Everything. But where will she start? Rouge is aware that everyone's eyes are on them, but none of it matters. Seeing her daughters made her want to extend her arms, to embrace them, to comfort them. It's what mothers do.

Their eyes speak volumes of the mixed emotions they feel right now, leaving Rouge with hesitation on where to start. Even if she wants to start from when everything began, she doesn't have much time left.

"Forgive me for not telling you about this." Rouge starts, hesitant. She can imagine that their minds are in jumbles, in a state of encircled confusion, after all, none of them expected that their mother turned out to be the Rareborn Princess in their bedtime stories. "I cannot explain everything to you, but someone will. Your Uncle Rayleigh will explain it."

"Uncle Rayleigh?" Sab asks, confused. It's been a long time since they saw Cresta's Dark King, Roger's right-hand man. As it turns out, everything is not as simple as it is.

"Yes. He will be here the moment you open the Valley of Xavaria." Ann is about to ask more questions when, suddenly, another light appears next to Rouge, startling all of them.

"HA! Didn't think it will work with me. HAHAHA!" His familiar laughter echoes in the Sacred Temple. "Ah. My babies!" The man who appeared out of nowhere rushes to the princesses' side with open arms to embrace them but, he stops midway, realizing that he cannot touch them for his body is nothing but just a spirit.

Ann is shocked to see their father in a similar form as their mother, a spirit. She doesn't know if she should be happy because being in this form confirms what they initially thought, that their parents are gone.

Roger looks almost the same, except for the slightly pointy ears and the flickers coming from his body that matches Rouge's.

"You've mated with them, huh?" He says to the twins, his voice is low, almost growling. Then he turns his head towards where the High Princes are standing, glaring at the three of them. "Had I been alive, I would have skinned the two of you for mating with my daughters. Who allowed you to - "

"Roger." Rouge interrupts, not amused at her husband.

The three High Princes are not easily intimidated by anyone, especially a human, but for some reason, looking at Roger's figure made them feel as if they are facing an insurmountable mountain. He radiates an aura of power, intimidation, and mystery.

His eyes spark, turning darker each second they stare into it. Is that even possible?

"Rauscher..." It is Whitebeard's voice. "What did you do to your daughters?" He asks without hesitation. No matter how much he thinks about it, even with a human father, the children will somehow inherit power from a Raftelians mother, especially with a Rareborn Princess as their mother. Yet, the three princesses are all humans with no traces of powers within.

"I sealed their powers." She answers Whitebeard. It is shocking to hear these words as Whitebeard knows the extent of magical power she must have spent to seal not one but three people's powers all these years. "We meant to bring them here during the Sacred Midnight in preparation for the war, but we never had the chance to do so. Akainu's attacks came so suddenly that we didn't have time."

"Why did you do it? You could have - " Marco's voice trails off, realizing that Rauscher is not stupid. If she thinks sealing her daughters' powers is the best thing to do, the other options she had must have been too risky. Again, this raises several questions on everyone's minds.

"If I didn't seal it, Akainu would have done everything in his power to kill them. Even if I can repel his forces, the tragedy of such war will not be repairable. With Teach by his side, they can cause catastrophe not only in Raftel but in Human Realm as well. He's obsessed with Al Draig and the ancient powers of Daerene." Looking at her daughters, she's reminded of the powers they sealed 20 years ago.

If Akainu knew that her daughters possessed the powers he could never have, he will no doubt order a full-force attack against Cresta just to kill all of them or use them. And with the Magical Creatures still in Xavaria, recovering from the spell that Teach released, everything could have been worse than they already are.

Rouge looks at herself. Her spirit form is slowly disappearing. She doesn't have time. Her powers are limited. When she and Roger faded, she brought their souls to the Sacred Temple so they can appear when their daughters reclaim their powers.

"Mom..." Sab is looking at the lower part of Rouge's body, same with their father. They're slowly fading.

"It's okay, darling. It's okay." It is not. No children want to see their parents fade like this. "It is time to release everything. It will difficult, but you three can make it, I know you can. Our people have been waiting for the three of you."

"Mom - "

"Listen, you three." Roger interrupts, coughing slightly. "We will watch you from where we are. Also, Ann and Sab, please, don't let Luffia use her powers casually."

"Are you saying goodbye now?" Ann asks but she only received silence as an answer.

"Remember, Al Draig is a dangerous power. Use it carefully. It might be hard to control at first. With guidance, we know you can. Also, such a shame that we won't be seeing you three as you become High Queens. I am sure it will be a beautiful celebration." Rouge's tears are falling from her eyes, almost choking on the words. Every minute that passes by, their body are slowly fading into nothingness. She's thankful that they can see their daughters even if it's the last time.

She badly wishes that she can stay.

As her shoulder shakes, she vaguely feels Roger's hand on her shoulder, squeezing it tightly. She looks up to her mate and is greeted by a bright smile from him. His eyes are silently telling her to be strong especially in front of their children.

Collecting herself, she smiles at them before directing her eyes to Zoro.

"When their powers are released, so as your memories."

"What?!" Zoro's shocked but didn't have time to ask further questions because Rouge raised her hands and released another wave of magical light.

"You might want to step back." Her voice echoes amidst the light surrounding the Sacred Temple. "This may be goodbye, our children, but we are watching over you. Remember, everything we did, we did it to protect the three of you, but fate is cruel. We wish that you three won't face any dangers, but the danger is always out there. We pray to the gods and goddesses to guide you three."

"Please don't go. Dad! Mom!"

"Such a crybaby, Luffia. My little Devil. Listen, when that shitty dragon gets his memories, smack him on the head for me, okay? I'd smack him for marking you before. And same to the other two! Damnit!" Even if Roger's voice is cheerful, it doesn't stop the sadness they all felt.

Slowly, the three princesses feel their hearts pound as they see the flashes of memories that Rouge sealed before. The memories of when the seal was weakened, and they released little bits of their power.

They feel the heat slowly creeping into their body. It's strange to feel such heat in their veins, and their senses have been enhanced, reaching a point that they are getting dizzy from the overwhelming feeling surging in their soul.

As they look up, all they see is the blinding light from their parents, their smiles, the tears falling from their eyes as they say: "We love you. We always will."

Luffia reaches for them but is met by the hands reaching back only for it to fade away. She only feels the slight warmth from the fingertips of her father, then it's gone.

They didn't have time to dwell about their parents fading. The power emerging from themselves are occupying them.

The heat, the tingling sensation, the enhanced senses - everything is just all over the place, all over their mind, their soul.

Ann is feeling the heat from her abdomen, spreading to her entire body. Looking at her arms, she's surprised to see flickers of orange fire. Her wings that used to match Marco's is now changing, orange hues dominated with flickers of blues from Marco's powers. It does not take long before she hears the cries of a bird coming from above.

Slowly looking up, a firebird is hovering over Ann, wings flapping steadily. It's cries echo in Raftel accompanied by the bustling of wind coming from its wings.

The creature meets Ann's eyes and for some reason, Ann sees a reflection of herself, as if the firebird is her, her soul. With a flap of its wings, the creature descends rapidly, until its beak pierces Ann's stomach, slowly disappearing inside her. The impact sent her on her knees, kneeling on the cold stone of the encirclement.

"Ann!" Marco's alarmed, but Whitebeard is quick to prevent him from going near his mate.

Ann can hear the voice of her mate but cannot answer, too absorbed in the new sensation from this power. Slowly, she opens her eyes and the first thing she notices is Marco's worried face.

Getting on her feet, she spreads the wings at her back, making her look so immaculate. She's not the only one facing changes. Sab is also changing.

The blonde's changes are not as immense as Ann's. Her ears are now pointed, her skin turns paler but seems to shine with specks of golden dust. Her wings are the same as when she mated with Kidd, but the color changed a little. It's now embued with white, blue, and gold.

And the staff - the symbol of Huidel passed down from one High Queen to another - is in her hands.

Then, Luffia. There's a little change from her physical appearance. Her ears are now slightly pointed, but she still looks human. But when she opens her eyes, everyone can suddenly feel the aura emanating from her, the ground is shaking. When she meets the eyes of one of the creatures nearby, staring directly at it made their knees buckle, their soul is shaking.

Some of them are now on their knees, still shaking from just looking at her eyes. They are thankful when she looks away to meet Zoro's green eyes, and that's when it happened, the lost memories slowly coming back to him. The day when he felt her presence, the day when he marked her in Cresta's Palace, and the day he saw Rauscher.

Everything came back. The connection he felt towards her now makes sense. Everything does. Yet, he does not have enough time to wallow in emotions of finally getting the lost memories for another phenomenon that is happening.

At the back of the sisters, a portal is opening, revealing a place they filled with countless Magical Creatures. Dwarves, elves, faeries, and so much more.

"We've been waiting for you, Your Highnesses." They kneel, bowing to the three princesses.

All these years, decades, centuries, these creatures are locked in the Valey of Xavaria. Now, they stand in front of the Beasts, wearing their battle armors, as if they are declaring their preparedness to go to war.

Have they been expecting this all this time?

The princesses cast a look at the creatures who just came out portal, still in disbelief. Everything happened so fast that they do not have time to process it.

One moment they are wrapping their heads at their parents' sudden appearance, followed by the emergence of their power, then their parents

disappeared again, this time for good, and this - the creatures from the three Magical Kingdoms.

Just where must they start at this?

The confusion and discomfort from the sisters reflect through the sudden rise of magical power they have brought many creatures on their knees. The power of Al Draig in them is too strong. For the past 20 years, their magical powers are dormant, now that it has been released, it's beyond control.

Ann's fire is getting bigger, flaring so aggressively. Sab's been subconsciously sending waves of magical power all over the place to a point that it's breaking the Sacred Temple, cracks appearing on the stone floor where she's standing. And Luffia, there's nothing but an aura surrounding her, yet everyone can feel the vibrations in the air. And for some reason, they can feel the waves from the ocean getting harsher any second.

Everyone steps back, fearing the unstable powers. Just when Whitebeard is about to ask the High Princes to interfere - to attempt to control the princesses' powers - a cloaked figure stepped in front of the princesses.

"Breath in. Do not let your emotions go out of control now lest you will subconsciously put everyone on their knees." His voice sounds so familiar to the princesses and when he removed the cloak covering his head, they are met by the familiar friendly smile of Silvers Rayleigh.

"Uncle Rayleigh." It seems Rayleigh's appearance worsens the waves of the princesses' emotions, reminded by the words their mother said earlier.

"I have no choice but to do this. Forgive me, you three, but this is a must." He concentrates for a while, closing his eyes, and when he opens them, he directs the attack towards the three princesses.

The sudden power directed at them makes the three princesses tremble, they fall on their knees, gasping for breath.

"You - " Kidd is quick to attack the man, sharp claws are out to kill the man, but to his surprise, the old man raises his sword to stop the claws.

"I know you want to protect her, but I did it to control their powers. Unless you want all of the creatures here to fall unconscious because of an unintentional release of their powers?"

The High Princes are quiet while suspiciously looking at the old man who appeared out of nowhere. He doesn't look like an enemy, but their instincts to protect their mates are innate to them.

"It would be best to let them rest first. We can all talk at a later time when they're able to." Rayleigh suggests, eyes darting to the three princesses on the ground, gasping for breath.

"It seems we have to cut the Sacred Midnight short." Whitebeard begins speaking while looking at everyone else. It's nostalgic to see the creatures who have been missing for years. He's thinking of the repercussions of their sudden appearance now as well as the princesses' identities as Halfborns, children of the Rareborn Princess.

Looking at the beasts, the mixed emotions in their eyes are evident. Questions resurfacing, old grudges that are buried as time passes by. Not one of them can forget when the Magical Creatures disappeared in the middle of the war, leaving the Beasts to fend for themselves and defend Raftel.

Deaths are countless. Loved ones died that paves the way to more hatred budding in the beasts' hearts.

When Whitebeard meets the High Prince's eyes, it seems they have the same thoughts.

"We will halt the Sacred Midnight this instance. Until the princesses are well enough, we ask everyone to return to their residences. All Warrior Commanders must meet us in Central Palace." Marco's voice is firm. He exchanges look from Zoro and Kidd who nodded, agreeing to his decision. At best, Marco is the most rational when it comes to leading conversations like these. "That includes you and the Warrior Commanders from Huidel, Verid, and Daerene."

Rayleigh nods, expecting that this will happen, and he's prepared to face the questions they will throw at him, including the princesses.

===XXX===XXX===XXX===

Marco's keeping an eye on Ann who's still struggling to keep her fire from burning the Central Palace down.

When the Beasts returned to their residences, Marco approached Ann, picked her up to bring her to the Central Palace. There's a room for Marco in the palace which has a huge bathroom that he can soak her in to keep her fire from going haywire.

Even the water is burning as soon as she gets inside the stone bathtub. Marco is thankful that her fire does not affect him at all. Maybe because he's a Phoenix or maybe because they are mates that their powers do not harm each other.

"Ann, yoi." He calls out, hand squeezing her shoulders. As her mate, he can feel how chaotic her state is now. She just found out that her mother is the Rareborn Princess, the same Princess in the bedtime stories she was told in her childhood days, the Princess who sealed her own powers.

Then they faded, just like that.

There's also the fact that they just unveiled the Valley of Xavaria along with the Magical Creatures that hid away during the Great War Centuries ago.

It's everything all at once.

"I'm here, yoi." His voice is as gentle as he holds her in his arms. He presses soft kisses on her shoulder blades.

His embrace brought comfort in Ann's raging heart. Her wings are not blazing, it mellows down.

With their fires touching, Marco feels the vibrations of her powers seeping into him. Even when it was released, he's the first one to feel the changes in her. It's a power sealed for two decades, her accumulated power.

For centuries, many asked for Rauscher's hand, to mate with her. What it will be like if she has children? No one knows until tonight.

For the first time in history, they witnessed three people wielding the power of Al Draig at the same time.

Then, there's the mysterious human named Rayleigh. How can someone like him wield it too?

"I have to talk to Uncle Rayleigh. I have to - "

"I know. Just, take a breath for now, okay? Just take a breath, yoi. Your sisters are still recovering as well. It would be best if you clear your mind before talking to your Uncle Rayleigh. You don't want everyone in the council room to be burned to crisp, do you?"

A chuckle left Ann's throat after hearing Marco's lighthearted joke.

"Has anyone been hurt?" She does not have any recollection of if her powers are gone out of control at some point. She remembered that it was overwhelming, but she's consumed by the sudden release that she did not pay attention to her surroundings at all.

"No one, yoi." The Beasts are quick to step back before they touch her fire. Centuries may have gone by but not one of them can forget how cruel the fire of Verid can be.

The Fire Faeries are as beautiful as tales told, but their beauty comes with danger. Their fire can burn you to ash, to nothingness. Ann's transformation to a Fire Faery may have looked monstrous to everyone, but to Marco, it's not. It's gorgeous.

"Rest for now, okay?" Ann nods, curling into Marco's embrace for warmth and comfort.

===XXX===XXX===XXX===

The ground is shaking, the trees nearby are warped from the invisible force originating from Sab.

"Sab, take a deep breath." Kidd's been assisting her ever since they left the Sacred Temple. He chose not to bring her inside. Now, they're in a forest near the gardens.

Elves are known for their magic and ability to destroy an object as simple as raising their hands. They're known for their spells, enchantments and now that Sab gained her original powers, it's all over the place. She cannot control it at all.

The trees nearby are responding to her, its roots are growing rapidly as if they are alive.

"Sab, calm down."

"I am trying." She retorts back, glaring at him. He's been telling her to calm down for an hour now. It must have struck a nerve in her.

"Not enough." He smirks, teasing her.

"Shut up."

Even though he loves teasing her, he's doing it to make her distracted. The more she thinks about what just happened, the worse things are getting.

Looking at her now, it's surreal how her appearance changed. Pointy ears, pale skin, her eyes are glowing more than it ever did before. Her blond hair is glowing because of the specks of dust surrounding it.

If anything, she's the embodiment of a Royal Elf - beautiful, enchanting, magical.

The only difference she has from the previous Royal Elves is the fact that she mated with a beast.

Her wings are that of a Berserker sprinkled with golden dust that made it stand out. It's a mixture of red, black and white.

Her hands - all elves have clean, soft hands, yet hers are anything but. She has similar claws as Kidd's.

Despite the mismatched appearance, her beauty never changed, far from it, she became more beautiful in Kidd's eyes.

"I don't like the way you're looking at me." She suddenly speaks, waking Kidd from his musings.

"What look?"

"The kind of look as if you want to - " she stops there, blushing because of the idea. Kidd almost laughs because he can hear her heart thumping rapidly accompanied by the redness on her cheeks.

"Unfortunately we have no time for that right now. We have matters to attend to. You might want to keep that powers in check. Just think of my dick - "

"STOP! No!"

"Alright! Alright! I will stop the teasing, just calm down. You're ruining the whole forest." Her sudden outburst made things worse, the trees are growing rapidly, shocking the nearby animals.

Kidd approaches her, kissing her gently as he continues to whisper for her to calm down so they can finally face the creatures waiting for them in the council room. After all, Kidd is not done grilling the hell out of Rayleigh for using his power to weaken Sab.

Even if he's not an enemy, Kidd won't let it slide easily. No one harms Sab.

No one.

===XXX===XXX===XXX===

Luffia's head is spinning, there's a dull ache spread in it when she opens her eyes. She looks around, finding the room a little unfamiliar. That's the least of her concerns though. Memories from the Sacred Midnight came back, crashes like harsh waves of the ocean, flooding her mind with questions, and at the same time, clenching onto her heart.

It hurts to remember.

"Don't get up just yet." The baritone voice startles her. Looking to the side, she sees Zoro comfortably sitting on the couch. The High Prince gets up, walking to her side to help her sit up.

"My sisters?"

"They are in different rooms with their mates."

"I see." Luffia is silent for a while, reminiscing before she faintly smiles. "My parents are gone, huh?"

"They should be in a better place now." Zoro consoles her. It's the least he can do for someone who just witnessed her parents fade away, gone.

Alone in the room, Zoro can feel the tingling sensation clearly than he'd ever done before. His back burns in this proximity. He's still in disbelief after his memories came back.

"Are you feeling alright?"

"I am. It's just... chaotic, I mean, my mind is in chaos." Luffia answered.

"Me too," Zoro whispered. He does not know if it is right to ask this question, but if he's not going to ask about it now, then when? "Since when did you know about the mark?"

It's a selfish question given their current situation but he's been dying to know about this. For the past weeks, Luffia's been insistent that they mate. Was it because she knew about the mark?

"For quite a while since you brought us back here."

"Why didn't you tell me about it?"

"About the mark on my back? You never asked about it."

Sometimes, Zoro just wants to strangle Luffia. She could have told him about the mark, yet she didn't, opting to keep asking Zoro to mate without giving him justifiable reasons why they must.

"It appears at random times. I don't know why. It is probably because Mom sealed it." To seal a mark given by a High Prince, one can imagine just how large the magic power Rouge used to do it successfully, and for years, even. "I told you several times that we should mate. You never listened!"

Her voice sounds so hurt, she pouts like the child that she is. Her eyes look unamused while staring at Zoro. Even if the man wants to defend himself from the blame, he cannot find it in himself to do so. Instead, he just snorts at the ridiculousness of their situation.

For 22 years, he believed that he will never get his memory back. The pain, confusion, disbelief are immeasurable. At first, he imagines what his reaction will be should he find the person who stole it. He imagines he will be angry, to curse at this person, yet he cannot. Not when there are bigger matters they need to address.

Knock! Knock!

Their eyes immediately look at the door as it opens, revealing Thatch.

"Sorry for disturbing you, but your sisters are awake now and are in the council room."

"We will be there," Zoro answered.

It is time.

Their questions will finally have answers.