A/N

Okay, so I believe this is the third rewrite. -_- But I'm happy with this version so I'm sticking with this one. Sorry for those who are coming back and rereading it. You won't have to worry about me making ANOTHER rewrite ^^' Anywho, I hope you like this version a lot better than the previous ones. My writing has gotten worlds better so yah.

Chapter 1

His small form flinched as a bubble brushed past his arm. An eerie silence sealed the tiny creature within a dome of blue liquid in which he was suspended by straps of an unknown material. The glass cylinder was tightly locked inside a metal frame of small pulsing lights and devices that bleeped, occasionally. A lit panel resided upon the top of the frame as it recorded many different statistics, they appearing as a series of numbers that changed at differing rates. Wires connected the small creature to the birth cylinder. The mechanism regulated all parts of the being's body. It kept his heart beating and breathed for him through a clear tube. He'd have to come out eventually, forcing him to no longer rely on the machine to function.

A foxlike biped stood aside the birth cylinder, eyeing the statistics panel as he typed at the keyboard of a complex computer. Pressing a pulsing green button upon the panel, the mechanism bleeped. His eyes narrowed as he watched a number begin to drop at an exponential rate. As it hit zero, the mechanism gave a bleep again. Turning his attention back to the monitor, he began to type again. He pressed a small red button, then another green button. The statistics of the panel began to change, save for a few numbers. The creature within the birth cylinder no longer twitched. He took a deep breath and slowly his eyes pulled open. Looking past the bubbles that brushed past his face, he stared at a yellow eyed person who was round with purple blushes and tiny fangs. The person was staring back at him and blinked when he blinked. The little creature lifted his arm up to touch the person staring at him. The person lifted his arm up too and he touched his hand to the creature's. The small being looked at his hand, his eyes remaining fixed upon it for a while. He had three fingers, including his thumb. The tips of his fingers were pointed...and very sharp, he discovered this as he slid his fingertips across the glass and they easily left scratches. He looked up as the person to find that he was still copying him. He touched the person's face to find that it still felt like glass. He didn't understand that the person who was copying him was merely his reflection.

He slowly blinked and drew his hand to his face. He felt his skin and watched as his reflection did the same. He lowered his arm, no longer interested in it. With his newfound ability to see, he looked everywhere his vision spanned, however his movement was limited. His eyes were not completely developed, let alone adjusted, as he could hardly see anything past the glass. The blue liquid, the bubbles, and his reflection were plenty difficult to look past. His attention was almost immediately captured as a movement outside of his birth cylinder grew nearer.

The door closed behind a spider like creature. Its body was that of a spider, however it stood upon six legs. It bore the form of a centaur, with an armored chest and spider leg like arms. Upon its shoulders rested a head with fangs and four eyes positioned like a "v". The spider approached the fox biped and gave a clicking hiss.

"Lord Nightmare requesstsss a report..."

The fox pressed a key upon the keyboard and turned his attention away from the monitor, "He's stable. I'm pretty confident about this one."

"What about that little...accident...?" The spider fiddled his claws.

"Yes. He's not showing any signs of failure."

"Lord Nightmare stresssses only his capabilities of containing the Sssoul's energy." The spider hissed.

The biped crossed his arms and shook his head, "Lord Nightmare needs not to worry. You can go back and tell him that the clone has been stable and will be ready to serve him by tomorrow. He won't have to waste his time creating another demon beast."

"I will tell him and return with his response."

The spider opened the door and the biped spoke out, "I mean, if he's that worried, he should come see for himself."

The door shut as the spider left.

A hulking reptilian centaur stepped heavily up a series of stairs leading to a set of large doors. Guards thick with armor stood before the door, their gazes unmoving as the reptile approached them. The bulky monster bore two identical heads, six limbs that included arms, a long, powerful tail, and a pair of massive wings that were neatly folded against his sides. With each heavy step, the hydra's armor clanked quite loudly. As he neared the doors, they were pulled open by the guards on the other side. However, the doors had not been opened for him. A spider-taur scurried out, his fangs clicking together for whatever reason. As the hydra-taur passed the arachnid, he snorted, startling the bug who hurried off. Passing the guards, the reptile entered the chamber and knelt in the middle of the room. Sitting on his throne, the Emperor of Darkness, curled his lip, revealing his pointed teeth. He narrowed his eyes that were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses with star-fields upon their lenses.

"You requested me, my lord?"

With a strict voice filled with hatred, Nightmare growled in response, "I expected you sooner, Bloodfire..."

Bloodfire bowed his heads, "Forgive me, my lord. I did not intend to keep you waiting."

"Yet, you allow it to happen?!"

Bloodfire opened his mouths to speak, but the words that he had planned to pass his lips were immediately silenced. Denying his actions would only make his situation worse. He sighed, "Yes, my lord."

Nightmare's anger began to calm somewhat, "Why?"

"I was dealing with a pair of imbeciles. They had distracted me from reporting to you sooner. I had hoped that you would understand my actions, my lord."

The Emperor grumbled, "I will excuse you only once, but see to it that you understand the price in the event it happens again."

"Yes, my lord." Bloodfire lifted his heads.

"Now...I have matters that I wish to discuss with you. As you may already know, 36-550 is nearing completion. Usually, I'd be pleased by this." Nightmare's expression suddenly changed, "I'm not."

Bloodfire felt a slight tingle crawl up his spine from the abrupt change in atmosphere, "Might I ask why?"

"Since the day that idiot ruined the perfectly concocted Code, I've had little faith in this project. I didn't want to see another attempt turn into a failure! I need that half of the Xelleriahn contained! If the knight's clone is not a success, I don't know what will be!"

Nightmare slammed his fist upon his throne's armrest. Bloodfire flinched and quickly thought up something to say.

"My lord, what is there to be worried about? You say the boy is almost finished? You should at least give him a chance. For all we know, he could be just what you need."

"You don't understand. The demon beasts working on him currently have been telling me that he is weaker than the knight when he was created. 36-550 may not be strong enough to withstand the full power of the Xelleriahn. He may be able to harness the Soul half when it is passive, but imagine what could happen if I release it out on the battlefield. He could be destroyed, along with the knight! I cannot see this as something I should take a chance on."

Bloodfire didn't have much to respond with.

"What did he say?"

The spider tapped his claws together, "He's ssstill not persssuaded."

"I'm quite confident in him. He's doing well. In fact, he's almost finished." The fox biped smiled somewhat.

He glanced at the panel, his eyes narrowing, "That's weird."

"What?" The spider-taur was growing nervous.

The fox tapped at the keyboard, "His energy level is climbing."

The little, midnight blue creature stared downward at the glass with a sharp gaze. His undeveloped wings shivered and his small hands slowly began to curl into fists. An unknown feeling within him began to take over his mind and body.

"What the h*** is going on!?" The spider's eyes were wide.

"I don't—"

A red light suddenly lit up and the mechanism blared continuous series of short beeps. The panel turned red as the number for the energy level was skyrocketing at an unreadable speed.

"That can't possibly be good!" The fox yelped, frantically pressing buttons upon the machine.

The little being's eyes glowed red as he violently fought against the straps that held him in place. Tearing the straps apart, the spherical creature punched the glass swiftly. With the blare of a siren, the cylinder shattered and liquid splashed everywhere. The snarls of the creature were muffled briefly before he ripped the breathing tube from his face. He gave a gasp as he quickly worked his lungs on his own. Leaping from the broken cylinder, sparks flew as the wires gave a shriek before snapping. A thicker wire still connected the machine to the boy's back and it would not break so easily. With an angered cry, he spun around and hacked apart the wire with his claws. Severed wires sparked within the cylinder, while some lay strewn about upon the floor. A few wires still hung from the boy's arms and wings, while the thick wire at his back lit up with sparks on the occasion.

With a hiss, he lunged at the fox, sinking his teeth into his leg. Yelping, the fox fell backward as he tried to kick away the spherical being with no success. His fur became wet with the cylinder liquid flooding the floor. The spider grabbed at the boy but was unable to catch him. He jumped away and grabbed a piece of glass. With a glow of purple-y blue, the glass shard formed into a blade. The boy threw it at the fox, it cutting clean through his throat. The blade returned to its original form and shattered against the wall. The boy leapt at the fox's throat and lapped at the blood that gushed out. He suddenly shrieked as the spider grabbed his wings. The creature fought angrily but froze as he was held face to face with the arachnid. The spherical being cried in fear and bit through the bug's exoskeleton. He gave a shout of pain and dropped the boy who scurried off with a small dribble of blood sliding down his lip. The sirens still blared and demon beasts in the halls had frozen in their tracks. The spider ran for the intercom button on the wall, near the door but slipped suddenly. Landing on his left front leg wrong, it snapped off and he shouted in pain. Green blood dripped from his cleaved leg and bite wound on his claw. Scrambling to his feet again, he snatched the phone like device.

Bloodfire shot to his feet as the sirens abruptly screamed. Nightmare looked outraged until a voice shouted over the intercom.

"36-550 has escaped! I repeat! 36-550 has escaped!"

The Emperor of Darkness looked rather surprised but he wasn't sure if he should have been. Regardless, he rose and pointed at the door with anger, "Figure out what the h*** is going on!"

The hydra-taur shot out of the overlord's chamber, "Right away, my lord!"

Bloodfire thundered past a frenzy of panicking demon beasts. His eyes fell upon a guard, leaning against the wall, his head resting upon his shoulder. He bore claw marks on his face and throat, his wounds bleeding profusely. The reptile grabbed the guard, lifting him off the ground.

"Where did the little brat go?"

The guard coughed, blood staining his gritted teeth, "I'm not s-sure...he disappeared as quickly as he appeared...I th-think he went that w-way."

Bloodfire set the guard back against the wall and stormed off. The sirens suddenly squeaked into silence and the red flashing lights flicked off. The hydra-taur found himself in an eerily quiet, darkened hallway. He looked up to see that the ceiling lights were shattered. Wires hung from them, sparks exploding from their ends, raining down upon the floor. The sparks illuminated the hallways for a split second, enough for the reptile to catch a quick glance of his surroundings. The demon beast stiffened as he heard a series of tapping sounds in the wall, they growing nearer. The sound climbed into the ceiling and stopped above him. His eyes widened with realization, "S***!"

Two red eyes appeared as the owner punched through the metal plated ceiling. Energy cords, once humming and pulsing with blue, collapsed upon the ground sparking and wriggling about like worms before falling silent and still. Bloodfire spotted the little creature that had been causing such an uproar as he fell to the ground. As the lights sparked, he could see the blood that dripped from the boy's mouth and fingers. Wires still hung from him, and in 36-550's hand was a slowly beating organ that dripped slowly with blood. The boy dropped the object and licked his fingers. Bloodfire didn't dare move, but Lord Nightmare would heavily question his hesitation. Pushing aside his uncertainty, the reptile snarled and lunged at the small thing.

"Come here!"

36-550 jumped back in surprise, hissed, and dashed off. Bloodfire gave chase, easily catching up. The boy skidded to a halt and run beneath the reptile who growled and spun around. He threw his hand forth hoping to snatch the new demon beast. 36-550 dodged, stumbling over a wire dragging from his right arm. It snapped upon being stepped on, its frayed ends giving faint sparks. Losing his footing, he tripped over his feet and broke his fall with his palms as he fell forward. The armored beast leaned down and grabbed 36-550, lifting him by the wings off the floor. The puffball stared at him blankly with yellow eyes of curious confusion. He wriggled uncomfortably, lazily trying to free himself. His attention fell upon his red-stained hands, gazing at them with wonder. Bloodfire brought the young demon beast to eye level and narrowed his blood red eyes as he grumbled.

"You are obnoxious."

As a wire on the boy's left arm sparked, he stared at it with wide eyes and tried to grab at it. Bloodfire groaned with irritation, carrying the puffball away.

"My lord, I brought 36-550." Bloodfire knelt as he tossed the boy upon the floor.

He landed upon his face, then pushed himself up as he outstretched his arms. The child gasped at the huge, cloaked form glaring down upon him. Bloodfire lifted his heads as Nightmare pulled his arm from beneath his cape.

"I'm not sure how, but the brat got into the power grid and managed to damage a generator."

36-550 gave a faint squeak as bony fingers curled around him. His small form was easily lifted off the ground, he eye level with his menacing creator. Nightmare narrowed his eyes, gazing with a curled lip.

"It's pathetic."

The Emperor of Darkness bore an unimpressed scowl as he watched the puffball look about in wonder before attempting to nibble his captor's index finger. Bloodfire gave an uncertain glance to the overlord.

"My lord?"

"It's pathetic and weak." Nightmare repeated, grumbling. "However, not entirely worthless. I have spent far too much precious time constructing him. I have no patience for starting over or enduring another failure. This one will have to do."

The puffball gave a whine as his creator began to etch a series of numbers in the creature's side with the sharp nail of his index finger. A small stream of blood ran down his side from the bloodied numbers: '36-550'. With an irritated huff, the overlord lowered his arm and dropped the boy a short distance from the ground. He hit the smooth floor with a soft thump before bouncing slightly, the wire remnants on his form, no longer sparking, ticked against the hard surface. Nightmare gestured for the draconic demon beast to leave, with a wave of his hand.

"Take the boy and lock him up. I don't care where. I have no use for him...yet. Do not utter a word to the knight of his existence, unless you have a death wish."

"Yes, my lord."

"Enjoy your stay." Bloodfire tossed the blue puffball into a dark room.

He landed on his back, quickly bouncing to his feet. The hydra-taur gave a toothy smirk.

"Better make yourself comfortable," He now scowled at the boy, "because you won't be coming for a long time."

The heavy door was suddenly slammed shut, the growl of the force echoing briefly in the light-less space. 36-550 stared at the door, expecting it to open soon. He reassured himself it would open any time soon. Yet, he sat a couple feet from the door and waited. And waited...and waited...

A/N

So? What do you think? Do comment please ^^