Chapter 15

The Trickster's Gathering

Ryuji sat staring at Shiho's empty desk as he let out a soft sigh. He hadn't heard from her since yesterday and it bothered him. Even though it'd been a few days, he'd gotten use to the fact that she would keep him up late just so she could to talk to him. He wasn't really listening to the lecture, which really wasn't anything new, but instead of his normal daydreaming he was focused on one thing in particular.

Mr. Inui, a well-groomed man in a black suit in his early thirties, stood at the chalk board with a book in one hand and a piece of chalk in the other.

"Sakamoto?" He asked as he tossed the chalk lightly while starring at Ryuji, patiently waiting for him to give him the answer to his question.

Letting out a sigh of his own, he stepped around the podium while continuing his lecture. He knew that it wasn't the most interesting of subjects but it was still somewhat important.

"Though as in many ways, history has a way of repeating itself if one is not too cautious of their surroundings." He said while walking down Ryuji's row. "Could say that Ishikawa Goemon could have learned from previous attempts on Shogun Toyotomi's life but was captured in there in. Now I ask again…"

He stood by Ryuji's desk and closed his book with a loud snap that caused other students to jump. "When and how was this man dealt with…?"

He looked around then down to Ryuji. Following his gaze, Inui saw the empty desk across the room that belonged to Ms. Suzui before chiding himself and lightly tapping on the boy's desk. Snapping out of his daze, Ryuji looked up at Mr. Inui with a seemingly apologetic if not sheepish look.

"Sorry teach… I didn't hear you…"

Mr. Inui remained patient as the class chuckled. He saw that the book on Ryuji's desk was at least opened and saw that he was only a page behind. He noticed an improvement in Ryuji's work ethic over the past few days. He had been more attentive and seemed to participate more during class. Seeing the open book, he figured that Ryuji was at least trying to put in the effort. Inui turned his page and pointed to a paragraph under a Japanese drawing of Goemon.

"He and his son, Ixicava, were executed in 1594… and that he was boiled alive…" Ryuji said after a moment.

"That's correct Sakamoto, well done." Mr. Inui said as he walked back to the podium to continue his lecture. The door to the classroom flew open as another teacher, Ryuji had nicknamed him as "fancypants", called out.

"Inui, we need you down in the courtyard… Right now… Please…" he said in a hurried breath.

"Hiruta, what's going on?" Mr. Inui asked in a worried tone.

"Shouldn't say anything in fron-" Hiruta started to say.

"Oh my god, she's gonna jump!" a student called out.

"God damn it, please remain calm and stay in your seats." Hiruta tried to say but was ignored as students exited the classroom through the other door.

Ryuji took a moment to process what he heard, She's gonna jump… She… oh god… please… no…

He nearly leapt out of his seat and sped out the door and down to Revland's classroom, only to find him running towards him.

"Ryuji! Roof! NOW!" He yelled to him.

Hearing the urgency in his friend's voice, he didn't hesitate as he took the stairs two or three at a time. The door to the roof was already ajar as he grabbed the handle and flung it opened to see Shiho on the other side of the fence staring out into open space of the courtyard.

"SHIHO!" he cried out. He sped towards the fence as she started to fall forward.

"SHIHO-PLEASE-NO!" he screamed. She was gone by the time he made it to the fence line, tears filling his eyes and clouding his vision.

What he witnessed left him wide-eyed and speechless. He saw Revland running along the wall of one of the buildings before leaping out to catch Shiho with his black wings flung wide as they vanished into thin air.

He took a minute to rub his eyes and checked again. They were gone, save for a few feathers still lingering in the air that were shimmering with blue fire before fading away.

He stepped back from the fence, slowly at first, then sprinted back inside to find Ann and Makoto. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain, but they needed to know that Shiho was safe.

If he's not here… then they must be back there… oh, Jesus… The thought caused him to stumble.

He was making his way down to the main hallway when he found both a hysterical Ann and Makoto trying her best to console her sitting on a bench by the front entrance.

Ryuji slowed to a quick walk as he approached them breathlessly. As he did, he heard what others had witnessed only a few moments ago.

"You hear, Suzui-san jumped off the roof."

"What do you think happened?"

"You think it has anything to do with the transfer student?"

"I don't know, I thought I saw him running for the courtyard before she vanished."

"Really, she vanished?"

"Like, poof, gone, no sign of her."

"Are you sure she Jumped?"

"Honestly, I hope Sakamoto is okay… I heard they were close."

Didn't they see Revland… he was running up walls and sprouting wings… or was I just imagining it?

"Where is she… what happened to Shiho…?" Ann tried to ask between sobs.

"I don't know, the teachers are looking for her now. They closed off the courtyard till tomorrow." Makoto cooed.

"You mean you didn't see?" Ryuji said in a breathless mutter.

"See what?" Makoto asked.

"Revland… he ran up the wall and-" he paused, "I saw him save her… I think she's with him."

"Revland?" Disbelief evident in her tone before calming her own emotions, "Listen Ryuji, I know what you just saw is-"

"I know it sounds crazy be you need to believe me." He interrupted. "Wait, you weren't watching?"

Makoto looked away from him, "I'm sorry… I couldn't bear it… I even covered Ann's eyes… she didn't need to see it."

He started scratching his head in frustration.

How do I explain it in a way that I don't come off like a raving lunatic?

Ann wasn't listening but caught that somehow Revland saved Shiho, "Then… where is she… where's Shiho?"

Ryuji looked at the tear stained visage of Ann's face and turned away. "She's safe, that much I'm sure… but if my guess is right… then she won't be for much longer…"


Kawakami, as well as the other teachers, were standing in the courtyard where that morning's incident had taken place. After some debate, they agreed that Shiho Suzui, had indeed, jumped from the roof that morning or at least it appeared so. What confused them was: if she had jumped, then where was she now?

"Where's Kamoshida?" Inui asked.

"Said he would go secure the front gate, said he'd be back soon." Hiruta offered.

Mr. Hiruta is what most would consider, a pretty boy. He has dark brown hair, even darker eyes as he wears his black suit and white folded tie with, as he puts it, a little more grace than the average man.

In Kawakami's opinion, he was trying way too hard but still a decent enough guy all the same.

"How could this have happened?" Kobayakawa whispered.

"She's never shown any symptoms before now, she seemed to be in better spirits lately after she started her relationship with Sakamoto." Chouno said. "She looked fine when I saw her yesterday."

"Wait, you saw her?" Ushimaru asked.

"She was with Niijima yesterday, I needed to talk to her about her career path and asked Suzui to wait out in the hall."

"You separated them?" Kawakami asked, beginning to piece everything together.

"You know as well as I do that career discussions are between a teacher and student, it's school policy." She stated flatly.

Kobayakawa nodded in approval, "Indeed, our student's privacy should be of the highest priority."

Kawakami scoffed, "Oh please, if that was the case then how did Antrie's criminal record get leaked to the student body. I haven't heard about anything being done to rectify that 'little slip up' as you put it."

"Antrie's record is not what we are discussing here today, perhaps at a later date we could-"

"No, she's right. If privacy is what we prioritize than how did that happen?" Ushimaru interjected. "You think it may have something to do with what happened today?"

"Maybe, but I don't have anything yet… merely speculation, but I think it may have been caused by the same person."

"Chouno, did they seem off or worried about something?" Hiruta asked.

"Now that I think about it, they didn't seem to be too eager to be separate…" She explained.

"And that didn't seem weird to you?" Kawakami asked incredulously.

"I thought they just wanted to go home, I only kept her for a few minutes." Chouno defended.

Can't blame her for being a ditz.

"Blame is meaningless right now; we still have two missing student and one of them is a suicide risk." Ms. Usami reprimanded as she adjusted her glasses.

Kawakami glared at the woman in the brown business suit, her braided black hair and glasses. Then sighed knowing she was right, the worse of what she feared has come to pass and they don't have much to show for it. Best description of what other students saw was: "She just vanished about halfway to the ground".

"Who's the other student that's missing?" Kawakami asked.

"It's funny you should mention him." Ushimaru said, scratching his chin. "He's from Class 2-D, Revland Antrie. He hasn't been seen leaving the school but was seen running for the courtyard before they lost track of him. No one's seen him since."

"We need to notify the parents." Inui said.

"And call the police." Hiruta added.

"No-no-no-no, we can't get them involved yet. We must have to locate the children first or at least try." Kobayakawa said flustered.

"We can't put this off much longer, who's to say that the students haven't contacted their parents already." Usami added.

"We'll have the students return to their homeroom for now. Then we'll do a thorough scan of the grounds. If that turns up nothing, then I will personally call the authorities if you can't seem to work up the courage… Mr. Principal…" Ushimaru said with some heat.

The other teachers nodded while Kobayakawa reluctantly agreed.

They turned to split into separate groups in order to cover more ground. As she turned to leave, Kawakami noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. Over in the grass, a small black feather made subtle twitches in the wind while lying in a small patch of burnt grass.

It shimmered with a feint blue light that, though it didn't burn, felt oddly warm. She stood as she inspected the object and looked up to the roof to see if she could see the bird that could've left it. For a moment, she thought she saw smoldering footprints running up the side of the building. She shook her head before taking a second looked but found that there was nothing there.

"Kawakami, you coming?" Chouno called.

"I'll be right there." She answered as she placed the feather in the pocket of her skirt before assisting with the search.


Air rushed passed Revland as he fell from the sky above the castle. He saw that he had already changed into his thief attire and knew that his plan, if you could call it that, would work… or at least he hoped so.

With Shiho in his arms, he flipped his body so his feet would be facing the ground and cast he wings out to slow his decent. He misjudged the distance and hit the ground harder than intended as a wave of azure fire rushed out to cover the rooftop garden as the ground to shudder underfoot.

Instead of burning the forgotten garden away, his fire seemed to bring it back to life as flowers started to bloom right before his eyes. Remaining still, his eyes shifted from one end of the roof to the other while trying his best to slow his breathing.

Once he was relatively sure he was safe, he finally looked down at the still form of Shiho.

"Shiho… hey, Shiho…." He asked her to no response.

He gave her a small shake and called out to her again with the same result.

"Come on, answer me…"

No response.

"You need to open your eyes…"

Nothing.

"I need you to say something… anything… please…"

Still nothing.

"Why won't she wake up… she's not…" Revland asked with horror in his voice.

"Calm yourself Antrie, notice she still draws breath. There's still life in this one yet." Arséne soothed.

"Oh… right…" he said in a whisper.

He took a moment to clear his mind before giving the poor girl a once over and nearly wished he hadn't.

Nearly every inch of her was covered in bruises in varying shades of purple. Her lips were cracked with the bottom being split to show the inner reddened pick flesh. Her wrists were heavily bruised as well as her ankles, showing signs of restraints.

"Spiral pattern… rope maybe…" he mumbled in thought.

He saw the ruffled, bloodstained shirt Shiho was wearing and slowly reached for it.

"I'm sorry Ryuji… Shiho… forgive me…" he started.

He saw what appeared to be tracks of raw flesh leading from under her skirt up to her chest. He covered her stomach again as a few tears escaped from his eyes landing on Shiho's cheek.

"I'm so… so sorry… Shiho… I… I failed…" Revland tried to say but couldn't speak through his choking sorrow.

A rustle came from a nearby rose bush and Revland threw up a hand with two fingers pointing in the direction of the sound.

"Eiha!" he whispered with menace as a needle of dark shadow sped towards its target.

Letting out a shriek of terror, a ball of sky-blue light erupted out of the bush and spun around in clear agitation.

"Hey, what's the big idea?! Didn't your mother teach you that it's rude to attack people?" a young high pitch voice cried out, coming from a small figure inside the little ball of light.

"No, but she did mention something about strangers and how to deal with peepers… who are you?" he answered with a sneer as he clutched Shiho's still unmoving form.

"I'm not the one who just landed on my home and tried to kill me!" the light retorted.

"Last I checked, this place isn't a very friendly to outsiders. Now I ask again, who-are-you?" Growling as his anger rose.

"Calm yourself, she doesn't appear to be hostile… though I didn't think we'd ever find a pixie dwelling in such a place as this…" Arséne noted with a hint of wonder.

"A pixie… you mean like Tinker Bell?" he asked, more as a joke.

"Hey, don't ignore me!" the pixie said as she flew down to what she believed to be a safe distance.

Revland looked back at the floating ball of light and lowered his arm to rest defensively across Shiho's shoulder. He concentrated on the little ball of light as he began to memorize its movements… just in case he needed to act. His vision blurred for a moment then snapped back to a clarity that he'd never known before. The world seemed darker but the little ball of light was now a small girl about the size of his hand. She had auburn hair and tight dark blue dress with white leggings. Her face was soft though it currently wore a scornful look of mistrust. Her aura was similar in color to that of the light that she emanated, telling him that she's a relatively peaceful being despite the location he found himself in.

"I'm… uh… huh… sorry?" Revland offered, not sure how to proceed.

"Oh, so you do have some manners." She said as she floated closer to him.

He looked down to check on Shiho as the sight of her nearly caused him to vomit. Shiho's aura was in ruins like something had torn it apart from within. Her usual colors were there but were nearly imperceptible compared to the darkness that engulfed her. Her skin was pale, appearing rotten as her eyes were nearly nonexistent. Before turning away, he thought he could see a small light deep within the darkness where her heart should be.

There's still hope… we might be able to fix this…

Shiho's current state reminded him of how he met the Pharaoh's daughter and the state he found her temple in.

Perhaps… this is what could've happened if I'd decided to do nothing…?

"Oh my, she doesn't look very good." The Pixie said in a worried tone.

"Yeah… I… I don't know what to do… I don't know any…" Revland began before a thought hit him as a ray of hope began to burn in his chest.

"Morgana… I need Morgana!" he said excitedly.

"You need a what now?" she asked, confused.

Smiling now, he continued. "I need to find a friend that's somewhere in this castle, do you think you can help me?"

She jerked back, surprised at his sudden outburst, "Why do you want my help?"

"You said you lived here; means you know the place better than I would." He explained.

She hovered in place for a moment, looking around at the now flourishing garden. "Were you the one who brought the flowers back to life?"

Puzzled, he looked around him and saw that the garden was now full of colors with a variety of different flowers.

"I… honestly don't know." He answered.

She floated to about an inch in front of him to look at his features as she continued, "The king of this castle use to visit this place almost every day. But when the madness took him, he stopped coming and, over time, the flowers began to die."

"Pixie's are also known as flower nymphs, she may be referring to them as her family." Arséne clarified.

"I'm sorry." Revland offered but the pixie waved it off.

"I happened quite some time ago, I had given up hope of ever seeing the garden so alive again, but you revived it." She continued.

She hovered around him a few times before stopping to place her hand on her chin as if in thought. She nodded to herself, coming to a decision. "I'll go with you, if you're here… it means that this world won't be around for much longer, right?"

"I guess so, but what about the flowers." He asked.

She shook her head with a sad smile, "I'm happy to let my final memory of this place be of life. As payment, I'll help you in any way I can."

Revland smiled up at her, "Alright, welcome to the team… I'm sorry I don't think I introduced myself, I'm Revland Antrie. What's your name?"

"My name?" she asked.

"Yeah, I don't think you'd like just being called 'pixie' all the time."

She thought about it for a moment then stared at him, "I… don't think I have one…"

"You don't, then what do you want me to call you?"

The pixie crossed her arms and closed her eyes to think. After a minute or two, she gave up in a small fit of frustration, "Ooooh-idonknow-idonknow-idonknow!"

"It's alright, how bout I give you a name?" he said in an effort to calm her down.

That seem to get her attention, "You will?"

"Sure, shouldn't be too hard right?"

She landed in front of him with her legs under her as she stared up at Revland expectantly.

He looked around the garden, trying to find some inspiration. He saw the rose bush that she sprung from as a name came became clear in his mind.

"How about… Liana… Liana Rose…" he said while looking at one of the roses.

Her aura lit up as he pronounced her name. She flew around him so fast that it felt as if the room was starting to spin. She came to rest in front of him before leaning her head on the brim of his mask.

"I guess you like it?"

He felt her nod her head, "I do, from this point forward… I'm with you till the end… Revland."

"I am thou… Thou art I… from now… until eternity…" She whispered while nuzzling into his mask.

A flash of blue light came at the end of her pronouncement as she disappeared.

"Liana?" he called out, not seeing her.

"Right here!" Her voice rang out in response.

"Where?" He said, scanning the area.

"I'm right here of course."

"What I second… don't tell me… Arséne?"

"Indeed, she's here." He confirmed.

"Oh, lovely… how'd that happen… how'd I even do that…"

"I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?"

"No… just thought you'd still be out here."

"Oh!" She exclaimed as Revland felt his mask vibrate and Liana appeared in front of him in a burst of blue flame, wearing a wide grin.

"Is this better?"

Revland let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the little pixie. "Alright, I need you to find Morgana and bring him here."

"The friend you were talking about?"

"The very same, I need his help in healing Shiho. As you can tell, someone hurt her pretty badly."

"I can heal her."

Revland thoughts stopped in their tracks as he looked back at Liana. "You know healing magic?"

"Yep, sure do." She said excitedly.

"Could you… could you teach me?" he asked hesitantly.

"Teach you what?"

"Healing magic…" he said with forced patience.

"But you already know healing magic."

Revland looked at the pixie confused, "Since when?"

"Duh, since we bonded and became one." She added with a hint of sass while placing closed fists on her hips.

Resisting the urge to rub his face, Revland thought back to when he first met Arséne and how things felt so natural when casting magic.

"Okay let me rephrase, can you teach me how to use healing magic and show me how it works… Please?"

"Sure, no problem!" she said happily as she flew up to sit on his shoulder. "The first thing you need to do is make sure that she's as comfortable as possible. Go ahead and lay her flat on her back." She instructed in a much more serious tone.

Doing as instructed, he gently guided her head to the cut stone of the roof.

"Do you know the extent of her injuries?"

He nodded, "Severe bruising throughout her body from what I can tell and… a possible rape victim…"

"I see… we won't be able to do anything with that… once a maiden's purity has been taken, it can't be returned… I'm sorry…"

"No, no need to apologize, just wishful thinking is all... What's next?"

"Summon your magic while maintaining a clear picture of the person you wish to help in your mind's eye."

Revland closed his eyes and focused on the memory of Shiho smiling, from when they met only a week ago. Her pleading eyes when she wanted to talk to Ryuji, her sobs of gratitude when he told her that everything would be alright, all these memories made up his mental image of Shiho Suzui.

Azure flame simmered around his hands as he placed one on her forehead and the other over her heart as he whispered, "Diarama".

The flame sunk into Shiho's body, causing it to glow. The bruises began to fade, she started to breathe deeper as the swelling started to go down. After a few minutes, Revland opened his eyes to see that Shiho was nearly the same as when he saw her yesterday, save for a few stubborn busies.

"Wooow, you managed to cast an advanced spell on your first attempt… color me impressed." Liana said with a hint of wonder.

Revland scratched the back of his head in mild embarrassment, "I… might have a few good teachers… that's all…"

He examined parts of her body where he knew had taken most of the damage and was glad to see that most of it had vanished, save for a few scraps on her wrists and ankles. He swallowed and said another apology to both Ryuji and Shiho before lifting her shirt to look at her stomach again. Again, he was glad to see that the majority of the wounds were gone with the exception of a scab or two.

"Hand… Cold…" Shiho whimpered.

"Shiho- I mean, Suzui?" Revland exclaimed. "You're awake?"

Her breaths came evenly as her eye fluttered open to see a crimson sky speckled with off white clouds. She tried to sit up but found that nearly every joint in her body was stiff and was in severe need of a good stretch. She looked at the person kneeling over her and let out a shriek that could have shattered glass. She crawled backwards, the stiffness of her joints forgotten, until her back hit a bush.

"Who are you?! Stay away!" she yelled.

"Suzui, take it easy, it's me… and not so loud. Someone might hear us." Revland placated.

The stranger's voice sounded familiar which caused her to lower her arms and focus on his eyes.

Soft… grey… and worried…?

"Antrie…?" she whispered hopefully.

He nodded as he reached to push his mask up. He saw a wave of relief come over Shiho as tears begin to flow freely from her eyes. She tried to stand but her knee gave out, causing her to stumble into him. She wrapped him in the tightest hug she could manage while releasing all the pent-up emotions that she'd been building up. Quavering sobs rocked her body as the events of the past few hours took their toll on the young woman.

"Shhhh, it's alright… I've got you…" He said in a quiet tone.

Letting her vent all her frustration till it seemed like she couldn't do it anymore. When she finally quieted down he began to speak, "Suzui, I'm so sorry… I-"

Shiho put a finger up to interrupt his apology, "Not your fault… understand?"

Revland nodded, "I guess so… can you stand?" he asked.

"In a little bit… give me time… please…" she asked.

"As much as I can afford. Unfortunately, this isn't what I would call the safest of places."

"Where are we?"

"You wouldn't believe it if I told you."

"You're in the castle of the Mad King Kamoshida. I'm Liana by the way, Liana Rose." Liana interjected.

"Mad King… is this some kind of sick joke…?" she asked with horror etched in nearly every line of her face.

Revland sighed and plucked Liana out of the air, "Ever heard of the saying 'there's a time and place for everything'?" he scolded.

"Would you be surprised if I said no?" she answered innocently.

She was likely raped by the "Mad King" … do you understand …? He thought through the mental link they now shared.

He saw Liana's wings droop as realization dawned on her.

"Sorry…" Liana said mournfully. "I didn't mean to… I just wanted a new friend."

Heaven help me… "Suzui can still be your friend… just try not to mention dickless again… 'kay?"

Liana perked up before flying around again. She floated closer to Shiho, "Ms. Suzui… I'm sorry… I didn't mean to scare you… can we still be friends?" She asked softly.

Shiho stared at the pixie in wonderment. "You're… you're real?"

"I'm Liana, it's nice to meet you Ms. Suzui." Liana said as she offered her small hand.

"It's a… pleasure… Liana?" Shiho said with a small smile, using her finger to shake the offered hand.

"Revland, I hate to rush… but we mustn't dawdle… you shook the very foundation of the castle with your unexpected arrival… it's only a matter of time before someone comes to investigate." Arséne warned.

I know… but let her enjoy a little peace before facing what's to come…

"Liana, I need you. To me please." Revland ordered.

Liana hovered in front of Revland with a look of absolute glee, "Yes sir, I'm ready for anything."

"I need you to find a creature named Morgana. He's in this castle and is likely hiding out somewhere. I need you to find him and bring him to me, can you do that?"

"Of course! Now that we've bonded, I can find you anywhere!"

"Wait, really?" Revland asked to which Liana nodded.

"Well, good to know." He admitted. "Anyway, he's a bout yay tall and wears a black mask. Has big blue eyes… oh, and he looks like a giant black and white cat."

The look of wonder was shared on the two girl's faces.

"Probably should've led with that, huh?"

"Who could miss I giant walking kitty cat. This should be a synch, back in a flash." Liana said excitedly before speeding off deeper into the castle.

"Be careful!" he yelled after her, knowing that she probably didn't hear him.

Letting out a sigh, he held his hand out to Shiho to help her up.

"Come on, we need to get moving."

"Why… What's-" she began before her legs gave out from under her.

Revland noticed and managed to catch her before she fell, "Easy, don't overdo it."

"Trying to… so tired…" she said as she nodded.

"It's the side-effects of the spell, it uses some of your body's natural energy to help the process along. Unfortunately, I may have over done it a bit…" He explained.

Wow, how did I…? You know what, never mind. Just have to get use to that.

He scanned the battlements to see if there was anything looking over before turning around to kneel before her and offer his back.

"Hop on." He said, still scanning the area.

"What, no-no-no I'm too heavy." Shiho said in a small fit of embarrassment.

"We don't have much time. Suzui, please let me do this."

Relenting, she wrapped her arms around his neck before he stood to adjust his grip.

"Alright, you ready?" he asked.

"If I get to be too heavy…"

"Oh, don't worry. You're a lot lighter than what I'm used to. Which is weird cause you're a lot more active than she was."

"She?"

Damn it… let it slip again…

"It's nothing. Come on, it's time to get out of here."


"What do you mean they're not safe?" Makoto asked.

"If they're where I think they are, then it's just that: NOT Safe" Ryuji finished with more than a hint of frustration.

"You know where Shiho is?" Ann asked with a glint of hope in her eyes.

"As I said… I don't know… it's more of a gut feeling. But I know she's in good hands, she's with Revland."

Makoto didn't know what to believe. This whole mess was one catastrophe after another. First was Shiho, then Revland disappeared and now the school is in scrambles trying to find them both. They had taken their conversation to an empty Counselors office and there she had Ryuji explain what he thought happened.

From what she gathered; Shiho was right in front of him on the other side of the fence but fell before he could get to her. When he made it to the edge, he saw Revland running up the wall and jump out to catch her. But he wouldn't say where they went or how they got there.

"Listen Sakamoto, you just witnessed something very traumatic. You may've been hallucinating." She was trying to console her grieving friend but saw that it seemed to do more to upset him if anything.

"I know what I saw… I saw him save her." Ryuji stated firmly.

"Ryuji…" Ann whimpered.

"If I imagined it, then where are they? Where'd they go?" he challenged.

Makoto paused to find an answer but didn't have one.

"No one seems to know what happened to them and to top it off, the teachers are in a near panic trying to locate them."

A thought occurred as she voiced her concern, "They don't think he kidnapped her, do they?" Makoto asked softly.

"He would never do that, he saved her!" Ryuji said vehemently.

Makoto nodded in agreement, "Yes, I know that. But the students and staff may not believe that."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing, they obviously never met Revland or seen how he's acted since arriving at Shujin. He's heard the rumors of course, but he knew that they were just that, rumors.

"Those rumors are farfetched at best, no one in their right mind would believe them." He stated flatly.

"Ryuji…" Ann whispered faintly, "Do we truly know… what he did… to earn his record?"

Ryuji went to answer but found that there was none. He couldn't recall a time where he, not only asked, but was also given an answer.

"Are we sure that he really a good person… or is that what he just wanted us to believe?" Ann continued.

Ryuji remembered the look of pure fury on Revland's face when facing down the King's knights. The look of concern he wore when they were discussing possible options to deal with Kamoshida. To him, the answer was clear, "No… that isn't Antrie."

Ann gave him a look only for Ryuji to cut her off, "Think about it, why would he try to do so much? Why get so involved where he could've just sat by and did nothing. He didn't know us, didn't know our situation. Yet he still put himself through so much crap… risking his own neck for someone like me…"

The image of Revland having his chest caved in by the Bicorn flashed to the forefront of his mind, causing him to shiver.

Makoto remember asking Revland why he would get involved and he responded with something her father use to say, "The only thing needed for evil to triumph… is for good men to do nothing… it's what he said when I asked him about it the other day."

"That doesn't sound like a bad person to me…" Ryuji finished.

"Then… if he saved Shiho… where are they…?" Ann asked.

Ryuji hesitated to answer but knew she needed an answer. He took a breath and told her, "She's where Revland and I ended up… there inside that bastard's castle…"

"Castle?" She repeated.

His phone buzzed as he finished. Pulling it out he saw that he had a missed call from Shiho's parents and a notification from an app that he didn't recognize.

[Location saved as: Bastard's Castle]
[Would you like to travel?]

What the hell?

He opened his notification list and the app in question was one with a red and black symbol in the shape of an eye.

Could I go back…?

"Ryuji, are you alright, you look like you've just seen a ghost?" Makoto asked with evident concern.

He closed his phone and put it back in his pocket as he looked back at Makoto, "I think I'm about to go do something stupid… heroic, but still stupid…"

"What do you mean?"

He turned and walked towards the door, "I'm gonna go look for them…"

Ann immediately stood up to follow, "I'm coming with you."

"No, you need to stay here in case she comes back while I'm gone." He argued.

"I can do that. Takamaki, you go with him, just in case he finds them." Makoto compromised.

Ryuji made to argue further but Ann was already waiting for him at the door, "Are you coming?"

Letting out a frustrated sigh, he grabbed his bag with his "hidden surprise" and made to follow Ann.

Just hang in there guys… we're coming…


Liana flew through the halls of the castle, keeping her senses sharp for a walking and possibly talking kitty. The mere possibility excited her, she's always loved cats and how they always seem to love her. They always try to bat at her while she was flying nearby, some even try to catch her whiles she's resting her wings. It's all fun and games whenever they got the chance to play.

She took up a perch on a suit of armor and scanned the area for the large cat, seeing nothing.

"Poo… where are you mister kitty…?"

Thinking that she may have been going in circles, she floated down to a nearby table. Seeing that it looked like a map of the area, she figured that it might help Revland when she makes it back to him.

She could see him carrying Ms. Suzui on his back and they seemed to be talking about something, but she had a job to do.

A shiver ran through her, from the tips of her wings to her antenna. It felt familiar, just like when one of the kitty's were about to jump in an attempt to try and catch her.

Looking around, she didn't see any kitties lounging about in any of the sunbeams. But unbeknownst to her, Morgana was perched high up in the ceiling on one of its beams while his tail twitched back and forth. His keen eyes were fixated on Liana's form as he prepared for the pounce.

His rear rose in the air, shook it side to side before letting out a screeching yowl and dove for Liana.

"MERRRRRROWW!" He announced while summoning his cutlass. "DIE DEMON!"

Liana, believing it to be a game, screaming in mock terror as she deftly avoided the sharp blade.

"Silly kitty, that's not how we're supposed to play." She laughed.

"I am NOT a kitty, you will pay for such an insult." He retorted before leaping for her again in a very feline manner with front paws first, his sword forgotten.

Liana flew straight up into the air, avoiding Morgana's grace. Causing him to slam headfirst into a suit of armor that she was sitting on earlier, collapsing it on top of him.

"Son of a…" He muttered

Liana, for her part, was laugh hysterically while pointing at the pile of fallen armor.

"Now it's laughing at me… damn it…" he grumbled.

After regaining control over herself, she recognized Morgana from the description Revland had given her.

Letting out a quick squeak of excitement, she flew over to the pile of debris to examine the now irritated creature.

"Black mask, big blue eyes and looks like a big kitty cat… you're Morgana! I've finally found you!" She exclaimed.

Morgana pulled himself out of the pile of metal to glare at the pixie, "I am NOT a cat… wait, how do you know my name… I mean, of course you've heard of me. I am a famous phantom thief after all."

"Actually, I've never heard of you until my master sent me to find you." Liana stated plainly.

"Your master huh…?" he repeated nervously.

"Careful amigo… this one feels different…" Zoro warned.

"Yeah!" she nodded excitedly. "He said you had black and white fur and big blue eyes, you're also about the right height too."

Morgana focused his energy into his left paw as he muttered the beginnings of a spell so he can make his escape. "Who's your master then… is it the lord of this castle?"

"Who him? Nooooo, I'm not in service of the Mad King." She chuckled.

That confused him, he wasn't expecting such a blatant disregard of the palace rulers hold over his domain. So much so that his concentration slipped and the spell faded.

"Then who?" he asked.

"He needs your help; he came from the sky while clinging to a girl. She was hurt pretty bad but he managed to heal her, which was honestly pretty impressive since he gave the impression that he'd never cast any kind of magic like that. But he cast an advanced level healing spell and did it right."

Morgana simply stared at the pixie with his jaw slacked. He shook himself and glared at Liana, "That doesn't tell me who you work for moron!"

"Be patient a little longer kitty, I'm getting to that." She said calmly.

"Stop calling me that!"

"He landed in the garden and brought it back to life. He even gave me my name, Liana Rose. A pixie under the Master's protection and he needs your help with something. So he sent me to find you." She continued.

"Who is 'HE'!" Morgana yelled.

"Oh, Master Revland of course… didn't I mention that?"

"Wait, Revland's back and he's in the castle?"

Liana nodded, "He sent me to find the one named Morgana and to bring him back."

"You could've just led with that! Come on, take me to him!"

Liana nodded and flew down the hall with Morgana not far behind.


Deep within the sanctity of the velvet room, three individuals watched as events in reality began to unfold. They sat in silence while they watched as Shiho Suzui fell from the roof and her subsequent rescue by Revland.

"THAT IDIOT!" Caroline vented.

"How careless of him." Justine agreed.

"How many witnesses do you think there were?"

"Enough to be an issue, should they piece together that he was the cause… it could be disastrous."

"That fucking dumb ass! When I see him again, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind."

Caroline's rant was cut short by a low, building chuckle from the man behind her. His shoulders were shaking from his barely contained excitement. "How… Excellent… How very… Excellent…"

"Master?" Caroline stepped closer.

"Are you unwell?" Justine asked, remaining still.

Igor roared with laughter, throwing his hands to the sky as he cackled with uncontainable glee. "How very excellent Master Antrie, you surely don't disappoint. What a terrific opening move against the embodiment of Lust that is the Mad King Asmodeus. What a wondrous use of the meta-verse, what adoration of desire brought to form!"

Taking in a breath, Igor relaxed back into his chair as he clasped his hands together under his chin.

"Master?" the twins asked in unison.

"I'm sorry girls… it seems I was caught in the moment. This trickster… is not like the other. He doesn't seek power, yet he continues to grow stronger." Igor mused.

"But Master…" Justine began.

"What about all the people who saw him use the meta-verse?" Caroline finished.

"The masses will believe what they wish to believe, as they always have. If they wish to believe that a young man with power over reality could not only exist, but be walking among them, then perhaps ruin will befall him in due time." Igor explained.

The twins gave each other worried looks.

"Think nothing of it. If it were to happen, then it would have already. Most don't even seem to be aware of the trickster's involvement, save for a few… very observant eyes… and maybe a few others whose eyes are about to be opened." He continued.

He held up a hand as three cards appeared.

"The Moon, whose eyes have remained closed out of fear. The Temperance, whose eyes have seen more than what was meant to be. And the Chariot, whose blind devotion shall lead him to great power… should he learn to control it…"

A fourth card appear as he finished, "Ah yes, then there's the Lover. Whose unrequited love will awaken the wrathful flame of hatred… should she be swallowed by it or will someone be able to quell the flame within." He let out a small, deep chuckle. "I can't wait to see what you intend to do, young Antrie. I'm sure you won't disappoint."


Revland was walking down a hallway, trying to find a landmark that he would recognized. He concluded that he was, in fact, lost. He didn't want to admit it to Shiho but there was only so much he could do with the only other guides being somewhere in castle.

"You alright Antrie, you look worried?" Shiho asked, causing him to jump slightly.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

"No, it's fine. Just nervous is all." He said with more than a hint of nerves creeping into his voice.

Maybe I can get his mind off of it, should I try talking to him? I've never been alone with him… I don't even know what he likes, where do I even start?

"So… Antrie… what was your life like… before you came to Shujin, some people say you were part of a gang but I don't buy it."

He chuckled at the thought, "No, nothing like that."

He thought back to how long he's been in the area, realizing how odd it was that she was the third person to question if he really was a criminal.

He shook his head and figured that it'd be better if someone knew the whole story though he was hoping to add Futaba first to his story first. With circumstances the way they were, he figured that shed forgive him this courtesy.

"Well to be honest, my life was kinda boring for the most part. I was in a few clubs, on the baseball team and was part of a band. My days were filled with cram school and or practice in one form or another."

"You were in a band, what did you play?" Shiho asked tentatively.

"Guitar mainly, can even sing if you believe it."

"I didn't know you could sing…" she whispered.

He took a moment to readjust his grip before continuing, "Not something that I advertise, kind of like being a closet gamer in a way… I like being able to do it but finding time can be a bit of a pain… it's what made my time with Yumi so memorable."

"Who's Yumi?"

Shit…

He sighed as he bowed his head at his slip up.

"I'm sorry, if you don't want to talk about it-"

"No-no, just trying to think not about it as much is all. Keep finding her popping up in my mind when I least expect it."

He felt her nod before continuing, "Yumi, to put it bluntly, is my ex. She was like… an oasis of sorts… in a desert full of obligation. With school preparing us for college, it became harder and harder to spend time with one another. When she asked me to sing, it was like being allowed to indulge a little." He said reminiscing.

His smile faltered a bit as his memories started to warp as he saw Futaba in a similar position, with her chin resting in her hands and her eyes full of wonder as he played.

That's right… she liked it when I played too… maybe even more so than Yumi. He thought, his smile returning.

"If you don't mind me asking… what happened to you two?" Shiho asked.

Revland shrugged his shoulders, "In all honesty, I don't really know. I think is had something to do with my record… but she neglected to divulge that information before the train left."

"Train?"

"It's how I got here."

"She broke up with you at the train station?"

He nodded.

She felt her cheeks flush as she felt a rush of sympathetic anger converge over her heart. As quickly as it had formed, it simmered. "That's… That's not fair… she shouldn't have done that to you…"

He looked over his shoulder and gave her a small smile, "It's alright…" he said, "I'm sure I deserved it at-"

"How can you say that?" She asked, her hands clenching his shoulders. "You've done so much… asked for so little… how could anyone like you deserve to be treated like that?"

"I… don't really have an answer for that… I wouldn't really call myself a good person…" he said, surprised at her sudden outburst.

"You're kind, you go out of your way to help, you're… you're here now…"

He didn't know what to say, "Thank you… Shiho… it means a lot."

She rested her head on his shoulder as he continued down the hall, enjoying the companiable silence that followed.

"You're welcome… Revland."


Author's Note

And so starts the road to recovery, I do apologize though. This chapter was delayed for two weeks after I lost access to my file. The problem was solved but it put me behind from my end of month deadline. Without further ado, let's get started.

Saving Shiho Suzui

I had always intended to save Shiho from her fall, it was one of the first scenes that came to mind when I first played the game. It became clear throughout the game that reality as a whole was unstable and, if the character wanted it enough, he could make just about anything happen.

Question: Who saw Revland save Shiho?

To keep some of the continuity of the story, almost no one saw what really happened. Ryuji obviously saw due to his ties to Revland and the Meta-Verse. But to everyone else, it was like she just vanished. I kicked around the idea that they saw giant bird swoop in and snatch her but scrapped it. Others may have seen what happened but haven't been visited yet while another may have seen the aftermath of such a decision.

Question: Is Officer Zenkichi the same character from the Striker's game?

The very same. I figured it would be a good tie in for when and if I make it to a Striker's adaptation. I even had the idea that the Meta-verse app's AI would eventually become Sophia from the same game. Currently, there are no plans to introduce Wolf as a character. Doesn't mean it won't happen, just not anytime soon.

Question: Was the Meta-Verse and reality merged during Shiho's rescue?

In a way, yes. Not on the scale of would-be gods and other lunatics that you run into later, but… Kinda? Honestly, I wasn't thinking of it that way when I thought of the scene but the ramifications of such an action would be terrifying. Whenever the cast uses the app in odd ways, it kind of gets glazed over with not much of an explanation. The first time it was used, it seemed like things didn't truly begin to change till after they started moving, though it was later explained that the transition is almost instant. The only thing that has remained consistent is: while you can enter from just about anywhere, you can only leave from a safe location outside the distortion.

Question: Is Ms. Chouno helping Kamoshida?

No, short answer is she's just an oblivious ditz that wasn't enough paying attention to social ques and context clues… much like she is in the game when questioning Kawakami. Though the idea does have some merit… what would happen if he had a few willing helpers to further is depravity? Would it change the ending? An interesting question none the less.

Special thanks:

luckyhyna

Clubkey75

Mythking18

Vsauce-Here

The Human Virus

Thiago Kuroi Kami

sonicgoku203

Klyju

Conderl

jiongu-naruto

Zeromaru Chaos Mode

crazyman90

luis014

renamonreborn

polenordgwak

PhillyCh3zSt3ak

Hedwigbestboid

Vicmeister99

I want to give another thank you to Quartermass, he gave me a shout out in one of his stories in his ongoing series "The Caldron" A collection of short stories that are crossed over with the Potter-verse. There's something for just about everyone so go check it out. It's now a standalone series "40 thieves, I Only Need One Wizard". Only reason I know any of this is Jiongu-Naruto ratting on ya in a review. Nether the less, thank you.

I will begin writing Chapter 16 and I hope I can get it out before the end of the year. But just in case, Thank you all for a wonderful year. I started this project as a way to just keep myself awake while on the overnight shift at work and wasn't expecting it to become what it is now. In case you don't hear from me, Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday's and a Happy New Year to you and yours.

Remember, it's never good bye, it's just till next time!

JWS