When I woke up again it felt off. The room I woke up in is small and I hear voices a little ways away from where I'm sleeping. It's almost like when I was little where people would be talking in the other room and I'd be on the couch sleeping. Its warm, a bnket's wrapped around me, and everything just feels off. I should be safe and I should feel okay but I don't. Its not just a bad memory or a bad time or- I see my friends and calm down. They're okay and I'm okay, and that means we got out of that situation.

  But Sacred Heart is tarnished now. Emaciated. Something with those phrases had either weakened it or tried to force some sort of power boost. It felt like something was coming out of me. Something more powerful than I could even comprehend. Because the Man in Bck saying them in the wrong order practically killed me. All I can do is lie here and try to sleep. I don't even know where we are but I feel someone's arms around me. Holding me close.

  I like to think that its Jolyne. But the overly-solid and invasive warmth is definitely Sister Golden Hair's. Judging by the difference in height and where I'm positioned. The soft thunder of her heart is bigger and more like a bass drum. I almost want to close my eyes and pretend that she's my mother. That she never died and it was all a bad dream.

  "Oh thank goodness you're awake!" she excims, "Loredana! Mack! Jolyne! He's awake!"

  I don't feel like I should be awake at all. My entire body is heavier even with the fact I had some sleep. Still tired and still ragged from the fight with The Man in Bck and Cashe. The duels have carved their way into my head.

  "Are you well?" she asks as she leans down and tilts my head around. She seems to be checking if it had given my body any changes but there were none to be found. I try to get out of bed and she scoops an arm around my shoulders even though its absolutely massive...

  I still lean against her and she guides me out of the room. Loredana immediately brightens in her more casual clothing but she still looks happy enough, "Daniel!" she sweeps over and whisks me into a hug. She smells nice like roses and there's the slight metallic tinge of her sword.

  Jolyne's nowhere to be found... that's odd. But I just focus on trying to stay awake and on my feet, and I'll see her ter of course. The house around us is simple and I can hear the clucking of chickens.

  Okay so I can hear. Which I already know I can do.

  Mack smelled like expensive pomade and adrenaline. Banana Boat (Day-O) also smelled of it. So I can smell... that's good. But then there's a new smell. Like burnt incense and motor oil. There's a moment, a pause really, when a man with graying dark hair done up in little braids wanders in. He's bigger and taller than Mack is, probably even taller than The Man in Bck, and a good two heads taller than Loredana. His metal arms smoothly click and whir; it's an odd thing to see such a good pair of robotic limbs but at the same time science is amazing.

  He wears flowing garments of red and cream, almost like wizard's robes. His chin is adorned with a gray patch of styled hair. His arms had the Egyptian Ankh carved on the sides that glow a soft orange color.

  "Ah." he says with a warm smile, "Loredana had told me of your... condition. I am Mohammad Avdol." He holds out his metal hand for me to shake and I do so. He studies my grip almost like a doctor.

  "Hm... no wonder you had brought him here, Loredana. Summon your Stand for me, Daniel." his dark eyes glitter with an inner fire as Sacred Heart appears and fires a few punches his way in a show of force.

  "MUDA!" it roars but bursting out of the candle fmes is a half-man half-bird that blocks the punches. Sacred Heart tries to get away and my wrists are caught in a super-hot grip. It has feathers falling from its arms and it breaks the csh with a wave of heat.

  "Magician's Red!" Mr. Avdol bellows, "Tsk tsk tsk... seems like your Stand is quite powerful, young Daniel." His expression hardens at the flecks of gold falling off it, "Mmm... normally, Stands that are damaged do show signs of tarnishing or damage themselves, but Sacred Heart seems to naturally be in this state."

  "Naturally?!" I snap, "No. What happened to me wasn't natural!" My anger grows when I catch sight of the knocked out Man in Bck, "He did it!" I bellow with a wild pointing of my finger (I'm such a child...) he doesn't stir and Mr. Avdol shakes his head.

  "Daniel, would you mind if we take a walk?" he jerks his thumb to the outside and I nod. We both walk together. The peaceful outdoors smells like rain and the chickens I heard earlier hunt and peck for food among their little fenced-in spot.

  Avdol and I walk side by side out to a little second house or a shed or something simir. He opens the door and a wave of spent incense sms into me. He sits down on a bunch of cushions. His arms glow a bright orange through the ankhs. The incense sticks light and the candles fre as I sit. His eyes gain that same inner fire of his Stand and Sacred Heart's hands close around my shoulders. Avdol smiles and in a rush of heat Magician's Red shimmers out of the smoke. Its feathers billow in the heavy smoke but it stands like a god passing judgment.

  "Magician's Red... would you please use Voice of the Soul?" His stand nods and fmes burst to life around us. Sacred Heart leans down to look closer and by the expression on its face, it's about to stop time. Avdol takes out an empty gss ball and the fmes rush into it.

  They swirl slowly round and round shifting colors from orange to blue to white to orange again. The fortuneteller's gaze locks onto mine, "Daniel if you would please direct Sacred Heart to hold the ball we shall scry into your future."

  Sacred Heart looks down at me, "Mudaaaa..." it looks almost shy and nervously takes it into its tarnished golden hands-

  A rush of images fsh through my mind the minute the heat hits my fingers like a film stuck on max fast-forward. A strange horseman, a pale white version of Sacred Heart that has gears torn apart in its hands, and a massive... something split out of Scared Heart violently.

  I grab my head and scream out, "STOP TIME RIGHT NOW, SACRED HEART!" it obeys and a wave of power thrums out golden and powerful stopping the scream of images and slowing them down to a freezeframe.

  What I see is nothing short of a nightmare. The great steel Pyramid looms on high with its sign cast off the side and onto a crowd charred and bloody. The sky is as dark as night would be. The sun blocked by the moon with a bright white corona spilling light from the halo.

  Fine robes are bathed in blood as rabid cultists run down people and drink their fill from them. They're slowed but their teeth are razor-sharp and bloodied. There're chunks of flesh dangling from them and I can't help but gag. Further towards the base of the pyramid are what's left of Mack. Torn between the congregation. Loredana still fighting and still trying her best until time skips forward past my own Stand's grasp. She's dashed down by chimeras.

  I can't even begin to describe what they are. Only that the woman who'd shown me nothing but compassion and understanding was reduced to nothing but food for them. The only one of the others who put up even more of a fight than her was Sister Golden Hair. Wild golden hair and feathers shooting through the vampires like nothing, the madcap tour of my future pays special attention to how wounded she already is. As much as Sacred Heart is trying to stop it all there's something mercilessly dragging this all forwards.

  Something is looming around the Pyramid itself. Something that seemed to breathe in a thousand different voices. Ten serpentine heads wind around it and there's a dull roar in the air almost like a choir from Hell itself. Then rising screams bst out of one of the mouths boiling and bubbling from it like a torrent of water. Thousands of agonized screams in nguages known and unknown shake me down to my core.

  Sacred Heart's power shatters and I'm sent hurtling towards the ten-headed dragon, "SACRED HEART! STOP TIME! STOP IT, PLEASE!" I scream and my hands cw for anything to grab onto to keep me away from this monster!

  Sacred Heart appears and keeps trying to slow things down enough for me to grab on but its golden power is overtaken by a dark almost stygian red. A wave of heat bsts out towards me and one of the heads bites down on the air but just before darkness and the crushing wetness of its throat overtakes it all...

  I see myself. Wrapped in white and gold with a reddish-gold cross buried into my chest. Long golden hair sweeping down into golden scales on the necks of the dragon. In his arms was Jolyne. Her arms wrapped weakly around his neck like a Victorian Ingenue. All I can see is a torn-out bloody chunk where her star birthmark should be. The dark part of her hair mottled with red. Her hopeful green eyes focus upon his own burning reddish brown. They're almost in a wedding of sorts surrounded by the Dragon. Standing above them with a happy smile and holding a bible is Father Pucci.

  The other me smiles down at her and everything goes dark. Crushing and hot and boiling. Burning me away down to nothing. Burning me out of this horrid vision of what could be. Or what will be.

  My eyes snap open and Sacred Heart had already punched Avdol with the gss ball and all back through the door we just came in through. I shoot to my feet and loom over him. Before I could even notice my vampiric strength comes to the fore.

  "What was that?!" I yell, "What did I just see?! Was that real?!" I grab the front of his robes and hoist him up despite the smell of burning flesh and the hiss bubbling from my throat. Magician's Red is also in the tight grip of my own stand.

  "Daniel... the soul is malleable just as the future is..." he groans through my grip, "Voice of the Soul is merely a warning...!" A burst of fme has me dropping him and Sacred Heart snaps back to my side to barely dodge a fming punch from Magician's Red.

  I whirl and break into a sprint with tears streaming down my face. My heart pounds and all I can think about is the fact that the Man in Bck was right. I *am* the end of the world. If the future was truly malleable and changeable then why are so many people scrambling to have me?

  Either to kill me or make me into their monster. But then I stop running, I grit my teeth, and dry my tears. If it's just a warning about what could happen it means I have a chance of changing it. I have a chance to prove it all wrong!

  I shouldn't cry when there's a way out. My hand ghosts over the cross neckce I wear and I begin to make my way back to Mr. Avdol's pce. There's a twist of guilt clenching my stomach into a small ball of anxiety.

  Just when I duck in there's a loud commotion coming from the kitchen, "Keep her away from the stove at all costs, Mo!" Mack screams.

  "Don't call me Mo!" Mr. Avdol excims as they're both being dragged by Sister Golden Hair.

  "You men are so pathetically weak!" Sister Golden Hair counters and then sees me, "Oh! Daniel, welcome back!"

  I smile and nod, "How is everyone?"

  "She's trying to destroy yet another kitchen!" Mack howls almost like he's devastated but Avdol pries him off and watches as our Pilr Woman friend marches not into the kitchen but outside where- Well Loredana isn't anywhere nearby. She's outside pacing back and forth almost like she's nervous.

  Jolyne's also nowhere to be found and The Man in Bck is passed out on the couch. I head outside. I just hope she's okay wherever she is. Loredana is busy checking her phone almost like she's expecting something or someone to call.

  That's when the phone in her pocket buzzes and she picks it up faster than I can even see. Is she really that fast?

  "Hello? Jolyne, where are- slow down, slow down."

  I tense and she looks at me and then back at the phone, "What do you mean you met him?"

  My heart drops into my stomach. Is she hurt? In danger? Is she okay?! She's my friend I hope she's okay! Wait, wait, calm down... no need to get so worked up. She's probably fine. Loredana hangs up and starts towards the Minibus.

  "We're going to go get her. She decided to gather intel about the cult and attended one of their services. With any luck she got a read on who else might be coming after us."

  "Shouldn't we just wait until she gets back?" I ask, "If we come after her then it'd just be like leading mbs to the sughter. We need a pn!"

  She stops and her hand goes to her sword hilt, squeezing it and closing her eyes, "No. We need to go get her. If we don't then maybe the cult will know and then she'll be in danger."

  That's when we hear the shuffling steps of the Man in Bck, "No, Daniel's right. If we march right in there who knows what kind of horrors await us?" he smiles and nods almost filling me with encouragement but I have to remember that he DID try to kill me.

  I at least have hope that I might be able to change my fate and avoid that horrid Dragon/Vampire apocalypse. Here's hoping I will.