Chapter 13: Be Prepared

When Merlin built her first dimension traveling machine, she knew that Guinevere could easily replicate it. Her only hope was that Guinevere would only be able to replicate the flawed, disposable version while Eveline was gone. Even if anyone bothered to chase after Eveline, the Black Knights' focus would primarily be on retrieving the young princess while she and Arthur continued their search for the surviving Sins.

As it stood, they only had a few leads to go off of, and, from what she could see, only two had promise. One was that the tomb was located beneath the city of Liones, which was plausible since there was a large vacant region beneath the castle itself. However, she could remember that Meliodas had asked for that area to be filled somehow. The second was the desolate remains of the Boar Hat, though her problem with that was that no one knew where the Boar Hat went after the war. Meliodas had made it into a permanent hotel and bar for a brief time, but after it became clear that he couldn't stay on Earth, it vanished.

"We could send a spy into Liones to search for those catacombs," Merlin sighed as she observed her many maps on the kingdom. "But to find the Boar Hat…"

Arthur, who had been observing another map, could only nod along with Merlin's train of thought. "Where might it be? It vanished into thin air, didn't it?"

"Perhaps…" Merlin let out a groan as she considered her options. The search in Liones had a simple solution, but to find the Boar Hat, she might need to take the search herself. "What do we know about Zagan? Is he taking our bait?"

Arthur nodded, "Our spy told me that he and some of his men will be heading to Midoriya's world to get Eveline."

Merlin nodded, "I see. At least that has gone to plan."

Given that Zagan would be gone, perhaps Merlin could risk leaving Camelot for a moment. The knights of Camelot could handle Zagan's remaining men so long as Zagan himself wasn't around. Even so, she was hesitant.

"What are you thinking?" Arthur asked softly, sensing that his mentor had something on her mind.

Merlin shook her head; at this point, she couldn't be sure of what action to take just yet. Waiting, though, was not an option.

"I think you might disapprove," Arthur started with a soft sigh, "but I think it might be best if I searched for the Boar Hat."

Indeed, Merlin did disapprove. "Camelot needs its king, Arthur."

"It needs it's sorceress more," He stated calmly. "Guinevere's not been able to attack Camelot because of your magic. Plus, with the power of Chaos, I'll be fine on my own."

"I'm not too sure about that," Merlin admitted, "besides, how do you intend to find it?"

Arthur looked away. He hadn't a clue where to start. He wished that he could talk to Lady Elizabeth as he could bet that she might have a clue. She was the one to find Lord Meliodas all those years ago.

"Unless you give me a good answer, you're not going."

He had expected this. Merlin's protective nature was as predictable as it was endearing. However, during these dire times, it was unnecessary. Merlin was needed in Camelot while he could leave so long as no one knew he was gone. Of course, Merlin surely figured he might try something to get his way.

"Maybe…" he mused, "maybe if I go to the Fairy Forest and see what they know, we could get a clue?"

Merlin raised an eyebrow, partially amused by his idea. "And what makes you think they might know something?"

"Two kings are gone," he answered, "Surely Lady Gerheade has been looking when she can and even if they don't know anything, maybe they might have a clue."

"I see."

"Besides," Arthur quickly added, "perhaps we can ask the Lady of Lake for help."

Merlin didn't like that plan one bit, but at least he had something. Still, it wasn't good enough for her blessing. "I suggest you consider a more resolute plan."

Arthur slouched, he had hoped that he might be able to win her approval, but it seemed that she wasn't in the mood to be gracious today. Luckily though, he had an alternative plan.

"You should go see how Drystan is doing," Merlin said after a moment, "he could use the company while Flora is still unconscious."

Arthur nodded, "Will do."

As he left, he tried to think of what he could say to the half-fairy half-giant that wouldn't irk him. Since Flora's near-death experience, Drystan had become aggressive toward everyone, including Mael who had saved Flora's life. Arthur couldn't blame him though, his sister had nearly died, his parents were missing, and their lives have been upheaved. However, he couldn't bring himself to fully sympathize with Drystan.

Drystan was too much like his father, Harlequin. Distrustful of others, borderline aloof, and quick to make judgments. Though these traits were normal for a young man Drystan's age, Arthur found them to be concerning. He could only hope that Drystan didn't make any unfortunate rash decisions.

Zelda found herself in a state of agitation when she woke up. Azazel's warning plagued her thoughts much like a wasp buzzing in her brain. She had been meaning to talk with Bryan about it, though their current arrangements made it difficult for her to speak with him without it appearing suspicious, especially to Eveline. Since their arrival, Zelda had gone out of her way to make sure she and Eveline were never alone for too long. She feared that Eveline might notice that she knew something and would press her for answers.

Given everything that had happened, it was best that Eveline remained ignorant for as long as possible. Besides, the relationship between her cousin and Midoriya seemed to keep Eveline preoccupied.

Bartra, however, was harder to fool. During the few days of their stay, he had kept a close eye on Zelda, which she supposed made sense, she was Merlin's helper in this whole ordeal. What bothered her was that he seemed rather distrustful of her in the sense that he knew that she knew something. She was eternally grateful that he only had the power of premonition for some events, rather than all, though she did have concerns that he might foresee something she didn't want him to know. Luckily, the boys kept him mostly occupied with their shenanigans as well his frequent engagements with the teachers at the school. So long as he kept himself occupied, maybe she could deal with her problems without intervention.

"They've been getting along well," Bryan grinned as he watched Eveline and Midoriya from the window of Zelda's room. "You'd think they knew each other for years."

Zelda only nodded, "Have you been able to do much?"

Bryan shook his head, "Nah, not with Eveline hovering around. It'd be easier if you just talked to her."

Zelda rolled her eyes, unamused and unwilling to heed his unwanted advice. "She's been through enough for now. Let her have some time with that boy while she can."

Bryan's brows furrowed, he didn't like Zelda's approach to any of this. Eveline wanted to be helpful, not a damsel in distress, but Zelda wasn't letting her do anything that could help her improve their situation. It was irritating.

"Now, I asked you because you're the best person for this job."

"Job?" If Bryan hadn't known Zelda as well as he did, he might have been taken aback by her coldness.

Zelda walked over to the spare desk that Aizawa had given her for the time being. It was a plain and simple little thing that looked like the slightest bit of weight could break it. It did, however, come with a drawer that she could lock, which made hiding things easier. She unlocked the drawer and opened it, pulling out a pamphlet that read MUSUTAFU CITY MAP. She handed it to Bryan, who took it with some hesitance.

"What's this for?"

Zelda didn't answer right away, instead, she also presented him with two papers that read PERMISSION SLIP. As she gave them to him, Bryan found himself almost getting angry with the vampire princess. He didn't like that now she was being partially cryptic. None of this felt right to him.

"What's going on, Zelda," He asked with a slight growl, "what would I need these for?"

Again, Zelda didn't answer right away. In fact, she looked away rather guiltily. It irritated him more, but what she had to say did nothing to ease his agitation. "I need you to look for someone. Someone...important."

"And who would that be?"

It was clear that Zelda didn't wish to share a name. He couldn't imagine why though; without a name, how was he supposed to find anyone?

"Listen," Zelda started softly, "Merlin should have a second machine ready by the end of the month, maybe sooner. We will be leaving then. No matter what."

"And?" he demanded sharply.

"And we didn't just come here to hide from Guinevere," She answered with a slight hiss. She didn't like that Bran was being hostile with her at this moment. They had a mission and he needed to get on board with it. "Merlin believes Lunete is here in this world."

Bryan froze, though his growing agitation remained. Lunete, the eldest daughter of Meliodas and Elizabeth, had, like everyone else, gone missing. However, the princess had been missing for a long time, unlike her parents. In fact, Bryan remembered that the last time that he ever saw Lunete was around the time that Eveline and Zelda went missing as girls. Lunete had been the one to find them, though it was Mael and Merlin who retrieved them. After that, she disappeared.

"Merlin believes Lunete hid in this world," Zelda continued, "though she never told me why she might have run away."

"What makes you think she ran away?"

"Because" Zelda stated with a hard frown, "she's not the type of person to just abandon her family unless she thought it would help."

Bryan stared at the vampire, peeved by her answer. In his opinion, he didn't believe a word Zelda said regarding the eldest Liones. Zelda shared similar traits to Merlin and his faith in her word only went so far. However, arguing with her wouldn't get him anywhere and she was giving him something important to do.

"Does Eveline know anything?" he asked softly, he knew that she didn't, but he needed to hear Zelda say it.

"No," she answered plainly, "and I intend to keep it that way. Bartra and the boys don't know either."

Bryan nodded. He felt marginally grateful that his cousin hadn't joined them but furious. He wasn't about to let Zelda get away with her lies.

"Those slips let you leave the school grounds with an escort," she continued, "A teacher called Present Mic will join you. They figured he might enjoy the search."

Bryan looked at the slips and tucked them into his back pocket. The map remained in his hand. He figured that he was going to need to look at it just to get a feel of the city before disembarking.

"Alright," he said, "when do I leave?"

Zelda gave a wave of her hand, a dismissive gesture that irked him. "Now would be nice, but you should see if that teacher is ready or not."

"Then I guess I'll go do that." Bryan quickly left the room, feeling that he was at the end of his patience with Zelda. Had he felt that it would help, he would have gone straight to Bartra and told him what he had just learned. But what would that have done? No, he will search for Lunete without sharing anything, but he wasn't going to go about it like Zelda was. He would let the others know in his own way.

Kasdeya watched as Zagan had his men go over their plan of attack. Guinevere had already made a new machine, all that remained on her end was to make sure it took Zagan to his destination. For Kasdeya, her orders were her only priority. Anything Zagan told her to do was to be done at her discretion but wasn't necessary. Still, Layla had warned her to keep up her end of the bargain and Kasdeya figured that would be the case. Zagan was not the kind of human to be fooled, especially by her antics.

"We need to get rid of that boy," she heard one of his men say, "if he lives, he'll come for her."

"But that's Lady Kasdeya's role," some said, "he's one of the three heads Lady Guinevere wanted."

"Yes," Zagan admitted with a frown, "but we aren't considering Lady Eveline nor are we considering who might aid them in this world."

Kasdeya smiled to herself. The thought of Midoriya beating Zagan to a bloody pulp amused her to no end. No matter what Layla said about supporting their enemies, she liked the idea of helping Midoriya just to get rid of the warlord.

Besides, is the saying not "the enemy of my enemy is my friend"?

A/N: As promised, my weekly submission for all of you lovelies. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. See you next week!