"Your…late wife…?" Zen-Ya asked curiously. She could feel her orange fur prickling at the thought she actually had seen a ghost. "Why would your wife's ghost…be lingering here still…?"

Spectre paused in his actions near the Master Emerald to look over his shoulder at Zen-Ya with a raise of his brow; his look insinuating that he probably wouldn't give her an answer of sorts in hopes of keeping her memories at bay as he wasn't sure what she had unraveled so far. Huffing out his frustration, the elder turned his focus back to the glowing emerald. "I heard many voices…but hers was not one of them."

Zen-Ya expelled a nasally sigh, seeing in his red eyes that it was obviously painful to have not picked up on someone he was formally mated to. "I wish I could be more help," she admitted with her shoulders relaxing in a defeated fashion. "Sadly, I couldn't make out a word she was saying." She nervously chuckled, pulling back her wavy, bi-colored hair at his mention of voices. "Normally I don't ask this sort of thing but…voices? Should I be concerned about that?"

"From my forefathers," Spectre responded as he placed his gloved hand upon the magical item. "Those that are linked to the Master Emerald remain forever so." His red eyes narrowed in a bit of concern as he thought on what he had heard. "They sound restless."

Smiling briefly at the vague information, Zen-Ya ventured over towards her husband to hug him from behind. "Did they give you anything helpful?"

Spectre didn't respond to the hug. If anything, he was trying to make sense of the random hissing of whispers he caught when trying to link up to his ancestors. "Out of what I could manage to make out…nothing good is on the horizon."

A worried frown creeping upon her muzzle, Zen-Ya rested her cheek against the tattered cloak he was wearing with a somber sigh. "Spectre…" she began reluctantly, "…I think I know what is…to be expected of—."

"Enough," Spectre interjected irritably, as he had a feeling he knew what she was about to say.

"It has to be said, Spectre," Zen-Ya insisted a bit more forcefully this time even if it was painful to do so. Her grip upon his dark attire tightened as she turned her head to rest her forehead against his back. "I don't want to do this but…if that is what it takes to get everything back to normal…"

"I said enough, Zen-Ya!" Spectre roared, as he spun around and grabbed onto her upper arms to hold her firmly. "I don't care what you think is to be expected of you or what is to be so! I didn't submit to the thought of having another mate just to lose her again!"

Biting at her lower lip, Zen-Ya did her best to keep her emotions from surfacing further. She didn't want to leave Spectre either, but from what was gradually unfolding, she had a feeling that it may eventually happen.

"Our time may be limited, but all I ask is for you to bear with me," the elder said sternly as his tight hold upon Zen-Ya began to loosen. "I will find an answer to this before it's too late; I swear it." With a small sigh, Spectre gestured back towards the front door. "Please head back to Haven. While I enjoy your company, I need to concentrate."

With the tone he often used, it was hard to tell if he was actually agitated or just being genuinely kind in his own way. Zen-Ya hated to feel like a bother to Spectre, but she hated the thought of their union being torn apart soon enough. Given how stressed he acted, however, Zen-Ya knew better than to push her luck with her husband and nodded slightly regardless of the pain that rose up in her chest regarding being alone again. "Fine," she whispered as she pulled her hooded cloak tighter to her body. "Just…be careful." Her icy-blue eyes drifted about the old boards all about her with her orange fur unable to settle under the feeling. "I get a very uneasy feeling about this place…"

Spectre would have pointed out why, but he declined the thought. "I'll return later," he said simply, as he began to pace about the Master Emerald.

Upon heading to the door, Zen-Ya's desire to have company crippled her for a moment. If she went back to Haven, the only company she would have would be the other Brotherhood members, and they all appeared to be terribly on edge and avoiding her. Lara-Le was still playing the mute card for all she knew, and Zen-Ya didn't wish to risk exposing her as she had promised her fellow wife of the Brotherhood she wouldn't. There was only one other person she could think of, and that would mean going against Spectre's words once more.

Upon slowly opening the door and closing it behind herself, Zen-Ya brought the hood as far over her head as possible while gazing down at the rickety old boards, which were painted in the crimson hue, below her. Please…forgive me… Without another thought on the matter, she hurried as quickly as she could back into Angel Village to hunt for the constable's house.

Zen-Ya figured the guardians and the dark legionnaires wouldn't be around with the moon emitting its furious gaze all about the village. It made her walk from the Chaos Chamber to Remington's house that much easier. With his home soon coming into sight, she noticed that he, like most of the other buildings as of late, had boarded up his windows and any other areas that may cause the crimson light to corrupt him slowly from the inside. Raising her fist, she tapped upon the wooden door eagerly. "Remington? Remington, it's me—Zen-Ya," she called.

She could hear no movement on the other side at first. It took a moment before Remington's voice did arise. "Come in," he responded quietly back in return, "but be quick about it."

Doing as asked, Zen-Ya made it inside of the constable's house before shutting and locking the door behind her. "I apologize," she said breathlessly from the brisk jog. "However…I just needed to see…somebody…" Her eyes catching the constable's, Zen-Ya noticed that he was wavering a bit while his fingers clenched the wild tuft of black hair upon his head. "Are….are you alright…?"

Remington struggled to speak at first as he brought the other hand upwards to conceal his face. "The whispers," he grumbled with an irritable hiss. "They are like a nail being driven into my skull." His words stressed, Remington's grasp upon reality almost seemed to be faltering. "It's that damn moon…make it stop…!"

Quickly, Zen-Ya hurried over towards him and helped him to his bathroom where there was no way the light could reach either of them given the lack of a window. Sitting him down upon the carpet there in the center of the tile flooring, she furrowed her brow at his, almost, insane babbling. "Remington, just take a deep breath, alright?" Zen-Ya urged as she had shut the door behind them. "The moon's light cannot get to you here." Seeing the obvious pain in her childhood friend's face, she felt her heart break. "How long have you been exposed to it? You weren't foolish enough to walk about in it, were you?"

Taking in a steady breath, Remington attempted to recollect what had happened recently. "I was…I was out in it…a bit during the morning to try and tell the other villagers to board up their homes…" He flinched, showing the inward pain he was forced to endure.

"How long?" Zen-Ya demanded to know as she tried to move the carpet and get him to lie down on the tile in attempts to help him feel better. She was hoping the cool shock to his system might do the trick.

"For…three hours…maybe…more…?" Remington mumbled, his head steadily making it down to the cool flooring. Closing his eyes, he did his best to try and regain himself as his mind felt as though it wanted to split in two.

"Why…why would you do that…!" Zen-Ya exclaimed, rolling her fingers over his black hair to help him relax further.

"Finitevus wanted it to be done…" Remington's words were heavy, and it almost made him sound drunk with exhaustion. He furrowed his brow for a second while swallowing harshly (perhaps to keep down whatever food he had consumed). "I was…I was asked to do it…though I had nothing but my hat to deter Enerjak's rage….it wasn't enough…I guess…" It was painful to hear his tone starting to break, as if he were going to cry at any minute from the slow torture the moon had brought him. "I keep seeing things…and hearing things…it's about to drive me mad…"

Releasing a shaky sigh at her friend's torment, Zen-Ya thought on what might be best to keep the insanity at bay. It frightened her to think that there might not really be a cure for it. If that were the case, Remington was going to be left to wallow about in the frightening sights and sounds alone, and she couldn't allow that. "I cannot believe that monster made you do that," Zen-Ya expressed with a furious growl. "Did you want something to drink? Can you think of anything that might help?"

"This is helping," Remington whispered wearily, his eyes closed as he stayed upon the cold flooring. "I just…I just needed to get away from it…" He refused to open his eyes as he spoke to Zen-Ya. A part of him was worried if he did, he might view her as something unnatural and harm her. "Even in my bedroom…the light…peers through…boards are…hardly enough…"

"At this rate, the entire village will go insane," Zen-Ya pointed out, knowing that everyone couldn't hide from the light forever. A part of her couldn't help but feel she was to blame in all of this. She ran away from the Brotherhood that night, and possibly damned them all in what other part she played that evening.

"How long have…you been exposed…?" Remington asked as he fixated on his breathing best he could in an attempt to drown out the whispers.

"I guess enough to start seeing random pools of blood," Zen-Ya responded with a small chuckle in attempts to pass it off like it was nothing. "I've been exposed enough to it…I am sure it will only be a matter of time until I too go insane."

"And yet you're here," the brown echidna commented from where he resided upon the floor. "I understand your reasons, my friend, but…this is unwise to your health…you best head back to Haven…"

Zen-Ya couldn't help but feel a bit offended at his comment. "And leave you here alone with your growing insanity?" She brought her knees to her chest with a shake of her head. "Admittedly I grow worried over someone who hears and sees things that are so evil it nearly drives them mad. I don't need to leave and then come back to find you here marred in your own blood."

Opening one eye very briefly, Remington caught a glimpse of Zen-Ya before shutting it once more in case his sight decided to betray him again. "Is that what you think I'll do?"

She was quiet for a moment, bringing her chin to her knees. "I would…"

Expelling a painful chuckle, he shook his head best he could there on the floor. "Mm, you sell yourself short, Zeny."

"Don't call me that, Remy," Zen-Ya said in revenge as she nudged the constable with her elbow best she could from how she was sitting near him. Noticing that his words were sounding a bit less labored, she reached over and placed her hand upon his shoulder. "Are you feeling any better?"

"A bit," Remington answered, not moving much from Zen-Ya's touch. "Whispers are dying down some, but I still worry about the hallucinations. I might need to cover my eyes."

Zen-Ya looked about the bathroom for anything that might be helpful. Not finding anything ideal to wrap about his face, she grabbed onto her black with white trim dress to tear a portion of it. "This might be able to help, seeing as I don't want to try and wrap a towel about your face," she lightly joked as she began to conceal his eyes. "However…are you sure you'll be able to make it around the house with your eyes concealed like this?"

"Zen-Ya," Remington began with a small chuckle, "I've lived in this house for 8 years. I've even walked around in the darkness before with nothing but my hand to guide me. I should be okay." Feeling the cloth wrapped firmly about his eyes, Remington steadily rose to his feet with a small grunt. "Now then, what about yourself? You have to travel back to Haven at some point, or the doctor may come hunting for you."

With a quiet sigh, Zen-Ya buried her hands within her lap for a moment. "Maybe he should," she admitted between them. "After everything that has unfolded…I feel like I am to blame."

Remington's head tilted slightly in response to his friend's words. "Why do you say that?"

"You know very well what happened that night," Zen-Ya said tearfully as her hands clenched into fists. "I was to be…I wasn't supposed to live that night…" She lowered her head in shame. "I ran away to save myself and this is the predicament we have ourselves into…"

"I do know what happened that night, but do you hear me demanding you to go back and offer yourself over to the ritual?" Remington asked as he felt around for the sink in the bathroom, so he would have a better way to return to the tile flooring. "Zen-Ya…this needs to stop no matter how we must repent!" He could still hear her crying to herself, making the constable's chest tighten. "The reason I was so against you marrying that guardian was because I had a feeling of what was to befall you when the time came, and I didn't want that…"

Pausing in her sobs, Zen-Ya looked over at Remington with a confused tilt of her head.

"I mean…didn't you know this would happen?" Remington asked with a raise of his bushy brow when Zen-Ya had yet to respond. "Didn't you find it odd that the guardians all looked for wives at the same time?"

"I guess I was so in love with Spectre for all those years that I didn't really care to focus on it," Zen-Ya admitted, as she had seen the guardian about town when she was just a little child. "When he was actually eligible….I just…" She sighed, embracing herself with a small whimper. "It doesn't matter how I phrase it in my head…I sound heartless in the end."

"You were in love," Remington pointed out as he felt for Zen-Ya's shoulder. "Seeing someone you love more than anything with somebody else is never an easy thing to witness. You never wished for his previous wife's death—you weren't even aware it was going to happen in your lifetime."

"I never wished her dead," Zen-Ya admitted with a somber sigh. "I envied her when I heard her name, but I never wished for something so tragic to happen to her." Zen-Ya could feel her heart squeezing at having to think of Kali-Ka being in the same situation she was in now. "If anything, I feel awful for what she had to endure, as I know what it's like to love someone so much only to realize your time is a lot shorter than you think." She paused, remembering that image of Kali-Ka she saw back at the Chaos Chamber. "I think I saw her too…at the chamber where the Master Emerald is."

"It's the moon," Remington said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "You never even saw Kali-Ka, so how would you know what she looked like?"

"Because I described the image I saw to Spectre," Zen-Ya said hesitantly. "He confirmed that it sounded very much like his late wife."

Remington didn't respond right away. His wrapped sight remained slightly tilted from Zen-Ya's as he thought on what she had said. "The dead are restless," he finally commented. "With Enerjak's rage boiling over, those that are tied to the emerald are stirring with unease, no doubt." Expelling a nasally sigh, he hefted himself back to his feet. "Anyways, you better get back to Haven. I do not want the doctor or the other guardians to find you here with all that has been going on lately."

She furrowed her brow while taking to her feet as well. "What about yourself? I cannot leave you here alone like this."

"Zen-Ya, if you're worried about me slicing my wrists or something, by all means, you know where my kitchen utensils are," he darkly joked as he helped her out of the bathroom quickly and to the front of his house best he could while being mindful of the furniture. "You can take them with you if you just get back to Haven. There are hardly any windows there, so you should be safe there."

Growling lowly at his choice of words, she managed to gain her own footing right at the door leading back out into the village. "Fight this best you can, Remington," Zen-Ya urged seriously, as she straightened her hooded cloak. "I promise I will do what I can to make this right."

"That's fine, but promise me you won't do it at the cost of your own life," Remington urged as he leaned within the doorway.

She would have asked him what her life meant compared to hundreds of others that risked going insane just because her blood didn't spill that night, but she knew if she had, Remington would have probably locked her in his bathroom. "I will do my best—this is all I can promise you." Without another word on the matter, Zen-Ya hurried as quickly as she could back to Haven.

The whispers began to get to her too. The words of doubt and the eerie tone hissing into her ears, Zen-Ya tried to pull the hood tighter about her head as she soon saw the blood red Haven within sight. Nearly there…nearly there…! She thought as she hurried to the back door leading into her bedroom.

She never thought she would be so relieved to see those same, old looking walls. Shutting the door behind her quickly, Zen-Ya rested her back against the wooden frame with a shaky breath. Her legs buckling, she slowly lowered herself back down to the floor before bringing her forehead to her knees with a shake of her head. She was lost on what to do. Spectre had yet to return, once again, leaving her in that room by herself. A part of her wished she had dragged the constable back to Haven with her, but given the foot Spectre and Remington had started off on years back, the two never really got along well enough, and Zen-Ya didn't desire to stress out her husband further.

With a knock upon the main entryway, Zen-Ya made sure she wasn't hearing things at first before asking: "Who is it?"

"Zen-Ya, it's Sabre," the guardian answered behind the closed door. "You don't have to open the door, but I felt it safe to warn you." With his voice so quiet, she had to hurry across the small living space to the other door to press her ear against it. "Dr. Finitevus is coming for you soon enough. You best be on your guard."

Hearing Sabre's footsteps carry him away from her door, she sighed while closing her eyes. While a small part of her was frightened to face the doctor alone given the circumstances, Zen-Ya almost felt like going to him instead of Finitevus coming to her. She wanted answers in what was going on and what they were going to do about this madness that continued to taint the village morning, noon, and night. Biting at her thumb, Zen-Ya looked at the backdoor from whence she came to think about the guardian Spectre. If he knew the doctor was looking for her, he'd demand to come with her and the conversation would be strained, no doubt. Taking in a deep breath, Zen-Ya grabbed a tight hold onto what courage she had before taking her leave of the room and heading down to Dr. Finitevus' bedchambers at the end of the hall.

She hesitated at the sight of that ghastly design upon his door before finally finding the ability to knock. "Come in," Finitevus' voice beckoned sternly from the other side. Zen-Ya opened the door slowly to peer into his rather large study. He appeared to have a bigger space than the other guardians, making her wonder why given he was considered a false guardian by the others. Her eyes caught him there at this desk; writing away at who knows what before Finitevus fixed his glasses and looked up at the visitor. "Ah, Lady Zen-Ya," he began, as he pulled himself from his desk for a moment, "how ironic that I was just thinking about you. Do come in."

Her orange fur prickled at his eerie tone, which seemed to lack any feeling behind it. Closing the door behind her, Zen-Ya straightened her torn dress as she ventured closer to the large mahogany carved writing desk. "I came to talk to you about this moon," Zen-Ya admitted as she took to one of the chairs cushioned with green fabric when Finitevus gestured towards it. "Also…I came to talk to you about that night in particular."

Hearing her say such a thing, Finitevus turned his back to her in attempts to hide his curious grin. "Really? What did you want to know?" He asked, his hands folded behind his back.

"I know why I was there and why I ran," Zen-Ya admitted boldly, her fingers clenching tightly onto the wooden surface of the chair. "My question is…why? Why would you need the wives as you do…?"

Finitevus looked at the woman with a condescending scoff of sorts as he viewed her as nothing. "They say that women are the lifeblood of this planet and that their blood alone is the mightiest of all things. If that's the case, what would 5 wives at once do when summoning the demigod Enerjak?" A sick grin hooked upon his muzzle at the thought. "If anything, it has kept him at peace and his power grew stronger." His eyes narrowed slightly in remembering the formal ritual before the one Zen-Ya was forced to attend. "The fool, Spectre, nearly ruined it last time with the wife he had before you, so I had to make him sit the other one out, but that didn't stop that idiot Locke from throwing his life on the line and wrecking it all." Finitevus spat irritable at the thought. "While the idiot forfeit his life, that doesn't change the fact that his wife will soon be brought back before the emerald."

Zen-Ya felt her heart squeeze. She had heard Lara-Le speaking to Locke not that long ago. "What-What do you mean 'forfeit'?"

"Don't act brainless, child," Finitevus insisted with an irritable growl. "I mean what I meant—Locke died that night, and got what he deserved for jumping in the way of Lara-Le and her fate."

Breathless for a second, Zen-Ya struggled to think on how Lara-Le was even speaking to him that moment she saw her, but then it dawned on her when it came to the image of Kali-Ka and what Remington had mentioned about the spirits being restless. The spirits are pulling from the Master Emerald… Even Kali-Ka is trying to connect with Spectre again…!

"You look pale," Finitevus pointed out, breaking Zen-Ya from her thoughts. He crossed his arms over his chest while giving her a piercing gaze. "Is something bothering you?"

"N-No, I'm fine," Zen-Ya lied as she tried to prevent herself from passing out in the chair she was within.

"At any rate," Finitevus continued, as he headed over to the nearest bookshelf, "that's not the only reason sacrifices need to be made. We want to keep the power of the Master Emerald strong or else the guardians lose their powers and their immortality." Picking up a random book from the shelf, he turned to nothing in particular while continuing: "Now, given how much you must love the guardian, I imagine sparing your own life for him wouldn't be something that needed to be debated, yes?"

Zen-Ya growled lowly at the tactic he was trying to pull, knowing all too well that Finitevus knew the answer to that question.

"Without something to power it, the emerald's energy will be eventually depleted, and thus, your precious husband will age away into nothingness," the doctor pointed out, trying to hide his awkward glee on the matter. "Now tell me, is that what you want?" He looked over his shoulder smugly at the wife. Finitevus could see his words were getting to her, making him feel all the more pleasure in her discomfort. "I highly doubt you would want Spectre to fall apart right within your own arms."

"Of course not—!"

"So tell me, Zen-Ya," Finitevus began a bit more eagerly, "what's it going to be? Are you going to tuck your tail and run away again to save your own fur, or are you going to stay here and save your husband and the village you so lovingly covet?"

When he slammed the book down on the desk, Zen-Ya didn't budge. With her head lowered, her wavy, bi-colored hair covered a portion of her face before she had the courage to look upwards at Finitevus. "You know the answer to that…so why are you asking…?"