Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Chapter 12: United We Stand

All-consuming darkness.

Hate. Anger. Loathing.

Red, like blood, filling her vision.

A voice loomed from somewhere in the depths of her soul.

"You're mine now."

It was the embodiment of evil, and it had a horrifying grip around her.

She couldn't escape. No matter how much she cried for help.

The malicious voice laughed at her.

Soon, her mind faded into the void of dark.

She was lost.

Uriko was taken by surprise when she arrived in the main hall of the Shrine of Solace. From the commotion she'd heard from the residents, she figured a group of people had just turned up, and her quick investigation revealed this to be true. These new visitors brought instant joy to her eyes, and the young cat girl was bounding towards them, leaping into the arms of the woman at the lead of the group.

Alice was nearly knocked off balance, but nevertheless found herself sobbing and retaining a vice-like hug on the young girl.

"Oh Uriko! I'm so glad you're alright!" She said through her sniffles.

Hearing her sister's teary voice caused her to start bawling as well. "Alice! I'm so happy! I feel so bad that I ran off. I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!"

"It's okay! You're here now and you're safe, that's all that matters! Just don't leave my side again!"

Uriko looked over her sister's shoulder to the other members of the small troop. Kenji was leaning tiredly against a pillar not far from Gado, who was carrying an unconscious Shina in his arms. He was asking one of the shrine assistants where he could take her while she recovered.

Uriko broke from her sister's embrace and went to greet the others, going over to Kenji to give him a hug, though she refrained from throwing herself at him.

"I'm glad you're okay," the young boy said, patting her back softly.

"What happened to Shina?" She asked, watching as a shrine assistant directed Gado to one of the back rooms.

"She was affected by the violence," Kenji told her. Uriko was shocked.

"That's awful! Poor Shina!"

Long arrived in the hall as Gado passed by carrying his daughter. The tiger Zoanthrope was surprised one as strong as Shina had fallen victim to the violence, but this was a power unlike anything they'd faced before, so none were safe from its effects.

Recover well, my friend, he thought, hoping to see her awake again soon. He straightened his glasses and turned to address the entourage. "Please, come into the personal quarters. The air is chilly out here. I have just freshly prepared some tea."

Nobody objected and they followed the Chinese man up the stairs towards a cosy room. Its walls were comprised of double layered screens, yellowed by age though decorated with still vibrant red and orange flower designs. Two small candle lamps hung from the wooden beam above, giving off a suitable amount of light. Hanging on rails in front of the screens were a layer of white gauze curtains that were added for extra insulation and privacy. It was especially assuring as on the outside, they could hear the ominous whistling of strong winds blowing in. Along the hallway, assistants were rushing back and forth, batting down the hatches, as it seemed bad weather was closing in on them.

The room didn't have much furniture; a few mats were placed on the floor, with more stacked in the corner. There was a small table, which upon it had a small teapot and a tray of stoneware cups. It was a nice and cosy room, and the smell of tea was fragment and homely. Alice and Kenji both took a few mats from the corner and placed them in front of the table. Long and Uriko sat back in the places they'd been earlier when they'd come down for lunch. Gado soon joined them after entrusting his daughter into the shrine assistants' care.

"It's good to see you again, old friend," Gado greeted Long upon sitting down.

"It is a true shame that we always convene when we have a crisis." Long poured a cup of tea for the Lion Zoanthrope, who thanked him kindly, taking it to set in front of himself.

"Crisis seems such a mild word for what's happening," Alice said, staring sadly into her cup.

"Whatever is happening, I believe Xion has some involvement," Long said assuredly.

"What? Again?" Kenji rolled his eyes. Was that guy always constantly trying to create disaster?

"And that girl… Nagi…" Long couldn't get the image of her 'beast' form out of his head. So strange indeed. Neither human nor animal.

Gado looked up with surprise. "Nagi? That name… ah, wait! Is it Nagi Kirishima? She's a friend of Yugo's. Auburn hair past her shoulders? Around about 18?"

"Nagi?" Alice was slightly confused by her mentioning.

"That sounds like Nagi!" Uriko piped up.

"Oh, I remember her! She's a nice girl," Alice said. "What about her? How could she have anything to do with what's happening?"

Long cupped his hands around his drink carefully. "She has a strange aura about her. Something dark. And her 'beast' is indeed peculiar."

"Hold on a second! Beast form? But Nagi is human!" Alice exclaimed.

"Something has happened to her because of this incident." Long watched her face contort with confusion. "Life itself seems to be playing an interesting game."

"What do you mean by that?" Kenji said.

"Xion mentioned Gaia had something to do with this," he told the boy.

Kenji responded with a frown, looking at his tea as if he was going to scrutinise it for answers. He cleared his throat carefully, looking back up at Long after a moment. "Gaia… I don't understand..."

"How can that possibly be?" Alice asked, somewhat dubious.

"After the tabula incident, I stopped being surprised by supernatural occurrences," Gado admitted, sipping his tea, slightly wishing it was coffee.

"Well, Zoanthropes exist, and people still think that's weird!" Uriko said matter-of-factly.

There was an odd silence for a short time, as everyone tried to process what had been said. The world was full of very complex, unexplained things. And it always ended up with them having to face off against them.

"That little girl knew something about this mystery…" Gado recalled.

Long glanced at him with a raised brow. "Little girl?"

"Yeah, a little blue-haired child. She told us that Uriko was here!" Alice informed him.

"Eh? I wonder how she knew me?" Uriko itched her chin absentmindedly.

"We're all being drawn towards the same problem," Kenji muttered. "It makes you wonder for what reason this is happening." This definitely spurred some thought amongst the group. Xion, that girl… could they end up being pawns in some bigger scheme? None could say for sure.

"It sounds like we should be worried," Alice said, sipping her tea to distract her from her thoughts.

"You know, a lot of weird people have been turning up," Uriko quickly input, turning to a new topic. "You won't believe ShenLong's here!"

"You're joking!" Alice exclaimed, surprised to hear about him of all people. "What's he doing here?"

"He came here following me and Nagi! Well, okay, more for Nagi! I think he's got a crush on her!" Uriko couldn't help but giggle. It seemed silly that someone like ShenLong could ever even muster a credible emotion after spending most of his life going from one bloody, mindless fight to another.

"Wow, that's… strange…" Alice said, not sure how to respond.

"If you are concerned about him, you have nothing to fear. He is locked up after an unfortunate incident," Long assured.

Gado laughed. "Why am I not surprised that he's only still here because he's locked up?"

"I've given up being surprised by him," Kenji said, though he seemed distracted by thought. He couldn't stop thinking about what had happened to Yugo.

"Uranus is here too," Uriko said softly. The room fell quiet.

"Uranus?" Gado confirmed and both Long and Uriko nodded. "What would she want here?"

"She was looking for something from what Nagi said. She appeared the other night and targeted her. She might have been on a power trip or something." Uriko had turned serious all of a sudden. Realising the woman was likely a clone of her had made her uneasy. But she refused to keep addressing the thoughts, just in case they invited in something much darker.

"Xion seemed to be in search of power as well," Long mentioned. "He talked about a seal, but he didn't go into too much detail."

"A seal? Like the Tabula?" Alice questioned with dismay. That's all they needed.

Suddenly, a shrine assistant appeared in the doorway and bowed to them.

"Another of your friends has come to join you," he said, stepping aside to allowed a young man to appear in the opening.

Alice leapt to her feet. "YUGO!"

He smiled at the gathering. "Hi guys! Mind if I join the party?"

"I'm glad you've fared well, young Ogami," Gado said, relieved to see his old friend's son once more.

"Phew! Beat the storm before it kicked off," he said, wrapping his arms around Alice, who'd rushed to embrace him. "Not had to deal with too many more crazy Zoanthropes either. So, how's tricks, guys?"

"Just like you to be so laid back at a time like this," Kenji remarked, though he couldn't help but smile, relieved to see his brother.

"How did you find us?" Alice asked, wiping happy tears from her eyes.

"A little girl told me to come here," he said sheepishly.

"A little blue-haired girl by any chance?" Kenji asked.

Yugo didn't even bother to hide the surprise. "How'd you know? Have you guys met her before?"

"She told me, Kenji and Gado to come here to find Uriko," Alice told him. Uriko gave a thumbs up from behind.

He looked down at the cat girl. "Oh, hi there. Good to see you're still alive and kicking."

"And punching and biting and whatever!" Uriko added with wink.

"You know, that Nagi girl you were looking for earlier was here for a time," Gado mentioned.

"She was? Well, I did see her. And boy did I! Something strange is going on with her!" He said.

"You saw her? Where?" Uriko asked.

"The underpass heading towards the business district. That's where I met that girl, Mana, too. She told me some weird things. That Nagi had this weird power... and the girl mentioned she was part of the Nine Tails family and was protecting a seal on a Gaia's dragon…"

Everyone was sat frozen, staring at him in shock.

"What? Oh! The dragon thing! Yeah, I was shocked too!"

"Gaia again," Gado muttered.

"So, there's the answer!" Kenji said.

"A dragon. How extraordinary!" Long said, adjusting his glasses.

"Yeah, she gave me a map to get to a temple," Yugo added. "She was looking for someone to help her deal with the power. Someone strong enough to handle what it might do. She's struggling to find someone who she thinks can, well, face up to this dragon. But… I think maybe I can help…"

"Against a dragon?" Alice's eyes widened. "Have you gone mad?!"

"What choice do we have?" Yugo said with a shrug. "You've seen the state of things. If I have to risk life and limb, then I'll do it to stop the violence. And it's not like I haven't faced some serious shit before."

"We can face it together!" Alice immediately insisted.

"Oh no! Not this time!" Yugo told her, clamping a hand over her mouth to silence her protests. "You're not following me on this one. I don't want to see you get hurt."

She pushed his hand off her mouth, scowling with worry. "And what about you?"

"I'm used to getting hurt. I can handle it," He assured, though he still had some major concerns. This was a dragon after all. He had no idea what he'd be getting himself into.

"But you need me," she whispered, tears filling her eyes.

He lay a hand gently on her head. "You're needed here, in case others come looking for help. They may need your knowhow to treat anybody whose injured."

She could argue with him, go against his wishes, like she always tended to do because he was so reckless. She was as stubborn as they came, but what he was saying made sense. The situation was not something she could take lightly, and a lot of people had been injured by the violence and earthquakes. For now, she needed to stay put and use her skills to protect those who were most vulnerable.

"I feel I am obligated to join you," Long said as he stood. "I have been sitting aside too long hoping others would solve the problem."

"Looks like it's out to the battlefield once again," Gado said. He finished his tea and stood.

"And me!" Uriko piped up.

"I don't think so!" Alice kyboshed instantly. "If I'm not going, neither are you."

"Darn it!" She folded her arms in a huff.

"If worst comes to worse, it will be you two we'll be falling back on," Yugo told them. "Be prepared for anything."

"Don't forget me, Yugo," Kenji said, standing. "There's no way I'm staying behind."

"Wouldn't leave you out of the action, little bro," the wolf Zoanthrope slapped a hand on the boy's shoulder as he walked over.

"When the worst of the storm passes, we shall follow your map," Long said, listening with keen ears to the dramatic howling of the wind that had picked up. Torrents of rain had also joined in on the action. They could only hope it wouldn't last too long.

"Right!" Yugo nodded. His thoughts drifted suddenly to Nagi and that dark ominous shadow lurking over her. She was somehow being lead to danger. Something told him she was being lured towards the dragon, too. But not for the same purpose as they were.

Nagi… Where the hell are you?