Disclaimer: I don't own Rayearth.
Oh, by the way... Did I mention I was using the OVA Clef in this fic?
~*~*~*~*~
"Prince Ferio," a tall wolf demon clad in black armor addressed the Prince of Demons.
"Yes, Lantis?" the Prince answered the man. Lantis stood, his sword firmly placed in its scabbard. He bowed slightly under the prince's gaze and glanced to his left where his friend and fellow warrior, Eagle, an eagle demon (go figure...), stood. Eagle stood, straight and tall, in front of Ferio. Eagle's long white wings were delicately folded at his back. His light blue, gold, and white robes blatantly complemented his platinum blonde hair and golden eyes.
"Your majesty," Lantis said again. "Those three demon slayers have been sighted approximately one mile from the castle."
Ferio's eyes hardened. "A mile?"
"Yes."
"And there's only three of them?"
"Yes."
Ferio's brow wrinkled in thought for a moment. "Then we shall ambush them from there, as planned. Still, I expected them to still be much farther from here."
"Yes, sir," Lantis responded. His violet eyes glimmered in anticipation.
"Where is Clef?" Ferio asked. "I assigned him to be the head of this mission."
Lantis's raven black hair blew slightly in the draft that had entered the room. "I don't know, Your Highness."
A low growl emitted Ferio's throat. Clef had performed his infamous disappearing act again.
"Fine," Ferio growled. "Lantis, Eagle... I'm counting on you to capture those three slayers and bring them here. And I want them alive."
"As you wish," Lantis responded. He bowed slightly and turned, exiting the chamber. Eagle followed, not far behind.
~*~*~*~*~
Lantis and Eagle quietly made their way down to the small camp of the three Demon Slayers. The hid behind the nearby bushes and stealthily watched them with keen eyes. The three girls sat around the rather small camp fire, chattering quietly. Lantis held out one hand and concentrated on the fire, as puny and non-light emitting as the fire was. As a former student of Clef's, he knew a little bit of magic, too. He began to slowly point his fingers downward, and the flame slowly began to die. The three girls gasped as their flame suddenly went out.
It was time for Eagle and Lantis to make their move.
They darted towards the girls and seized them in their arms. The two demons could see semi-decently in the night. They both placed gags firmly around the Demon Slayers' mouths and held them tightly as they kicked and tried desperately to escape. Eagle grabbed the weapons sitting by the tree and dragged Fuu towards the castle, while Lantis followed with Umi and Hikaru.
~*~*~*~*~
When they were inside the castle, Lantis and Eagle threw Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu into a dark, vacant chamber and locked the door. The girls were left alone, and that's where the two men made their mistake.
The girls were left with their hands tied behind their backs. Umi sat angrily on the floor, trying desperately to chew off the gag. After giving up, she reached slowly up her sleeve and drew a dagger from an arm band above her wrist. She maneuvered the knife around carefully and positioned it by her wrists, which were bound by strong ropes. She began to cut away at the ropes until the ropes snapped, freeing her arms. She reached down and released her ankles from tight ropes, as well. She yanked the gag from her mouth and rushed over to release Hikaru and Fuu.
Once all three girls were free, Fuu began to pick the lock at the door to let them out. After several tries, she skillfully freed the lock with her pocket knife. The three Demon Slayers races down the halls, searching for a hiding place, or a way out.
Suddenly, they heard the muffled voices of two guards coming their way. Petrified, they desperately searched for somewhere to hide.
"That room!" Hikaru gasped as she pointed to the only door in the hallway. She ran towards it and grasped the doorknob. She shook the door in panic as she tried to turn the knob, but her efforts proved futile. "It's locked!" she gasped.
Fuu immediately bolted towards the door. She dropped to her knees and quickly began to pick the lock. Her breathing quickened as each try failed.
"Hurry!" Umi rushed in panic. "They're coming!"
"I'm trying!" Fuu's voice was shaking in alarm. Finally, the door clicked open. "Got it!" she whispered in relief.
They rushed inside and closed the door behind them. They're backs facing the room, all three of them put their ears to the door, listening closely to the guards outside.
First, they heard footsteps growing closer to their location.
"What's the matter?" the first guard asked in a low voice.
A pause.
"Nothing..." the second guard responded. "I just thought I heard something."
Another pause.
"There's nothing down here," the first guard said. "C'mon. Let's keep moving."
"Right."
Then, they heard footsteps leaving.
The Demon Slayers all let out a breath they didn't even know they were holding.
"Good," Umi breathed. "They're gone..."
"How rude," Fuu muttered. "Those men never even bothered to look at our faces. I doubt they even know we're female."
The three girls turned around in relief to find a tall, lavender-haired man staring at them with a agitated expression.
"Who are you?"
~*~*~*~*~
"Your Highness," Lantis addressed his Prince. "We have captured the three Demon Slayers."
Ferio's lips upturned into a smile. He gazed at Lantis and Eagle with friendly eyes. "Very good, Lantis. Eagle."
Lantis and Eagle shot quick glances at each other and grinned slightly. Eagle stood there not only with Lantis, but a woman standing behind him. A she-wolf, if you will. Her long golden hair was tied in a high pony-tail. She approached Eagle and nudged up close to him. She lifted her hand and stroked one of the large, gray-blue gems on Eagle's robes.
Ferio grinned lightly. "You both shall find a little something extra in your rooms this evening. I hope you like steak."
Lantis and Eagle shot more quick glances and each other. Both pairs of eyes glowed with anticipation. Good food was hard to come across these days if you were a demon.
"Presea," Ferio beckoned the blonde by Eagle's side.
The femme wolf demon stepped forth and bowed. "Yes, Prince Ferio?"
"See to it that our little human guests are well-cared for, if you know what I mean." Ferio flashed his sharp fangs.
Presea fingered a jeweled whip attached to her belt. "As you wish, my Prince." Her lips curled into a small smile, revealing a pair of white fangs. She rose to her feet and, after returning to Eagle's side, she, Lantis, and Eagle, left the Prince of Demons alone by his throne once more.
~*~*~*~*~
The three young Demon Slayers froze at the sight of the young man—a wolf demon.
"I'll only ask nicely one more time," the man warned, raising his staff. "Who are you?"
The three Demon Slayers exchanged glances.
"We're...." Umi choked at the sight of the demon. "We're..."
"Demon Slayers..." he muttered. "It figures..."
Suddenly, the red light shone brightly and cascaded into the room. Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu screamed, startled, and tried to shield their eyes. However, they stopped to see the man's demon tail, ears, claws, and fangs, disappear in the red light. Clef, too, had shielded his eyes and, as the light dimmed, he slowly removed his arm from its position in front of his face.
"It can't be!" Hikaru gasped, pointing at Clef. "You're human!"
"Not quite..." the man said. "In any case, young Demon Slayers, my name is Clef."
"What did you mean, 'not quite'?" Umi asked.
Clef didn't answer.
"Please, I have nothing against humans," he said, completely changing the subject. "I advise you take heed to my word and leave this place."
"What?" Hikaru asked.
"I said 'leave this place'." Clef said.
"I don't understand."
"The war has begun."
~*~*~*~*~
Ferio paced the room nervously. Not long after Lantis, Eagle, and Presea had left his chamber, the bright red light had flashed through the window.
"On the black night," Ferio muttered to himself sternly. "The red curse shall fall upon the earth, declaring the never-ending battle..."
Ferio wandered towards the window and struck the cold, hard stone with a strong fist.
"Damn!" he yelled. "Where the hell have I heard that phrase before?!"
He knew the phrase from somewhere, he could sense it. But from where?
"The Prophecy..." he whispered, and his head jolted up. "The Prophecy!"
Suddenly, Ferio began to race down the halls. He ignored the puzzled looks of guards as he ran towards the library. Eventually, he came to two large doors. He pushed them open to find a large room filled with shelf after shelf of books. The library was quite neat and organized, but rather dusty. After all, hardly anyone came there anymore besides Clef and Ascot, and every once in a while, Eagle.
Ferio climbed up the ladder and searched the upper bookshelves. He skimmed each title quickly, with little success.
"Aw, the hell with it!" he grunted as he began tearing books of the shelves, until he came to a thick book about the legends of the demon world. He flipped through the pages until he came to the passage he was looking for:
The Prophecy of the Demons
On the black night, the red curse shall fall upon the earth, declaring a never-ending battle. Magic users of great strength shall be robbed of their abilities, humans robbed of their technology, to leave only brute strength for a battle of species to end it all.
There had been more, but Ferio could not make it out as it had been smudged to the point of illegibility—not that he cared, he had gotten what he came for.
Ferio pondered the words for some time. Magic users rendered powerless? That line echoed in his mind, over and over. He squinted at the page angrily and a deep growl emitted from his throat. Then, it hit him:
"Clef!"
~*~*~*~*~
"The war?" Fuu questioned.
Clef stared blankly ahead with cold blue eyes.
"On the black night, the red curse shall upon the earth, declaring a never-ending battle. Magic users of great strength shall be robbed of their abilities, humans robbed of their technology, to leave only brute strength for a battle of species to end it all," Clef recited.
"The red curse?" Umi echoed.
"It's an ancient prophecy among the demon kind," Clef replied.
"You... you can't believe that!" Umi yelled. "That silly little myth!"
"Silly myth, you say?" Clef asked. "Have you not witnessed my powers being taken from me?"
There was a dull silence, but doubt shone in the Demon Slayers' eyes.
Clef stared at the three girls for a while, then motioned to the guns under their thick leather jackets. "Check your weapons," he ordered.
Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu pulled their pistols from under their jackets and cracked open the compartments to find them still loaded with bullets. They closed the compartments again and looked up at Clef.
"Go ahead," Clef said, holding his arms out to his sides. "Shoot me."
"What?!" Umi yelled in disbelief.
"You can't be serious!" Fuu stammered.
"Shoot me!" Clef yelled.
"No way..." Hikaru muttered in shock.
"Do it!" Clef yelled again.
With a shaking hand, Umi raised her gun, aimed, and fired.
The gun emitted a loud bang, then was silent. Clef stood in front of them, completely unharmed.
"What the heck?!" Umi cried. "I didn't miss, did I?"
"No," Clef replied, then pointed towards the ground. "Look."
On the floor, lay the bullet, turned completely into dust.
"No way..." Fuu whispered as the three crouched down to the ground. She fingered the dust and it faded before her eyes.
"It can't be..." Hikaru shook her head.
"You see?" Clef said in an 'I-told-you-so' voice. "The curse marks the start of the war."
"This..." Umi whispered. "This isn't possible!"
Suddenly, Clef head snapped up and he made a rather startled noise.
"What's wrong?" Hikaru asked.
"Go," Clef said, rushing to the door. "Go now!"
"What?" Umi yelled.
"He's coming..." Clef stammered. "Go!"
"Who?" Fuu asked. "Who's coming?"
"Prince Ferio," Clef said. "Prince of the Demons."
Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu shot each other nervous glances.
"You must leave now!" Clef said. "You can't stay here with me. Ferio is coming for me."
"But— " Hikaru started.
"Split in different directions," Clef instructed, cutting Hikaru off. "If you run into anyone, do not let them know who you are. Make something up if you have to." Clef opened the door. "Be careful."
Umi shot him a suspicious glance.
"Trust me," Clef told her before pushing them out the door.
~*~*~*~*~
OK, well that's chappie 3!! I hope the chapter is long enough this time. ^_^ Thank you to all my reviewers! You guys are awesome! Expect an update in about a week or so... I'm taking a short vacation, but then I'll be back! Please review!