A/N: Many thanks to Shinomu, Ascella Star, Adiaskyfire and Keren Olivero for their encouragement and opinions.
Disclaimer: I don't own Magic Knight Rayearth.
After the battle in which the Pillar passed away, all of Cephiro's people took refuge in a massive crystal castle. The trained warriors of the people volunteered as sentries, taking turns to patrol the castle, keeping watch for the citizens. As it was a time of fear, and as a rule, fear gives rise to monsters.
The sentries were headed by Lafarga, the brave and loyal Captain of the guards.
Among the sentries were also Zagato's former minions, Caldina from Chizeta, Ascot.
One day, a certain tall, dark and handsome stranger who turned up in the castle unintentionally caused a little drama, confusion and panic to the fore-mentioned sentries.
Caldina heard the sound of sprinting footsteps in the corridor leading to her room and looked out to greet the sight of a tall and slim brown haired youth wearing a floppy green beret and dressed in green and white robes. The youth was panting and obviously shaken.
"Ascot? Come in and catch your breath. What made you so panicky?" enquired the redhead.
"Oh, Caldina, sorry for disturbing you and for my awfully bad and cowardly behavior in walking out of my shift!" Ascot apologised.
"Ascot! Don't worry, just sit down. You look aghast! White as a sheet! Is there a monster you need help with? I can come with you, I won't laugh I promise. Remember, you are always a little brother to me."
"Caldina, no that wasn't a monster! It is much more scarier than one! Ahhhh!" Ascot shook his head in a futile attempt to get the horrifying image away from his mind.
"I am very interested to see that thing that scared you. Ascot, it is so not like you to be scared and we have had our share of fighting monsters since the Pillar passed away. So what could possibly be scarier?"
"If you see what I saw, you would be scared too."
"Ah-ha, than I would be really interested to meet what you saw! If anyone harms wee Ascot, I would chase it till the ends of Cephiro!" Caldina made an attempt to be reassuring.
"Caldina! I am not wee Ascot! Stop calling me that!" Ascot turned from chalk white to a tomato red.
"Well, well, tell me what you saw!'
"Ghost...! The castle is haunted!"
"What?! Ascot, don't be silly, ghosts don't exist."
"That was what I tried to tell myself, but if that guy I saw isn't a ghost, I don't know what he is!"
"A guy?"
"Yes, Lord Zagato!"
Caldina immediately put a hand to Ascot's forehead.
"Are you ill? What had you been eating? Did your dinner go off? The fact is Lord Zagato is dead!"
"I am not ill! Yes, Lord Zagato is dead, right? But I saw him in the castle walking around! I saw him more than once so it isn't a hallucination. Ahhhhhhhh!"
"I don't blame you, he looked creepy enough even when alive. But Ascot, please how come he could be here?"
Caldina's eyes narrowed.
"How should I know? Maybe he wants to take revenge on us for walking out on him? Caldina, if you don't believe me, see for yourself!" said an agitated Ascot.
"Revenge? No way! He was in the wrong and also, he should be happy with Emeraude wherever he is now, why he needs to come back and haunt us? Anyway, I will protect you."
The gorgeous coffee skinned woman and the youth stepped out towards the "haunted" site.
"Wait here, Caldina, he would turn up." Ascot whispered.
Ascot's prediction was spot on, after a minute, a tall, dark and intimidatingly handsome man with jet black hair walked past. The man was wearing formidable looking black armour complete with shoulders of doom that could easily stab people next to him if he wasn't careful.
Upon seeing "Zagato" Caldina's eyes looked as if they could pop out of her sockets she went stiff and would have screamed her lungs out if Ascot hadn't put his hand over her mouth, nearly throttling her.
The man looked at the trembling duo coldly and get on with his own business.
When Ascot finally removed his hand off Caldina's mouth, she sputtered, gasped for breath but recovered soon enough and whispered to Ascot, "Dearie me! That really is Zagato! Same aloof and menancing attitude, some poker face, that guy is exactly a dead ringer for Lord Zagato. But what is he up to?"
"I know as much as you." Shrugged the summoner.
"Err, hold on," Caldina pointed at the retreating back of "Zagato" "For goodness sake! Where's the headpiece? What did he do to his hair? Ascot, do you remember how his hair used to flow all the way down his back and to the floor? It is now as short as yours! What a shame to cut off all that beautiful hair! Also, why the different clothing?"
"He wants a change? I guess? But hairstyle and clothing aside, that guy is exactly the same as lord Zagato! I heard him speak and he even sounds the same too!"
"Really?"
"Lets see what he is up to, the last thing we need is a vengeful ghost wreaking havoc in the castle."
The duo minced their steps, trying to be as quiet as possible while tailing "Zagato".
It is impossible to tail someone without the person finding out, especially for people well versed in combat skills as they tend to have really good intuitions. Very soon, "Zagato" turned back with the mother of all death glares, obviously annoyed.
Caldina immediately jumped in front of Ascot and extended her protective arms over him. "Ascot, I won't let him hurt you."
"Excuse me! Is there a problem, or do you both got a problem? You have been tailing me for the entire evening!" boomed a deep, powerful voice which make Caldina and Ascot froze to the spot, suddenly words just failed them.
"That young man in green, I don't recall meeting you before, and when I saw you earlier you were screaming and running away when you saw me, may I ask what's the matter? " said "Zagato" to the petrified Ascot who was mute with fright.
"Zagato" looked at Ascot disdainfully and guessed, " If you think I am so hideous that I scare the wits out of you by my very presence, stop tailing me then? Do you enjoy getting frightened or what?"
Then "Zagato" turned to Caldina, "Lady, are you tailing me because I owe you money? Please tell me how much I owe? " "Zagato"'s voice was dripping with sarcasm.
"What?" Though Caldina, "Why does he ask?"
"Lord Zagato...no...I did not continue with my service to you, , so you don't...have...to...pay...me." Caldina tried her best to appear calm for Ascot's sake but she felt her legs were turning to jelly and her voice faltering so much she could barely finish her sentence.
"Lord...Zagato?" The deep voice turned into a dangerous whisper.
Then it was "Zagato"'s turn to freeze, a deadly and awkward silence fell over the trio. Then "Zagato" collected himself and glared at them in such a threatening manner that if looks could kill, Ascot and Caldina were convinced that "Zagato" would have stared them to death, a hundred times.
"Whatever, It is not a good time to be loitering, I advise you to stay in your quarters for your own safety. " "Zagato" gave another chilling glance to them and walked away with a face that looked as stormy as the lightning ridden skies outside the castle.
Caldina was really shaken, "He looks and sounds exactly like Zagato except for the short hair!" Caldina whispered to Ascot.
"But the thing is, it looks like he doesn't know us." observed Ascot.
"When I called him Lord Zagato, he neither affirmed or denied."
Suddenly Caldina felt a hand on her shoulder and before Ascot could react, Caldina jumped a foot and let out a ear-drum splitting shriek!
"You too were too busy talking to notice me. Caldina, you are going to wake the entire castle up. Ascot, you are out of your assigned part of the castle. What exactly are both of you doing here?" said a man's voice.
Ascot turned to look and saw a tall, tanned, good looking and muscular blond looking at them sternly but not without concern.
"Lafarga! She had just been really, really scared!" chided Ascot.
Lafarga immediately softened and looked at his love tenderly.
"Caldina, could you tell me what happened?"
"Do you know how frightening it is to tap someone's shoulder all of a sudden without warning?" Caldina snapped at her lover with her hands resting on her hips.
"Oh, I am sooo sorry, I promise I won't do it again." Lafarga looked flustered seeing his lover being irritated.
"So, may I ask why are you both looking so tense and horrified?"
"Lafarga don't you know the castle is haunted? You will if you see Zagato's ghost shooting daggers at you! Even if he cuts off all that floor length hair, he is still Zagato! He can't fool us!" Caldina was obviously snappish, still irritated by that unexpected tap on her shoulder.
"Haunted...? Ghost? Zagato cuts off his hair...?" Lafarga looked incredulously at his gorgeous girlfriend, then he slowly turned to look at the young summoner who was nodding frantically.
"We both saw it! We are not lying to you! Do you think we are heartless enough to play practical jokes during this times?" replied the summoner.
Upon hearing this, Lafarga felt the whole situation was simply incongruous, he felt like doing a facepalm very strongly but fought down the urge.
"Yes, Zagato's ghost. I saw who you call Zagato's ghost many times, but ghosts don't have feet while he has, ghosts don't have shadows while he has, ghosts don't make a sound while walking while he makes. Ghosts are also surrounded by ghost lights while he got none at all." Lafarga said in a deadpan voice.
Lafarga paused at the duo who were staring at each other to register the fore-mentioned facts.
"He doesn't match any of the descriptions...Ascot" said Caldina.
"Yes, I could hear him walk and he got shadows. But Lafarga, would that be a walking dead? Or a zombie? "
"Very impressive guess, mate, you got a good imagination. But how about the possibility Zagato has a living brother?" Lafarga continued in an even more deadpan manner.
"Zagato's brother?" Both asked incredulously.
"Yes. The person you saw is Lantis, Zagato's younger brother. He had been away in Autozam for a long time so you never met him.
Well, I don't blame you, when Lantis was still around, they are always mistaken for each other anyway by those who don't know them very well.
Caldina, I firmly insist you get back to rest. Under no circumstances I would allow a sentry not resting when needed because it would deflect from keeping himself or herself alert and in prime condition. Ascot, I better let you take a respite from your duties this evening. "