The Truest Believer, Yuna

Hello everyone and welcome back to the insanity that is The Realm! Today's article will cover the unofficial second in command of the Blood Guard. I say second in command because there are limitations, namely the ability to command the Prismata...they only answer to Artz. Other than that, she has full command of the entirety of the Blood Guard, both Realm side and Sol side, but The Legendary Blades choose to be at her beck and call, knowing that she'll do whatever it takes to protect Her Doctor. Now before I get too far ahead of myself...Introduction Time!

My sister is a reflection of The Doctor, so too am I a reflection of her. I am the Enochian of the Blood Guard, The Lost Angel. I am Yuna of the Prism Guard and I am her Truest Believer.

Now there is a reason why I decided to leave her intro in first person rather than doing the usual third person version. It has to do with what happened at the tail end of The Crocodile's profile, but before we get into that mass of hysteria, let's go over some stuff first.

Firstly, the name Yuna was actually chosen much later on than the original and subsequent alteration. The original had been Lunaria, inspiration drawn from the angel with the same name from the MMORPG, massive multiplayer online role playing game, called League of Angels. To this day, I still love that game but I also enjoyed League of Legends, Wartune (both Classic and Cloud City), and I fell in love with Edge World and Mobius Final Fantasy...the last two have been discontinued. 

*wails in despair*

Anyways, so how did Lunaria end up as Yuna? When I did her intro with Lunaria, it didn't seem to fit quite right. It didn't roll off the tongue or really suit her at all, so I decided to shorten it to Luna. Main inspiration for that one came from a certain little kitty from Sailor Moon, but again, something about it just didn't fit her persona and it was really starting to irk me that I couldn't find the right name for my real life truest believer that literally believed that I could do the impossible...which has yet to be disproven. So what did I do, I decided to play some console games to take my mind off of it...only to get smacked in the face with the perfect name for her completely by accident.

Ironically, it was this pose that inspired a majorly huge plot twist which completely revamped the beginning of Artz's time stream. What can I say? I was having issues getting her to the Sanctuary in a believable manner and this plot twist worked perfectly because it caused a cascade of future plot devices that will have your head spinning and crying your little bitch tears.

Durga: Well someone's been watching the Sword Art Online parody.

*punts out of article* 

Wait your turn, damn it! Honestly, right then...for those of you that have not played any of the games in this particular franchise, allow me to introduce the character that somehow summarized everything I wanted and everything that she actually is into a single name...Yuna.

A little back history here. The picture of her wielding guns is from Final Fantasy X-2, the sequel to Final Fantasy X. The story for both games take place in the land of Spira. The picture where she is wielding the staff is from Final Fantasy X and she plays the role of High Summoner, allowing her to summon powerful creatures like Ifrit and Shiva...pretty common names associated with the Final Fantasy franchise like the moogles but they never look the same in any of them, similar to be sure but never exactly the same. For example...*points below*

And this is just some of them! There are others like a black version of the last one, but personally I love the ones from Final Fantasy XII. They are just so adorable and so totally huggable! 

*coughs into hand to regain composure*

Right then, moving along. Final Fantasy X-2 has a different system from just about any sort of game I've ever played and to this day, I still can't make heads or tails of it. It's called the Dress Sphere Grid and it utilizes spheres that you find throughout your journey through Spira. Examples are the Gunner sphere and the Songstress sphere, both of which are practically with Yuna from the start.

Surprisingly, many of the powers provided by certain dress spheres were powers that I wanted my truest believer to have to begin with which includes creating a reflective barrier impervious to everything except sound. An example of the reflective aspect can be found in my story on fanfiction.net, Stardust. Also in regards to sounds or sonic emissions, concentrated sound waves produced by someone like her brother can pass through the barrier but they gain the reflective properties of the barrier and can ricochet inside the barrier, the intensity increasing every time it is reflected. Thus the warning she gave to her brother to never use his sound waves in her direction while her barrier was up.

The reason for calling her Yuna was due to the two different styles she portrayed in the games; the high summoner and the dress spheres. The first depicts a gentle and compassionate young woman that carried herself with a quiet sophistication but ultimately did what was expected of her. It wasn't until she met Tidus that she began to change. Tidus was full of life and energy, shining like a sun and oftentimes blinding her with small gestures and simple truths. Then at the end, the sun set on their time together and she was alone. 

With his help and others, they had freed Spira and she was no longer bound to the path of the High Summoner, allowing her to embrace life just as Tidus would have wanted her to and the light he instilled in her shined for all to see. She became bold, confident, and quite frankly found her inner badass but her resolve, compassion, and respect for life did not waver. By collecting the spheres, Tidus was eventually returned to her and it was if they were twin stars shining.

The light of The Doctor defined the core of Artz's soul and she built herself around his name and the promise of that name, creating something entirely brand new and shining with the light of her very own star. William's sister, Anna, was reborn into the world where Her Doctor had escaped to but it did not change the fact that she chose to believe in the unbelievable, to love someone so fiercely and so much that even if the entire world, even her own brother, thought that she was a few fries short of a happy meal and should be locked up in a white padded cell and a strait jacket, she refused to give Artz up. Thus making her Artz's truest believer, believing that she could do the impossible and she never stops believing. She may falter from time to time but only in herself, but never in her Doctor.

Now that the reasoning for her name and purpose are out of the way, let's jump into the hysteria about to occur with our favorite crocodile, shall we. We left off with Rumple heading downstairs to find out who had crashed into the table of his dining hall and boy is he in for a surprise because what he finds is...one very pissed off brunette.

The second Oracle, Tokemi, had transported Yuna into the past without her consent and it happened to be the first time the truest believer had ever been sent back into the past. Rumple was not happy with her arrival, mainly due to her seemingly bypassing the wards of his fortress and teleporting inside.

'Oh do shut up, you twisted little imp of a lizard man.'

Oh that just pissed him off and he was about to use magic on her but then she looked up at him. All thoughts ceased as his golden reptilian eyes connected to eyes of the purest amethyst, free from all impurities that would have clouded their brilliance. He just couldn't do it...something deep inside his very soul was screaming not to harm her. Hell even the damn beast that was the Dark One was firmly against hurting her. He did at least demand her name and what she was doing in his home.

'There's power in a name, Mister Iguana Man and as for why I'm here...like I'd give you that secret.'

'You obviously have no idea who you're dealing with, dearie. Allow me to introduce myself...'

'Actually I know exactly who you are. Your name is Rumplestiltskin and judging by your current scaly physique, you are the legendary Dark Wizard, the infamous Dark One, and a royal pain in the ass.'

'Then you should show some respect, little girl. Otherwise things will become rather nasty and I would prefer to wait a while before causing a mess, seeing as how my maid is currently indisposed.'

'*snorts in an unladylike manner* As my sister says often, respect is not given, it is earned and you have done nothing to earn mine, but by all means, give it your best shot and put me in my place.'

'Have it your way, dearie.'

He sent a simple blast wave of magic at her, but was taken by surprise when the irises of the woman's eyes became a liquid silver, glowing with a power from within. Next thing he knew, a shimmering, semi-transparent barrier projected out of her body and his magic rebounded. It headed straight back at him and he tried to negate it but it was no longer under his control. He was blasted off his feet and clear across the room. He rose to a somewhat knelt position and just stared at her with wide eyes. She had somehow reflected the magic of the Dark One, wrenching it from his control and sent it right back with double the impact.

'What are you?'

'*smirks* Oh no one in particular. *raises her right hand, palm towards her and revealing a prismatic star with a crescent moon in the middle* Just my sister's truest believer.'

Rumple was floored by this revelation. There were many a tale about the Truest Believer of the Blood Guard. She was not someone to be trifled with nor was she someone you should anger. Which posed a serious problem for him because the Star Child was his maid and he had done some pretty terrible things to her and if the woman were to find out about them...he was in for a world of hurt.

Upon seeing the flash of fear and trepidation, Anna had to refocus her attention on doing a proper analysis of the man before her. It took a moment for it to click...he wasn't Goldeneye yet. This was Rumplestiltskin before he had been claimed by her sister and granted his name and purpose. Which posed a very big problem because the Goldeneye she knew in the future had told her about his supposed mistreatment of her sister while she had been his maid and of the sex mage, Tessa, that was basically screwing everything over. Well best get this over with because he was not going to like what she was about to do, but his future self was quite adamant so she could not refuse him.

'Don't bother trying to hide it. I already know.'

'Hide what, dearie? *returns to his feet and puts forth his usual dramatic and charismatic demeanor* It is not I that is hiding something, given that you have yet to give your name or purpose for being in my home and by such unconventional means at that?'

'*smirks* Oh my sweet, dear lizard man...the fact that you are trying to change subjects and turn the conversation towards myself simply proves that you have much to hide. *smirk deepens, her eyes gaining a sharpened glint of dangerous mischief*

Let's list off a few, shall we? The first is quite obvious given that you still have your scaly hide and that would be the current location of your primary weakness, the only object capable of bending you to another's will...the Dagger of the Dark One.'

'Everyone knows of it yet none have been able to claim it since I took possession of it and has no bearing in this little chit chat of ours.'

Rumple felt a spike a fear as the girl's eyes shifted from a glowing silver to a molten silver, a most deliciously wicked smile playing on her lips and making his throat run dry. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest and to his chagrin, he was actually becoming sexually aroused by a simple facial gesture. He was shocked when she pulled out something from her bag. That something being the very dagger that could turn him into someone else's bitch.

'Where did...how did...that's not possible! The spell I used to seal it away is impossible to break!'

'Not impossible, just a bit unlikely. Though it does make sense now...why my sister was never able to find the dagger herself because the seal placed it within another realm, one of which that my sister cannot traverse without wrecking literally everything in creation. That realm being the mirror verse.

The mirror verse is normally inaccessible unless someone with a certain kind of magic or ability can transport them there with the guardian's permission of course. In my case, it's my ability to create reflective barriers. Once within that verse, it didn't take me long to find the sealing matrix because it resonated with the magic of someone very dear to me. I'm always drawn to it no matter what, but it doesn't change the fact the sealing matrix you used was so simple for me to disengage that it's laughable.

I studied seals and runic arrays at Avalon, home of Mystic of the Seven Deadly Sins. She thought it best to keep my studies contained in a realm that was out of sync with the rest of reality. Good thing too because there were a lot of explosions, a few blown up rats, a pig being turned inside out, the creation of a sentient cloak with a sadistic sense of humor whilst fussing over its owner like a mother hen, but my favorites are the light sensitive storing matrix and my lovely carnivorous death plants that act like a bunch of hyperactive chocobos. *giggles*'

'So what do you intend to do now...*grits out* master?'

Imagine his shock when she walks across the room and holds out the dagger with both hands, seemingly offering it to him.

'Mystic and I were able to successfully place a blood binding spell on the dagger. Only you or someone descended from you can actually wield it. That was the whole point of me going to the mirror verse. To retrieve the Dagger of the Dark One and ensure that no one ever forces you to do something that you don't want to do. *holds up the dagger, a soft smile on her face* You're free, Rumplestiltskin. Well as free as we can make you right now.'

She placed the dagger into the utter flabbergasted man's hands and he immediately sensed the blood binding seal. It was so powerful that it pushed the full essence of the beast into the dagger, his scaly visage fading away and revealing the man he once was.

'You should not have done this. Not after I...'

He trailed off while looking away from her, shame pouring off of him in waves. He yelped when the amethyst eyed woman smacked him in the back of the head, a full on glare pointed in his direction.

'That was for being an idiot. The second thing on the list is that I am well aware that my sister is your maid and based on my observations of the room, a baby obviously lives here which leads into the third thing, the sex mage known as Tessa. Number four, Tessa was Belle's twin and when Belle died, she basically took over her sister's life.

Which brings us to the fifth thing and that is Tessa is no longer here, your maid being indisposed means that something big happened that obviously forced my sister to act on her first instinct which is to save someone that is right in front of her, and is now recovering from said event.'

'How can you possibly know all that?'

'Simple...you. The room gives me the basics of the event like the odd red stain near the spinning wheel, a noble's sword on the floor and less than a foot away from it is a red rose...deduction: the idiot known as Gaston showed up and tried to kill you but she got in the way. You saved her and saw to her needs but you haven't had the chance to clean up the place because you chose to stay by her side instead, given that the blood on the blade is almost completely dry and the blood on the floor has congealed, becoming semi-solid.

The stuff about Tessa was a story that you told me in the future. I smacked you in the back of the head then too because you felt guilty and ashamed but this was something entirely beyond your ability to control and besides, Tessa didn't succeed in claiming you. Despite how you may have treated my sister in the past, it doesn't change the fact that you love her very much. You consider her your best friend, your closest and dearest friend and because of that friendship, that bond of love and loyalty, it made it just shy of impossible for Tessa to win. That's not to say that my sister didn't go through hell but she made damn certain to keep you free because she loves you too and her friends are her family and you don't abandon family.'

Rumple honestly didn't know how to respond to her and in the coming days, he discovered that she was even more confounding than her sister. Her mood swings were worse than his or how they used to be. Since the sealing of the beast, his emotional state had calmed quite a bit but now he was getting whiplash and sweet lord, when her sister finally woke up and discovered that Anna was there. He was simply too overwhelmed by the combined force, especially when that force was directed towards him and all he could do was wilt under their combined stare.

Once Artz was fully recovered, she requested leave from her duties as his maid to take care of a personal matter and when he asked why, Anna smacked him in the back of the head and scolded him for intruding into another's affairs without their consent. Artz calmed her down and told Rumple that she was returning to her Captain's ship, further explaining that Tessa was currently on board and attempting to bind her God of the Sea to herself and Poseidon couldn't seem to break free from her control himself despite her Captain's impossible immunity to her mystical charm.

Rumple asked her to wait for a few hours and when he returned, there was a glass bottle with a cork in it. He handed it to her, the contents glowing briefly when coming into contact with her skin. He explained that due to Poseidon being a water elemental, he was much more susceptible to a sex mage's magic, but then Artz asked why her Captain did not share in this weakness. His answer was simple...he was a selfish bastard. Hook's immunity came from the intensity of his love for Artz, a love that transcends time itself and Rumple quietly admitted that he was envious of her, to have someone love her that much, to choose her over everything else. 

He really should have looked at Anna because he would have seen the stricken look that flashed briefly across her face. The amethyst eyed maiden loved Rumplestiltskin. She had loved him even he was nothing more than a work of fiction. She fell for him even harder when she met Goldeneye and was truly touched by his devotion to her sister, but also to herself as well. Fortunately, her sister had seen her face and decided to intervene a bit...more like play match maker.

'That may be true. After all, I'm the light to his darkness, the star in his endless night, but I'm not the only one blessed with such fortune. You are a spinner of gold yet are bathed in the glow of a silver light. You possess a powerful blade and you are protected by an even more powerful shield. In the dead of the night, the moon shines so bright. Turn around, you lonesome fool, and see what's right in front of you.'

She physically turns him around and there's Anna directly behind him.

'You have an amethyst now, so you don't need a sapphire anymore. I shall take my leave but before I go, I just want you to know that you are Goldeneye of the Prism Guard and you are my dark savior. Now take good care of my sister and your son while I go deal with that blonde bitch that dares to take what is mine.'

Artz: And that's it for now. To be fair, this is likely to change because I had forgotten the original and things have been pretty bad for me lately...like getting laid off from my job for no apparent reason except that they were reducing the number of employees. 11 out 17 were laid off so yeah, we all fucking freaked and one of my former co-workers actually had a mental breakdown.

It's not even my former boss's fault either! They completely excluded him from the whole thing! They didn't ask about anyone's performance or anything and the one thing they did ask for was who he would choose to stay on and THEY THREW THE FUCKING LIST AWAY! They said it was to avoid bias and discrimination law suits. Ladies and gentlemen, the United States is turning itself into a dictatorship where it's citizens are all mindless sheep controlled by the media. *sighs* Like I said it's been bad for me lately. Now I'm gonna go track down some images for this thing and finally get it posted. *disappears in a cloud of magic*

Ren: *pops into frame briefly, waving at everyone*

Hope: *pushes her out of frame so that she could wave too*

Anna: *dumps a tub of syrup with a shit ton of glitter in it onto them, then watches them get swept away by a gust of wind which just so happened to be carrying an insane amount of dirt, twigs and for some odd reason, feathers...she glances up*

Van: *floating in the sky, hands in pockets, and smirking like that badass he is*

Anna: *giggles before being teleported away by Goldeneye*

Starsea - Part XIII - Rising Tide

Hello everyone and welcome back to The Realm! I deeply apologize for the insanely long wait but the wait is now over and as the title suggests, we are once more within the origin story of the Third and Fourth Captains! Now on with the show!

Unlike his captain that was currently traversing the corridors of time and memory within his mind for answers, William Smee already knows what truly happened to Killian's parents and what he almost did when Killian accidentally killed Artz. So much was lost to them and the first mate had only recently reclaimed his own forgotten memories. He had once believed that he had parted ways with the Jones brothers as a child but that wasn't true. 

He had tried to interact with Killian many times, but he never seemed to remember him and eventually Liam, Killian's elder brother, told William why the younger Jones couldn't remember him...his heritage. He was part whitelighter and Killian was reacting to that instinctively, trying to maintain the barrier holding back his memories.

In a nutshell, Killian Jones would never remember him...ever...until a certain redhead gets involved and both Hook and Killian finally see him and when that happens...later that night, he cried in relief and joy because his childhood friend and his captain actually acknowledged his existence, but it did not change the past. For when Artz had latched onto him during her time as "Alice", she had told him about what was happening; the Dreamshade, the trio of idiots, what she needed to cure herself of the poison, and most importantly, she told him about what Black, and eventually Hawthorne and Jefferson, did to her...were still doing to her.

Artz begged him for his help and at first, he didn't believe her. Worse still, he had told her who he was and what she had done to him. She simply smiled sadly and said that Killian wasn't the only one that lost something. He didn't have time to ask what she had meant by that because the clutzy Jefferson informed them that Black was reminding her of her other "shift" of work. This allowed the idiot trio to do as they pleased with her and for so long, he did nothing to stop it.

It was during a particularly vicious storm that he had been thrown overboard and the redhead that he despised so much risked her own life to save his. She brought them back to surface, using every ounce of her strength to hoist them back onto the ship, but Smee wasn't breathing. She performed CPR which allowed him to come sputtering back to life, but during the time between him drowning and being brought back, his forgotten past was restored to him and a great shift took place within the man's soul.

The reason why everything went to hell when he was a child was because he had been murdered...by his own father and the one he didn't know about either. His mother never told him who his father was and simply said that she didn't regret conceiving and giving birth to him, but the event prior to conception was not consensual and every time after that as well. His father had raped his mother and had apparently still been doing it, but then his mother fought back and he killed her. Not a day later, his father murdered him in retribution, believing that it was his fault that his mother finally grew a back bone.

Artz had felt it or at least felt something so she asked the boys to look after Graham for a bit and left to investigate only to find him dead on the rocky coastline and in the distance was the man that murdered him. She had been stunned to say the least...because it was Killian's and Liam's stepfather. She had a choice...go after the bastard and make him pay for what he had done or stay and save the life of the child laying dead at her feet.

She chose to save William and it was revealed to him that the Jones brothers and himself were stepbrothers. He told her about his mother and was taking her to his house to save her when Artz felt the power surge from Killian. A light orb formed around him and her, disappearing upon their arrival. She hadn't used it to get to Smee's house because she had never been there...even her powers have limitations and stipulations. Her light orb was only effective if she had spent an extended period of time in a particular place or held an incredibly strong bond with a specific individual.

When she was killed by Killian's powers and after the explosion of emotion that followed, Artz needed to be revived but because it was Killian's power that caused the injuries, it required a specific kind of ability to heal them...the power of a Whitelighter. Smee was sitting on his legs next to the woman that had brought him back to life and had come here to save his dear friends, only to die herself. He hated himself for how he felt all those months, wishing to rewind the clock and be with her just as his friends had been.

Tears began to form in his eyes, slipping down his cheeks to fall on the backs of his hands and his palms began to glow with a soft white light. He became deaf to Liam's voice, despite the elder Jones trying to warn him of the repercussions of drawing on his awakened heritage. Young Whitelighters were prohibited from using their healing power because they didn't fully comprehend what activated them in the first place and the toll it would take on their still developing bodies.

But William didn't care because all he saw was her...his savior...the light in the darkness...she truly was a star and that star needed to shine once more. He put everything he had into healing her. He did manage to start her heart but her injuries were a lot worse than he had thought so he focused mainly on healing her internal organs. His own heart began to stutter, the light from his hands flickering on and off. His young body was beginning to buckle under the strain and it wouldn't be long before he would be in death's embrace once more.

One of his closest friends was still begging him to stop but he couldn't. He had to make things right, to atone for the hatred he had once felt for her, but Liam had other ideas. The elder Jones shot a bolt of red electricity to hit the poor boy straight on, sending him flying backwards, his head smacking backwards and hitting the tree before the rest of his body had caught up. As always, there were consequences for every action and in this case, it had not only knocked him out but caused short term amnesia. Thus making him revert back to the time in which he hated her. Upon hearing this tale, William had scoffed at the elder Jones and simply walked away, having nothing more to do with them until all three were assigned to the Jewel of the Realm.

After he had recovered from his near death experience, he started to get to know Artz and he could see why his childhood friends were practically obsessed with her. She gave off this sort of aura of understanding... like you could tell her anything whether good or bad and you would know that she was actually listening to you. Then she would offer advice after explaining her perspective of the situation. It was up to them whether or not they followed that advice or chose a path of their own making. He honestly began to wonder if all the other things she had told him were true as well.

He had started noticing a pattern...she would be happy performing her duties as a deckhand but as soon as Jefferson, Hawthorne or Black reminded her of her other shift, just how petrified she became. Then gradually each man would disappear at random and were not seen or heard from for hours, even days but once the captain was back on board, these other shifts would abruptly end. He finally got fed up and actually attempted to follow them. It had taken a few tries for stealth was not his forte, but he did eventually succeed and what he witnessed with his own eyes was horrific; Hawthorne was making her service his sword with her mouth, Jefferson was was behind her and most definitely sheathed in her rear entrance and Black was on the floor monopolizing her womanhood, his hands gripping her breasts. They were definitely not being gentle in the slightest.

He could tell that she was trying very hard not to cry, not wanting to give them the bastards the satisfaction, but he also couldn't just barge in and rescue her. Three healthy males against one still recovering man, not very good odds...which went to zilch because Artz wasn't using her powers to stop them, meaning that what she said about the captain being poisoned through his evening wine had to be true and she had been protecting him, becoming a living shield for the captain they both cared for. She wasn't strong enough to fight back so he made it his mission to keep those three away from her at all costs, even gradually coaxing his captain into taking the ginger with him all the time until she never left his side, denying them their prize.

He had been surprised when he was promoted to First Mate but damn if he didn't do a mental happy dance when his captain cut off Black's hand. He made certain to show the captain what his true priorities were once returning to the ship, despite his personal feelings. That's when he saw it...acknowledgment and he actually trusted him. He almost lost control over his emotions when his captain had laughed after he had said aye, aye captain in response to his orders. He hadn't known just how much it would truly mean to him, to once again been seen and acknowledged.

When little Morrie came out of the Captain's quarters with a smirk firmly planted on his face, round two of pranking began aboard the Jolly Roger though it didn't disrupt their digestive tracts. In fact, the young druid seemed to be searching for something, so the first mate assisted the mischievous child so he could enter every part of the ship, including the cargo hold where Artz's other shifts had occurred.

When the boy suddenly stopped pranking and had become almost completely silent, William Smee knew something was wrong. His suspicions were confirmed when the ginger's godson started staring at the master of the galley, Lawrence Hawthorne. His theory was further validated when the man barged into the Captain's quarters while he was bedding his wench...she barely left that bed in the first place. Everyone on the bloody ship knew better than to get in between the Scourge of the Sea and his wench, doing so led to some rather unpleasant events for certain members of the crew that found themselves no longer amongst the living.

Fortunately, Artz had managed the situation well enough to keep her Captain from reacting instead of acting. She needed him to remain calm, rational, and ironically open to manipulation. It was only a slight tweak of the man's perception of her to actually hide the fact that she was dying. To save her Captain and ultimately herself, she drank the wine provided for him during his evening meal...the wine becoming more and more potent. He had tried to intercept the carrier but then Jefferson or someone else would either distract him or bowl over Artz.

When Morrie asked him to come to his quarters to look at something, he never expected to see the strange box that Jefferson had been carrying with him to and from Neverland...the very same land that had claimed the life of Liam Jones, the so called miraculous healing herb known as Dreamshade being the most viscous toxin in all the realms. He told the boy that he had seen Jefferson with that box and the boy's eyes went wide, his skin becoming an ashen white. The druid child whipped around and started rifling through page after page of notes, only for them to scatter about the floor. 

Smee was utterly shocked that little Morrie was crying and he was crying silently, not making a single sound. That boy had never cried before...his godmother attempting to kill him twice simply because her Captain had ordered her to...no problem, a trio of idiotic bastards with hidden agendas...smooth sailing...so what in blazing hell could possibly make this boy shed silent tears like his world had just shattered into dust?!

The answer came the next morning, but he didn't care express his grief, not in front of the crew. His captain, his friend, and his comrade that only just found his blackened heart a year ago was shattering to pieces. His friend was barely holding himself together and when they arrived at Port Marques de Leon, The Queen of Camelot herself boarded the Jolly Roger, along with a bed of flowers. 

Watching his captain kiss the woman that had become his soul, the eye of his storm, the star of the sea, it broke something inside of the whitelighter then he watched as his captain allowed the Seeress of the Blood Guard to place him into a deep slumber, one he had no intention of waking up from. Smee honestly didn't know what to do but Morgana did and then she named him, a crest appearing on his left hand. She informed him that Her Ladyship had named him long ago but it was not to be revealed until now. With its emergence, he could sense them...the Blood Guard. There were so many...most of the bloody crew were Blood Guard! That's why it was so easy for her to fit in with the crew, allowing the captain to believe that she had earned their trust which had eventually began to sway his mentality away from the abyss of evil and into the night bathed in starlight.

The first mate's attention snapped back to the present when the ship suddenly lurched, the tentacles disengaging and disappearing beneath the water. That's when he noticed that his captain and dear friend was no longer on board and judging from the swirling motion of the sea, a whirlpool was beginning to form and they were right on top of it. Silver suddenly appeared from the water to land on the deck, his clothes and body completely soaked. He made a mad dash up the stairs and took the helm, turning the ship so that they could use the flow of the emerging vortex of aquatic doom to pilot them out into safer waters. They couldn't break free entirely but they were able to remain on the edge the whole time.

Smee's jaw dropped as a massive squid-like creature rose from the whirlpool and easily swam to calmer waters but remained nearby for some inexplicable reason. The ship lurched again as the sea tornado grew in intensity, expanding further outwards and much deeper. It was almost to the ocean floor. The creature grabbed their ship again and pulled them back to the edge but kept a tentacle wrapped horizontally around the ship to act as a buffer.

Many of the crew actually screamed in terror as a rather large arachnid appendage landed on the deck. It was followed by several more until a gigantic spider loomed overhead. Fortunately, the spider positioned itself just so to keep its body from wrecking the sails and snapping the mast like a toothpick. Only Smee and Silver noticed the jet stream of water that had erupted from the center of the whirlpool, shooting straight up before arcing towards the ship. When it landed, a certain redhead came tumbling out while the water formed into the shape of a man. It solidified to reveal Poseidon, who then promptly collapsed. The strain of using his recently awakened heritage being too much for his body to handle.

Artz: And that's where I'm ending it. Sorry if it seemed more choppy than normal. It was written in short bursts over several months. Things have just been insanely hectic as of late and has still not settled down either, but I wanted to give ya something! I haven't forgotten I swear!

*A boy with silver hair walks into the article with his arms crossed and he's not alone. Several other very recognizable people join him.*

Artz: I haven't forgotten you guys either. I'll get there eventually.

Crow: *appears from her shadow, directly behind her. He smiles creepily at the crowd before opening his eyes, revealing that they were glowing a deep crimson color, almost like blood*

The crowd fled but two remained; the silver haired boy and the brown haired man.

Balthier: I'm not so easily intimidated.

Hope: And I'm just plain stubborn.

Artz: What are you...*notices Crow* Well that explains a lot. *to the readers* Apologies if the text style or spacing is a bit wonky. I had typed up the original draft in Google Docs, copied and modified it in the Blogger app, but to add gifs I have to use the browser version.

The Crocodile, Goldeneye

Hey everyone and welcome back to The Realm of the Blood Guard, home of the Prismata and the Child of the Stars! I know, the intro was a bit more wordy and posh, but considering who is being covered in this article, it was worth a grander entrance because he's just not anyone. He shares a deep bond with Artz but his deepest bond is with her sister, Anna aka Yuna, her truest believer.

As previously stated in another article, Goldeneye is Rumplestiltskin from Once Upon A Time, but you're probably wondering about a few things; Milah, Baelfire, Killian/Hook, Belle and Artz. After all, Milah was Bae's birth mother in the show but she isn't in the BG verse, so who was his mother and what the heck happened? The answer is rather easy and obvious to those that have watched Once Upon A Time...maybe, it's obvious to me anyways.

If you guessed Beauty, I mean Belle then you are correct. The relationship between Rumple and Belle in the show was essentially Once Upon A Time's version of Beauty and the Beast. However, in the BG verse, things go a bit sideways and whole lot skewed. Oh don't get me wrong, Rumple is still the Dark One, but his castle in a forest turns into a fortress on an island. Belle is actually a rather complicated story. The short version is that she was the younger of a set of twins, the eldest having been taken by an evil sorceress to be trained as a sex mage.

The term sex mage was the easiest way to explain what she became but in plain speak, basically a term you would understand instead of a long, drawn out and probably poetic explanation from yours truly. Anyways, the elder sister was named Tessa and from an author's stand point, there is a reason for that. Said reason is below.

Say hello to Tess from the series, Roswell. Yeah, pulling out all the stops for the BG verse and yes, the same actress did indeed play both parts which is why Tessa has blonde hair...initially speaking. Like I said before...Belle is complicated. But you're talking about Tessa right now. Yeah...about that...*brief pause to insert an image to avoid explaining right away, having need to figure out how to give a clear, condensed, and concise version*

*clears throat*

Okay, to put it bluntly...Belle is dead. *waves hands in pleading gesture* Let me explain! *trying to ignore the murderous glares from the Rumbelle fandom* In the show, there is a moment in Belle's history where she could have easily died and that moment was the day the orges attacked, killing her mother. In the BG verse, that attack still happens but Belle is also killed. In his grief, Belle's father begged for the return of Tessa, simply unable to cope with the loss of his wife and child.

The sorceress initially refuses, only to gasp in alarm. Little Tessa was behind her and had her tiny hand in the woman's back. She ripped out the heart and ordered the sorceress to merge the essence of her twin inside of her and as punishment for denying her father, Tessa ordered her to be at her father's beck and call. When done giving orders, she placed a spell on the heart and returned it, binding the sorceress to her father.

Her orders were carried out but the merger of two essences functioning at very different wavelengths caused Tessa to forget that she was...well, Tessa. Her hair turned brown and her memories of the sorceress and all of the training/torment/torture was buried deep within. Her father told the sorceress to alter his memories of the attack so that it would appear as if his daughter had survived because even if it was a lie, she was still his child no matter which name she went by but his people would not trust Tessa due to her being raised by an evil being; however, they would accept that the king had managed a miracle and saved Belle's life.

Unfortunately he had not given her any restrictions and thus she was able to alter his memory to where she had been the one to save the child's life. The king "insisted" that she return to his kingdom as his royal visor and eventually became his royal mistress. It was difficult to do but she had bound him to her, albeit more shallow than her own binding to him. The three of them returned to his kingdom and life went on.

The seemingly never ending war with the orges brought forth both broken men and mighty warriors. Then there were those held up higher than all the rest, the Great Heroes. Amongst these heroes was a man named Gaston, his incredible deeds during the wars had earned him both fame and fortune. He had young lads aspiring to be like him, men envious for many a reason, and there wasn't a woman that did not desire except one...Belle.

Belle held no interest in marriage or romance, gave no inclination to settling down or having children. In fact, she wanted to be the hero, exploring the world and accomplishing things that no other warrior or hero has dared to dream. Time and again, Gaston would approach her, attempt to converse with her, but ultimately failing to get any kind of positive reaction from the brunette princess with her nose always stuck in a book.

The longer she denied him, the more he wanted her. His bed partners were on the receiving end of his ferocious ire, his carnal desires making him almost beastial in nature. Most of them couldn't walk or crawl or even work anymore, he was that monstrous in bed. Not long after, he went on a hunting trip into the mountains just south of the capital where the Royal Palace resided. He left his usual short companion back at the town lodge, paying the blonde triplets to keep him occupied while he was away.

It waa during this trip that he heard the most beautiful voice singing nearby. He followed the voice, his footsteps becoming quicker but nearly undetectable. Why because he recognized the voice, who else could it be and there she was, Princess Belle, sitting in a small meadow filled with flowers. The sun filtered through canopy to cast her in array of light and shadow and the great hero realized that it was just the two of them. 

They were completely alone, no one within hearing distance. No one could see them or hear them...no one could stop him. No one could stop him from claiming his reward so he silently stepped into the clearing. Within moments, he was on top of her, pushing her to the ground.

*We interrupt this article to prevent exposure of content too graphic to depict on this site.*

Her unexpected encounter with the war hero, Gaston, forced Tessa's essence to emerge and with it came the knowledge and power of her craft. She easily used their joined position along with her magic to enslave him to her will. No longer did he yearn to conquer her but to be used by her however she saw fit. From that day forth, he was her slave. She decided that it would be in her best interest to marry Gaston as to avoid her rather meddlesome father and the machinations of her former mentor.

The sorceress could sense that Gaston had been stripped of his free will, a state that could only be brought about by sensual magic. He may have been a boisterous buffoon but he was an exceptional hunter and soldier that possessed both cunning and intellect; however, his arrogance and pride drove him directly into the clutches of her former apprentice. While the king approved the wedding and started the preparations, she contacted an acquaintance of hers...the Dark One.

He had gotten himself a rather fiesty maid, his little sapphire. Honestly, were all men idiots? His sapphire was none other than the Lady of the Blood Guard which was why the sorceress had ceased any possible proposals for him. When the Star Child became involved, it was best to vacate the area if said individual had any self preservation. She knew it was a gamble to get him involved because he was a man, but if anyone had a chance of taming the irksome child then it was him. Plus with the Star Child in residence at the Dark Fortress, her former apprentice would not be able to keep a stable bond with him because no one in creation thus far has been able to overcome the indomitable will of the Child of the Stars.

Upon hearing about the intensification of the orge wars, his little sapphire advised him to become involved and he simply sighed, transporting himself there with magic but once he was within range of a certain brunette princess, her magic began to weave around him in a non invasive yet alluring way, quieting the beast within him and thus a deal was struck. In exchange for ending the orges wars and allowing peace to finally come to these lands, the hand of the lovely Princess Belle in marriage. Gaston was about to unsheath his sword but she walked forward saying that it was time for her to become the hero she always wanted to be and behalf of her father's kingdom, she accepted the deal.

Well Artz was far from happy, she had thought Belle to be the kind hearted, book loving noble that she had heard so many wonderful things about. What she got was an abusive and cruel mistress constantly trying to undermine her influence over the Dark One. She wasn't an idiot, she knew something was off about her from the start, but there was nothing she could do about it. The one time she mentioned anything remotely negative about his recently made wife resulted in a rather fiercesome sound lashing that took weeks to recover when it should have taken only a few days.

It wasn't until Baelfire was born that things altered radically. Belle just up and left, leaving a note saying that she could no longer allow a beast to fill her with its seed nor could she bring herself to raise its spawn. Rumple had been devastated so it had been up to Artz to take care of the newborn, but even though the princess was gone, something felt off. Not long after, she received word from her Captain that Poseidon was having difficulties controlling himself around the most recent addition to their crew, a young woman named Tessa. 

She handed the boy off to his father that was sitting in front of the spinning wheel, blankly staring at. He automatically adjusted his hold so his son was more comfortable while his ever faithful sapphire ran to the closest mirror to use a spell he had taught her. She picked up a silver ornate hand mirror from within a glass windowed display cabinet and casted the spell on it, allowing her to see what she desired...the Jolly Roger. She nearly threw the damn thing across the room because that damn princess was not only on board Her Captain's ship but also had her hands all over Her God of the Sea.

Poseidon, although early in his time stream, was fiercely loyal to Artz and loved her so much almost to the point of agony, so for him to be allowing another woman to be intimate with him at all meant that something was very wrong. The problem was the nearly catatonic Dark One. She couldn't just leave him to personally deal with the issue than return because her departure would kill him and possibly Baelfire if she didn't return quickly enough. Why was Rumple like this? It didn't seem right like had been carved out or like something switched off in him.

She told the Fourth Captain to take control of their shared body for the time being, seeing as he was apparently immune to whatever was affecting Poseidon and to figure out what was going with the wayward noble even if it meant bedding the damn bitch to which the captain was not happy about. He was clearly an Artz only man, making the love she held for her beloved captain that match deeper because he always chose her and she knew that he always would. A perk of having been originally in the future and having the chance to fall for him before he technically ever met her. Don't you just love spatial/temporal mechanics where effect precedes cause?

The red haired dimensional traveler then turned her attention to the silent Dark Wizard. No matter what she tried, she simply couldn't reach him and they still had no idea where the dagger was so that option was out. She found out about a month later that the Dark One was not the first to fall to the somehow mystical noble. How did she know this when a certain asshole of a war hero barged through the front door and attempted to kill Rumple and as usual Artz acted on instinct first and got in the way, shielding both Rumple and Baelfire from being skewered on the idiot's sword.

She fell to the floor, clutching her right side in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding or at least slow it down. But what about her powers? The Dark Fortress was both designed and built by the very first Dark One and an enchantment was forged into every part of it and the surrounding grounds. This enchantment prevented any and all forms of power from being used there unless the Dark One allowed otherwise and even then, it was unlikely to work because her power was that of a star and the Beast born from darkness that was bound to the dagger would not react favorably.

Gaston attempted to finish the job, pulling out his sword from her body making her cry out in pain. Just as he raised the blade up to cut off her head, he was surrounded by a swirling fog of magic. The sword dropped to the floor with a loud clang as the magical cloud vanished, a rose falling through the air to land in front of her. A small smile graced her lips as she lost consciousness. Once Upon A Time had struck again and for once, she hadn't minded because she did not want to die again. It was far too soon and would put too much strain on her body.

Rumple was sitting next to the woman that had saved his life and that of his son. She had been looking after and caring for them both this whole time. He was angry, not at her, but himself. He had fallen victim to an almost completely forgotten art of magic. It was one of the few kinds of magic that the Dark One had no defense against if the sex mage was of the opposite gender. The only reason he had not become an empty puppet was the woman he was sitting next to.

His old associate, the sorceress, had revealed the identity of his little sapphire and he was honestly surprised that she would allow herself to be rendered powerless, only to endure his severe mood swings, foul temper, and the few times that the beast broke free and used her like it's bitch before returning to the confines of the dagger, having been temporarily sated. Then he pops off to end the ogre wars only to get married to a sex mage that treated her with such cruelty. He internally winced as he remembered the sound lashing he had inflicted upon her, using his magic to augment the whip and making the recovery time lengthen. 

To which his "wife" took advantage of and repeatedly bedded him without interference but she was unable to bind him to her. His connection to the Star Child was already too deep to overcome. This was proven when her life was about to end unless immediate action was taken. The desire to save her kick started his brain and he easily dealt with the buffoon, watching her smile when she saw the rose. She loved roses. He made a maze garden just for her, each nexus point had a different strain of roses. She seemed to favor red most of all, followed by blue, purple, silver and ridiculously black, but if it made her happy, it was worth the confusion and the walking contradiction of a puzzle that became more complex as each layer was solved.

To put her through his problems was bad enough but to drag a sex mage into the equation followed by an infant, said infant asleep by his maid, was going too far. He had tried to grant access to her powers within the fortress but it wouldn't budge and it had nothing to do with the beast. It was rather content and very smug because a star was its bitch. He had never been so disgusted in his life. Everyone called him the Dark One but he was nothing more than a host, a meat suit as it were.

He was distracted from his inner musings by what sounded like a body crashing into the table of the dining hall. Was it bad to actually what that sound was in an instant? Did it really occur that often to actually be memorable? He rose from his chair and headed towards the door, pausing briefly to place an impenetrable barrier around his maid and son. Then he simply left the room, not knowing that his life was about to change forever.

Artz: And that's a wrap for this one.

Atem: I was under the impression that this article was supposed to focus primarily on Goldeneye.

Yugi: I've got three words for you, partner. Follow...the...muse. Once she gets going, its best to just get out of the way.

Seto: Hmph. For once we agree on something.

Artz: Um...

Joey: What the hell is that supposed to mean, rich boy?!

Tristan: *holding his friend and stopping him from doing something stupid like punching a certain multi billion in the face* Settle down, Joey. Just give it a rest already!

Mai: *reclining leisurely in a nearby chair, sipping a cocktail and having a mock duel with Tea* Will you idiots keep it down over? I'm trying to teach Tea some advanced dueling techniques for that cute little deck of hers.

Tea: *sighs heavily* Don't bother, Mai. All these years and they still haven't changed.

Artz: *just turns around and walks away, wondering why the Yugioh verse just invaded for no apparent reason*