Disclaimers: No, I don't own this. Only my characters and the entire strange, eerie and rather pointless concept.
Warnings: As it turns out, Dark and Krad are only FRIENDS, as well as the other two. There's a reason to this… so yeah. Oh, and the usual spelling and grammatical errors…
Er… yeah. I updated. But I have no idea what's going on now. I mean… yeah. It's all a bit over the place now. And Krad was taken away XD Wait… that's not a good thing, is it?
000
"Why is it that we always end up getting in trouble and being chased and stuff? I didn't do anything to insult them. Honest!"
-- Dark Belcourt
"It's because of your stupidity that your magic is uncontrollable. If you thought before you acted, then this wouldn't be happening."
-- Satoshi Hiwatari
--- Ten: Kidnapped, Captured or Taken? ---
With a scary bout of unknown and renewed energy that he hadn't known he'd had, Dark was pacing his room back and forth like he was ready to tear a couple of walls down. Then again, the look on his face wasn't all that encouraging either, and the two younger teens were somewhat worried as to what he would do to them if they were to break the silence.
Neither of the two boys were in any seriously wounded condition and all, but Satoshi seemed to be suffering from a migraine of sorts while Daisuke had had to bandage his arm before fainting from blood loss. It was actually quite funny about how fast he had actually recovered from the attack, but he was too concerned over his blue-haired classmate and friend to really say much more. That and the fact that Dark seemed incredibly on edge now.
And Dark didn't look like he was ready to hear it anyway. He seemed to be experiencing a number of various feelings and emotions that not only confused him, but made him more pissed off than what he was feeling already, and he hated the whole 'dealing with one's feelings' thing in the first place anyway. All he wanted was for life to be as normal as possible – which was asking quite a bit, considering that he lived in a somewhat psychopathical family – and just had to worry about attending school and getting into more fights with his friends.
But no, this just had to conveniently happen on a completely normal day when he wasn't at school and the like and he was pissed off still and he was just so… so… He really was beginning to lose whatever sanity he had left. Not that he had been all that sane in the first place, but he could deal with that situation at anytime later; after he dealt with this first.
Looking up with wide eyes, Daisuke pretty much feared for his friend's well-being, knowing from the start that Dark would not take the news well. Then again, he was going to be a lot worse off when he found out WHO had taken Krad exactly; hoo-boy, he didn't want to be around to witness it when that happened and all.
He felt like he really should be saying something, but the older teen's face clearly stated 'do not disturb me or I'll kill you' and he really did value his life enough not to say a thing. That and the fact that Satoshi still looked a bit dazed from the attack. How and why this was so, he was still trying to work it out himself, but his friend would recover sooner or later. Hopefully sooner.
After hearing the single line that meant confusion, pain and the like, Dark had – somehow – managed to drag the two of them into his house and in his room, before fishing out the first aid kit and beginning his pace-around-the-room-looking-incredibly-pissed routine.
Incidentally, it was With who ended up breaking the tension around them.
Completely oblivious to his master's current mood, the demon-rabbit had hopped in and made an instant beeline to Daisuke, whom he'd taken a liking in for some reason. With wasn't colour blind, so maybe it had something to do with the teen's hair colour or something similar, but that wasn't the point at the moment.
"Kyu--!"
"Gah! With?"
"Kyu--! Kyu kyu kyu!"
This seemed to snap Dark out of his previous dangerous mood and he slumped onto his swivel chair by the desk, still looking put-out, but not like he was going to throttle the next person who said something.
"Can you tell me…" the purple-haired teen took a deep breath, "Can you tell me exactly what happened?"
The redhead blinked and then focused his attention on the carpeted floor, not wanting to meet his friend's gaze. He really didn't want to recall it and all, but it was necessary, and still… his thoughts really were bouncing around the place now and he couldn't explain as to why.
"Krad-kun was really annoyed that you hadn't come to school for some reason," he began slowly, wanting to start from the very beginning so that he didn't miss any details, "And it looked like he wanted to kick you or something for being so out of it as well. And then, when we were going to your house after school, he asked me and Satoshi-kun about what this pin that you gave him was, and we didn't know." He held up a hand to stop Dark from opening his mouth and distracting him; if someone cut in now, the redhead would never be able to finish it.
"We knew that it had magical properties, but that was it. Anyway, we were close to your house when Krad-kun suddenly stopped and looked up warily, like he could see something that we couldn't. When we asked, he said it was because something was coming and, knowing him, it wasn't going to be good and then…"
"Then?" egged Dark, looking like he didn't want to hear it but had to.
"I had a migraine and the place when pitch black," mumbled Satoshi sarcastically, still clutching his head and glaring at Dark for some reason. The redhead shook his head and tried to calm his friend down, while the purple-haired teen looked ready for murder, and continued quickly.
"I think Satoshi-kun got hit by something instantly and he went out unconscious. I managed to get out of the way and Krad-kun obviously dodged, but then there was some sort of… evil laughter," Daisuke shuddered, hesitating as he relieved the memories not all that long ago. "But the scarier fact was that Krad-kun seemed to recognize whoever it was, or at least he wasn't freaking out, and then… well…"
More hesitation.
"We were attacked by… something. It was too fast for me to actually see… and that was how I got the cuts, but I was still a bit conscious and I heard something exchange between Krad-kun and some other voice. The scary one…
"Krad-kun was saying to leave us alone and that they had no right to be doing this in the first place… and then there was more laughter… some sort of magical discharge that was blinding and then… I passed out…"
Taking in these words, the purple-haired teen just stared at the younger boy like he was hoping that it was just some crazy, sick joke that was conjured up for some reason that made no sense.
"But how…"
"How can I say that Krad-kun was taken?" Daisuke laughed bitterly, as if there was some sick motif behind it all, "Because the voice said so itself. And I heard Krad-kun before that…"
This time the redhead just fell silent and said no more, but it wasn't like they were in the mood to say anything at all. Dark felt like the end of the world had finally come to its final days and that if something had happened to Krad at all, well, those people were going to pay dearly.
Satoshi was patting Daisuke lightly on the shoulder, still looking like he was suffering from his headache, but more concerned about his friend then to think of anything else. Even With seemed to have sensed the eventual depression and just sat on Daisuke's head, looking upset as well.
The sound of the front door opening was what got Dark to jerk up and exit the room. Poking his head down and leaning over the rails, he recognized who it was instantly, "Oi, Aeka!"
His sister looked up, "What?" she bellowed back, although they weren't all that far from each other to hold a yelling conversation.
"Freaking hell, how can you be so stupid?" he yelled, "Did you leave it to Nina to pick Christina up today?"
"Yeah, so?"
"Well, then, you might wanna talk to her!"
"What? Why!"
"Trust me, it's not gonna be good news!"
"Dark, you bastard! What the hell is going on!"
Ignoring his older sister's angry yells about an explanation, Dark returned to his room and tried to breathe calmly again. Daisuke was leaning against Satoshi's shoulder – looking completely lost – and the blue haired boy raised an eyebrow in his direction.
Dark held up a hand, "You'll see."
"Well, it looks like you've managed to collect some form of composure then," Satoshi couldn't help but observe. He got a smirk in reply to this as the older teen took his seat once more.
"Well, I've come to the conclusion that moping and being angry won't help us in the rescue attempt for Krad."
"… I was wondering how long it would take you to say that."
"But it's the only way possible!"
"And you're a complete idiot, but seeing as we have no other choice…"
"So that makes me right."
"Dream on."
"Fine, I will."
The two would have continued this argument of sorts, but Daisuke managed to put a stop to it and pointed out something that would have to be dealt with soon, "Krad-kun's parents are going to worry if we don't tell them something. But I don't think they'll take it too gladly about their son being kidnapped; so…"
This time, Dark actually caught on quickly, "We have to make up some sort of lie or excuse."
000
Aeka couldn't help but be baffled by Dark's strange behaviour. Sure, he had decided not to go to school this morning – saying something about teachers being evil and all – but he did that once in a while, so that in itself wasn't that worrying. And him yelling at her was common as well. It was what he was yelling about that had her worried this time, and she couldn't place as to why.
So he told her to check on Nina after getting home from picking Christina up. Okay, so he always had had some sort of special bond with the youngest sibling, but there was something more to it… something that wasn't supposed to happen but was… kind of worrying all the same, and she didn't like it at all.
Not only that, but that very morning – before leaving for work – Raine had been incredibly and scarily nice to her, and that was just so unnerving. This was the last thing she needed to wonder and worry about, but it looked like their randomly crazy family life was about to get worse.
Having made herself a cup of coffee to merely waste time, she poked at it slowly, watching the ripples in the liquid and then focusing her attention at the window that peered out into the garden. No one ever went out there except for Christina, so it pretty much belonged to her and she cared for it. She really was the sort with nature and loved them all dearly.
Running a hand through her hair for a moment, Aeka sighed; not wanting to hear the bad news that was bound to come but knew that there was no way to avoid it at all – unless she wanted to go off and leave the whole stinking place.
But the others looked up to her – in a way. Except for Karal, who worshipped their insane parents and Raine, the others saw her as someone they could talk to if they needed to, so… she really couldn't abandon them just because she was scared of knowing the truth.
The sound of the door slamming open was the first indication that Nina was back, and that the dreaded news was soon to come.
Leaving the kitchen, Aeka rushed out to see the girl panting and looking distressed, looking around the place like she was hoping to catch sight of something that she had lost. The older of the two grabbed her by the shoulders, meeting her in the eye.
"What happened?" she demanded.
"Christina wasn't at school today," swallowed Nina, "that's what the teacher said. And we dropped her off there as well!"
Not hearing the rest of the sentence, Aeka was back at the foot of the stairs, calling Dark for a desperate family meeting.
000
"So Krad's gone as well?" Nina asked in a hushed whisper, staring at her brother like he had suddenly sprouted a second head… or a fourth, "But that was after school, not before."
"What difference does it make?" snapped Dark in annoyance, already having to recall the news three consecutive times, "The fact is that they were taken on the same day."
Thoughtful for a moment, Aeka glanced over at him, "Are you SURE that you don't have any other enemies wandering around out there? I mean, monsters tend not to hold all that much intelligence, but if there are more out there…"
"I'm sure," he muttered shortly, "And as for other enemies, all of them are dead except for the stupid voice that kept on haunting me a few weeks back."
"… Right… well then…"
There was a moment of lost words.
Fidgeting on her seat, Nina focused her attention upon staring at the bleak ceiling, waiting for something to happen. When nothing did, she broke the silence once more; "Okay, so we know that they've both been… kidnapped… or something, but do we know where?"
"I can make a rough guess," Aeka said, placing the note that both Dark and Krad had read the night before, "and Raine was acting odd this morning as well, so something tells me she must know."
Nina snatched the note and scanned it quickly, becoming more pale, "I knew that Raine was a bit of a whack, but seriously… to allow our youngest sister to be pulled into this…"
"It was like what happened to Dark," concluded the older sister darkly. "… Dark?" She looked around, but he had already left the room.
000
Slamming the door behind him, Dark shook his head slowly, leaning his forehead against the smooth surface. He hated being talked about – especially about that particular situation – so he'd gone off and entered some random room that didn't belong to him.
Calming down after a moment, the teen looked up and recognised that he'd entered Christina's room. It was tidy with few possessions, although her clothes were scattered on the bed. Walking over to her desk, he opened a random drawer and began shifting through the papers.
It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for and he pulled out the piece of paper. Glancing at it briefly to confirm his thoughts, Dark left the room and returned to his own, where Daisuke and Satoshi were waiting for him.
"So?" pressed the blue-haired boy.
"So my youngest sister has disappeared off the face of the earth as well," he stated simply, "And how did the phone call go?"
A shrug; "Let's just say that if you'd been the one to call, then Mrs. Hikari would be tearing your throat out, or something equally violent."
"Ouch."
The redhead, recovering somewhat, peered at the paper in Dark's hands curiously, "What've you got there, Dark-kun?"
Waving the paper about nonchalantly, the purple-haired teen explained, "Well, I can't remember if I told you already, but Christina always seemed to hold some sort of potential for strong magic. I mean, she, for one, could talk to With, and it's always been a bit around the place.
"Anyway, I was teaching a couple of simple things as such, and this paper may help us."
Satoshi seemed to understand exactly what this meant and he raised an eyebrow, "Magical reaction and the faint traces of unformed magic." He whispered.
Dark nodded once and held up the paper, "I obviously only got her to learn some healing spells, but this piece of paper is really going out of whack magic-wise, so I think that concludes our suspicions."
Hearing this, Daisuke could only blink, perplexed, "You used a piece of paper as the medium for her spells?"
"Well, it wasn't like I was going to go and teach her how to blow up buildings and stuff, you know."
Satoshi snorted, "Yeah, leave that for you."
"Hey!"
The two glared at each other for a moment before returning to reality and what they would probably have to face. Daisuke was the one to break the silence, after looking at the piece of paper for a long time.
"So do you have any idea on where Krad-kun might have been taken, then?"
"Well, knowing them, Krad will probably be in the same place as Christina, so that makes it a lot easier to get them both out. Although it might take a few days, and I don't like the idea of running around all that much. Hm…"
"What do you mean by 'them'?" asked the blue-haired boy as he stood up, noticing that Dark looked oddly – if not disgustingly – amused. Swinging on his seat, the purple-haired teen looked out the window before returning to reality and meeting their eyes.
He gave the two younger teens a small smirk that did not mean a good thing at all, "My parents."
000
Tmp… tmp… tmp…He couldn't see anything, even if he wanted to. Although it might have had something due to the fact that he hadn't opened his eyes just yet, but he didn't really want to. It hurt.
Tmp… tmp… tmp…
Footsteps echoed eerily all around him. He could only just place where they might have come from, but at least they weren't all that close. Then again, being wherever he wasn't couldn't be a good thing in the first place, could it? He wasn't stupid and he knew what had happened before that; hopefully Daisuke and Satoshi were okay from that ordeal.
Oh, and he would have to bash Dark over the head a few times for worrying him in the first place; he had to remember that.
Tmp… tmp… tmp…
Oh dear, they were getting a lot louder, weren't they?
Just pretend to still be knocked out.
Tmp… tmp… tmp.
You're not awake… you're not awake…
A sharp pain in his scalp was what made Krad's eyes snap open and, instinctively, he gathered enough energy in his right palm to blow the offender a good few meters away from him. People really had to learn to never, ever touch his hair; no matter what.
The blonde felt physically fine, surprisingly – despite having his hair pulled – but he felt a tiny bi nauseous and he glared at the person that lay crumpled on the stone floor. 'It was way too cold be here' was the first thing that ran through his head.
Taking in his surroundings, Krad was forced to believe that he was in some sort of stone building with all the bars and the stuff, yet without the consistent and annoying dripping that was usually accompanying it. Well, at least he wouldn't have to be all that worried about the mold that might come after him.
Standing up, he rubbed the top of his head and stumbled over to a small window which was the only light source at the moment. Looking out, he wasn't all that surprised when the scenery was mostly a forest of green and open plains and field; clearly he wasn't back in the city… or the town… or wherever he lived. But screw that, he was out of here.
A groan from the previous offender brought him back to his senses and he turned around slowly.
"Knew we shoulda tied him up…" grumbled the person as they staggered upwards, but just couldn't seem to support themselves right, "That HURT you know, blondie. Jackass."
"Then don't touch my hair next time," Krad snapped back, crossing his arms.
"Whoa, touché. You're a weird one. Don't know why they wanted you here in the first place," the person had really dark green hair that reached their shoulders and they looked up, "Anyway, the name's Rush."
"That's the stupidest name I've ever heard," the blonde snorted, but gave his own name anyway, ignoring the hurt look the boy shot at him, "Krad Hikari."
"Ooh… right… and my name isn't weird."
"Do you want to go through the wall or something; I can arrange that easily."
Rush held up his hands, "Okay, okay already. I think I get the picture," he suddenly became thoughtful though, "but they said that your magic would be contained… so why is it that I'm still being attacked…"
"Because you have no magic resistance," Krad concluded calmly before returning to looking out the window, as the green-haired boy – who looked about fifteen at the most – continued to try and stand up. "So mind telling me where the hell I am now?"
Leaning against the wall, Rush waved a hand around for a moment, staring at the wall opposite him, "Depends on what you mean. Taken here by force or did you agree or something?"
"By force."
"Then you're one of those newly welcomed guests in the Illusion Plane," he smiled bitterly, "The results of this is not going to be pretty, I can assure you."
"What, were you brought here by force as well then?"
"Yup. Twenty years ago."
"… Wait, how old are you?"
"Twenty-seven."
Staring at the guy in disbelief, Krad noticed that Rush was actually smiling this time – even if it was in amusement to one's bafflement.
"Yeah, I've got elven blood in me. Or, I assume so. My parents died sometime after my birth and I was adopted from place to place – as a slave most of the time – and then I ended up here. Nice, huh?"
"I… see…"
The door close by Rush slammed opened suddenly and the green-haired guy slid over to the blonde, muttering under his breath as soldiers of some sort filed into the cell; "Don't say a thing. I'll deal with them."
Raising a brow, Krad hissed back, "Are you trying to help me or hurt me?"
"Help you," shrugged Rush, "Because if you get trapped here as well, then we're all doomed, aren't we?"
"Are you saying I can do something?"
"Positive. Or, once your friends get here, why not?"
"…"
They couldn't say anymore as the soldiers parted and a certain someone entered the room…
000
And there we have it.
Hakudoshi-chan: Yup. Now what are they going to do? o.O
neko-nya: Krad just decided to go on a picnic and killed a couple of hundred people! So yay! I really am baffled as where this is going, so yeah. Muh… it'll hit me, one day. Give it a couple of years and your computer may mature XD And now we're stuck on this chapter…
Everto Angelus: Whoa… you reviewed every chapter… and I thank you for that! (glomps) Yeah, my fight scenes are a bit odd, but I'm glad you really do enjoy it :D Cliffhangers are good for the mind, I believe, cause you have to think. Me… I'm just lost with what that means now. Anyway, thanks again and all!
dimonyo-anghel: Krad's gone now! (shrieks) And in another plane of existence! As for the demon thing… well, we'll just have to see about that, huh? And the nothings are bouncing around in indecision. They follow orders and all. XD
Koway Oceshia: That's good to know then :D Although I tend to confuse people a lot either way… Explanations will probably be more in the next chapter, so look out for it! And thanks!
kyo's little koneko: It's always a bit messed up in their life, I have to admit. Makes me see that it's not so bad in the end…