Ryo and the others ran after Sakura, Kero and White Blaze following her scent. The leaves crunched under their feet as they tried their hardest to catch up to her.

"What is going on?" Cye asked as they ran.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Ryo answered.

"Does this have anything to do with those dreams she's been having?" Rowen wondered aloud.

Ryo shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't even know she was gone until Kero woke me up and dragged me down the stairs." The group stopped for a moment at a fork in the path as the two tigers searched for her scent.

"Any idea where she is headed?" Cale asked as they bent over, catching their breath.

"Well, considering the path that we are on and the direction we are heading, it looks like she's headed for her father's castle." Anubis said.

"She's headed for Talpa's castle? But why?" Kento asked as they started running again.

Nobody had an answer as they all racked their brains for a reason. Then Ryo thought of it.

"The door." He said aloud.

"What door?" Mia asked.

"The door under Talpa's throne, the one Seriyu has been trying to get under. That's why she's headed there." Ryo concluded.

"She would never willingly open that door especially for him." Dais cut in.

"But, she would open the door if she thought that there was a good reason." Anubis interjected. "If she thought that something good would come from it, she'd open it."

"But what good could come from it?" Sekhmet asked. All he received from his questions was shrugs going around the group. Because if what the warlords had heard about what was under the throne was true, then unleashing whatever was hidden down there would have disastrous results.

"All I know is." Ryo said finally. "That we have to stop her." The others nodded firmly in agreement as they picked up the pace.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Kanna, where are you taking me?" Sakura asked as she continued to follow the cheerful girl in front of her.

"You'll see when we get there." Kanna replied, saying just what the Illusionist made her say. "But don't worry, we are almost there." She said in an assuring voice as Sakura stopped asking questions.

'Apparently Kanna knows where she is going and if Kanna can make things better, than this long trek is worth it.' Sakura thought to herself.

 Sakura was tired of this entire thing, with Kanna showing up and proclaiming to not being dead, the constant threat of Seriyu returning hovering over her, and then the added burden of constantly being in a haze of worry over Ryo's safety because of her dreams was really starting to affect her and the way she treated her friends. And if Kanna knew a way to make all of it go away, then she'd do whatever it took.

Seriyu smirk grew wider as Talpa's castle came into view. Finally, he would get what he wanted.

Sakura looked up and saw her fathers castle loom into her line of vision.

"We aren't going there are we?" Sakura asked coming to a halt.

The Illusionist looked back at Sakura's question, seeing the hesitation in her glazed over eyes.

"Of course," Kanna said, the Illusionist mouthing each word. "I promise everything will be fine, just trust me." Sakura nodded slightly as they continued their walk toward the castle, while Ryo and the others continued to steadily gain ground.