The Amphiseum was silent. The planar arena stood proud, its stone pillars and archways untouched by the ravages of time or nature. Above them shined an artificial sun, hidden occasionally by artificial clouds pushed gently by an artificial breeze. There were only a handful of beings left alive in all of existence who could have even begun to understand the complex merging of magic and artifice that had been required to build this tiny plane. Two of them stood there now, their youthful yet ancient faces set in matching frowns.

They were known by many names. Their parents had named them Syl and Chardis, long, long ago before they had realized their destinies. They had named themselves the Rulus, the God-Monarchs of the Wheel, five mysterious planes that rolled together yet apart through the Blind Eternities. But other planeswalkers, those who lived before the Mending struck down their kind, called them the Dual-Walkers, twin planeswalkers of incredible power.

Before the days when all planeswalkers felt the constant bite of mortality, they had been well-known, and well feared. Each of the siblings separately was a danger, Syl with her mind and Chardis with his strength, but together, they were a force unlike any other. They were masters of both magic and artifice, and had both the desire and the will to use them to their advantage. The Amphiseum was forged by their hands, and centuries earlier, they had used it for entertainment, throwing lavish and brutal contests of skill and brawn, planeswalker against planeswalker, with other 'walkers watching from the stands. It was a glorious past.

But now, of course, everything was different. It had been well over two hundred years since the Dual-Walkers had last used the Amphiseum. The massive crater in the floor on the western end of the Arena was the only blemish, and the Rulus had already dealt with the perpetrator of that vandalism. Now they were standing at the opposite side, staring with irritated displeasure, first at the crater, and then at the small coin on the ground in front of them, the coin with the small fire dancing in its center.

Chardis, almost a head taller than his sister and much thicker with his muscled frame, looked down at her with a scowl. "Why is this taking so long?"

Syl gave her brother her traditional patronizing smirk. "We must be patient, dear brother. From what I understand, this one works on his own schedule."

"We have come here and lit that blasted coin every night for two weeks! This had better not be a waste of our time."

"If what I have learned of him is true," Syl said smoothly, "then it will not be. Have faith, Chardis, and please, try to keep your temper."

Her brother waved off this last comment. "I promise nothing, sister. He has already kept me waiting for far too long. He is trying my patience, and I have yet to even meet him."

"I suspect that is what he wants," she mused. "He is a sly one, I believe."

Chardis shook his head. "We have dealt with his kind before."

"Those were very different times, dear brother," Syl reminded him. "Now we must be...cautious." She spoke that final word as if it were poisonous.

Chardis reacted to it likewise. "I dislike caution. That is your strength, sister, not mine."

Syl simply nodded. "Which is why it would perhaps be best if I negotiated with our guest alone, when and if he arrives."

Her brother scoffed. "I will not leave you to meet with this 'walker alone."

Syl laughed at her brother's statement. "Do you not believe I can protect myself?"

Chardis smirked. "I have no doubt of it, dear sister. But we know far too little of this man, and anyway, I am far more concerned about my vengeance than I am your health."

Syl shared her brother's smirk. "How very sweet of you, brother. But believe me, though I may not have voiced it so colorfully as you have, I desire our revenge at least as greatly as you do."

The conversation broke off, and the Dual-Walkers continued to wait in silence. Eventually, Chardis drew his attention back to the crater, and his face darkened even further. He spoke even as he began walking over to it, his voice echoing throughout the Amphiseum as voices always did in the arena. "I am still less than happy about this little nuisance."

Syl stayed where she was, but nodded her agreement. "Yes, such foolish and pointless destruction. Still, though, she has been suitably punished."

But Chardis shook his head. "I would have preferred she suffer longer. It was quite an insult to find that little mouse within our walls, and then to see the damage she did to one of our greatest creations. Insufferable."

"Yes, though perhaps it was for the best."

"For the best?" Chardis roared. "Look at this! Do you know the effort it will take to remove this crater, particularly now?"

Syl gave him her brief, demure laugh, the one he hated the most. "True, brother, true. But her mind held some interesting things, especially for one so young. It is rare that I can learn anything from the infants of our race. Besides, we have not visited the Amphiseum in so very long. We can hardly blame her for thinking it deserted."

As he looked down at the large crater, Chardis scoffed once more. "Had I known it would have visitors, I would have come more often. It is not as though the Amphiseum is easy to find."

"He's right, ya know," came a new voice from somewhere in between the two twins. "I had a hell of a time finding it."

The Dual-Walkers each turned to look at the new arrival, a short, unfortunate-looking man standing almost directly between Syl and Chardis. He smiled first at her and then at him, the gap in his teeth drawing both of their attentions immediately. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigar, setting it in one side of his mouth and talking out the other.

"Either of you two ever seen one of these?"

Chardis smirked. "Many," he said simply before pointing at it with one finger. A moment later, and the tip of the cigar ignited into flame, which quickly died down and let the cigar lit. Fisco immediately withdrew the cigar, but then put it back.

"Thanks. But ya know, kid, some guys are likely to take that kind of thing the wrong way. You know, throwing fire at people who only want to help them. Me, though? I'll just forget about it," he paused purposefully, lowering his head to glare at Chardis. "This time."

"You must be Mr. Vane," Syl interjected as smoothly as she could. "We are pleased that you have accepted our invitation."

"Sure thing, sweetheart," he replied, cheering a bit. "And call me Fisco. But what's your name? I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage."

"I doubt that," Chardis said, likely louder than he had intended to.

Syl smiled thinly. "My brother is blunt, Fisco, but I suspect he is also correct. From what I have learned of you, I doubt you would even be here if you did not know who we are."

Fisco Vane took a big drag of his cigar and blew out the smoke. With a subtle motion, Syl lifted a hand, and immediately the wind rose and carried the smoke away. Fisco frowned, but recovered quickly. "Need a roof for this place? I could find you one."

Almost as one, the Dual-Walker's smirked. Syl was the first to speak. "Although I am certain you already know, I am Syl, and this is my brother Chardis."

Fisco nodded, and blew another puff of smoke into the wind. "And where'd you get my coin?"

Chardis closed his eyes briefly before answering. "Fisco, why do you ask questions when you already know the answer?"

Vane simply shrugged "I don't know. Why don't you answer questions you know are harmless?"

The Dual-Walker threw up his hands in exacerbation. "This is a waste of our time."

Fisco grinned at the other man's outburst. "Whoa, boy, down! Syl, maybe you should keep him on a leash."

The eyes of Chardis seemed to catch fire, but Syl simply gave him the same look she had been giving him for a millennium, and he begrudging backed down. She then gestured toward the coin on the ground and flicked her finger, sending the burning disc upward and toward Fisco Vane, who caught it nonchalantly. She stared at him with an annoyed glance for a few seconds, then broke into a polite smile.

"We procured your little curio from a man named Housh, a particularly corpulent street vender on Mercadia. You come highly recommended by him."

"I should," Fisco said plainly. "I pay him enough."

Syl smiled. "Yes, he seemed to enjoy your resources. He gave me quite a lot of information on you."

Fisco shook his head. "I doubt that, honey. Housh knows better than to talk."

The look Syl gave Fisco would have send a shutter down anyone else's spine. "He did not have to talk."

Fisco frowned again. "A mind mage, huh? Well, stay out of mine, sugar."

"A professional courtesy?" She asked with her smirk.

Fisco Vane's eyes narrowed. "Fair warning."

Syls's smirk disappeared, and she said nothing. Finally, Chardis spoke as he started walking back toward his sister. "Can we get on with this? We have wasted enough time already."

"I agree," Fisco said as he cocked his head toward the Dual-Walker. "But why don't we all stay where we are, huh?"

"Are you getting nervous, Vane?" Chardis taunted.

But Fisco merely smiled in response. "I just don't like the idea of you two getting too close. I've heard stories."

Chardis stopped in his tracks, his face growing serious once more. "Stories? What have you heard about us?"

Fisco's smile grew to a grin. He was finally making some headway here. "Oh, I do my research. Housh gave me quite the description of you two. I admit, digging up anything on you wasn't the easiest thing I've ever had to do. Most of what I found was from hundreds of years ago. Seems like you two should be propping up a tombstone somewhere by now."

Syl's eyes narrowed to the point where Fisco could barely see their color. "We have yet to feel like dying. Until we do, we will live."

"Fascinating." Fisco said flatly. "Anyway, it seems you used to be pretty well known in certain circles. You used to host bloodsports for entertainment here," Syl and Chardis shared a glance at one another. "You used to throw lavish and decadent parties, too," another glance. "Yes, from what I hear, the Dual-Walkers used to do a lot of things," Fisco took a long, intentional pause. "So, what have you two been up to for the last couple hundred years?"

Sometimes, even the Shark could go fishing. He knew enough about the Dual-Walkers, enough to keep himself alive through this meeting, at least, but he knew far less than he wanted to, and far less than he usually did about those he dealt with. It was curiosity more than anything else that made Fisco come to the Amphiseum in the first place. These Dual-Walkers were something of an engima, and Fisco didn't like that. A puzzle was one thing, but a puzzle that knew his name was something else, something Fisco wanted solved.

Unfortunately, the Dual-Walkers were disinclined to take the Shark's bait. Chardis merely glared, and Syl smiled a coy, knowing smile and spoke softly. "We have somewhat outgrown the frivolities of our youth. Age does catch up to us all."

Fisco looked her up and down, her thin but curved body under the long, tight, black gown, her face, unmarred by wrinkles or blemishes. He raised his large eyebrows at her. "Age hasn't hurt your looks, doll."

Syl smirked. "Flatterer."

Fisco's eyes narrowed just slightly. It bothered him that he wasn't bothering her. "So where've you been living?"

"That is none of your business, Vane," Chardis threatened, taking a step closer. Fisco began drawing in mana, just in case.

"Relax, kid," the Shark tried not to smile at the annoyed look the other man gave him every time Fisco called him that. "I just like to know the people I do business with."

"Very well," Chardis said through clenched teeth. "Then perhaps we should get down to business."

Fisco looked first at him and then at his sister, and decided to let the matter rest. For now. "Fine. But this ups the price. So what is it you kids want, anyway?"

Chardis began to speak, but Syl cut him off. "We are interested in locating a particular person, Mr. Vane. We understand you are a man who knows how to find things."

"Fisco," he corrected, "and yes, I am. So who's this lucky person you're looking for?"

Chardis answered, and Fisco had to wonder how he wasn't shattering his own teeth. "Her name is Daneera."

Fisco Vane looked from one of the twins to the other, but moments passed before anyone said anything else. Finally, the Shark grew impatient. "Is that it? A name? What plane is she on?"

"If we knew that," Syl began, "we would have no need of your extraordinary service."

Fisco rolled his eyes. "A planeswalker, then?"

The Twins nodded. Fisco exhaled. There were already far too many 'walkers involved in this job. The smart thing to do was to 'walk away. But something else bothered him. "Why do you want her?"

"Is that relevant?" Syl asked. "We merely want you to find her and bring her to us."

"What we do to her then," added Chardis, "is something you need not concern yourself with."

"Ah, you want her dead, then?"

"No!" Both Dual-Walker's shouted as one. After a brief hesitation, Syl spoke again. "It is...important to us that Daneera be brought to us alive."

Chardis nodded, and Fisco saw his eyes were blazing. "Inflict any wound you need or want to in order to bring her to us, but you will not kill her."

"Watch your tone, son," Fisco jeered. "I don't work for you yet."

The flame in Chardis's eyes doubled as Syl raised her arms to try to calm him. "Chardis, please! Mr. Vane, as you can see, both my brother and I are very interested in obtaining this woman. Can you perform this service for us?"

Fisco knew the best thing to do was leave. Things were getting heated, and even from this distance he could feel the raw energy radiating from Chardis. These were dangerous people. Though Fisco himself was hardly a safe person. If things came to blows, he was ready. He would be foolish to come to a place like the Amphiseum, and a meeting with the Dual-Walkers, unprepared, and Fisco was anything but a fool. But still, something didn't sit right. Why would 'walkers as experienced and powerful as these two be so interested in this Daneera? Fisco cursed his curiosity, but he had to know.

"Fisco," he corrected again, "And yes, I can, but why should I? He seems more interested in burning something alive than making a deal, and you? Well, let's just say I've seen your game before, toots. So give me a reason."

"You need a reason?" roared Chardis. "Maybe 'walking out of here with your heart still beating is a reason. We could keep you here until you agree, or strike you down where you stand."

"My brother jests about our intentions," Syl added hastily with her insincere smile, but a moment later she let that smile fade. "But not about our ability. We could, indeed, keep you here if we wished."

Fisco glared at her. Now he was annoyed. "That would be pretty stupid."

Chardis was getting furious. He took a big step forward as he spoke. "And why is that, Vane?"

Fisco took a deliberate step back as he pulled in more mana. Things were getting far too serious far too quickly. "I told you, I do my research. You think I wouldn't know about the Amphiseum's ban? That Eristi has a big mouth."

"Had," corrected Syl.

Fisco paused for a moment. He wasn't surprised, but he had to be careful. "I see. You wouldn't find me as easy. Especially with psycho here about to burn out his own eye sockets."

Chardis growled as his hands exploded into fire, as did the air behind him in a twelve-foot wall. The Dual-Walker took three more steps forward, and Fisco took one more back, but his power was gathered, as well. Behind him, the Amphiseum grew dark and hazy. A clap of thunder sounded from somewhere deep, though the sky above them was still bright. Then, appearing from the mist, forms began to materialize, horrid, distorted shapes that defied description. Fisco smiled as the full force of five hells began to muster at his back.

Above the din of the gathering magicks, the two men heard Syl's voice ring out in the chaos. "Stop this! Both of you!"

Chardis looked over at his sister, then purposefully back at Vane, and then allowed his fire to die. Fisco thought about his choices, and let his portals to close, though he kept a tight hold on the spell, in case he needed them immediately. After a moment or two, Syl took a deep breath and spoke again, irritation lining her voice.

"Enough of this. One question, Vane. For what price will you do this?"

Fisco Vane did some quick calculations in his mind. The price had gone up considerably throughout this short meeting, but now, there might just be something else he wanted from these two. He wanted answers, and although he knew they wouldn't give it to him, he had the name of someone who might. Fisco smiled. "Nice crater. Here's the deal. Thirty percent gold, twenty-five percent silver, twenty percent diamonds, fifteen percent rubies and ten percent sapphires. Fill that crater."

Chardis looked over at his sister, whose eyes were moving back and forth as she did her own calculations. Finally, she smiled and nodded. "Deal."

"Okay, then. Also, I think you two could use a little lesson in trust. I'll find this Daneera for you, but you need to pay me upfront."

The Dual-Walkers seemed to think for a moment, and then starting walking toward one another. Fisco tensed momentarily, but he could sense their anger had more or less vanished. They approached each other, joined hands, and closed their eyes. Moments later, a sudden rush of wind brought a monstrous pile of gold, silver and precious gems into existence, completely filling the gigantic crater until it was higher than the ground. Fisco looked at the enormous pile of riches before him, and was skeptical.

"No tricks, right?"

"It's yours, Vane," Chardis said, annoyed. "Stay and count it if you like. Just bring us Daneera."

Fisco could already tell the payment was legitimate. He could also tell it had been heavily enchanted to disguise its origin. So much for bringing it to my psychometrists, thought Fisco. Clever duo, these Dual-Walkers. Looks like there is only one way to find them, and that's to find the girl.

Syl smiled at him. "Well, Fisco, what do you say?"

"Mr. Vane," Fisco corrected. Then, begrudgingly, he nodded. "It's a deal."