Seetokhot

Lia stood beside her brother as she and the members of Cerberus stared up at the castle hidden in the mountains behind the city.

"… That little girl was actually useful after all." Nizer commented grudgingly as he looked down at the small tracker in Jenos's hand.

It was linked to a GPS device hidden in Rinslet's earing, and thanks to the purple-haired young woman it had led them right to Creed's secret lair, outside which they were now staking out.

"She's older than me." Lia pointed out in her usual slightly cold tone.

"But she acts a lot younger." Belga commented as he leant on a large pole-like item covered with a protective cloth. Lia didn't reply to that.

"So far, everything has been going according to plan." Nizer murmured as Jenos pocketed the tracking device. "But then, Sephiria has predicted this very well. As long as someone who Creed has met before shows up, he takes an interest in them."

"Yes, but we should still proceed with caution." Lia reminded quietly. "Don't forget that you fall into that category of interest as well, Nizer."

"As do you, Lia." Nizer countered, but Belga pointed out, "Technically, Creed never met Lia."

Nizer conceded, while Jenos continued to stare at the castle before them silently.

"Yo." He suddenly piped up, causing the others to glance at him. "Let's go."

Lia raised a brow as she watched her brother slip on his trusted Excelion, his No. VII weapon with Orichalcum wires attached to the fingertips of the glove.

"You're in a hurry." Lia observed, and Jenos answered seriously, "I'm worried about Rinslet."

Nizer raised a brow as he asked lightly, "You want to be the hero who rescues the maiden? You've never really been serious about a girl before – especially not with Lia around."

Jenos grinned as he answered firmly, "This time… I'm very serious about this. Though don't worry, Lia, you'll always be my special girl."

Lia snorted softly while Nizer let out a bark of laughter as he answered, "You say that every single time. Including the line about Lia."

Jenos didn't reply, which Lia noted curiously, while Nizer started forwards towards the castle as he added, "But, okay then. We should begin… Belga."

Lia stretched her back, rolling her shoulders as she too prepared herself while the four of them walked slowly towards the castle's front doors.

"First of all, we have to figure out how to render the main door useless." Nizer pretended to muse as he lit another cigar. "But there is still some distance before the door… do you have any solutions?"

He looked over his shoulder at Belga, just as the giant man swung the fabric off of his bazooka, Verethragna.

"No problem." Belga said flatly as he shouldered and positioned Verethragna. "I will blow it up."

"Let's hope Rinslet can make it out of there once you do." Lia observed, while Jenos cracked his knuckles and placed his shades back on as he too readied himself.

"If she doesn't, then it's up to her to save herself." Nizer answered, and Lia cocked a brow.

'Liar', she thought to herself as Nizer cracked his back. 'If she doesn't get herself out, you'll do anything to make sure she makes it out alive anyway. You,' she glanced at her brother again, 'and Jenos. You two softies.'

Lia closed her eyes briefly before reopening them as she stared up at Creed's castle.

'I hope you make it out, Rinslet.' She thought to herself. 'Otherwise things could get very tricky. And nothing, not you, not even my own grudge against Creed… will be worth my brother getting hurt.'

With that thought, Lia readied Elysium, though she kept it as a rifle for now, as Belga fired a powerful shot at the castle front door.

The bazooka blew up the doorway, destroying it completely.

And the second it did, Cerberus and the Reaper were moving, flitting inside through the smoke and quickly taking cover behind the pillars in the entry hall.

Sensing nothing, Nizer nodded at his team and they darted out once more, running quickly down the hallway and towards the staircase in the middle of the large hall. Jenos held up the tracking device once more, using it to navigate towards Creed, when they all paused as a large figure suddenly appeared between them and the staircase.

"Shouldn't you guys stop?" The large man who looked almost like a sumo wrestler in girth asked as he grinned menacingly at them. "Chronos Numbers!"

"Apostle of the Stars." Nizer greeted back casually as Cerberus took the front formation while Lia hung deceptively nonchalantly at the back. "Looks like you're not gonna move aside, huh?"

The large man didn't reply, and Nizer said calmly, "Our only target is Creed. If possible, we don't want any useless fights…"

"Heh!" The large man scoffed as he stared at Nizer. "It looks like you're the one too anxious for a fight, No. V!"

His eyes narrowed on Nizer, who's eyes were hidden behind a pair of shades, as he continued in a growl, "I can see it because I'm the same as you. If ya wanna pass, show me your strength!"

Lia didn't move, remaining still as Nizer asked slowly, "… Oh, really?"

He dropped his cigar to the ground as he gripped his twin tonfas, Dioskouroi, in his hands.

"I guess there's no other way!" Nizer commented as he took a step forward. The large man smirked.

"Yeah… those crappy weapons want to play with my Tao abilities?" He gloated.

But his smirk was wiped off as Nizer appeared to have vanished he suddenly moved so quickly. Lia's trained eye followed Nizer as the Chronos Number leapt around to be on the Taoist's left hand side before the man could even blink.

"Whether it's crappy or not," Nizer replied as he swung Dioskouroi so quickly in his hands the tonfas were just a blur, "I'll let you decide!"

He smashed Dioskouroi into the Taoist as he spoke, sending the huge man flying with a yell.

Nizer straightened up as the Taoist went crashing right through a wall, a loud boom and falling rubble accompanying the man's fall while smoke billowed from the hole in the wall.

"Oh!" Jenos grinned appreciatively. "You blew that fat guy away."

"You just think too little of them, Maro."

The four Chronos Numbers turned their heads sharply towards the voice as it continued from somewhere in the smoke behind them, "The enemy is not some stupid thief."

Lia spotted the two figures standing in the middle of the smoke, one a child and the other a man in a cloak and top hat, as the man continued, "They are the Chronos Numbers."

Lia's eyes narrowed as the smoke cleared enough for her to see the newcomers properly. The one was indeed a boy, perhaps thirteen years old, with greenish-blue hair and purple eyes. The other was a tall man with long blonde hair beneath his top hat and wearing a pair of sunglasses that hid his eyes well; Lia recognized him as one of the two Taoists that Sephiria had tested Rinslet to find information on – Charden Flamberg.

"Of course I know that."

Lia glanced over as the overweight Taoist – Maro, apparently – broke out from underneath the rubble, glaring at the Numbers viciously as he spoke.

"Chucking me away so easily… that's an insult!"

Lia slowly straightened her Elysium while Jenos and Belga also shifted just slightly as Nizer chuckled slightly before he mocked, "Who told you not to show us your strength."

"Hey, hey." Jenos mocked as he and Belga stepped up to be in line with Lia, now at the front as they faced the Apostles of the Stars. "Shortie, Tall Hat, and Fatass. What an interesting group you got there, Apostles of the Stars."

"Shortie?" The boy repeated, his tone going icy and his eyes flashing as the very air around him seemed to shift.

"He's provoking you, Leon." Charden interjected calmly, and Lia filed that away in her mind. Apparently, the boy – Leon – was sensitive about his younger age; while Charden was harder to ruffle feathers.

"Fatass…"

Lia glanced over at Maro as the Taoist stood amongst the rubble, glaring at Jenos as he asked, "You're calling me a fatass?"

So he's another hot-tempered one...

"Yeah." Jenos answered cockily. "You got a problem?"

"Of course." Maro answered with a sneer. "I'm not a fatass. I'm just a 'person who's a little bit chubby'."

Lia cocked a brow while Jenos actually sweatdropped as he asked, "Ah… is that right?"

Nizer interjected as he said casually, "Just from looking at you, I know you're the least trustable – the one wearing the tall hat."

He looked right at Chraden as he continued flatly, "But we still have to tell you: our objective is Creed only. Can you be a bit cooperative and let us go find him?"

At first, it seemed that Charden wasn't going to respond, but Lia's hand shifted on Elysium as Charden said in a deadly voice, "What a stupid question. We… only want to destroy Chronos, and that is why we are here."

There was a moment's silence as each side weighed their options while also watching the others' moves.

"Mr. Charden…" Leon suddenly spoke up in a voice that barely restrained his anger. "I am going to rip apart this hysterical old man."

It seemed the boy's announcement startled Charden more than it did the Numbers, even irritating the man. Though not as much as it annoyed Jenos.

"Wait, you little punk!" Jenos shouted as he stared to step towards Leon angrily. "Who are you calling an old man?! You didn't even pay attention to what I said!"

Lia's eyes narrowed as the wind started to pick up around the boy, while Leon growled, "I hate people who look at me and call me a child."

Each of the Numbers tensed slightly as the wind grew around the boy, forming a miniature hurricane. Lia's eyes were slits as the hurricane suddenly flew forwards, heading straight for Jenos.

Jenos barely leapt out of the way in time, covering his face with his arm as Leon blew a crater into the ground where Jenos had been, the wind cutting up the rocks and sending them flying out. One of the pieces of rock hit Jenos's cheek, breaking his sunglasses and causing a small cut.

"Cheh!" Jenos spat as he landed with a skid a few paces away, when several shots fired.

Leon flinched, realizing he'd been too exposed, while Lia frowned as she stared at her bullets hanging in mid-air. She glanced to the side to see the Taoist Maro holding out his hands, clearly the one manipulating her bullets and keeping them suspended in one place.

"Ha ha!" The large man laughed as he stared right back at Lia. "Who's a fatass now?"

Lia's jaw clenched slightly as her bullets fell to the ground uselessly, while Nizer and Belga glanced over as Charden said, "You two seem to be having fun."

They stared as a blood-red replica of the Taoist appeared from the man's hand as he said, "Then I should start too…"

"What is that?" Nizer wondered, frowning, and the replica smiled as it called, "Blood Rain!"

The red figure flashed its eyes as small bullets of red liquid, solidifying in the air as it gained speed, went flying out in all directions towards Nizer. And Nizer realized that the Taoist's replicated figurine wasn't just blood-red – it was actual blood, taken from a cut in the man's palm.

Nizer quickly jumped back, dodging Charden's attack as he thought to himself. 'So, that's how this Taoist's power works. I'd heard about it, but this is the first time seeing it myself.'

Belga was suddenly there, using Verethragna as a shield to block Charden's attack before he flipped the bazooka around and fired a shot at the blonde Taoist.

Charden jerked a little in surprise, but again Maro interfered, grabbing the bullet in midair with his gravity manipulating powers, even as Lia fired on the large Taoist again.

Maro stopped her bullets as well, easily blocking all the attacks and Lia lowered her gun.

'So, distance, size, and number of attacks don't matter.' She thought, and Nizer echoed it in his own mind.

Turning, the Cerberus leader called, "Janus! Are you all right?"

"Hehe," Janus answered as he wiped his cheek and straightened up, "you don't have to worry about me. Chronos Numbers, time to get serious! Against little kids…we, as adults, can't underestimate them!"

Lia shifted on her feet while Leon actually trembled he was so angry as he snarled, "You… are a guy who can really make me angry."

The air around the boy was smoking again, a clear sign he was about to use his powers as he spat at Janus, "You and I can never be comrades."

"Oh, that's good!" Janus answered brightly. "I won't want an arrogant kid like you! But," he added with a creepy perverted smile, "I do like arrogant girls."

Lia shifted her hand on Elysium as Leo but out, "Let me tell you… why I joined the Apostles of the Stars."

"Eh?" Jenos taunted, and the boy shouted balefully, "Because, I hate bastards like you the most!"

His eyes flashed as he started to power up his attack again, when suddenly Jenos moved.

His hand whipped around swiftly, the Orichalcum wires on his Excelion flying out as he cut through the pillars all around the room. The stone went crashing down with loud bangs as they threw up smoke and rubble, throwing the Apostles into a moment of confusion.

"Belga, Nizer, Lia! Let's move it!" Jenos shouted, and the Numbers didn't have to be told twice as they leapt into action.

"Ah, I see!" Maro smirked. "Using the smoke as a diversion and attacking at the same time!"

"…This is laughable!" Leon snarled as the air around him shifted violently. "All I have to do… is create a wind!"

He blew a huge circle of wind out all around them, instantly clearing the smoke… to reveal no-one there.

"Gone…" Maro began in confusion. "Where are they hiding?"

But Charden sensed it immediately, as he recalled Nizer's words earlier.

"Our only target is Creed himself."

Charden's eyes flew to the upstairs level, falling instantly on the one set of open doors on the far landing – clearly where the Numbers had run through as they ran to get deeper into the castle after Creed. Leaving behind the emptiness he had sensed a little too late.

Down a corridor, closer to the heart of the castle, the four Numbers screeched to a halt as a whole squadron of Creed's personal army – the Shooting Star Unit – appeared at the end of the corridor.

"Fire!" The leader began, and the Numbers quickly took cover as the bullets came raining down the hallway.

"Well, this is a fine distraction." Jenos muttered, and Belga started to lift his bazooka when Lia held him back.

"You only have one shot left." She reminded him firmly. "I can handle this lot, you three go on ahead when I create an opening – I'll catch up."

"Eh?" Jenos frowned, but Nizer agreed with Lia as he reminded, "We don't have time."

Jenos conceded, and Lia said as she stood up, "Wait for my signal."

With that, she leapt high into the air, spinning to land her feet on the ceiling before she launched herself right into the group of Creed's soldiers.

"Wha-?!" They yelped, as the leader shouted, "FIRE!"

But Lia spun her Elysium – now in its full scythe form – before her to create a perfect shield as she deflected the bullets coming at her.

She dropped in the middle of the soldiers, who all turned to try and shoot her, and Lia called as she began slicing through the soldiers, "Go!"

The three men leapt over the chaos the Reaper had created, and Cerberus ran on ahead towards Creed while Lia moved like the bringer of death that was her namesake, swiftly and efficiently dealing with the entire Shooting Star Unit squad.