AN: Janika asked me about the spelling of Wiz. If you've only seen the anime, they spell it as they say it, With. But I based alot of my facts and spellings on the manga, as it was the original. There it was spelled as 'Wiz', and I've heard that its pronounced the same way.

Chapter 10

Betrayal

Luce gently fingered the Portal of Art as he waited for the girl to invite him in. After a little idle chat, she eventually did, and all the pieces began falling into place. His average-looking face crinkled as his violet eyes disappeared in another humorless smile. He noticed the girl looking at his chest, and hastily shoved the two Corinthian Mirrors inside his coat front.

After all, it wouldn't do for those two to let slip something was wrong before his plan was carried out. Yes, so far everything had worked out perfectly, especially his betrayal of Krad.

Luce pulled on his hair, an odd smile on his face. The man twirled it through his fingers, stroked the cross. Beside him, a snort sounded from behind the wall mirror, and Krad yanked his hair way from him before Dark could get any more pleasure out of his discomfort. The man seemed to almost have done it purely to upset him.

"Aren't we in a bad mood, white angel. I merely wished to comfort you before you went." Krad wondered what Luce meant by this, and said so, his anger already piqued by earlier events, and even more so by the unwanted contact. That the man laughed at him merely made it worse. But something about the way Luce was moving seemed wrong, he was much too confident for a mere human confronting someone as superior as an artwork like him. Krad watched the lean, average looking man carefully, finding himself backing away slightly as he looked up at him through his hair, a hand in his suit pocket. "But as I've said, I keep my promises. Though perhaps not always how you think."

Luce reached over to the table that held all of Krad's conquests, the stolen Hikari pieces, grabbing a pearlescent tear-shaped pendant, the Thousand Tear's Shine, and a small, swirling, abstract sculpture, the Portal of Art. The shorter man looked back at him, smiling as ever. "The two artworks that will help advance the next part of my plan. But I wonder, do you know what four I used for this part?" Krad stared at the average looking man, seemingly so innocuous if not for his smile, and felt uneasy at the statement. How could there be four? All he knew about was the Corinthian Mirror.

"Huh, you're as crazy as that pathetic fool Hiwatari," Krad sneered at his master, still finding himself intrigued.

"Perhaps, but that is not always a bad thing, now is it? I assume you know about the Corinthian Mirror already," Luce nodded to the piece about his neck, "but perhaps you didn't realize that the other three are you two lovely pieces of the Black Wings and my second Corinthian Mirror!" The man was suddenly in Krad's face, pressing one finger to the Corinthian Mirror about him, then he vanished.

"Luce! What have you done, foolish human!" Krad shouted, spinning to look around the room, his white wings thrashing about in rage and knocking the wall mirror from its perch and the stolen pieces from the table with a loud crash.

"Now, now, Krad. I thought I already told you that I didn't want you stuck with those seven years' bad luck." Krad started as Luce's voice came from the mirror hanging at his chest. He was about to speak when another voice interrupted him.

"What the hell are you doing? Get off of me!" Dark's incensed shout emanated from the mirror as well. Then he felt something, something he knew he wasn't going to like. A tugging sensation lifted him from the floor, and Krad opened his eyes to find himself inside the world of the Corinthian Mirror. Strings of corporeal black darkness shot out to bind him as he had seen done to Dark, as he could see about Dark now. Beside him, Luce stood on the nothingness of the space, one hand still holding a second Corinthian Mirror he had just placed about Dark's neck. And no matter how hard Krad fought it, he couldn't free himself.

"Now technically this second mirror is actually part of a set of two, the sister artwork to the Corinthian Mirror," Luce spoke from behind Dark, his voice sounding as if he was merely thinking aloud to himself, "But its true name was lost quite a while ago, and as long as they have the same function, why not the same name?" He was silent a moment longer, then appeared to finally have noticed Krad's presence, though he kept his eyes on the man before him.

"You two have no idea how much you've helped me," Luce said, gently stroking Dark's cheek and hair, Dark in turn jerked away with a grimace. "Something so simple as a piece of art, and yet so marvelously helpful. I almost feel ashamed for using you two. Almost." He turned to face Krad as he struggled to get free, still fondling the other as one might a precious gem. "You know, you can't get away, no matter how hard you fight it."

"But you told Dark he couldn't fight it!" Krad shouted, surging forward against the bonds and being unceremoniously pulled back again.

Luce laughed, this one as sinister as the last, though with a little glee this time. "Really, you don't understand, and here I thought you were intelligent. Perhaps I should explain. I believe by now you've figured out that I had ulterior motives for everything I've done so far." He glanced over at Krad, bright violet eyes matching the narrowed ones of the captured man he stood next to. "Though I can't figure out how you didn't know I was lying to you. Words, that's all it was. The mirror doesn't give a damn whether or not you fight it; once it gets a hold of you, you don't come out. I merely said that for the emotions it would induce."

"What are you talking about?" Dark demanded, still trying to pull away from his stroking fingers.

"I'm talking about wonderful, sweet, powerful emotions. Don't you see?" The ubiquitous smile broadened as he leaned in closer to whisper into Dark's ear. "That's what this is all about." He pulled back to sweep his arms across the entirety of the empty void. "All of this is about emotions. Mainly yours. I told you not to fight it, Dark, because it made my threat seem like it had a point. Other than its true one, that is. You see, everything I've done has been to evoke the most of all your deepest, most powerful emotions in the shortest amount of time. Hence the threats to that charming family of yours. Such wonderful hate and fear burned in your eyes when I threatened them."

Luce came over to Krad now and began toying with the Mirror about his neck. "Oh, Krad, I'm afraid to say that Dark has helped me ever so much more than you. He's a lot more human than you, you see. Such a broad spectrum of emotions, fear, happiness, love, friendship, whereas you… you display only arrogance, hate and anger. I must admit, though, those can be the strongest of all, except perhaps fear. But, as I've said, Dark was already taking care of those.

"And those wonderful other sides of yourselves, Satoshi Hikari and Daisuke Niwa. Yes, believe it or not, they're a big piece to this puzzle, as well. Four hearts, each all bound together by those same emotions I've been seeking. Four hearts bound in such interesting, intricate ways, yes, it's almost a puzzle in itself. So many emotions, so many bonds; the ties between friends and between those forced to share the body's temple, the ties of two halves forever split, the pull between a cat and a mouse, even the utter loathing of one for the enemy's helper. (1) And so many dark reflections.

"You know, I could have just as easily placed my two mirrors about your former hosts. The Corinthian Mirror doesn't have set criteria for what constitutes 'dark.' It's more like the one it reflects from sets the criteria. Place it about innocent, sweet little Daisuke and it will take you, Dark, his cocky, egotistical, goth-colored alter-ego. Or place it about the emotionally repressed, boy-genius Satoshi Hikari, and in would go you, Krad, the perpetually angry, hateful, spiteful hunter of his friend. Krad perceives Dark as the weaker half, the pathetic thief, the black sheep, which is why Dark here became stuck when Krad donned the mirror. And when I placed the mirror about Dark's neck, the one he perceives as the evil, vengeful, infectious version of himself, Krad, joined him. In other words, what the wearer sees as 'dark,' whether it be the benign dark of comforting shade or the cancerous dark of nightmarish shadows, that determines who the mirror takes in." Then Luce was quiet for a while, his speech done as he slipped the Corinthian Mirror from Krad's neck. "By the way, it's just as I've said, the captivity is permanent; removing the mirror from the 'light side' won't release its prisoners."

"Why?" Luce's violet eyes met their twins in Dark's, one sparkling with ambition and drive, one with anger.

"Why, Dark? Why what?"

"Why the monologue? Why tell us all this?"

Luce began laughing merrily as he headed back to Dark and leaned in to stare him in the face, tapping a finger against his chest, at his heart. "Because of this. I thought I told you that. Being told you've been used tends to make most people angry. As will this." He pulled out a knife and cut Dark across the cheek, blood flowing down the knife as smoothly as the wound healed. "You're drawing on Krad's strength now, and he on yours, a never ending loop, and I've just started a little chain reaction." He wiped the blood off of Dark's cheek as the cut appeared on Krad, healed, then reappeared on Dark once more. "So you'll have to excuse me. It means I only have a limited amount of time to get the other two of the four hearts where I need them before the reaction reaches the breaking point. So long." He removed Dark's Mirror and pulled the Portal of Art out of his pocket, then opened a way back to the real world.

"What is it that you're trying to do, Luce? What do you need them, and us, for?" Dark shouted at his retreating back.

"Now, now Dark. I've already answered 'why,' so you'll just have to wait for 'what' a little bit longer. But don't worry; it's only until I get back. And thanks for your help, it was ever so kind of you." And with that, the portal closed, taking Luce with it and leaving the two halves of the Black Wings staring at each other from across the infinite void of the Corinthian Mirror.

In the living room, the father and grandfather were busily searching through the books he had searched out for them earlier. Luce resisted the urge to smile, for once, trying to repress the mirth he felt. They wouldn't find anything, he was sure of it. After all, he had hand picked those specifically to tantalizingly hint at but reveal nothing.

Besides, how could they possibly hope to understand anything that had led up to this? There was so much more to the story than just these two halves and their hosts. But what they didn't know couldn't hurt them, only their cause.

Patiently, he waited for the two boys to come downstairs. Then the final part of his plan could begin.

AN: So, chapter 11 is already nearing completion, thanks to me having no internet. Its called "Emotional Response," at least for right now. Hopefully, it won't take as long next time. Oh, and you can now check me out on my deviantart account: www.pleasureofadream.