Authors note: After reading through Part Two today, I feel confident in it, and I'm ready to post a lot...like a chapter a day... so, get those brains ready.
And before we go any further I have to say, every question This and Reality Part Three brings up will be answered in the fourth and final part.
Sakaki let out an anguished cry as Kuhn left the Mist room.
"I... I have failed again..." He murmered.
In a flash of light, Sakaki and the monsters disappeared and Ella, Natsume and Alkaid were back at the Lake.
"Where's-" Alkaid didn't finish.
"He just disappeared..." Natsume told her, understanding her question.
"He's speaking with Kaden right now... And Sakaki."
"Good..."
Ella plopped down on the ground.
"Now we wait."
The first thing Kuhn realized was AIDA. It surronded him, but didn't touch him. The second was the lack of light. The only thing illuminating the Area was the glow of AIDA. The third was the trail of good AIDA pushing him forward.
Kuhn began walking, following the illumination of the good AIDA.
He didn't know how long he walked, or how far it was.
"Are you sure he's okay?" asked Atoli, with an ounce of fear in her voice.
"Yeah, of couse!" Ella cracked a grin.
Of course, on the inside she was torn up. Fear ran through her body, throbbing at the tips of her toes.
"Don't worry." She whispered, trying to comfort herself more than the others.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he found the way out.
And found himself in a white room, a lot like the one that Haseo had found Aina and Ovan in.
But in the center there was a black sphere of AIDA. Kuhn gathered his courage and stepped forward.
...K...uu...hhn...
"Ella, it's been three hours." Matsu said firmly.
"Yeah, so what?"
"We should go after them!"
"We can't!" Ella's voice broke and Matsu flinched.
"Why?" Haseo whispered.
"Because... because Sakaki still has a hold on me!"
The sight of Kaden almost made Kuhn want to cry, in happiness, anger and sadness. Happy because he had finally found her. Anger because of the way she looked and Sadness for the same reason.
Her face was serene, but it was pulled back in an emotional grimace. She floated in the middle of the room, about ten feet in the air, bound down by AIDA.
"Kaden!"
Kuhn ran to her, and tried to put his hand against her face, but something knocked him aside.
"What the..."
"She's mine! I brought her here!"
"Sakaki!"
"In the flesh." He snarled.
"Why are you here? And why have you done this."
"It was 'her' command."
"'Her?'"
Sakaki was silent.
"Answer me!" Kuhn screamed. He lunged at Sakaki and knocked him to the ground. "Why? Why did you do something like this!"
Sakaki merely laughed.
"You're wasting your time... and 'her' time. I am unstoppable because of 'her.'"
Sakaki raised his sword and faced Kaden.
"No, I won't let you destroy her!"
Suddenly, the Epitaph marks flared across Kuhn's arm.
"Yeah... Go! Magus!"
No! Don't summon him!
The marks faded and Kuhn was in another room.
"Don't turn around." a female voice whispered in his ear. "You cannot use your Avatar. That is what he wants."
"Who are you?"
The voice sounded so familiar to Kuhn.
"I am... Kaldeon. Go Kuhn, and take this."
The girl put her hand on Kuhn's. Suddenly he was back in the room, with a new weapon.
"What the..."
Use it! Use Demonsbane!
"No, this can't be possible."
"Say goodnight, Sakaki!"
Kuhn ran forward, with the gun out to the side of him. The tip of the gun was pointed, like a sword, but barbed. Kuhn put his finger against the trigger and drove the tip into Sakaki, then fired a bullet.
The sound echoed around the room.
Sakaki gasped and let out a choked sob.
"No... 'Masquerade', I'm sorry..."
"What do you mean, Sakaki still has a hold on you?"
"Though I left 'Masquerade' behind, some of AIDA still remains in my consciouness. If I were to go in there, Sakaki would be able to take hold of me again."
"In your conciousness?"
Pi walked up and into the cavern.
"That's what causes the Comas. AIDA gets inside you, and then controls you."
"That's... that's terrible!" Atoli cried.
"For the comatose people, AIDA has left. But, because I didn't go into a coma, AIDA still remains. It's the same with Kuhn, though AIDA that attacked him wasn't from Sakaki."
"But if it wasn't Sakaki, then who? I thought he was the only person in control of AIDA."
"So did I, but, we're wrong. There's someone else... someone stronger, older, and wiser. Someone from R:1, maybe."
"R:1? Maybe it's possible, but why would they return now?"
Ella looked up and sighed.
"Maybe they haven't returned now. Perhaps they've been pulling the strings the entire time."
"But who then?"
"Kite was around back then... wasn't he?"
Pi shook her head.
"Not the Kite we know."
"Then someone else... The power I can feel is old..."
"'Masquerade' is dead Sakaki!" Kuhn shouted.
"No, not my 'Masquerade!'"
Sakaki disappeared in an explosion of AIDA.
The room began to shake, as AIDA fell away from Kaden's body. The AIDA that fell away disappeared slowly.
Kaden gasped, and began to fall.