Xephos shouted, though the boy barely responded. His hair covered most of his face, but the parts that Xephos saw scared him. Dull, lifeless eyes, with trickles of blood spilling over his features. Ross chuckled, gently moving Toby's head back. He moved close, their faces brushing against each other's gently. "Let him go!" Xephos growled. Ross leaned back, his hand opening wide to show he had let him go. The boy remained where he was, his head dropping so his face was hidden again. Xephos clenched his hand into a fist. "W-What have you done to him?" He asked, his voice wavering slightly. Now wasn't the time for being scared. Ross ran his tongue over his lips, tilting his head slightly. Everything seemed so amusing to him.

"Oh brother, are you nervous?" He asked in a slightly-manic mocking tone. Xephos had to keep himself from reacting, trying to keep his body still. The King's eyes lazily moved over to his two friends. "Why did you two betray me?" His voice had grown quiet; a new kind of madness. "I thought you, of all people, would stay loyal." He sighed, shaking his head. "You just can't get the friends these days, can you?" Ross' fingertips danced over Toby's bare, pale neck. "Where are your friends, little one?" He whispered. Toby bit his lip slightly, not moving his head.

"...I..." He began slowly. It almost sounded like he was on the verge of crying; it was painful to listen. "I don't...have any. Only...my King." Xephos clenched his hand into a fist, taking a step towards the two. In a second, guards had pinned Smith and Trott down, and a familiar spearhead was place against Xephos' neck.

"X-Xena?" Xephos was taken aback at the betrayal. He wondered if Ross had taken control of her too, but her eyes were normal and there were no signs of blood on her. Her gaze refused to meet Xephos', her hair cupping close to her face to hide her features. The King laughed, clapping as he rose from his throne.

"Loyal until the end, Xena. That's why I like you." He called, bringing Toby to his feet. "Now, would you mind taking care of this boy? It seems he lacked what I thought he had." He brought the boy towards Xena and Xephos, before kneeling him down a little away from the two. "Don't worry. I think brother will stay still for a few moments." Ross cupped his hand around Xephos' neck, standing tall behind his older twin. Xena said nothing, walking over to the motionless boy. Carefully, her spear was pressed to his chest. Xephos tried resisting, but the King held power he was not even close to yet. Smith growled, his face pressed against the ground with his hands tied behind his back. Trott was on his knees beside him, looking away.

In one movement, the sound of squelching and ripping skin filled the room. Silence returned for a few moments, before the spear was torn back out of the boy, sounding another squelch and the ring of the metal. Xena moved away, the body falling with a thud onto the floor. "It was a shame. He had potential." Ross sighed, as if he actually cared. He moved back to his throne, stepping easily over the lifeless corpse. "Now, Xena, if you wouldn't mind; end my brother's life. He won't need it in my new world." He leaned back casually in his throne as his eyes drifted over to his frozen-stiff brother.

"Wouldn't a show be more entertaining, my Lord?" Xena suggested, turning to her King. "That will be much more fun to watch than just a simple killing, no?" She knelt, her head bowed slightly. Ross tapped the arm of his throne, gentle china-like sounds coming from it. A wide smirk grew on his face, as he clapped again.

"Of course, Xena! You know me so well! Yes. Now, you battle with...hmm, I wonder who would be the best? The Mage, the Knight or the Rebel?" He asked, his gaze shifting over the three. "Well, having magic would be an unfair advantage on you, dear Xena." A force pulled Smith to his knees, a growl growing in his throat. "And...Surely being against a Knight trained from birth would be unfair too." In the same fashion, Trott fell to the ground. "So that leaves the Rebel. My dear brother." Xephos drew his sword, his hand tight around the hilt. "Oh...this is going to be a good duel." The King settled himself in his throne, watching the two begin to circle. Xephos' glare met with Xena's steady gaze.

"How could you? I thought you were on our side!" He shouted, his anger growing by the second. Xena merely blinked, twirling her spear once in her hands as she wore an emotionless expression on her face.

"...My duty is to my king." She replied simply, before she made her first move. The movements were almost too fast for the eye to see, leaving Xephos weapon-less in an instant even though he had not been carrying one. "Now pick up your sword." The male simply glared at her for a few moments longer. "Pick. Up. Your. Sword. Or I will just kill you where you stand." Her voice was coated in venom, emphasizing each one painfully slowly and carefully. Xephos involuntarily flinched, his body moving without his mind needing to think it. He could barely hold the sword as the strength drained from his arms. The sword's edge scraped noisily against the group as he tried to lift his arms.

"I-I can't..." Xephos looked up at Xena, an expression of desperation showing. The girl walked over, tilting the male's head with her sword. She leaned in close, staring directly at his eyes. She looked displeased as she dropped the sword from Xephos' face, which soon followed it down. Xena then raised her arm again, sword high above both their heads.

"...Then you'll die."

Sips impatiently tapped the stand beside his bed. He wanted to know what was happening, but he had to stay bedridden. He felt fine; no dizziness or sickness. Every once in a while Sips would flash Sjin a variety of expressions, ranging from pleading to anger and many in between.

"I know you want to go as much as I do." Sips pointed out. He could tell by the occasional twitch in Sjin's hand, the way he would hold his breath every now and again as he was thinking. Little signs that showed he was just as anxious as Sips was. "Come on! You can see I'm fine!" He raised his voice slightly, and Sjin tried to ignore him. "Sjin!" He let out a sigh, slumping back down into the bed. "Fine. Fuck you." Sips muttered.

"Hey, don't be like that." Sjin instantly turned to Sips. "I just don't want you getting hurt any more than you already are. You saw what he could do!" He sat beside the pale man on the bed; after being 'attacked', Sips' skin had taken on a pale-grey tone and didn't seem to be changing back. He was also permanently weaker from the extent of the blood loss, but he insisted he was fine. Sjin didn't believe that.

"I'll be fine!" The grey man argued, throwing the quilt off of him; well, he thought it was a throw with how much effort it took. In reality, he had moved it a few inches. "Just...hold on." After a lot of effort, the quilt was finally off Sips. He hadn't even begun moving his legs yet. Sjin just watched as any attempt to help was swatted away by Sips. He stood idly by the side of the bed opposite to the one Sips had moved the quilt to. His lover's face scrunched up the instant he tried to move his legs. Sips panted out as his left leg slowly responded, dropping heavily to the ground once it was off the bed. "S-See? Fine!" Sjin just shook his head. If a stubborn man wanted to do something, just let him do it. You can't change his mind within a lifetime so trying to stop him is pointless. He'd learnt that after being with a certain stubborn man for many years of his life. Not once had he ever managed to change Sips' mind, unless he thought he was changing it himself. But he got used to it, so Sjin just learnt to live with it now.

"Minty..."

"W-What?" Sips questioned, hearing the hushed name that escaped his partner's lips. "What about her?"

"I...was just wondering if she was ok." Sjin admitted, sitting on the ground away from the bed. "I mean, when was the last time we saw her?" The grey man smiled a little, the conversation distracting him from the pain.

"I don't know. But, at least she's not caught up in this madness, huh?"

"Yeah..."

"Why is this place so quiet?" Honeydew asked, looking down the empty halls. There was no one to be found; no maids, soldiers or tainted beings. It was odd, definitely. "Did everyone get out?" He turned back to Rythian, whose gaze was locked onto something he couldn't see. Rythian's eyes slowly moved over to Honeydew, holding out his arm as the dwarf began to approach.

"You...don't want to see this." He replied hesitantly, quickly moving over to the dwarf's side. "We need to go. I don't think we have much time left." His hands gripped firmly around Honeydew's shoulders, trying to steer him away from what he saw. But, needless to say, the dwarf wrestled his way out of Rythian's grasp, going to look at what he was warned not to. He immediately regretted it.

"...! I-It can't be..." He stumbled back, his hands desperately clinging onto whatever they could. The thing they held happened to be Rythian's hands. "How...?" He looked up at the taller man, who said nothing. The two walked in silence for a while, passing open and partially open doors down the seemingly never ending hallways. Some contained people – dead. Others did not. It was the closed doors that were the most frightening, since you couldn't glimpse inside to check whether you should go in or not. "B-But..." Honeydew started shakily, his hands sweaty and twitching. "...It CAN'T be..."

"I'm sorry, friend. I could tell." Rythian's voice was quiet, as his eyes drifted to the ground. Neither looked at each other, instead wallowing in their sorrows of the first body they saw. Someone they knew well, dressed in a dress not dissimilar from the maid outfits of the castle save for the light blue colour it was. So delicate even in death. "That was her." Honeydew let out a cry, punching the nearest thing he could; he didn't want to punch Rythian, so the next closest thing was the wall. His knuckles tingled from the impact, causing a sensation of pain. However, it wasn't even hard enough to leave a lasting physical wound as the red was already fading. "Come on. They're up ahead. I can feel it." Rythian said quickly, taking Honeydew by the shoulders again to lead him to where he thought the group was. He had a bad feeling that if they dawdled for any longer, their group may be reduced by one.

A/N: Sorry about the wishy-washy-ness of the Sips/Sjin and Rythian/Honeydew parts. I just needed something to continue the story and give me a break from the main part so I could think it over. Since having future plot points is great when you can write them. If not...well, you just get confused. That happens to me a lot. Anyways, hope you enjoyed. Sorry it's taken so long too~