Back on Barian, Altair was fuming.
"Heartland! I thought you said you would take care of them!"
Heartland bowed and shuddered, "Altair-sama, please be patient! I will personally handle this next and final mission to kill them. I won't fail."
"Oh really now? Do you think my bijou précieux will fall so easily? Do not underestimate him or the pests around him." Alcor said as he walked into the throne room.
"Alcor, what are you doing here?" Altair asked.
"I just came to get a better view of Mizael from here. Is that a crime?" Alcor asked in a deceptively nice manner.
"I suppose it isn't, just don't do anything disgusting here." Altair scoffed.
"Certainly, but first," Alcor glared at Heartland, "Should you lay a single hand on Mizael, I will personally skin you alive, understand?"
Heartland shivered and nodded fearfully, "O-Of course Alcor-sama!"
After he left, Altair asked, "Why do you want him so bad?"
Alcor looked at Altair with a serious expression, "It is destiny that I should have him, just like it was destiny for you to have died by Nasch's hand."
Altair squinted his eyes, "Whatever."
As Meri readied herself and Mizael for the memories, Jinlong kept protesting against Mizael bearing the full extent of the memories.
"I keep on telling you that the answer is no! Mizael will not see his memories!"
"Jinlong this is no longer up to you! Mizael knows what he has to witness and if he doesn't then this entire struggle against the Sapte Pacatosi is done for! He must see the memories, or would you prefer him and all of us dying?!" Meri snapped.
Jinlong stayed silent.
"Jinlong," Mizael began, "I now know that you were the one who protected me all those years ago and I know you are still protecting me… but I implore you to let me see my memories."
"Are you sure you are ready to see them? You know what will happen if you lose yourself."
Mizael gulped, "…I know and I'm ready for to face the consequences if it should come to that."
"Then, I suppose you have my permission." Jinlong finally gave in and Meri placed him in the middle of the circle along with Tachyon.
Before she could begin chanting however, Thomas interrupted, "Hey, the sky looks terrible."
"What do you mean by that?" Ryoga growled.
"It's red and stormy." Thomas explained.
"Could it be that the Sapte Pacatosi are here?" Durbe asked.
"I don't feel them, but I do feel something ominous coming towards us." Meri explained.
"Then don't worry about it. If it isn't the Sapte Pacatosi then we can handle them." Kaito assured.
"Kaito." Mizael said.
"Just get that birdbrain his memories back." Kaito smirked.
Mizael laughed, "I'll be sure to end our feud when I return."
"And lose? Be my guest."
With that, Meri took both Mizael and Durbe into Mizael's memories while the others were left to fend off against whatever was on its way.
"So what's that?" Kaito asked as he saw a swirling black mass descend.
"HEART BURNING!"
"Crap not him again." Kaito groaned.
"Is he the dickbag you were telling me about, the one with the fashion sense of a color blind drag queen?" Rio asked as Ryoga nodded.
"Hello everyone! I see you're all as helpless as ever." Heartland smirked as he played with his cane.
"And you're still as flashy as ever. Didn't anyone tell you that you look like a carnie?!" Kaito shouted.
Heartland got pissed and pointed his cane at Kaito menacingly, "You shut your mouth you sorry excuse of a duelist! I will have you know that my attire has gathered so many compliments over the years I was working with the public!"
"From the blind?" Kaito asked.
"Yes from the… oh SHUT UP! I'LL SHOW YOU NOT TO MESS WITH ME PUNK!"
With that, the duel began between Heartland and Kaito.
"One..two.. and three herbs!" A young Mizael smiled as he picked herbs from the ground. "Mama will be so happy!"
Mizael was taken aback at seeing his young self. "Why did we come here? Don't my memories begin after I met Durbe?"
Meri shook her head, "Silly dear, you have memories before that. Besides, this is essential for you to fully come to terms with your past."
Mizael soon saw someone who made him freeze in terror. "I-It's…"
"So that's your son over there?" an 18 year old Alcor asked, his attention span awakened.
"He is Mizael, my only son." Rosseau said.
"Does he have anyone betrothed to him? It's so common to have them promised by this age." Alcor grinned.
"No, my wife and I are actually hoping not to have to promise him away. We think he'll be happier that way." Rosseau smiled as Mizael ran up to him.
"Papa! Look at the herbs!" Mizael excitedly showed them to Rosseau who smiled and carried him.
"They're wonderful. Mama will be so happy you got them for her."
"Such excellent herbs. You certainly have a keen eye for this Mizael." Alcor complimented.
"Papa, who is he?" Mizael asked innocently.
"He is Alcor, a noble from the next town over. His parents were good friends of mine but they died recently." Rosseau explained.
"I'm sorry," Mizael apologized.
"There is nothing to apologize for dear child, they are in a better place now." Alcor said as he played with Mizael's hair, "You have such pretty hair. What do you use to wash it?"
Rosseau put down Mizael immediately and urged him to go play elsewhere, "Alcor, I would appreciate it if you didn't touch him like that."
"I'm sorry. I was merely trying to compliment him. It won't happen again." Alcor grinned.
Mizael was shaking, "W-What does that bastard have to do with me so early in the past?!"
Durbe grasped Mizael's shaking hands in an attempt to calm him down.
"We'll have to continue watching…sadly." Meri lowered her gaze.
Alcor was staying in the town for a few days. While he didn't mind, Mizael would sometimes catch him staring at him. He came up to him one day as he was drawing.
"What are you drawing?" Mizael innocently asked.
"Oh, I didn't realize you were here. I was drawing you. You know you're quite lovely." Alcor smiled gently.
Mizael smiled and blushed, "Thank you. Papa is wrong, you're really nice."
Alcor twitched slightly and took Mizael's hand, kissing it lightly, "I do wonder what I must have done to make him think I'm a bad person. I assure you though that I mean nothing bad for you."
"He says you're a bit creepy, but a creepy person wouldn't compliment me. Would they?" Mizael inquired as Alcor carried him and cradled him in his arms.
"No, no they wouldn't." Alcor said as he combed through Mizael's hair, his hand occasionally meeting with Mizael's shoulder. "Your skin is so soft, and you smell of wildflowers. Tell me, do you like anyone?"
"I like mama and papa." Mizael said as Alcor kissed his head.
"Silly, I mean like like." Alcor chuckled.
"What do you mean?" Mizael asked.
"When you like like someone, you'd want to marry them and kiss them, kind of like your mama and papa." Alcor explained.
Mizael thought about it before responding, "I guess I like like you then. You're the only one who talks to me."
"You do? But why won't anyone talk to you? You're such a sweet thing you are."
"The kids don't like me cuz papa makes more money than their parents. They throw rocks at me and call me names." Mizael frowned as Alcor tightened his grip on him.
"They don't know what they're talking about. They're just jealous of you dear Mizael. I'll never let them hurt you." He said in a terrifyingly calm voice.
"You won't?"
Alcor kissed Mizael's cheek, "No, because I like like you too."
"THAT SICK PIECE OF SHIT WAS MY…!" Mizael felt extremely nauseous at this point.
"Stay with me Miza!" Durbe plead.
Meri stayed silent and merely motioned her head to the next wave of memories.
This went on for days; Alcor would occasionally brush his hands against places he shouldn't, but Mizael didn't mind. He like liked Alcor. It wasn't until an incident happened when things took a turn for the worse.
"Please bear with this…" Meri softly said.
Mizael became horrified as he saw what awaited next.
"Alcor, why are we in your room? Where's the dragon you wanted to show me?" Mizael asked, a bit scared at how cold and dark it was inside Alcor's room.
"No." Mizael said to himself.
Alcor merely chuckled. "Oh I'll show you a dragon alright," Alcor roughly pushed Mizael onto his bed and held his wrists above his head with one hand, the other undoing his robes.
"No!" Mizael closed his eyes.
"ALCOR! STOP!" Mizael pleaded as he tried wriggling away but to no avail.
"I've contained myself long enough, so do me a favor and don't shout too much." Alcor grinned maniacally as he began kissing Mizael's tiny leg.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Mizael cried, but Alcor hushed him with his tongue.
"Relax and enjoy this. I promise it'll be better that way." Alcor laughed as he continued exploring Mizael.
"No No NO NO!" Mizael violently shook his head as tears streamed down his face.
"MIZA!" Durbe cried out in fear.
"GET AWAY FROM MY BOY!" Rosseau ordered as he hit Alcor with a musket, effectively knocking him out.
"PAPA!" Mizael cried as he ran towards him and his mother Clarice.
"Mizael, what did he do to you?!" Clarice sobbed as she held Mizael close.
"Mama, papa, I was so scared!"
"Come Mizael, before he wakes!" Rosseau carried Mizael away.
Later that evening…
"Do we have to leave everything?" Mizael sobbed as Clarice wiped his tears.
"Yes, we fear Alcor will do something ghastly if we don't." she explained.
"Are you ready?" Rosseau asked as he stood watch at the door. With a nod, he led them to the carriage outside. They were just at the gate when raiders scared the horses and caused them to run back to the village.
There was fire everywhere and the raiders began killing anyone in sight…including his parents. "Mama…Papa…" All he could do was watch helplessly as the village burned down. He began running without aim, unaware that Alcor would soon follow him.
Mizael watched in horror as his birth parents and everything he was once part of burned to the ground, completely scared of Alcor at this point.
"I'll let him exhaust myself. When he's all burned out, then I'll move in." Alcor chuckled, watching happily as the village burned and the villagers were slayed.
"Please stop this!" Durbe begged of Meri.
"I can't. I'm sorry. Mizael needs to put his past behind him and overcome it, no matter how horribly difficult it may be." Meri explained.
Mizael was nearly done for, his energy drained. He fell to the ground, shivering from the desert cold at night.
"Done are we? Well don't mind if I…" Alcor stopped and hid behind a dune as a bright light shined and a great dragon appeared.
Mizael looked up and to his surprise, a golden dragon appeared.
"Mizael… I shall be your guardian from now on." The dragon spoke.
"…Jinlong." Mizael said through his sobs.
Meri nodded with a smile. "He saved you that day. Ever since, you two were inseparable. You two had such great adventures, chasing and taming rare dragons, helping the villagers… Everything was great."
"WAS great…" Mizael said without emotion, his eyes still very red.
Meri sighed and her expression turned somewhat sad. "I guess so, but hey, while it lasts, here's your dear and charming knight, Sir Durbe."
As with Durbe's memories, Mizael and Durbe met with the same adorable awkwardness… and dragon tears…
"So how do you get Jinlong to cry?" Sir Durbe asked as a confused Mizael tilted his head.
"I've never seen Jinlong cry, and I doubt you'll get him to cry just for some potion the princess wants." He scoffed.
"You know it'd be pretty cute if he cried at weddings. If that were the case then I'd marry you in a heartbeat!" Sir Durbe laughed as Mizael turned completely red. Jinlong appeared to have snorted in laughter.
"DON'T SAY THINGS LIKE THAT YOU JERK!" Mizael whined as Durbe laughed harder.
"It's not like I don't mean it! Boy, will Merag get after me if I don't get these tears." He scratched his head.
Mizael thought about ways to get tears from Jinlong, but he knew it'd be damn near impossible to get the proud dragon to shed even a single tear. That's when Durbe tickled him.
"W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"You looked way too serious and I thought maybe a tickle would help." Durbe smiled as he tickled Mizael.
"Stop it geez!" Mizael demanded as he laughed along. "Wait, could we…"
"Could we what?" Durbe stopped.
Mizael didn't answer but instead smirked and jumped on Jinlong, tickling his underside. "Coochie coochie coo!"
Jinlong grew erratic and seemed to be… laughing? If dragons could laugh that is.
Durbe jumped on the idea and began tickling along Mizael, occasionally changing targets much to Mizael's dismay. It took a bit but it finally looked like Jinlong was shedding some tears.
"Whoa nelly! I have to get the jar!" Durbe darted clumsily to get a jar from Mach's side, falling like an idiot in the process but managing to save the jar.
Mizael snorted, "You're so…"
"So dashing?" Durbe asked with a chuckle as he collected the tears falling to the ground.
Mizael giggled and then began tickling Durbe, "Dashing isn't the word."
"M-Miza! St-stop please!" Durbe laughed as he struggled to properly catch the tears in the jar.
"You didn't when I told you to stop! So here's payback!" Mizael laughed. He was completely caught off guard when Durbe turned around and kissed him.
It was his first actual kiss, the first he had the pleasure to enjoy. He actually enjoyed this kiss. His heart began beating erratically and his eyes were wide when Durbe pulled away.
Noting this, Durbe grew concerned, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"
Mizael threw his arms around Durbe and tiptoed to reach his lips in another kiss. He didn't know why, but he felt safe around Sir Durbe; his presence, his scent, his… everything. Mizael hadn't felt so elated in such a long time and he was sure it was because of his dashing knight, Sir Durbe.
"Sir Durbe?"
"Yes Mizael?" Durbe softly said as he pulled back Mizael's hair from his pretty face.
"You'll come back won't you?" Mizael's heart raced and his voice wishful.
With a kiss to his forehead, Durbe replied, "Of course, my love."
That little excerpt of his life seemed to bring back Mizael's spirit a bit more. He giggled.
"Wasn't I dashing?" Durbe asked.
Mizael muttered something.
"Excuse me?"
"I said you were a dork!" Mizael said with a grin.
"You still loved me!" Durbe laughed… soon blushing after realizing what he had just said before coughing a bit. "Um, that is in the past."
"Durbe…" Just as Mizael was about to say what he planned to say, the memories changed once more.
It was the night of the very party. Mizael and Durbe were dancing, effortlessly with Durbe's expert guidance.
"E-Excuse me Sir Durbe…"
"Mizael, how many times have I asked you to call me your glorious knight Durbe? Or, your white dashing knight Durbe. Hell even Sir Durby!"
Mizael giggled uncontrollably, "Liar! You've never asked me to call you any of those names."
Durbe laughed and placed his head next to Mizael's neck and spoke, "But I have asked you to call me Durbe. We may be at a royal ball, but there need not be any formalities between us love."
Both Mizaels blushed madly, but the younger one smiled and wrapped his arms around Sir Durbe, "Forgive me, Durbe my dearest, but if we may, could we take a small break from dancing?"
Sir Durbe gave his love a final twirl, wrapping his arms behind Mizael and gave him a kiss on his cheek. "Certainly love."
With that, Mizael walked off in the direction of a balcony, eager to enjoy some of the fresh sea air. He was surprised to see Errai playing by himself.
"Errai?"
"Hi Mizael!" greeted Errai with a big smile as he waved before wincing and rubbing his arm in pain.
Noticing, Mizael knelt down, "Is something the matter? You keep rubbing your arm."
"Oh nothing I just…had a run in with some of Mach's droppings." Errai smiled.
Mizael tilted his head in confusion, "Mach's droppings? You didn't trip did you?" he asked with more concern.
"No the droppings were named Altair and it thought it could get away with insulting my uncle Vector at a party my family was holding. I gave it a glare and a threat that would have made Nasch proud! It made uncle Vector proud!" Errai smiled even wider.
Now understanding, Mizael smiled and hugged Errai, "Anything you do, I'd be proud too! I wonder if we can catch Altair in time to give him a mini curse I learned from one of the dragons I've encountered."
"Really? You should tell Merag that since she is going to give Altair a little gift to apologize for my behavior tonight. From my understanding it's the same thing she gave Nasch that had uncle Durbe meet you." smirked Errai.
"Fire breathing crabs again? I think fire breathing crabs that give you giant zits would be a whole lot better. But we need to find a place where we can see the turd without him seeing us." Mizael said as he pondered where they could get a good view.
"I know just the place! Come on!" cheered Errai as he ran ahead.
"Errai wait up!" Mizael said as he ran off after Errai.
Merag noticed the two and merely giggled, "They barely met but already Errai trusts him so much."
Errai had lead Mizael into a secret entrance to the royal garden on a small cliff next to the palace that had a magnificent view of the port and sea below.
"This is gorgeous." Mizael awed.
"Yeah I come here when I want to be alone and…it makes me feel closer to my birth mother too." Errai sighed as he touched the petals of a budding red rose with a small sad smile.
"Your birth mother?"
"Miza can you keep a secret…even from Durbe for me?" Errai nervously asked.
"What kind of secret? I don't like keeping things from him." Mizael said softly.
"About my…family, my birth family, that kind."
Mizael looked at Errai for a moment before sighing, "I will keep your secret then."
"You know how the Queen died in childbirth and so did the baby?" Errai asked.
"Yes, Durbe told me about that."
"Well, the baby didn't die. Miza, I'm the baby. My father, the king, gave me away to a maid since I was expected to die within the day and he didn't want anything to do with the cause of his wife's death. Nasch and Merag are my brother and sister but please don't tell them cause I'm afraid they'll abandon and hate me too for causing our mother's death." Errai admitted.
"Errai, they'd never hate you for something you had no control over…" Mizael sat down next to Errai, "My parents, my entire village was burned down because of me. Someone wanted me to the point where he destroyed everything I had. Sometimes, I just think that my parents would still be alive if I hadn't ever gone near him like they told me to."
Just as Errai was going to say something, he was immediately pushed into a thick bush and completely covered by foliage.
"Miza?" whispered Errai in confusion.
"Whatever you do, do NOT come out of there. Just stay still and quiet. Understand?" Mizael ordered with fear in the back of his throat.
"O-okay.", stuttered Errai.
Meri shook, "Durbe, hold tight to Mizael."
Mizael's face was completely pale and his eyes widened in fear. "NO! NO! DON'T MAKE ME WATCH THIS DON'T!"
Meri knelt down next to him and hugged him, "You don't have to… please forgive me."
A man, elegantly dressed in a fine navy suit, silver adorned caplet and an ornate navy and purple masquerade mask with black feathers, walked inside the gate of the garden, as if it weren't locked.
"Excuse me sir, but the ball is over there." Mizael sternly said, his voice slightly shaking with fear.
The man laughed, "That ball was supposed to celebrate a new member to the King's court, but what's the point of celebrating over there if you, my bijou précieux, are over here? Tell me, did that disgusting wretch leave you behind already?"
As the man approached, Mizael took a step back, "Wretch?! Sir Durbe is of the highest caliber of men, unlike rude individuals like yourself!"
The man stopped and faked being hurt, "How sad Mizael! I thought you told me you like liked me. Are you now against me?"
Mizael felt his heart sink and as the man chuckled and removed his mask, he stuttered, "A-ALCOR!"
"In the flesh my darling."
Just as Mizael was about to run away, he unfortunately tripped on his dress, "NO DAMMIT!"
Alcor was on top of him in an instant, "How clumsy of you Mizael; I thought you were a bit more nimble."
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Mizael screamed as he began kicking and squirming beneath Alcor, but he soon got his wrists… just like on that day.
"Not this time Mizael! Mama and Papa aren't here to save you and the damn knight of yours is too busy enjoying himself at the ball! You are MINE! MINE AND NO ONE ELSE'S!" Alcor declared as he forcefully put his lips on Mizael's, feeling up and down his body.
"NO NO!" Mizael cried.
"Hush my darling, try to enjoy yourself."
…For three straight hours, Alcor forced himself on Mizael, relishing every twisted second of it. It was still night time when he began putting back his clothes.
"That was much better that I would have ever expected, my bijou précieux. Should you ever consider this again, you know where to find me." Alcor knelt down and whispered in Mizael's ear, "I'm always beside you." He kissed Mizael's cheek and went off, leaving Mizael on his own.
He felt so dirty, so tainted and humiliated. The pure white dress that Merag had lent to him was now soiled with the dirt on the ground and ripped beyond repair. He laid on the ground, his arms covering his face as he sobbed.
"M-mama…" hiccupped a tiny voice.
Mizael knew who it was, but couldn't find any strength in himself to respond to him, much less with his entire pride shattered.
Errai slowly crawled out of the bushes and towards Mizael. His eyes red and haunted from crying and seeing that!
"…please…don't get near me… I beg you…" Mizael plead through muffled sobs.
Errai simply looked at Mizael completely lost before lying down on the ground facing Mizael wanting to comfort him but not knowing how to.
"Forgive me…" Mizael sobbed, still very traumatized by what had happened to him, but even more upset that it had happened right in front of Errai, the child who had grown so close to him in just one day.
"…Ma-mama." Errai whispered.
Mizael mustered up the courage to bring up his eyes to meet Errai's, but quickly hid them back. They were completely red and extinguished of any light. "I'm so sorry."
Errai sniffed and crawled the distance between him and Mizael and hugged him.
They stayed like that until the sun rose. Mizael had stopped crying since then, but he couldn't utter anything other than "I'm sorry," to Errai. Finally, morning came and as they heard people coming, Errai hid back in the bush, afraid that it might be Alcor.
"MIZAEL!"
Like in the previous memories, Mizael broke down in Sir Durbe's arms. The entire ride back to his home village, Mizael didn't speak and latched on to Durbe completely. Upon arrival, Jinlong was waiting, only to sense that the worst had occurred.
As Durbe helped Mizael off, Jinlong began growling and hissing violently, "Jinlong…"
"Durbe… I think you should go." Mizael softly said as he supported himself on Jinlong's side.
"Mizael…" Without further ado, Durbe flew down with Mach, but stayed in the village, determined to stay by Mizael's side. However, anytime he would approach, Jinlong drove him away. His lover who was always so eagerly awaiting his arrival was bedridden with depression and fear. This went on for days until Mizael finally had enough strength to go outside. He wouldn't speak and it completely broke Durbe inside. It took so long for Mizael to finally begin to recover even just a bit, but one day, when he seemed slightly better, Durbe surprised Mizael with a visit from Errai, Merag, and Nasch.
"Durbe…" Mizael said with a slight tilt of the head, his voice almost curious as to the presence.
"Errai misses you." Merag said with a small smile.
That entire day, Mizael felt elated to be with the people who accepted him and befriended him. He was feeling so much better that the feeling of happiness seemed almost foreign to him.
"Everyone calm down for a bit; one of our great inventors just created a device that can capture images from a single moment." Nasch said, holding what looked to be a very primitive camera.
"I've already used it a few times to capture Nasch sleeping like a baboon!" Merag laughed.
"And I've used it to capture you looking like a cave ogre." Nasch laughed back, causing the other to laugh as well.
"So does that mean that you want to catch some embarrassing images of us?" Sir Durbe asked with a chuckle.
Nasch shook his head, "I think that happy times like these should be treasured and remembered. We're all friends here after all."
Mizael felt his heart race, "Friends… I'm so happy."
Sir Durbe himself felt a smile on his face and he wrapped his arms around Mizael and the others, "Then come on, let's capture this memory."
As they were readying themselves and the camera, Errai moved to the middle with Sir Durbe and Mizael.
"I love you mama…" Errai whispered softly with a smile.
Mizael smiled and a tear streamed down his face, "Errai… I love you too. All of you."
"Mizael…" Durbe comforted, rubbing Mizael's back as he continued crying.
That was the last happy memory Mizael ever had. Durbe had not come to visit in many months and he was up to his neck in troubles as rains continued to pour down on the village.
"Everyone please stay calm and pull!" Mizael yelled as he and the terrified villagers pulled a rope to try and save a small family of three being swept away by mud and flood waters.
"SOMEONE HELP ME! PAPA MAMA PLEASE!" the little girl of the two parents at the end of the rope desperately cried.
"Liu, please forgive us. TAKE CARE OF OUR DAUGHTER, I BEG OF YOU!" The father pleaded as he and his wife kissed their little girl one last time.
"NO PLEASE STOP WE CAN STILL SAVE YOU!" Mizael cried out, but he knew that the rest of the villagers were exhausted. Jinlong was too busy trying to act as a levy in an attempt to stop the waters. With that, the parents let go and Mizael felt his heart sink.
In the entire aftermath, many children were orphaned and stayed at the temple with Mizael. The soil was unfertile and disease arose with the stagnant water. Mizael himself began to feel himself growing weaker and weaker, his eyes completely devoid of any light. He felt that he had let down the village with all the casualties and was completely past the point of caring for himself. However… in all that guilt and low self-worth, he still had the hope of seeing Durbe and the others again. It was the only thing that kept him going on, that and the 6 children under his care, including Liu.
As he went out into the village with Liu, who had grown somewhat attached to him, he was faced by an unexpected crowd of angry people.
"Mizael, nothing is growing and the people are dying! What are we to do?!"
Mizael felt his stomach drop, "Please, it'll take time but…"
"THERE IS NO TIME MIZAEL! WE HAVEN'T EATEN IN DAYS AND THE WATER IS MAKING EVERYONE SICK!"
Liu stepped in, "There's nothing he can do about it! He's only human!"
"SILENCE GIRL!" A villager struck Liu on the face, causing her to fall back.
"LIU!" Mizael knelt down to cradle her and the crowd surrounded them.
"That dragon of yours was supposed to bring us luck, but now we know that it is merely a demon!"
"What are you talking about?!" Mizael shook.
"THE DRAGON CAUSED THE FLOOD! HE'S THE SOURCE OF OUR BAD LUCK!"
"Jinlong has done nothing but watch over you all! Why would you even assume that?!" Mizael defended.
"The prophet! He told us the dragon was nothing but trouble! He has to die!"
At the mention of losing his only family, Mizael grew horrified. "YOU CAN'T KILL JINLONG!"
"Why not?! He caused so many of us to suffer and die!"
"THAT ISN'T TRUE! BELIEVE ME!" Mizael plead.
Liu weakly got up from Mizael's arms and stood her ground, "Jinlong prevented more water from coming in! He did it the day my parents died!"
"The poor girl is delusional!"
"THE DRAGON MUST BE CONTROLLING HER!"
"NO! YOU'RE WRONG!" Mizael screamed as he picked Liu up and began running back to the mountain, the villagers chasing after him and throwing rocks.
Jinlong, sensing that Mizael was in trouble, flew down from the mountain, having made sure to hide the kids securely inside the temple.
"GO BACK JINLONG!" Mizael plead.
Seeing the villagers' angry roars and some bruises on both Mizael and Liu's skin, Jinlong hissed and growled at them.
"THE DRAGON HAS GONE MAD!"
"KILL IT!"
In a final attempt to reach them, Mizael drew his sword, "STOP!" He gulped as he held the weapon up to his neck, "…If I were to take my life, would you take my word that Jinlong had nothing to do with the flood?"
"MIZAEL!" Liu shrieked in horror.
"Why should we believe you?! You're no better than that damn dragon!"
"Jinlong would never…"
Mizael stopped as he saw a villager collapse.
Shrieks and screams resounded as more and more villagers fell to what looked to be arrows.
"EVERYONE HIDE!"
It was too late; arrows began bombarding everyone…. Including Mizael and Jinlong.
Liu was crying hysterically as Mizael shielded her from the arrows. "Miza no!"
"I'm sorry…Liu… Take care of the others.. for.. me." Mizael heaved as he fell down next to her, right atop Jinlong's snout.
"MIZAEL!" Liu screamed. Her yells soon muffled for a mysterious reason.
"Jinlong… I'm sorry I didn't live up to your wishes." Mizael said, tears falling from his face.
Jinlong weakly whined, almost nuzzling himself against Mizael.
"Sir Durbe… I'm sorry. I won't see you, Errai, Nasch, and Merag ever again. The kids… I let them down too…forgive me…everyone."
Those were his final words. His eyes were dull, his skin cold.
"Heh heh, I finally have you all to myself Mizael… You're all mine and you can't do anything about it." Alcor emerged from the dark forests. As he tried approaching Mizael's corpse however, a weak Jinlong attacked with all his remaining might in an attempt to save his master's remains.
"You damn dragon, heh, it doesn't matter if I don't get him now. I've been patient. I can wait for you to die if I must."
"Step aside demented mortal." An old prophet demanded as he shifted into a huge dark being.
"Who are you?" Alcor demanded to know as Mizael's wounds disappeared and he opened his eyes.
"He's alive?!" Alcor gasped, however, it seemed Mizael could not see nor respond to the man who he would usually cower in fear of at his mere mention.
"Mortal, your noble soul should have been taken to Astral world, but I've decided to let dear Clearflower rest a bit. You will now work for me, understand." Don Thousand chuckled.
"I've never even seen you in my life you damn bastard. What makes you think I'd work for you?" Mizael hissed.
"Perhaps this," Don Thousand held a lifeless Liu in his arms as well as a card.
"LIU!" Mizael yelled but he could not stand or move for that matter. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER?!"
"This child's soul is perfect for an experiment I've had in mind. Here, you can have her back, as a symbol of our alliance." Don Thousand embedded a card inside Mizael's body, causing him to experience an excruciating pain… that apparently present Mizael seemed to be feeling as well.
"STOP IT! STOP IT NOW!" Mizael shrieked as he rolled around in pain.
"MIZAEL! MIZAEL IT'S IN THE PAST! OVERCOME THIS PLEASE!" Durbe plead as he watched helplessly as Mizael suffered.
"No! If Miza doesn't get it together then…" Meri stopped in her tracks as she realized what she would have to do.
"No… mother no! You can't do it! Mizael will…"
"WHAT CHOICE DO I HAVE DURBE?!" Meri screamed out.
"Please! Just have faith in him! He will return to himself! He will! He… HE STILL HAS HIS SANITY!"
Reluctantly, Meri decided to side with Durbe. "Durbe… if he is not calm by the time we are back in our bodies… I have no other choice."
As the memories faded, Mizael slowly calmed down so much to the point where he was still unconscious when Meri and Durbe broke from their trance.
"Mizael?! Mizael wake up please!" Durbe shook Mizael's unconscious body.
"Durbe… stay with him until I return." Meri ordered as she ran outside to see the battle still ensuing between Kaito and Heartland.
Kaito was in terrible shape and his vision was blurry. "Dammit all! I can't see!"
Heartland cackled, "That is thanks to my late friend Kaninja. Even though he was a weakling, he did do me some good in weakening you this much. Now, let me show you my ultimate glorious form before you die." Heartland transformed into a disgusting fly person and cackled evilly. "Say hey to my friends in HELL KAITO!"
"YOU CAN DO THIS KAITO!" Meri shouted as Kaito activated a last minute trap card, saving him from perdition.
"So the annoying one is back, huh? Never thought I'd say this, but Mizael is a great motivation for me right now." With that, Kaito mustered up the strength to put his winning plan into motion. He summoned out Neo Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon and was able to beat Heartland.
"I-IMPOSSIBLE! I TRAINED YOU AND SO MANY OTHER WRETCHED CHILDREN, HOW COULD I HAVE LOST?!" Suddenly, the fake numbers Heartland had burst into flames and consumed him, Don Thousand's silhouette briefly appearing as Meri stared it down.
"I'll see you soon, Meri." Don Thousand chuckled as the flame went out.
Byron shouted out, "SHE'S NOT YOURS YOU ASSHOLE! I'M THE ONLY ONE TAPPING HER NOW!"
"Are you aware that you were fighting with the evil Barian God Meri is trying to kill?" Cris sighed.
"So what? I can take him on any day." Byron huffed.
Kaito had taken to kneeling as the others approached, and from the sky, a blue light appeared.
"Guess who's back!" Black Mist shouted as he played a Lonely Island song from his phone and sang along. "THEY JUST HAD SEX!"
"Darku! Behave and stop announcing it to the whole world!" scolded Clearflower with a blush.
"Congrats and all but I think Kaito needs glasses." Meri pointed to Kaito kneeling on the ground with Cris at his side.
"On it! Sana!" Clearflower shouted as she waved her wand at Kaito.
"Thanks. I was afraid I'd have to dress like the hipster if I got glasses." Kaito groaned as his head hurt a bit from the adjusted eyesight. "Speaking of which, I have to thank Mizael for getting through the duel. I've never wanted to beat someone at their own game more than him. He's back now correct?"
Meri looked down and stayed silent.
"Did something bad happen to Miza?!" Alit asked.
"No way! That guy is beyond tenacious! This has to be a joke…" Vector saw that Meri still didn't respond. "This isn't a joke is it?"
"No… I don't know if he's going to be okay since he was unconscious. I don't want to have to do it but if he's not okay then I have no fucking choice!" Meri sobbed, Byron comforting her and pulling all of Meri's hair out of her face into a low quick bun.
"There there, he'll be alright." He kissed Meri's face and the others began going inside. Meri opened the door and felt herself being thrown onto the floor by someone.
"Mommy!" Mizael cheerfully chirped as he hugged Meri tightly.
"MIZAEL?!" Meri asked in surprise.
"Meri, I think he's regressed into his former child self." Durbe explained.
"Say what?!" Meri shouted as Mizael then went over to Kaito and hugged him before taking Photon away from him.
"Give me back my card!"
"Wow! This is such a cool dragon! Can I play with him? Pretty please?" Mizael cutely asked.
"What the…?!" Kaito was taken aback and admittedly, Cris started getting a tad bit jealous.
"Oh come on, I promise I'll be careful and I've already asked mama, right mama?" Mizael turned and asked Meri who was still on the ground.
"Oh sure… no prob."
"But I don't like these clothes though, are my regular clothes in my room mama?" Mizael asked.
"Those are your regular clothes you dumbass." Vector scoffed as he face palmed.
Mizael gasped, "Mama! He said a bad word!"
"Vector you're grounded." Meri said.
"OH COME ON, HE SHOULD KNOW BETTER RIGHT?!...Right?" Vector shouted as Durbe and Meri stared at him.
"Vector, I know you two rarely see eye to eye, but I beg you to be understanding of Mizael's state right now. It's his way of coping with his past's horrors." Durbe pled.
"Past horrors?"
"You'll see what we mean when you get your memories tomorrow, but for now, the best thing is to rest up. Goodness knows just how great you're feeling after a three way Clear." Meri added with just a hint of playfulness at the end.
"Er, well um I'm feeling okay but Meri you don't expect me to fight right?" she asked.
"Surely it can't feel that bad? You feeling okay?" Meri pressed on and poked Clear's tummy.
"Meri stop poking my babies!" Clearflower huffed as she shielded her tummy from Meri finger before her eyes widen at what she just said.
"Babies? Already Clear?" Jyoti asked.
"No but there will be one day and I, as Meri would say, would rather not ruin the oven before the buns are put in." she embarrassedly admitted.
"Oh you remembered that! I'm so happy!" Meri hugged Clearflower tightly.
"I think we should all go to sleep." Clearflower suggested.
That night, Mizael would not stop clinging to Meri and he begged her to go to sleep with him.
"Mama, why did you and dad dye your hair?" Mizael asked.
Noticing that her hair was still in a bun, Meri realized that his mother used to wear her hair the same way. "Mizael, I know this is weird but I'm not the mom you think I am." She let her hair loose.
Mizael shook his head, "You're the only mama I know though."
"Mizael, you'll understand when you come to." Meri kissed his forehead and went to bed next to him.
"I love you mama."
"I love you too Miza."