"How boring now a days it is," the fifteen year old girl called bored from her throne. Her fire color hair short and up barely being able to put it into a ponytail. Her eyes the same red with a tinge of ember. "Angele said he'd call if this turned out to be the true daughter. Pft, not like I'll take anyone else after Edea-sama."

"Mistress Envier," one of Envier's attendants call coming in.

"What is it now?" she asked jumping off her sit of her stone throne. She looked at her, a younger girl from herself. She had an orange/reddish hair color long to her hips and plaited into two large plaits that fell to either side of her. Her eyes were a mere color yellow.

"We've recieved word from Lord Angele-sama," the girl said bowing and giving the letter to the girl.

"Should've been here ages ago?" Envier called tearing the envelope apart and reading the letter. "A summon? From the...Golden Sage?" She read the last part with disdain. How could an imprudent girl change her beloved mentor's sacred name? "No way in hell am I going! Screw her!"

"But Envier-sama," the she called nervously. "You must attend. It's for the sake of the Court."

"If Angele wants to go and follow a stupid kid who knows nothing of what we are and who we protect then let him go ahead. But he ain't dragging me into this with him!" Envier called enraged.

"Stop bitching about it," another voice, an older male's, came into the room as his figure appeared from the dark entrace of the underground caverns that were interconnected by tunnels. His hair was short and black spiked up and his eyes were of a red color. "Your the Lord of Fire, now, as I said, stop bitching and go pack."

"Screw Angele and the Court!" she called enraged, tears filling her eyes a bit yet she bit her lip to not let them out. "Like hell am I letting that little bitch take Edea-sama's place!"

"Stop talking like that?" he called smacking her right upside the head.

"Hey!" she called holding her injured head.

"Quite acting like spoiled brat and take responsibility. Didn't you say you wanted to become the Lord of Fire to protect everyone from the Court. Now would it bother you to at least test this kiddo's abilities just once?" he asked.

"I-" she shut herself up before saying anything else. "Argh! Fine! I'll do it! But-" she interrupted herself. "I'm doing this to see if she's as strong as Angele says. I not accepting her as our new leader. No one will ever replace Edea-sama." Was the last thing she said before leaving to her private quarters to pack up.

"It's incredible how you convince her so easily," the girl said sighing in relief. "I hope I can become as good of an attendant by the time you retire Sir Hunter."

Kujo Hunter took out a cigarette and lit it up with his lighter; blowing out a cloud of smoke he spoke to her, "You call that easy? That kid's just impossible. Seriously, Kana, are you saying dealing with that brat is a piece of cake?"

Kana Mei smiled as she answered, "Well she's Mistress Envier alright. I hope she doesn't go through with her word about not letting the new Sage-sama to become leader."

"Don't worry," Hunter said smoking out again. "If Angele took the liberty of writing to all the five then this girl's got to be something. After all I'd expect nothing less from Florence's kid."

"Yes, you're right," Kana said as they left together to follow after their Lord as her two attendants.

"Get back up Vessalius!" Claire called from across the grounds not a scratch on her. On the other side was Oz on his knees panting heavily.

"You really don't have mercy on me," he said panting and getting back up. "I thought you were kidding."

"It's been the twentieth time I've put you down on your knees," she said swinging the blade around and stopping right were she needed it. "Thought you'd see i was serious after the fifteenth time."

He laughed nervously as he stood back up, "And you say Break thought you like that? How'd you susrvive?"

"It was easy," she said going at him again. He dodged the attack barely falling again by the force. "Don't evade it! Block it!"

"What part should be easy?" he asked laughing.

"You have to have the will to fight," she said to him making him confused.

"Will...to fight?" he asked.

"The reason why you fight, why you're still here," she said sullen. "I thought of it that way as he explained to me how it'd benefit not only me but everyone when I finished. I would be stronger and with that I'd be able to help anyone those important to me." She snorted and covered her eyes, "I won't let anyone else die in vain. I'll fight." She took her stance again and gave him a grin, "Don't give me that look, Vessalius. I'm going to ask you, do you have something to fight for?" She charged for him again.

At the exit of the grounds, entrance to the mansion, a certain someone was standing there and had been watching since they had started training. Alice slowly slid down the pillar as she took a sit. She'd been watching how Claire just threw her manservant around. And again he'd fallen now. She was sure she wouldn't stand back up, "He just won't." But to her surprise, he stood yet again in stance. "Why?" she asked confused. "He knows he can't stand a chance against that girl and still he comes back up." She sulked. She started to hate her. She was making him stronger. And if he became stronger then he would have no use for her. The Chain, B. Rabbit, was the only strength that kid had besides his intelligence. If he became stronger then she'd be...

"Are you afraid of what's happening?" shocked and surprised, she stood up twirling to see Angele behind her.

"What the-!"

"Of becoming useless I mean of course," he smiled looking at them cross swords. "It is true that Oz-kun needs only strength. He had it when he became your contractor. However, if this goes on he'll soon need you no more. You'll be discarded. You'll be useless to him."

"I don't believe that!" she raged not noticing that she'd caught the attention of the two. Angele only smiled as she kept talking. "He would never do that. I trust him. I trust that he'd never leave me. Even if I don't get my memories back and remember nothing then I'm fine with that. But even if that is what's up for me then so be it. At least..." tears started to build up on her eyes. "I'm glad I won't forget all the things I've been through with him."

"She's right," Oz said making her turn to see the two behind her. He cleaned her tears away with a handkerchief he had in his pocket. Taking it from his hands she blew her nose. He smiled and placed his hand on her shoulder lightly. "Alice just needs to remain as Alice. We'll find her memories eventually. And no matter what I'll always keep you with me, okay? That's my will to fight. I do it to protect everyone and Alice," he said turning to see Angele. "Don't try to make her think otherwise."

"She's good as a witness," Claire clarified to him. "Don't go around snooping anymore. If you do that to Gil, he'll just be the same. There was a reason why I chose them."

"I see," he yawned and smiled agian. "I have to apologize but it's getting rather late again. I'll be going to sleep and so should you children." He walked away further in the mansion. Claire went after him. Oz called out to her, "Aren't you going to bed?"

"I have something to talk to him about. It can't wait," she says.

"You seem out of it," a woman's voice called soothingly to Angele as he slouched on the armchair he sat inside his room. "Did something happen?" It was his Chain, Willow, that talked through the reflection of the window.

"She looks so much like Edea and yet," he sighed, "It's still not enough, I still want to kill her."

"Again?" she asked not trying to fire him anymore. "I thought you had already dealt with those remorsing emotions."

"How can I?" he asked truly confused. "It was because of her that my whole family is dead. My wife and my two beautiful children. The Elders of the Black Pack were desperately looking for Edea's children that she had. They suspected that she's sent them with some other tribe. They searched everywhere knowing not of their true appearance they only went by the clues that they were not older than six and had blue eyes." He held the dagger he had in his hands. "Jolene tried to protect them both but they killed her and killed them afterwards. They both had inherited the eyes of her mother, blue sky ones." He scoffed, "But Clarice had dark blue, sapphire colored eyes."

"You're sad because of it. Jolene and those children had been the only reason you stayed alive. You who had been exiled from your household for being a Canus," Willow said to herself. Being a Chain, she couldn't comprehend everything that he felt. "You were alone before they got to you. They safed you. And just as easily their death gave you a death penalty."

"You're not helping," he said playing around with the dagger. "I'm the Lord of Shadow. I have no need for feeble feelings as those anymore." He heard a knock on his door. "Come in."

And it was her. The girl he despised more than life itself. "I'm sorry I interrupted you."

"It's fine," he said smiling. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry," she said making him quite shocked.

"Sorry for what?" he asked confused.

"It wasn't my intention to order you around like I did so I'm apologizing," she said walking around and going to look out the window to see the dark night sky, giving her back to him. "It actually surprised that you were here. I never expected those things to come back at me."

"What things?" he asked looking at her.

"My past and my mother's legacy," she said touching the cold glass. "Her being a traitor and all. I thought the Court wanted to have nothing to do with her anymore. I was almost certain I could simply live my life here with Oz and the rest of them in peace. Well apart from everything else."

'She thought the karma her being caused would be so easily forgotten?' he thought in anger. He stood up, "Traitor, you say?"

"She betrayed the Elders by having my brother and I and by running away," she said sulking down and sighing. "I'm a reall nuisance to some people."

'You are indeed,' he thought walking up behind her and lightly touching her shoulder in comfort. "You must've noticed something to have thought that way."

"First my mother and father died trying to protect me, my own brother died trying to safe me, and now the stupid guy I love died trying to protect all of us," she said wipping something away frmo her eyes. "It's unfair."

"It is unfair," he said his thoughts out loud. His other hand unconsciouly coming up with the dagger bared. "It is unfair how so many deaths have been caused by your mere presence."

"I know," she said. "And 'I'm sorry'," this made him raise the dagger up higher. She couldn't see his attempt for she wasn't looking up at the mirrors reflection.

'You're plain evil,' he thought. 'You think that by saying you're sorry everything will be forgiven?'

"It's not enough," he mumbled to himself as he was bringing the balde into place.

"I know," she agreed. "But I'm not sorry actually. Because it would be wrong to say that. Cloude had to force himself to hate me, Mother was forced to leave me in order for me to live, Elliot died rejecting the contract when I could've saved him by removing it even if it caused my life to shorten significantly. They all were somehow forced to follow their paths. And yet they kept their will, they fought because they wanted to. They did what they did knowing it was their own choice. I want to be like that. To be able to use it too."

"Use what?" he said. 'You're just like I had imagined. You're a daughter of evil.' He brought the dagger down.

"My free will..."

Bang...Bang...Bang...

-Clack-

Claire turned perplexed at the sudden noise of the tolling bells and the sound of metal hitting the marbled floor. Angele was sitting down on the floor with an expression of disbelief.

"W-what were you-" she said in complete shock.

"I thought I could do it," he said smiling. "But turns out I do have a heart."

"You did try then," she said.

"Because of your being, my family was murdered. I thought I could avenge their deaths by killing you," he said still smiling and laughing nervously.

"You have what Miss Clarice said," Willow said coming out of the glass and forming the silhouette of a woman with a clear blue body as if she were made of clear blue crystal. "A free will. You chose not to hurt her. You knew it would not serve a purpose."

"Serve a purpose?" Claire repeated. "It wouldn't bring your family back."

"It would be like killing my old self," he said standing up and sitting down on the armchair again. "You're just like me before I met Jolene and had my darlings. All alone. Without the people who really matter it is just as solitary." He looked at her, "I am sorry for my foolish actions. Please forgive me my Sage."

"That was exactly why I came here and why it couldn't wait till tomorrow," she said. "I resign my place as the Sage, leader of the Five Lords."

"What?" Willow said confused. "But without a leader-"

"I resigned leadership," she said, "To become a Lord like the five and call for a vote."

"A vote?" Angele asked confused.

"To choose the next Sage. I won't announce this before the tests. I want them to test me still but I want them to choose if I'm really capable of doing this. Not just because I'm my mother's daughter," she explained. "I want a fair judgement by all of you. I want to say why I want to become their leader; I want to in order to not shed anymore lives. Of nobody else's"

"Very well," he said understanding her situation. "The six Lord that was your mother before the Sage was the Lord of Light."

She snorted, "Why do I always get the cheesy crap."

"You should go and sleep," he said picking up the dagger and throwing it away. "The letter's have been sent out so they should arrive in less than three days."

"Yes, thank you," she said going to leave. As she stepped in the doorway she turned to him, "I'll tell you this once," she smiled at him, "I'm not trying to atone or anything. I'm simply doing what's right for everyone. I'll show them that even in this darkness, hope still shines brighter than they think." She left shortly after.

He laughed at her explanation. He sat on the armchair, "I'm sorry I couldn't take your revenge." He spoke, his eyes closed. "I guess I just her as I remember myself before meeting you." He stayed quiet, he'd made peace out of his past. He thought about something odd though. "Willow."

"Yes?" she answered.

"Did you create that illusion on the window glass?" he asked.

"Illusion?" she asked. "As you said I don't use my powers without your permission sir."

"I see," he said.

"Why?"

"Nothing," he said. "At that moment when I was drawing the blade down I must've had a hallucination."

"Okay sir," she answered.

"Who on earth could've been that boy?" he said softly. "He looked very much like her."

"Mistress Talis," the two boy attendants called their Lord. "Angele-sama has sent word."

"Finally!" the girl's voiced called enthusiastically. Her green hair in two buns held to either side of her head and eyes green as emeralds.

Her height was of that of a thirteen year old. She was sitting behind a desk that looked was a stump of a tree and the floor was grass. "I thought he'd forgotten about us!"

~X~

Arrows flew from the shooter to the targets with ease. The wind blew harsh and even so the arrows hit their target. "Lord Derek," a woman's voice called.

"Is it here?" he asked not taking his goggles off. Yet his red, fire-colored hair with orange highlights spiked up.

"Yes," another girl's voice called.

"Perfect," he said lowering the bow and removing the glasses showing off the sunset orange eyes he wore with the tattooed lines under them, on his cheeks.

~X~

"Lord Arbestruis!" the attendant, a girl with long black hair in two long tails with the ends tinged a blue color, called shocked and in a loss. "Lord Arbestuis where are you?"

"Alicia?" a member of their house said not surprised to see the hysterical girl again.

"Mina," she said. "Have you seen Lord Arbestuis anywhere? A letter came from Angele-sama."

"Arbestruis?" she Mina said. "I believe he was with Faron jamming."

"What?" Alicia called in disbelief.

"How boring~" a girl's voice called as she walked around the lonesome place. She was dressed in Asian styled clothes. Her hair long and blonde curled on her feet and her eyes were brown as the earth. "I still haven't even met them and I hate them. Mei Tao, how much is this going to give us?"

"Don't worry Kein," another girl older than her yet not at her twenties yet said. Her hair was brown, long, and straight and her eyes were a dark green. "Marcus said if we did this we'd get leave of the filthy work." They stopped at the front of the place. "We're here." It was a back garden of a mansion. They were following the small pathway that lead to a great oak tree. Under it was a tombstone. "This is the place, right?"

"Indeed," she said getting her hands out of her sleeves and drawing a circle with a couple of odd signs around and inside it.

"Why not the other boy, the one that recently died four days ago," Mei Tao asked her companion.

"I can only bring back the ones who cross on to the Underworld," Kein said as she turned to Mei Tao.

"Already?" Mei Tao called as she looked at the younger girl. "Think this'll be good enough?"

Kein chuckled mischievously holding her sleeves to her mouth as they hid a horrid smirk, "I think it definetly will. Don't you agree, Cloude-san?" She called twirling to the slihouette that stood behind her above the soil that had been disturbed.

Yay! With new comrades come new enemies! Hope this keeps it up. Please R&R! :)