"Ok, now, after spending about one day with you people I've come to realize something," Fang Fang said while sitting down at a table, with the rest of the large group seated as well while inside a private parlor within his villa. There were a few hanging lamps from the ceiling lighting the room showing the rounded table where everybody had gathered to discuss all the events that have been taking place. Fang Fang glanced around the table while a few of his guards were stationed outside to make sure they were not disturbed.
"It is simply amazing how much trouble you all go through on a daily basis," he said shaking his head. He sighed then leaned back in his chair while looking up with crossed arms.
"I am grateful that you saved me from the HDA, and am more than willing to assist you against this greater evil that is approaching all of us after the trouble its caused in this world, however I believe we all need to be on the same page about what is going on and what we are to do and try to at least organize ourselves properly," he reasoned thoughtfully. After a moment of silence he cleared his throat then looked around at the group.
"So, let's start over from the beginning and go over all the details, I would like to know exactly what it is we're dealing with and how this all got started," he stated.
"Can I ask a question first?" Render asked raising his hand. Fang Fang glanced to him and nodded, with the battlemage then looking over to Ceal with a sharp glare.
"Why the hell did you throw me through the window like that?" he yelled out, with Apoch sitting next to him with a stern expression at the catalyst mage. Ceal continued to look at Fang Fang with a bored eye from across the table while his reptilian hand drummed its fingers leisurely on the table, with Falla sitting next to him on one side and Complica on the other.
"I'm just going to guess here that it was because you couldn't keep quiet," Leon said flatly while sitting next to Render, with Astreal next to him nodding in agreement.
"I didn't say anything, I was merely implying with a gesture that Ceal's whipped by-" Render started before Leon clamped his hand around his mouth. Ceal glanced over to the mage with a raised eyebrow while Falla looked at Ceal with a curious smile.
"Do you have a death wish or something?" Kurumu asked shaking her head, with Rason next to her watching Render with a raised eyebrow. Leon sighed with annoyance as he let his friend go then looked to Fang Fang.
"So, where do we begin with this?" he asked.
"Start from the beginning, what happened after I left the academy?" Luna asked, sitting next to Complica with Hex on her other side. The reality bender was toiling his dice around in one hand casually, not seeming to be paying attention to the group at all. Luna looked around at the group then to Ruby who was sitting across from her, the witch seated next to Razico and Sun. Ruby glanced to Ran as the girl was sitting next to her fellow siren while looking down at the table with worried eyes, still distraught about Rin's whereabouts.
"The day you left Luna we received three new students, Ran and her sisters," Ruby started, with the group then listening to how the sirens tried to steal away all the male students and faculty members for the dark king's army. After the details were gone over Razico nodded then looked to Render and Leon.
"During that time I was away from the academy, on assignment from the headmaster of the school to find and retrieve Pandora's Box so it could be locked away forever. That's when I met them, and followed them back to the human world to get their keys," he said, with the hunters then explaining what they were all after the box for and why. Once that was covered Ran sighed and closed her eyes.
"Ruby and her friends freed my sisters and I from our enslavement, so we stayed at the academy for mutual protection from our old master. During that time we made the connection that Luna and Falla were the last of their race, and also very powerful monsters with their unique magic. We realized that they would have been targeted to be…" she said, and then glanced to Complica, the young chronofly watching her with worried eyes. After a pause the siren continued.
"To be taken away, for their magic. We came to the human world to find Falla and bring her back, but we were too late," she said looking to Falla. The chronofly nodded then looked down.
"This dark king, he sent three monsters after me. And not just ordinary ones, ones we've killed before in the past. There was myself, the original me from this timeline who was nothing but a wretched curse in this world, and two witches, ones Apoch and Astreal killed before during the fight against Alucard," she said. Fang Fang raised his hand, with Falla looking to him and nodding. The boy stared at her for a moment then showed a puzzled expression.
"Could you clarify that a bit more?" he asked. Falla explained how she came to be in this world, how with Luna's time jump she was able to come into this timeline from her doomed one, and also stop the original Falla from killing everybody by cracking her skull open with a rock. Fang Fang nodded slowly then looked down while scratching his head.
"Well, I wouldn't have guessed," he said simply.
"Hold on, you mean this bastard in the darkness was the one who stole Jovian and Jacqueline's souls from hell?" Felucia demanded while slamming her fists down on the table, the doll demon sitting next to Mizore and Apoch. The raven haired witch glanced to her and nodded.
"Yes, those two came to the human world with the evil side of Ms. Falla, but they were dispatched for good by our boyfriends," she stated before looking to Render with a smile, the boy shrugging with a modest grin while Leon nodded in agreement as Astreal smiled at him. Felucia looked to them with wide eyes then growled furiously.
"What? Those bitches were mine to kill! Dammit, I wasn't done torturing them down in hell, they had a lot more coming their way after all they did to me!" she yelled out as she stood up while glaring at the two boys. Render and Leon watched her worriedly as Apoch quickly formed a barrier between herself and Felucia while Astreal raised her hand towards the demon and forming a red glow in her wrist from her magical charge.
"Felucia, sit down," Dark said simply, being seated between Mizore and Arial. Felucia paused for a moment then sat down while growling to herself. Render smiled nervously and held his hands up defensively.
"C'mon, they were killing humans and even using Apoch and Astreal as slaves, we had every right to kill them," he reasoned.
"Damn straight we did, my whole school was thrown into chaos because of them, they had it coming," Kyouko added with annoyance, the human girl still dressed in her nurse's apparel while sitting next to Fang Fang and Arial. Apoch and Astreal lowered their magic while Fang Fang glanced to Felucia.
"Excuse me, but, how did you die Felucia? I thought it was impossible for you to ever be silenced for good. You're a doll demon, we couldn't even keep you quiet before by blowing your head off with a shotgun when you refused to calm down," he asked. Felucia sighed and nodded.
"My artifact was destroyed the day of Alucard," she said simply, then glanced to Mizore with a slight smile.
"But I didn't die in vain," she said softly. Mizore nodded slowly while Arial watched them with a raised eyebrow.
"She gave her life to save mine, something I'll never forget," Mizore said gratefully. Dark smiled at Mizore while Arial growled to herself. Fang Fang nodded then showed a sympathetic smile.
"I'm sorry to hear that Felucia, I wasn't expecting to meet you again under these circumstances," he said kindly. Felucia shrugged while looking up, resting her arms behind her head casually.
"It was worth it, the others killed Hokuto and Alucard, and I got to spend some more time with Jovian and Jacqueline down below," she said with a dark chuckle at the end.
"I hope you made them pay for what they did to all of us," Yukari said with anger, she and Ahakon being seated next to Ran with the mage beside the siren. Felucia nodded and looked to her with a cool smile.
"I made those bitches scream in horror; it was heaven for me Yukari. I would have been content knowing I could torture them for all time, making them scream for me like that every day," she said with a laugh, then looked down with a serious expression.
"But then one day they were gone, just gone. The Lord of Hell said a few souls had been taken from his realm somehow when I asked him what was up. I was so pissed, those two were mine to torment forever, and they were just taken away. There wasn't anything else in hell I really wanted to do, so I asked him if I could move upstairs to heaven, at least then I'd see my friends when they crossed over. He made a deal with me; he gave me this soul band to move into the mortal realm, and told me that Luna was captured by a monster in the dark world. If I were to rescue her and stop this bastard from harnessing her magic, I would be allowed into heaven. I didn't even have to think twice about it, heaven or not I wouldn't have waited a second to get in there after her," she said before looking to Luna. The chronofly smiled softly at her friend as the group turned to her.
"Thank you for at least coming after me Felucia," Luna said kindly.
"But she wasn't really there anymore, was she?" Gin inquired with a raised eyebrow, himself and Kokoa sitting together with Kou resting on his mistress's shoulder and next to Yukari while all eyes watched Luna and Hex. Luna shook her head then looked to Hex, the boy still watching his dice rolling around in his hand with a casual eye.
"Luna, what happened to you?" Rason asked worriedly. Gabriel watched the chronofly with remorseful eyes while sitting next to Rason and Falla, almost afraid to hear the details about her capture. Luna looked down while breathing out slowly; closing her eyes as she remembered everything she went through.
"I went into the rift in heaven, to find out where it led to and who opened it. When I arrived in that world… I found nothing but darkness and monsters waiting there. But, I couldn't use my magic, I couldn't flee. Wherever that place was, my monster energy didn't work there; I couldn't shift into time or anything. I was captured, dragged away and thrown into a cell inside a dark palace in a mountain. They chained me down, kept me in the darkness, and…" she said before stopping and trying to calm herself. Complica hugged her worriedly while Falla showed a pained expression, knowing what had happened to her sister. After a moment Luna shook her head and continued.
"And was treated very badly by those there with me, it was horrible. But then, before that evil king would have gotten what he wanted from me…" she continued, with the group minus Complica, Arial, and Hex showing great concern from that. Luna looked to Hex with a relieved smile.
"He saved me. Hex came and took me out of that place, stopped his father from getting what he wanted from me, and hid me away in the human world. He took me to a human city and we stayed in a luxurious hotel, and he cared for me so well. He treated me like a real queen," she said softly. Hex shrugged and glanced to her.
"Just wanted to make you comfortable Luna," he reasoned with a wink. Complica hugged her sister tightly then looked to Hex.
"Thank you so much for saving her," she said softly. Arial looked at Hex worriedly then to Sun.
"Is that why that dark king wants Sun too?" she asked. Sun jumped then looked to Hex with fearful eyes, envisioning a scenario where she was chained down inside a dungeon and raped by monsters with a ball gag in her mouth. Ruby shook her head and glanced to Sun.
"No Arial, he wants Sun for something else, for her voice," she explained.
"Her voice?" Fang Fang asked. Ruby nodded then looked down with concern.
"We figured out why this evil king wants her, it's because she's a powerful siren. But he doesn't want her because of her ability to attack with her voice, rather he wants her to charm all manner of warriors and monsters, male and female alike, into joining his army," she said, with Sun looking down with worried eyes from that.
"Ren, Ran, and Rin charmed many monsters into being controlled by this guy, but with Sun she could singlehandedly lead his entire army, with a charm so powerful that not even Ran or her sisters could likely undo," Yukari added.
"She'll be the only siren he'll ever need, he could turn anyone over to his side forever," Kurumu said looking to Sun. Luna looked at the siren with concern then to Falla.
"Sounds like we're all on his target list then," she reasoned.
"You and I for our magic, and her for her voice," Falla said looking to Sun. Fang Fang nodded then looked to Arial.
"And, how exactly do you two little ones fit in with all this? Why are you both down here?" he asked. Arial looked to Dark and smiled softly.
"I came down here to find Dark of course; I just couldn't wait to see him again. I overheard some angels talking in the palace up in heaven about the rift, and how it led to the human world. If it really was a way to come down to see him I wasn't going to pass it up, I just couldn't," she said, then showed a worried expression and looked down.
"But… everything fell apart. I went into the rift, and ended up in that dark world. I couldn't fight; I couldn't use my monster energy at all, so I ran. I ran down into the clouds and ended up in the human world. That's when I found Sun, she saved me. But then the monsters kept coming, not for me but for her," she said looking to Sun, the siren nodding slowly with concern. Arial looked to Dark and continued.
"We were planning on coming to Yokai Academy, but then we heard that Dark and his friends were going to be executed by the humans. They were being blamed for a monster attack they didn't do and were going to die that very night. So we went to go free them, and on the way we found Complica," she said looking to Complica, the group then turning to the young chronofly who nodded with a troubled expression. She looked to Luna and shook her head.
"I'm sorry I was so worried about you and then Arial went missing and I just couldn't sit around and wait any longer so I went into that scary rift but then I got scared there were so many monsters and they were trying to kill me so I ran away and I couldn't go back up into heaven but I made it to the human world but then I was trapped there and I didn't know what else to do but then I found Arial and-" she said franticly before she dropped down from her chair with a thump, the group watching as Luna and Falla quickly stood up and saw their little sister on the ground gasping for air.
"Breathe Complica, breathe!" Luna said urgently as she kneeled down next to her younger sister. Falla held a hand to her head with a tired sigh.
"Complica, how many times do we have to tell you, use small sentences," she said shaking her head.
"Is she going to be ok?" Kyouko asked. Falla nodded and sat back down while Luna slowly helped Complica back onto her seat.
"She'll be fine Kyouko, she used to pass out every day doing that," Falla said simply.
"Every day?" Yukari asked with wide eyes.
"Once she starts going she just can't seem to stop herself," Falla said with a shrug. Complica took a few deep breaths then looked to Luna with a weak smile.
"Sorry," she said softly.
"It's ok Complica, I've never judged you for how you are," Luna said gently with a kind smile. Complica smiled and looked down as Luna took her seat again. Sun nodded with a kind smile at Complica then wrote down something on her sketchpad, then showed it to the group.
And that's when we arrived at the HDA center, and met all of you.
Luna looked at the girl curiously then pointed to the pad.
"Why did she write that?" she asked.
"She doesn't want to use her voice near us Luna, it's too dangerous. She uses her sketchpad to communicate with those around her for their own safety," Gin explained. Luna looked at the siren with wonder then smiled softly.
"I see. Thank you for finding my sister and watching over her and Arial," she said kindly. Sun nodded then wrote down something else to show her.
I'm glad you're ok too; we were worried about what had happened to you. Complica was very broken up about your disappearance; it's nice to see she's with her sisters again.
Luna looked to Complica then held her, with the young chronofly holding onto her tightly.
"I'm just glad she's ok, I don't know what I would have done if anything had happened to her," Luna said gratefully, then shot Gabriel a glare, the angel feeling his heart aching more as he showed a worried expression. Luna looked away with closed eyes while holding her sister, with Gabriel looking down with despair from the girl's anger towards him. Fang Fang nodded then looked around at the group.
"So, that's how I came to be saved, two rescuing parties converging to save their friends. Seems it was fate that brought us all together on that night," he said with a curious smile. Ruby nodded and looked down with regret.
"Well, we were hoping to be the saviors; however our rescue came to a swift end when the gateways into the monster world were closed. We all became trapped here and hunted down by the humans as criminals, not quite how we planned on our mission going," she informed remorsefully. Fang Fang nodded with a weak smile.
"Oh yes, I remember that part very well. I don't believe I would have survived such an escape without all of you helping me. At least I was able to provide all of you a safe refuge to recover from your ordeal in return," he said with a small shrug. Kyouko looked around at the group with a curious expression.
"We saw on the news there was a monster breakout that night from the academy, but we lost the reception when the gateways were closed. We were worried whether you guys made it or not," she said with concern. Luna looked to her curiously and shook her head.
"What were you doing at the academy anyway Kyouko?" she asked. Kyouko and Falla explained what happened to Apoch and Astreal, how the sisters were shot the day of the school attack by the HDA and how they all escaped to Yokai Academy to give them new hearts with Ceal's magic. After the tale was told Kyouko just shrugged.
"And so I decided to stay there and keep an eye on Falla, I mean in all honesty I felt like I was on your side more than the humans', I belonged there during all this," she reasoned. Luna looked at her with wonder then to Ceal, the boy still showing a dull expression while his reptilian hand rested on the table. Falla smiled softly at her boyfriend then looked down.
"He saved their lives and my own that day. When we got to Yokai Academy that's when Gabriel found us, and told us about Arial and how she came to the human world. The plan was for the others to go after our friends and save them from execution while I waited at the academy with Rin and Kyouko, then find and take Arial back to heaven, and then come back to the academy where we would all go after Pandora's Box together and use the wish to go rescue Luna," she said with remorse. She blinked then jumped with a gasp.
"Oh no!" she cried out. The group looked to her as showed a fearful expression while holding her head.
"Falla? What's wrong?" Luna asked. Falla closed her eyes and cringed slightly.
"Ceal?" she said worriedly. The boy was watching her with a curious eye as she slowly looked to him.
"Promise you won't be mad at me," she said nervously.
"Mad about what?" he asked. Falla paused then slowly reached into her pocket, taking out three keys and setting them down on the table. The group looked to seeing three unique golden keys, one being straight with a green gemstone in the shape of an eye, one being angular with blue crescent moon gemstone at the end, and the third being straight with a red star gemstone on the end.
"Wow, are those the keys to Pandora's Box?" Ahakon asked with wonder.
"Um, where's the fourth key?" Render asked carefully. The group looked to Falla as she gulped and turned to Ran.
"With Rin," she said nervously.
"What? My sister has the key?" Ran asked.
"Why does she have it, I thought you were holding onto all of them," Leon asked. Falla looked down at the three keys with despair and shook her head.
"I didn't want to hang onto all of them at once, when I had all four keys together… Pandora appeared with me," she said shakily.
"Pandora? You saw her?" Kurumu asked. Falla nodded then looked to Ceal.
"She talked to me Ceal, like some sort of ghost or something. She scared the hell out me, more so than Alucard did. Just hearing her voice and looking into her eyes… it gave me the creeps," she said nervously. Ceal looked at the keys carefully then glanced to her.
"Odd, she never talked to me when I collected the keys in the past," he pointed out.
"That's because there was no need to," Hex chimed in, the group then looking to him as he rolled his dice casually on the table out of boredom.
"You've opened it before right? You didn't need to be persuaded into coming after her box, she already knew you would be going straight to her since you knew how her wishes worked. With your girlfriend however Pandora didn't know her or if she would be going to the box, so she wanted to give her a little push in the right direction," he explained. He smirked then glanced to Ceal.
"Besides, my sister doesn't seem to like you too much, I doubt she wanted to see you anyway," he reasoned.
"Sister? Pandora's your sister?" Falla exclaimed with a jump. Luna looked to her and nodded.
"Yes, Hex and Pandora are siblings. Their father is the one in the dark world, the one who's after us," she explained. Falla looked at her with shock then to Hex.
"What? Your father is the one behind all this, the one who started this whole mess? What are you doing here then, why did you help Luna?" she demanded with anger. Hex smirked and looked to her.
"I rescued Luna because I needed her help. The reason I'm in your world is not because I wish to help my father in the least, but rather because I wish to free my sister from her prison," he explained. Falla looked at him with puzzlement.
"What are you talking about?" she asked. Luna explained the situation, how Hex wanted to take Pandora far away from this world and out of reach of their father before his armies destroyed everything, how Pandora was locked inside of her box by her father because she wouldn't let him use any of her monsters in his wars, and how even with Hex's power and her own magic they couldn't free Pandora from within her box.
"You were inside her box? You saw Pandora?" Falla asked with wonder. Luna nodded with a worried expression.
"Yes, I was, I tried to help free her as a way of thanking Hex for him saving me from his father. But I can't get her out of her prison; our magic is greatly suppressed inside her box. I need your help Falla, maybe with both of us-"
"Wait, help? Who said I was going to help free her?" Falla interrupted while shaking her head.
"But why not, Hex is going to take her away from this world, she won't be running free with her monsters or doing any harm to anyone ever again," Luna reasoned. Falla crossed her arms with a stern expression.
"First off, that bitch is pure evil, I saw her myself too and like hell I'm doing her any favors. Secondly, she took Ceal's hand when she twisted his wish around; she's not getting any sympathy from me. Third, if she's gone then so is her box and the wish, and Ceal needs that to go after his dragon," Falla argued.
"Dragon?" Luna asked, looking to Ceal with confusion. Falla nodded with a firm expression.
"Ceal's a dragon slayer, he needs that wish to find Fafnir, a dragon that's cursed now because of Pandora twisting his last wish around. His whole family has been trying to kill that thing and now he's the only one who can because of the curse, and the only way anyone can find it is with Pandora's Box. Ceal's been chasing after that dragon for so long, he's lost so much in his efforts to slay it; I won't let him lose his chance to kill that damned thing. Pandora's not going anywhere until she takes Ceal to Fafnir so he can slay it once and for all," she explained. Complica nodded in agreement.
"She's right sister, he's done so much for us, we can't take away his only way of finishing his quest," she pleaded. Luna looked at them with disbelief then to Ceal as he was watching her with a cold expression.
"She's not going anywhere until I get my wish granted. Once Fafnir is dead then Pandora and her box can leave this world for all I care," he stated.
"We're opening that box too, we've put our sweat and blood into finding that thing, the right to claiming it is ours," Render added.
"The wish isn't important to Render and I, however the prospect of finding and opening it is. We have our own legacies to complete, we're not backing out of this for anything," Leon said with a nod. Astreal glanced to him then to Render.
"Well, you have a legacy to complete, Mr. Render only wants to fight monsters and find treasure," she said dully.
"He's a treasure hunter, that's what they do," Apoch shot back.
"At least Leon has a noble purpose to finding the box, letting his deceased love rest in peace is far more touching than filling one's pockets with gold," Astreal quipped with a sneer.
"Render has every right to that gold; he's the one who does all the real fighting! And he's helping Mr. Leon with his quest too; he's not heartless like you make him out to be!" Apoch shouted back at her. The two sisters tried to charge each other before Render and Leon held them back, the girls clawing towards one another while the group watched them curiously.
"I thought those two never fought," Felucia said scratching her head.
"That was before they got boyfriends," Mizore said simply.
Luna watched the witch sisters yell and claw towards each other then looked to Falla again with concern.
"Please Falla, I promised Hex that I would help free his sister, I owe him for all that he's done for me," she pleaded.
"No way, I promised Ceal that he would have that dragon's head on a silver platter and I'm not going back on my word. The box, the wish, and that dragon are all Ceal's, end of story," Falla argued while crossing her arms. Luna looked at Ceal then to Falla again while shaking her head.
"Please, help me Falla, I can't do this alone. Hex can grant wishes too, he's a reality bender just like Pandora is, he could help Ceal get his dragon instead," she reasoned. Falla raised an eyebrow to that then looked to Hex, the boy smiling casually while watching her.
"He can?" she asked.
"Hold on Falla, Hex doesn't grant wishes the same way as Pandora does," Razico warned.
"His dealings are all based on luck, not fighting skill," Gin warned. Falla looked at Hex carefully while the boy merely shrugged.
"If it's a dragon your boyfriend seeks that can easily be arranged, so long as you win my game," he reasoned.
"Game?" she asked cautiously.
"A game of dice Falla. If you win your wish is granted, if you lose then Hex claims a reward of his choice. You both gamble something in a game of chance," Ruby warned.
"He uses dice to determine what his magic does?" Falla asked skeptically.
"We know, that's just insanely dangerous, not what we expected either," Render said with a shrug.
"He likes to gamble Falla, it's how he chooses what wish will be granted. If Ceal really wants to find his dragon so badly he can do so right now, all he has to do is win Hex's game of dice," Luna reasoned. Ceal shook his head with a slight glare at the reality bender.
"I'm not taking any chances on this, I've beaten Pandora's monsters before and I can do it again, I'm not wasting all that I've gone through on a game of chance with you," he said coldly. Hex nodded then glanced to the keys on the table.
"Well, that is your choice, I cannot force anyone to play my game after all, however you seem to be short one key to Pandora's Box, not to mention she's in the monster realm and you're out here. How do you plan on opening her box now?" he asked. Ceal glanced to the keys while Falla looked to him with worried eyes.
"I'm sorry Ceal, I didn't know that Rin would go crazy like that, I didn't mean to lose the key," she said sadly.
"It's fine Falla, we at least know who has the key," Ceal said calmly.
"But we don't know where Rin is, or how to get to her now," Ruby said worriedly.
"Can't Hex just take us to her? He took you guys to Yokai Academy and back again, can't he just find her for us?" Ran asked hopefully. Hex chuckled and shook his head.
"My dear girl, I'm not an all-powerful god, I can't do such a thing just like that for you. I may be able to travel from world to world at my leisure; however that doesn't mean I know where everyone is in every world at any given time. I was able to travel to Yokai Academy because I've been there before, I know where it is. I have no clue whatsoever where that siren has flown off to, your guess would be as good as mine as to where she went," he explained with an amused smile at the siren. Ran looked at him with worried eyes then down, hoping her sister was at least ok after her triggered frenzy.
"We need to find her, she has the last key to Pandora's Box," Falla said with concern.
"I hope that's not the only reason you're worried about my sister, just for your stupid key," Ran shot back at the girl with a glare. Falla jumped then shook her head nervously at the girl.
"Of course not, I'm worried about her too, really," she defended quickly. Luna looked at Falla with exasperation then leaned back in her chair with a sigh.
"Falla, I'm asking you nicely, please help me," she said again.
"And I'm telling you nicely, no freaking way. Pandora's Box belongs to Ceal and so does the wish, I'm not going to go back on my promise to him," Falla argued.
"I promised Hex to free his sister and that's what I'm going to do, I'm not dropping this," Luna shot back.
"Go ahead and try then, she's not going anywhere until Ceal kills his dragon," Falla snapped with a dull glare at her. Luna growled at the girl while Complica looked between them worriedly.
"Um, please don't fight you two, not again," she said softly. Dark glanced from one chronofly to the other then shook his head.
"Since neither of you are fulfilling your promises anytime soon, let's just put that argument aside and move on for now. We still have the matter of Arial, Complica, and Felucia getting back into heaven, something we need to take care of as soon as possible," he mentioned. Rason looked to Hex carefully as all eyes turned to the reality bender.
"Hex, is it possible to wish for a gateway into the heavenly realm, so that our friends here can travel back there on their own?" Rason asked. Hex glanced to him then up in thought while having a calm smile on his face.
"A gateway into the heavenly realm, hmm, yes that could be done," he said with a nod. Arial and Felucia's eyes brightened as Complica looked at the reality bender with wonder.
"It can be? Really?" Felucia asked eagerly. Hex nodded then looked to her with a casual smile.
"Yes, such a thing is within my power. I can't directly take you into that realm, but opening a gateway for you is something within my limits," he reasoned.
"We can really go back? Yay! We can go back home again!" Arial cheered out.
"Hold on, again, remember how his wishes work, he likes to gamble for something of value as well," Kurumu warned.
"Yeah, if we were to gamble for that, what would you wager for in return?" Yukari asked carefully. Hex looked at her with a curious smile then to Arial, then to Felucia, then to Complica.
"Hmm, three wayward souls, not sure what I could really gain from them, and asking for a gateway such as that would be quite a big order," he mused while looking down in thought.
"Can't you just do it for us? Or for Luna, her little sister needs to get back into heaven, this is really important," Rason pleaded. Hex chuckled and looked to him with an amused smile.
"Let me make something clear to you, I don't use my power for charity cases, ever. If somebody wants a wish from me, no matter whom they may be or what the wish is, then they have to be prepared to wager something in return. Whether it's with Luna's sister or Luna herself, the game is the same for everybody, I don't do free wishes for anyone under any circumstances," he said while toiling his dice around in his hand.
"I thought you were on our side in this," Kyouko said shaking her head. Hex slammed his dice down on the table, the sound echoing out to a deafening thunderclap that got everyone's attention instantly. Hex slowly glanced around the table with everybody watching him carefully.
"The only side I am on is my own, the only goal I have is saving my sister, not saving your world. Do not mistake me helping you so far as a token of friendship. I have agreed to help Luna in return for her assistance with freeing my sister, and yes I did agree to watch over her while in this world, however she is the only one that I will be concerned with keeping alive, the rest of you are on your own. Do I make myself clear?" he stated, his words seeming to pierce everyone's ears directly. Luna closed her eyes for a moment then looked to him with a gentle gaze.
"Crystal," she said softly. The group looked to her as she turned to everybody while shaking her head.
"Hex is an outsider in this war; this is not his fight or his sister's. We can't ask them to fight with us, nor expect them to bend reality for us just for our benefit. It was by good fortune that he saved me, and by luck alone that the games I won with his dice helped you all today, not to mention he went out of his way to bring Falla and Kyouko here from the monster world when they were in trouble, something he didn't have to do at all. If we want him to change reality for us, we need to be fair and play by his rules," she reasoned.
"But Luna, without Pandora's Box he's our only way we can get these three into heaven again. Your own sister could be wiped from existence down here if she doesn't get back up into the heavenly realm again soon," Ruby pointed out with concern. Luna nodded then looked to Hex.
"What is it you would wager against those three being given their gateway back into heaven?" she asked. Hex looked up in thought as all eyes turned to him. After a while he looked back to her with a shrug.
"If three souls are what you wish to gamble for then three rewards are what I would seek in return," he said with a knowing smile. Luna nodded slowly then looked down.
"And what would those rewards be?" she asked, although she was pretty sure she knew the answer already. Hex eyed her over curiously then looked up. After a moment he pointed to Kurumu.
"You-" he said, and then pointed to Mizore.
"And you-" he continued, and then pointed to Kokoa.
"And you, if you wish to grant these three souls a way into heaven then your hearts are your wagers," he said coolly. The girls gasped as Luna closed her eyes and cringed slightly.
"What?" Kurumu said holding a hand over her heart.
"No, anything but that," Mizore said shaking her head.
"You can't be serious," Kokoa said holding both hands over her heart.
"Wait, what is he talking about?" Falla asked cautiously. Luna glanced to her then looked to Hex with worried eyes.
"He likes to gamble for a fair woman's heart Falla, it's something he has an interest in doing. If they lose the game their hearts and love will belong to Hex, unquestionably and forever," she explained with remorse. Falla looked at Hex with shock while the group looked at the three girls in question with concern.
"What, are you serious?" Falla asked with disbelief.
"Don't do it, you could lose your loved ones on the very first roll," Yukari pleaded while shaking her head while quickly grabbing hold of Ahakon's hand fearfully.
"Are you kidding me, of course I'm not doing that, how could he even ask of such a thing in a situation like this?" Kurumu cried out while looking at Hex with disbelief and anger.
"I thought you liked Luna, why are you trying to steal our hearts away?" Mizore asked while backing up into her seat. Hex chuckled and looked at her amusedly.
"Luna is indeed a special treasure, I'd say her heart is worth more than you three combined to be honest," he said, with Luna looking at him with timid eyes as her heart fluttered from his compliment. Hex glanced around at the three chosen girls then shrugged.
"However, for such a big wish you need to be willing to gamble big as well," he reasoned.
"But why us?" Kokoa asked.
"Well, to be honest I chose you three because I know you three already, and I wouldn't mind trying for your hearts a second time. However, I suppose if three others wish to volunteer I wouldn't be opposed," Hex said with a shrug. The group looked to the girls then to each other.
"Well, are you going to try to help me or not?" Arial asked Mizore expectantly. Mizore looked at her like she was crazy.
"Are you crazy, I'm not playing that game with those stakes. If we lose I'll lose my heart to Hex forever," she said shaking her head.
"I'm fine with that," Arial said simply.
"I'm not doing it!" Mizore shouted out.
"It's to get me and the one who sacrificed herself to save your life back into heaven where we belong, are you saying you don't want to help us at all with that?" Arial demanded sternly. Mizore looked at her with a stunned expression while Felucia shook her head and held her hands up defensively.
"Wait, I don't want Mizore doing that either, that's too risky even for us," she said worriedly. Arial glanced to her with a raised eyebrow while Mizore clung to Dark's arm. The demon looked to her then to Arial, the snow angel giving him an innocent expression while shaking her head slowly.
"Dark, I told you she's not fit to be your wife, she won't even try to help me go back to heaven, she's so inconsiderate," she said softly. Mizore held in her growl as she strained not to lash out at the snow angel, getting ready to charge the girl before Dark rested a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, the demon then looking to Hex with a slight glare.
"You're not taking away the hearts of anyone here against their will," he stated in a commanding tone. Hex chuckled and shook his head.
"I wouldn't be taking anything away, they would be offering it of their own free will as their wagers," he reasoned.
"I'm not doing that, no way!" Kurumu shouted out.
"Me neither, I want to help them get back to heaven, but that's not something I'm prepared to lose at all," Kokoa said shaking her head.
"Same here, we just can't risk that," Apoch and Astreal said while holding their boyfriends' hands.
"I don't think anyone here is willing to take that bet Hex, we couldn't live with the loss," Ruby said while holding Razico's hand.
"Isn't there anything else we could offer besides their hearts?" Rason asked. Hex chuckled and looked to him amusedly.
"Those are the terms I've offered you, either take them or leave them," he said plainly.
"We can't do that, we can't play with that risk for anyone, please don't ask us to," Yukari said shaking her head.
"I'm not asking you to play, it's you who wishes to gamble in order to change reality around you, I'm merely asking of something of great value that I would like to obtain should you lose the game. If you don't wish to play then don't, nobody is forcing you to," Hex said calmly. The group looked to each other with concern then to Luna, the chronofly nodding slowly while she was looking down at the table.
"He's right, he's not forcing us or twisting our arms, he has every right to ask for anything he wants if we're asking to change the world around us how we want it," she said softly.
"He's asking to take away the hearts of our friends in a gamble to send our little sister home to heaven, that's horrible of him to make those demands," Falla argued shaking her head. Luna scoffed then looked to her with a flustered glare.
"If we want to change reality we have to be prepared to pay a price, that's how his magic works. He's not making us do anything; he's giving us the option to try if we're willing to gamble something of value in return. I want Complica to go back to heaven just as much as you do, but we have no right to expect Hex to do something as great as that for nothing," she snapped. Falla looked at her with disbelief then to the others who were watching Luna and Hex with concern.
"If that's the gamble we have to take… then I'm sorry, but I just can't do that," Kurumu said shaking her head.
"As much as I would want to send Arial home, and believe me I do, I can't make that wager," Mizore said holding onto Dark's hand tightly.
"It's too risky, I just can't," Kokoa said looking to Gin. Ruby looked to Arial then to Complica with remorse.
"We're sorry, we truly do wish to help you two, but we just can't risk losing what we have with our loved ones," she said softly. Complica shook her head with a worried expression.
"I'm not mad at you, I don't want any of you to take such a risk with those you love either," she said.
"But then… how are we going to get back home?" Arial asked worriedly. Fang Fang leaned back in his chair and looked up.
"It appears Hex's game of chance is too risky for any of us to take, we won't be making any reality altering wishes with him," he reasoned.
"Then that just leaves Pandora's Box as the only other way to get that gateway into heaven for them," Razico concluded while looking at the keys on the table with a serious expression. Complica shook her head again.
"No, Ceal needs that wish to find his dragon, you can't take that away from him," she said urgently.
"Complica, it's the only other way to wish for something that's impossible in this world," Kurumu said with concern.
"No no no no! You can't take his dragon away from him!" Complica cried out. Falla looked at her with concern then down with closed eyes. She seemed to struggle with her thoughts as she held a hand to her head, her eyes then darting around quickly as she contemplated their options.
"We… we can't… Ceal can't…" she said hesitantly.
"Yes I can," Ceal said simply. The group looked to him as Complica whimpered with worried eyes.
"No, you can't big brother, you need that wish, it's the only way you can find your dragon," she said shaking her head.
"Ceal…" Falla said softly. Ceal looked to her with a solemn gaze.
"You shouldn't even have to think twice about it Falla, I didn't," he said calmly.
"But… I promised… I promised I would help you get your wish. And what about Fafnir, it's your lifelong quest to slay him," Falla said worriedly.
"I was already prepared to wait until the next time with the wish to seek my dragon in order to save your sister, merely changing which sister it is we're saving doesn't change my decision," Ceal said shaking his head.
"But Ceal, there may not be a next time with the wish, this might be your last chance to use the box to find your dragon," Falla said with remorse. Ceal looked to Complica as the chronofly rushed over and hugged him while shaking her head.
"Please don't do this, you deserve that dragon after all you've done for us, please don't waste your wish on me," she pleaded. Ceal gently lifted her gaze up to him by the chin.
"I'm not wasting it. Family is the most important thing in the world Complica; it's the reason why I'm hunting that dragon after all. I will not let this chance to save Falla's sister slip by, it may be the only chance we get," he said.
"But you can't give up your dragon," Complica said softly. Ceal smirked and chuckled lightly.
"I'm not giving Fafnir up, that thought never crossed my mind. Pandora's not going anywhere, we'll use the first wish to send you home, and then I'm finding her box again and finishing my quest. I can wait a little longer for my dragon, but we cannot wait so long as to save your soul," he reasoned. Complica hugged him tightly as he looked to Falla.
"Falla, you promised to help me, and I know you're going to keep that promise. But your sister needs that wish now more than anything, there's nothing to think about, you know this is what has to be done," he said, with Falla smiling at him with loving eyes.
"Ceal… thank you, you're too good to be true," she said softly.
"Just remember Falla," he said as he looked down to Complica, the young girl looking up at him with pleading eyes. Falla nodded and wiped her tears away.
"I know, I owe you a dragon Ceal. And I'll make sure you get it, with everything I have. Fafnir's head will be yours, I promise," she said assuredly. She calmed herself then looked to Hex with a daring smile.
"Sorry, but your sister isn't going anywhere, we still have some wishes to make," she declared. Hex chuckled amusedly and raised an eyebrow at her.
"Well, I won't stop you from opening her box, after all in doing so you could be actually freeing her from her imprisonment. By all means, please open it as many times as you can," he reasoned.
"Ceal won't fall to her, he's beaten your sister's monsters before and he can do it again," Falla shot back.
"We're not going to lose either, we're opening that box and claiming the treasure and wish," Leon stated, with Astreal nodding smugly at Hex.
"Let's see here, claiming the right to finding Pandora's Box, helping send three innocent souls to heaven, and smearing your sister's pets all over the floor; I don't think you could make it more enticing for us if you tried," Render dared while holding his arms behind his head with a challenging smile, with Apoch smiling coolly at Hex as well.
"I'm going to wipe your sister's monsters out before they can even blink, those wishes are ours," Falla said confidently. Apoch and Astreal looked at her worriedly then shook their heads.
"But I was going to be the fourth member for the box, you don't have to participate anymore Ms. Falla," they both said in unison, then looking to each other with annoyance.
"What? No, I was going to be the fourth member, not you!" they both argued in unison. Again they tried to charge each other before Render and Leon held them back, with the group watching the sisters claw and yell at each other, also in perfect sync.
"Really? Nobody else found any of that to be creepy?" Rason asked looking around, again not getting a reaction out of anyone. He showed a bewildered expression then looked back to the witch sisters as they kept trying to claw at each other with Render and Leon struggling to hold them back. Falla watched them fight with a puzzled expression then shook her head.
"No thanks you two, I'm staying by Ceal's side in this just like I said I would from the start. I'm going to be the fourth fighter with them," she said firmly. Apoch and Astreal stopped and looked to her with concern then down as they slowly sat back down in their seats.
"Looks like we have more of a reason to open the box now, it's our ticket to sending these three back to heaven," Fang Fang said in agreement.
"It seems we have no choice," Razico said looking down in thought. Falla nodded then looked to seeing Luna watching her with worried eyes.
"Pandora's not going anywhere, not until we get our wishes taken care of," Falla stated while crossing her arms.
"We don't have time for all this, Hex's father is coming soon, and I have to get Pandora out of her box so he can take his sister away from this war. I promised I would help him save his sister after everything he's done for me," Luna argued. Falla showed discontent and shook her head.
"We're sending Complica back to heaven to be with our parents, and then Ceal's going to slay Fafnir to avenge his family. After that Hex can do whatever he wants with Pandora, I don't care," she scoffed.
"We'll send our sister back to heaven another way," Luna implored.
"How? How else can we do that Luna?" Falla demanded. Luna hesitated as she looked down in thought for a moment then turned to Hex.
"I'll roll for Complica's gateway into heaven, I'll take your gamble," she begged.
"What?" Falla said with a jump.
"Don't do it Luna, you could lose your heart to him, it's too risky," Yukari said shaking her head.
"Please don't sister, don't gamble with your heart with him," Complica begged. Luna held out her hand while Hex watched her with a curious smile.
"A gateway to heaven for Complica against my own heart, I'll do it Hex, give me the dice," she said softly. Hex looked at her for a moment then shook his head.
"I'm sorry Luna, but you can't roll with that wager," he said simply.
"What? Why not, I'll wager my heart to you, I don't care if you win it, really. You can have my heart, I want you to even, please," Luna begged desperately.
"You want him to have your heart?" Kurumu asked with wonder. Gabriel looked at Luna with worried eyes as that feeling in his own heart seemed to ache again from her words.
"I know, and that's why you can't wager it," Hex said holding a hand to Luna's cheek with a knowing smile. She took hold of his hand while watching him with worried eyes.
"What do you mean?" she asked. He smirked slightly and raised an eyebrow knowingly at her.
"You can't offer for me your heart in this game Luna, it seems I already have it," he reasoned. Luna looked at him with wonder as he gently closed her hand with his.
"I can't gamble for something I already own," he said with a small shrug. Luna looked at him with timid eyes then down as the group watched her curiously.
"Luna? You really want him to have your heart?" Rason asked. Luna looked to Hex and nodded slowly.
"I do, I really do," she said softly.
"Sister? Do you… love him?" Complica asked with wonder. Luna slowly smiled as she looked at Hex and nodded again.
"I do Complica," she said softly. Again Gabriel felt the pain in his heart for a moment, the chronofly's words seeming to pierce him more strongly than he had thought they would. He looked down while trying to mask his pained expression.
'Why… why does this hurt so much? I… I should be happy for her… shouldn't I?'
"How can you love him, he's blackmailing us for our hearts in order to save your sister," Kokoa said shaking her head. Luna looked to her with a frustrated glare and bared her teeth slightly.
"He's not blackmailing us, what we're asking of him is beyond what should be possible in this world, he can ask of anything he wants in return. For such a big wish there of course would be a high cost, it's only fair," she snapped, then looked back to Hex with pleading eyes.
"I understand you have your rules just as Pandora does, I can't and won't condemn you for that. I can't ask you to do this for me without a cost; I have no right to ask you of such a thing. Please, what else could I wager to help save my sister?" she begged.
"I'm sorry Luna, but you have nothing else that I could win from you. The only other thing in this world I want is for my sister to be free, however my power can't do that even with a wish being made by somebody else," he said with a slightly sympathetic smile. Luna looked down with gentle eyes then to Complica as the young chronofly was watching her curiously. After a moment Luna nodded then looked down with closed eyes.
"I understand Hex," she said softly, then looked to Falla with a stubborn glare.
"Alright, we'll open the box if that's the only way, and if you can beat Pandora's monster then we'll wish for a way home for our sister, and if you really must then go ahead and seek out your boyfriend's dragon as well. But please, promise me Falla that afterwards you'll help me with my promise to Hex, we just have to save his sister too," she demanded. Falla glanced to Hex then back to Luna again.
"Fine, once we get our problems taken care of then I'll see if I can help you free Pandora, if it means she'll be gone forever then all the better. But until our sister goes home and Fafnir is slain Pandora stays right where she is," she said firmly. Luna nodded then looked to Complica with gentle eyes.
"Then it's settled, we're sending you home first Complica. You, Arial, and Felucia," she said softly. Complica nodded then hugged her, with Luna holding her close with a gentle smile.
"Um, we still have a problem here in case you've forgotten," Ran called out. The group looked to her as she held her hands out at her sides expectedly.
"Rin has the fourth key, and she's somewhere in the monster world. How are we going to find her and open the box in time, Hex's father could be starting his war any day now," she pointed out. The group looked to the three keys on the table.
"Our only hope of doing any of this lies with getting that key back," Rason said carefully. Fang Fang nodded then stood up.
"Then it seems we're all on the same page now, and know what must be done. Is there anything else that we need to be aware of?" he asked looking around at everybody. The group looked to him then to each other.
"We've got a war coming with Hex's father," Razico said cautiously.
"Coexistence between humans and monsters is hanging by a thread," Ruby said worriedly.
"Our only way of sending Complica, Arial, and Felucia back to heaven is with Pandora's Box," Ahakon said looking to the keys on the table.
"And Rin has the last key with her," Yukari added. Falla nodded then glanced to Kyouko.
"Um, there is something else we need to tell you guys. There's sort of another problem we have," she said, with Kyouko looking down with concern from that.
"Another problem? What else is there?" Kurumu asked. Kyouko sighed then looked to Dark.
"Somebody came to Yokai Academy while you were all away, somebody who was looking for you," she said, the group turning to her while Dark raised an eyebrow at the girl.
"Who was looking for me?" he asked.
Up in the sky Talon was flying with his metallic looking wings flapping behind him, the hybrid carrying Rin in his arms bridal style while she watched him with wonder.
"Who are you? Where are you taking me?" she asked softly. Talon kept his eyes ahead of him as they flew over an abandoned stone village, the dilapidated buildings and worn brick roads having weeds and plants growing amongst them while there appeared to be no living inhabitants nearby. Rin looked around with wonder as the boy carried her through the sky then down to the village under them.
"Where is this? Where are we?" she asked. Talon merely glanced around at the village below while still flying through the air, remaining silent as Rin looked around at the stone buildings. She blinked then looked back to him with a curious expression.
"Who are you? Where are you taking me?" she asked softly.
"You really did suffer some form of head injury, didn't you?" he asked glancing to her with a raised eyebrow.
"I did? When?" she asked. Talon looked at her carefully, the memory of the siren's destructive storm coming to mind as he remembered the girl singing a chaotic song while everything around her was being destroyed. Yet now she seemed so peaceful and utterly clueless to everything around her. He then flew down towards a courtyard in the abandoned village, landing down next to a dried-up fountain in the center of the square. Rin watched as he set her down on the edge of the fountain and examined her head, running his hand gently through her hair as she blushed with a timid expression.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I don't see any bumps or bruises, you seem to be physically fine," he said simply. Rin glanced around at seeing nobody nearby then looked back to him.
"Are you going to rape me?" she asked fearfully. Talon blinked then just looked at her with a dull expression.
"No, I'm not going to rape you," he said flatly. Rin waited a moment then looked down timidly.
"Are you going to rape me now?" she asked worriedly.
"No, I'm not going to rape you ever," Talon said shaking his head before looking around the area. Rin nodded then looked up to him curiously.
"Who are you? Where am I?" she asked before looking around with a curious expression. Talon sighed and looked up with a tired expression.
'I can't leave this girl alone out in the world, she won't last an hour. Still, she was the one who annihilated that school, that much was obvious. I need to find out what's wrong with her and where I can leave her be in safety, I have other matters to be dealing with.'
Rin stood up and walked off to the side while looking around curiously.
"Where are we? What are we doing here?" she asked. After another step she fell right through the ground with a scream, with Talon looking back to seeing the stone bricks where she was giving away and falling down into a tunnel.
"Hey, are you ok?" he called out as he rushed over and looked down. He saw Rin coughing as dust settled around her, the girl on her rear inside what appeared to be a corridor with steel and sleek gray plaster on the walls. There were a few flickering neon lights near the ceiling as the tunnel extended out in both directions under the village.
"What happened? Where… where am I now?" Rin asked looking around while rubbing her head. Talon hopped down into the tunnel while his wings tucked back behind him, landing next to the girl and helping her up onto her feet. She watched him with wonder as she held onto his chest while the boy looked around at both passageways.
"Who are you? Where am I?" she asked softly. Talon glanced to her then started walking down a corridor with Rin following closely after, the girl afraid to be alone in this unfamiliar place. The lights above flickered as they passed a few rooms on either side of the hall, some of them being dark while others were caved in with rocks and debris from above. As they walked past a darkened room a light flickered inside, briefly illuminating the storeroom which had crates stacked up to the side with golden twin fox tail insignias set in a loop on all the boxes.
"Where is this place? Where are we going?" Rin asked as she looked around worriedly. Talon walked along the hallway until he approached a room to his side, stopping and glancing into it as something caught his eye. He then slowly walked into the room with Rin following behind, the siren seeing crates set around the room with the fox tails logo on all of them. Talon looked around at the boxes then towards something that he had noticed, a tall round statue that had a sheet draped over it. He pulled the sheet down, the cloth sliding off and onto the ground to reveal a large twin tail insignia monument made of bronze with words etched into dark marble at the base which read 'For the greater good of monsters everywhere, for our future which will not be a fantasy'. Talon narrowed his eyes at the statue while Rin looked at it curiously.
"Wow, what's that?" she asked.
"Fairy Tale," Talon said with a cold tone. He slowly looked around at the boxes then walked over to the hall and peered around the corridors.
"Fairy Tale?" Rin asked while looking at the statue with wonder.
"This is a Fairy Tale storage bunker," Talon said with narrowed eyes. Rin looked around the room with curiosity then over to Talon.
"Um, who are you? Where am I?" she asked. Talon grunted quietly then looked back to her, the girl backing up against the statue with worried eyes.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Are you going to rape me?" she asked fearfully. Talon walked back and took hold of her hand, leading her out of the room and down the hall while she struggled in his grip.
"Wait, please don't be too rough with me, it's my first time… I think," she said before looking down in puzzlement. Talon shook his head as he walked the siren down the hall, ignoring her comments as he knew she would just forget them soon anyway. After a while he stopped and looked to the side where he saw boxes with security tape wrapped around them inside another room, also bearing the Fairy Tale insignia. The neon lights on the top of the walls flickered, with the hybrid and siren looking into the room and noticing a box in the back on a steel table with black chains wrapped around it.
"What is this place? Where are we?" Rin asked curiously as she looked around in confusion again. Talon walked into the room towards the box in the back, the lights above him flickering a bit while Rin looked back to him with wonder.
"Hey, where am I? Who are you?" she asked before running over to his side. Talon walked up to the chained box and looked at it carefully, seeing that it was even bolted to the wall and table with what appeared to be a rush job with a heavy duty nail gun.
"What's that?" Rin asked. Talon extended one of his blades then swiped down on the side of the box, slicing off the chains with a few sparks while Rin watched with surprise.
"Wow, what are you?" she asked with wonder. Talon used his blade and pried open the lid to the box with a sharp twist, and then opened it as Rin looked at it curiously. Inside the box was something wrapped in a dark cloth, the object then being taken out by Talon and unwrapped carefully.
"Just what is it that Fairy Tale thinks they can bury away this time?" he asked himself. He removed the fabric to find a strange looking book made of metallic leather, the material almost resembling how Talon's wings appeared.
"What is that?" Rin asked curiously. Talon examined the strange relic then opened the book, seeing that it was only two slabs of the metallic leather with the inside having a strange inscription engraved on the left side while the right had a vial embedded into the slab which was half filled with a strange crimson liquid. On both sides of the book there were small casting circles and strange markings etched into the material around the edges.
"What kind of book is that?" Rin asked scratching her head. Talon looked at the crimson liquid closely then over to the inscription, seeing it was a few lines long written in a strange language.
"This is a summoning spell of sorts," he said cautiously.
"Summoning spell? To summon what?" Rin asked him with puzzlement.
"To summon weapons of war, monsters such as myself who are only used as tools by those that think they can do as they please with the lives around them," Talon said with discontent. Rin looked at him curiously then tilted her head.
"Who are you? Where is this?" she asked looking around the room.
"I'm nothing but a weapon now thanks to these monsters, but it's the very weapon they created that will be their end," Talon said coldly. He looked at the inscription then narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Fairy Tale used summoned beings as their slaves, as their pawns. Well, how about we give the pawns a chance to knock over their own kings from the board?" he said while tracing his finger over the words. Rin looked at him puzzled as he smirked slightly.
"If I was not enough of a weapon for them, then how about we bring this one out to reap its vengeance against those monsters as well," he reasoned. Rin looked at him puzzled then at the book.
"Um, what is that anyway?" she asked.
Talon began reading from the inscription, with Rin watching him curiously as the lights around them flickered again. As the hybrid recited the words the etchings and markings on both slabs started to glow and shift around slightly, with the liquid in the vial bubbling and glowing red.
"What's happening, what are you doing?" Rin asked as the book started to glow and resonate with a powerful monster aura. Talon recited the inscription, his words echoing out as he watched the words glow as he read them off. After the last word was spoken a bright flash erupted from the book, blinding Rin and obscuring the room as the light shined out into the hallway like a star.
"What's going on?" Rin cried out.
Slowly the light died down as the pulse of monster energy subsided from the book, the vial now being empty and dark inside as the glows from the markings faded away. Rin rubbed her eyes as Talon looked ahead with a focused expression, the hybrid slowly closing the book and setting it back in the box.
"What happened, what did you just do?" Rin asked as she blinked a few times to focus her vision. She looked around then jumped with a startled gasp as she stared at something with surprise. Talon felt something behind him and slowly turned his head to see what it was. Standing in the room with them two new figures were seen, both facing Talon as the lights above flickered before staying on again.
"Who are you two?" Rin asked.
They were two girls, both being about Kurumu's height and nearly identical.
"A summoning spell, for two," Talon said cautiously.
One had short black hair, her eyes being multicolored with green, red, blue, and white colors.
"Summoning spell? What summoning spell?" Rin asked Talon confusedly.
The other had long blonde hair, her eyes being multicolored with yellow, pink, purple, and black colors.
"Tell me, what are your names?" Talon asked as he turned to face the new girls.
They were both dressed with black shoes and socks, short dark miniskirts with gray underwear just barely seen beneath, and black t-shirts.
"My name is Jovian," the raven haired being said with a calm smile.
"And my name is Jacqueline," the blonde haired being said with a giggle. They both bowed and looked at Talon with coy smiles.
"How may we serve you master?" they asked together in unison.
"Master?" Rin asked looking to Talon with wonder. The hybrid looked at the two summoned beings for a moment then walked towards them, the two girls standing at attention while watching him with wonder.
"Come with me, we have work to do," he said before walking past them towards the hallway. The witch sisters turned to look at him curiously while Rin walked up alongside them, all of them seeing Talon turning back to them with a focused expression.
"Work?" Jovian and Jacqueline asked.
"What work? Who are you?" Rin asked shaking her head slowly. Talon looked at the two summoned beings then to his hand as he extended out his wraith blade, the girls looking at it with curious eyes as the boy clenched his fist.
"We're going to find those that created us, made us into weapons of war, and turned us into killers. We're going to find each and every last one of them that made us into these monsters, every one of them that thinks they can hide from their sins," he said coldly, then looked to the girls as they watched him with wonder.
"And we're going to kill them all."