Chapter 5

Miranda waited for Dark. Satoshi wasn't much of company but he was better than nothing. An officer came in to inform him that they had ten minutes until the strike time. Miranda went to go sit down by the wall. Satoshi continued to stare at the monitors in front of him. There was a sound behind him. Swoosh.

"Evening Chief Commander." The voice was the opposite of Darks' jeering tones. "Ooh. If you're thinking this is some trick of Darks' to distract you, it's not. But if you don't want to kill anymore artwork, you'll let him steal the Shin no Rikai."

"I will not let Dark steal anything else. I have to capture him-"

"Then by all means, go, save your precious family artwork, don't worry I'm not going anywhere." She sat by Miranda, letting the skirt of her uniform gather beneath her. Satoshi eyed her suspiciously. "You know all too well that I can't harm you so why are you so uptight?" He just eyed her with vague interest then turned to leave.

"Hey Miseru."

"Huh?"

"What did you mean by 'killing anymore artwork'?"

"Nothing that you that need to know right now. You'd better go if you want to see Dark."

"How'd you know-"

"Just go. I'll be here when you get back."

"Thanks!" Miranda waved enthusiastically. Sigh

On the other side of the museum Dark was slipping past all the police's traps. Tripwires, lasers, and random additional traps set up were only a few of the unimportant obstacles he dealt with. The Shin no Rikai was a necklace sitting in its case. The pillar it sat on was made of steel.

"Hmm… no Chief Commander. Wonder where he is? Oh well! All the more easy. Although…" Dark cast a sad look around the room at all the unsprung traps. "It's too easy when he's not here."

"Oh how touching." Footsteps echoed in the room. "But you're not leaving with that necklace!"

"You're no fun. The Commander is far better than having to deal with you… KRAD!"

"What? Still hate me? That hurts Dark. That really hurts… but this will hurt you more!" Krad threw a handful of white feathers at Dark. It took an intricate flip to dodge them all but he managed to, landing two feet in front of him with his fist curled for a punch. Unfortunately, Krad flew into the air and Dark's punch went astray. "Is that all you've got! You're pathetic!"

"Oh yeah!" anime vein Krad dive-bombed him and missed by inches. "Hey!" Miffed by the fact he had the lower hand, he called for Wiz, flying up in a whirlwind of black feathers.

They collided in a shower of white and black fluff, raining down on the street below. Proceeding to wrestle in midair, Dark and Krad beat each other senseless. One good punch knocked Krad toward the pavement. He steadied himself before launching another attack.

Dark. Hey Dark!

"What! I'm fighting here!"

Are you okay?

"Yes now shut up!"

Krad struck back with a storm of plume. One hit Dark in the solar plex, knocking the wind out of him. All his strength seemed to drain away. Without enough strength to support Wiz, he fell onto the grass far below. Krad pinned him to the ground.