"Help... make right..."

The shimmering grew stronger and more defined, and the feelings in her mind grew more frantic, almost pained.

Daria frowned taking a deep frustrated breath.

I don't understand... she said, matching the franticness. Make what right? Help who?

In lieu of an answer, several things happened quickly over the next few seconds. The shimering coalesced into the images of two people, and Daria had enough experience with telepaths to know that she was seeing them in her minds eye, and then, impossibly, they popped into existence in front of her, as if they'd been squeezed through her mind into the world in front of her.

One was a man, short, but powerfully built, the other a woman, tall, thin, and beautiful. Both had eyes that shone with intelligence, and both had the same ethereal presence. Also, both had their heads shaved clean.

"Us," said the man, showing signs of considerable tiredness after the feat of their sudden appearance. He gave her a slight smile. "We need you to help us."

In her 'mind's eye' or not Daria was a little creeped out. She hissed instinctively and then flattened her ears apologetically.

.....And you are... was all she could say as her claws unsheathed from the tension and slight fear.

The man held up one hand to discourage her from attacking. "Please, there is no need for that. We are the Mystics of Zethar, from... a very distance place. My name is Zadkiel, and this is Sandalphon. And we have come a great distance to reach this place. Why we have come... will take a bit longer to explain."

His eyes never left Daria's as he spoke, and something in the back of her mind made her feel that she could trust these two. Sandalphon stood silent, glancing at those in the infirmary, her eyes lingering on Mike for a moment before returning to Daria.

Daria relaxed a bit, and then completely, teleporting the chairs in the room near by to them. She didn't know if they needed to sit down, but she sure did.

"I'm listening." She said out loud, just to hear her own voice.

Zadkiel sighed as he sat heavily into the chair. "Where to begin... Our people were once like you in most regards, ages ago, but we have long since transcended the need for physical bodies. We live in the world outside this one, the world of thoughts and dreams."

"We have been at war for ages with an ancient adversary of ours... one who roams realities and invades thoughts. A dark power, a force of corruption, that we have ever opposed, even before transcending our physical forms."

An image flashed in Daria's mind's eye, of a dark, hulking form... that anyone who had studied the X-Men's history would recognize as the Shadow King.

Daria knew of the Shadow King but the extremities of his powers weren't really a reality to her.

She nodded. So far she understood what they were saying. "I don't have any telepathic powers.." she mentioned. "I can just barely oppose a weak telepath...and that's only really a heightened sense in itself." she offered. she didn't know how these people possibly thougt she could help.

Zadkiel smiled and continued. "Many of our people opposed the Dark One, and many were defeated by him. The one who came closest, though, was the Heartwalker. The Dark One fought the Heartwalker three times, and three times they battled to a standstill. On the fourth time, however, the unthinkable happened."

"The Dark One feeds from the darkness within, increasing his power. The Heartwalker was able to draw from this as well, letting his power grow along with the Dark One, that they might continue their battles on even ground... but the fourth time they battled, the darkness they drew showed just how much it had affected the Heartwalker. He again defeated the Dark One... but at the cost of growing ever closer to becoming like the Dark One."

"It was, to my recollection, the darkest day we'd known. The Heartwalker left us, swearing to return when he had purged the darkness that had been growing within him since his first battle with the Dark One."

As if bored, Sandalphon had taken to shooting interested glances at Mike as Zadkiel spoke.

Daria listened to the story, interested and a bit scared.

She watched zadkiel because he was speaking but when his female companion began to..drift she felt the need to speak up.

"What does this have to do with me and my fiance?" she stressed the word, however untrue it was.

There was an obvious mental chastising from Zadkiel that made Sandalphon sit up straight, looking forward. Then, as though the question had not been asked, he continued.

"Recently, the Heartwalker returned to us. He was confused, slightly broken... but changed. Pure again, reborn connected to an untouched soul."

"The Heartwalker fought with us, one final, desperate campaign against the Dark One. He lead us across the depths of the Astral Plane, to the heart of the Dark One's power. We were assaulted by the Dark One's emmisaries, and while we battled them, the Heartwalker fought one final, desperate battle with the Dark One."

"But this battle showed just how much the Heartwalker had changed in his rebirth. He had a new soul, a new soul with its own weaknesses that the Dark One was willing to exploit. But in trying so, he awakened a wrath that shook the heavens. He created his downfall... an shattered the Heartwalker in the process."

Daria frowned. "He shattered the heartwalker? what are you guys going to do? What does that mean for all of you...your people?"
Daria was genuinely concerned. though she wasn't sure where they were from, she could see them, smell them, she was sure if she stretched her tail a few more inches she could probably touch the fabric of their clothes. So it was if people from china had come to ask for help.
They were real enough for concern.

I wonder how they got here...she thought to herself. I wonder if they teleported...

"The Heartwalker was a creature divided. He drew his strength from the new soul he was reborn to... and the Dark One's assault brought this soul out to the surface. The Dark One was defeated... but we knew that the Heartwalker would follow his way back to wherever he was reborn. And so we have, since then, been traveling with him through the Astral Plane, searching for the home he abandoned to return to us."

"It has... not been an easy task. The Heartwalker was left weakened... Sandalphon had to take his essence into herself to guard it and maintain it. Fortunately, the end of our journey is near... we've been searching for far too long for the way to make the Heartwalker whole again."

So you know what to do...all I have to do is help?...." she seemed thoughtful for a bit, glanced at Mike and turned back to them. "alright, what's the plan? How are you going to make him whole again?"

Sandalphon held out her hand, a fist-sized crystal appearing in it. "We have done our part... the final part is up to you."

She rubbed her other hand over the crystal, murmuring as a blue glow slowly appeared within it. "Awaken, my brother," she whispered, "Awaken, our champion, our Heartwalker... Awaken, Cassiel."