Gavin was once again driven deeper into confusion as the massive fiery bird-like entity appeared.
As it finished shrieking in its high-pitched voice, Gavin voiced his confusion:
"What the hell is that? What the hell is going on?!"
He then turned to look at Dan.
"You better start explaining things right now!"
He then looked back at the phoenix, having to squint due to the light emitting from the creature, being wary of any hostility it may show.

As Dan stared at the phoenix, unmoving and somewhat stunned, the creature made it's move. Launching itself forward at the group, rocks hurtling behind it from the rubble, the giant bird's beak came snapping at Kitty, aiming to grab hold of her cruelly. At the same time it's flaming wings would extend, threatening to hit any of the people surrounding her, and especially any who would try save her.

"You will understand! You will regret!"

Still on the ground holding my hands over my ears to try and stop the ringing, I wouldn't be able to put my arms up fast enough to protect myself. "Regret what you overgrown barbecued chicken?! I don't even know you, put me down!"

As the Phoenix made the grab for Kitty, Gavin reacted fast and began to intervene. What he didn't anticipate however, was the speed at which the massive entity extended it's flaming wings.

Before he had time to even attempt to retaliate, Gavin was struck by one of the wings at chest level, which sent him flying and crashing into one of the tents.

"Hm, such amateurs." A young girl chuckled to herself as she watched the battle unfold in favour of the Phoenix. She knew already that she would have to step in and end the fight at some point, but she was rather amused by the group's useless attempts to fight a creature that shared the same abilities as them.

After a few minutes of fighting, the girl grew bored and extended her hands, the air around the ritual site quickly becoming much colder as ice flew from them. Within seconds, the ice struck the bird, quickly freezing it solid and ending the fight.
"You can't literally fight fire with fire, you know." The girl spoke, stepping out of the shadows and removing her hood to reveal a young, red-headed girl.

As ice encased the phoenix just before it's beak reached Kitty, a sudden silence swept over the site. Peace seemed to be obtained, until a drop of water hit the ground. Then another. And another. Soon enough the ice shattered outwards into a thousand pieces, threatening to lacerate those around without defense. Whilst the shards distracted the others, the phoenix ignited it's flames brightly once again, roaring in anger.

"You can not extinguish phoenixfire! A phoenix never dies! A phoenix only rises once again from it's ashes!" It shrieked at them all, lunging for Kitty once again. This time it attemped to pick her up with it's talons, taking flight over her should it take hold and carry her above the treeline.

I'd let out a screech of my own, twisting and squirming in the birds grip but only succeeding in getting my arms cut up. "Let me go you stupid bird!"

Erina stood back in shock. Nothing had ever been able to melt her ice before. But then again, this was a Phoenix she was dealing with, she should have realized this would happen.
"Well shit...That was unexpected" She blurted out as the Phoenix picked Kitty up.

A flash of blue washed over her normally green eyes as the ice covering her hands faded and sparks began to fly between her fingers.
"Take. This!" The girl shouted as she aimed her hands toward the Phoenix, attempting to shoot it down with a lightning attack.

Gavin meanwhile had been dazed from the attack. He was still laying down on the collapsed tent that he was sent flying onto.
With a groan, he got up and turned to face the source of the commotion. His eyes widened as he saw Kitty in the clutches of the giant bird.
"No.."
Quickly, he engulfed his body in flames and transformed into the Ghost Rider.
From his left hand that he held out, a chain forged from hellfire elongated as he ran towards the creature that was now gaining distance and altitude.

"It's too late! Save your strength, we need to find it's lair!" Dan called to Gavin, whilst himself running for his horse. The bird had indeed gained altitude, with Kitty now in it's grasp. Lightning crackled by it, cutting along the joint of its left wing. Crippled, it still perservered, flying lop-sided in the air but only just over the treeline. It's flames caught onto that of the leaves, soon spreading it's fury along the forest.

"Follow it's fire and it's blood, quickly!" Dan spurred his horse into action, bolting for the treeline in the same direction as the phoenix. "And put out the fires!" He then called to the girl who had conjured the ice. Soon he was out of ear-shot, expecting the others to follow. Left and right he weaved, dodging the falling flames and following the trail of blood left by the bird's lightning-inflicted wound.

I would be screaming curses at the top of my lungs angrily as I kicked at the air and squirmed, "So help me you better put me  down before I shove my foot so far up your bird ass that it comes out your fucking beak!" Rearing my head to the side I'd try and reach out to attempt to bite its leg with my teeth.

The Ghost Rider followed Dan as he mounted his horse again. Listening to Dan's instruction, the Ghost Rider jumped onto his horse and followed the phoenix's trail.

During the journey, he grew impatient, at which point he channeled some of his energy into the horse. The horse's form changed slightly as it began to produce fire from its hooves, mouth and nose and its eyes began to glow, enveloped in fire. At this point its speed increased drastically, and the Rider was instantly ahead of Dan as he maintained pursuit.

After a few minutes the phoenix swooped down, ignoring the clawing and biting at her talons. A mountain came into view with the top hollowed out, and that was where she dived, straight into the darkness so that Kitty could see naught but black for a few moments.

Meanwhile the chasers had made good pace, following the blood trail right up to the mountain. Gavin reached it first with his enhanced speed, and would spot the entrance not too far to the left. Once Dan caught up, he'd signal for them to move quickly but quietly in.

One Kitty could see again, she'd find herself on her knees, hands and feet bound in thick chains. Before her stood an altar stained in blood and littered with pieces of bone, and on the other side of it a bald robed man. Behind her stood rows of such men, their hoods up as they chanted an ancient language in repetition. Then the phoenix spoke again, albeit quieter and out of sight.
"I was told not to play with my food but... my followers seem to enjoy it..." The smile could almost be heard in her voice, although it sounded quite young. "It wasn't my mother who told me that, oh no, because she left me for dead." Now it was anger in her tone, a gritting of her teeth.

With a few more moments passing, the small girl then stepped around the corner of the altar to face Kitty. She had long dark hair, messy enough to obscure her face, although not her sinister smile.
"I better be quick though, don't want your friends catching up." Her voice sounded deeper now, and through the strands of hair it seemed her eyes had turned blue, almost as if the cosmos itself were inside them. In her hand then formed a blue dagger, out of cosmic energy itself, which came towards her throat.
"Finally, you get what you deserve."


"Jaya!"

Dan's voice called out from the entrance of the cavern...

"Jaya!" Dan shouted, unsheathing Blightslayer as the rows of hooded men turned to face him and Gavin. It was a long cavern hall they found themselves in, at the end of which were a short flight of stairs leading to the altar. On either side they were flanked by dozens of hooded cultists, who were now drawing out daggers and readying spells. He gave a short glance to Gavin, nodding for him to ready for action. Then slowly he took his steps forward.

"Don't do this Jaya! This 'Starforger' has warped your mind!" His words fell on her angry face, as the blue in her eyes shifted somewhat, as if something inside of her was fighting itself. After a brief silence she then frowned, the blue staying in her gaze.
"NO!"

With that the cultists all leaped forward, dozens coming to slash at Dan and Gavin.

I would gulp, my blue eyes looking down at the dagger at my throat then up at Jaya. "Jaya. Stop." I'd beg her quietly, both trying to get her to stop and keep her attention away from my burning hand that would currently be trying to melt the metal cuff around my wrist. "Jaya you honestly think I would have left you with Lana if I thought you were still alive? I thought you were dead Jaya." My eyes would start to well up with tears as I look up at you.

Still in the form of the Ghost Rider, he stepped forwards in the direction of the hooded figures, putting himself between them and Dan. As they came charging forth, Ghost Rider readied his chain, enveloping it in fire and heating it up beyond the melting point of even the toughest metals known to man.

As the hooded figures drew close, in one swift move Gavin lashed his chain out at them, slicing a few of them in near proximity, with precision, through their waists; effectively slicing them in half.

However the hooded figures who were readying their magic held back and threw spells at him via enchanted bows and such. One arrow struck Gavin in the centre of his chest, however he quickly started to spin his chain infront of him, mimicking the speed and movements of a helicopter turbine. The rest of the enchanted arrows failed to reach him, instead being sliced up by the spinning chain.

With an opening created by Gavin, Dan rushed for the stairs up to the altar. By the time he reached the bottom Jaya was furious, her mind warped towards nothing but anger by something else. In her rage she shot a blast of fire at Kitty, enough to send her flying down the stairs to the bottom, towards the many cultists. Dan had no time to check on her, as she rushed up the steps to their daughter.

"Java," He said, slicing at the bald man by the altar at the neck, cutting through it clean before turning to face the girl. "Listen to me, don't let whatever this thing is control you..." His sword lowered, he slowly approached his daughter to embrace her. Her face slowly turned from anger to sadness, as the blue in her eyes faded away, and she step forward to hug Dan.

At the same time the cultists advanced on both Kitty and Gavin, unaware of their idols change of heart.

I would let out a grunt as I fly down the stairs and land in a heap at the end, getting up I would hold the side of my now bleeding head. "Jeez, she got my anger issues.." My gaze would turn to the advancing cultists and a spark of rage would start to fester inside of me as a sheen of red makes its way into my blue eyes. "Time to teach you fools a lesson, don't mess with my daughter." My tone would be dark with hints of rage in it, with a jerk of my arm I would snap the chains connecting my wrist in half as the other ones around my ankles melt off as flames spread across my skin. 

Launching forward at one cultist I would slam my fist into his stomach with immense force, causing him to go flying into another cultist. My body would jerk slightly as I feel an enchanted arrow lodge itself into my shoulder, I would look down at it for a moment before jerking it out, the arrow head still intact and stained with my blood. Drawing on my superhuman strength I would whip the arrow forward, the bloodstained projectile lodging into one of the cultists forehead. Dodging another arrow I would throw myself at one of the other cultists, tackling him to the ground and burying my teeth into his neck before jerking my head back up effectively ripping out the side of his throat. One of the magic spells would catch me in the side and I would go flying to the side of the cave. 

Quickly getting up, my face would be covered in blood and one of my eyes would be blood red as white patches start to appear on my body. Letting out a feral roar I would lunge at the cultist, burying my fangs into his neck as well but instead of jerking my head back up I would slam my hand through his chest with immense and yank out his heart. Holding the heart in my hand I would let the body drop before setting the heart on fire, drawing on my superhuman strength again I would throw the heart forward with the force of a bullet at another cultist. Putting out my hands fire would start to grow from them into the form of whips, bending low and flicking my wrist I would whip several cultists onto their feet before slamming the other whip straight down the middle of the line to effectively burn through their waists. 

Letting out a hiss of pain I would look down at the injured cultist at my feet and the dagger in my foot. Leaning down I would yank it out of my foot and slam the knife into his shoulder before bringing my other foot down onto his neck with enough force to separate it from the rest of the body as blood sprays onto me. Picking up the head I would dodge another magic spell before lighting the head on fire. Throwing the flaming head into the air I would jump up and kick it with great force, sending it flying towards the last remaining group of cultists.

As the cultists continued to fire their arrows at the Ghost Rider, a separate group flanked from his left, taking aim with enchanted arrows. However the Ghost Rider quickly switched the chain to his right hand before curling his left fist tightly and bringing it up so that the knuckles were leveled with his shoulder, aimed towards the group. In by doing this, he summoned a mass of flames where the cultists had decided to stand and take aim, and the flames developed into a wall beneath them as it rose up and engulfed them completely.

However a second group of cultists had already flanked his right and three arrows buried into his right side below the underarm. He turned his attention to them and moved his left arm under his right, opening the palm out towards them. A large hose of flame projected outwards towards the figures, growing larger and larger in a cone-like shape. Only some of them managed to survive by fleeing while most were too slow, turning to ashes as the fire burnt through them.

Then, with in another swift move, the Ghost Rider changed the movement of his chain to a sideways swipe, slicing the cultists in front of him through their necks. However another group of cultists managed to sneak up behind him and his back was soon bombarded with arrows. At this point the magical properties of these enchanted projectiles began to take effect and the Ghost Rider soon experienced weakness, dropping down to one knee.

"Dad..." Jaya spoke, choking back tears as she embraced her father. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone, it was the voice..."
"I know." Dan replied, holding Jaya close. "It's okay now, we're here for you." He turned to face the others, who were making quick work of the cultists.

Thousands of lightyears away, the Starforger twisted it's wyrm-like body in place. It was most displeased with his puppet's lack of strength, for even though it was so far away it could see all. As it's anger grew so did the blue light in it's eyes, until they glowed like stars.

As Jaya opened her eyes, so too did hers shine bright blue. She pulled back from her hug, instead grabbing Dan firmly.
"You fool, you should never have left Oblivion. Not now you are mortal." The voice seemed to come from elsewhere, deep and not feminine at all. Yet still it came from his daughter who now plunged the cosmic dagger through his chest. Sword no longer in hand, Dan merely stared into the eyes of his child as the blue faded away. Once she had control of herself again it took her some time to realise what the Starforger had made her do.

Slowly at first he began to fall sideways, until gravity took him down the stairs in one swift drop. At the bottom he eventually lay, staring up at the hole in the cavern's roof, life draining away. With a horrified scream Jaya ran down to him, placing her hands on his chest and bursting into tears. He leaned up, whispering in her ear softly, before slumping back down again. This time he stared at her, but there was no life in his eyes.
"No! No! I didn't mean to... I didn't want to! Dad! Dad!" Her screams became louder and more prolonged, until grief consumed her. Becoming engulfed in flames, the phoenix sprung to life again, extending it's wings and shooting up into the sky. Out of the hole in the roof it went, dissapearing out of sight...

As the sounds of the voices above reached my ears I would instantly finish off the cultist I was fighting and take off running towards the stairs, the anger draining out of me with each step I take. "Dan!" Screaming, I would finally reach his body falling to my knees down beside it as tears cloud my eyes. Looking up at the hole in the roof then back down to the body tears would streak down my cheeks and mix with the blood on my face, my shaking hands would reach out to touch him but would stop inches away as I start to mutter under my breath. "Not again...please not again..." I'd sink down, my head resting just next to the dagger in his chest as I cry. "No..." My voice would be a broken whisper as the fire on my skin dies away and the red from my eyes fades. As I turn my head to look at his face I would notice that his lifeless eyes were still open, reaching a shaking hand out I would close them before breaking down again.

As the remaining small group of cultists surrounded his kneeling figure, the Ghost Rider looked up the steps to the sounds of the shrieks and screams of sorrow. Watching Jaya transform into and fly off as the phoenix, and then Kitty run to Dan's lifeless corpse, the Ghost Rider summoned newfound might within him and generated a fiery blast outwards from his body. The immense heat and force of the blast shattered the atomic structures of each cultist's body, burning them into ashes and then dissipating the ashes themselves into nothingness. The arrows piercing his body would also have burnt off.

Still wavered by the effects of the magic, the Ghost Rider returned to it's human form as Gavin and staggered up the steps towards Dan and Kitty. As he approached both of them, he looked down and for a moment observed Kitty as she wept.
"I'm sorry.."

"As am I." The Judge stood at the top of the stairs, inspecting Blightslayer in his hand. "I did not foresee this, I fear whatever we face is obscuring my visions of time." He then began to walk down, sliding the sword into it's sheathe. "I also regret that your friend won't be cheating death this time. He hasn't appeared in Oblivion. No one has since the Convergence..." There was some sort of sorrow in the figure's voice, a difference from the emotionless judge in the court.

His hand then extended out, offering the sword to Kitty. "Take it, make sure your daughter gets it. Our only hope is for her to show you the way to the Starforger." Once the sword had been offered, ensuring she took it by the sheathe and not the handle, he then linked his hands infront of him. "I can sense her location, but not whatever is controlling her." His head moved, as if looking into the distance through the cavern walls. "She is far away, must have used a portal to get off-world." He then looked back to Kitty, and half at Gavin.

"Find her, free her of this being's mind games, and make sure she gets the sword." With his left hand he then waved in the air, forming a portal of white light for them. "Meanwhile I shall gather those I can, I fear we may need all the help we can get should this 'Starforger' exist..."

Wiping the tears from my face, I would look up at the Judge with barely restrained rage and sorrow, practically snatching the sword away from his outstretched hand by its sheath. "Now go away." I would spit this at the Judge, my eyes softening as I look down at Dan's body before they harden again as I turn to Gavin as the last of the Judge's words spark a memory. "D-Did you find her? Did you find Diana?" My hand would be holding Dan's lifeless hand tightly, afraid to let go. "W-We um, we may need her." I would struggle to keep my voice steady as tears threaten to spill down my cheeks again.

Having finally deduced the reason for Kitty's apparent revival, Gavin looked at her in the eyes.
"Yes, we did."
He then turned his head to the hole in the ceiling of the small cave.
"This.. Starforger. I'm guessing it's something big. Back on Earth, there was mass panic and confusion. People looking up and seeing entirely new constellations and nebulae in the sky. And then the thing about Oblivion.. I think something big is coming, Kitty. Something far bigger than anything we've ever dealt with before."
He then looked back down at her, sparing a glance at Dan's corpse.
"Come, I think we should go gather backup of our own."

With that, he forged a bike completely out of hellfire. Approaching the bike, he placed his hands on it and enhanced it further, enabling it to travel between planets within mere hours. He mounted the bike.
"You coming?"