Within the castle, there is big room that is designed with red and gold. The sunlight shone through the fluttery transparent curtains and lit up the room. A king size bed was place right in the middle. And on top of it hung a portrait of a beautiful pale woman. Her bright brown eyes gleamed and her lips curved into a seductive smile. Her off shoulder dress revealed her smooth and flawless skin. She sat up straight, exposing as much cleavage as she could. One would think that her only purpose of living is to give pleasure to a man in bed, but she sought something more than a moment of pleasure. What she wanted, was to become a ruler herself.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DIDN'T GET THEM?!"A woman's voice boomed. Every servant in the room shook with fear and pitied the man in front of her.
Meyer was kneeling on the floor, "There was a Dark Knight. The troop would have been annihilated if we stayed there."
"Then you should have stayed there and die. I don't need people who can't work." The woman spit the disgusting tea out and threw the cup at Meyers. The cup hit his chest and shattered as it fell into pieces.
"My Queen! I have to think of the safety of my men!" Meyer exclaimed.
She had her head held up high as she looked down at him, "If you care so much about the safety of your men then I guess you don't care about the safety of your family."
Meyer curled his hand into his fist but withheld his anger. He grimaced, "I apologize. I will make sure to kill Prince Kiyoshi next time."
A knock was heard on the door and a man walked in.
His short hair was spiked up and his dark navy cape floated behind him.
He stopped beside Meyers but did not bother to bow.
"This man will be in charge of going after Ty. So you will follow his orders." The queen said to Meyer and dismissed him.
Meyer walked out of the room and roamed around aimlessly. When he was alone, he punched the hard stone wall.
He leaned his head on the wall and cursed continuously, "Damn it, damn it, damn it!"
He closed his eyes and grimaced with pain. My family will be killed if I do not follow her orders. Few other retainers have already disappeared without a trace and we do not have any evidence to connect it with the Queen. Forgive me my lord. Forgive me Ty. Please, protect Prince Kiyoshi no matter what.
~ Scene Change. Back at the Queen's Chamber ~
The queen dismissed all the servants, leaving her and the man alone.
"What did you call me here for?" He asked, displeased that he was called.
She leaned her head on the back of her hand, "I need you to kill the stupid brat for me. The servants here are all useless."
He raised a brow, "What makes you think I will help?"
"Because I need you to…"
Before the Queen could finish her sentence, the man grabbed her hair and forced her to look up.
"My dear little cousin." The man whispered dangerously, "Living the life of royalty has blinded your eyes. Did you forget your true purpose here? You are no queen so do not order me around. The woman who is suppose to be the queen is buried ten feet below the ground. Even if you are related to me, I won't hesitate to bury you too if you ruin the plan."
She gasped from the pain, "Masuo, I was just trying to secure my position so that taking over this Kingdom will be easier."
He snorted, "There's no need to do that. Once we awaken Master, no one will dear defy us."
He let go of her hair, "If you insist on killing the little kid then do so yourself. You can even tell my men to help you. Just don't bother me with such unimportant thing."
"Wait!' She activated a lacrima which had a recording of Meyer's men fighting against Ty's group. "Won't you look at it first before you decide?"
The Queen had hoped that the Dark Knight's appearance would interesting Masuo, but what caught his eye was not Kenshin. It was Syaoran, who was fighting against some weakling.
He narrowed his eyes as he pointed as Syaoran's image, "That man…"
"He is a mercenary hired by Ty to protect the brat." The queen responded.
Masuo thought for a bit. If that man is here, then that means the girl who was with him should also be with them...What an interesting turn out. I have been looking for them ever since we crossed paths and they were actually with Lady Izumi all along.
"I'll go after them." Masuo grabbed the small lacrima and her face instantly lit up.
He spoke as he walked out the door, "Next time don't call me for me,"
After Masuo left the palace, he went through a misty forest and headed toward Sicarius' hideout.
The hideout was like a mansion.
Black fence surrounded the area and spider webs and vines were grown on it. The outside was built with gray colored stone. All the walls inside were dark mahogany wood. Servants, who were also part of Sicarius, kept the place nice and clean. There wasn't even a speck of dust on the tables. They opened the curtains to brighten up the room or else it would look very gloomy.
Masuo headed to a segregated room under the mansion. They were no servants and no lights. He was probably walking in dark for five minutes and finally arrived to his destination.
He knocked on the door and waited for a response.
"Come in."
He walked into a room that was bigger than the Queen's chamber. The room was spacious and that was all, because there were no furnitures at all. However, there were five human sized lacrimas placed in a circle. There was a half, meditating on a matt in the middle of the lacrimas.
Staying in a distance, Masuo kneeled down onto one knee as he greeted the half, "Lord _."
The half has a long gold beard with many wrinkles on his face. Despite the old age, his eyes still contained cat-like predatory features. He sat with his legs crossed as he meditated and his leopard tail curled against the mat.
Lord Hyou opened his eyes, "Speak."
"I received news that the demons found the door. Should we do anything about it?" Masuo asked.
"No need. It will take a while before the demons are able to find a compatible mother and son spirit to open the door. We don't want to ruin our partnership with the demons before we successfully release Master Reiton. Keep an eye on them. Send a word to me immediately if the door opens." Lord Hyou ordered.
"Yes sir."
"Is there anything else?" Lord Hyou asked.
"I was just wondering what is so important on the other side of the door." Masuo was curious about this particular door the demons wanted to open so badly.
"It is a door that opens to another dimension." Lord Hyou tone of voice became grim as he spoke.
"That is all I will tell you. Just know that if the thing on the other side is ever released, not even I will be able to control it…" He corrected himself, "No...not I. I should say not even Master Reiton nor the five gods will be able to control it. Even if they do they will have a hard time managing it. Now leave and be caution."
"Yes sir." Masuo obeyed. Masuo started wondering as he returned above ground. What exactly is on the other side of the door? Lord Hyou mentioned about it being released, which means it was purposely sealed there so it wouldn't come out. Just what is this thing? What exactly can overpower Master Reiton and the five gods?
As he was walking through the hallways, he heard shattering sounds from a room. Servants rushed out with their head down. The maids bumped into him as they hurried out.
"I'm so sorry Master Masuo." The maids apologized and bowed repeatedly.
"What happened?" He asked as he saw them shaking in fear.
Before they could answer, another scream was heard. The maids winced from the scream, as if it was hurting them.
Seeing their discomfort, Masuo sent them away and went to check himself.
He stepped into the room to see that dishes of food were all over the floor. Glasses and mirrors were in pieces and most of the furnitures were broken.
He frowned from the mess and went deeper into the room as the mirrors crushed under his weight.
He saw what had scared the maid. Beside the bed, another maid was laying on the floor with her throat slit.
The woman sitting on the bed had he back facing Masuo. She stiffened when she felt a presence.
"What are you doing Madoka?" He asked annoyingly.
"DON'T COME NEAR ME!" She screamed and covered her face with one hand.
He watched as insanity took over her.
"MY FACE!" She started freaking out and turned to him.
"MY FACE! HOW DARE THAT BITCH BURN MY FACE!" She screamed on the top of her lungs.
She fell on her knees to look at herself at the pile of shattered mirrors. Half of her face was burned from the fire Sakura had created when they were fighting.
She screamed again, "I'M GOING TO KILL HER. I'M GOING TO KILL THAT BITCH!"
A smile crawled up to Masuo's face, "I have news of them."
"WHERE?!" She snapped.
Masuo flicked the lacrima and it landed next to her. She grabbed it as if her life depended on it.
He left after saying to her, "By the way, I heard the demons found the door. Maybe you can help them find the key."
Madoka gripped the lacrima tightly. "Yes. I will give her to the demons and let them suck her soul out. She will pay for doing this to my beautiful face." She growled.
Masuo returned to his room and the smile never left his face. This has become quite amusing. I'll see how Madoka is going to handle this situation. Meanwhile, I will need to discuss with other leaders to remove her from the leader's position. Now that her face has become like that, she will no longer be focused on our goal to unseal Master Reiton.
~ Scene Change. Faust in the Forest.~
"How are you guys doing?" Faust asked Prince Kiyoshi and Princess Kasumi. They have been walking in the forest aimlessly for few days already. They would have returned to the city but they have no idea where Eriol had teleported them.
As they were walking, they stumbled upon an abandoned carriage.
"What happened here?" Kasumi asked as she clung onto Faust's arm.
He placed his hand over hers, "The same thieves probably robbed and captured the people using the carriage."
Looking at how dirty it was, they presumed that it was left in the forest for months.
"Stay here. I'll check if there's anything inside." Faust said to them. Kiyoshi and kasumi held onto each others as they waited.
The carriage was completely empty except for few weapons. Faust took a sword and told them to get a weapon for protection.
Kiyoshi's eyes sparkled as he picked up a sword, "This is my first time holding one!"
Kasumi pouted, "It is too heavy for me."
"Hmm… How about bows and arrows?" Faust suggested.
"Archers are weak though!" She exclaimed.
Faust shook his head, "Archers are very important. They can snipe enemies from far away."
"Ok then." She said giving in easily, "I will become an archer!"
Faust laughed lightly at her declaration.
"You can't become an archer just because you say so!" Kiyoshi said, "And mother wouldn't let us fight."
"Hmph. Then I will learn it after our disease is cured!" She pouted.
"Do you guys want to stay here tonight?" Faust asked. It was still early and the sun is still up but they have been sleeping on dirt for the past few days. Since the carriage is abandoned, they could stay there for the night.
"Yea!" Kasumi replied excited and Kiyoshi nodded his head. Even Faust was tired of sleeping outside. They had nothing with them so they would cuddle together to keep each other warm. They were rushed when they were teleported and did not bother to get extra clothes or food. Faust has some money on him, but it is worthless in a place with no one around.
For food, Kasumi and Kiyoshi depended on Faust to capture small animals like rabbits or squirrels. They have thought about eating frogs or snakes but Kasumi was disgusted by the idea. They would have eaten fish, except there were minimal amount of water in the mountain and no fish inhabits there.
All of them went inside the carriage and sat there.
"Do you think anything happened to mother?" Kasumi asked with a sad face.
Kiyoshi frowned, "I don't know."
"I am worried about them, but I'm sure they will be fine!" Faust said as he tried to cheer them up. "Don't forget Ty is there, and so is Syaoran and my mother! They wouldn't let anything bad happen to Lady Izumi."
"Do you really think so?" Kasumi asked with hope in her eyes and Faust nodded.
Suddenly, they heard someone outside.
"Hey there is someone inside. Want to check it out?"
"Just kick it down." Another guy grumbled.
WIthin seconds the carriage tumbled to the side and they screamed from the fall.
They quickly crawled out when they carriage started to break.
"It's three kids!" The first man exclaimed. They were wearing clothes similar to the mountain thieves. "I was hoping for a woman." He continued, "How disappointing."
"Who cares." The second man shrugged his shoulders, "Kids make good money too."
Realizing what they were talking about, Faust quickly grabbed Kasumi and Kiyoshi's hand and dashed the opposite direction. he don't know where they were headed to. All he knows is that he must get away from those two thieves.
Haste. It is Faust's first time using magic outside of training and he is glad it worked. For the past month, Sakura has been teaching him how to cast spells and control them. He found out that magicians does not really need a wand or a staff. Although those weapons help the magician concentrate, all they really need is a magic rock or lacrima.
He has also been learned how to use a sword from Syaoran. Syaoran gave him short sessions and told him to swing the sword until he feel like the sword is part of his arm.
Faust did not understand what he meant so Syaoran just told him to swing it 1,000 times a day and if that did not work, increase it to 2,000 times a day.
Faust immediately became sore and exhausted. He had thought that swinging a sword is a simple task but it actually wasn't. From all the different training he has been receiving, he felt like he already gained some muscles.
He had been so busy concentrating on getting away, he did not see a log on Kasumi's side and she stumbled on it.
The two thieves easily caught up. The first thief grabbed onto kasumi's arm before she could escape. "These brats know how to use magic huh?"
Faust growled and ran to them. He swung his sword down and it clashed against the second thief's sword.
The second thief narrowed his eyes, "I thought you were a magician. Why do you have a sword?"
"It doesn't matter as long as I can protect the people I care about!" Faust yelled.
They were exchanging blows and Faust already felt overwhelmed by the enemy, It was already a surprise that he is somehow keeping up with the thief.
When the thief stopped Faust's attack, he punched Faust on the face and Faust stumbled backward. When he fell on the floor, the thief kicked him hard against a tree.
"Useless." The thief mumbled.
Faust groaned painfully and rolled on the floor. He gasped for air and his eyes started tearing up. It was his first time getting punched on the face and kicked on the stomach.
The same thief reached for Kiyoshi.
"Don't touch him!" Faust growled. Droplets of water from the surrounding area flew toward the thief's direction. He was able to dodge few of them, but not all. Some went through his body and he collapsed onto the ground.
"What the fuck?!" The first thief yelled angrily. He was about to do something to Kasumi when suddenly, they were interrupted.
"Time's up." Someone said as he walked into the fight. Before anyone had noticed, the thief's arm that was holding onto Kasumi was served. The thief screamed from pain and Kasumi screamed from fright. Kasumi instantly ran to Faust and Kiyoshi stayed beside them.
Afraid of the stranger, the thief ran away. The stranger opened up his cloak but did not take it off.
"Time to eat." He murmured and dozens of bats flew out. It chased after the thief who was already out of sight. All they could hear was his horrifying scream as he was eaten alive.
"Who are you?" Faust asked suspiciously.
The stranger turned around. It was Kurogami.
"So you are Sakura's so called son huh?" Kurogami asked as he walked to them. The three backed away slightly, afraid of him.
"Y..Yess." Faust stuttered.
"I'm acquainted to Sakura. She told me to bring you back." Kurogami said.
His fear instantly disappeared. "Really?" He asked excitedly.
"We can see our mothers again!" He exclaimed happily to the twin. All three of them cheered.
"Let's go." Kurogami said as he broke up the party. Before they noticed, Kurogami had already teleported them back to the group. Now, they were back with their families.