In the ruins of an ancient tower, Scylla, the general of Deep Sea Dolphin, materialized with the frozen body of Lei Magnus held in tow by means of a Ray Wing spell. She set the man's remains, which were encased in a block of ice, gently down onto a stone altar in the middle of the chamber. A meticulously drawn magical diagram surrounded the altar. Charybdis, the priestess of Deep Sea Dolphin, was still working on the diagram. She looked up when she heard the thud that accompanied Lei Magnus being dropped onto the altar. Her golden eyes grew wide. "Oh, Scylla, tell me you didn't."

"You didn't actually expect me to go after one of the live ones did you?"

"I can't believe it. Is that really THE Lei Magnus?"

"Of course it is. Isn't he lovely?"

Charybdis bit her lip nervously. "I can't believe that Dynast gave you permission to be in his kingdom, let alone take Lei Magnus."

"Well, Dynast doesn't exactly know…heh heh."

"What?"

"I can't stand dealing with that prick. I wasn't about to go crawling to him for help. Besides, what he doesn't know won't hurt us. And once Lord Ruby Eye is reborn it won't matter anyway."

"I guess you have a point."

"Of course I do. Now just trust me; it's easier this way. Now start the ritual."

"But I'm not finished with the diagram. I haven't drawn all the runes yet."

"You're not finished yet? Why is this taking you so long? I had to do the hard part! I was the one who risked my life trespassing near the North Pole!"

"Weren't you cold in that outfit?" Charybdis taunted. The outfit that Scylla passed off as armor barely covered more than the average bikini. Charybdis was a bit more conservatively dressed, but not much.

"Just shut up and get back to work!" Scylla snapped.

"Calm down, Scylla. You've always been so impatient. I'll be finished soon. Don't rush me. You do want this to work, don't you?"

"Of course I do." Scylla hissed. The sound of Scylla's spiked heels clicking against the ancient stone was accompanied by the steady beat of the end of her trident striking the floor as she paced around the room along the edge of the diagram.

"Would you mind not making so much noise? You're distracting me."

"Well, excuse me!" With a not-so-subtle 'hmph', Scylla halted her pacing. She leaned against a wall with her elbow resting between the prongs of her trident. She started thinking as she watched Charybdis carefully drawing. A smile touched Scylla's lips. Her last attempt to avenge Deep Sea Dolphin had failed quite miserably, but this plan would surely work. It was made painfully obvious that Scylla and Charybdis did not have the strength to cure Dolphin or defeat Xellos. Resurrecting Lord Ruby Eye was the only option left to them. Only he had the power to cure Deep Sea Dolphin of her ...handicap. Scylla felt excited. After all the years she spent wandering the Earth among the humans looking for a way to bring peace to Dolphin's tortured soul, her plan was finally coming to fruition. For the sake of Deep Sea Dolphin, Shabranigdo was to be reborn.

"Scylla, Dynast knew about Lei Magnus, right?" said Charybdis, who did not look up from her drawing.

"I imagine. He could have found him just as easily as I did."

"Why do you think he hasn't attempted to revive Lord Ruby Eye?"

"The answer to that question, my dear sister, is obvious. Dynast wouldn't mind one bit if Shabranigdo was never seen again in this world. He's what we call a megalomaniac, just like Gaav was. Except he's more subtle. He's not the type to publicize his real ambitions. When you think about it, it seems like he's just biding his time, waiting for something."

"What do you mean?"

"It's actually a very good strategy. Just sit back and watch while your rivals kill each other off. By staying aloof from Mazoku conflicts he hopes to be the last man standing. Who did Dynast help when Phibrizzo and Gaav had a little, shall we say, conflict of interests?"

"He didn't help either of them."

"And do you think he feels the least bit sorry that they're both dead now?"

"No."

"My point exactly. It didn't matter who won or lost, and it was his good fortune that both of them ended up dead and ruined. And as a bonus, while his peers are busy fighting each other, no one pays attention to his agenda."

"So now that Gaav and the Hellmaster are dead, what do you think he'll do?"

"I'm sure Lord Ruby Eye's rebirth will interfere with any plans he has. I honestly expected him to make his move after Hellmaster died, but I guess he's still waiting for Dolphin and Zellas to destroy each other."

Charybdis cringed at the mention of Zellas Metallium's name.

"But she wouldn't dare try anything like that once Lord Ruby Eye is reborn. That bitch is going to pay in spades for what Xellos did to Lady Dolphin."

Charybdis cringed at the mention of Xellos's name.

"I don't know the reason behind that sick joke of his, but that fruity little bastard is going to regret it."

"Do you think she would try to stop Shabranigdo's rebirth?"

"Hard telling with her. It's damn near impossible to tell whose side she's on, if anyone's."

"Didn't she help Phibrizzo?"

"Only because he made her lend him Xellos. The Hellmaster's servants died in the war 1000 years ago, remember?"

"Yes. Poor Phobia, she was such a dear."

"Anyway, Xellos was just following orders. I'm not sure if he really wanted to help Phibrizzo or not."

"It was a tragedy. Phibrizzo was the only one among us who grasped the ultimate truth of our existence."

"Um…right…"

"He alone had the strength to carry out Lord Ruby Eye's will."

"Uh…."

"I'm finished, Scylla." Charybdis said as she stood up and brushed off her white gown.

"All right. Let's do this for her sake."

Charybdis solemnly nodded. "Does my hair look okay?"

"Lovely. How's my make-up?"

"Perfect."

"All right then."

"I'll need to borrow the trident to reinforce the spell."

"Be careful with it. It's expensive."

Charybdis rolled her eyes as she took the trident from Scylla.  She held it before her with one hand and began gracefully performing the gestures of the spell with the other. She chanted the words in a voice barely above a whisper. Magical energy collected around her in a visible halo. When done properly, resurrecting a dark lord was a beautiful sight to behold.

Charybdis raised the trident into the air. It was glowing now with a red aura. As she whispered the last words of the spell, she struck the block of ice that contained Lei Magnus, shattering it.

There was a blinding flash of red light. Scylla fell against the wall, disoriented.

For the second time in 1000 years, the supeme lord of the Mazoku race, Shabranigdo opened his eyes. Scylla and Charybdis bowed before him. In a deep, echoing voice, he said, "Who has summoned me?"

"We are the humble servants of Deep Sea Dolphin. Oh, great Shabranigdo, a great wrong has been visited upon our sovereign, and we feel that is our duty to inform you of the treachery that has been committed by Xellos."

"Tell me of this treachery."

"Xellos has driven Deep Sea Dolphin insane."

"Why does that not surprise me? It appears that in my absence, my minions have begun quarreling amongst themselves. I, the great and powerful Shabranigdo, shall put them in their place."

"Yes!" Scylla and Charybdis shouted as they jumped for joy.

With an effortless wave of his hand, Shabranigdo called forth his minions into a pocket dimension in subspace. First appearing was a wild-eyed Deep Sea Dolphin, lord of the oceans. She was dressed in classic mental patient attire; pajamas, slippers, and straitjacket. Her face was framed by long, disheveled, marine blue hair. She was drooling a bit. She stared blankly into space for a while, then suddenly began thrashing her head about and struggling against the constraint of her straitjacket. Charybdis ran to her side and attempted to restrain her.

The next lord to materialize was Beastmaster Zellas Metallium. She was a tall, beautiful woman with tanned skin and wavy platinum blonde hair. Zellas wore a white dress that offered a nice view of her long legs. Her arms and ankles were adorned with golden bracelets. A cigarette hung from her lips. At her side was her sole servant, Xellos. Zellas surveyed her surroundings with a hawk-like gaze. When she saw Deep Sea Dolphin, and Scylla clinging to Lei Magnus like a scarf, she put two and two together and nearly bit her cigarette in half. Xellos was wearing his usual fruity demeanor.

Last appearing was an aristocratic young man with long, black hair and icy blue eyes. He was the Mazoku lord known as Dynast Grausherra. At his side were his priest, Grau, and his general, Sherra. Grau wore a long grey coat and carried a cane. He had the most mature appearance of the three. Sherra was a teenage girl with braided blue hair. She wore a blue coat and carried a sword on her right hip. All three of them looked thoroughly confused, but in a cold and dignified way. Ever mindful of protocol, Dynast bowed deeply. His servants followed suit. "Lord Shabranigdo, I presume?" Dynast said. He spoke eloquently, with no trace of emotion in his voice.

"All right, I call this meeting to order," said Shabranigdo. "I am the Dark Lord Shabranigdo. Some of you I know; some of you I'm meeting for the first time. Hey, where are Gaav and Phibrizzo?"

"Dead, sir," said Dynast.

"Would someone care to explain what happened to my two most powerful minions?"

"Gaav attempted to take over the Mazoku race, and Phibrizzo destroyed him," Dynast explained.

"dReAmErS oF sLeEpErS AnD wHiTe tReAsOn!" Deep Sea Dolphin cried. Charybdis clamped her hand over Dolphin's mouth to silence her.

"And then Phibrizzo was destroyed when the sorceress Lina Inverse summoned the Lord of Nightmares," said Beastmaster.

"Lina Inverse…. that name sounds familiar," Shabranigdo thought aloud.

"She also destroyed a piece of you that was reborn a while back," said Xellos.

"Same girl? Really? I'll be damned…" said Shabranigdo.

"DrEaM oF tHe FlOoD! FlOoD!!" shrieked Dolphin. Charybdis rubbed her hand where Dolphin had bit her.

"What in the nine hells is wrong with her?" Shabranigdo asked as he eyed the raving lunatic.

"It's all their fault!" screamed Scylla and Charybdis as they pointed accusing fingers at the Metalliums.

Zellas narrowed her eyes and sharply exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"Would you care to explain this? If you leave anything out, you die. If you forget anything, you die. If you lie, you die. If you bend, stretch, or contort the truth in any way, you die. Is that clear?" said Shabranigdo, his voice deadly serious.

Scylla and Charybdis smirked. Lord Shabranigdo knew exactly how to handle his most secretive servants.

"I can assure you, Lord Shabranigdo, that this is clearly an exaggeration," said Xellos, smiling.

The bracelets on Zellas's arm clinked as she flicked ash from the end of her cigarette. "You can't blame us for this. She did it to herself," she said.

"Well let's see if Dolphin agrees with you. Pray that she does."

Shabranigdo went to Deep Sea Dolphin and touched her forehead. Her pupils became less dilated. "Lei Magnus?" she said, blinking. She then smiled and bowed. "No, of course not. Good to have you back, Lord Ruby Eye."

"Tell me the last thing you remember, Dolphin," said Shabranigdo.

"Xellos came to my palace. He said he had a message from Zellas. But I sensed a different agenda. I dismissed my servants to speak with him privately. I tried to read his mind," said Dolphin.

Shabranigdo blinked."You were driven insane from trying to read Xellos's mind?"

"In a word, yes," said Dolphin. She turned her attention to her antagonist, Zellas. "But what would cause a Mazoku to put a protection spell on her own servant? Skeletons in the closet, sister?" she said with a devious smile.

Zellas and her servant exchanged a knowing glance. They smiled, and said in unison, "That is a secret."

"Remind me again why I made you frickin' idiots," Shabranigo said as he rubbed his temples. He looked like he had a terrible headache.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Dynast decided that a change of subject was called for. "With all due respect, sir, what do you plan to do now?" he said.

"I'm glad you brought that up. It's about time for a new world order. I want you to knock off this childish quarreling. We have to be united if we're going to destroy all that is good and take over the world."

Zellas and Dolphin exchanged vicious glares.

"Take over the world?" Dynast questioned. Shabranigdo had never broached the subject to them before. He had always shown more concern for the annihilation of his rivals. This was strange, indeed.

"I can see that the thought intrigues you, Dynast. Let that be your new mission. The entire Mazoku race shall be your army," said Shabranigo. Dynast was the obvious choice for something like this. It was well known that he leaned toward the philosophy that the Mazoku should rule the world, not destroy it. Trust Dolphin or Zellas with a job like this and there might not be much of the world left after it was all over.

"It would be an honor, sir," said Dynast. A rare smile graced his face.

"Wait just a damn minute! You expect us to had over our servants to him?" Zellas growled indignantly. She did not want to relive the humiliating ordeal of being forced to lend Xellos to Phibrizzo.

"Beastmaster, there is a time and place for dissension, but it is never with me. You will aid Dynast in any way requested and you will do nothing to interfere. That goes for you too, Dolphin. Understand?" said Shabranigo.

Zellas said nothing.

"Take over the world? Isn't it the ultimate destiny of monsters to destroy it?" said Dolphin, a very perplexed look on her face.

"We can worry about our ultimate destiny later. For now, my concern is power. That reminds me, what's become of my arch-nemesis, Cepheid?

"Hibernating, sir," said Dynast.

"Consumed by the Sea of Chaos," said Dolphin.

"Dormant since the war," said Zellas.

"What the hell? I'm split into seven parts and he goes on vacation? Oh well. This will certainly make things easier. Now tell me, how many of the dragon kings are still alive," said Shabranigdo.

"Two, sir," said Dynast.

"The Earth Dragon King and the Fire Dragon King," said Zellas.

"Two still? You lazy fucks have only gotten around to killing off ONE of them during the THOUSAND YEARS I've been sealed away?" Shabranigdo said, glaring at his minions.

"We killed one? I certainly don't remember doing that," said Dolphin.

Everyone present sweatdropped.

"That's because it was I who defeated the Wind Dragon King," said Dynast. Technically, it was his general who had defeated him; but that was a minor detail.

"So that's what you've been up to…" said Zellas. She wondered about his servants. Dynast would never put himself in such a dangerous situation. As well informed as Xellos kept her, she knew little about Dynast's priest and general. The last she had heard, Grau was out of favor with Dynast. It must have been Sherra who killed the dragon. But this did explain Dynast's apparent lack of activity after the deaths of Phibrizzo and Gaav. He was busy eliminating his most ancient competitor.

"Well done, Dynast. I'm glad to see that I still have one servant left that has his priorities straight," said Shabranigdo. He felt more confident in his choice to make Dynast their leader in Phibrizzo's place.

"Thank you, sir," said Dynast.

"Well, until next time, behave yourselves, kids. I must go hunt down the other remaining parts of me. I guess that's that." With a wave of his hand, Shabranigdo dismissed his progeny.

Scylla, Charybdis, and Deep Sea Dolphin found themselves back home in Dolphin's undersea palace. Dolphin turned to her servants. "Would you two mind helping me out of this straitjacket?" she said.

"Oh, of course, Lady Dolphin," Charybdis said. She began loosening the straps.

"You aren't angry with us, are you? It was a necessary measure. For your own good, really," Scylla said nervously.

"I suppose I can forgive you for keeping me tied up for a few centuries. Would you mind filling me in on what's happened?" Dolphin said as Charybdis helped her out of the offending garment.

"After the incident with Xellos, Scylla ran away. I stayed here and took care of you," said Charybdis.

"Explain your behavior, Scylla," said Dolphin.

"Well, you see, I just wasn't able to handle seeing you in that state, so I left," Scylla said. She stared at the floor while she spoke. "I know Charybdis thought I had abandoned you, but I didn't. I wandered the world above, looking for a way to rectify the situation."

"She stalked Xellos for awhile, and we tried to kill him. But that didn't work out so we had to resurrect Lord Ruby Eye," said Charybdis.

"I guess I should consider myself blessed to have such loyal girls," said Dolphin.

"We live to serve," said Scylla.

"But did you have to dress me in these ridiculous pajamas?" Dolphin said, distastefully eyeing the pattern of smiling goldfish swimming across the fabric.

With a snap of her fingers, Deep Sea Dolphin changed her appearance. Her hair was long and shining. On her head she wore a gold tiara with a large pearl in the center. A pair of nautilus shells hung from her earlobes. She wore a blue halter-top, and a matching long skirt that hugged her hips and flared slightly at the hem. It was long enough to drag the ground. Her arms were clad in gloves that came up to just above her elbows, and ended in a point on the on the backs of her hands. A ring adorned each finger. "Ahhh. I feel like my old self again," said the mistress of the oceans.

Beastmaster and Xellos were greeted by the familiar scent of smoke and fur when they found themselves back at Zellas's keep on Wolfpack Island. Zellas lit up another cigarette and began pacing restlessly back and forth across the fur rug that covered the dark stone floor.

"Something troubling you, mistress?" Xellos queried.

"What the hell do you think?" Zellas growled. She went to her favorite chair and flopped down. The bracelets around her ankles clinked as she crossed and uncrossed her legs.

"Will there be a change in your orders?"

Zellas drummed her long fingernails against the arm of her chair. "Just keep following Lina Inverse. Watch out for Dolphin. And kill Sherra. I'll be damned if I'm going to take orders from Dynast or his little girl scout."

"As you say, Beastmaster."

Perhaps if she could discredit Dynast, Lord Shabranigdo's favor would turn to her. But she would have to be careful. She was already in hot water because of the incident with Dolphin. Shabranigdo probably suspected her of having some devious hidden agenda, which was not entirely inaccurate. If something like that happens again, she could be branded a traitor. Zellas sat back in her chair and took a long drag off her cigarette, sending a current of smoke spiraling towards the stone ceiling. 'Such stress in my life,' she mused, 'no wonder I light up so much.'

Dynast, Grau, and Sherra found themselves back at Dynast's castle at the North Pole. Dynast Grausherra went to his high-backed throne and seated himself. He turned an icy stare on his servants. Sherra returned her lord's gaze, eyes beaming with exultation. Grau leaned on his cane and silently stared out one of the tall stained glass windows. He realized that Dynast was not pleased with him, but he was beyond caring.

"Grau, you were supposed to be monitoring activity in the Kahtato Mountains. Can you explain why you failed to notice Lei Magnus's disappearance?"

"Oh, I was supposed to be watching THAT piece of Shabranigdo!" Grau said sarcastically, slapping his forehead for emphasis.

Dynast's cold stare became a scowl.

"What was I supposed to do? Try to stop the resurrection of Shabranigdo? Do you have any idea how bad that would make you look?" Grau said repugnantly.

Sherra stepped forward. "Please, Lord Dynast. Grau was only looking out for your best interests."

Grau was surprised to find Sherra sticking up for him. He decided to make an effort to be nicer to her if Dynast didn't kill him.

"Yes, I suppose this was for the best," said Dynast as he brooded over the day's extraordinary happenings.

"We're finally free to begin a campaign," said Sherra.

"Sherra, you are to be the commander of the Mazoku army. Grau, you will assist her in any way necessary."

"I'm ready," said his young general.

"Excellent," said Dynast.

"I'll give you the world, Lord Dynast. I swear it." Sherra said, her right hand over her heart.

"That's my girl. Now let us discuss our strategy…"

Shabranigdo stood alone, back in the ancient tower.

"Well, that went well, don't you think?" said the voice of Lei Magnus inside his head.

"You're still here?"

"I'm afraid that, as skilled as that lovely Charybdis was at casting the resurrection spell, she forgot to remove my soul first."

"Are you trying to tell me that I'm stuck with you?"

"Yes."

"Gods cuss it."

"Now, now, Lord Ruby Eye. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

"Fuck off."

"You need me."

"Like hell I do."

"I know where the other pieces of you are."

". . . . . . . . . "

"And I'll guide you to them in return for a small favor."

"Evil bastard."

"Yes, I am."