The ruins were overgrown and desolate, with roots and vines weaving themselves into the crumbling stone. Tattered banners hung from the remaining walls, fluttering in the breeze. Meta bent down to study one of the larger pieces of debris, his eyes tracing over the eroded remnants of an intricate pattern carved into the stone. He then peered upwards at the imposing structure, gazing at the signs of collapse present throughout.

"How long have these ruins been here?" he asked as he heard Dark's approaching footsteps. The footsteps halted as Dark stopped beside the man, thinking.

"I don't know. They were here when I got here, and they've been here since," he said finally, shrugging.

"Ah. How enlightening," Meta responded dryly, straightening himself up and giving Dark a flat look. Dark put his hands on his hips, an unimpressed look on his face.

"I'm not a historian. What does it matter anyway? We're just walking through it," he huffed. The seawater had eaten away the last remnants of whatever he used to style his hair, and his usually perfectly tousled locks were now frayed and fluffed out at impressive angles.

"Of course. I should have surmised that any pursuit of knowledge bereft of personal gain would be an alien concept to you," Meta sniffed, making his way forward and into the ruins.

"Wow, that might be the most pretentious thing you've said yet. And let me tell you, it's still a close contest," Dark shot back, following the other man. Meta ignored him as he walked into the ruins, walking through a gaping hole in the decrepit building. The crumbling stone floor crunched softly beneath his feet. He cast a wary glance at the ceiling above. If the rest of the structure was so severely eroded, surely there was significant danger of collapse.

"Is this truly the most efficient route?" he pondered aloud. Dark continued past Meta, hands casually behind his head.

"Unless you want to spend hours hacking through the forest. And the angry critters that live there," he said.

"This place looks to be seconds from collapse," Meta pointed out.

"It's been like this for eons, I don't think it's gonna-"a fair-sized chunk of stone clattered to the floor right in front on Dark, stopping him in his tracks. He regarded it silently as Meta chuckled gleefully.

"Do you ever tire of being wrong?" he said haughtily, walking over to inspect the fallen debris as well. He stopped and frowned as Dark began to back up, his long ears pricking up as they detected a hint of sound. Meta focused on his senses and picked up a faint shuffling sound from high above them.

"Not really, since I'm pretty sure someone knocked that down on purpose," Dark said loudly, projecting his voice towards the ceiling. A few long moments of silence passed, and both men drew their weapons as the shuffling grew louder. Suddenly a dark figure appeared between the two with a burst of web-like energy. He was clad in extravagant yellow and purple garb and had two large horns jutting from his head. He let out a shrill cackle and used one of his two floating pairs of hands to ensnare Meta in a multitude of his web-like magic before turning to face Dark.

"Ah, associating with another Other-Worlder, are we? How about you tell this one what happened to your last fling?" the man laughed. Dark deftly leveled his blade at the man, the tip mere inches from his throat.

"Huh, Dark Taranza. Tell me, did your bitchy wife put you up to this, or could you just not resist getting your slimy little hands on my kingdom?" Dark said lowly, his voice unusually cold. Dark Taranza scowled and prepared to hurl an orb of energy at Dark, though he was interrupted by Meta breaking free. He vanished again, narrowly avoiding a crushing blow from Galaxia that splintered the stone floor as it struck. Dark Taranza blipped back into existence directly behind him, and Meta only barely dodged the burst of magic, bending out of the way in an incredible feat of flexibility.

"Bastard," he hissed, swiping his sword at Dark Taranza and managing to slice part of the man's cloak before he disappeared again. Dark's eyes narrowed as his tattered cape shimmered like glass before extending out into his wings. The air around him crackled with magic as he pressed the tip of his sword into the floor.

"Two can play at that game," he growled. Glass spread in a crystalline pattern from the tip of his blade, crackling as it covered the floor. It continued to spread as Dark sank into the reflective surface, turning into a faint reflection as he darted around within the glass. Meta flared his wings out as well, letting his magic surge. His eyes glowed brightly as he felt for the faint signature of Dark Taranza's magic.

"Come now, your majesty. I'm very familiar with your tricks," Dark Taranza cackled, flickering into view and hurling a massive orb of energy downwards. The glass floor became spider-webbed with cracks, and the faint reflection of Dark vanished from view. He then cast a malevolent glance at Meta, his fangs glinting as he grinned. "Now I can simply kill your counterpart, so I can rid myself of you for good." Multiple large crystals materialized flanking Dark Taranza, and he hurled them at Meta.

"Simply, hm?" Meta scoffed, taking to the air and easily out-maneuvering the attack. A few powerful wing-thrusts sent several blades of wind towards his foe, and Dark Taranza once again vanished from view. Meta landed elegantly and hesitated for a moment before performing a brutal back-kick, slamming into Dark Taranza's stomach as he appeared and sending the man sprawling onto the floor. Meta spun on his heel and approached his downed foe, twirling his sword several times before leveling it at Dark Taranza's neck.

"How predictable. Taking me out was apparently so simple, and yet you could not manage to switch up your attack pattern," Meta hissed. Dark Taranza only smirked as a faint aura formed around him.

"Bit of an oversight on my part, apologies. I'll be sure to slaughter you with my next move!" he shrieked, letting out a massive burst of energy that swept Meta off his feet. He recovered with a quick handspring, landing on his feet only to find that his enemy had vanished. He then reappeared directly in front of Meta, letting out another burst of magic and sending the man hurtling into the stone wall behind him. Meta had no time to recover before Dark Taranza surged forward, pinning him by the neck to the wall.

"Just as pathetic as your counterpart! All that arrogance and attitude for such a pathetic display!" he said, cackling as he watched Meta drop his sword and clutch at the man's arm in a desperate bid to breathe. He could see his reflection in the man's visor, and he realized the implications of this just a second too late. Dark reached through the reflective surface, landing a brutal right hook directly into Dark Taranza's face, causing the man to release Meta. Meta landed on his feet, wheezing and furious as Dark's arm retracted within the glass.

"Arrogant prick!" Meta choked out, stepping forward. He then spun and landed a perfectly aimed kick to Dark Taranza's chin, causing the man to spin around and collapse face-first onto the floor. He tried to scramble away but was halted by Meta's boot slamming into his back. The cracks healed from a small portion of the glass coating on the floor, and Dark emerged, standing over Dark Taranza with an irritated expression.

"Should I make a joke about an itsy-bitsy spider or is that too obvious?" he sneered, kneeling and lifting Dark Taranza's head by one of his horns. The man's face was already turning black and blue, and his nose was at a funny angle. Several tiny cracks could be seen spreading out from the impact points.

"Can't face me alone, huh?" Dark Taranza spat, blood streaming from his nose. Meta's eyes narrowed to slits as he gingerly felt at his neck. There was already a wicked hand-shaped bruise forming there.

"I would not boast about relying entirely on teleportation if I were you," Meta hissed.

"So, you wanna tell me where my brother and my royal guard are, or do I have to rearrange your face to get that info?" Dark cooed, his tone sickly sweet as he clenched his free hand into a fist.

"They're back at the castle, of course. It would be simply terrible if they were to miss the main event," Dark Taranza shot back, smiling maliciously. Dark scowled at him, tempted to punch him again for the hell of it.

"Eclipse will slaughter all of you. She was sealed away for a reason, you fucking idiot," he hissed. Dark Taranza only laughed cruelly in response.

"A reason?! You couldn't handle your girlfriend and got your precious king to get rid of her-" Dark cut off the man by landing a second brutal blow to his face. He then noticed Meta giving him a look of surprise and coughed demurely into his now blood-spattered hand.

"Ah, I see Parallel has told you her version of events. But did she tell you the part where Eclipse swore to burn our world to ashes?" Dark said. Dark Taranza spat out a mouthful of blood, still smirking.

"You really think we don't have a plan for controlling her?" he laughed.

"Your puppetry magic is nothing against her," Dark snapped.

"Oh, I know that. Do you take me for a fool?"

"Uh...yeah. I do."

"It is an excellent thing then that I care not for the opinions of a monarch who would allow his love life to jeopardize his-" Dark Taranza was once again silenced by Dark's fist as Meta mulled over the man's words. He blanched a little as he realized just what plan Parallel may have.

"They intend to mechanize her," Meta said, causing Dark to look up at him in surprise.

"Hey, at least your counterpart seems to have some level of intelligence!" Dark Taranza said, slurring his words a little owing to his freshly split lip. He then flinched a little as Dark gave him a distinctly threatening look.

"That's impossible! It took almost all of Dark Mind's power to seal her away, you think technology can stop her?"

"I think it can stop you!" Dark Taranza shrieked, tossing a small circular object into the air with one of his floating hands. The room went totally white, and both Meta and Dark staggered back, shielding their eyes. They stood stock still as their vision slowly returned, only to find a blank spot where Dark Taranza had been.

"He flash-banged us," Meta deadpanned, blinking the spots out of his vision.

"Dammit, I wanted to punch him a few more times," Dark hissed, shaking the ringing from his ears. Meta took a quick second look at the bruise on his neck, pulling his collar out and looking down it. The bruise was already dark purple, and he could clearly make out the individual fingers. He narrowed his eyes, wishing that he'd taken the chance to inflict a little more damage on his foe when he had the chance.

"We should hurry to the castle. It seems as if the release of Eclipse may be imminent," Meta said, smoothing his collar back to its normal state.

"You're right. I don't know if we could stop Eclipse if she was freed," Dark responded, his tone haunted.

"I did defeat Galacta Knight. Surely Eclipse possesses a similar level of power?" Dark laughed at that and spoke quickly as to avoid any irritated response from Meta.

"Eclipse is different. She stole secrets and artifacts from the planets she destroyed. She is miles ahead of any other Mirror-World entity," Dark said quietly. Meta quirked an eyebrow, catching the other's gaze.

"Dark Taranza said some...interesting statements. What was the nature of your involvement with Eclipse?"

"What does it matter?" Dark snapped, his usual levity missing from his tone.

"I believe that with my level of involvement here I deserve to know. Scorned lover?" Meta hissed, eyes narrowed. Dark let out a barking laugh completely bereft of any amusement.

"I wish it was that simple! No, she was far worse," Dark said, standing and starting to walk further into the ruins. Meta followed after quickly snatching his sword and dropping it in his cape.

"Worse? How so?" he pressed. Dark went silent, staring straight ahead before turning his head just enough so that Meta could see his missing eye.

"Let's just say that she really helped me learn which foundations cover bruises the best," Dark said hollowly. Meta mulled over the implications for a second before giving Dark a concerned look. That statement hurt his heart a little more than he cared to admit, but he didn't know what to say. He never really knew what to say at times like this, and his convoluted feelings towards Dark didn't help at all.

"We will stop her," Meta said firmly, nodding at Dark. A small smirk formed on Dark's face before he looked forward again, hiding his face from the other's view. They continued in silence, walking towards Dark's castle and another inevitable battle.

(Will still be updating daily!)