Chapter 21

Kayura walked with Iris through the mattress store, tending to those who were sick or injured. Iris turned to give medicine to a small child when White Blaze ran into the store with the woman and her children on his back. Some of the patients screamed in terror while others only froze in fear of the tiger not too far from them. Kayura walked over to the tiger and helped the people off his back. "Are you alright?" she gently asked.

"Yes," answered the woman.

The youngest sniffled as she said, "Daddy got hurt."

Kayura frowned then knelt in front of the child, giving her a soft smile. "It's going to be ok. I bet your daddy is strong, right?"

"Yeah," piped up the older one, giving his sister a reassuring smile. "Dad is stronger than anyone."

"Yeah…but-"

"Iris!"

The group snapped their attention to the entrance where Kento walked in with the man over his shoulder. Iris walked over to one of the empty mattresses, patting it with her hand. "Bring him here." Kento carried the man over to the mattress and laid him on it. The man groaned in response as Iris checked him over for any injuries then spotted a bump on his head. She placed a hand on his head, closing her eyes as she willed some of her power into him to heal the man. Suddenly, the man opened his eyes and raised a hand to his head. He started to sit up but Iris pushed him back down. "You need to rest," Iris gently ordered. "You've been through a lot."

"Where's my family?" the man demanded, turning to look at her. "Are they ok?"

"Akio." The man looked past Iris to see his wife and children standing behind her. The woman smiled then hurried over to him, kneeling beside the bed as she ran her hands over his face. "Are you ok? Are you hurt? Is anything broken?"

"I should be asking you that," answered Akio, but he nodded at her questions. "I'm fine, Nami." He pulled her in for a kiss then turned his attention to his children, bringing them into hugs.

"I want you to stay here overnight." Iris straightened up. "Just in case something happens."

"Thank you," whispered Nami, smiling at Iris.

Iris smiled back and then nodded her head. She turned around, noticing Kento had a grim look on his face. He glanced over at her and gave her a smile when Iris gave him a worried look. He walked out of the store and his friends gathered around him.

"Are you ok, Kento?" asked Cye, resting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You look troubled."

"Did they say something to you?" Sage asked.

Kento looked at him before stealing a glance at Ryo before nodding. He took a deep breath, his hands forming into fists as he remembered Naga's words. "He said that Tiffany was getting…comfortable with Karver."

The guys were stunned by Kento's words and Ryo took a sharp intake of breath before turning around and walking away. No one followed him, and as Ryo walked away, he passed by Anubis, Mia, Mika, and Yulie.

Yulie smiled at Ryo, going over to greet him, but stopped at the look on his face. He went to go after him but Mia laid a hand on his shoulder, shaking her head at him. Anubis walked over to the guys as Kayura walked up to them. "What happened?"

As Kento explained to them what happened, Mika turned around to face the way Ryo went. She slowly backed away and then headed back when no one noticed her.

Ryo leaned against the wall, his head lowered until his chin was touching his chest. He was trying to calm himself down from having an outburst after the information he heard. White Blaze and Kalana were next to him for they had followed him after what Kento had told them. Kalana turned to look up at him before laying her head across his feet. Ryo looked at Kalana, smiling slightly at her before releasing a deep sigh.

Footsteps were heard and the three looked up to see Mika slowly walking up to them. The two animals stood up from their spots, staring at her as she approached. They were still unsure about her and didn't know if they could trust her or not.

"I heard what Kento said about Tiffany," she started. "Again, I'm so sorry about everything."

Ryo stared at her before pushing himself off the wall. "Why? Why did you believe them?"

"Ryo, I loved you and I still do. I just…I thought I was doing the right thing." Mika took a step closer to him but stopped when Kalana crouched down, ready to pounce on her. The young woman stared at the wolf then glanced up at Ryo to meet his stern glare at her. "If I could take back everything I did to you two, I would. I never ever wanted to hurt you."

"You should have thought about that before you did what Sephiran asked of you," a new voice said and Mika spun around to find Kento glaring at her, with the others standing right behind him.

"What's up?" Ryo asked, uncrossing his arms.

"We have a plan," spoke Rowen, walking over to him. "We want to run it by you first."

"I can help you," Mika said, hope in her voice. "I've been around the castle and I-"

"I think it would be better if you just stayed here with Mia and Yulie," interrupted Sage.

"But I-" She stopped at the cold looks from Kento and Sage and looked at everyone else. Cye and Rowen only stared at her while Ryo refused to look at her. Mika nodded in confirmation and then walked away. After she was gone, Cye turned to the group.

"We should give her a chance," he said. "She does regret what she did to us."

"This is the second time she's betrayed us and this one was worse than before," explained Kento, throwing a heated glance at his friend. "I think she's had her second chance."

"But she was tricked just like Talpa tricked her."

"Plus, would Tiffany have saved her if she didn't trust her?" input Rowen.

Everyone went silent at his statement, thinking over what had happened. They knew Tiffany wouldn't save anyone who was evil unless there was a reason. With Mika, if Tiffany sent her away from Sephiran with Anubis, then Mika wasn't as bad as they thought. Her past ran through each their heads, especially Ryo's. She was the one who confided in him, trusted him with everything that she said.

"Everything ok over here?"

Five heads turned to Kayura, standing a few feet behind them with Anubis.

"We're fine, just talking about our next move," answered Sage.

"Oh, good. I have some information for you." Kayura walked closer to the group. "I need to go back to my village. The make-shift infirmary we have is getting too crowded and my people have healing items to help the injured people. I have to go to my village to prepare the people and make a pathway between here and there."

"Are you going to leave now?" Sage asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yes, the sooner I go, the sooner I can make the link. Besides, once we rescue Tiffany, she is going to need the medicine we have." Kayura made eye-contact with Ryo. "If I wait here till we get Tiffany, who knows what condition she'll be in or if we'll even have time."

Ryo's eyes widen slightly. He took a deep breath and released it, nodding his head. "I understand."

Kayura removed the Jewel of Life from its place around her neck, holding it out to them. "I will leave you with this. It may come in handy against fighting the generals and Sephiran."

Rowen took the jewel from her grasp, giving her a slight nod in thanks. Kayura nodded back to him then turned to Anubis. "You should stay here and give them an extra hand."

"Are you sure?" Anubis asked, staring down at her.

"I'll be fine. The village is under the same protection this mall is so Sephiran won't even know I'm there."

"Ok, be safe."

Kayura gave him a soft smile then turned to the warriors. "Good luck and be careful." She raised her staff and it glowed, teleporting her out of the mall and back to her village. Once she was gone, Ryo turned to Rowen. "You said you had a plan?"

"Yeah, I noticed earlier there was a column connecting the castle to the city. I bet that is how we can get into the castle."

"Wouldn't it be guarded?" Cye asked him.

Rowen shook his head. "I don't know. I was thinking we could send a few of us to go out and look."

"That sounds like a good idea," answered Ryo, nodding his head at Rowen before addressing the group. "Three of us will go check the castle while the rest of us will stay here."

"Maybe it will be a good idea to try and talk to Mika about her experiences in the castle," suggested Cye. "She could fill us in on some information she got from Sephiran."

"I can talk to her," offered Anubis. "She may be comfortable talking to me."

"Same here."

"Ryo, you should stay too," Sage said but when Ryo opened his mouth to protest, he continued. "I know you don't want to, but Mika confided in you once. She may do it again."

Ryo stared at him, knowing he was right, but he also knew this was an observing mission, which meant no fighting. He turned to Kento, staring him down. "Can I trust you won't do anything stupid?"

Kento was taken back by Ryo's question. "What? You don't trust I can keep myself from attacking soldiers?"

Everyone, including Anubis, turned to Kento, raising their eyebrows like they couldn't believe he had asked that question. At their look, Kento released a sigh. "Yeah, I know, stupid question. I won't do anything stupid."

"We'll make sure," added Rowen, "that he knows not to fight anyone that comes out."

"Take Kalana with you guys," Ryo said, laying a hand on the wolf's back. "Just in case." The wolf nodded her head at Ryo and then walked over to Sage, Rowen, and Kento, standing next to Sage.

"We'll scout the perimeter and then come back to report what we've found," said Rowen.

The guys bid each other good-bye and good luck, and then Sage, Rowen, Kento, and Kalana walked away from the group. Cye turned to Ryo and Anubis. "Let's go see what Mika can tell us."

Tiffany hung from her wrists, her body twitching every so often from the venom running through her body. She didn't know how long she had been here in the darkness. The pain had gotten worse as Naga had said, making her think she's been in here for more than a day.

The door jiggled and then opened, the light from the hallway blinding Tiffany. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear the spots flying through her vision as Sephiran stepped into the room. Leaving the door open, he walked over and stopped right in front of her. He didn't say anything, only stared as Tiffany glared back at him, but the pain made it hard for her to keep the glare on her face. Sephiran reached out and placed his hand on the side of her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"The pain must be excruciating," he started, "all that venom in your body. I can take it out if you'll only agree to follow me and give me your power."

Tiffany opened her mouth to speak but a whimper of pain came out. She squeezed her eyes shut and grit her teeth as the venom surged through her, quiet whimpers escaping her.

"My poor dear." Sephiran placed his other hand on Tiffany's cheek. She opened her eyes, struggling to keep them open as she glared at Sephiran. "Your poor mother would hate to see you in so much pain." Tiffany's eyes softened at this. "Just give yourself over to me and the pain will stop."

Tiffany swallowed the lump in her throat. "Go…to…hell."

Sephiran's eyes darkened, removing his hand from Tiffany's face. His hand clenched into a fist then he raised it and punched Tiffany in the face. Her head swung to the side, tasting blood in her mouth. Sephiran wrapped his hand around her throat, raising her up a bit.

"You'll regret that, my dear." He tightened his hold and watched Tiffany struggle to catch her breath, her face turning red. She gasped, her legs wildly flailing to try and get Sephiran to release his hold, but his body was just out of reach. Her vision blurred both from lack of oxygen and from the tears in her eyes. Sephiran only smiled as her movements grew weaker.

"Sephiran!"

He turned around, keeping his grip on Tiffany's throat, and set his sights on Asami, who had a look of horror on her face. "What are you doing?!"

Sephiran didn't answer but released his grip. Tiffany took in a huge breath of air as her body sagged against her restraints. She breathed heavily, her vision focusing on the ground as it slowly cleared up. Sephiran then walked out of the room, his shoulder bumping into Asami on the way out.

Asami watched him leave and then hurried over to Tiffany, cradling her daughter's head in her hands. "What have they done to you?" Asami looked over her daughter, her body trembling in anger from the bruises and cuts all over Tiffany's body.

"Mom?" Tiffany slowly asked, raising her head to look at her.

"I'm here, sweetie." Asami smiled, brushing hair out of Tiffany's face. "I'm here."

Tiffany winced and Asami stilled her actions. She looked Tiffany over, spotting a puncture wound on the side of her neck. The area around it was red and blood slowly oozed out. Asami gently laid her hand on Tiffany's neck, light engulfing her hand. Tiffany felt the light enter her body and then the pain slowly went away until it was a dull throb.

"There." Asami drew her hand away and focused on another part of Tiffany's body to heal.

"Mom, you have to go," Tiffany stated.

"No, not until I heal you eno-"

"No. I mean you need to leave this place. Get away from Sephiran."

Asami stared at her in disbelief then slowly shook her head. "No. No! You expect me to leave you here, knowing that those people will continue to torture you?" She glanced up and reached for the chains around Tiffany's wrists. "If I'm leaving, I'm taking you with me."

"Don't, I'll only slow you down." Asami looked back at her, slowly lowering her arm. Tiffany gave Asami a small smile. "Plus, if Sephiran or the generals were to catch us, they'll punish you as well. I couldn't live with myself if you got hurt by trying to help me escape."

"But if I heal you, then we could escape together."

"Then you would have no energy for you'd have spent it all on healing me."

Asami racked her brain, trying to come up with a solution for both her and Tiffany to leave together, but came up blank. She knew Tiffany was right, but the thought of knowing what could happen to her…Asami glanced away from Tiffany, squeezing her eyes shut to keep the tears at bay.

"Mom." Asami turned back to her, tears filling her eyes. Tears filled Tiffany's eyes as well as she stared at her mother. "Please, just go."

Asami wrapped her arms around Tiffany. "I will be back with help."

Tiffany leaned her head against her mother's, whispering in her ear. Asami gave her a gentle squeeze and then stepped back. She cradled her cheek and smiled, the tears spilling over. "I love you, my dear."

Tiffany's voice cracked as she said, "I love you too, Mom."

Asami dropped her hand and backed out, grabbing the door handle and closing the door. She hesitated at the door, hand still on the handle when she heard Tiffany's soft crying from the other side. Asami held her hand over her mouth as more tears ran down her face. She released the handle and took a few steps back, staring at it for a moment. She turned away and hurried out of the hallway.