Chapter 37: Chaos

Ikuto scratched Kage through his jacket but Kage had a blow ready for him, as they crossed paths mid-lunge at each other. While Kage's arm bled, Ikuto was thrown back by the dark red energy the Cracked Mark on his hand held.

He rebounded and breathed out hard. God damn. He needed Amu to wake up. He needed to make sure her and her chara were okay.

"I could just take the lock from her now that she's passed out you know." Ruby crossed her arms impatiently as the two fought.

"Fine. Take it, we need that key's imprint. In a moment Cat-King won't be able to do anything about it anyway." Kage looked up at Ikuto with shallow, smug eyes. Kage had hoped to play this out longer, but he wasn't about to sacrifice their plan with all the fun he was having.

"Don't even go near her." Ikuto warned.

Suddenly Ruby disappeared and reappeared behind him next to Amu. "What are you going to do about it?" She smirked and went for the lock. Amu pulled away and threw her arm at her in a fight to keep her away. "Get away!"

Ruby was surprised the girl had woken up, and backed off a moment.

"Amu!" Ikuto turned around and caught her gaze. She was awake! She -

"HAH!"

With a swift movement, Kage threw an immense amount of dark energy Ikuto's way and he was thrown back even father into the wall Amu was laying by.

"IKUTO!" Amu called just as Ruby took the chance to take the Lock again.

Kage prepared again for another hit. "You really are a failure as a King. Your guide your people into fight, and one by one they're captured...and you...you can't even defend your own pride." He smirked and laughed a short snide laugh. "Too bad."

Kage's power grew on his hand, in an orb of energy.

Ruby had Amu's Lock by the chain around Amu's neck, stopping her from moving, in a neck hold.

Amu pushed forward. Ikuto...Ikuto couldn't die. Her hand grasped the chain around her neck, to try to stop it from choking her.

"Give it-" Ruby started to demand, when she watched with surprise as Amu pulled against her grasp until the chain broke.

Kage struck.

The Lock flew into the air off the chain.

Ikuto couldn't move, as his back had been injured and waited for impact.

Nothing.

He swallowed.

Kage suddenly stopped.

"WHAT-" Kage demanded, before Ikuto looked up to see Amu, arms stretched out in front of him, without her Lock as she got hit instead with Kage's power and fell back into Ikuto's lap.

"Amu-" Ikuto choked out, his eyes wide. He struggled to move, the bruises down his back making him wonder if his spine had been bruised. He wondered how bad Amu's injury was from the marking...and now she lied here even more bruised and unconscious. His stomach turned. Why were they always so damn overpowered by them?

"Pathetic." Ruby said as she spotted the Lock on the floor between her and the crumpled couple. She went to reach for it when she heard the door open and looked up to see Amaya.

"My dear Amaya, what exactly are you doing here?" Kage asked, and then his eye brow lifted. "You let them free?" He spotted the group of Guardians following behind her.

"I'll have them hung up to dry again in less than a second in the shadows. Just answer my question first." Amaya said eyeing Kage rather coldly.

"Go ahead. Anything you want. " He said with a smile, but with a tinge of annoyance in his voice. He put out his hand to motion to Ruby to let her speak.

"What...What exactly do I mean to you?" She said taking a breath out, looking up at him catching her violet eyes with his red.

"Amaya...must you-" He noticed her seriousness. "I value our friendship, you really question that we would ever betray you? That I would? Clearly you have made the first step towards betrayal?"

"Our friendship?" She asks taking a step forward. "Betrayal?"

"Didn't we have something good going on together? You were the only one to help me like you said..." He challenged, giving her a flirty smile.

"Well that's funny...because word on the street is you want Amu by your side?"

"Don't you understand the power we'd have with the Lock's owner by our side? How much it hurts the pathetic Ikuto to see her beside me? I have not forgotten what position I offered you either-"

"Beside you? What position? After I took Ruby's orders, struggled to bring back your memory, and after...after..." She swallowed hard. "I was your first follower. I just...you don't care at all do you? You complain about not having a dream, but all I've ever dreamed about was being a wolf with a pack...having someone to stand beside...and I haven't. I've been dreamless from the start...I didn't need to be X-marked for my chara to call me "Lone Wolf"...I've never had the faith that I'd ever find it in me to become what I really want to be, "Alpha Wolf." But I'm exactly like you, and this is what I get? " She looked at him darkly, and his eyes widened with her seriousness. He hadn't expected his betrayal to run so deep...normally it wouldn't have bothered him...but he still remembered the feelings he had as a regular human. His mind was clouded.

He hadn't realized Amaya had been in the same position as them...but she still had a chara...and realistically after this was all through everyone's dreams would be snatched anyway. He looked at her. Had she really felt like even with her chara her dreams were pointless? As if she didn't have any? Her eyes glossed over. But he couldn't back on his goal just because Amaya had found out his game could he?

"Just-" He began to say, when Ruby used the crystal to throw Amaya across the room and into the darkness, as she landed hard and hit her head on the ground.

Kage looked to his sister who rolled her eyes.

"Enough of that. She's really pathetic thinking her feelings mean more to you than our goal isn't she? Pathetic little sad eye'd puppy dog isn't she..."

Kage breathed out and looked over to Amaya, out cold on the ground. His mind agreed with Ruby...but...But what did it matter? He did with Ruby didn't he?

Suddenly his attention was turned to the group that Amaya had set free. Ruby snatched up the Lock and removed herself from the scene, away from the group.

Ikuto looked to Amu in his lap. "Amu...Amu..." He said, and gave her a small shake.

She woke up with a start. "Ikuto, you're okay."

"Because of you. What the hell?"

"Where's the Lock?"

"You seemed to have chosen me over the Lock..." Ikuto sighed, he adjusted his back trying to prop himself up. It wasn't as bad. He'd have to get up.

Her eyes lowered, guilty. He was badly injured. On the other hand her Lock had been stolen... But she couldn't let Ikuto die!

"Where are my chara?"

"I thought they returned to you to save you from the Cracked-mark?" Ikuto asked.

Amu suddenly remembered in a rush. They had! She'd felt their presence...but...

"Amu? Are you okay?" The others reached them, and Kukai noticed Amu's tears forming.

"I"m fine...it's just...I'm not sure where my chara are...they didn't come back." Amu looked to Ikuto meeting his eyes with hers. Golden, wide and confused.