This chapter only: Italics when not in thoughts or emphasis = "Engrish"

14

'Jessica's setting me up, isn't she?' thought Battler as his thoughts slowly regained consciousness the next morning. She placed a life-sized doll in my arms while I was sleeping so she could humiliate me and call me a pervert in front of Maria and Ange...well, I'm not going to give her that pleasure. No, I think I'll just lie here with my eyes closed for a few more minutes until I'm certain she's gone...this doll sure does feel like an actual human, though. And her hair smells so good...if Beato were here she'd never let me hear the end of—

Hold on.

Battler's eyes shot wide open. He saw the back of Beato's head, looked down and saw that not only did he have his arms wrapped around her waist, he was also shirtless.

'Damn it!' thought Battler, his face reddening. 'I fell asleep last night! Oh man, if anyone comes in here NOW and sees us like this, they'll think...hey wait, when did I take my shirt off?'

Battler was startled by the sound of footsteps. He untangled his arms and shot out of bed, looking around frantically for his shirt. He couldn't see anything on the floor from his side, so he climbed over to see something on Beato's side, but lost his footing and fell down on top of her. And just because Lady Luck had chosen that day to take a vacation in Hawaii, it was this action that caused Beato to wake up. And of course, the first thing she saw was Battler on top of her. She gasped, "Battler?!?"

Their heads turned sharply at the sound of the door opening. Neither had a chance to get untangled from this position when Virgilia came in. However, she did not see a confused Battler who was the victim of a prank. She saw a shirtless Battler lying on top of Beato, who was still in her nightgown, in a position that made it look like he was pinning her to the bed. It would've only been natural for anyone to come to the conclusion Virgilia had reached when she let out a roar of anger and went charging at Battler, roundhouse kicking him off the bed and onto the floor

"Wait!" said Battler quickly, struggling to sit up. "I can explain!"

"Explain?!?" burst out Virgilia angrily. "You have exactly ten seconds to explain what you were doing in bed with her!"

Battler felt around for his shirt. "It's not what you think," he said calmly. "I came up here last night to say goodbye and—"

"And you ended up sleeping next to her," growled Virgilia, getting closer and closer to where Battler was until she almost had him cornered.

"I swear I didn't do anything to her, honest!" said Battler quickly. By now, he had managed to find his shirt and tie and was feeling around for his vest and jacket. "She was asleep, so I couldn't...uh...well I didn't have the chance, so...oh crap," he said when he realized he was just making it sound worse. "Well, uh...look, I'm very, very sorry, and..."

"You have five seconds to get out of here before I show you just how truly powerful I am," said Virgilia coldly, pointing a finger at the door.

"Teacher," Beato tried to say, but before she could speak on Battler's behalf, Battler had already jumped up to his feet and ran out of there as fast as he could. He had made it halfway down the stairs when he felt something soft pelting him. He spun around and saw that Asmodeus and Satan had thrown him his vest and jacket. Satan was cackling, "You'd better run, Battler!"

Battler rolled his eyes and ran the rest of the way, putting on each item as he ran out the doors, through the garden, and beyond the gate and into the forest, away from Kuwadorian as fast as he could go.

'I'll be lucky if Virgilia or Beato ever speak to me again,' thought Battler, having never felt so humiliated since the last time he had surrendered to Beato. 'God, if my parents ever found out about this, they'd...my parents! Oh shit! I have to get home before they realize I'm gone!'

"Battler!"

Battler stopped at the sound of his name being called. He leaned against a nearby tree and panted to catch his breath. He double-checked to see if he had everything on---his shirt, his tie, his vest, and his jacket—yes, he had everything on. Good.

He sighed and decided to just stay where he was, on the off chance that was Virgilia or Ronove calling out for him.

"Battler!"

Several more voices were calling out his name now. He realized with a sudden start that was his family calling after him. He called out, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

Footsteps.

He leaned off the tree and waited. Within seconds, his parents and his sister were standing right in front of him, crying out, "Battler!" They ran up to him and gave him a good, tight hug.

They separated and Rudolf said sternly, "Where were you, young man? Kyrie and I assumed you had just gone to the guest house without saying goodnight, but Ange told us this morning you never showed up."

"Onii-chan," said Ange, sticking out her bottom lip, "I waited for you for hours until Maria made me go to sleep. Where were you?"

Remembering how Ange, the one who had been torn apart and reminded Battler of someone waiting for him at home, Battler felt a pang of regret. "Ange," he said softly, "I'm sorry."

"We've been searching for an hour," said Kyrie. "We found you just now. Where have you been all this time?"

Battler looked around the three standing before him. For a brief moment, he contemplated telling them the truth, but then realized there was absolutely no way to put a spin on the following phrase to make it sound innocent: "I spent the night with a girl and slept next to her in bed." No, his only choice was to lie.

"Yeah, about that," laughed Battler nervously, "I went out exploring Rokkenjima for a little bit last night and I got lost. And when I tried finding my way back, I got lost even more, so I decided to just stay put until someone came to get me, and so I fell asleep in the forest."

He held his breath, waiting for a sign that his story had been believed. He hoped none of them would question it. Finally, Kyrie said, "I understand your wanting to get familiar with a place you've been away from for so long. But from now on, ask someone to come with you, okay?"

Battler realized only then that Kyrie and Rudolf were standing closer together. His disappearance appeared to have somehow brought the two closer together after their estrangement over the past few days. Glad to see things were back to normal for his family, Battler said, "I promise."

Lambdadelta and Bernkastel couldn't help but smile at the sight. It was just about lunchtime in Battler's world, and here Battler was sitting in a chair, looking in the opposite direction of Virgilia, who gave him a cold, hard stare. Erika was the first to break the ice, "Want to talk about it?"

Virgilia seemed to loosen up ever so slightly then, "No thank you. I am informed that what happened this morning was just a huge misunderstanding."

"And what did happen this morning?" asked Erika.

Battler now turned to look over at Virgilia, who gave him a look that warned him not to attempt something like this again. "Like Virgilia said," he said, "it was just a misunderstanding."

"I see," nodded Erika. "Let us get started then."

Battler sat up straight. "I have confirmed one fact," he said. "The murderer is definitely on the island."

"So then, if it isn't Eva, could it still be Dr. Nanjo?" said Erika.

"Maybe," said Battler. "But it could still be someone within my family. I cannot just pick and choose because of bias. For now, I suspect..."

His mind was running. He blurted out the first name that came to mind, "Ushiromiya Krauss."

"Right, the whole thing about him embezzling money and swarming in debt," yawned Lambdadelta. "Haven't we gone over this already?"

"And that is exactly why he is suspected," said Battler, hoping they would not see through his bluff.

"Mm-hmm," said Erika, looking bored already. "Can't come up with anything else?"

Battler shrugged. "Well, Krauss is my primary suspect right now."

"What? Dr. Nanjo's innocent all of a sudden?" said Lambdadelta.

"No, we can't exonerate everyone just yet," said Battler calmly. "We need to keep our minds open to all possibilities. Krauss being the culprit is one possibility. Dr. Nanjo being the culprit is another possibility. Hell, even Maria being the culprit is a possibility."

'They don't seem to suspect that I'm bluffing, thought Battler,' looking Bernkastel straight in the eye. 'All I've got to do is keep BS-ing my way through this and I'll be fine.'

"Bernkastel," said Battler coolly, not even bothering to addressing her with 'Lady', "You've been silent for the first few minutes of this round. Do you really have nothing to say? Or are you just stunned by my great move?"

"If you consider bluffing your great move, then yes, I am genuinely stunned by your brilliance," said Bernkastel in a completely deadpan tone.

"Now, Lady Bernkastel," said Virgilia, "you have to admit, Battler is doing much better than he did at the game's start. He is no longer incompetent."

"You don't have to say everything in red," muttered Lambdadelta. Bernkastel ignored this: "You are correct: He is now competent. But I have to wonder, are you competent?"

Virgilia raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?" she said.

"What I mean," said Bernkastel, smiling, "is whether or not you are truly capable of resorting to tactics other than lying."

"Lying?" said Virgilia, smiling tightly. "What do you mean by 'lying'?"

"You know perfectly well what I mean," said Bernkastel nonchalantly. "You want Beato to always view you as someone whom she can trust. But can she trust you? Can she really?"

"Of course she can," said Virgilia calmly. "Ronove and I have carried out her parents' duty and took on the full task of raising her with the help of various hired help around the house."

"I have to admit, that is admirable of you," said Bernkastel. "Even Angela would've been proud, don't you think? Or what about Christopher? Would either one of them have been proud to see what you have done to their baby girl? Would they be happy to hear what you've been telling her about them? Or would they hate you if they knew? Wouldn't they want you to tell the truth for a change? So why don't you be honest—tell Beato what really happened, tell us what really happened."

Battler wasn't quite sure what Bernkastel was talking about, but he could see it was about something that made Virgilia very angry. Her eyes came very close to bulging, and she was clenching her fists tightly. Then, she turned to Battler and said sharply, "We are leaving."

"Virgilia," Battler started to say, but Virgilia snapped, "Now."

"Lady Virgilia," said Bernkastel, "if you are feeling uncomfortable with my words, you may leave. However, Battler has some work left to be done. He still has some explaining to do. I'm sure he would do just fine without you for now."

Battler wasn't sure how true those words were, but he smiled at Virgilia. "It's okay Virgilia," he said. "I can take her on by myself. I'll be fine. You can come back when you're ready. I'll wait."

Virgilia seemed to have calmed down just a bit. She turned back to Bernkastel. "Do you promise not to tell him?" she said quietly.

"You have my word," said Bernkastel. "And if I break that word, you have my full permission to punish me however you please."

Without a word, Virgilia left in a burst of gold. It was only then that Battler felt his stomach tangle up into knots. With Virgilia by his side, he had a slight surge of confidence. Now, with her gone, he wasn't sure how he would do without her there to keep him calm, or keep him level headed.

Battler cleared his throat. "Anyway," he said, "As I was saying..."

"Actually," said Bernkastel, standing up, "There is something related to the game itself that I would like to speak to you about. You were asked if you knew your sin in the fourth game. It is because of your sin that people die. Now that you've had time to think, tell us—do you know what your sin is?"

Nothing was coming to mind. Battler decided it was best to speak honestly, "No. I do not."

Bernkastel looked over at Lambdadelta and Erika with an inexpressible face before turning back to Battler. "I see," she said. "So it looks as though I'll have to show you."

"Show me?" said Battler, wondering what Bernkastel had up her sleeve now.

"Yes," nodded Bernkastel. "Come over here, and take my hand. I will take you back six years ago...back to the time of your sin. I will show you how it began, what it was, and its ultimate consequences."

Battler stood up. He did not know why, but he found his feet moving across the room and over to Bernkastel. Part of his brain was screaming, 'Don't do it! It's a trap! It's another mind game to throw you off!' And yet the other part was curious to know of his sin—he needed to know of his sin.

Battler stopped when he reached Bernkastel, who had now stood up herself. He closed his eyes and took his hand in hers...

Battler opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Bernkastel, who said, "Well, Battler? Does any of this look at all familiar to you?"

Battler took a good look at his surroundings. They were no longer in the meta-world; that was for certain. They were in a hall just adjacent to a staircase...a winding staircase that looked almost like something out of a fairy tale...

"We're in Kuwadorian," said Battler out loud.

"Correct," said Bernkastel. "This is Kuwadorian six years ago. It is early spring, just a few days or so before your family arrives for their big reunion."

"Then what are we doing here?" asked Battler. As though to answer his question, there was a knock on the door, startling him. He looked around for a place to hide as he heard the sound of footsteps, but Bernkastel said, "Do not worry. We cannot be seen or heard by the others. We are but ghosts of the future looking down on ghosts of the past."

This relieved Battler a little bit. The owner of the footsteps turned out to be Virgilia. She opened up the front doors and there stood a younger Kinzo with a younger Shannon, who looked as shy as in the present, wearing a simple white dress with matching stockings and shoes, very different from her attire as a maid. She looked as though she had been dressed in play clothes fitting for a five-year-old, yet it was very clear she was not a child. As they began to have their standard greetings, Battler said, "What is this? Why is Kinzo here with Shannon? And why is she dressed differently?"

"Just watch, and you will see," was Bernkastel's mysterious reply.

Just then, there was the pounding of footsteps coming from the staircase. Battler turned around to see a girl with blonde hair falling ever so slightly past her shoulders with blue eyes, wearing a black vest over a white blouse and a black dress that went down to her knees, with black stockings and black shoes. Despite her wear being somewhat fitting for school, her bouncy attitude contrasted it very strongly. It took Battler a few seconds to realize it was Beato—she looked different, yet acted the same

"Is Shannon here?" cried out Beato. She gasped when she saw the pair standing in the doorway. "Shannon!" she cried out, "Grandfather!"

Battler frowned. What did she just call Kinzo? As the three of them had their brief, happy reunion, Bernkastel answered Battler's mental question, "There are three Beatrice's that existed—and I do not mean the title. The title itself is at least a thousand years old. No, I mean the three Beatrice's you know about—the first Beatrice gave Kinzo the gold. She was the one he fell in love with but could not marry. The second Beatrice was the one whom Kinzo imprisoned in these walls, hoping he could use her to replace his first Beatrice, but died during her walk with Rosa, as you may have seen in Rosa's flashback. And the third Beatrice is the one you know—the one who was born and raised here."

"Wait," said Battler, raising a finger, "So let me get this straight—Kinzo had a lover named Beatrice, then he replaced her with a woman whom he thought was his beloved, and then he adopted another Beatrice—this one?"

"That is correct," said Bernkastel. "As I said, the title itself is a thousand years old, but the Beatrice you know isn't that much older than you. The two of you are around the same age."

"Huh," said Battler. "I should've known better—Beato was just tricking me when she showed me Rosa's tale of how she 'died' and turned into a golden butterfly. But I guess Beato was being just a little inflated and wanted to feel important."

"Exactly," said Bernkastel. "That was all just part of her attempts to trick you and make you question reality. However, she was indeed training to be a witch by Virgilia—who herself was Beatrice back then."

"So my assessment wasn't far off," mused Battler. "Witches do exist, but they are not the cause of the murders. They are both existent and non-existent. It is just like the cat in the box. And in this instance, the cat is both alive and dead." A sudden thought struck him—one that disgusted him greatly. "Wait a minute, are you telling me Kinzo adopted this Beatrice for the purpose of grooming her to replace the Beatrice who died? Then...that would mean...he's waiting to..."

"My, you do catch on quickly," said an amused Bernkastel. "You must understand that his sanity had already begun to crumble after the second Beatrice's death. This was just the tip of the iceberg."

Battler felt his stomach turn and observed the rest of the scene. There was nothing suspicious about Kinzo and Beato at the moment; he was smiling at her and telling her to play nicely with Shannon before leaving. Still, the mere thought that his grandfather was waiting to have sex with a little girl until she reached the legal age, and was raising her for that purpose, was downright stomach-rotting. He supposed it was better than doing it with her while she was young...but still, the mere idea...the age of consent was thirteen, but here she was around the age of twelve, so he was waiting just one more year and then...

Battler shivered and muttered, "You old geezer...you old pervert...at least I was just joking with Maria..."

The young Beato, not aware of Battler and Bernkastel's presence, said, "Come upstairs Sayo. I'll ask Ronove to make us some tea!"

Before Battler was aware of what was happening, he felt a sharp turn and saw a mixture of colours; the next thing he knew, he was upstairs in Beato's room, where young Beato was sitting on the bed having tea with young Shannon.

"Hey, what happened?!?" he cried out.

"Waiting for tea to brew is like waiting for an ice cube to melt," was Bernkastel's reply. "I did not think you would be interested in idle chatter for an hour, so I skipped right ahead to the main event. This was the starting event of the tragedy. Just listen to their conversation, and you will begin to realize."

Battler stood just near the window, watching the two girls nonchalantly. Beato as a twelve-year-old or thereabouts was very bright and happy. She laughed and conversed with Shannon, sounding slightly arrogant, but was overall good-natured and goodhearted.

"So, Sayo," said Beato, taking her cup of tea off her nightstand, "what's going on over at your place?"

"Oh, nothing too special," sighed Shannon, stirring some sugar in her tea. "The master is just barking at us to get prepared for the upcoming family reunion."

"What's a family reunion?" asked Beato. Her innocence made her even more cute than usual.

"It's basically this event where everyone belonging to the same family gathers under one roof to talk about how their lives have been since they last met," said Shannon. Her tone was shrugging it off as though it were no big deal, but the look in Beato's eyes made it clear she thought it sounded like the most exciting thing in the world.

"Would Ronove, Teacher, and I be...a family?" asked Beato.

"I guess so," said Shannon slowly. "You all live under the same roof, and you're there to look out for each other. I'm sorry; I can't really answer for myself. My family died when I was very young. Well, not all of them. I had an aunt, but...she had her own problems. She drank a lot. She couldn't take care of me, so she put me in an orphanage—that's where you go when you don't have any parents."

"I know," said Beato. "I've read about them in books—were you forced to eat disgusting porridge every morning? Did you ever ask for more and then get punished for asking?"

Beato's childish, naive attitude ceased to amuse Battler when he realized with an aching feeling that Beato was asking all these questions a twelve-year-old should already know the answer to because she knew nothing of the world beyond Kuwadorian. She had been sheltered in this one place all her life, never seeing the outside world. She never had a normal childhood. Her 'childhood' consisted of being kept away from the Ushiromiya household to avoid shaming the family and fuelling Kinzo's wife's suspicions. She never got to go to school, or amusement parks, or do all the things someone her age was supposed to do. Instead, she was kept locked up in a golden cage like a bird, a most beautiful bird whose master vowed to never set it free, lest it fly away.

"No," said Shannon. "The master took my brother and me in just a couple years ago. It was really nice of him since we were orphans and all." She looked down at the golden covers. "Even if we are just furniture," she said softly.

"Sayo," said Beato firmly, reaching over and touching Shannon by the hand, "What have I told you? You are not furniture. You look like a real person to me."

At this, Shannon smiled, and Battler smiled, too. This was clearly before the days Beato began viewing herself as superior to anyone; that was for certain. He wondered if it just came with being the Endless Witch. He himself was getting to be a little arrogant, but he knew he was no better than the people he talked with everyday.

"So what are family reunions like?" asked Beato, taking a sip of her tea.

"Well, everyone just gets together and talks," said Shannon. "Otherwise, they do fun things together, like going down to the beach."

"What's a beach?" asked Beato.

"Oh, it's this sandbar near the ocean, where you get to go swimming in the ocean," said Shannon. "I've never gone swimming myself, so I can't say what it is like."

"Don't you ever get to talk with the family?" asked Beato. "Aren't you family?"

"I would never do such a thing!" said Shannon hastily; looking as though she were afraid someone was listening. "The servants and I are only furniture. No one really pays attention to us, and it isn't polite for us to pay any attention to them."

"Hmm," said Beato thoughtfully, placing her cup down on the tray on the bed. "No one pays any attention to you, huh... Sayo, have you ever read the story of the Prince and the Pauper?"

"I vaguely remember it," said Shannon. "That was the one where the poor boy switched places with the prince for a day so they could see what each other's life is like. And in the end, they realized their own individual life was best."

"True," nodded Beato. "But still, to get a taste of the other side, to see what life is like on the other side...that would be something truly special, don't you think?"

Beato raised an eyebrow at Shannon knowingly. Shannon gasped, "Maria, you'd better not be thinking what I think you are thinking!"

"Oh, but I am," said Beato, smiling. "I'm still experimenting with my magic, and I've never used shape shifting before. I think that on the day of this reunion, you should sneak over to Kuwadorian and we will switch places—I will be you, and you will be me. Then I can see what these family reunions are truly like and no one will pay any attention to me."

"I don't think you should, Maria," said Shannon warningly. "It's very risky—what would happen if you got caught?"

"I won't get caught, because I'll make sure not to be around when Grandfather is present," replied Beato. "And you won't get caught, either, because you will simply tell Teacher that you don't feel well on the days we're supposed to have magic lessons."

Shannon tugged at the collar of her blouse. "I still think it's kind of risky," she said nervously.

"Well, I think the risk is worth it," said Beato, leaning forward on the bed. "Don't you realize? I've never been outside the gates of Kuwadorian in my life ever. Do you know what I would give just to have a taste of the outside world? Even for just one day? Please, Sayo, do this for me, just this once, and I will never ask anything of you ever again."

Battler took a walk around the bed to see Beato's face. The look in her eyes was so endearing that if she had been asking for a puppy in that moment, he would've gladly given one to her. Shannon seemed to be thinking along the same lines, as she sighed, "All right. I'll do it, but just this once."

Beato hugged Shannon with such force she nearly knocked her off the bed. "Thank you, Shannon!" she breathed. "I'll never forget this!" She let go and said, "So when's the family reunion, and how long is it for?"

"Tomorrow at noon," replied Shannon. "And it's going to last for five days or so."

"Then here's what we'll do," said Beato, already rallied up in her excitement. "Tomorrow, you'll come by early in the morning and I'll shape shift us into each other's forms. Then for the next few days, we will live each other's lives—I will see the family reunion, and you will stay here."

"Will it work?" said Shannon worriedly. "How experienced are you at shape shifting?"

At this, Beato's confidence diminished ever so slightly. "Not very," she admitted. "In fact, it would be my first time...but I'm sure I'll get it right."

And with that, the two girls went back to drinking their tea, hiding their excitement. "Sad, isn't it?" said Bernkastel, who was now standing next to Battler. "Such a sweet, innocent girl, so bright-eyed and naive to the ways of the world... Not even once predicting the tragedy and heartache in store for her. It's like reading Romeo and Juliet and getting to the balcony scene, where the two young lovers discuss the joys of being in love, the reader being the only one knowing what fate has in store for them."

Battler struggled to remember. "That family reunion...no, more like a conference...wait, this was six years ago? And this was in early spring, so—oh my—that was the year I came along! And..."

"And we shall carry on," declared Bernkastel. She shifted time again, giving Battler the same, nauseous feeling before coming to a stop. This time, they were in the Ushiromiya mansion, or more specifically, in the guest house chatting. Many of the family members had already been gathered—from Eva and Hideyoshi and George, to Rosa and a very small Maria, to the already-living on the island Natsuhi and Krauss and Jessica. They were all chatting about various matters of their lives, getting caught up in events of the past year. In the background stood Kanon and... no, it wasn't Shannon; it was Beato as Shannon. She had done a decent job of morphing her hair colour and eye colour, but her 'figure' remained the same. Yet with those clothes she had on, the difference was hardly noticeable.

"So that's Beato, huh," said Battler. "Yes, I remember now—my parents and I were late arriving because our flight had been delayed, so we ended up having to find another boat by the time we got there."

"Yes, you were fashionably late," nodded Bernkastel. "As you may have noticed, the shape shifting plan has thus far succeeded and no one notices anything out of the ordinary with Shannon. You should be arriving at any minute now, assuming my calculations were correct."

In the background, Beato stood fidgeting with her hands. She looked as though she wanted to go up to the family and make small talk, but was afraid that someone would see through her cover if she did. She looked like she was thinking, "What have I done? What have I gotten myself into? It's too late to turn back now—this was a bad idea. This was a big mistake."

"Ah," said Bernkastel, taking a look outside the windows. "Here you are now."

Within a minute, Rudolf and his former wife, Asumu, came into view. "Rudolf, you old bastard!" laughed Krauss. "It's about time you showed up!"

"We're very sorry," apologized Rudolf. "Our flight was delayed, so we ended up having to find a different boat. What's important is that we are here now." He turned his head and called out, "Battler! Come on in!"

"Battler?" muttered Beato with a smirk on her face. She looked as though she just had to meet this boy named 'Battler', doubting such a name could truly exist. In through the door came a shorter, younger Battler, who looked very much amazed by the place.

"Dad, you should check this place out!" said young Battler. "The rose garden is huge and stretches on and on and..."

He stopped talking when he laid eyes on Beato. Beato, in return, appeared to be a bit flustered.

"That's right, I remember now," said Battler, stroking his chin. "Shannon was the first person I saw when I came in. I had a bit of a crush on her; I thought she was one of the most beautiful women I had ever..." His voice faltered as the events unfolded in front of his eyes. Beato blushed and stammered, "Hello, Ushiromiya Battler. I am Shannon, the maid. How may I be of service to you?"

Battler could hear those words echo in his ears...and then a memory flashed before his eyes. He hoped that memory would not play itself out now, but alas, it did: The young Battler gasped and threw himself at Shannon's knees. "Good day to you, fair lady," he said in his most elegant voice. "I believe I'm the one who should be serving you."

"Oh no," moaned Battler, putting his face in his hands. "Don't tell me that was really—oh no—no—no—gah, and I thought it was embarrassing enough to say it to Shannon, but—that was Beato? I said those things to—gah!"

"I can tell you're not in the mood to see the rest of this," said Bernkastel, smiling at the sight of young Battler getting up to his feet and blowing a kiss at Beato before moving on with his laughing parents to the center of the guest house. "So I shall move on and show you the more interesting bits."

"No more embarrassing memories, please," moaned Battler, getting that same, nauseous feeling of the scenery changing. He looked up and this time, they were all at the beach, where Beato was dashing across the sand, the cousins laughing and chasing after her, calling out, "Shannon, wait up!"

Beato ran straight into the water and right into the path of an oncoming wave which knocked her down onto the sand. She coughed and spluttered, not quite used to the ocean.

"Shannon, are you okay?" said Jessica, rushing up to her with the other cousins.

"The water is salty!" exclaimed Beato, shaking her head to get the water out.

"It's supposed to be salty," said the young Battler, helping Beato back up on her feet. "That's the ocean for you, my fair maiden."

Beato giggled at the same time Battler's face turned beet red with humiliation. "Beato must think I'm such an idiot. I'll never be able to face her again after this."

"Oh, she didn't think you were an idiot at all," said Bernkastel, observing the young couple taking a walk on the beach. "She thought you were very sweet and charming."

Battler cried out with a sudden jerk. "Here we are just a few minutes ahead in time," said Bernkastel.

"If it was just a few minutes, why did you bother?" asked Battler, his stomach still recovering.

"I didn't think you would want to hear idle chatter," shrugged Bernkastel.

"Give me that over your time-jerking any day," said Battler weakly. "So what's supposed to be happening here?"

Bernkastel pointed to the young Battler and Beato, who were sitting down in the sand, looking as though they were having a most interesting conversation together. Beato was saying, "Roller coasters sound amazing!"

"They're not," winced young Battler. "They really aren't. But some people like them."

"Do you think I would like them?" asked Beato, her eyes wide.

Young Battler smiled and said, "I think you would find them perfecto."

"Shut up," muttered Battler. "Shut up you idiot before you say..."

"A fair maiden such as yourself would only deserve the best," said young Battler with a swagger. "After all..." He then began singing loudly and off-key, "I am your Prince Char-miiiiiinnnng come to rescue you from your cold, dark tow-weerrr!"

"Gaaaah!" cried out Battler, ready to die of embarrassment. "Make it stop, make it stop! Please tell me Beato doesn't remember any of that!"

"Oh, she remembers all right," said Bernkastel, still smiling. "She remembers your various attempts to woo her. Now Battler, look at her face."

Battler somehow brought himself to look into the laughing, smiling eyes of Beato. She did not appear to think his behaviour was idiotic at all. She seemed to have been genuinely charmed by his words. "She was only being nice," muttered Battler. "She was just sparing my feelings. Aah!" he cried when he felt the same, familiar jerk. Now they were in the guest house, and there was some sort of party going on. "You really need to stop doing that without warning," muttered Battler.

"I have to do this," said Bernkastel. "I have to show you just how much she truly believed in you."

"Wait, oh no," groaned Battler. "I remember this now. This is that night we all got together and then...I...oh no..."

Young Battler was off playing a game of chess with Beato in a corner of the room with a little chess board. "That's right," sighed Battler. "I was the one who taught her to play chess. Irony sucks."

"Checkmate!" laughed Beato triumphantly, "For the tenth time! My, this is a lot of fun! You're okay with my winning, right Battler?"

"Ye-es, I'm fine," replied young Battler, "Because you are the most beautiful girl in the entire universe."

Battler was just about ready to bury his face in his hands when Bernkastel spoke, "Battler, instead of hiding away from your mistakes this time, why don't you open your eyes and watch Beato's face as you talk to her?"

Battler lifted up his face and forced himself to watch the rest of the scene play out. His memory was coming back, bit by bit. He remembered what was supposed to happen next, and it did: Young Battler said, "I have a song for you. It's from my dad's collection of Western records, and there is this one song that makes me think of you." He stood up and bellowed in English and off-key: "It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside. I'm not one of those who can easily hide..."

"Elton John," muttered Battler as his younger self sang on, "Of course. Well, it could've been worse—I could've stumbled across my dad's collection of Elvis records. I don't think my uncle Krauss could ever look at my dad in the same way for the rest of the reunion." But he took Bernkastel's advice—instead of hiding away, instead of not confronting his embarrassing past, he looked into Beato's eyes. She was standing up, enchanted by Battler's lyrics. She did not look as though she was hiding a feeling of contempt...she was truly under his spell. She believed in what he said.

"...and you can tell everybody this is your song," sang young Battler. "It may be quite simple but now that it's done, I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind that I put down in words...how wonderful life is while you're in the world."

At this, Beato smiled and blushed. "Battler-kun," she whispered.

"Wow," said Battler, ignoring the rest of his younger self singing on while the rest of his relatives laughed at the sight, "Beato really did trust me, didn't she. She believed in me."

"She was young and trusting and naive," said Bernkastel. "She knew nothing about the ways of the world until you came along and taught her about this feeling...a feeling that is both painful yet absolutely delightful. And now, if you don't mind, I will now take you to the last time you spoke with Beato as Maria."

Feeling somewhat more grateful that he had been given a warning, Battler did not mind the sudden jerk and the spinning set, which now became the docks. It was now time for young Battler and his family to leave with the rest of the clan. As everyone said their goodbyes, he noticed Beato smiling sadly at young Battler.

"I wish you didn't have to go," said Beato sincerely. "I enjoyed spending my time with you. I hope we meet each other again. Well... Goodbye."

And that was when it all clicked—at the exact same time Battler realized what he had said, young Battler kissed Beato's fingers and said, "I'll be back. See you again. I'll come to greet you riding on a white horse."

Battler realized with a sinking feeling as his younger self took off and Beato's smile grew, 'She believed me. She truly believed me. I was just saying stupid stuff that meant nothing, but she really and truly believed I meant what I had said. How could I have been so STUPID? Why didn't I realize from the way she talked that she didn't know any better, that she was just a naive child? Stupid, stupid, STUPID!'

"Do you realize now?" said Bernkastel. "Do you realize your sin?"

Battler watched Beato, who continued to watch the boat sail off into the sunset before turning around and skipping up the path leading up to the Ushiromiya mansion. "Yes," he said. "I realize...I said something stupid without meaning to and she took it seriously. A few weeks later...after our reunion...that was when Asumu, whom we all thought was getting better, had to go back to the hospital. And..."

"And then she died, and your father remarried, and you got angry at him and left home," finished Bernkastel. "You promised to come back for her and you never did. You never arrived at another family reunion because of your anger towards your father. And when you finally returned six years later, you had forgotten all about her. And you claimed she did not exist."

"I...I didn't know," said Battler softly, staring out at the ocean. "I never realized who she really was...I was saying all that stupid stuff because...well...I had a bit of a crush on her, and everyone says stupid things when they have a crush on someone, right? It never occurred to me that someone would actually listen."

"Battler," said Bernkastel, "I know this will be painful for you, but...I need to show you the consequences of what you had done."

"Consequences?" asked Battler, turning back towards Bernkastel. "Isn't my family getting killed off enough of a consequence?"

"That in itself was not caused by a mere ploy of words," said Bernkastel. "There was another event that triggered it. Your words planted the seeds of tragedy. This event gave the rain necessary for those seeds to grow."

With another jerk and change of the scenery, Battler found himself back in Beato's room at Kuwadorian. She was now back in her real form, as was Shannon, who was sitting on the bed next to Beato. Beato, however, was lying on the bed, hugging a small book to her chest.

"It's been six months and you're still thinking about him?" said Shannon. "I know I'm only here once a month, but I thought you'd be over him by now."

"He promised, Sayo," said Beato dreamily. "He promised he would come back for me on a white horse. His exact words were...

"I'll be back, see you again, I'll come to greet you riding on a white horse," finished Shannon, sounding weary as though she had heard this several times before. "Do you really think he'll keep that promise, Maria?"

"I know he will," said Beato, sitting up in bed. "I keep telling myself every night that one day, he will return to me and take me to his world. In fact, I wrote it down in my diary last night."

She then opened up the small book which was allegedly her diary and read out loud: "Dear diary, I am beginning to hate this place. I feel like a bird trapped in a cage—always watching the outside world, longing to fly away. Well, one day, I am going to fly away. I'm gonna escape this prison and do all the things he told me about—I'm gonna ride a rollercoaster. I'm gonna go to a zoo. And I'm gonna see a movie with him. Yes, when Battler comes back to Rokkenjima, I am going to escape and break free with his help. He will sweep me off my feet and carry me away on his white horse and we will live happily ever after."

As Shannon commented on the naive nature of Beato's words, Bernkastel said, "Battler, tell me—who do you see just out there?" She pointed to the door, which was ajar. Battler saw a foot in the doorway...he took a closer look, and saw a face...an angry face...

"Kinzo," whispered Battler, feeling nearly all the air knocked out of him. Kinzo was there. He had been there, and he had heard every word of what Beato had said. And he did not look happy to hear a word of it.

Battler turned to Bernkastel. "What happens next?" he said in a quiet, angry voice.

Bernkastel did not reply. She just turned over to the two girls sitting on the bed, laughing and talking together as though they hadn't a care in the world. "It's always the sweet ones that get broken the most horribly," she said. "If you insist, I will show you. But I do not think you will like it."

"I'd rather find out what happened than never know and go mad trying to guess," said Battler, trying to keep himself calm and composed. He had a bad, bad feeling as to what happened next, but he had to see it for himself.

Bernkastel complied and within seconds, the two were in the basement of Kuwadorian. The atmosphere was dark and grim. "This takes place on the same day, just so you know," said Bernkastel. "It is now night time. They should be coming down any minute now."

"Who should be coming down?" said Battler, but a part of him already knew the answer.

Voices were heard: "Why do you want to speak to me down here, grandfather? If you want, we could always just talk in the rose garden or in the parlour."

Kinzo and Beato were within sight as they came down the stairs and into the basement. "I have something very private I wish to speak to you about," he said. "It's something that your Teacher would not wish to hear us speak of."

Battler did not like the look in Kinzo's eyes as he spoke. He looked like a panther ready to corner its prey—no, he looked like a customer ready to please himself with a prostitute.

"So grandfather," said Beato, walking over to the nearby cell, "What is it you want to talk to talk to me about? Why is it so bad you wouldn't want anyone upstairs to hear about it?"

A smile twitched across Kinzo's lips. "Oh, Maria," he said, "I know what you said to Shannon."

"Oh," said Beato, not appearing to get it. "You heard me calling her by her real name? I'm sorry, grandfather; I didn't know any better. From now on, I'll call her—"

"I'm talking about what you said about your beloved Battler, you whore," said Kinzo sharply, walking right up to Beato until they were almost seeing eye-to-eye.

Battler was only aware now that he was trembling. "You bastard," he hoarsely whispered. "You wouldn't..."

"Grandfather," whispered Beato, who, too, was shaking. She took a few steps away from him. "I...I'm sorry, but..."

"But what?" said Kinzo sharply, taking another step towards her. "You hate your own home? You resent the fact that I was the one who provided you with a roof over your head all these years when I could've just sent you off to my orphanage, where you could have gone to a place worse than this?"

"N—no, grandfather," stammered Beato. "I—I meant...I just..."

"You just want to escape, is that it, hmm?" said Kinzo, now within inches of her. "Think again. I will personally make sure that you never escape."

Beato, now seeing Kinzo for the monster he was, turned on her feet and began to run away, but she wasn't fast enough; Kinzo grabbed her by both arms and began dragging her towards him. Battler could no longer stand back and watch this; completely forgetting that no one could see or hear him, he cried out, "Stop it!" He ran up to the pair and, amidst Beato pleading Kinzo to let her go, he cried, "Let her go now, or I'll kill you personally!"

"Grandfather, stop!" pleaded Beato. "Please let go of me! Grandfather, let go! Grandfather, you're hurting me, stop!"

But it was clear from the look of malice in his eyes that was his intention. Battler grabbed onto Kinzo's arms and tried pulling them away, ignoring Bernkastel's monotone: "It's useless; it's all useless, no one can see or hear you..."

Kinzo let go of one of her arms and pulled the left one towards him. He placed both hands around it, grasping it tighter and tighter, pulling it in his direction. Before either Battler or Beato had a chance to fight him off, there was a sickening CRACK that echoed throughout the basement, and her arm was bent at a horrifying, unnatural angle.

He broke her arm, Battler realized, looking back and forth between Beato's shocked expression and Kinzo's malicious one. That bastard broke her arm...to prevent her from escaping...the owner who breaks a bird's wings to prevent it from ever flying away...that BASTARD!

"Let go of her!" Battler screamed, now trying to jerk Kinzo away from grabbing Beato's other arm, but it was like passing right through a hologram. "Let go of her!"

But it was useless, it was all useless; Kinzo now latched onto Beato's other arm and within seconds, there was another horrible cracking sound accompanied by the arm being bent in the same unnatural angle as the other one. Kinzo then tossed Beato the ground like she was a limp ragdoll.

From a certain perspective, she did look like a ragdoll lying on the ground, her arms spread out at an unhealthy angle, her body lying limp, her hair piling up just beneath her head. She was closing her eyes, wincing from the pain and then she slowly opened them. Kinzo was standing just above her, once again looking like the customer ready to absolutely ravish the prostitute—whether she wanted him to or not.

Battler ran in front of the defenceless Beato and cried out, "STOP! If you take one more step towards her, I'll kill you. Do you hear me? I'LL KILL YOU!"

He himself could do nothing to Kinzo...but at that moment, two people who could do something about it came running down the stairs and straight to the scene of the horrid crime. Battler only realized this when Virgilia leaped in front of him and gave Kinzo the same roundhouse kick she had given Battler that morning. He almost felt sorry for the old geezer, who was sent flying across the room and banged against the stone wall. Almost.

While Virgilia rushed over to the injured Beato to comfort her, Ronove calmly walked up to Kinzo. In the same, calm demeanour, he picked Kinzo up by the shoulders and lifted him up off the ground, causing him to gasp, "Ronove..."

"I believe it was you who assigned Lady Beatrice and me the task of protecting this young lady right here," said Ronove, still managing to keep his cool. "And I assure you, we will follow through on that order. Would you like me to demonstrate just how truly powerful I can be? No? Then stay away from her. Trust me—you'll be saving your own life in doing so."

Ronove dropped Kinzo, who fell back the ground. He smiled at the cowering Kinzo and walked over to Virgilia, who was cradling a sobbing Beato in her arms. "It hurts, Teacher," she sobbed, "It huuuurts!"

Battler felt a lump form in his throat. "Beato..." he whispered, longing to reach out to her, regretting that he was nothing more than a shadow doomed to watch but never act.

Virgilia looked Kinzo straight in the eye and said coldly, "If you ever lay another hand on this child, I will do to your neck what you just did to her arms. Leave if you don't want me to follow through with that threat."

Kinzo got up to his feet. It was now his turn to tremble in fear; running all the way up the stairs. Not even this could distract Battler from the crying figure. She was no longer the happy, cheerful girl she had been at the start of this flashback. She had been completely broken.

"Now what is the matter, princess?" said Virgilia gently. "He's gone now, see? He'll never come back here again. We'll make sure he can't hurt you anymore."

"I—I can't—I can't stay here anymore!" choked Beato. "I can't stay, please take me away from here! Anywhere but here!"

Virgilia looked over at Ronove. "I think that can be arranged," she said, "Ronove? I think it is just about time to build that secret passage."

"Secret passage?" said Beato, sounding a tad bit hopeful.

"I know what you mean, Lady Beatrice," nodded Ronove. "Wait here for just a little while longer, princess. I will return shortly and then you will be whisked away from this place."

He disappeared in a burst of gold. Virgilia said, "Now, princess, come, try to remember. What form did your arms have? I'm sure they were very beautiful."

There was a pause and a sniffle. "I—I can't," sobbed Beato. "I can't remember!"

"Then I will do it for you if that is what you wish," said Virgilia in the same, gentle tone. "I will wait until you are lying down in a safe, warm bed and then I will repair your arms, if you want me to. Or, I can put you down on the floor and do so right now. What would you like?"

There was another pause before Beato said softly, "He—he isn't coming back, is he?"

"I promise you, that monster will never lay a single hand you ever again," said Virgilia, but Beato cried out, "I don't mean him! I mean...that boy...I told you about him, remember? The one who promised...he promised he'd come for me on a white horse...but he never did. And he never came to rescue me." She let out a strangled sob. "Where was he? Where was my prince when I needed him? He isn't coming back, he's never coming back!"

"Beato," said Battler softly, reaching out to pat Beato on the head, but the scenery changed and he was back in the meta-world, surrounded by three witches who put on a mask of sorrow to hide their laughter.

"Do you realize your sin?" said Bernkastel, echoing her own words from just a few minutes before. "It was because of your sin that Beato suffered and grew to hate you. And it was because of your sin that Virgilia and Ronove had to write that epitaph and spread further rumours to protect her, unintentionally giving someone else an opportunity to take advantage of it, and ultimately, start this cycle of tragedy. Therefore, people die because of your sin."

Shaking, Battler said quietly, "I've seen enough. But before I leave, I am going to strike a deal. I may be the Endless Sorcerer, and I may have the power to bring the dead back to life...so I ask of you to please, revoke that power. Revoke that one power. Let me keep everything else but that."

Lambdadelta looked genuinely surprised. She certainly hadn't expected to hear that out of him. "Are you sure?" she said, "Because if you do that, then that means this will be the final game. You won't be able to reset the board or anything."

"Exactly," said Battler, struggling to get a grip on himself. "I'm doing this to end everyone's suffering. If someone gets killed, they get killed. If someone dies, they die. If I lose, then...I lose. I can't torture the ones I love anymore. I am going to find out who the murderer is, but not at the expense of my family, or Beato."

Lambdadelta stuck out a hand. "Are you sure?" she said. "I mean, I can still allow you to be able to heal those who are on the verge of death, but do you really want me to take away your ability to outright revive the dead?"

Battler nodded furiously. "Yes," he said. "I am sure. Allow me to be able to heal. Do not allow me to revive...that would be a crueller punishment in itself than..."

The two of them shook hands and there was a soft, golden light encircling their hands before fading away. "It's a deal," said Lambdadelta.

"Now," said Battler, "If you will excuse me...I need to get home. I've seen and heard enough."

He vanished in a burst of gold. Lambdadelta blinked. "Wow, Bern," she said. "That worked better than I thought. I mean, sure, I knew it would shake his confidence, but I didn't think it would come to this...wow..."

"You underestimated his feelings for the fair Beato, Lambdadelta," said Bernkastel. "Never underestimate the power of a man who has yet to realize the intensity of his emotions towards a woman."