Exodus Files: Gates of Hell.

Chapter 3: The Meeting.

As the tides turned, uneasiness settled through Mu's spine as she was sitting in her throne. Clenching her fist, furious and afraid for she cannot bear the brunt of having a powerful threat amidst the developing war against the Dark lord.

Outside the gates of the Palace, a massive beam struck from the clouds. As the bright light fades appear Niv's party "Here we are...Sky Palace..." Key welcomed the trio. Doer and Mitsu examine the impressive structure, seeing such majestic and solemn fortress. While the two are busy Niv complains " If i have a choice, I'd ignore her request, but I trust you, I trust you too well I can't say no." Key combed his hair with his hand then replied "You know Niv, we ran out of options; besides, you seek for adventure,right? Well, I'm giving you one..." Key stepped forward and faced the trio "Gentlemen. Thank you for accepting our invitation. Please follow me, I'll take you to Mistress Mu's Throne Room."

On their way, Key made a brief run down of the situation " We are facing a great threat in the form of Gates Lyonheart. We do not have enough information about his race or skills, but one significant information we got is he's wearing a golden armor. Reports say this armor is impenetrable, gives him flight, he also wields a golden war hammer. One of the Archivist that managed to escape informed us that he has this crystal in his armor's chestplate, capable of firing off a beam so strong it can easily bring down a Blood Ogre."

"Wow, I hate to admit it, but this place is amazing." Mitsu exclaimed, ignoring the Seraph's explanation "the details are really fascinating, but yes my Castle's much better..." Doer then looked at his friend "Your Castle? Much better than this? This is a solemn and holy Sanctuary...do not compare this to your creepy place." Key cleared his voice as his eye pierced at the heroes" But before we manage to get even close to him, we have to go against his minions, The Mergers. They have powers unbeknownst to us since no one managed to escape their wrath."

As they walked, Angels and monster stared at them, fear and amazement mix up, and they can hear whispers "They are the Nightmare Heroes, the notorious party" another one reacted "Who let them in? Is Mistress Mu aware of this?" some are pointing, while others hide. Niv gets pissed off and was about to burst out but Key managed to calm him down. "Let them be, they are just simpletons".

As the team reached the Throne Room, the Angel smiled at Niv "It's good to see you again, Nivrae." Mu welcomed the dark prince, "it's been quite a long time since we saw each other, if I am not mistaken it was 8 years ago, right?" she continued, Niv replied with a bad mood "do you have to really bring that up? What's done is done. Let's go straight to the point." Mu sat in the throne with confidence, not showing any signs of fear towards the Demon prince.

"You seemed more business-oriented now, Mr. Lacronite?" she then smile with a hint of sarcasm, "Key needed help, don't get this wrong, I am not here to SERVE you." The Pinkdevil answered with a heavy, strong tone, his looks indicated that he never liked Mu, "Before anything else, why us?" Doer asked, making the move, breaking the ice to avoid the discomfort the past may bring, "we know that our forces are actually against each other..." he continued, Key answered the Unicus this time "Gates is a powerful being, he eliminated most of our elite squad, and we already ran out of good fighters. You being the next leader of the Roalhdiz clan and obvious that you are neither a Demon nor an evil monster, you may serve as a good ally for the Palace."

Mitsu butts in "And me?" he then stared Mu straight in the eyes "we both know that I am the accursed one...a pure hunch of evil" he laughed at his own joke and continued "Niv and I are totally a part of the 'Most Wanted Bad-Asses'". Mu took over and replied to the Knight "I will be giving amnesty to the both of you and will be considered allies of the Palace. Also I can grant you, Mr. Deathstryke, your freedom from your curse." Niv butts in "JUST ADMIT IT! You bummers finally realized that I AM STRONGER THAN YOU." Niv points a finger to Mu, and added "come on, Mu, spill it." And before Niv can add insult to Mu, Mitsu interrupted, "Amnesty? My "FREEDOM" from my curse...I don't need that. I'll be outside for the meantime, call me when you guys are done with your chitchat." the Demon Knight walked away.

Niv smirked, making this 'I TOLD YOU SO' reaction on his face, while Mu shook her head. Doer felt the awkwardness of the situation and once again started to continue the conversation "Niv, you should give them an answer now; I think the situation this time is really critical" Niv got annoyed by Doer's remarks "YOU THINK I CARE?" The Unicus argued, facing Niv and placing both hands on his shoulder "Stop acting like a kid, maybe just this once, think about the situation. Mu is right." Niv got even annoyed and raised his voice "WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO IMPLY?" Mu gave up and laughed hard, it echoed across the Throne Room, the guards are surprised by her reaction,

"See, Niv, even your friend agrees with me!" she continued "you're a three hundred year old Oni and you still act like a child, what a riot. You're proving to the world that you are just a bothersome brat" She continued to laugh, she almost cried.

Niv got really pissed off "OKAY! FINE! I ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE! I'LL KICK GATES' BUTT ONCE AND FOR ALL...BUT AGAIN; THIS DOESN'T MEAN I WORK FOR YOU!" He pouted like a kid who lost his candy...

"Doer, I will appoint you to look after him, I hope that you UNDERSTAND the current crisis that we are going through." Mu told Doer and winked. "I understand, I'll do my best." Doer patted Niv's back and tried to give a hint that they should go, Key again guided them out, but this time he asked for a minute to say adieu to the maiden, "See, I told you it will work. Although I can sense you trembling, you did great." Mu then released a heavy sigh "Th-thank you..." Mu replied and off the Seraph to guide the Team off the Palace.