It was the one thing that Sirkius dreaded. He entered the ballroom wearing a tuxedo suit that the butlers and maids forced him to put on under the orders of Princess Neya. His untidy blonde hair was combed backwards, revealing his huge forehead and bright blue eyes that left the maids stunned for a split second.

"Thank you for bearing with us, sir," the butler said. "You should be ready now for the dinner party now."

"You have my thanks," Sirkius said. "Can I bring my weapon by any chance?"

"I'm afraid not. However, we can assure you that your belongings will be kept safe with us."

"Alright."

The moment he walked out of the room, he was greeted by a super buffed guy folding his arms, leaning against the wall. On his right eye had a scar of a vertical slash and a cross scar on the left of his forehead. He stared at Sirkius menacingly before joining him in the party.

"Good evening Zero," Sirkius said.

"Right back at you. Have you seen Isole?"

"Not yet. She should be at the next room."

Sirkius turned to the door next to him. He knocked on it gently, leaning forward to hear the subtle noises within the room only to hear squeaks and growls instead of the usual greeting that Isole would say.

"Is everything alright there?" Sirkius asked.

"Err, yeah," Isole replied, opening the door with a nervous expression on her face. "But we've got a tiny problem."

"Which is?"

"Kaw! Kaw!" a penguin a third the size of Sirkius pounced onto him as though it was trying to protect Isole.

"Isole," Zero frowned. "How did these blasted animals get here?"

"I've got no clue. But aw," she cuddled the other one that was not busy attacking Sirkius. "You guys!"

"Isole, in case you don't know," Sirkius pulled the penguin off his forearm, watching it flail its wings for a split second. "We've got a few more minutes before our performance is due."

"Performance," both Zero and Isole looked at him with utter dread.

"Come on guys. We'll get paid well if we do this."

"Does that mean…more booze?" Zero asked.

"Yep."

"Then," Zero slammed his fists together. "Let's do this!"

Sirkius and his companions entered the ballroom that was wide enough to be host a five hundred man party, tall enough to hold a huge multi-tiered candle ring.

"This place is the real crap," Zero said. "This is the first time I'm seeing such a bright place."

"No time to get surprised," Isole tugged him along. "We've got money to earn."

"Don't expect much," Sirkius said. "We're just covering the musicians that are supposed to be here."

"Very well," Zero picked up the guitar. "I guess we should…err…do our best?"

"I'm feeling the jitters too," Isole said, picking up the violin.

"Don't worry," Sirkius gave them an assuring smile as he took his seat in front of the grand piano. "We'll bring the house down."

He heaved a sigh, beginning the song with a soft, melancholic tune that turned heads in the ballroom. He picked up the pace, prompting both Isole and Zero to join him to create a synchronized set of music that pleased their ears. Sirkius looked at them for a moment, taking pleasure behind their thoroughly surprised looks on their faces before shifting the tempo again.

After their set of three songs, the crowd entered into a soft round of claps. Among those who were the most impressed was Neya and a middle aged woman by her side. They stood up, giving the audience a bow before taking their leave for the next group of musicians to take their place.

"Did you just hear my performance?" Isole asked. "It doesn't sound like I'm screeching for once!"

"I'm glad," Zero said. "I was about to put on ear plugs in case it actually happened."

"Why you…" Isole was about to send a flying kick to Zero's face when Sirkius grabbed her by locking her shoulders against his.

"Please, you're wearing a skirt," Sirkius said.

"You guys," Neya approached them, almost unable to contain her excitement. "Thank you so much for your help!"

"Don't mention it," Zero said. "We're just doing our job."

"So, are we able to take our leave?" Isole asked. "We're pretty much done here."

"Actually, I would like you to stay a little longer," Neya said. "Mother would like your audience."

"Really?" Zero puffed his chest out. "Well, that's a big honor alright."

"May I go to the rest room for a while?" Sirkius asked.

"Err," Neya looked behind for a moment. "Sure, but make it quick. The queen doesn't like to wait."

"I see. It won't be long."

But that was a mere excuse to get himself away from all the cheer that the ballroom had. There was an ominous energy manifesting itself towards the place where all the high profile nobles were. He walked towards the source of where he felt the power, ignoring the blood trails and corpses that belonged to the guards. He kept his footsteps light, his ears picking up agonized cries of a guard before metal cutting through flesh and then a soft thump.

"Are you sure about this, Leyn?" a voice echoed.

"Do you doubt my work?" another voice asked.

"No, sire. I was just…"

Sirkius picked up another sound of flesh sliced open by a sword. This was bad. He turned around, his mind reeling over nothing but Neya's safety as he walked back quickly to the ballroom. He reentered the giant hall, meeting up with both Neya and the queen with a smile that easily disarmed them.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Sirkius said. "What would the queen like of us?"

"I would like to apologize that we're taking up all of your precious time. Please, tell us about yourself," a middle aged woman that looked similar to Neya said with a wide grin.

"I am Sirkius. This is Zero," he gestured to the mega buffed man. "This is Isole," he pointed at the lady beside him. "We're basically travelers that are keen on exploring. We pick up a lot of things and skills along the way, one of them being what you saw earlier."

"No wonder it doesn't sound native," the queen said. "It's really impressive. Would you perform again if you have the chance?"

"Sure. But we'll be leaving by tomorrow."

"Alright. Thank you. Please enjoy the party. There's a lot of food to go around."

Sirkius withdrew from the crowd the moment they were dismissed, ignoring the invitations both Isole and Zero made to dig in. The killing intent was starting to strike his nerves. He could find out the source of the hate at once, but not in front of all the humans. He was about to get out of the ballroom when his nose picked up a subtle smell that relaxed his body intensely. The concentration of the gas was not nearly strong enough to destroy his composure but it was for the people in the room.

"Why am…I so…sleepy?" Isole collapsed before she could take in another bite.

"Isole, Zero!" Sirkius shook them but they did not respond. "Hoi, wake up!"

"What's going on?" Neya could barely sit up properly but it wasn't long before her body succumbed to the sleeping gas.

"Good," the same voice he heard from the hallway earlier said. "Clear this place. That includes Neya and the queen."

Now Sirkius was curious. He hid under the table, crawling slow enough to prevent himself from being heard. He grabbed hold of a bread knife lying on the floor, tailing one of the men so close that he could practically smell that guy's body odor. But with the knife too blunt to even be suitable for a stab, he swung it at the person's neck, knocking him out cold before he could turn around.

"Weak," Sirkius mumbled as he crept up to another one of the armed men, thrusting his blunt weapon onto the head. He collapsed instantly upon impact, leaving a loud series of metal clangs that attracted the attention of their allies. They turned to Sirkius, fear written all over their faces before pointing their swords at him.

"Hey guys," he smirked.

"How the heck is a normal noble like him able to tolerate the sleeping gas without the magical enhancement?" one of the men asked.

"I'm sorry, did I scare you?" Sirkius lowered his bread knife. "Also, if you're going to attempt to make me fall asleep, you're going to need a stronger type than this."

"Ugh, my head," he heard Neya's voice from the distance.

"Lord Leyn!" the man shouted. "Your orders?"

"Kill him," a noble carrying a bloody rapier said.

"Don't do it," Sirkius said. "I'll spare your life if you will lower your sword."

The squire under Lord Leyn started to hesitate. "B-But sir…"

"Do as I say," Leyn said.

"You sure know how to push your men," Sirkius said, taking a step to the side, evading the nervous attack effortlessly. He turned to his adversary, swinging the bread knife onto the neck that knocked the living daylights out of him.

"So," Sirkius widened his footing, flexing his fingers at Leyn. "Come on. I'll take you out with this cutlery."

He appeared to be accepting Sirkius's challenge. But before they could even think about bursting towards each other, the giant hall started to fill with soft moans and groans. Leyn gritted his teeth, rushing out of the nearest exit. Sirkius burst into a chase, reaching out for the noble's cape as he jumped down the great height. He clenched his fist, but the piece of cloth slipped by, leaving him to his deathly jump.

A sense of emptiness filled the void as adrenaline ran dry on him. Sure, he was able to prevent anybody's blood from spilling. Even so, he had that nagging feeling that this was only the beginning of a nightmare.

The room was filled with a ringing silence. With the final image of the scene fading into the blackness of the screen, all that was left from all that was the aftermath of his fear. Everything that happened on that night did make sense since Neya did not remember a single thing about that incident. But to recall such a bitter memory, it would have taken Sirkius an enormous amount of willpower to relive through it and now he was left paralyzed at his seat, his hands away from the keyboard.

"I'm sorry," Sirkius said. "It's still really painful to recall these events."

"I should be the one saying sorry," Sodis said. "For making you guys go through this."

"Sirkius, you've done enough," Klavier asked.

"But master…"

"It's okay. I'll take care of the rest," a disarming smile surfaced on Klavier's exhausted face.

"If you say so," Sirkius moved aside, allowing Klavier to take over the seat.

Klavier begun the next song with a tinge of gusto, laying out a set of medium-high pitched sounds with a set of matching bass before entering into the melody. The melody was so well refined that it sounded as if there was a girl singing to cover the background music Klavier was producing. But before Neya could study the magic that was unfolding in front of her, the images started to form on the projector once more.

It returned to the same black hooded figure's back that Neya was staring at before everything came to a standstill earlier. He stood on the streets, handing over a small sack of money over to one of the merchants that wore a turban, exchanging it with an item that was concealed beneath a brown cloth. He opened it, revealing a plain leather bracer. A slight smile surfaced underneath the hood before he exchanged a firm handshake with the equally pleased merchant. He walked off to one of the alleys the moment the transaction was complete.

"You're late, Sirkius," he heard a voice.

"Sorry, Zero," Sirkius took off the hood, revealing a beard that thickened with time. A set of wrinkles found its way on his forehead and his skin was not as elastic as a youthful man was.

In front of him were the same two companions, Zero and Isole. Both had signs of ageing on their faces, though Isole's pace of ageing appeared to be significantly slower than Zero's, making her look just like a thirty-year old woman while Zero a fifty-year old man.

"You know," Isole said. "It's been twenty years since we set foot on this land."

"Arcades Kingdom," Zero said. "It's changed a lot since the time we left. Heck, I bet the Queen Neya has kids already."

"She ought to have a few if this kingdom is to survive," Sirkius said. "Well, shall we pay a visit?"

"Fine by me," Zero said. "I bet she misses me."

"Why just you?" Isole asked. "You're already way beyond marriageable age to even start."

"Speak for youself, spinster."

"Call me that again and I'll push that Adam's apple of yours into your damn throat!"

"Come on you guys," Sirkius stepped in between them. "Queen Neya's not going to like it if we're fighting among ourselves."

He put on his hood, walking among the shadows of the buildings as if he was trying to hide his existence from the kingdom. Isole and Zero, however, took to the streets, wearing their usual garments that made them stand out very easily among the crowd.

The festive mood was most definitely in the air. Even so, Sirkius couldn't shake off the weird sensation churning in his stomach. Guards roamed around the place everywhere even in the event area when it normally wouldn't be the case. They seemed to be on a lookout for something, their hand always on the handle of their weapons. Sirkius emerged out of his hiding, staring at the countless faces covered by various masks that sent a chilly vibe down his spine.

"You feel it too, don't you, Sirkius?" Zero asked.

"The high security around the perimeter isn't called for. What's going on?" Isole said.

"It would be best not to ask the guards directly," Sirkius said. "You know how to gather information easily, don't you?"

"Hmph," Zero scratched his nose. "Easy as pie. Come on, Isole."

With the duo out of the way, Sirkius sat down on an empty bench. Beside him was a small group of well-dressed nobles with their half masks on, talking so loud among themselves that it was easy to pick information from their conversation.

"Good day to you, Lord Leyn," a young lady dressed in a purple, frilly dress said.

"You look good today, dear friend," a soft chuckle followed afterwards. "So, are you guys enjoying the party?"

"Of course. But my lord," an unrecognizable male voice said. "The guards roaming around in broad daylight is disturbing our peace. I mean, I understand that our safety is of utmost importance but their presence is just ruining it."

"I see. My deepest apologies for this. I hope you understand that Arcades Kingdom cannot afford another catastrophe that happened two years ago."

"Catastrophe?" Sirkius mumbled to himself.

"Is this about your stepsister, my lord?" the male voice said.

"Yes. But we shall not discuss what happened here. Besides, the wine will go bad with this topic."

"Ah. I should be the one apologizing, my lord."

A catastrophe that involved Leyn's stepsister. Sirkius had a feeling that he knew this person very well in the past, but no matter how hard he tried to recall it, there was not enough information to dig it out. He stood up from his seat, keeping his footsteps as light as possible as he made his way out. He glanced back at the small crowd, his stare meeting the glare of scorn of Leyn's as if he was allowing Sirkius to listen to the conversation the whole time. He brushed off that twisted feeling, escaping into the shadows of the city.