Author's Note: Tonight, we check in Arthur and Mam. I have been sitting on a couple of ideas out of here for quite some time now. I might have even hinted on what you might see in season eight of my Durarara fic. (Wink.) This match just flowed out of me as I wrote. I like how it turned out. Just when you think Arthur can't hit rock bottom, the ladies of Mam keep pushing him further down. I already know what I am doing for the next two weeks. For now, enjoy!


Match Four: The Witches' Dance:

One more gate left.

Hecate and Lucy have been busy in Ikebukuro. But what about their sisters? They have been busy too. They are preparing for the Fall Festival coming to England. Allison could see a new opportunity from Beijing.

She opened her eyes in the darkness.

"A new baby?" she asked. A knock came on her door. Allison whipped her head around.

"What is it?" she asked. She narrowed her eyes as the door opened. A red-haired nightcomer poked her head inside. Allison rolled her eyes.

"What do you want?" she asked. The younger woman walked into the room.

"We have a problem," she muttered.

"What?" her mother asked. Her daughter looked down at her hands.

"The last gate can't be opened so easily with our magic," she admitted. Allison raised her eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Uh… It's kind of hard to say," she said in a low voice. Allison started to see fire in her eyes. The younger nightcomer stood up straight.

"It is said that the last gate takes blood," she said in a high-pitched voice. "Our blood."

"Exsanguination?" Allison asked.

"Yes," the nightcomer said. Her mother could already connect the dots. She patted the nightcomer on her head.

"Good job, Sabine," she said. Sabine forced herself to smile.

"Of course," she said. Allison looked her in the eye.

"Anything else?" she asked. Sabine quickly shook her head.

"No, Mother," she said. "I will take my leave now." Her mother drew back her hand.

"Very good," she said. Sabine bowed her head and walked out of the room. Allison smiled to herself as the door closed.


Chatter floated among the nightcomers. One sister would have to die to bring the new world. While they talked, Lucy kept to herself. Everything she did seemed a little bit forced. Right now, she stared out the window with her mind miles away.

Lucy. Lucy. Lucy!

The white-haired nightcomer jerked her head upwards. Sabine stood in front of her, waving her hand in her face. Lucy blinked for a moment.

"Hm?" she asked.

"You feeling okay?" her sister asked. Lucy looked at Sabine at first, then you to Hecate, and finally Allison towards the end of the table.

"Uh… yeah, yeah," she said. Lucy cleared her throat. She walked over and took a seat at the table.

"What about this baby you were talking about?" she asked. Allison frowned as she narrowed her eyes.

"I sensed a child all the way in Beijing," she said. Lucy titled her head.

"What does that have to do with anything?" she asked.

"The child isn't born yet," Hecate said.

"And why is that important?" her sister asked. Allison cleared her throat.

"I could hear their voice calling out to me," she said. Her daughters stared at her with puzzled looks on their faces.

"What did this kid say?" Hecate asked. Allison took a sip of her wine.

"The words are not clear yet," she said. "Something about the child's glow has my attention." Allison held out her hand with her palm up. A small yellow light flickered in the air. A high-pitched whispered circled around the light. The supreme closed her eyes and took a listen. Her daughters leaned for a listen. The air in the room became heavy. A loud note jumped in her ears. Allison drew back her hand and opened her eyes.

"I heard the child's heart," Hecate said.

"Yes," Allison said.

"What does it all mean?" Sabine asked. Their mother rose to her feet.

"This could be key to the war of the New World," she said. Her daughters looked at each other with confused looks on their faces.

"What does that mean?" Lucy asked. Out of all the cycles they had been through, this hade never been brought up before. Hecate slowly shook her head.

"Where did this element come from?" she asked. "We've never had anything like this before." There was a gleam in her mother's eye.

"Oh, but my dear child," Allison said. "We haven't." She held out her arms in a cross position. "Welcome to the new round to this game!" Her laughter circled the room.


No one is home up there.

They put a wrath of laurel on his head. Is he… smiling? A young nightcomer looked at him with her head tilted.

"Hello?" she asked. No response. She shrugged her shoulders and joined her sisters. Sounds circled his ears. But he doesn't stir. It's all gone. They took him over.

Across the room, Lucy watched the broken Englishman. She shook her head. Maybe they shouldn't have broken him like that. Nah, it had to be done. Lucy looked out the window. So this was it, huh? Oh well.

Someone jumped next to her.

"Ello!" a blonde-haired nightcomer said. Lucy gave her a forced smile.

"Tessa," she said. Her sister tilted her head.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"Wrong?" Lucy asked. "Of course not." Tessa pouted.

"Arthur's not fun anymore," she complained. Her sister looked over at him. His eyes looked so empty. A fly landed on his cheek but he didn't move. The insect moved around on the skin around in a circle before flying away. Lucy just shrugged.

"It happens," she said.

"When will he wake up?"

"Soon."

Tessa pouted. "I hope he wakes up in time for our dance." Her sister patted her on the head.

"He will, don't worry," Lucy said. The younger sister perked up.

"I can't wait for him to see my dress," Tessa said. "I really want to make him my husband!" Her sister made herself smile and nod. She turned back to the window.


The outside couldn't reach him. They cut him off. But his friends still tried to reach him. They couldn't call him. Lucy put his cell phone out of use. She then went around and disconnected all of the phones. She and her sisters even cut him off from the internet. (They didn't disconnect that all the way. Allison insisted that they would need it for back-up.) Arthur's friends tried to go as far as to visit their friend. But the nightcomers keep chasing them off. Three days ago, Alfred tried to visit Arthur but Sabine slammed the door in his face. She waited until the American man walked away.

"You aren't allowed any visitors," she whispered in the captive Englishman's ear. Sabine pulled away and patted him on the head. Tears streamed down his cheeks.

He might not be fully gone though.

Visions danced around in his head. He could see people. He saw them walking around on the street. Their chattered buzzed around in his ears. Some were getting ready for work. Moms got their kids ready for school. Some tended to their babies. Dads took their kids out to play in the park. He could see parents walking out the door for the workday. They got on the trains. They drove down the streets. Office workers sat down at their desks filling out paperwork. Some sat at their computers typing away. They gossip around the water cooler. They make copies on the copy machine. Their bosses hold meetings in conference rooms. Meanwhiles, the teachers were beginning class. Students sat at their desks with their minds in different directions. He saw people walking around, living normal lives.

But then they dropped down and died. The streets were covered in blood. Bodies twitched on the ground with empty eyes. Hazes of red floated above them. England became silent. Not even the crows and ravens sang out. All life just ceased.

He can't do anything about it. He knew it was coming. All he could do was just sit back and watch the world burn.


The whole time, Allison had her eyes on China. Last night, new visions came to life. There would be a battle after the world burned. Two warriors would rise to fight each other to the death. One would outshine the sun with gold. The other had one white wing and one black wing. Which side was each man on? Those lines were still blurred. But Allison could not take her eyes off of the man in gold. She couldn't really see the look on his face. That didn't stop him from commanding her attention.

Allison put up her hands.

"Yes!" she shouted. The supreme smiled to herself. This man wasn't born yet. She didn't even know what he would look like. But, Allison had only man clue to find that golden warrior.

By morning, she would make arrangements to go to China.


-Beijing, China-

Little Bean kicked at Ju's stomach. Their mother put her hand to her stomach.

"Easy there," she said. "What's the matter?" Ju sat back in her chair and sighed. She looked up at the ceiling and shook her head.