They walked out to the circle outside, finding that the older Kirkland brothers were seated around it, staring at it intensely. Mathias and Gil were propped up in a corner. Tino was focusing on healing Mathias. Sylvia frowned and went over to Gil to help heal him. Allistair looked up whe he felt Matthew's presence nearby. "How you feeling lad?" he asked.

Matthew shrugged. "Fine...just worried about Alfred. Have you guys found a way to get him back?" he asked. Reiley looked up from the circle and grinned. "Well we know that he's in the same place where your wings are being stored. And we know it's actually him this time because we actually have a stronger bond with him helping us track him," he said excitedly.

Matthew blinked. "T-Then let's get going and get him back! What are we waiting for?" he asked. "Calm down Mattie. We're going to get him back. But don't you realize what this means? We can get your wings AND your brother back! Heck, maybe we can get him to help us get them," said Allistair.

"Wouldn't that put him in danger though? Having him help me get them back is what put him in this mess to begin with. I don't want to keep dragging himself back into danger. It isn't right," he said. "Relax. We don't want him to get hurt any more than you do. If we get his help, it'll only be in a way that helps us without hurting him. More than likely, we'll use his escape as a distraction we can use to sneak in and steal the wings back," said Rhys.

Allistair nodded. "Something like that. Or maybe use the wings as a distraction to get him out. Though, I think that would rais the alarm that we're in the building and might cause them to up the security on him. I think it would be safer to use Alfred as the distraction. No one, especially a human, will think we're going to go straight for the wings. Stealing them might not be enough of a cover for us breaking Alfred out of there," he sas.

Arthur and Francis came out. "I see that everyone is up and about. Mathias, Gilbert, how are you two feeling?" asked Arthur. "Sylvie's got my wing almost up and running. Just a little sore. I'll be up and kicking hunter butt in no time," guarenteed the Prussian. Mathias grinned. "Just a bad headache. Tino will have it worked out in like five minutes. I want to get these guys good," he said.

Arthur nodded. "Matthew, this may be alot to ask of you so far, especially since you're bound to be getting sick soon, but is there any way that you might be able to communicate with your brother? If you do, it could really help us figure out how to go about helping him. Maybe there are some traps we don't know about yet? We don't know the layout of the place he's staying in either. Any detail he can give us helps," he said.

Matthew bit his lip. "I can try. I still feel like there's something blocking me from making contact with him as easily," he said. "Maybe it's the pendant Ivan put on him. He didn't even have to knock the kid out after he slipped it around his neck," said Gilbert, leaning against Sylvia with a content look on his face as she gently rubbed his wrist.

Arthur blinked and his older brothers turned to look at Gilbert. "Pendant. You did mention something about a necklace yesterday. What did it look like?" he asked. "Um, it was circular with another circle impressed in it. It gave me a totally unawesome feeling. It felt...dark and unnatural. Even Ivan was making a face as he handled the ugly thing," said GIlbert.

Mathias nodded. "As Norgy Porgy would say, the pendant was giving off bad energy. The minute Ivan slipped it on Alfred it started glowing. Alfred immediately passed out and Ivan dragged him away," he said. Tino frowned. "I didn't know that...I could have gone after Ivan and sniped him without worrying about Alfred accidentally getting in the way."

"Well it's too late to think about should'ves or could'ves. We need to get to the lad before whatever that penadant does causes too much damage or trouble. Rhys, look through the book of pendants and see if you can get Gilbert or Mathias to recognize any of them. If not, use the books of enchantments, though that would a lot longer," said Allistair.

Arthur nodded and turned to Matthew. "Go some place quiet where you can properly concentrate on contacting your brother. Although...someone should really keep an eye on you while you try…" he trailed off. Sylvia raised her hand. "Gil and I will watch him," she said. "Wait, why-Ouch! Yeah, we'll watch Birdie," said Gilbert, yelping when Sylvia pinched him as he started to question it.

"Well, I guess I better help look through those books...It's the only thing I can apparently help with right now. Though I might see if I can spot any more traps," muttered Francis, walkingAoff. Sylvia and Gil, whose wrist was now feeling a lot better and was close to being completely healed, followed Matthew back to his room.

Sylvia closed the door and let the boys sit on the bed while she made a nest out of the blankets on the floor at Mattie's insistance. "So why do both of us need to keep an eye on him Syl? I want to go downstairs and help them strategize," Gilbert complained. Sylvia sighs and glances at Mattie who shrugged at her. "He's already starting to feel a little sick. If something happens, I'm going to need your help," she said.

Gilbert sighed. "And you don't want your older brothers treating him like he's made of eggshells. Hell, Arthur would probably pass out if he had another thing to worry about. Okay, I'll be awesome and help you two cover it up. Just as long as it's something we can all reasonably handle. You think you can handle trying to talk to your brother through your bond?" he asked. Matthew nodded.

"I have to at least try. Alfred would do the same thing for me if the two of us switched places. I just hope that he's alright…" he trailed. Sylvia sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I guess the best thing we can do is check in with him and hope for the best. The two of us wil be right here if anything," she said, trying to reassure him. Matthew nodded and leaned against the wall, trying to focus on his connection to his twin.

After a few minutes of concentration, and cursing the fact that Alfred seemed to be distracted by something, Matthew finally was able to directly connect with his brother. "Alfred? Alfred are you there? Are you alright? Where are you? They haven't done anything to you have they?" he immediately asked when he felt as if he was present in his brother's mind.

He felt his brother jolt in surprise. "M-Mattie? Is it really you or am I starting to imagine stuff?," came Alfred's response. Mattie relaxed and gave a weak laugh. "It's really me Alfie. Could you please answer the questions before I run out of energy to do this?" he asked his brother. "Wait, how are you even doing this? There's plety of distance between the two of us. It sholdn't be possible…," trailed his brother.

"It's the twin thing. Alfred, focus before we lose the connection okay?" sighed Matthew, once again cursing Alfred's tendency to get easily distracted or sidetracked. Alfred mentally jumped. "R-Right. I'm fine. Just a sore ankle and a broken wrist. I'm in the basement of some house, I'm like 99% sure it's the same on where your wings are at. They haven't done anything but put this stupid pendant around my neck," he said.

Mattie sighed, happy to hear that, for the most part, his twin was unharmed for the time being. "Are you okay Mattie? You're not getting sick yet are you?" he asked. "Don't worry. I'm fine. Just an upset stomach. Gilbert and Sylvia are keeping a good eye on me. What is the place they're keeping you in like? Are there any windows or anything?"

Alfred sighed. "I'm in an old cellar basment thing that they converted into a jail cell. My cell used to be a pantry or something. There's one other cell on the other side of the cellar in what used to be a work room. In between the two rooms, there's a little living space and a locked door with stairs behind it. There's two girls down here with me."

Matthew could feel himself bristle at that. They were holding other people captive along with Alfred? Alfred kept talking. "Listen, Ivan isn't the bad guy here. There's a human who tricked him into thinking that he could get his wings back if he does whatever the human says. That, and the human has Ivan's sisters locked down here. Irunya is locked up and Natalia is trapped in the living space, forced to keep an eye on any prisoners. We need to help them," said Alfred, insistingly.

Matthew sighed. "I don't know Alfie. We'll try but we're more focused on getting you out of there. Is there anything else you can tell us? Anything would really help us figure out how to find you," he said. "They have your wings upstairs. Natalia said she is willing to help me get out of here and get you your wings if we can find a way to get rid of the shaman. Also...the pendant is a magic one," said Alfred in a way that Matthew immediately knew that he was trying to hide something bad from him.

"What is it Alfred? What does the pendant do?" he asked. Alfred sighed. "...It's supposed to drain me of my 'magic'...I don't know how long before it works. But Mattie...didn't Artie say that magic was really having more life energy and all that than the average person? If that's true….if he drains me...I don't know what will happen. But don't worry! Nat and I will stage an epic jailbreak before that could happen! Heck, I'll probably be seeing you any day now, your wings in hand," his brother said jubiantly.

Matthew swallowed, feeling his connection with his brother waver. If they drain him completely..No. No that can't happen. Not to his brother. "Alfred? We're going to get you out of there. I promise. I won't let them hurt you. Just hang on okay? We'll be there soon," he said. He could faintly feel Alfred smile. "I know dude. I ain't popping off yet. Love you okay?"

Matthew sighed and broke the connection, sweat already covering his face. He could feel himself sway before Sylvia gave him a steadying arm. "Is Alfie okay?" she asked quietly. Matthew nodded. "B-But I'm not sure how long that'll last….He thinks he knows what the pendant is doing to him. It isn't good," he said. "Are you feeling alright Mattie?" asked Gilbert, rubbing his hurt wrist absentmindedly.

Matthew blinked, feeling drained, which only made his stomach and bones ache a bit more. "Just really drained…." said Matthew, not wanting to worry anyone, especially with the news he's going to have to give them all. Sylvia frowned. "I can give you some energy if you like...it would required a bond though," she said. Matthew sighed and gave her his hand. If he wanted to continue being able to contact Alfred, he'd need the energy. And she is my sister. I suppose I should get to know her.

Sylvia took his hand and he blinked as he felt a sudden buzz of energy go through him followed by soft thoughts of concern directed toward him and Gilbert. Sylvia didn't say anything, just gave her some of her energy and drop her hand. "Better?" she asked. Matthew nodded, his stomach feeling slightly better. "Oui, Merci," he responded.

The trio made their way downstairs and found Mathias and Reily joking around while a frustrated Rhys was trying to get the Dane's attention, a book of pendants in hand. The rest of them were gathered around the circle, having an intense discussion. Sylvia cleared her throat, trying to get someone's attention. She frowned when she got no response.

"HEY, WE FIGURED OUT WHAT THE PENDANT THING DOES YOU BOZOS. WE ALSO MADE CONTACT WITH ALFRED SO IF YOU GUYS CAN PAY ATTENTION, THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!" shouted Gilbert, making Matthew jump and Sylvia flinch. At that, everyone turned around. Surprisingly, no one scolded Gilbert for shouting. "What did you find out? Is he okay?" demanded Arthur.

Matthew swallowed. "He's fine. His ankle is sore and his arm is broken...He's being kept in the basement of the house where the wings are located. He said that Ivan isn't the bad guy here.." At that, there was an uproar from the others. "What do you mean?" asked Francis, frowning. "Who else could have been doing it? I was sure it was Ivan that I shot at!" exclaimed Arthur.

Matthew sighed. "A human has told Ivan that he could get him his wings back if he does the things he tells him to. Alfred didn't really go that deep into how they met or why the human is doing this. He just said that the human had Ivan's older sister locked in a cell and his younger sister down in the basement to look after any prisoners. It sounds like they're just as captive by the human as Alfred is."

Allistiar frowned. "That's how the human is controlling Ivan than," he said. Antonio nodded. "Sí, those were the only two people Ivan was ever really close to. If they were in danger, he would do what he could to help them," he said. Francis nodded. "Oui. They were the only ones who stuck by him when he lost his wings. Has anyone thought to check on the Baltic trio?" he asked.

Tino nodded. "Eduard is fine. He's actually been trying to join our flock ever since Ivan's fell apart. Toris has been spending more time with Felix and Ravis actually had a growth spurt. They're all fine. I don't think they're caught up in any of this. They all seemed pretty happy to find new flocks to join," said Tino.

Francis frowned, looking over Matthew carefully. "There's something else bothering you, isn't there? What else did your brother says?" he asked. Kuma, sensing Mattie's nerves, nuzzled him. Matthew pet the bear and swallowed. "H-He thinks he knows what the pendant can do. At least, this is what Natalia told him that the pendant is supposed to do," he said, trying to stall until he could think of a nicer way to put this.

"Out with it boy-o. What does it do?" asked Reiley, frowning as he set the book of enchantments he was holding. Matthew swallowed. "I-Its supposed to drain him of his magic. Alfred says that Natalia says the human means to drain him completely…" The Kirklands' eyes all widened and the rest frowned, wondering why this sounded so bad.

"A-Al said he rememberd you saying that magic was just having more life energy or something like that than normal….He thinks that if they drain him...he'll die. P-Please tell me that isn't true. T-That they're just trying to use him as a magic source or something. Neither of us knew anything about having magic before...H-He wouldn't even notice the loss," begged Matthew, eyes starting to tear up as he saw looks of horror start to take over the magic users' faces.

"...Y-You said the human hasn't touched his wings, right?" said Reiley. Matthew nodded. Arthur covered his mouth and swore quietly. Allistair, on the other hand, swore violently. "Smart boy...He figured it out quite quickly on his own," said Rhys quietly. "S-So it's true? They're trying to drain him and kill him?" asked Matthew tearfuly. Reiley nodded. "That's why they haven't cut off his wings….It'd be a waste if he were to die in the end anyways, he said quietly.

"Shut up! That's Alfred you're talking about!" shouted Arthur at his brother. Allistair quickly stepped between them. "Rhys, find what pendant does that. Find the spell. Figure out if there's a way to reverse it," he said. Rhys nodded and started quickly flipping through the different spellbooks stacked around him. Reiley jumped down and helped his brother look through the spellbooks.

Arthur frowns. "We need to come up with a plan, but we also need someone to stay with Matthew. I like the distraction idea. Who ever stays with Matthew would have to be willing to act as back up in case of anything," he said. Matthew frowns. "I'll be fine on my own," he argued. Arthur shook his head. "What if you start getting sick? What if something happens to me and the barriers go down? Besides, if something goes wrong it's a good idea to have people here ready to go," he said.

Sylvia frowned. "I'll stay with Matthew since I still can't fly yet," she volunteered. Gilbert sighed but raised his uninjured hand as well. "I'll stay...If something happens here I don't want to leave the two on their own. That and my wing is still pretty sore," he said. Tino smiles. "I'll stay here just in case something happens. Sylvia and I will keep an eye on Gil, Mathias, and Matthew," he said.

Mathias frowned. "Wait, what?! Why do I have to stay! I was a viking! I could totally walk this off and kick some butt!" he said. "You're still sore and if something happens, we could use some help out," said Tino. "You really think Syl and Matthew are fighters?" said Gilbert with a snort. Both glared at him. Gilbert grinned and ruffled Sylvia's hair. "I know you are honey but I don't want you getting hurt. And your brother is gonna be getting sick soon," he said to try to make the two feel better.

"So what's our plan of action? Just storm the place?" asked Allistair, eyebrow raised. Arthur shook his head. "We'll split in half. Half of us get in and search for the wings and the other half searches for Alfred. Whoever goes for the wings, be ready for a fight and be willing to stall until we can all make a fast getaway. Those who search for Alfred have to able to sneak around and try not to make our presence known," he said.

"This is going to be hard without knowing what the inside of the house looks like. The circle warps how the floorplans look," said Francis. Rhys sighed and went into the caves before coming back out with a crystal ball. He walked over to circle and made a gesture that caused the circle on the ground to disappear. After a few seconds, the image the cirlce once held was present in the crystal ball.

"There. Now it can give us turn by turn instructions," said Reiley with a grin. "Antonio, you come with if you like. That way the wing party and the search party are even. Francis will head the wing party. I'll lead the search party. Allistiar and Reiley are with me. Rhys and Antonio are with Francis," said Arthur. Everyone nodded. Matthew sighed. He hated that he couldn't even go on the rescue trip he had caused the reason for to begin with.

Matthew cleared his throat. "Um just one thing. Alfred said that Natalia was planning on getting him out of there. I don't know if he'll stay put until we get to him or not…" he said. Francis gave Matthew a gentle smile. "Oui, but remember that was before he knew that we were coming to help him for sure. I bet that since he's injured he'll sit tight for us," he said. Arthur frowned. "I'm sure your brother has enough common sense to stay put," he said.

Will Alfred have enough common sense to stay put? Do I even need to ask that question? STAY TUNED.