Eliza nodded over and opened her eyes to see her father sitting at the edge of her bed. He was bent over and didn't see her wake up. "I'm sure you have better things to do." She said groggily.
Pierre looked up at her and rubbed his eyes. He had almost fallen asleep. "No no, my dear. My first priority is making sure you're alright."
Eliza sat up, the dark blankness clearing from her head. "Oh really?"
He chuckled. "Even with my mission, you are still my daughter and I will make sure you're safe."
Eliza smiled and toyed with her wedding band, unsure of what to say.
"Now, I am rather concerned about that little episode." Pierre said with a serious tone. "Blumiere said you fainted earlier as well, yes?"
Eliza nodded, her smile faded. "The first time I felt the prickle, but I- I saw the Count. It was frightening. This time I didn't see anything, I just remember blacking out."
Pierre nodded, deep in thought. "Both times you came into contact with the residue of the Count's magic. You've been in his effect before, so I wonder if you still carry any sort of weakness to his power, even after this time."
Eliza cringed a little. "Even 15 years."
"One can carry magic for their entire lifetime, and so can you a weakness or strength."
Sighing, Eliza flopped back into her pillow and tried to stop tears from welling up inside of her. Pierre saw and took her hand as she started to let them flow. "I just want Mia to be safe. I don't understand why he would go after her."
Pierre waited a moment before answering, letting her cry a little bit. "I know, dear. I'm going to make sure she comes home safely."
She sniffed. "Promise?"
"Promise." He took her hand and with his placed it on her abdomen. "I cannot stress this enough, but please, be careful. Not just for your sake."
Eliza calmed down a little bit as he spoke, now able to regain composure.
"Don't go searching for him. Let the three of us handle it. And if you do see him-" He clenched her hand firmly. "I want you to run. Promise?"
She nodded and wiped her tears with her free hand. "Okay. I promise."
He stood up and kissed her forehead, and walked out of the room, carefully shutting the door to let her rest.
Blumiere and Romando flipped into the dilapidated remains of the castle. Both taking a moment to catch their breath, they both looked around to see they were in the former ballroom. Blumiere gasped as he looked around to see the rubble and ruins. Romando saw his expression. "You look like you've never seen it before."
"Well… I have not. Not like this." After destroying the dimension as Count Bleck, he never returned once the dimension was restored following the ultimate defeat of Count Noir. "I almost can't believe that I did all this… I caused this disaster."
Romando shook his head. He thought his older brother was a little too dramatic sometimes, but this was no time for a lecture. "No, Count Bleck did."
Blumiere nodded, slightly comforted. He looked in the corner and saw the painting of their family and the Fonces. Everyone was so happy, life seemed so perfect.
"Hey. I almost forgot what an egghead you were." Romando chuckled a little.
"You were such a butterball, even as a baby." Blumiere smiled in return.
Romando's smile fell a little as his gaze shifted. "Eliza looks so much like her mother. And it's obvious she has her father's eyes."
Blumiere noted the concerned tone in his voice. "Does Pierre's presence here bother you?" He asked curiously.
"I- I guess it doesn't really. I mean, it's a little weird that I just met my wife's father."
"Is that all?"
Romando hesitated. What was he supposed to say? He just met the man an hour ago. The man who wasn't supposed to be here. Or anywhere on this earth, save for the grave. "I think I'm just worried about everyone. Mia. Timpani and Thomas."
Blumiere swallowed down his own worry, and dropped the subject. "I am too. Let's go find them, then. Before something else happens." Turning, his cape flowed behind him, nearly hitting Romando. "Follow me."
Romando followed after as they walked through the remains of the ballroom and out through a hallway behind two large staircases. Although the castle was badly damaged, he did remember where everything led to. This hallway they've chosen led to the family's living areas, the bedrooms, etc. "You sure this is the way?"
Blumiere didn't turn back to meet his brother's gaze. "I know Timpani's this way."
"How can you be so sure?"
"When you've been married for a while, you learn so much about your wife. Much more than people tell you. Sometimes you can even connect emotionally."
Romando pursed his lips. He didn't really want to hear about how spouses connect, under the circumstances. Was this a setup to get marriage counseling from everyone? He was upset, sure, but he didn't have problems with his marriage. Did he? He and Eliza did fight a lot, but they always worked it out… For the most part, at least. Blumiere suddenly disrupted his train of thought as he burst into a run. "Blumiere!" Romando called.
"She's here! Timpani, I can feel her close!" Blumiere ran as fast as he could, dodging piles of rubble, only thinking about his wife, praying she would be safe. He came to a door and pushed it open, spilling light into the dark room.
Romando ran up behind him, panting. He glanced into the room from behind Blumiere and saw a figure lying on the ground. "O-oh no…" He whispered to himself.
Blumiere rushed in, his heart beating. "Romando, please, some light."
Romando opened the door as far as possible, and then did a special gesture with his hands and snapped his fingers, creating a glowing light from his palm. Timpani was lying on the ground with Thomas curled up under her arm. "Timpani!" He knelt down beside her and nudged her shoulder.
Much to the men's delight, Timpani stirred and raised her head. "Blumiere?"
"Oh Timpani!" Blumiere sighed with relief. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?" He helped her sit up and took Thomas in his arms. He was surprised to see his son was asleep.
"I twisted my ankle, but I don't think anything's broken. It's just a little sore."
"What happened?"
She tucked her light brown hair behind her shoulder before continuing. "The Count just came in and flipped us here, then he left. I don't know why."
Blumiere thought a moment as he rocked his son in his arms. "I hope he wasn't planning anything…" He sighed. "I don't understand what he wants. Do you have any ideas, Romando?" He turned to his brother, only he wasn't there. "Romando? Blast it, where has he gone now…"
"Mom! Mom!"
"Mmm… Mia?" Eliza woke from her nap. "Darling, go back to bed…"
"Mom!"
Eliza heard the faint calling again and jolted upright, the events of the day flooding back into her mind. "Mia!" She quickly got up and ran out the room and down the hall, following her daughter's voice into the library. "Mia? Please, are you in here?" She turned a corner and down a row of bookshelves. At the end, near the pedestal, was Mia. "Mom!"
Eliza rushed down the hallway, but Mia stayed where she was. As Eliza reached down to hug her daughter, Mia disappeared in her arms into thin air. "M-Mia! What's going on?"
Before she could stand, a spinning sensation swept over her and she was flipped out of the library, out of the castle. When the blackness receded from her eyes, she found a large room with a yellow tiled floor and a green atmosphere. The only walls she could see where the ones behind her and in front of her- she couldn't see to the end of her left and right. She was in Dimension D.
"Hello, Eliza." A sinister voice spoke from the wall ahead of her. Eliza looked up and focused on Count Noir, standing erect and holding the Dark Prognosticus in his hands.
Maternal instinct taking over, Eliza stood and shouted, "What have you done with my daughter?"
"Oh please, she's fine. You have nothing to worry about."
"I have plenty to worry about! You're supposed to be dead!"
Count Noir paused a moment, and suspended the Dark Prognosticus in mid air. "So sorry to disappoint you."
Eliza didn't like the look in his eyes. They held an aura of anger, and of a forthcoming apprehension. They weren't always like this, as she recalled. In fact, she had only seen him like this once before- when he tried to control her with the floro sprout, 15 years ago. He knew he had complete control, and at the same time was exacting revenge. He never for a moment anticipated failure at his objective- a dangerous position for his victim. She stepped back in hesitation, and that small moment was the chance Noir needed. Immediately he formed and threw a starburst in her direction, which she narrowly avoided, left with a scrape on her left shoulder.
"Ever wonder why you've reacted so strangely to my magic? More so than my own sons?" Noir spoke flatly, but with a slight air of cruelty only he could pull off. He threw another starburst at Eliza before she could even respond. This one hit her squarely in the chest, knocking her on the ground.
"I was inside your mind. I was closer to you than anyone has ever been before." The last statement repulsed Eliza and she wanted to throw up.
"But do you want to know a secret?" His voice dropped to a whisper and he hovered directly above her. She was preparing a defense with one hand, eagerly hoping it would be enough. She didn't have enough room to flip away, and she wasn't even certain she could flip. She wasn't as powerful as Blumiere or Romando due to lack of foundational training.
"I always knew who you were."
Eliza furrowed her eyebrows, trying to figure out if this was a trick. She knew he knew, why was he telling her this? Almost in response, he continued. "I changed you."
It took her a moment to realize what he said. Anger rising, she rolled over and jumped to her feet. She couldn't believe he would change her appearance. "But- My father told me it was some sort of birth defect-"
Noir quickly interrupted. "He lied. He didn't know any better then, after all." Out of Eliza's sight, he was forming another starburst, except this one was glowing a nasty yellow green color.
Eliza was completely aware of the customs of the tribe, of the laws concerning humans. From the very beginning, then, he was after her. For what reason she didn't know, or even care at the moment. Though Pierre had told her to run, that was forgotten when every fiber of her body screamed to fight Noir. She rushed forwards at him and created a red pulse to surround her as an attack.
Taking his chance, Noir quickly sidestepped her and pushed the starburst right into Eliza's body.
She gasped and dropped to the ground, her body numb. She was quickly losing control of her own limbs and they twitched painfully. Her shoulder was still bleeding. Noir came, calmly stooped over her, and began to taunt her. "Now, you have something I need. I could just take it from you now, but you have been a rather bothersome thorn in my side. So I may as well kill two birds with one stone, so to speak."
Eliza found she couldn't form words, especially not with the tears welling up in her eyes. She struggled to move her arm over, and shakily placed her hand over her abdomen.
Noir's eyes widened a little as he paused a moment. Then, he merely shrugged. "Three birds." Immediately, he took a single shard of his starburst and thrust his arm, spilling blood over the tiled ground.
Slowly, he leaned down and pulled the small, crystal, heart-shaped necklace from Eliza's neck. With a cruel grin, he took the Dark Prognosticus and flipped away, leaving the corpse behind.
