fist stopped inches from her opponent. It was as if she struck a wall that she could not see. Feeling movement return to me, I quickly fired a burst of beams at Lazarus that pierced through his leg. He flinched and lowered his guard allowing Terra to break through and send him flying with one punch. We could still hurt him. He was still human. Terra ran forward hoping to finish the job quickly, but before she could move, a bolt of red lightning flashed in front of her.

"You! We're not finished yet!"

"Perfect timing Philip." Lazarus said as he rose from the ground, gazing over at his newfound ally who had entered the fray.

Terra growled and rushed at Philip as he opened up a Mind Gate. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me at first, but he really did do it. He was somehow able to open a Mind Gate, just like that girl from before. Lazarus charged forward with immense speed. His hand grasped me by my throat while I was distracted. The White Rabbit forced me to the ground and attempted to choke me out. I immediately blinked into negative space and reappeared beside Terra while the two Rabbits began to circle us. Philip emerged from the Mind Gate with an almost tattoo like blackness crawling along his arms.

"Let's tear them apart Lazarus!" he screamed out in a blood thirsty rage.

"I'll handle Lazarus," I said to Terra.

We broke formation and charged forward. Lazarus instantly blasted me back with a shockwave. I fired beams as my body was pushed away. The beams hit an invisible wall as Lazarus redirected focus. I moved up, laying down suppressing fire as I went. I threw my black blade which passed through Lazarus' wall. I landed behind the Rabbit and attempted to cut at his throat. Lazarus raised another wall and immediately countered. His punch sent me flying off my feet and I flew all the way to the other side of the chamber. Lazarus channeled his ability to his feet and dashed ahead of me in seconds. His fist collided with me once more and sent me flying back the way I came. I disappeared into negative space in an attempt to reorient myself. I had to fight smart against him. He was nothing like anyone else I ever fought.

Terra matched Philip blow for blow. His bizarre tattoo seemed to harden his body and make him far more resistant to damage. Terra blocked and countered his strikes, but Philip wouldn't go down. Barreling forward, he grappled Terra and brought her to the ground. He began beating on her senselessly as she threw up her arms to guard. Terra took hit after hit, struggling to break free from Philip, but he wouldn't let up.

"Oh fuck this!"

Terra retreated into her consciousness and suddenly, a violent eruption of metal, earth, and magma engulfed the two of them. From that massive blast emerged Terra looking more confident and haughty than ever.

"Now you face a goddess."

"What the fuck?" Philip was more confused than intrigued.

Astraea focused her powers and began to manipulate the metal in the ground as Philip ran towards his opponent. Spires of steel shot up from the warped ground and were following closely behind the White Rabbit. Astraea had a sickening grin on her face the whole time. It was the look of a Roman emperor watching prisoners flee from a lion. She was entertained by her foes plight. Philip managed to catch up to Astraea and attempted to land a punch. Before his balled up fist even landed a hit, he felt his body snag on something. Astraea smiled at Philip as she placed a hand on his cheek, blood lust in her eyes.

"Nice try."

Philip looked at himself as the pain began to kick in, and he screamed. His cries of anguish however, quickly turned to screams of pure anger and hate as his strength welled up inside him and he summoned the Mind Gate yet again.

I emerged from the negative space and was pulling out all the stops to break Lazarus' barriers and outpace him. I summoned forth my unnamed sword and took some distance from my foe. I had to focus. I had to think.

"Mind Zero…" I began to mutter in a chant as I tried to imagine the battle as in my mind.

I had to be several steps ahead at all times. I charged forward, gripping my sword. This time I would catch him. I swung my blade at Lazarus only to hit another wall. I fired a dark beam through the wall and pushed forward. Before Lazarus could guard, my blade cut through like butter. Silence rang out through the chamber as the sound of flesh and blood hitting hard metal rebounded in our ears. His arm was severed in an instant. Lazarus, however, didn't seem to care.

"Not bad."

In that moment he regrew his missing arm in mere moments. Demons could regenerate too, but growing back entire limbs took minutes. Lazarus could regenerate in seconds, maybe even faster. My eyes widened in realization. Suddenly Terra slammed into my back as she was knocked away by Philip. We were starting to lose ground. Lazarus and Philip drew closer to us as we did our best to maintain our defense. But that ground was ever so subtly slipping away from us. Terra tried to swing out at Philip as he approached, only for Lazarus to lock her in place. Philip grinned as his fist soared towards Terra's body. I could hear the crunch of bone as he slammed Terra's head into the floor. She was out in an instant and all I could do was watch. Philip then turned on me. He charged forward and sent his fist flying towards my stomach. The attack hit me full force and I spat blood from my mouth as Lazarus remained in control. Another punch, another wad of blood working its way to the surface. Crimson stains and splotches dripped from my motionless body. Philip was relishing in this, before getting bored and lifting my limp body and slamming me head first into the ground. My vision grew blurry and red as motion returned to me. I writhed on the ground as I tried to fight back. I could still barely make out the approach of someone new. It looked like a woman in a suit. I could barely make out the look on her face as she appeared to adjust her glasses. As my vision started to fade, I could see it. Mind Gates, hundreds of them.