"Seto!"

Crying out the boy's name, Marry soon arrived at the place where she had left Seto, panting softly at the amount of exercise she had just done in the short amount of time it took to get there.

Looking over where the two had been resting, Marry was relieved to see that Seto was still there and alive, although that relief was short-lived. He was holding his leg in pain, like he had been hurt, and when Marry cried out his name, he had looked up in surprise and... fear?

Taking a step towards him slowly, so as to not scare him, Marry looked at him in concern. "Seto, you're hurt! What-"

Cutting her off, Seto yelled, "It's a trap, Marry! Quickly, run away!"

Pink eyes widening, for a moment Marry looked around wildly. However, nobody was there, and she couldn't feel Kuroha's presence. Nonetheless, there was no mistaking that Seto's injured leg was the work of Kuroha- but where was he?

"He's not here, it's... al... right..."

Trailing off, Marry's eyes widened as she heard footsteps behind her, and she froze in fear. It couldn't be Kuroha though, right? She couldn't feel his presence, so it wasn't possible that it was him! The low chuckle behind her said otherwise though, and Marry started forward, her only focus to somehow get her and Seto out of the situation. In spite of that, she was a moment too late, and she felt an arm wrap around her neck harshly as something hard knocked against her head- a moment later Marry realized that it was Kuroha's gun, pointing right at her as he kept her in a headlock.

Freezing up, Marry felt as if she couldn't breathe. Was this the end? In her dreams, she had seen what a gun could do. If Kuroha pulled that little lever- the trigger?- she would be dead in an instant. She was sure that Seto would follow her death, too, along with the rest of her friends. It all drew back to the gun. Her life was literally in Kuroha's hands. The only thing that bothered her was the fact that Kuroha hadn't pulled the trigger yet. What was he waiting for? Was he going to go on yet another spiel about how she chose the wrong side? Was he even going to kill her, or was this just so he could knock her out and drag her back to the kingdom?
Interrupting her thoughts, Seto started to shout profanities at Kuroha, still clutching his leg in pain. "Let her go, you bastard! Leave her alone!"

Losing his amusement, Kuroha gave Seto a bored look and pointed the gun at him instead, his eyes piercing the 17-year-old. "Shut up before I finish you off, you pathetic worm," he hissed, before turning his attention back to a scared Marry, who was looking at Seto with pleading eyes. That's when it hit Kuroha, and he grinned again, quickly working to mask the anger he was feeling at the new revelation.

Marry had feelings for Seto.

"You know," Kuroha started lazily, his arm tightening around Marry's throat and causing her nails to sink into his arms, although it didn't phase him. "You could have had it all. You would have been able to rule the kingdom by my side if you joined me from the beginning. I even gave you a second chance back on the beach, before you decided to throw silver powder in my face," he said, the alst word coming out as a hiss that made Marry shiver in fear. "But you're not getting anymore chances. This time, you're not getting away, and neither is your pitiable human boyfriend. Once he's dead, I'll take you back to the kingdom, where you will rot in prison with your wretched grandmother before being executed."

Marry dug her fingers deeper into Kuroha's arm, her nails tearing into his skin as tears pricked her eyes. Was this how it was going to end? Seto dead, and her and her grandmother being beheaded?

Humming, Kuroha seemed to think over something, before chuckling again. "But seeing as how I'm a merciful being," Kuroha said as Marry choked back a bitter laugh, "I'll give you one more chance- will you cooperate and come back to the kingdom with me willingly?"

Marry locked eyes with Seto, who was staring at them hopelessly. She could tell that he wanted to get her out of Kuroha's grip, that he wanted nothing more than to beat Kuroha down, but given his leg injury, she knew that was impossible. It was up to her to stand up to Kuroha once again, and she did not have the courage that she had had back on the beach. Her mouth was dry as cotton, and she was shaking in fear as Kuroha leered down at her.

It's not going to end like this.

Swallowing back her tears, Marry gave Kuroha a defiant look (the best she could, given how he had her in a headlock) and said, "No matter what, I will never go with you."

Marry could feel that Kuroha's grin had dropped once again as the atmosphere grew cold, and she held back a shiver as Kuroha's grip loosened.

"I see," Kuroha murmured, his voice cold as he let go of Marry and turned her around so she was facing him. "You mean it, don't you?" he asked her, and she gave a shaky nod, glaring up at him. This caused Kuroha to chuckle once again, although this time it sounded even darker than before as his grip on her shoulder tightened and made her wince.

"I can't believe this. A mere human somehow is better than me?"

Marry tried taking a step away from Kuroha, but his grip grew ever tighter and Marry winced once again, feeling the area where he was gripping start to bruise. Seeing her face, Kuroha cackled and leaned down so his face was in front of hers, causing her to flinch back. "I guess I have no other choice, then," he then said, and Marry's face finally showed the fear she was feeling.

Just what... is he planning to do?

"It's that look of fear, though, that I love to see on you the most, princess."

Gripping her chin roughly, Kuroha glanced back at Seto, whose eyes widened, before looking back at Marry and kissing her roughly. Marry, surprised by the sudden change of events and feeling revolted, attempted to push him away, but before she could move Kuroha was already pulling back, a smug look on his face as he looked back at Seto, who had forced himself to stand up despite the ever-growing pain in his leg.

"You.. get away from her now," he said, his face darkening, and Kuroha laughed, grabbing Marry's hair and nearly yanking her off her feet. She squealed, her hands quickly going up to grab Kuroha's wrist, but he didn't react- instead, he pointed the gun at Seto, grinning manically.

"It's cute how you think you can fare against me in that condition." Cocking the gun, Kuroha yanked Marry back, causing her to cry out in pain as she stared at Seto, tears in her eyes.

Seto... no!

"S...Seto-!"

Unable to finish her sentence, Marry choked back a sob, as Seto leaned against the unfinished brick wall, glaring at Kuroha. His face was blanched, and Marry could tell he was in pain... So why didn't he back down? Did she matter that much to him?

"Why Princess Marry, are you not going to say goodbye to the little worm after all?"

Not even waiting for her to say anything else, Kuroha pulled the trigger and a loud bang! resounded throughout the air, making Marry flinch and stare at Seto with wide eyes as the bullet entered his lower abdomen. For a moment he stood there, his own eyes also widened in shock, before he slowly collapsed to his knees and leaned back into the wall, his eyes still wide with shock.

"No... NO! Seto, Seto! SETO!"

Screaming, Marry started to struggle, reaching out an arm to him, but Kuroha yanked her back, finally done playing around with the two.

"He's done for. He'll bleed to death here, and you're coming back to the kingdom with me."

Jerking her around so she was facing him, her feet still barely touching the ground, Kuroha gave her a bone-chilling smirk and leaned forward so he could whisper something in her ear.

"Game over...~"

The last thing Marry saw was the butt of the gun come down towards her head before everything turned black.

"He isn't answering his phone!"

Biting her lip, Takane looked at the last text that Seto had sent her as Kano tried calling Seto again, and showing a rare show of genuine worry, she glanced at the others she was with. Kido, Momo, and Kano, all of whom were panicking pretty badly at the lack of answering.

Kido, seeing Takane's worried look, pulled down Marry's dress slightly. "Do you think something happened on their end?"

Takane sighed and nodded, pocketing her phone. "It's possible. We should go check on them ASAP," she said, and for once, everybody agreed. "I'll try calling him one more time," she then said, quickling dialing the number and putting it on speaker, just in case. However, this time the phone only rang two times before it was actually picked up.

"Guys, he answered!"

Despite that, their victory was short lived as a different voice answered them, causing them all to freeze.

"Ahaha!" a voice laughed, and Takane could feel her stomach drop as she furrowed her eyebrows. This voice... "Sorry to burst your bubble, but you're too late. The worm is dead, and soon the princess will be too~"

Kano snatched the phone out of Takane's hand, but before he could yell anything, there was a loud crunching sound and the call dropped, leaving them all standing in silence for one moment before Kido uttered two words.

"Let's go."

Once the four had arrived at the compound and searched for any trace of the three, they all found a large amount of blood splattered on the ground and smeared in a trail, seeming like somebody had been butchered and then dragged. Takane could feel bile in the back of her throat, but luckily kept it down.

Following the trail apprehensively, Takane looked back at the others, who were just as pale and sick-looking. None of them seemed to want to go on, but nonetheless they moved forward too, and they all had turned the corner, only to find a figure lying on the ground, blood everywhere.

"Seto!"

They all ran to him, and Takane quickly dialed an ambulance as Momo, Kido, and Kano started to question him. Once she was done giving details, she hung up and joined the others, crouching next to Seto as she examined him. He looked on the brink of death. His face was pallid and both his leg and abdomen area were bleeding quite badly. Judging by all of the blood, she was surprised that he had managed to stay conscious, but even thinking that, he seemed like he was going to pass out any moment.

"I called an ambulance- tell us what happened," Takane demanded.

Momo turned to her, her face nearly translucent now. "H-he said that Kuroha came, shot him twice, then knocked out Marry and took her back to the sea. S-Seto tried to d-d-drag himself after them, but Kuroha was already gone when he made it around the corner," she explained, and Seto nodded weakly, looking defeated.

"I... couldn't... n... save..."

Kido pinched his lips shut. "Quit speaking. You need to save your energy," she told him, but he shook his head, attempting to prop himself up with his elbows. However, he didn't have enough strength and just lied in the gravel, breathing heavily and turning to Takane.

"You have... save... er... please..." he mumbled, his voice hoarse, and Takane frowned. It was most likely that both Kuroha and Marry were already in the sea- how was she supposed to save them when she couldn't breathe underwater herself?

Then it hit her.

The pearls Marry gave her.

Reaching her hand into her jacket pocket, Takane confirmed the pearls were still there before she put on a determined mask, standing up. "Kido, Kano, you two stay here with Seto and answer any questions the police or paramedics might have," she ordered, whipping out her phone and shooting a quick text to Shintaro before turning to Momo. "Momo, you come with me."

Momo nodded shakily and stood up, only having time to wave at the others before Takane grabbed her wrist and started to pull her away. Judging by the direction, Momo could only guess that they were heading to the beach, but why? Momo wasn't the best swimmer herself, and she was positive they couldn't breathe underwater, so what exactly did Takane have planned?

"Takane, what are we doing?" she asked, voicing her thoughts, and Takane started to slow down, her sneakers making soft squelching noises as they started to walk, having arrived at the beach.

For a moment, Takane didn't answer, and Momo watched her in confusion as she stared out at the ocean. "We have two others meeting up with us. I'll explain then."

Moments later, Shintaro had joined them, Hibiya in tow as Takane and Momo stood there. Shintaro cleared his throat, and Takane turned around to face them, her eyes sharp.

Looking from his sister to Takane, Shintaro furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "I got the message about what's going on, but how exactly are we going to save Marry...?" he asked right away, and Takane fished the pearls out from her pocket, holding out her hand in front of everybody before opening it slowly so the four pearls wouldn't fall out of her grip.

"We're going to save Marry with these."

Authors' note: Hey, Ame here! I know I've been updating this story a lot recently- I want to finish this so I can focus on Haze Daze Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry and hopefully start up by Wadanohara fanfic soon, but I need your guys' help! This story is nearing an end, and it's up to you, my dear readers, to decide which ending to go for! There are three possible endings: The good end, the bad end, and the "true" end. I know it's pitiful for me to ask you guys to help make such an important decision, but I have written out the three endings already and can't decide which. It will be branching off within the next two chapters, so updates will slow until I can choose the correct ending.

Thank you all very much for supporting this story though, and reading it up until this part! It means so much to me, and I hope you all continue to enjoy World Calling!