"And so that's where Tsukune is. But don't worry auntie, I'm sure he's going to pull through and overcome his sickness, I mean he punched out Alucard after all, he can do anything," Kyouko said hopefully, having told Kasumi and Koji where their son was and what he was going through.
"She's right Mr. and Mrs. Aono, I'm sure Tsukune is working hard to get a hold over his vampire powers, I just know he's going to be coming back out of Paradise very soon," Moka said in agreement, holding onto hope that her mate could overcome his bloodlust and return to her again.
"You know, just for the record, I did help with Tsukune destroying Alucard. I mean yes, he did hit it with a powerful punch that totally annihilated it, but my magic allowed him to actually hurt the thing in the first place. Just, you know, putting that out there," Falla mentioned while glancing away with a dull expression, becoming rather annoyed at never receiving credit for helping with dispatching the legendary destroyer.
"And my sister is in that world with Tsukune too, I'm sure she's keeping a close eye on him. If anything were to go wrong she would just sing him to sleep peacefully, she wouldn't let anything happen to your son," Ran added with a hopeful smile, trying to hold back her own fears about her sister being trapped in Paradise with horrible monsters and a bloodlust infected Tsukune.
"Mr. Aono? Mrs. Aono?" Ruby asked worriedly as everybody watched the two human parents just staring at Kyouko with open mouths and wide eyes.
"Um… say something, please," Kyouko said nervously. The two parents just stared at her in stunned silence.
"At least pass out or something, you're worrying us here," Kurumu said with concern. After a long while Kasumi broke down crying and held onto Kyouko who watched her with surprise.
"AHHHH! My baby! My poor Tsukune! Noooo!" Kasumi cried out while sobbing uncontrollably.
"Tsukune… my son…" Koji breathed out looking down with shock.
"Auntie, it's going to be ok, he's going to be fine, I promise," Kyouko reassured while Kasumi held onto her, the woman then looking to her with frustration and tears in her eyes.
"How can you promise me such a thing? My poor baby is sick and I can't even go see him or take care of him or anything! My Tsukune's in quarantine in some strange world with monsters and I never even packed him a sweater!" she cried out before sobbing into Kyouko's shoulder, the girl just holding the woman with a weak smile on her face.
"C'mon auntie, he's been through worse than this before, he'll be just fine. I believe in him, everybody else does, you should too," Kyouko said gently.
"She's right Mrs. Aono, I haven't given up hope, I know Tsukune will get over this bloodlust and come back to us. He can do anything," Moka reasoned hopefully.
"A little vampire cold isn't going to bring that guy down; I mean he punched out Alucard! The dude's a superstar!" Render added with a bright smile.
"For crying out loud, I helped bring down Alucard too! Give credit where credit is due!" Falla barked out at him with frustration. Luna held her back with a weak smile as the red eyed chronofly growled with annoyance, with Kasumi whimpering and holding onto Kyouko still.
"Mrs. Aono," Akasha said gently, the human then looking over to her with a few sobs as the vampire smiled kindly at her.
"My daughter and her friends are right. I've heard all about this son of yours, everything that he's done and overcame during his trials, you should be very proud of him," Akasha assured. Kasumi wiped her tears away as the vampire walked up to her.
"There shouldn't be any doubt in your mind at all that your son can do this, there isn't any doubt in mine. Your son Tsukune is truly remarkable, I only hope that one day I may have the honor of meeting him myself," Akasha said sincerely. Kasumi tried to control her breathing and looked around at everyone.
"He's going to be just fine Mrs. Aono, we all have faith in him," Mizore agreed with.
"Yeah, your son doesn't go down for anything. Rogue vampire lords, armies of evil monsters, hell he's even beaten time itself," Kurumu added with a nod.
"He's going to return to us, cured, and better than ever, I just know it," Rason reassured.
"Nothing can bring him down, he doesn't know how to fail," Ahakon said shaking his head. Kasumi and Koji looked around at them then to Kyouko as the girl nodded at them.
"I know, I was scared for him too when I first heard the news, I even fainted myself. But they're right, Tsukune's going to come back to us, there's no doubt about that. The only thing we need to worry about is making sure there's still a world for him to come back to," she reasoned hopefully. Kasumi and Koji looked to each other then to Hex, with all eyes turning to him. He glanced to the parents then looked up with a simple sigh.
"If it makes you feel better, out of all the Tsukune's I've seen in all the worlds, this one does sound to be more impressive than the rest. For what it's worth, you should feel proud your son isn't just another weak human being here in this world," he said simply.
"Wow, thanks for that," Kyouko said flatly.
"What a motivator you are," Yukari added with a flat tone.
"You're being too kind," Ruby said with annoyance.
"Actually, coming from him, that should be taken as a compliment, despite how condescending it is," Luna said crossing her arms with a dull expression at the reality bender. Hex shrugged and looked to her with a calm expression.
"I thought it was a compliment," he reasoned. Arial rolled her eyes then looked to Kasumi again.
"Your son was one of the heroes that stopped Alucard, just like mine was. You should have more faith in him, I'm sure he's going to be just fine," she said gently. The parents and humans looked to her with confusion as did Akasha.
"What? Like yours was? You… you're a mother?" Kasumi asked.
"Yes, my son is right over there," Arial said pointing to Dark, the demon just glancing to her then to Kasumi with a blank expression. Tsurara looked at Dark with bewilderment then to Mizore.
"Mizore dear, what is she talking about? And just who is that anyway?" she asked.
"How… is she that boy's mother?" Hothorne asked with a raised eyebrow. Mizore sighed then gestured towards Arial.
"This is Arial Kuyumaya mother; she's… the one who set Dark free when our village was attacked. She's the one who… Dark killed on that night," she explained softly. Everybody just looked to Arial with confusion while Moka and her group nodded in agreement.
"What? She's the one… but… she's dead, isn't she?" Tsurara asked with puzzlement.
"Yes, I am," Arial said with a nod. Tsurara stared at the snow angel for a moment then looked to Mizore.
"How can this be possible?" she asked shaking her head. Ruby smiled weakly at her then looked to the parents who were showing equal confusion to that news.
"I believe this requires a bit more clarification from us," she mentioned.
"Define 'a bit'," Hothorne said dryly. Moka's group explained the situation regarding Arial, Complica, Felucia, and Akasha, how the four were in fact disembodied souls in the world. They told how Arial and Complica snuck out of heaven to find their family through a rift Babylon had made in heaven, how Felucia was sent from hell to find and save Luna, and how Akasha was sent by the Almighty himself to protect Luna from the darkness. After the tale was told the parents and humans were staring at the four wandering souls with awe. Hex however was glancing to Akasha with a raised eyebrow while remaining silent.
"She's… she's the little girl we found dead that day? The one that freed Dark from that wizard's control?" Tsurara asked with wonder, with Arial nodding timidly at her.
"Yes ma'am. I'm sorry my son caused so much trouble at our village, but it wasn't his fault, he was being used by that horrible man. He's a good soul, he really is, he didn't mean to do what he was made to do," she said assuredly, with Dark smiling at his angel while Felucia and Mizore watched Arial with curious eyes. Tsurara and Akio looked to each other then to Arial with disbelief, stunned to be seeing the very snow girl they found dead on that day who was also the one that freed Dark.
"So when you say that little girl is this boy's mother…" Hothorne said carefully.
"She's the one who freed Dark from a wizard's control, and gave him a life. If anything she is what could be considered his mother," Ruby reasoned. Hothorne nodded slowly while looking at the snow angel.
"You're… you're dead?" Kasumi asked looking at Akasha, the vampire nodding with a small smile.
"Yes, I gave my life in order to protect my family, I have no regrets from my actions," she admitted.
"What do you mean, what did you die for?" Kasumi asked.
"My mother was the one who sealed away Alucard in the first place long ago, she sacrificed her life to do so," Moka said looking to her mother with a gentle smile.
"She's the one who did that?" Hothorne asked. Akasha nodded and glanced back to him.
"It was the only way to put the destroyer down; however I wasn't able to kill it by doing so. I did all that I could to keep it from going on a rampage. Still, I hear my daughter's mate dispatched the legendary evil quite splendidly," she said with a small shrug.
"Again, I helped!" Falla shouted out, with Luna holding her back with a weak smile and nodding in agreement. Kasumi slowly approached Akasha, and then held a hand onto her chest while trying to push against her a bit. The vampire glanced to the hand then to the woman with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm not a ghost, our souls manifest as bodies down here in your world," Akasha explained.
"So… you're alive then?" Kasumi asked.
"No, I'm still dead just as the others are, we're merely souls with no living bodies to bind them to," Akasha said while gently removing the woman's hand from her chest.
"Not quite," Hex said shaking his head. The group looked to him with puzzlement before Ceal and Complica walked into the room, the chronofly looking down with a troubled expression as she held onto Ceal's hand. The mage had a solemn expression as they walked towards the others who turned to them.
"Are you saying… that little girl is dead too?" Ageha asked with concern.
"Yes, our little sister died a long time ago," Luna said softly, with Falla slowly nodding in agreement.
"Complica? What's wrong?" Arial asked worriedly.
"What's going on Ceal?" Falla asked. Complica whimpered and looked up to the boy as he walked her towards her sisters. Everybody looked at them as the mage glanced down to the young chronofly.
"Falla, your sister has something very important that she needs to tell all of you," he said solemnly. Falla looked to Complica with worried eyes as the young girl nodded slowly.
"Complica? What is it?" she asked. Complica took a shaky breath then looked to her with a saddened smile.
"I love you Falla," she said softly.
"I love you too, but what's going on? What did you need to talk to Ceal about?" Falla asked as she knelt down to face her sister. Complica wiped the tears from her eyes then looked down with remorse.
"I'm sorry, you're going to be mad at me, I know you are. But I had to do it, I had to," she said shakily.
"Do what? What's wrong?" Falla asked with growing concern. Complica took a shaky breath then looked to her with tears in her eyes.
"I did something really bad," she whimpered. Falla watched her with worried eyes as the rest of the group waited to hear what she had to say. The young chronofly looked around at everybody then back to Falla before telling the truth, how she cast the Chrono Displacement spell the previous night after Luna's bracelet went critical. She told everybody how Babylon descended upon the villa and annihilated everyone in a matter of minutes, ending with Luna, Falla, and Sun being taken away while Complica was left as the sole survivor. As she told her story Luna and Falla were staring at her with horrified eyes, rendered in shock at what they were hearing, while Moka and her group had stunned expressions. After the story was told everything fell silent for a while before a voice spoke up.
"You… you… YOU DID WHAT?" Luna screamed out.
"No, you couldn't have… you couldn't… that's not… no!" Falla cried out.
"Would somebody mind explaining what she just said?" Hothorne asked. Akasha looked to seeing Moka holding her hands over her mouth while staring at Complica with fright.
"Moka?" she asked.
"You couldn't have cast that spell, it was destroyed, it's gone," Luna said shaking her head fearfully. Complica cringed a bit then looked to her with worried eyes.
"Um… I… kinda… made a copy of it in heaven," she said nervously.
"What? You… what?" Luna asked with disbelief.
"I'm sorry; I just drew it up to show Lloyd when he came to heaven, to show him the mistake I made from being so attached to him. I never meant to use it, and I didn't want father finding it and taking it away, so I kept it hidden in my baseball bat," Complica explained. The group jumped a bit as they all remembered the baseball bat Complica had with her ever since she came down to the human world, how she always kept it with her.
"Wait, you mean… you've had that forbidden spell on you this whole time, inside that baseball bat?" Rason asked with disbelief. Complica nodded then looked down with closed eyes.
"I did, but don't worry, it's gone now, I burned it in a fireplace last night, nobody will ever hurt themselves with it again," she said sadly. Luna and Falla looked at her with shock then to Ceal as the mage nodded.
"I saw her burning the bat last night, however she insisted on waiting to tell me why she did so," he confirmed.
"No… you… you really did… oh god no!" Falla cried out as she looked back to her little sister.
"What have you done?" Luna cried out as she dropped to her knees. Falla held a hand over her mouth as she stared at Complica, the younger sister looking down with closed eyes.
"Complica… tell me that's not true… please tell me that's not true," Falla whimpered. Complica looked to her with remorseful eyes and shook her head.
"I'm sorry sister, but I had to use it, I had to save all of you," she said softly.
"Um, I'm sorry, but I don't quite understand, what has happened with her that is causing you such distress?" Tsurara asked curiously.
"She cast a forbidden spell from their people, to travel back in time," Ruby said softly.
"Travel back in time? Her?" Hothorne asked looking to Complica. Moka nodded and looked to him with nervous eyes.
"It's the same spell Fairy Tale planned to use to take over the world. It sends a person back in time to wherever they want. But… but it has a grave cost," she said before looking back to Complica.
"What sort of cost?" Kyouko asked worriedly.
"Whoever goes back in time dies after one day, the spell kills them after 24 hours," Razico explained. The group looked at Complica as she whimpered and nodded.
"But wait, even if that is possible, she's already dead, what's so bad about her using it again? She can't die again can she?" Koji asked pointing to the young girl. Luna and Falla yelled out and held their sister as they cried, with Complica holding them and crying as well. Moka shook her head and looked to Koji.
"You don't understand Mr. Aono, she's a disembodied soul, she's not even supposed to be down here," she said nervously.
"Souls are never meant to leave the realms of the afterlife, but because of Babylon's rift they managed to come down here by means which should have been impossible," Rason continued.
"But even though they're dead, they're not safe down here. Up in heaven they cannot be harmed, it's heaven after all. But down here their souls are unprotected, exposed, in danger," Gabriel said with growing concern.
"What sort of danger?" Tsurara asked.
"If they're dealt a fatal blow down here, their souls don't return to heaven. Their souls would be destroyed, they'll be wiped from existence entirely," Kokoa said nervously.
"Wiped from existence?" Kasumi asked worriedly.
"Gone forever, never to be seen again," Yukari said shakily.
"Game over man, game over," Render said sadly.
"So wait, you're saying that when her day is up, she'll… she'll…" Ageha said pointing to Complica with worried eyes.
"She'll be gone forever!" Arial cried out while grabbing her hair. Luna and Falla kept holding their little sister as all three cried out of sorrow.
"This isn't happening! This isn't happening!" Falla cried out. Ageha stared at Complica with surprise then looked to Rason.
"What are you doing then? You're an angel, get her back up into heaven this instant!" she yelled out.
"We can't, they can't pass through the heavenly barrier, we can't take them back up into heaven," Rason said shaking his head.
"What? What do you mean they can't go back?" Hothorne questioned.
"The heavenly barrier doesn't allow souls to pass through it from either side. We tried to take them back before, but they couldn't pass through, they're trapped down here," Gabriel explained with remorse.
"That's why we were after Pandora's Box, we were going to use the wish to open a gateway that they could pass through, it was our only way of saving them," Kurumu added.
"Well what about him? Can't he grant wishes too? I mean he forced a whole lot of crazy information into all of our heads just now, can't he help them?" Akio asked pointing to Hex. The reality bender chuckled as the group looked to him with discontent.
"He'll only help if we win his game. We tried to play for that gateway earlier; we nearly lost much more in doing so. Playing his game is just too risky," Gin said shaking his head.
"Yeah, we'd rather open Pandora's Box and destroy her goddamned monsters to get our wish, at least with a fight we know we can win," Kokoa said sternly at Hex.
"But is Pandora's Box even an option at this point?" Akasha questioned with concern. Luna and Falla leaned back from Complica and looked at her with devastation.
"Why… why did you do this?" Luna whimpered. Complica choked back her sobs and shook her head.
"I had to, Babylon came and he killed everyone and then he took you away and then-"
"Wait, Babylon came here? You… you saw him?" Falla asked. Complica nodded as the group looked at her with surprise.
"You saw him? You actually saw him?" Ran asked.
"Yeah, up close, I've never seen anything that scared me so badly," Complica whimpered.
"You really saw him? In person?" Luna asked nervously. Complica nodded then broke free from her sisters' embrace and rushed towards the front table, with Hothorne watching as the girl grabbed a paper, flipped it over, and began to draw something in pen at insane speeds.
"Here, I'll show you," she said as her hand moved about in a blur while drawing her picture.
"Wow, how is she doing that?" Koji asked. Hothorne just showed a baffled expression as the little girl drew a picture with precision and haste. Everybody slowly gathered around the table as Complica drew a picture of something at high speed, the girl then showing it to Hothorne with worried eyes.
"That's him, Babylon," she said softly with fright. The man took hold of the picture she drew, the image showing Babylon standing amidst a destroyed courtyard that was once a Chinese villa. Complica had drawn the aftermath of the short-lived battle at Fang Fang's home along with the dark king himself in full detail.
"That's him? That's the one that's behind this invasion?" Hothorne asked. Hex walked around and eyed the picture curiously.
"Yes, that is indeed him, amazing detail by the way, I'm impressed," he said with a nod. Hothorne eyed the picture of the dark king then looked to Complica as she watched him with watery eyes.
"He's coming for my sisters, you can't let him take them away, you just can't," she whimpered. Hothorne looked to the picture carefully, examining the monster that would be behind the upcoming war. After a moment he looked back to Complica as the girl was wiping her tears away.
"Please, don't let him take my sisters away," she pleaded. After a moment Hothorne nodded as he set the paper down.
"I promise you, we will not allow your sisters to be harmed during this conflict. We'll protect them up until the very end," he assured. Complica smiled softly at him then looked to her sisters, both of them watching her with watery eyes.
"Complica… when… when did you cast the spell?" Luna asked, being afraid to know the answer.
"At 10:55 PM," Complica said softly. The group looked to the clock on the wall, seeing the time to being 4:50 PM.
"Oh my god, she's only got a few more hours," Ruby said holding a hand over her mouth.
"You've got to be kidding me, even if the gateways were open to the monster world we'll never find the last key and get to Pandora's Box in time," Leon said shaking his head.
"What other option do we have? We've only got about six hours before she's history," Render said looking around at the group. Luna started breathing heavily then shook Gabriel by the shoulders.
"Please! You have to do something! She's going to die soon!" she cried out. Gabriel looked at her with surprise then to Complica, the young girl looking down with closed eyes.
"Complica, no!" Falla cried out running and kneeling down with her sister, holding her tightly while crying and shaking her head.
"No! You can't leave like this, please, don't let this be real!" she cried out.
"I'm sorry sister, I had to do it," Complica said as she broke down crying and held Falla. Akasha shook her head then looked to Hex, the boy watching them with a calm expression still.
"You have the power to save this one, don't you?" Akasha said accusingly.
"I could, yes," Hex said with a shrug.
"But you won't do it unless someone plays your stupid game? For god's sake she's just a child, how could you be so cruel as to not help her?" Ageha demanded while pointing to Complica. Hex looked to her with a dull expression and started walking towards her, the woman backing up nervously as she didn't like the cold feeling behind his eyes.
"I don't believe you understand, I'm under no obligation to do anything for anyone, especially lesser beings such as yourselves. I don't do free wishes nor charity cases, if you wish to change reality to save this one then you need to play by my rules," he said simply, with Ageha quickly backing up behind Razico and Ruby as the two casters scowled at the reality bender.
"You're horrible, you're a monster! She's my little sister!" Luna screamed out at him. Hex looked to her with a raised eyebrow.
"And your point? You know my rules better than anyone Luna, I'm not here because I wish to help you with your petty problems, my only goal in this world is to free my own sister, that's it," he said simply. Akasha scoffed at the boy then walked up to him and held out her hand.
"Give me your dice, right now," she demanded.
"Oh? You wish to play again?" he asked with a curious smile, pulling his dice out and toiling them around in his hand.
"If that is the only way to save this child then so be it, if you wish to play for the heart of a wandering soul such as myself then go ahead, my soul would never rest knowing I didn't choose to help this young girl when I could," Akasha reasoned. Hex looked at her curiously then shook his head.
"You seem a bit lost Akasha Bloodriver, what you say isn't true at all," he said handing her the dice.
"Yes it is, unlike you I care about those around me and will not hesitate to help them however I can, I value a life no matter what it is," Akasha said while snatching the dice up in her hand. Hex chuckled and crossed his arms casually.
"No, that's not what I meant. I was referring to how you claim to be dead," he replied. Everybody stared at him with puzzlement, with Falla and Complica remaining in their embrace while watching the boy with teary eyes.
"What are you talking about? I am dead, my soul is only here in this world because of my job from the Almighty himself," Akasha stated. Hex chuckled and shook his head.
"Akasha, you're not dead," he said calmly. Everybody looked to the woman as she stared at Hex with confusion.
"What?" she asked.
"Did you really think I would have bothered rolling to win the heart of a dead woman? What would be the point in that?" Hex laughed while shaking his head. Akasha looked down to her body then to Hex with careful eyes as the boy just smiled calmly at her.
"No no, you're very much alive Akasha, there are only three lost souls in this room as we speak," he said simply.
"I… I'm alive? But, that can't be. The Almighty merely sent me back here because I wanted to earn my place in heaven, I wanted to do the noble thing and help keep Luna safe from your father," Akasha said shaking her head.
"Be that as it may, you're alive now Akasha. It seems your Almighty sent you back in full health for your little redemption quest," Hex said casually.
"Mother?" Moka asked with wonder. Akasha looked down to her hands and her body, stunned to hear such a claim. Granted she felt just like she did when she was alive; however she hadn't been aware that the Almighty actually brought her back to life rather than just send her soul to earth.
"I'm… I'm alive?" she asked looking to Hex with wonder. The boy nodded while watching her with a calm smile.
"Of course you are. I can tell the difference between a dead person and a live one, and you are very much alive," he assured.
"She's alive again?" Kokoa asked with wonder. Akasha looked around at herself with surprise then to Moka, with her daughter slowly walking up to her with awe.
"You're alive?" Moka asked softly.
"I… I didn't know, I had no idea," Akasha said looking to her hand. She blinked then looked to Hex carefully as the boy raised an eyebrow at her.
"Still wish to play my game?" he asked. Akasha narrowed her eyes at him as she clutched the dice in her hand.
"Of course I do," she said sternly. Hex nodded and waved his hand to the side, causing a table to slide over to their side while he watched the woman with a curious smile.
"Then, what is it that you wish to roll for?" he asked. Akasha looked around at the group and the three wandering souls among them then to Hex with a firm expression.
"I wish for a gateway to return Arial, Complica, and Felucia back to heaven with, so that they may pass through the heavenly barrier and return to their home," she declared.
"I figured as much, however one heart for three souls doesn't seem fair, I would only grant one return gateway for your heart," Hex said shaking his head. Akasha narrowed her eyes then looked to the others.
"Akasha, don't do this, it's too risky," Razico said shaking his head.
"Yeah, you won once already, quit while you're ahead," Kokoa urged.
"We already agreed before that playing his game is too dangerous," Ran said shaking her head.
"If I don't then this one will die in six hours and be gone forever. My life is worth rolling to save hers," Akasha said looking to Complica.
"No, don't say that, it's not worth it, it's not," Complica whimpered while shaking her head. Falla and Luna looked to each other then to their little sister, both struggling with what to say.
"Akasha… I… you…" Falla said nervously.
"We can't ask you to roll for this, allow me to do so," Luna said looking to Hex. The boy watched her with a raised eyebrow as she marched up to him.
"You want my heart Hex, I know you do. I bet you want it more than any other, isn't that right? Well, I'll roll for Complica's gateway," she declared. Hex chuckled and shook his head.
"No no Luna, you can't gamble with your heart in this," he mentioned.
"Why not? I don't love you at all Hex, you don't have my heart anymore. Why can't I gamble with it now?" Luna demanded. Hex smirked and looked to Gabriel, the angel watching him carefully.
"Interesting how his angelic power came back, isn't it?" he said simply. The group looked to the angel then to Hex as the boy watched Luna with a knowing smile.
"What about it?" Luna asked carefully.
"Luna, don't try to con me out of another game with your trickery. I overheard what you said before, how this angel is your 'Destined One', that he recovered his angelic power because he's destined to be with you no matter what. If that's the case, should I win your heart, I might very well lose it again when it returns to this angel. You cannot gamble with your heart Luna, it seems like I couldn't win it even if I wanted to," Hex said with a shrug. Luna showed a nervous expression and shook her head.
"You don't know that, and besides you said you were going to take me away anyway, doesn't that mean that you'll try to win my heart again?" she asked.
"I will take you away from this world to save you, whether I have your heart or not is irrelevant with that," Hex said simply. Luna held a hand over her heart and backed up while Falla looked to Complica with worried eyes.
"Then I'll roll for it," Falla said softly. The group looked to her as she slowly stood up while looking down at Complica with a worried smile.
"No sister, you can't do that, I don't want you to risk losing Ceal all for me," Complica said shaking her head.
"I'm not going to let you go this time Complica, I just got you back. I'm going to be a loving big sister to you from now on, remember? I'm not going to let you fade away into time," Falla said while trying to hold back her tears. She looked to Ceal with worried eyes then to Hex as she glared at the reality bender.
"She's my sister, I won't let her come to an end like this," she said sternly.
"Really now," Hex questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"You're not going to risk your heart Falla, especially if it's already taken with this one here," Akasha said glancing to Ceal. The mage looked to Complica then to Falla, the elder chronofly smiling softly at him.
"Ceal… no matter what, I'll always love you," she said softly, then looked to Hex with a stern expression.
"But this is something I have to do; I won't turn my back on my little sister ever again. I'm rolling for the gateway, end of story," she said walking over and reaching out for the dice in Akasha's hand, resting it on them before the vampire flung the dice onto the table.
"No you're not child," Akasha argued.
"No!" Falla cried out as the cubes bounced on the table, the chronofly rushing over to try to snatch them up. She swung her hand at the dice, touching them before Akasha grabbed and held her back with one hand. The dice bounced off the table onto the floor, with everybody watching as they bounced against the legs of another table.
"What have you done? I could have won that," Akasha scolded at Falla.
"Why did you roll them? Complica's my little sister, I should be the one who does this for her," Falla shot back at her.
"Your heart already belongs to someone you love, you should never gamble away such a treasure," Akasha snapped back.
"Complica's my sister and if anyone is going to save her it's going to be me!" Falla yelled out at her.
"NO!" Yukari screamed out. Everybody looked over to her as she was pointing down at the dice at her feet, the cubes having rolled a snake eyes.
"Oh shit, she lost!" Ahakon cried out. Moka and Falla gasped and looked to Akasha, the woman still staring at Falla with a blank expression on her face as the chronofly was staring back at her in silence.
"No… Akasha…" Ruby said softly. Akasha blinked then looked to Hex with wonder, the boy holding out his hand causing the dice to hover back over to his palm.
"Tsk tsk Falla, wait your turn to play," Hex said glancing to Falla with a smirk. Akasha smiled softly then walked over towards him, with everybody watching her with worried eyes.
"No, oh no, Akasha," Falla said nervously.
"Mother? Mother!" Moka cried out. Akasha stopped and looked back to her with a curious smile.
"Yes?" she asked.
"You… you don't feel… not with him…" Moka said shaking her head nervously. Akasha smiled amusedly at her as Moka walked up to the woman.
"Are you ok?" Moka asked. Akasha nodded and looked to Hex with a gentle smile.
"Of course I am," she said before walking over to the boy. He smiled curiously as the woman walked over to his side and watched him with a coy smile.
"I don't like the way she's looking at him," Ruby said shaking her head.
"Oh no," Complica said fearfully. Akasha chuckled and looked to the group as the boy casually brushed a hand through her long hair while watching Falla.
"That wasn't very wise Falla, you interfered with her roll," Hex said playfully. Falla jumped a bit and looked at Akasha with nervous eyes as the vampire closed her eyes with a gentle sigh, the vampire letting the reality bender brush her hair leisurely with one hand.
"Wait, I didn't mean to, that… that shouldn't have counted against her!" Falla cried out.
"No… mother… NO!" Moka cried out. Akasha looked at her with a simple smile and shook her head.
"What's wrong with you Moka?" she asked.
"Don't tell us you love this creep now," Kokoa said pointing to Hex.
"Of course I do, I couldn't live without him," Akasha said looking to the reality bender. The group gasped as Akasha just smiled at Hex with loving eyes, with the boy watching Falla who was staring at him with shock.
"No… that's not fair, that's not fair!" Falla yelled out at him.
"Oh my god, he stole her heart!" Apoch cried out pointing to Hex. The boy glanced to her with a raised eyebrow.
"Stole? I stole nothing; she rolled on her own accord. If you want to blame anybody for her bad roll blame Falla here, Akasha might have rolled something different if it wasn't for her intervention," he said looking to Falla. The chronofly looked around at everybody then to Akasha with horror as the vampire smiled calmly at her, the woman letting Hex play with her hair without a care in the world.
"No, that's not fair, that… no!" Falla yelled out. She growled with anger then ran over to Hex, snatching the dice from his hand and backing up while glaring at him.
"You're not taking Moka's mother away from her, I bet my heart that you'll let her go right now!" she yelled before she threw the dice behind her onto a table.
"Falla no!" Luna cried out.
"Are you insane?" Yukari yelled out as the cubes bounced on the table. In an instant they stopped in place, showing two sixes on top while Falla was smiling confidently at Hex. The group looked at the dice with wonder as Falla crossed her arms with a glare at the reality bender.
"There, I win," she boasted proudly. The group looked to her as she jumped a bit with a small gasp, seeming to waver slightly off-balance as Hex laughed and shook his head.
"Really now Falla, you think you can cheat by stopping time and arranging the dice like that? Come now, surely you couldn't have thought that would work," he said playfully.
"She cheated?" Ruby asked looking to the dice.
"I was afraid the dice landed too abruptly," Razico said with concern. Falla blinked then smiled gently at Hex with a shrug.
"Sorry Hex, I've always been a bad girl," she said bashfully before walking over to him.
"Falla?" Luna asked nervously. Falla walked over to Hex and held onto his arm with a gentle sigh, watching the boy with loving eyes as the group looked at her with surprise.
"Falla? What are you doing?" Mizore asked shaking her head.
"What the hell, why is she swooning over him too?" Leon called out while pointing to Falla.
"Yeah, the dice landed on two sixes, that means she wins," Render said pointing to the dice. Hex chuckled and looked to Falla as the girl gazed into his eyes.
"No it doesn't, she cheated; she stopped time and arranged the dice to land that way, and as such earned an automatic loss in the process," he said simply.
"What?" Luna cried out.
"Oh no," Kyouko said holding a hand over her mouth.
"You've got to be joking, he got both of them?" Render shouted out.
"Sister!" Complica cried out. Falla looked to her with a sweet smile while holding onto Hex's arm.
"Yes?" she asked.
"What are you doing? You love Ceal! You love Ceal, remember?" Complica pleaded while pointing towards Ceal, the catalyst mage watching the hexed chronofly with frustration. Falla glanced to him then laughed and shook her head.
"What are you talking about Complica? I've only ever loved Hex, he's the only one I could love with all my heart," she said looking to Hex with adoring eyes.
"Falla, no!" Luna cried out shaking her head. Ceal growled loudly as his reptilian hand glowed with a black hue, the group around him watching as dark tentacles shifted up through the ground around Hex. The humans watched the sight with wide eyes, with Kasumi and Koji turning pale, while the tentacles ensnared Hex and held him tightly.
"Release her now!" Ceal shouted out. Hex chuckled and glanced to Falla. In a flash all the dark limbs were slashed apart, with Falla instantly appearing before Ceal while holding her hand in chopping stance to his neck.
"Don't touch my man again," she said coldly. Ceal watched her with frustration as the group stared at the girl with disbelief. Akasha had her hand resting on her sword's handle, her eyes watching Ceal closely as Falla just glared at the mage.
"What… just happened?" Hothorne asked carefully.
"Falla shifted through time and cut Xarai's tentacles apart," Gin said while watching Falla with disbelief.
"What the hell is a Xarai?" Ageha asked nervously.
"The necro demon you just saw, he's like Ceal's pet, but that's the least of your worries right now," Kokoa said while watching Falla nervously and pointing to her.
"Is she crazy? She can't be using her magic like that; Babylon's going to find them now!" Kurumu cried out looking up.
"He's going to come straight for us!" Ran screamed out in terror.
"Relax, I'm masking the chrono magic while I'm here, remember? Falla's free to use her magic around me if she so chooses," Hex mentioned casually. Ceal glanced to him then to Falla as the girl leaned closer to his face.
"Touch my Hex again, and it'll be the last thing you ever do," she threatened before vanishing, the girl reappearing next to Hex again instantly as the group watched her with surprise.
"She really is in love with him now," Ruby said with disbelief.
"Mother, no! Snap out of it!" Moka cried out. Akasha looked to her with a raised eyebrow while lowering her hand.
"What's come over you Moka?" she asked simply, not seeming to notice that she was hexed into loving the reality bender at all. Moka shook her head and screamed before glaring at Hex with anger.
"Dammit Hex, let her go!" she yelled out, her eyes shifting to crimson while her hair turned silver for a moment during her rage. Hex chuckled and shook his head.
"No no, I don't believe I'll be doing that. I won them after all, no need to just give them away. But hey, if you want, feel free to roll for them," he said holding his hand out, the dice swirling around gently over his palm. Luna yelled out in horror at seeing Falla swooning over Hex then looked to seeing Complica wavering off-balance and dropping onto her side, her voice echoing out of her mouth erratically while she twitched slightly.
"Complica!" Luna cried out rushing over to her. The group looked to seeing Complica struggling to move, her eyes focusing again as she took a shaky breath.
"Sister… I feel… strange…" she breathed out.
"Her soul is becoming unstable, she's going to perish from the spell soon," Ruby said holding a hand over her mouth.
"This isn't happening… this isn't happening… this isn't happening…" Luna said shakily; looking from her little sister, then to Falla and Akasha, then to the clock, then back to Complica again.
"Oh dear, what do we do now?" Fang Fang asked nervously. Moka shook her head with frustration and looked down with eyes shut tight. Her mother and Falla had lost their hearts to Hex, the two seeming to have only the reality bender on their minds now even at a time like this. Complica was on the verge of being wiped from existence, having only a few hours left before her soul would be destroyed from the Chrono Displacement spell. And they all still had the daunting challenge of restoring peace and order in the human world before Babylon began his invasion. After a moment Moka yelled out in anger then pointed to Rason and Gabriel.
"You two, get up to heaven right now and tell the Almighty what's going on. Do whatever it takes, we need help getting Complica back into heaven right now!" she ordered. The angels looked to each other then to Complica, the young girl holding onto Luna who was crying still.
"Alright, we'll go, I just hope he can do something about this," Rason said worriedly. Luna whimpered and looked to Gabriel, the angel nodding at her with a worried smile.
"We'll go talk to him right now, we won't let your sister be taken away like this," he said gently.
"Please, hurry," Luna pleaded before looking back to Complica. Rason and Gabriel glanced to Hex then ran out of the room, with Kurumu glaring at Hex before following after them.
"Hey, I'm coming too!" she called out as she ran out of the room. Moka watched them go, keeping her eyes away from Hex in order to repress her anger.
"Put your dice away Hex, we're not playing your game again," she said sternly. Hex chuckled and pocketed his dice with a shrug.
"Your choice," he said simply. Moka closed her eyes, using all her willpower not to yell or lash out at the reality bender, knowing that to be a futile response. She breathed out then looked to Hothorne.
"When will you need us for the press conference?" she asked. Hothorne looked at her for a moment then down at the table.
"Give us an hour or so, then we can address the public together," he answered.
"Very well. In the meantime we're going to wait outside for the return of our angels. Let us know when you need us," Moka said looking back to the door. She started walking towards it then stopped and looked to the others.
"Let's go," she ordered.
"But… big sis…" Kokoa said worriedly, looking at Akasha as the woman was just letting Hex brush her hair leisurely. Moka glanced to Hex then to Kokoa again with a stern expression.
"Kokoa, I said let's go," she repeated. Kokoa looked at her worriedly as the elder sister pointed to the door.
"Outside, now," Moka ordered before she walked out of the room. Moka's friends nodded and slowly started to head towards the door, with Complica holding onto Luna's hand. As they passed Hex and his two charmed girls Falla looked to Complica with a worried smile.
"Complica," she said softly, with the group looking to her as she walked over and knelt down in front of her little sister.
"Please don't cry, Rason and Gabriel are going to fix this, you'll see," she said softly.
"She still cares for Complica," Ruby said curiously.
"She's still herself, the only thing that's changed is her heart now belongs to Hex," Luna said glancing to Hex with a glare. The boy shrugged while Falla gently wiped a tear away from Complica.
"You're going to be fine, I promise," Falla said gently. Complica looked at her with worried eyes then nodded before she took hold of her hand.
"Come with us, please?" she asked. Falla looked to Hex who nodded with a calm smile.
"Go ahead Falla, we're not going anywhere yet anyway," he said with a shrug. Falla nodded and stood up while looking down to Complica.
"Ok, let's go," she said with a kind smile. Luna looked at her with worried eyes, knowing her sister couldn't help how she felt now, and then looked to Complica with a small smile.
"Gabriel's going to talk to the Almighty, they'll find a way to save you, I just know they will," she said hopefully. Complica looked down and nodded a bit before her sisters led her out of the room. After they left the group glared at Hex.
"You're a monster Hex," Razico said angrily. The boy merely smiled amusedly at the warlock while Akasha paid the others no mind at all.
"It's not enough that you're going to let one of Luna's sisters be taken from her, but now you've taken another from her as well. For somebody who claims to love his own sister you're nothing but a heartless monster," Razico said with anger.
"You speak as if the little one's condition and fate are my fault," Hex said with a laugh.
"I hope Pandora rots in her box for all time," Ruby said with a hiss.
"Once we get our wishes from her, she's never getting out of that box," Render said with a glare at Hex. The reality bender merely chuckled at them.
"We'll see about that," he said simply.
"You really are that dark king's son, you're despicable," Kasumi said bitterly at the boy.
"When our son comes back to us, you'd better not be around then, or else you're in for a serious beating," Koji threatened, with a nervous yet angry glare at the reality bender. Hex rolled his eyes then looked at the group with a dull expression.
"They chose to play; this is the outcome, plain and simple. Whether you lesser beings understand that or not is up to you, either way it's not my fault or concern if luck wasn't on their side," he said simply.
"You won't be keeping them like this, we will free them from your control," Dark said sternly.
"You will not be stealing Moka's mother and Luna's sister away from them like this, we will not allow it," Fang Fang added with discontent.
"What are they talking about?" Akasha asked with a bored tone and raised eyebrow at them. Hex chuckled and started walking towards the door, with the vampire then following closely after him.
"They're just poor sports, quite sad actually," the boy said before they left.
"Akasha…" Kokoa said softly.
"We'll free them both Kokoa, like hell we're letting Hex keep them like this," Felucia said with discontent.
"This isn't happening, everything is falling apart," Kyouko said shaking her head.
"We'll fix this Kyouko; Hex won't keep Akasha and Falla with him. Right now however we have a more pressing matter to deal with, let's go wait outside and hope our angels return with good news," Ruby said looking up with worried eyes. Kyouko nodded and looked down with closed eyes, hoping that Falla would return to her senses again soon.
"What if they can't help her, what if… what if Complica is going to…" Arial said nervously. Dark held her hand gently, the girl looking to him with watery eyes as he shook his head.
"Don't lose faith, right now all we can do is believe that Rason and Gabriel will find a way to save her," he said gently. Arial nodded then held onto his arm with a whimper, the boy looking at his angel with worried eyes then to Mizore and Felucia, the two girls exchanging worried glances before looking at Arial as well. Hothorne looked around at the group as everybody left then up with a distant gaze.
"Monster or not, I pray you don't let that young girl perish like this," he said softly.
Outside the main building of the HDA HQ a large group of friends and family had gathered in a courtyard near the edge of the compound. On the blacktop court there were crates of supplies stacked around the area, with the group sitting on a few while they all awaited to hear what could be done about Complica.
"So let me get this straight. Arial tried to kill you because she was in love with Dark herself?" Tsurara asked, as she, her husband, and Mizore were watching Arial sitting with Dark and listening to her music again. Felucia was standing near them while watching the skies carefully while Mizore had taken the moment to explain the situation with Arial in full detail.
"And now she is saying Felucia will be his wife, even though she too is a disembodied soul from the afterlife?" Akio asked with confusion, looking at Arial with a raised eyebrow while the snow angel was looking down with closed eyes.
"Because she doesn't approve of you marrying Dark at all?" Tsurara asked looking to Mizore. The snow maiden merely nodded as she watched Arial with a dull glare.
"What's worse is that Dark can't go against Arial, he just can't say no to her. If I don't get her blessing before she goes back to heaven I won't be able to marry Dark," Mizore said with concern.
"But dear, you and Dark love each other," Tsurara said worriedly.
"We do, but Dark can't live without his angel, trust me, without her he'll fall into despair. She gave him life, a purpose, a reason to live. She's sacred to him; he can't go against her wishes, not even for me. As much as I hate to say it, my future with him depends on me winning over that accursed little snow rat," Mizore said with discontent. Her parents looked at her curiously then to Arial as the snow angel kept holding Dark's hand, with the demon glancing back to Mizore before looking down to Arial.
"Oh dear, so what are you planning to do?" Tsurara asked.
"My first plan is to act as nice and considerate around Arial as possible," Mizore said thoughtfully.
"And if that doesn't work? What will you try with her next?" Akio asked.
"A flamethrower comes to mind," Mizore said flatly with a dull stare at Arial.
Sitting over near some other boxes Complica was looking up at the sky with worried eyes while her sisters sat on either side of her. Luna glanced to Falla with saddened eyes then ahead to seeing Hex leaning against some boxes while his dice leisurely spun around over his open palm. Standing next to him Akasha was looking up at the sky with a curious eye, her arms crossed before her while she tapped one finger on her arm casually.
"My last day alive, at least I'll be able to see the sunset with you two," Complica whimpered before she started crying. Falla held her with a worried expression and shook her head.
"Don't talk like that. Rason and Gabriel are going to be back any moment now with news from the Almighty, you're going to be fine," she reassured.
"I think your words would make her feel better if you weren't hexed by Hex right now," Luna said glancing to her with a dull expression.
"What are you talking about? I'm not hexed with anything," Falla said shaking her head. Complica cried and clung to Luna's side, holding her close while Luna held her little sister gently.
"Don't you remember that you love Ceal? He gave you back your mind and your eye Falla, he was everything to you, don't you remember that at all?" Luna asked desperately. Falla just stared at her for a moment then raised an eyebrow.
"Are you suffering from your dementia again? The only one I've ever loved is Hex," she said simply. Luna sighed and looked down to Complica with worried eyes, fearful she would be losing both her sisters on that day.
Standing over near some other crates Moka was leaning back against a few, her arms crossed and her eyes glaring at Hex while she felt her anger rising at the reality bender who had her mother hexed under his spell. Next to her Kyouko and Kokoa were watching Akasha and Falla with concern as well.
"What are we going to do? Hex is going to take them away with him now, and they're not exactly going to put up a fight," Kyouko said with worry.
"Can't we kill Hex? Won't that break the spell?" Kokoa asked quietly. Moka shook her head as she watched the reality bender closely.
"You know as well as all of us that he's stronger than he looks, not to mention if we do attack him Falla and my mother will fight against us to protect Hex, and I'm not sure which one of them will spill more blood during that," she reasoned.
"Not to mention we don't know if that'll break the spell, what if we manage to take him down and they're still obsessed with him afterwards? We still won't have saved them and then they'll be after our blood for killing him," Kyouko asked worriedly. Kokoa growled with anger at Hex while Kou was glaring at the boy from on her shoulder.
"Then what are we supposed to do here?" Kokoa asked with frustration.
"Nothing," Gin said walking over and standing beside her. The girl glanced to him as he watched Hex carefully.
"We can't do anything here for them unless we dare to play Hex's game. The only other way of freeing them from Hex is by using Pandora's Box," he reasoned.
"Pandora's Box? You mean use the wish from her when her monsters are defeated?" Kyouko asked.
"Bingo. I was talking to Render, Leon, and Ceal. They all agree that using the wish to save Falla and Akasha is something they're more than willing to do, Ceal especially," Gin said gesturing over to the side while keeping his eyes on Hex. The girls looked over to the rest of their group watching Hex from nearby, with Render, Leon, and Ceal all glaring at Hex.
"Ceal looks really mad," Kyouko said.
"Good, I'll bet he's more deadly and destructive like that, better chances of them wiping the floor with Pandora's pets," Kokoa said looking back to Hex with a glare. Moka watched the hunters carefully then looked to Hex again.
"This isn't good though. That means one wish to save those two, one wish to save Arial, Complica, and Felucia, and then Ceal's going to want another wish to find Fafnir, that's three times we would have to open Pandora's Box and three times we would have to fight her monsters," she pointed out.
"I don't think we have that kind of time, by the sound of it we might only be lucky to do this once," Kyouko said worriedly.
"This is going to be bad, we're racing the clock against Babylon's invasion, and we also have to play peacekeepers here in the human world," Gin said shaking his head.
"We have to save Akasha and Falla as soon as we can, hopefully Rason and Gabriel will be able to solve our dilemma with Arial, Complica, and Felucia," Moka reasoned.
"And… what if they can't?" Kokoa asked worriedly. Moka closed her eyes for a moment then looked to Complica with concern.
"Then we'll only be sending two lost souls through a gateway into heaven," she said softly, with the others looking to the young chronofly with worried eyes.
Over near the rest of the group Render was sitting on a crate while watching Hex with a sharp eye.
"Oh, I cannot wait until I get to smear Pandora's pets all over the ground, just to laugh in Hex's face that his dear sister isn't going anywhere. It's not wise to piss off a battlemage, only gives me more of a reason to fight. You mess with the bull, and you get the horns," he growled.
"It'll be all the more satisfaction knowing we're going to be an inconvenience to Hex with keeping his sister trapped in that box. I don't think I've been more motivated to claim this treasure before now," Leon said with discontent. Ceal merely held in his growl as his eyes were locked onto Hex, the mage feeling his anger rising for having Falla taken from him like this.
"Poor Complica, what if Rason and Gabriel can't fix this? What if she's really stuck down here until her time is up?" Yukari asked worriedly.
"Don't think like that, we have to stay positive that those two are coming back here with a way to save her," Ahakon said holding her, the young witch nodding and looking up at the sky with worried eyes.
"It's been over an hour so far though, we're running out of time, where are those two?" Razico said looking up and around at the sky.
"Please come back with good news, please," Ruby said looking up with growing fear for Complica.
"I know it's not good to say this, but… in the event that… we're out of options for her, what should we do?" Fang Fang asked reluctantly.
"Way to keep up morale," Apoch and Astreal said flatly. Fang Fang shook his head and looked to Complica with a gentle gaze.
"I'm not saying I've given up hope with our two angels, I am praying for that young girl with all my might right now, but we have to consider the possibly that they may not have a solution for us. If that is the case, our only other alternative is to play Hex's game again. If so, would we do it?" he reasoned.
"We're not playing his game again; it's more than apparent that we can lose too much in doing so," Ruby said shaking her head.
"We all agreed not to play it again, the odds just aren't with us to win," Razico added.
"We could all lose everything just trying to win his game, we would only be adding to our losses," Yukari said with remorse. Sun held a hand over her mouth while watching Complica with worried eyes, with Ran holding her gently before looking to the others.
"But he's right, that would be our only other way of saving her. If we're not going to take such a risky chance, and Rason and Gabriel can't do anything for her, then… what can we do?" she asked. Everybody looked to each other then to Hex with concern. Nobody wanted to play his game of chance to try to save the young chronofly, however if they were faced with no other choice they wondered whether they would take the chance or not.
Near the group Kasumi and Koji were sitting on some crates while Ageha, Tamanori, and Fujiko were standing near them.
"This is like a bad dream, and I can't wake up from it," Koji said with despair, looking down and holding his hands to his head.
"Tsukune, my poor baby, my dear boy. What if I never see him again, what if that vampire illness doesn't go away?" Kasumi said worriedly.
"Your son struck down Alucard, I think he can handle some little vampire sickness just fine," Ageha mentioned. The parents looked to her as she was watching Hex with narrowed eyes.
"I think the only thing we need to be worried about right now is that reality bender and his father," she said with discontent.
"I can't believe he's not going to help that young girl if he has the power to do so, that's just horrible of him," Tamanori said shaking his head. Fujiko nodded and opened her mouth to speak before Kasumi spoke up.
"Wait, that boy can grant wishes right? Then he could make my Tsukune all better again and bring him back to me couldn't he?" she asked eagerly.
"Yeah, he could, at the risk of losing your heart to him just like those two had happen to them, or have you already forgotten that?" Ageha asked her with a scoff. Kasumi blinked then jumped while holding her hands over her heart.
"Oh dear, that's right," she said fearfully. Koji gulped then stood up and forced a brave expression as he rolled up his sleeves.
"Alright, I guess it's all up to me then. I'm going to march over there and play his game to make everything go back to normal, no upcoming monster war or my son suffering from some vampire sickness. What's he going to do, steal my heart? Ha, like he would want a man's heart," he said with a weak laugh. Ageha raised an eyebrow at him and shook her head.
"Yeah, he would likely take something else from you, like your health, your life, your wife, or even your penis," she said dryly. Koji jumped while holding his hands over his crotch as Kasumi looked to him with worried eyes.
"No, not that," Koji whimpered while shaking his head.
"That boy likes to gamble for something big in return, remember? It doesn't matter who plays his game with him, his stakes are going to be dangerously high either way," Tamanori said shaking his head. Fujiko nodded and opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off by someone else.
"Hey! There they are!" Felucia called out as she pointed up. Everybody looked up to seeing three winged figures descending down towards them from the clouds. Arial quickly took out her earbuds as the group watched the three flyers heading down towards the courtyard.
"Please tell me they got help," Ruby said worriedly.
Rason, Kurumu, and Gabriel all landed down on the blacktop, their wings giving off a gust of wind as the three braced from the landing. The two angels had their shirts tied around their waists while Kurumu's wings and tail were extended out behind her.
"Gabriel!" Luna called out as she ran towards her angel. She rushed up and embraced him in a hug as the others watched with high interest at the arrival of their airborne friends.
"Well, what's the word?" Felucia called out.
Luna hugged Gabriel tightly then leaned back and looked at him with worried eyes.
"Did you talk to the angels and Almighty about this? Did you… get this… sorted… out…" she said before trailing off, seeing Gabriel just watching her with a remorseful expression. She looked over to Rason and Kurumu, both of them looking down with closed eyes while Kurumu retracted her wings and tail.
"Well? What happened?" Kyouko called out as everybody started walking towards them.
"Gabriel?" Luna asked worriedly. The angel slowly shook his head, with Luna gasping and backing up as the group saw his gesture.
"What… what do you mean…" Luna asked nervously. Gabriel looked around at everybody then to Complica, the young angel watching him with worried eyes.
"Elder!" Gabriel called out as he, Rason, and Kurumu landed down in the courtyard of the heavenly palace. They spotted the elder angel watching over the world below by the edge of the floating isle, the man looking over to seeing the three flyers running towards him.
"Elder, please, we have an emergency," Gabriel said worriedly.
"We need your help, one of the wandering souls we found is about to die from a magical spell, we need to return her to heaven immediately or else she'll be wiped out of existence," Rason explained.
"I fear to ask which soul you are referring to," the elder asked gravely.
"Complica Cii, we have her and Arial with us down below, but we have a serious problem. We cannot return them to heaven, the heavenly barrier is blocking them from coming up here," Gabriel explained.
"Please, you and the Almighty must do something quickly, in a few hours she'll be killed by the spell, we have to get her inside the heavenly realm right away," Rason urged. The elder nodded and looked down with a solemn expression.
"Her family will not be happy to hear this," he said distantly.
"Didn't you hear us? Complica's going to die soon! Don't just stand there, do something!" Kurumu cried out. The man looked to her and shook his head.
"My dear girl, there's nothing I can do," he said gravely.
"What?" the three others cried out. The elder sighed and looked down to the world below, seeing Complica outside the HDA building while surrounded by her friends and family.
"We've been keeping an eye on you Gabriel, since you didn't return from your simple task of delivering the news about Arial Kuyumaya's fall to earth. I'm not going to go into our concerns and thoughts regarding you killing humans during your trials, I'm sure you had your reasons," the man said, glancing to Gabriel who showed a nervous expression to that.
"But elder, I had to stay and help, they were going to kill Rason and his friends, I had to-"
"I understand my boy, as I said I'm sure you had your reasons. I'm glad to see you did save Rason here and his friends from death on that night. However we did watch with dismay at your attempt to return Arial and Complica back to this realm, seeing with our own eyes that the two souls could not pass through the barrier," the elder said remorsefully.
"So you've known about that problem?" Rason asked.
"Yes, and I've spoken to the Almighty about it personally, telling him of our unfortunate predicament," the elder said with a nod.
"So the Almighty knows about this? What's he going to do to fix it then?" Kurumu asked.
"Nothing," the elder said shaking his head.
"Nothing?" the three others cried out.
"What do you mean nothing? Elder, two children are trapped on the other side of the barrier, how could the Almighty say he would do nothing about it?" Rason asked with disbelief.
"Because the Almighty can't do anything about it. The laws of heaven and the barrier are absolute, and cannot be changed even for a single circumstance. No soul can pass through the barrier, that's how it's supposed to be and stay. The Almighty cannot break the rules of heaven himself, that's just not possible," the elder explained.
"What? But… but what the hell?" Kurumu cried out with shock. Rason shook his head and looked down with frustration.
"No, that can't be, what about Felucia and Akasha? They were supposed to return to heaven as well, what about them? Surely the Almighty knew that they were dead and would face the same problem, right?" he asked.
"Akasha Bloodriver was given her life back by the Almighty; she is not a disembodied soul Rason," the elder corrected.
"Hex was right, she really is alive," Kurumu said with wonder. The elder nodded and looked down to the earth below, seeing the vampire standing next to the reality bender.
"That was done intentionally. She was originally offered a place here but refused, wishing to earn it instead. In honor of her wish the Almighty brought her back to life, so that when her new life came to an end and she has earned her place in heaven to her satisfaction she could enter again," he explained. The three others looked to each other stunned expressions before back to the elder.
"That's why she's alive now, the Almighty knew if she was sent down as disembodied soul that she wouldn't be able to return," Gabriel said holding a hand over his eyes, piecing together the reason as to why the vampire was given her life back but never told about it.
"Correct, after seeing that Complica and Arial were indeed trapped down below he did not wish to add another to that list," the elder confirmed.
"But what about Felucia? She's a disembodied soul from hell, the Lord of Hell said she would be coming to heaven after she saved Luna, how was she going to get up here?" Kurumu asked. The elder paused for a moment then rubbed the back of his head.
"I'm afraid your demon friend made a mistake when she left hell," he said with a small shrug.
"What? What do you mean mistake?" Rason asked. The elder sighed then looked down toward the earth, seeing Felucia standing near Arial and Dark in the HDA courtyard.
"I was informed by the Almighty about it. The Lord of Hell sent word up here to let us know that she failed to follow instructions given to her about coming up here. When she was in hell she was presented with two bracelets of unique energy. One was a band that would give her soul a physical body and monster energy, similar to how her spirit artifact worked. The other was a band that would allow her soul to pass through the heavenly barrier in a single-use event, by shifting her body into a pure living being before expiring and allowing her to enter heaven like all the other souls in the world do when they die," the man explained. After a moment he glanced to the others with a raised eyebrow.
"She only took the blue and green looking bracelet, which was the spirit manifestation band, but left the pink bracelet behind, which was the band of life, claiming that it looked too 'girly' for her," he said flatly. The others blinked then slowly looked at him with bewilderment.
"Wait, you're saying the band that would have allowed her to come into heaven… she left it in hell… just because it was pink?" Rason asked.
"Apparently," the elder said with a shrug.
"But… nobody told her about this?" Kurumu cried out.
"I heard that she was informed about the bracelets and their purposes, however she seemed to be in a hurry to get on with her mission to save Luna from the dark world, and it appears she didn't listen to what she was told," the elder reasoned shaking his head.
"Oh no, you mean… she's…" Kurumu said nervously.
"Yes, she's 'screwed' as mortals would put it," the elder said with a nod.
"But… can't the band be brought up for her still? Or even better, for Complica? It could save her soul, please, can't we get that for her to use instead?" Rason pleaded. The elder merely shook his head.
"I'm afraid that offer has passed now Rason," he said solemnly. The others looked at him with shock then to each other.
"No… this can't be happening," Kurumu said looking down with fearful eyes.
"Elder… Complica is dying down there… her soul… she's going to be gone forever. There must be something… anything we can do to save her," Rason pleaded desperately.
"I'm sorry Rason, but the Almighty cannot help them. Them being down there is an impossibly in itself, it is something that not even our lord can correct," the elder said gravely. Gabriel shook his head and looked over the edge of the courtyard, seeing Luna down below sitting with her sisters.
"No… you can't mean that. We can't go down there… and tell them that… we can't tell them that Complica is… that she's…" he said as he felt his heart ache.
"She's doomed," Kurumu breathed out, looking to Rason as the angel looked down and closed his eyes with frustration.
Everybody was staring at Gabriel, Rason, and Kurumu with shock, except for Hex, as the three flyers told the group what they had learned in heaven.
"No…" Luna breathed out while tears welled up in her eyes.
"I'm sorry Luna," Gabriel said with deep remorse.
"The Almighty can't help them? Are you serious?" Ruby asked with disbelief. Kurumu and Rason shook their heads and looked down with closed eyes.
"Are you fucking kidding me? That stupid pink bracelet was my ticket to getting into heaven?" Felucia cried out. The angels and succubus twitched a bit then looked to her with remorse while nodding. Felucia screamed and looked down while grabbing her hair.
"But that's not fair! Why would you have something that important be colored pink? That's not right!" she cried out.
Falla looked to Complica then to Gabriel with disbelief.
"What the hell do you mean the Almighty isn't going to do anything for her? For crying out loud she's going to die soon! She'll be gone forever, how can the Almighty do nothing?" she yelled out with frustration. Luna whimpered and looked to her little sister with devastation as Gabriel closed his eyes and looked down and away.
"I'm sorry, but the Almighty cannot change the rules of heaven or the barrier, there's nothing he or the elders can do for them," he informed with regret.
"Oh dear lord, no," Moka said holding a hand over her mouth.
"No… you're saying… Complica… Complica is going to…" Arial said nervously. The group looked to Complica as the young chronofly looked down with fearful eyes and whimpered.
"I'm going to fade away into time."