When I opened my eyes, I was inside of some kind of crystal thing, curled up tightly. I couldn't move one bit. Vector came into my line of sight, and he tapped the crystal playfully.

"How are you?" he asked teasingly. "You hanging in there?" He cackled.

I scowled, and the crystal melted. I grunted as I fell to the floor. I tried to move, but I couldn't. Vector giggled.

Two sets of Barian hands grabbed me by my arms and dragged me to their place.

"Are you sure this will work, Vector?" Mizael asked dubiously. "Last time we followed one of your plans, we failed miserably."

"Yes, Vector," Durbe agreed. "This had better work."

"Trust me, after we get the pure dark energy from this Number, our machine will have enough to destroy the Astral World!"

Huh...well, that's not so bad. I never really cared whether or not it gets destroyed, I thought to myself.

"How much do we need to take?" Durbe asked.

"As much as we need to," Vector giggled.

"You're talking about me as if I'm not here," I complained.

"Then we'll just have to fix that." Something hit the back of my head.

*********

I woke up again on some kind of metal...or crystal...whatever Barians have...

"Good, he's up," Mizael said. "We can start now."

"Not yet!" Vector protested. "We need to get him all fired up! That's when it'll really work!"

Mizael sighed. "Whatever will work."

Vector got into my line of sight and waved cheerily. I growled and struggled to break free, but to no avail.

"I swear, Vector, when I get out of here, I will hunt you down and kill you!" I threatened, and it wasn't a hollow threat either.

"Already worked up, I see," he taunted.

I glared at him and forced myself to calm the fuck down. I didn't intend on giving that Barian piece of shit the satisfaction of having my energy.

I grinned when I saw Vector's expression darken. "What's wrong, Vector?" I taunted back. "Why so moody now?" I chuckled.

Vector growled. "Mizael, Durbe, lock the doors for now." He and the other two Barian Emperors exited the room.

I instantly made a mental call to Icess, the only one I knew was reckless enough to investigate what's going on. "Icess, can you hear me?"

"Yeah, I can. Where are you!?"

"In Barian World. Look, I need you to come here and see what Vector's planning. I'll try and get myself out."

"Okay, but how do I get there?"

"You can teleport, use that!"

"Okay. I'll be there."

I sighed, knowing that with teleportation it might take a while to pinpoint this place. It's so hidden, tucked away in a little corner of the universe like all the other worlds related to this one and Astral World. This would take a while, and I had to think up an escape plan.

My mind went through a lot of possibilities. I tried to pick the locks (I am the MASTER at that), but the locks weren't what I was used to. I tried using force, but they were to strong. Seriously, how in the fuck did they get something strong enough to hold me? It still boggles my mind. I tried everything, but nothing worked.

"Black Mist, I've found the world," Icess reported.

"Well...that was quick..."

"Where do I go now?"

"Well, where are you? Describe your surroundings."

Icess did as she was told, and I instantly knew she was at the place where the Barian Emperors met. I told her to sneak around to eavesdrop on their conversations. Icess was more than happy to oblige. Good girl.

I waited for her to message me again.