Suddenly, he cocked his head to one side. After a moment, he nodded. His minions had informed him that his little experiment was ready to be initiated. He stood up, his black robes sliding down and adjusting to his figure as he walked over to the statue of the Oni demon just in back of where he sat. Pressing the ring finger of the left hand of the creature, the statue slid to the side, revealing a staircase leading downward. It was pitch black all the way down, but even with that, Sineritrii knew where he was going. After all, he had created this facility in almost a mere instant, and he knew its every contour and feature. As he entered the darkness, the shadows seemed to embrace him, welcome him as one of their own. The sound of feet descending steps could be heard only for a few seconds before the statue slid back into place, covering up the darkness behind its guardian-like body.

*****

"I think this one works," said Bradster over his shoulder as he stood in the engineer's compartment of the train. "The power to the track is still functional." He peered closer than usual at the dials and power output signals of the train's console.

The rest of the group could be seen picking their way into the car, moving past bodies which looked not unlike the one's on Renee's bus. Luckily all of them had been privy to the condition of the bodies, both from Renee's account and from encountering more than their fill of the dead, dry corpses on the way to this, the one train that had appeared to work in the subway. Walski fearlessly grabbed some of the corpses and moved them from the front of the car to the back to make space for the rest to sit down.

"Does it go to the Sebec building?" asked Rex as he moved into the compartment with Bradster.

"I think so," replied Bradster as he looked at the dials. "The last intended point of destination was the Sebec building, before all of this happened." He started the train's engine and pushed the lever up to 40 mph. The train groaned and sparks flew from the electrified third rail as it moved, but the train gained speed and began to roll towards its' last intended destination.

Laura sat across two seats, resting th back of her head against the train's window. "It's good to at least get off my feet. I've been walking or running all this time..."

"Yes," said Walski, who had his leg propped up over another two seats, "but there's more to come..."

Laura sighed. "Not a few hours ago, everything was fine, and now...now this."

"You mean...all of this junk that's happened?" said Walski. "Sometimes we have to take it in stride. It's not every day that all of..this...can occur. I've seen things that I thought I would never see in my entire life. But....we just have to keep moving on.."

"It must be done. Walski's right." said Lori quietly, as she sat across from him. "A lot of this is...so unrealistic...but...you have to suspend that..we all do...for the time being, anyway..."

"What _are_ you all going to do?" came Renee's voice from the seat in front of Laura. "What's all this about for you? I thought you were here just for survival's sake.."

"Well, that too," said Laura, "But..well...a...task has been set upon us.."

"What kind of task..?"

"It's kind of hard to explain....all I can say is that somone is responsible...and we are on our way to eliminate that person..." replied Laura, picking her words carefully.

"If you are, then, I'll go too.." said Renee, a determined look on her face. "If that person's responsible for the...deaths of my friends, he'll ahve hell to pay from me, too..I mean...tehre would be nothing else for me to do, otherwise...except to try and survive in this city turned upside down...and my best chance for survival lies with all of you, I guess...it's...a little hard to believe that I'm actually fighting for my life....instead of just living it, y'know?"

"It's too dangerous. We can handle it." came Bradster's voice from the compartment.

"Why? What makes it more likely that you all will be able to accomplish it better than I can..?"

*This girl is pretty headstrong* thought Laura, before she spoke. "Well...it would be...difficult to explain...you see-" Laura heard a groan followed by a rumbling sound. She flicked a look Walski's way. "Hey, this isn't the time to be hungry...."

"That wasn't me.." said Walski, holding up his hands. "There's no way even I could be hungry after what I've seen in this time." He blinked as another groan could be heard, followed by several more. He stood up, listening for the source.

Lori looked toward the back of the car. "My God..." she said, "Look..!"

Laura and the others looked where Lori pointed.

The pile of corpses was groaning. As Laura and the otehrs looked on in disbelief, five of the corpses got up simultaneously. They groaned as one, their stomachs making disgusting grumbling sounds, and their thin bodies struggled to walk towards the front of the car where the group was located. In their empty eye sockets glowed an unholy red light.

Laura tapped Rex on the shoulder and pointed. Rex stared past Laura, grunted, and wordlessly tapped Bradster. Bradster spoke, his eyes still fixed on the moving track in front of him. "What is it? I'm trying to drive this thing..." He then snuck a look behind him from the compartment, squinting to see the walking dead. He got up, putting the train on Auto and joined Rex and the others. "More disturbances," he said in an almost annoyed tone. "Just what we need..." He took a stance as a small demon, red in color, stepped out from behind the pile. He held a small rod in one hand and appeared to be directed the zombies, salivating at its toothy mouth in anticipation of the blood to be shed.

Renee stood up as well, but Laura stopped her. "No, stay put. We'll take them out." she turned to face the zombies, concentrating.

"No way...I could help- " began Renee, but then she stopped dead as she saw the blue nimbus of light surround Laura, sink into the ground, and then rise to envelop her in a column of energy. The image of a young pig-tailed boy floated above her. Laura charaged right at the first zombie, much to Renee's surprise, and pummel it into submission with a flashing of fists. Renee's surprise grew as she watched each of her newfound friends, one by one, go through the same power transformation and charge the back of the car to destroy the zombies. She watched in awe as Walski sliced one with two strokes and Bradster hands seemed to flash in front of him as he swung and caught another one on the head with a deadly blow, crushing its head against the wall of the car.

Rex battled his target with, of all weapons, an umbrella, whose effectiveness was proved as he scored a thrust through the chest of another zombie, the end of his umbrella exiting out the back of the creature. All had images hovering above them as they struck.

Lori seemed to be having trouble defeating her target, though the zombie endlessly battered against an invisble wall which had been created by her. The wall seemed to thin, though, and just as Renee was about to get up to try and do something, anything to help her out, Lori's attack seemed to change as the shield folded outward, smashing the zombie against the wall of the car. The image above Lori changed from that of a kindly young girl to that of the same girl..only with a menacing look in her eye and horns on her head. A bladed weapon Renee could not quite make out in the melee appeared to materialize in Lori's hands and with two swift blows downward, her target was finished also, its parts scattered all over the floor of the car.

Renee blinked her eyes as she beheld all of this. Creatures which she had never seen before had tried to attack, and instead of running, her friends had charged them...and won..! She watched as the five now closed in on the single red demon who backed up defensively.

"So," it hissed. "You have the Power, do you? I will have to tell the Master....but first.." It spied Renee, still watching from the front of the train. "Since I cannot take you, I will at least be able to take the soul of the weak one in front of you..." Before anyone could stop it, the creature dematerialized and appeared right in front of a suddenly fearful Renee, far from the aid of the group at the back of the car.

"Damn..Renee..!" yelled Rex, throwing his umbrella. It spun towards the creature, aiming for its back, but the demon merely smirked and threw its rod against the umbrella, deflecting it.

Laura and the others struggled to move over the pile of dead zombies to help Renee, but it was clear they weren't going to make it on time. "Damn..!" said Laura, leaping over seats, trying to close the distance.

The demon opened its mouth, its maw dripping with its own saliva. Rearing back it prepared to lunge for her throat. Renee backed up and screamed once, then growled. "No.." she said to herself. "I can't die here...I can't and I won't..!!" The demon payed her no heed, and jumped at her, with Renee just barely managing to skip out of the way and get only her thigh cut open byt he demon's sharp claws. Renee grunted in pain, and swiped her hands forward, as if to try to slap the creature away, letting out a cry. "NO!" she screamed. "I WON'T DIE!!" The creature grinned, lunged, claws dripping acid...

And was smashed against the side of the compartment door, its skull crushed under the weight of something heavy. It slid wordlessly to the ground, its only death cry a gurgle mingled with green blood.

Laura stopped, out of breath, just short of Renee. She gazed at the sight before her. Renee, seemingly frozen in her attempt to desperately save her own life, had crushed the red demon. What amazed Laura was not that she had done it, but how she had done it.

In Renee's hands, stuck against the demon's crushed skull, was a mallet. The obvious blue column of light surrounded her. And the image of Akane Tendo hovered just above her.

For just a few seconds, Laura knew Renee was supposed to be one of them. And then the aura disappeared, the mallet disappeared, and Renee slumped to the ground, unconscious. The others came forward, with Bradster and Rex helping the girl up and setting her on one of the seats.

"Is she ok?" Laura said as they propped her up.

"Yeah," Walski said, examining her with a critical eye, "But that wound looks bad." He pointed to the open wound in her thigh. "If she hadn't been wearing thick jeans, it would have been a lot worse.

"Yes." said Laura, "Lori, could you get that first aid kit out and treat her? Lori? Lori..!" Laura tried to get the attention of the red-haired woman, who seemed to stare vacantly as if lost in thought. Laura stood and shook her shoulder.

"Hey Lori, I asked you to treat Renee's wound...you listening?" Laura said, a little concerned. Lori blinked, looked at Laura, and shook her head to clear it. "Oh..sorry, Laura..I was just thinking about...something. Here, I'll treat it," she said as she knelt down to apply antiseptic to Renee's wound.

"I guess she's one of us now.." said Rex, looking at her.

"Yes, it seems so," replied Laura. "Rijk appears to be letting us have more help....I hope it's enough..."

"We're coming out of the tunnel and to the surface," said Bradster, who had taken his position at the engineer's compartment again. Laura nodded and squinted slightly as the train burst up and out of the tunnel, flooding the car with a murky light that could only be barely called daylight. "I think we can stop this right at the front of the building," Bradster continued. "We should be there in about ten minutes or so..."

Laura looked out the window as the train moved forward, speeding past all the ruined buildings and cars, focusing her vision only on the tall, black-colored Sebec Building, which appeared to move slowly past the train window and stand out among all the other structures that passed by.

*Finally..* Laura thought, *We're almost there...will we meet the end of it all there...or is it just the beginning? Guido....you're gonna pay...* She clenched her fist as the building got closer in her line of sight. The train moved inexorably forward toward their fate.

*****

Sineritrii reached the bottom of the long spiral staircase that led to the underground of the Sebec Building. Opening the door at the bottom, he shuffled through it and into the room.

The room was simple in design. It was walled in black and only a simple circle, drawn in white, adorned the floor of the room. Sineritrii closed the door behind him. As he murmured a few words, a slice of light opened up in the center of the room. It shined, then expanded out, creating a doorway. Sineritrii walked through the doorway without hesitation, his black-robed body contrasting sharply with the light of the "doorway".

He reached the other side of the doorway, and it snapped shut behind him. He grinned to himself. His way of getting here was much easier than going down that foolish thing they called an elevator and being subjected to all those so-called "security measures". It was at least one thing he could sneak in on his own without having to put on a mask for these people.

He was in the Deva Yuga room, with its large space and "Gate", which was now, thanks to him, larger than ever. For the moment, the Gate stood closed and the various staff, even Nichols, were all gone, all relocated by Guido to collect "his" source of power from his demons.

Sineritrii walked behind the Deva Yuga Gate, to a small insignificantly looking door underneath one of the stairways. At first glance, the door appeared to have no doorknob or even a keyhole. Sineritrii produced a small silver key, however, and pushed it against the side of the door. The key slid into an invisible keyhole, and an audible click could be heard. He moved into the room, shutting the door behind him.

The room Sineritrii had walked into was almost equal in size to the Deva Yuga room. It was lined with the same material as the Deva Yuga room, and also had the same technological ability. However, instead of housing ahuge Gate to another world, it housed something almost as important.

Sineritrii strode casually down the hall. The walls were lined with life-sized test tubes, all containing human beings inside of them - all held in stasis. Sineritrii looked at them as if they were objects, merely trifles in his way to achieving what he wanted. These were the few needed in his plans - or so he thought. He had directed the demons only to capture those who they sensed were what he was looking for. But not all of even these would be what he was seeking. Only a very small number would be able to mix well with what he was intending. He and his servants had narrowed it down these past few hours, eliminated those with even the smallest margin of error - and finally he had arrived at the ones he would need. These were the ones he approached at the end of the room, at the top of the stairwell.

The three were bound in devices which were designed to keep them from escaping while at the same time able to be used, to be.... experimented on. And if he was successful, even Rijk himself would not stand a chance. He snapped his fingers, causing one of the small demons to appear at his side. ^Are these the three I look for?^

"Yes, Master." the demon hissed. "They all bear a high rate of potential."

^Good, are we ready to proceed?^

"Not quite yet. One is conscious." he pointed at the young man who stared down at the two figures below him, bound, but defiant.

^I see,^ said the black-robed man. ^You should be proud,^ he said to the young man. ^You do me a great service.^

The young man responded by spitting at him. Sineritrii smirked as the spittle hit an invisible shield and slid off. ^High-spirited. It is good. You know, you could make this a lot easier on me. Your friends have submitted much easier than you have. Why not follow their lead?^

"Shut up, you bastard," the young man shouted. "If you think for one second I'm giving up, you got another thing coming..!" He struggled against his bonds, to no avail.

^We shall see, my young friend,^ Sineritrii responded. ^Like it or not, you have the potential, and I will use that potential to the fullest...what was your name again? Ted? Ahh...Ted, you make things so much more..difficult...for me.^

"Cut the crap..I've got no idea what you're talking about..!"

^Ah...all in good time, Ted...all in good time.^ Sineritrii's look became serious. ^Like I said before..you should feel privileged...you help to usher in a new era of existence....^ He looked at the demon beside him. ^Increase the bombardment....I have no time to waste on impudent and utterly futile resistance from a boy such as this one...^

The demon nodded, and moved to the console. Sineritrii turned to leave...as he reached the top of the stairway he turned his head to speak. ^Saojay Wang....be brave. This will hurt me more than it does you...^ Sineritrii laughed maliciously and faded out into nothingness.

Ted gritted his teeth at the image of Sineritrii as he left. Then, as if attacke dby an unseen foe, he shut his eyes. He concentrated, trying to shut it out, trying to forget it. But it battered agaisnt the walls of his mind, over and over again. Desperately, sweat breaking out on his face, he made one last attempt to hold on to his own mind.

His mind slipped through his hands like melting ice, becoming water in his hands. The walls were crumbling all around him.The defenses were being breached.

And Ted began to scream.

End Chapter 5

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