Underground in the HDA HQ a large group of monsters and humans were gathered in a briefing room, the circular hall having several tables arranged on one side facing a larger table where HDA officials were seated. At the large table Hothorne was sitting in the middle, with Moka and Akasha at his sides as Moka's friends were explaining had happened in the vampire's absence. Next to them were other HDA high ranking officials, all of them having focused expressions as everyone in the room was being brought up to speed about what had been happening.
"I'm sorry, but… what?" Moka asked.
Sitting at one of the other tables Yukari, Ahakon, Ran, Ruby, and Razico were seen, with both Yukari and Ran holding Ahakon's hands under the table as the two girls had worried expressions to what they were hearing. All the details about Luna's rescue and also who rescued her were told, with the humans and vampires listening carefully.
"We were surprised too," Dark said with a blank expression on his face.
Seated at another table Dark, Arial, Felucia, Mizore, and Fang Fang were seen, with Arial listening to her music while she was holding Felucia's hand, the doll demon glancing to her worriedly then to Mizore who was trying to remain focused on the talks rather than the snow angel's attachment to Felucia. They had mentioned that Arial had been given some clarity as to her relationship with Dark, and that issue had been resolved, although the details about her feelings regarding Felucia over Mizore for her demon were not gone into.
"I believe that will require a bit more explaining after this is over with," Hothorne mentioned with a raised eyebrow at the young snow angel.
At another table Kurumu, Rason, Gabriel, and Luna were seated with an empty chair next to the chronofly, with each girl holding the hands of their Destined Ones as they told about how they came to this world, with Moka staring at them with disbelief the entire time. They had explained how Hex's power had taken away Gabriel's angelic wings and power, with Ceal then giving the angel black feathered wings so as to fly again, and then with the discovery that Gabriel was in fact Luna's Destined One, as evidenced by the return of Gabriel's angelic wings.
"It's incredible, he really is my angel," Luna said looking to Gabriel, with the boy watching her with a small smile.
Gin, Kokoa, Sun, and two HDA officials were at another table, with Sun again wearing a new polka dotted dress that was provided by the humans along with having a sketchpad clipped to her hip. Gin and Kokoa were holding hands under the table, with Sun glancing to Kokoa before looking ahead again and trying to face the fact that the vampire was Gin's mate now. Gin and Kokoa explained why Sun was so critically wounded, with Kokoa again apologizing to the siren for her temper.
"But I think we finally resolved that little conflict," Kokoa said, with Sun nodding and looking down with a slight smile.
Ceal, Falla, Complica, Kyouko, and an HDA soldier were seated at another table, with Complica showing a nervous expression while Ceal was lightly drumming his gloved hand's fingers on the table with a bored expression. Falla glanced to him and smiled softly before looking to Complica and gently holding her hand, the younger girl leaning closer to her sister as she seemed to be troubled about something. Falla confirmed Moka's story about the initial monster attack, citing that a double of herself and her two friends attacked the school; however she opted to leave out the exact details regarding how her double was actually her dark self and the evil monsters being after Pandora's Box, since that would likely cause more confusion and require further explanation. Kyouko told everyone what had happened with Yokai Academy; how she and Falla were saved by Hex and Ceal while Rin had vanished into the monster world after her episode, with Moka showing a horrified expression to that.
"And that's just kinda how it happened," Kyouko said, rubbing the back of her head.
Apoch, Render, Leon, Astreal and an HDA official were at another table, with the sisters holding their boyfriends' hands as everyone was being filled in on what had happened lately. As the talks continued the two sisters felt cold chills running down their spines, the uncomfortable feeling that something was lingering near them never ceasing and causing them more distress. They also explained how Astreal was able to take out the rylo the other day with such a powerful magical spell, the witch being granted the ability to do so by Hex's power which is all based on a game of dice he plays.
"I gotta admit, it still beats dealing with schoolwork, but just barely," Render said with a shrug.
At another table Tsurara, Akio, Tamanori, Fujiko, and Ageha were seated, the parents all listening with wonder at what had been happening with their children and what was going on in the world. The parents looked to their daughters, surprised to hear that their offspring were indeed survivors against greater odds. There were still many unanswered questions they had, however they were piecing together the bigger picture as to what had been happening regarding the sudden conflict between humans and monsters.
"Dear lord," Tsurara said holding a hand over her mouth.
After an hour of lengthy discussions and recapping up until the present moment by Moka's friends, a thump was heard in the back of the room. Everybody looked to seeing Kasumi and Koji unconscious on the floor, the two having fainted and dropped from their table where three HDA personal were just looking down at the two parents.
"Saw that coming," Dark said simply.
"Oh no, auntie," Kyouko said worriedly as they watched the three HDA personal kneeling down to check over the unconscious parents.
"I almost had the same reaction myself," Moka said, with everybody looking back to her. She shook her head and looked around at her friends with disbelief.
"Yokai Academy is destroyed? A reality bender saved Luna? Arial's not insane about Dark anymore?" she asked while shaking her head.
"Hey, I'm not crazy, and why am I being compared to those other things?" Arial demanded while slamming her hand down on the table. Akasha blinked then just pointed to the snow angel.
"How did she hear us?" she asked simply. Moka stood up while looking around at her friends with bewilderment.
"For god's sake I was only gone a day, how did all this happen?" she cried out.
"Have you seen what our days are like Moka?" Kurumu asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, dealing with stuff like this on a daily basis is pretty much normal for us at this point," Yukari said with a shrug. Moka looked to her with an open mouth then shook her head and held her hands up.
"Wait wait wait, back up, Yokai Academy was destroyed? Are you saying the school is… gone?" she asked frantically.
"Yes, the school was completely annihilated, I'm afraid Rin was indeed as destructive as we feared, she was under a spell's control and couldn't stop herself," Ruby said remorsefully.
"Dear god, why did Rin do that?" Moka asked with shock.
"Let's just say that the monster Kyouko put an end to brainwashed Rin long ago. That's why Rin destroyed our home when we were young, she was used like a weapon," Ran said with a whimper. Moka looked at her with disbelief then to Falla, the chronofly nodding with remorse.
"Yeah, she was a real bitch alright," she said with defeat.
"I don't believe this. But what about Tsukune and Ren? What happened to them? Are they ok?" Moka asked desperately. Ruby held her hands up defensively with a nervous smile.
"They're still in Paradise right now Moka, unless the headmaster moved them out of there himself. Either way they should be fine," she said hopefully. Moka held a hand to her head and looked down, fearing what had happened to her mate while she was gone. After a moment she shook her head and closed her eyes.
"Let me guess, we can't get to Paradise from here, can we?" she asked, almost afraid to know the answer herself.
"I'm afraid not, with the gateways sealed we're cut off from the monster world and all the pocket dimensions that lie within it. I cannot open a portal to Paradise from here," Ruby said shaking her head with a frown. Moka took a moment to regain her composure then looked to Luna.
"Ok, and this… reality bender you mentioned?" she asked. Luna nodded and looked down with discontent.
"Just as I said, he's the son of the evil king in the dark world. His name is Hex; he saved me from my imprisonment there, but only to use me to save his sister who is trapped elsewhere. He's just another manipulative asshole who wanted to use me for my magic," she cursed.
"You really are so dramatic," Hex said, with the group looking to see the reality bender sitting next to Luna with his legs up on the table while he had his arms held behind his head casually. Luna screamed and darted back out of her seat while everybody jumped at seeing the reality bender sitting at the table now. Moka's friends all got up while HDA personal tensed up around the room.
"Hex!" Ruby yelled as she aimed her wand at him.
"Where did he come from?" Hothorne demanded.
"That's him, that's the dark king's son!" Yukari exclaimed, pointing her wand at the boy.
"That's the reality bender?" Tsurara asked cautiously.
"Yeah, he's definitely not a normal monster," Mizore said while watching the newcomer with a sharp eye.
"He's not a monster at all, he's an anomaly, he's something else entirely," Rason said with narrowed eyes at Hex.
"Friend or foe?" a soldier asked as he held a hand on his pistol.
"We don't know," Leon said carefully.
"He's not a friend of ours, but I don't think he's a foe either," Render said cautiously.
"What are you doing here Hex?" Luna snapped while hiding behind Gabriel, the angel glaring at the reality bender. Hex chuckled and glanced to her with a calm smile.
"You're still angry at me? Come now Luna, I thought you were better than that," he said before standing up.
"You wanted to use me just to save your sister, you never cared about me, all you wanted was to have me help you and steal my heart away like it was a golden token, of course I'm angry at you!" Luna shouted out.
"Luna, I told you from the start what my intentions were and why I saved you, I played no games with your mind," Hex reasoned with a shrug. Luna looked at him carefully as the boy shook his head slowly.
"You were the one that wanted more between us, never once did I say I wanted such a thing or lie about my goals with you. You were the one who set yourself up for heartache by expecting something that wasn't going to happen," he said simply. Luna glared at him with frustration while Gabriel held his hand back to keep her behind him.
"Why are you here Hex?" he demanded.
"How did he even find us, we're deep underground," Ahakon asked. Hex chuckled and looked to Complica.
"It wasn't hard, somebody was emitting small bursts of chrono magic, it's only fortunate that I managed to locate the little signal and mask it before my father noticed," he said amusedly. Everybody looked to Complica as she trembled a bit.
"Wait, what? I'm doing what?" she asked.
"I could see your magic's pulse very clearly, a unique signature that would have undoubtedly attracted my father's forces here," Hex said with a shrug.
"Complica?" Falla asked. Complica looked around at herself then held her head with a weak groan, her vision blurring slightly.
"I… I'm sorry; I thought I was keeping in control. I didn't notice I was doing anything," she said worriedly.
'I don't… feel so well. Oh no, this isn't good. I can't let my magic go haywire; I'll get everyone killed just like I did before.'
"Complica? What's wrong?" Arial asked as she pulled out her earbuds. Complica shook her head then looked to her with a weak smile.
"Nothing, I'm fine, really," she said. The group looked at her with concern then to Hex as the boy started walking toward the front table. Moka narrowed her eyes and leapt over it along with Akasha, the elder vampire grabbing her sword's handle while Moka tensed up.
"Hold it, not another step," Moka ordered.
"State your business being here," Akasha said as she unsheathed her sword and held it out towards Hex's head. The boy looked at the blade with a dull glance then to the woman with a raised eyebrow.
"Not a very polite way of introducing yourself to someone," he mentioned.
"My name is Akasha Bloodriver, and it seems you're not welcome here. Either say what you want to say or leave now, I will not let anyone ruin our chances with forming peace with the humans," Akasha threatened. Hex nodded then slowly brought up a finger to the tip of the blade, the boy then pushing it up and causing the sword to bend upward as if it were made of rubber. Everybody stared with wide eyes as Hex casually bent the sword up and back towards Akasha's face, the woman staring at it with surprise while Hex raised an eyebrow at her.
"What the hell, how is the sword bending like that?" Render said with disbelief.
"That's impossible," Kokoa said, with Kou watching from her shoulder with equal surprise.
Hex held the end of the sword towards Akasha's face, the woman remaining in place while holding her sword which was curved backwards without breaking. Akasha glanced to the blade then to Hex as her body refused to move now.
"Why are you just standing there like that? Do something!" Ageha called out.
"I can't. I can't move," Akasha said while watching Hex carefully.
"What?" Moka asked with a jump.
"I can't move at all, I can't even let go of the sword," Akasha said as she glanced to her.
"So, how do you like being greeted with such a friendly welcome?" Hex asked plainly.
"Stop it Hex, let her go," Dark said sternly.
"How is he doing that?" Tsurara asked with disbelief.
"He's a reality bender, you have no idea what he's capable of doing," Falla warned shaking her head. Moka looked to Hex with frustration as she growled with discontent, her rosary glowing softly from her anger.
"Let her go right now," she demanded sternly. Hex chuckled and walked to the side of Akasha while holding the blade towards her face still.
"I didn't come here to fight; if I did there would be more dead bodies in here than living ones. So, having said that, I feel somebody owes me an apology for such rude behavior, especially since I'm keeping you all hidden from my father as we speak from that little one's burst of magic," he said casually. Akasha slowly glanced to him then to her sword which was aimed right at her face.
"Very well, I'm sorry for drawing my blade on you like that," she said reluctantly. Hex nodded then let go of the sword, the steel snapping back forward with a sharp clank as Akasha moved a bit from her body being freed from the reality bender's power. The woman looked at her sword cautiously, seeing that it was solid and straight once again, then to the boy as he smiled calmly at her.
"Apology accepted. Now, if you don't mind," he said gesturing to the sword. The woman hesitated then slowly sheathed it again behind her while watching the boy carefully. Hex smirked then glanced to Moka.
"I wasn't aware you had a twin sister Moka," he mentioned.
"She's my mother," Moka said with discontent at him. Hex nodded and looked to Akasha with a curious smile.
"I see, yes, I can see the resemblance very clearly. So Moka inherited her striking beauty from you, a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he said politely.
"Aren't you the charmer," she said dryly. Hex chuckled and looked back to Moka.
"I've been told as such," he said with a simple shrug. Moka held in her growl and quickly glanced around the room, with Hex looking around to seeing the HDA soldiers and officers drawing their pistols and aiming at him.
"Quaint," Hex said looking back to Moka. The vampire watched him carefully while remaining on guard.
"You're the son of the dark king, the one responsible for the hell we're all going through. If it wasn't for the fact that you saved Luna, for whatever reason, I wouldn't hesitate to kill you myself," Moka said with hatred. Hex chuckled and waved his hand down, with all the humans suddenly yanking their arms down with their guns. They looked at their pistols with surprise as they were all held down then to Hex as the boy shook his head a bit.
"Moka, I have no part in my father's quest to raze your world to the ground, in fact I'm doing you a favor by masking that little girl's chrono signature from my father's minions. Blaming me for all your misfortune, such typical behavior of lesser beings," the boy mocked.
"Lesser beings?" Moka questioned.
"We're pretty much dirt to him Moka," Ruby mentioned while watching Hex with a dull glare.
"Enough of this, why are you here if your father is the one planning to attack us all?" Hothorne demanded as he stood up.
"I'm here for two reasons. One, I had to keep Luna hidden from my father's eye, after all that was our agreement," Hex said looking back to Luna.
"What? What are you talking about?" Luna asked.
"Just as I said. I saw the little one over there and found you because of it, I had to come here to mask her energy otherwise father would have found you, and that would have been the end of you," Hex said with a shrug.
"Why are you watching over me still? I told you to get lost, I'm not helping you save your sister anymore," Luna snapped. Hex laughed and looked at her with a knowing smile.
"Because of our agreement we made. Should the world fall and your friends are unsuccessful with stopping my father, then I'll be taking you with me as the last treasure from this world," Hex reminded. Luna stared at him with wide eyes then shook her head.
"No way, I'm not going with you, I'll never go anywhere with you," she said as she backed up behind Gabriel.
"Are you insane, you're not taking Luna away with you," Gabriel said sternly at the reality bender.
"Would you rather she die by my father's army? At least with me she'll be alive and well," Hex reasoned.
"The only way you're taking Luna with you is over my dead body!" Gabriel yelled out, his eyes giving off a faint glow for a moment. Luna felt a spike of his aura coursing through her body as she looked to him, her heart fluttering from his words.
"Yes, that actually was the terms of our agreement," Hex said with a casual smile.
"I'm not going anywhere with you, I'm staying here and that's final!" Luna shouted out from behind Gabriel. Hex chuckled and rolled his eyes.
"So dramatic. You were the one who said 'should the world fall into darkness Hex, you can take me away to wherever you wish'. I'm merely upholding my end of the agreement by watching over you and trying to keep you safe," he said with a shrug. Luna gulped and slowly glanced to Gabriel, the boy looking to her curiously.
"You told him that?" he asked.
"Um, I wasn't thinking then?" she said unsurely with a small cringe.
"Luna, you didn't," Falla said nervously while shaking her head.
"Oh c'mon, I didn't think that was a verbal contract, and I didn't play his game to decide anything, how is that final?" Luna whined.
"Because once this world is dead and crushed into the dirt I'd personally rather have you alive with me than buried in the ashes of this place. For that, I'm going to uphold our little agreement, out of personal preference," Hex reasoned with a shrug. Gabriel looked at Luna for a moment then back to Hex with a glare.
"She's staying here with all of us, and your father isn't going to set foot in this world, let alone conquer it," he said sternly, with Luna grabbing onto his back while peeking over his shoulder at the reality bender. Hex smirked and glanced up casually.
"Heard that before," he said dryly before looking back to Moka.
"Anyway, the second reason I'm here is to see you Moka," he continued.
"Me? Why?" Moka asked carefully.
"I thought you might be interested to know that I had a little chat with your father last night," Hex said casually.
"What? You… you talked to my father?" Moka asked.
"Yes, he and the other dark lords of your world, I tried to convince them to open the gateways between the two worlds, but they do seem to be on edge about trusting the humans again," Hex said with a shrug.
"Wait, you spoke to my father last night?" Kokoa asked out loud. Hex looked to her and nodded.
"That's what I just said," he said simply.
"Why is it you need the gateways opened again, I thought you were able to traverse between the two worlds regardless if the gateways are open or not," Hothorne questioned. Hex chuckled and glanced to him.
"I can pass between the worlds no problem, however there are a few things that I need to move from one realm to the other, and I'm afraid I cannot personally do so," he reasoned.
"What sort of things?" Akasha asked cautiously.
"Pandora's keys," Razico said knowingly. Hex looked to him as the warlock watched him closely.
"Pandora's keys? You mean the same keys to Pandora's Box?" Moka asked.
"Pandora's Box?" Hothorne asked cautiously. Ruby glanced to him the looked to Hex again.
"Mr. Tamaka, have you heard the legend of Pandora's Box?" she asked. The man looked to her then to Hex carefully.
"That does sound familiar, care to enlighten me?" he asked. Razico nodded as Hex watched him with a casual smile.
"Pandora's Box is considered a myth in your world, but it's very real. It's said that if the box is opened using four special keys then any wish can be granted. It takes four people to open the box, and once the box is opened the most horrible and vile monsters you can imagine will try to get out," he explained, with the humans and parents listening in while watching Hex cautiously. Leon nodded and glanced to Render, the two pulling out their keys along with Ceal for the group to see.
"If all the monsters are killed then the treasure hunters can make their wish, for anything they want," Leon continued.
"And the wish maker in all this is none other than Hex's sister, Pandora," Render said as the hunters put away their keys.
"He wishes for us to open the box in hopes that we will fall to Pandora's monsters. If that happens then Pandora will be freed from her imprisonment, along with all her monsters," Ceal said coldly.
"Sounds like something out of a fairy tale," Hothorne mocked. Hex laughed and looked to him with a smirk.
"Oh, I assure you they are telling the truth. My sister is just as real as I am," he said knowingly. The humans looked at him carefully while Moka glanced to Razico with a raised eyebrow.
"Pandora's a real person?" she asked. Falla nodded while watching Hex cautiously.
"Oh yeah, she's real, I saw a glimpse of her when I held all four keys at the same time. The bitch scared the hell out of me, she's out of her fucking mind," she scoffed.
"You have no idea," Luna said shaking her head. Hothorne shook his head and looked to Moka with a dull expression.
"I'm sorry, it's hard enough to believe your stories about time travel as it is, but now we have wish granting genies as well?" he questioned. Moka glanced to him then looked at Hex curiously, the boy nodding as he brought out his dice.
"Oh shit!" Kurumu cried out as she ducked down under the table, with the humans around the room tensing up as the reality bender held out his dice in one hand.
"Don't touch those! Whatever you do don't touch them!" Ran cried out as she backed up fearfully while the others backed up as well. Moka and Akasha looked around at everybody as they all put more distance between themselves and the reality bender then to Hex while the parents looked to their children questionably.
"Mizore, what's wrong?" Tsurara asked.
"Get those away from us, put them away!" Mizore yelled out at Hex.
"What's he doing?" Ageha asked.
"Don't roll those, whatever you do!" Kurumu cried out as she hid behind her angel.
"His dice?" Tamanori asked curiously.
"Yes, don't let them get near you!" Yukari cried out as Ahakon held her behind him while watching Hex with a glare.
"Why are you all afraid of dice?" Akasha asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Don't touch those things; you have no idea what they can do!" Kokoa cried out.
"Put those away Hex, right now!" Ruby yelled out. Hothorne raised a hand to silence everybody then looked at Hex carefully.
"What are you up to?" he asked. The dice hovered up and floated around in a circle above Hex's hand, the reality bender casually walking up towards the front table while Moka and Akasha tensed up.
"You want a demonstration of my power, don't you?" Hex asked.
"Don't touch those Mr. Tamaka; whatever you do don't play his game!" Ahakon called out.
"Game?" Moka asked carefully.
Hex walked up next to the vampires then set the dice on the table before the director, with Hothorne glancing to them then to the boy who was smiling curiously at him.
"Here, I'll show you, I'll make you a believer," he said simply.
"Hex!" Razico yelled as he aimed his hand at the boy, with flames swirling around it. Ahakon did the same with Leon mimicking the fire spell while Dark and Felucia quickly grabbed pistols from nearby HDA personal and aimed them at the reality bender. Other HDA personal aimed their guns at the stranger as well on reflex while the parents kept their distance near the edge of the room.
"Don't touch those Mr. Tamaka," Dark warned.
"We're not fucking around here, don't play his game," Felucia said while keeping her gun aimed at Hex's head. Moka and Akasha looked to the dice then to the reality bender while Hothorne watched the boy carefully. Hex chuckled and glanced to the others with a slick smile.
"I don't think you want to do anything foolish such as try to kill me, after all I am the only thing keeping that young girl's chrono magic from giving away your position to my father," he mentioned.
"How about if I just shoot you in the nuts and legs, you'll live from that," Felucia threatened.
"If I may ask, what's so intimidating about his dice?" Akasha asked.
"The dice isn't what's bad, it's what Hex uses it for," Ruby cautioned. Razico nodded and watched the reality bender with a sharp eye.
"He bases all his otherworldly power on luck, he likes to gamble. To get a wish made from him you play his game of dice. If you win then your wish is granted, if you lose then he claims a reward of his choice," he warned.
"You could have your greatest wish granted, or your worst nightmare, and all with a single roll of the dice," Gin added. Moka looked to the dice then to Hex questionably.
"He lets mere luck guide his power to change reality?" she asked with disbelief.
"Isn't that rather dangerous?" Akasha asked.
"Yes, our thoughts exactly, and trust me, you don't want to play with his stakes, no way," Kurumu said shaking her head. Hothorne examined the dice then glanced to Hex as the boy was just smiling at him still.
"What are you playing at here?" Hothorne questioned carefully. Hex laughed and gestured to the dice.
"The only thing I'm looking to play here is a simple game of chance. If you win, you and everybody else in this room will know exactly what I am, what my father is even. You'll all know very well what it is you're up against and what will be your end," he offered. Hothorne just watched him with a raised eyebrow as the boy chuckled to himself.
"Isn't that what you want?" Hex asked.
"Let me get this straight, if I win your little game of dice, everybody in this room and myself will know what you are just like that?" Hothorne asked dryly. Hex merely nodded at him. The others glanced to one another while Moka and Akasha continued to watch the reality bender carefully.
"We'll know about your father and his army? We'll know everything there is to know about him?" Akasha questioned.
"Correct. Everything about what we are, where we come from, and so on, you'll all know it just as you do your own names," Hex answered. Moka watched him carefully then narrowed her eyes.
"And if we lose?" she asked slowly. Hex smirked and looked to her with a light chuckle.
"If you lose, then there is something I would want from you…" he said eyeing over the girl briefly.
"Don't do it! He'll steal your heart away!" Complica cried out. The group looked to her then to Hex as the boy just continued to smile at Moka.
"Wait, what?" Moka asked, backing up and holding a hand over her heart.
"He likes to gamble for the heart of a fair woman, it's something that interests him," Mizore warned.
"If you lose Moka then you'll lose your heart to him. You'll belong to him forever," Kurumu said shaking her head. Moka looked at her then to Hex with surprise as the boy shrugged.
"It's a little passion of mine," he reasoned.
"My heart? You want me to gamble with my heart?" Moka asked with discontent. Hex just nodded at her.
"Can he actually do that?" Ageha questioned.
"He can, and he has before. Trust us, it's not worth the risk," Yukari said holding a hand over her heart.
"Don't do it Moka, you could lose Tsukune forever on the very first roll," Ahakon warned.
"If you lose your heart belongs to Hex forever, don't take that chance," Rason said worriedly. Moka shook her head and backed up more.
"No way, I'm not doing that, not a chance," she said firmly.
"What if I play your little game?" Hothorne interjected. The group looked to him as he raised an eyebrow at the reality bender.
"Quite frankly I'm having a hard time believing any of this, as are my fellow officers in the room. I will agree that monsters possess what we call 'magic'; however what you've claimed so far just seems so ridiculous that I find myself doubting every word you say. However, if playing your game of dice would answer our questions then I'm willing to give it a try. So, what if I lose in it, are you going to steal my heart away? Is that something you would want?" the man asked dryly. Hex laughed and shook his head at him.
"No no, I'd rather not take your heart in all honesty, no offense. If you wish to play then that's fine, I'll simply ask for something else from you should I win," he reasoned with a shrug.
"Like what?" the man questioned.
"Don't do it Mr. Tamaka, he could take anything away from you, anything," Gabriel warned urgently.
"It's not worth it, trust us," Luna agreed while shaking her head.
"You have no idea what he could do, he can actually change reality however he wants, you could wind up homeless, crippled, or even deathly ill. He could make anything happen that he wants," Leon warned. Akasha narrowed her eyes and swiped the dice up in her hand, with Moka's friends gasping as the woman watched Hex with a sharp eye.
"Enough of this. I'm not going to allow you to harm either my daughter or this man here; I will not give you the chance to do so. If anyone will play your game here it will be me," she declared.
"What? Are you crazy, did you not just hear us?" Kurumu said with disbelief.
"I did. He can inform us all about what exactly is coming our way, what it is we're up against, such information would be very useful for us. I myself am very curious as to who is responsible for all of this trouble we're going through. However I'm not going to allow anything to happen to my own daughter with this nor risk losing our only chance at forming peace with mankind by having something unfortunate happen to Mr. Tamaka here," Akasha said, then turned to Hothorne with a small bow.
"Please, allow me to take the risk to demonstrate what we're willing to do for peace to be realized again," she offered. Hothorne looked at her curiously as the woman stood upright and smiled calmly at him.
"I've faced greater challenges for peace before, I don't mind playing a silly game of dice like this to overcome another," she reasoned.
"I am not asking you or your daughter to risk anything here with this," Hothorne pointed out.
"No, you haven't, however we could all do well knowing what it is we're planning to face together, and this will give us just that. If it could help in any way with readying this world and our own for battle against this dark king, then I wish to do what I can," Akasha reasoned. She smirked and glanced to Hex with a twitch of her eyebrow.
"Fair warning though, I used to play dice games with my daughter Akua many times before in the past, I do believe I've gotten quite good at them," she dared.
"Oh, is that a fact?" Hex mused with a knowing smile. Akasha nodded and looked to him while smiling confidently.
"Yes, it is. Your offer of enlightening all of us about who you and your father are is very interesting to me, I believe such information would come in handy with preparing to kill your father when we dares set foot in our world," she said with a cool smile at him.
"Well, nothing would make me and my sister happier than seeing him fall in battle, although I doubt that would ever happen. At least I wouldn't bet on it myself," Hex replied with a smirk.
"You'd be surprised what we can do Mr. Reality Bender. So, do you wish to play for this fair woman's heart?" Akasha asked with a coy smile.
"Mother, wait, don't do this. Think about what you're gambling with," Moka warned while shaking her head.
"Are you crazy? He'll steal away your heart if you lose, you can't let him do that," Kokoa pleaded.
"Now now Kokoa, if he really can inform us all about everything regarding himself and his father, I'm willing to bite," Akasha said with a slight smirk, showing a fang to Hex. The boy chuckled and looked at her with an amused smile.
"You're very confident with this, not many are," he mentioned.
"What's wrong? Reconsidering this? Is this woman's heart not enough for you?" Akasha mused playfully.
"Now you're taunting him? Seriously, you are way too overconfident about this, it's just ludicrously insane. You have like no concept of fear at all do you? Having said that, before you do this, could I please get your autograph? Please?" Render asked with an eager smile. The group looked to him, with Apoch showing some concern, as the boy smiled and rubbed the back of his head.
"You know, not that I don't have high hopes for you winning, it's just in case you don't, you know?" he reasoned. Akasha chuckled while keeping her eyes on Hex.
"Don't worry Render, I won't be losing to him," she assured. Hex laughed and raised an eyebrow at the woman.
"My my, you are rather confident in your luck. Hmm, telling you all everything against a chance at winning your heart, very tempting," he mused.
"Why would he want her heart? She's dead, she's a disembodied soul. I thought souls like her didn't have any value to him," Kurumu whispered to Rason.
"Maybe he doesn't know she's dead, I mean she looks perfectly alive just like Arial and Complica do. We should tell him the truth, then he may not want to play for her at all," Rason reasoned quietly.
"Let her play," Apoch muttered from next to them. They looked to her as she just watched Akasha with a dull stare.
"She could stand to be knocked down a few notches," the witch said dryly.
"What? She could lose her heart to this wacko if she loses," Kurumu said shaking her head.
"Let her play," Apoch muttered again, feeling some resentment for the elder vampire who Render was finding interest in.
"Well Hex, what's it going to be?" Akasha dared. The boy eyed her over casually as everybody watched him carefully.
"I am thinking about it," he mused playfully. Akasha smirked then unfastened her sheath's belt, setting her sword on the table before she unzipped her black vest, casually dropping it onto the ground revealing her tightfitting shirt and bust size while holding a hand to her hip, a sly smile appearing on her face as a few of the humans around the room stared at the woman's figure.
"Think harder," she said simply.
"Damn," Ageha said softly as she stared at the vampire's breasts.
"Wow," Moka said softly as she eyed her mother's figure, wondering if she too would look like that in the future.
"Holy crap," Felucia said in awe as she and Dark lowered their guns.
"Now she's baiting him to play? Is she crazy?" Ruby said with disbelief.
"She really thinks she can win this," Razico said with wonder, trying not to stare at the vampire's figure. Hex chuckled at the woman and nodded.
"Very well then, you talked me into it," he said casually. Akasha let out a murmur with an arrogant smile.
"Glad to hear it. Now then, what are the rules to your little game?" she asked looking to the dice in her hand. Hex gestured to the table with a slick smile.
"I play with the same rules in all my games. Roll two sixes, and you win. Roll a snake eyes and I win. Doubles of any other number let you roll again, and a mismatched pair means your turn is over. We roll until one of us wins or recalls our wager," he explained. Akasha nodded and looked at the dice with a curious eye.
"I see, so if I roll two sixes with these, you'll tell us everything we would want to know about you and your father?" she asked.
"If you roll two sixes, you'll all know everything there is to know about myself and my father," Hex said with a smirk. Akasha eyed the dice for a moment then looked to him with an amused smile.
"Good to know. In return, you want to know a little secret to playing with dice?" she asked. Hex merely raised an eyebrow at her as she smirked at him.
"It's all in the wrist," she said before casually flinging the dice onto the table, the cubes rolling around before coming to a stop, with two sixes being seen on top. Hex looked to the dice with a small chuckle as everything fell silent around him.
"I see, cute trick," he said simply as he picked up the dice and pocketed them. He shook his head and looked back to Akasha, the woman staring at him with wide eyes now.
"Still, lucky roll," he said with a shrug.
Akasha just stared at him in silence, unable to believe what she was seeing before her. She, like everyone else in that room, now knew exactly what Hex was, where he came from, and what his father was planning.
"Oh my god," Kurumu breathed out, seeing images flashing before her eyes of countless demons and monsters lined up in a dark courtyard.
"What the hell… is this?" Rason said as he saw the view of the universe pulling back to reveal something that his mind couldn't wrap around, as if seeing something further beyond what should be possible.
"This is… this is…" Kyouko breathed out as an image flashed before her eyes, the view being inside Pandora's Box and drawing through hordes of monstrosities and demons before coming to Pandora herself, the young looking anomaly smiling coldly as if right at the human herself.
"This can't be, it's impossible," Yukari said quietly as she saw just how small and insignificant their own world was amongst a sea of realities and timelines that sprawled further out into a strange outerverse that she couldn't comprehend.
"What the hell is he?" Ageha said as she saw an image of Hex's silhouette while behind it a distorted view of stars and celestial bodies seemed to drift away from him.
"Too many… too many…" Arial whimpered as she saw countless demons and colossus class monsters, all obscured in shadows as their red eyes gave off ominous crimson glows.
Silence filled the room as everybody stared at Hex with stunned expressions. They knew who he was. They knew who Pandora was.
And they knew who Babylon was.
"Babylon…" Complica breathed out in fear, remembering very clearly seeing the dark king in person before. Just seeing his image again from Hex's power sent chills down her spine, the little girl quickly grabbing hold of Ceal out of fright. Moka stared at Hex with disbelief then looked to Akasha, the woman slowly looking down as she saw the sheer magnitude of the approaching threat.
"This can't be real… it can't be," Tsurara said shakily.
"Um… did anyone else just see the worst thing imaginable flash before their eyes?" Render asked nervously.
"I did… but I can't believe it," Apoch said softly.
"Believe it," Ran whimpered. Everybody looked to her as she trembled while looking at Hex with fright.
"I was there… in that world. For so long, charming so many of those horrible things to help him… it's real. What you saw… it's real," she said nervously.
"Holy shit… holy shit!" Felucia yelled out looking to Dark, the demon showing surprise himself from seeing what was coming their way.
"We can't fight that many, that's insane!" Ahakon cried out.
"We don't have a choice, he's coming to wipe us all out, we don't have anywhere to run to from this," Yukari said looking up with fearful eyes.
"Babylon, that's who your father is?" Moka asked looking to Hex. The boy nodded and looked up at the ceiling with a dull gaze.
"Conquering and destroying all he sets his eyes on, razing all who oppose his rule to the ground, the one who imprisoned my dear sister in her box because she refused to help him with his crusade, that's the man who I refuse to acknowledge as my father," he said with spite.
"Is this some sort of trick? This can't possibly be… it just can't be real," an HDA officer remarked while shaking his head. Hothorne looked to Hex carefully as the boy glanced to him.
"What you showed us… is that true?" the man asked cautiously.
"Of course it is, the terms of my game were very clear, and I cannot go against them even if I lose, which you already know now. You know everything about us, to the best of your limited comprehension," Hex replied simply.
"Limited comprehension? Are you patronizing us?" Hothorne snapped.
"Did you not just see what we all saw? Fuck, he wasn't kidding around when he called us lesser beings," Felucia said looking up with wide eyes.
"I saw it and I'm still having trouble understanding it," Ruby admitted.
"And I felt pretty small already being surrounded by monsters," Kyouko said while looking up with nervous eyes. Moka tried to collect her thoughts and took a slowly steady breath before she looked to Hex again.
"Your father, Babylon… can he be killed?" she asked.
"Of course, we're not immortal Moka, we can bleed and die just like all of you," Hex replied with a shrug.
"If what we know now is true, then he'll be at his most vulnerable when he launches his invasion," Ceal mentioned.
"That's right, he'll use all his power to open as many rifts into our world as he can, he'll be weakened to the state of a human during the first wave of his army," Gabriel agreed.
"Great, all we need to do is fight through that first wave, which, in case you didn't notice, is going to be HUGE!" Kokoa cried out.
"So many of his warriors will descend upon this world, in overwhelming numbers, along with who knows how many colossus class demons as well. How are we supposed to defend against that and find a way into the dark world to kill Babylon while he's weakened?" Gin asked with disbelief. Moka looked to Hothorne, the human slowly sitting back down in his seat as he took in the news.
"We need help," Moka said softly. Everyone looked to her as she turned to face the director.
"The monster world cannot fight against this alone, we need your help," she pleaded. Hothorne looked at her for a moment then to Hex, the merely shrugging at him.
"Quite frankly I don't think you have a chance at all in surviving this, no other world has so far. However, whether you survive or not isn't my concern. What is my concern is freeing my sister from her imprisonment and taking her far away from the crushing march of my father's army. But even with all my power I cannot free her, she can only be released from her prison if her box is opened," he reasoned. He then leaned forward on the table while smiling knowingly at the director.
"And the only way that's going to happen is if the keys to her box in this room are allowed back into the monster world, do you see my predicament?" he asked simply.
"Not that I care about your sister's health in all this, but what exactly do you expect me to do about your predicament? I have no power at all to open the gateways into the monster world, I'm human, remember?" Hothorne replied with annoyance. Hex chuckled and stood upright again.
"I'm well aware of that. However that's not what I was getting at. As I've said I've already spoken to the dark lords of the monster world, urging them to open the gateways again because of my plight. They too know what my father is and what's coming their way, they played my game as well and learned how royally damned you all are," he explained.
"They played your game as well?" Moka asked.
"Father did? Wait, what… what did you wager against them?" Kokoa asked nervously.
"I tried to get them to open the gateways for sure if I had won, however I lost my game. Still, there is a chance they will open the gateways on their own accord, seeing as how they know they need help to fight against my father as well, and if that happens there would be hope for saving my sister yet. But if the gateways are opened, it would be best if you humans didn't bother the monsters again, at least not until the keys can make their way safely back into the monster world," Hex explained.
"You're saying the dark lords know what you and your father are? They know all of this as well?" Ruby asked.
"Correct," Hex said with a nod.
"If that's true, then father and the other lords must know that we're in need of allies as well to stand against Babylon," Moka said looking to Hothorne. Akasha nodded and looked to the man as well.
"Mr. Tamaka, if they know what we know now, then we may be seeing them soon," she reasoned. Hothorne looked between them then to Hex as the boy just smiled calmly at him.
"Oh my lord, what are we going to do about this?" Tsurara said looking to her husband with worried eyes.
"I don't know about you, but I could use a drink right about now," Ageha said weakly.
Kasumi groaned weakly on the floor, the woman slowly sitting up alongside her husband as the group looked to them.
"Auntie, are you alright?" Kyouko asked worriedly.
"What a horrible nightmare, I dreamed that… that…" Kasumi said before looking around, her gaze stopping on Hex as the boy glanced back to her with a smirk. Koji looked at the boy then pointed to him with growing fear.
"That… that boy… he's the one… he's the one from my dream!" he cried out. He and his wife screamed as they got up and backed up towards the others.
"Well, hello to you as well," Hex said mockingly.
"What's going on, how… but… he…" Kasumi said nervously. Koji looked around frantically then to Hex again.
"That wasn't a dream just now, was it?" he asked shakily.
"Depends, did you dream about a horrible nightmare named Babylon planning to invade and destroy the world with an enormous army of demons and warriors?" Render asked. Koji blinked then looked to the boy with a pale expression.
"Y… yes," he said shakily.
"Then that wasn't a dream Mr. Aono, you had the same vision we all did, what you saw… it's real," Ruby said gravely. Kasumi and Koji trembled as they held each other while the group looked back to Hex again.
"That was real? That… that nightmare… it's real?" Kasumi asked shakily.
"Yeah, we're all pretty much screwed right now," Leon said, with Koji and Kasumi trembling more in fear from that.
"But we're going to help, aren't we?" Kyouko asked. Everybody looked to her as she walked up towards the front table.
"You're going to help them, aren't you? These monsters aren't our enemies, you can see that now. We have to do something, we have to protect them," she urged. Hothorne just watched her with a curious eye as the girl gestured around at the monsters in the room.
"C'mon, you wanted there to be peace between us, you wanted us to be allies, so then we have to help them. They're almost extinct for crying out loud, we can't just ignore them like this, we have to help them," she reasoned.
"And what is it you want us do to exactly?" Hothorne questioned. Kyouko looked at him with disbelief then annoyance.
"What do I want you to do? Do something, do anything! We're humans, we have more numbers and guns and technology on our side, the very same reasons why monsters were afraid of us all this time. For god's sake say you're going to help them, they're going to be wiped out if we don't do anything," Kyouko said waving to her friends.
"And what makes you think we're not going to do anything?" Hothorne replied. Kyouko looked at him with wonder as the man stood up while watching her with a curious eye.
"My dear girl, it's very noble of you to speak so strongly about helping your friends, I do admire that in you. However you are mistaken if you believe we will be turning a blind eye to those that need our help during this war," the man said, with everybody looking at him curiously.
"So… you are going to help them then?" Kyouko asked. Hothorne merely nodded at her. Ruby looked around at the humans then to the director again.
"Does this mean… does this mean that peace can be established between our worlds again?" she asked hopefully.
"My dear… uh…" Hothorne said, eyeing her over before showing a puzzled look.
"Witch, I'm a witch… sir," Ruby said with a small smile. Hothorne nodded then smirked at her.
"Well, my dear witch, yes, I believe mankind can coexist with certain monsters such as yourselves," he said kindly.
"Really?" Yukari said with a hopeful smile.
"You mean it?" Ahakon said with a growing smile. Hothorne nodded at them then looked to Moka, the vampire smiling out of relief at him.
"Seeing is believing, I think those are the very words you used before Ms. Akashiya. Well, after seeing who the real threat is behind all this, I do believe. I see no reason why humans and monsters cannot coexist, not when there are those like you out there wishing for peace just as much as I do," he said assuredly. Moka nodded then bowed to the man.
"Thank you Mr. Tamaka, for understanding," she said graciously. Hothorne nodded then looked to Hex with an accusing stare.
"You've shown us much about your father and his army, however one question does remain. When? When will he strike?" Hothorne demanded sternly. Hex looked up with a distant gaze, seeming to peer around at something that couldn't be seen.
"I'm afraid I don't know. He actually has all the power reserves he needs to launch his invasion right now," he said with a shrug.
"What? He's ready to attack? Now?" Moka asked with a jump. Hex nodded then looked to her curiously.
"Yes, but for reasons I'm not sure of he's not beginning the assault. Something caused him to halt with his attack," he mentioned.
"He's got us outnumbered and we're not ready to defend ourselves, what reason could he have for not attacking now?" Rason asked with puzzlement.
"Whatever it is, let's hope it buys us enough time to get organized, we're nowhere near ready to face this yet," Razico mentioned.
"So he could be attacking us any day now, at any minute," Ran said nervously. Kasumi and Koji screamed and clung to Tsurara and Akio, the two snow people holding them with weak expressions as the humans trembled in fear. Moka nodded and looked to Hothorne.
"We need to get organized, now. We don't have much more time," she warned. The man nodded and looked to his fellow officers.
"She speaks the truth. We know who the real enemy is, now we need to be ready to defend against him. The first step we need to take is to publically announce our newfound alliance with the monsters, and assure mankind that the real threat to all of us is being targeted," he ordered.
"Sir, I'll go arrange a press conference right away," one of the men said with a quick salute before running out of the room. Hothorne nodded and looked to another of his men.
"Our second order of business is to quell the monsters that are currently running loose in our world. We need to stop them from rioting, peacefully, and without causing more alarm with the public. I believe our new allies can help with that," he said glancing to Moka. She nodded and looked to her friends.
"We let them out during that crisis, we'll deal with them. This is our chance for peace, we cannot let those rogue monsters destroy that," she confirmed.
"So... we're going to be acting like the police now?" Render asked raising a hand.
"Essentially, yes," Moka answered. Render nodded then raised his hand higher.
"Do we get HDA uniforms too?" he asked curiously. Moka just blinked and stared at him.
"What?" she asked plainly.
"Well I mean if we're going to play the part we might as well look the part, right? Besides, I think my girl here would look smoking hot in what you're wearing, I mean am I right or am I right?" Render said looking to Apoch and eyeing her over, the witch blushing brightly from that and holding a hand to her cheek.
"Oh my, do… do you think so?" she asked looking down at herself.
"I think we have other matters to be focusing on right now rather than how hot Apoch would look in a uniform," Leon said flatly, with Astreal nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, sure, I know that, but I'm just saying, look at her, am I right?" Render said gesturing to Apoch. The witch blushed further and glanced away with a timid smile while the rest of the group just stared at Render with blank expressions. After a while Moka rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"We'll see about that Render, for now let's focus on doing our part in all this. We need to put an end to monsters attacking humans once and for all, and the ones that are angry with the HDA are running loose still and causing mayhem," she reminded.
"And whose fault is that?" Kurumu asked looking to Hothorne with a small glare.
"Ours, when we let them out," Moka answered. Kurumu looked to her with concern as the vampire shook her head.
"The HDA did what they were supposed to do, protect humans against monsters. Look at it from their view, their schools and children were attacked and killed, cities were thrown into chaos because of monsters. It's a miracle Mr. Tamaka was willing to hear our side of the story with how this has made us all look," she reasoned. Her friends looked to one another then to Hothorne as the man nodded.
"We do see now that we had been deceived as to which monsters to blame, however given the circumstances as to how those events unfolded, what we did in the interest in protecting our race was correct. Had you been in our shoes you would have made the same call, and rightfully so. As things currently stand the public is also going to be leery about trusting monsters again, which is why you will be leading the movement of stopping those that are acting out and helping establish good relations between our worlds," he stated.
"I guess he has a point, after the school incident it's easy to see why we're so hated by humans," Leon reluctantly agreed while looking down.
"But… but… but we tried to be the good guys then, we even killed the real bad monsters that day," Render said with defeat.
"Yeah, after they killed so many innocents and in broad daylight. We couldn't stop the damage from being done in time," Razico said with regret.
"And then we had to break you guys out of jail before you would have been executed as enemies of mankind. We were doing the right thing, but we were digging ourselves in deeper by doing so," Ruby said with defeat.
"Because of Babylon our two worlds were nearly thrown into another war with each other, but at least now we can see we were tricked and by whom. The damage is already done, all we can do now is try to pick up the pieces," Akasha reasoned while glancing to Moka, her daughter nodding in agreement.
"Remember guys, we killed HDA soldiers too, ones who were only doing their job after we were made to look like real monsters by Babylon. They weren't evil like those from Fairy Tale were; they didn't deserve to die for protecting their own kind. We're not without fault either," Moka mentioned.
"But they were shooting at us," Kokoa whined.
"And monsters killed their own, both sides acted out of defense Kokoa," Akasha lectured. Kokoa looked at her with worried eyes then down while Gin held her from behind.
"We have a chance to set things right, to show the world we really are on their side, we can't screw this up," Moka said looking around at her friends. The group looked to each other for a moment then nodded in agreement. The HDA may have been trying to kill them before, but it wasn't because they were an evil organization, they were humans defending themselves from what they believed to be the threat to their world. And now the HDA would be a valued help in their upcoming fight against Babylon and his army, they were needed even.
"Alright Moka, we'll work with the HDA to keep the order in the human world, if that's what it takes for peace to be realized," Dark said in agreement.
"Fine, but I am not wearing an HDA uniform, Felucia fights in her own uniform," Felucia said looking up with a stubborn expression while crossing her arms. Moka smirked at her then looked to Hothorne.
"You'll have our full cooperation, we'll put an end to the monsters running loose in your world," she reassured.
"Good, I'm counting on all of you to do just that," the man said before looking to another one of his officers.
"Send word out to all units; be on the lookout for any sign or representatives from the monster world. Odds are we'll be making contact with the dark lords of their world again soon, and I don't want them being welcomed with guns aimed at their faces," he ordered. The officer nodded with a salute.
"Yes sir," he said before running out of the room.
"All we can do now is wait for them to come to this world when they're ready, in the meantime we've got some cleaning up to do," Moka speculated.
"What about him?" Arial asked pointing to Hex. Everybody looked to the reality bender as he shrugged a bit.
"Honestly I'd rather be keeping my dear sister company right now then spending more time here, but it seems that I need to stay for the time being," he said simply.
"And why is that?" Luna asked cautiously. Hex looked over to Complica, the group then looking to seeing the young chronofly wavering a bit before grabbing hold of Ceal's arm for support.
"Complica? What's wrong, are you ok?" Falla asked as she quickly knelt down next to her little sister.
"I don't… feel so good," Complica said as she blinked a few times, her vision blurring before clearing up again.
"What's wrong with her?" Gabriel asked as Luna rushed over to her sister.
"I'm not sure, but she's releasing small amounts of chrono magic around her. If I leave my father will certainly notice and come here in full force," Hex said crossing his arms.
"Complica? What's wrong?" Arial asked as she rushed over to her friend. Complica wiped some sweat off her forehead and looked to her hand, feeling a numbing sensation rippling through it for a moment. Slowly she looked up to a clock on the wall, seeing the time reading 4:36 PM.
"Complica?" Luna asked kneeling down next to her sister. Complica looked around at everybody then up to Ceal while gently tugging on his arm.
"Um… big brother? Can I talk to you in private for a moment?" she asked. Ceal just looked at her carefully as the group watched the young chronofly showing him a worried smile.
"Please? I need to talk to you about something important, please?" she asked softly. Ceal glanced to Falla then back to Complica and nodded.
"Very well," he said somewhat gently.
"Complica? What's this about?" Falla asked. Complica looked to her with a saddened smile and shook her head.
"I'm sorry, but… I… we'll be right back," she said before trying to lead Ceal out of the room. The mage glanced to the others then followed the girl out into the hall. Luna started to follow after them before Falla grabbed her and held her back.
"Don't. Let Ceal talk to her first, we'll find out what's going on when they come back," Falla reasoned, with Luna looking to her with concern then to the door.
"What was that about? Is she ok?" Yukari asked.
"Is she ok? How are any of you ok? For god's sake the world's coming to an end and you all act like this is no big deal! What is wrong with all of you, why aren't you freaking out about any of this? And I still don't know where my Tsukune is, where is he? Where's my son?" Kasumi cried out. She looked to Kyouko then started shaking the girl by the shoulders.
"Where's my baby, what's happened to him? What's going on Kyouko?" she cried out.
"Please stop auntie, I'll explain everything, just… try to keep calm, ok?" Kyouko pleaded while being shaken back and forth.
Outside in the hall Complica led Ceal away from the meeting hall and around a corner, looking around to make sure nobody else was nearby before turning to Ceal with a worried expression.
"What's this about Complica?" he asked as he knelt down to face her.
"Big brother, you said I could talk to you about anything, right?" she asked nervously. Ceal nodded and waited for her to continue. She fidgeted a bit and looked down while holding her hands together.
"I need to tell everybody something really important but it's going to make them all really sad and I don't want to make my sisters cry I don't but I know they will and I don't want them to but I have to tell them all something soon I just don't know how to say it without breaking their hearts I don't know what to do," she whimpered while trying to hold in her tears. Ceal gently wiped a tear from her cheek while looking at her with a hint of concern.
"Complica, what is it you're so afraid of telling them?" he asked gently. She took a shaky breath and looked to him with watery eyes.
"Before I tell you, promise me something, promise me big brother," she whimpered. Ceal nodded and waited for her to continue, the girl wiping her tears away before looking at him with a saddened smile.
"Promise that you'll stay with me until the end."