A gaggle of people appeared in Pyromania's fortress; there was everyone you could expect there. Some looked sadistic, some didn't; men and women, as well as children, were present; there was a man who had unimaginably long nails, claw-like; a scientist, still in his lab coat, stood amongst the group. All these souls had expressed somewhat of an interest of joining the revival of the Chess, and almost everyone was evil-looking enough to accomplish it.
This made Pyromania happy; and that wasn't often. For the past year, nothing but disappointment, frustration, and fury had shown on his face; few times, though, happiness had found a way. Now a genuine smile stretched, and eyes closed, he addressed his followers.
"Welcome, wannabe Chess no Koma! As you all know, we are here about the restoration of our glorious organization. Now, by the looks of it, all of you will be welcomed with open arms. Of course, I want to get a gauge of your power to know where to place you. If there aren't any questions…"
"Are you the new leader of the Knights?"
"Yes. Phantom here is 2nd in command."
An expression of shock appeared on Phantom. He stepped back, then let his anger be fumed out of his nose in the form of smoke; the fury inside him was an inferno. No one placed themselves above him if it wasn't Diana; no one.
"Do we have a King and Queen?"
"Yes, we do. I came across them on my search for Babbo. When they asked me about the reformation of the Chess, my answer seemed to delight them. For giving me vital, priceless information and secret bases, they became the King and Queen. Their identities won't be revealed until later. Since that's the last question…" He looked around the crowd to see if he was right; he was. "…Scientist?"
The scientist saluted. "Sir?"
"What's your name?"
"Pangǽa, sir." Pushing the long mass of charcoal hair behind his ears, he said, "What would you have me do?"
Pyromania apathetically pointed to Veru, who lay motionless on the cold stone floor which had moss growing from crevices and cracks made by the constant banging of feet. "Take him away; to the dungeon."
As the scientist strolled over to the boy, tossing him over the shoulder like a sack of potatoes, he asked, "Where is the dungeon?"
"Karasu." The crow floated off of his master's shoulder with dream-like grace. "Take Pangǽa to the dungeons, and while you're at it…" A half-wicked, half-gracious smile had itself licked by Pyromania's salmon tongue. "Show the good scientist the laboratory."
"Laboratory?!" Being a science enthusiast, Pangǽa was ecstatic. He hopped around wildly, barely keeping hold of Veru as his legs propelled him across the area back and forth. It took a minute to calm him down. "Forgive me, master Pyromania." He bowed, still, amazingly, keeping hold of the boy he was to deliver to the dungeon. "I usually don't get that crazy, but when I found out a lab was set up in this facility…I couldn't contain my happiness!"
Bowing once again, he turned and followed Karasu out of the room. Their footsteps resonated in the ground until both were gone. By this time, Phantom turned on his heel and exited the room himself. Peta chased after him, robe flowing in the breeze he himself was creating. "Wait, where are you going?!"
"To find somewhere to sleep!" Phantom shouted. He abruptly stopped, and Peta was lucky not to bowl him over. Whipping around, Phantom stared his friend in the eye. "I'm already sick and damn tired of this Pyromania's egotism. I swear, if he hadn't brought us back, I'd sic Zehn on him and laugh. But he gave me another chance at life, so I couldn't bring myself to kill him." As he solemnly resumed his brisk walk, Peta couldn't help but be moved by his words.
"Phantom-sama…You don't have to be grateful…"
Looking back at his friend, the silver-haired menace shook his head and smiled. "Yes, I do…" Closing his eyes and taking in a huge breath, he sighed. "That's one of the things Ginta taught me."
It seemed like talking to Peta had marginally cheered Phantom up, and he now began to hum…something no one had ever seen or heard him do. A merry little tune floating in his head and the air around him, he drifted off down the hall and out of sight, leaving Peta standing still, dumbfounded.
Something caused him to turn around, a decision he'd later thank the gods for. Smile settling on his face, Peta turned on his heel and briskly ventured the way he had just come. Then, from around the corner, he heard voices.
"…I know, Pyro; they just don't seem the same…" Peta flung himself at the wall, plastering himself in shadows.
"Of course they don't, and neither can be trusted; Peta nor Phantom." This comment piqued Peta's interest. What the hell was going on? "In fact, I don't expect to keep them in Knight Class very long; at least until I have replacements for them. I can't afford to trust them…"
Peta came out of his hiding place. Boy, was he pissed! Steam flew from his ears, and his tomato-colored face reflected it. Gruffly he walked around the corner, and saw Pyromania and another, a young man wearing a grey vest and semi-tight black pants in heated conversation. Both, though, seemed to stop when the third man came into their view.
"Hey there, Pe-Whoa!" Peta shoved him quite hard out of his path, making him knock right into Pyromania. Without offering an apology, he disappeared, muttering to himself in curses too fowl for other ears to hear.
Pyromania's fortress: Dungeons
There was a sickening "squash!" noise as Pangǽa crushed a black widow that had made a web in the corner of the small cell. The mistake of coming into the scientist's way was the last one it would ever make as death had come swiftly.
Pangǽa had made sure to pick the most rotten-looking, ramshackle cell to imprison Veru. He wouldn't have it any other way, because he was too cruel, and believed the child to be nothing more than a nuisance to this new Chess. Chuckling lightly to himself, he tossed the child in.
Veru awoke immediately, to a mass of rising dust and flying gravel. He coughed slightly, before craning his neck to stare at the demon in the white, spotless lab coat. The devil with long black hair, and an equally as long sneer.
"Enjoy your time," he cooed sadistically, before slamming the bars of the cell shut. Laughing, he turned to Karasu and whispered something in the crow's ear. Immediately, the bird giggled. "Jokes best left for private," he said in a minimally hushed tone. Apparently, he had meant for it to be loud enough to reach Veru's ears, because it made the boy's cheeks grow a flushed red.
Scientist and crow left the area, leaving Veru to his own devices. He instantly leapt to his feet and tried to pull the bars apart…it was to no avail, because the scientist had somehow locked them in the blink of an eye. Grunting, Veru threw his arms forward a bit and flopped to the cold floor. This was going to be his hell for a while. He'd better get used to it.
"Heh. Looks like you're having fun already."
Caldia
The group was seated in the main dining hall of the castle. Gania was having a hard time staying awake, as was Nanashi. "I should be asleep," he moaned. "Roxanne, Marian, and Solaris should all be competing for my lap right about now…Solaris would probably be winning…" Just talking was starting to take a lullaby effect; he began to drift off, mumbling to himself.
The Great Elder, Dorothy, and Alviss were still wide awake. In an urgent discussion, Alviss said, "What do we do now? First, there's the issue of Veru's whereabouts, then whatever's going on between Rolan, Halloween, and that Pyromania guy…not to mention the return of Phantom!" He slammed his fist down. "It isn't right!"
Dorothy let her chin slide onto her fist. "Don't you think you're giving the situation a bit too much melodrama? Overkill much?" She sighed. "I don't want to sound like I'm downplaying the issue, 'cause I'm not. It's just…you've always been a bit too emotional in my book when it comes to Phantom." Her eyelashes fluttered.
The Great Elder stared at Alviss with an inquisitive gleam in his eyes. "For what do you still resent Phantom? Did he not recant before his trip to oblivion by giving in to death and not doing one more ounce of harm?"
"No! He didn't repent at all? He merely waited…" A tear slid down Alviss' cheek.
"Then we have different observations of who is truly righteous…Ah! It seems we have a visitor!"
Everyone shifted their attention to the door, where stood a man in a red, tattered cloak. A purple headband covered his eyes that probably would've been cloaked by the mass of midnight-black hair that resembled Nanashi's too much. In fact, it was Nanashi who shouted his name.
"Galian!"
Pyromania's fortress: Dungeons
"Who…who are you?" Veru asked, now slightly scared. He crawled back as someone emerged from the shadows.
"I wonder if Pyromania knows his fortress is so easy to infiltrate. It was child's play getting in here with that crowd, then following that daft scientist and that crazy bird." The boy now in the partial yellow candlelight portrayed somewhat of an Indian. He wore brown cloth and a simple beige, long-sleeved shirt. A brown headband went around his forehead, pushing his ears out of view and matting a small oval of the elbow-length coal-colored hair against his skull. Two multi-colored feathers stuck up from it. His pants were most likely deer-skin and had small rectangular frills coming out every 4 inches or so. Eyeliner went around his right eye, and his eyes shone a dark indigo blue. He had a slight tan, with a bit of an accent of muscles.
"You didn't answer my question…" Veru squeaked, as though he was a bilge rat.
"Perceptive," the Indian boy said. He bent down to eye-level with the captive. "My name is Reno." Reno let his tongue come out and lap the slightly rustic steel bars of the prison cell. "Make sure you remember it."
"Do you know what he's going to do with me?!" Veru very nearly shouted, but Reno stamping his foot got the boy to simmer down at the end of his sentence.
"I don't have a clue," Reno said. "But I can sense that you'll be very important later on, when things start to escalate."
"What do you mean, 'when things start to escalate'?"
"What I mean," he hesitated. "What I mean is that Pyromania will start the conquest of Mar-Heaven. You'll be elemental in confronting him. So here's my plan: I'll visit you anytime I can – which won't be everyday, mind you. I can barely stand this place enough to not light it on fire. I'll make sure you're nourished, and when I get the chance, I'm setting you free. Sound good? Good." He didn't even wait for any protests or questions. "See you around, uh…"
"Veru, Reno."
"Right." Reno winked. "Later, Veru." He disappeared into the shadows.
"What an odd person," Veru said after a moment.
"I'm, uh…still here, ya know…"
Caldia
"What're you doin' here, Galian?" Nanashi asked cheerfully, slapping his partner on the back.
"For your information…" The co-leader of Luberia's voice was slightly less cryptic than usual, with a hint of fun in it. For once. "I came for my Arm. Hiraiken."
"Of course." Nanashi flipped the ring to Galian, who caught it swiftly. "In exchange…" He tossed Griffin Lance to his partner, expression never altering.
"Yes! Finally, an Arm I'm familiar with!"
"Joy, joy, but I'd best be on my way again."
"Do you have to leave so early?" Dorothy asked. "You only just got here."
"Love to stay," Galian replied, bringing both arms up like he was going to defend himself. "Luberia needs a leader at all times, though. Since it looks like Nanashi'll be with you guys for a while…" He waved. "…I'm off." He quickly retreated out the door.
Once out of earshot of the group, he said, "Dimension Arm: Andarta." The face of Pyromania appeared in front of him.
Pyromania's underground fortress: Foyer
"What's the situation?"
"Perfect," Galian said, sneering. "Stupid Nanashi is having tea and crumpets with the Great Elder and his cronies. Luberia will be like taking candy from a baby. You'll have a thousand more troops by tomorrow morning if I do it right."
Pyromania grabbed Galian by the scruff of his collar. "Then make sure you do it right." He threw the Luberia co-leader to the floor. Galian escaped from the foyer, muttering about temper.
With a laugh, Pyromania uttered, "Stop me now."