The Legend of the Rune Gods - In Cephiro, Another World!
"Please tell me when we're on the ground again..." Logan muttered, once again clinging onto Hikaru for dear life. They were high in the sky above Cephiro now, lightly gliding along in the same teacup sort of device that had brought them to the Water Shrine, heading for god-knows-where.
"What are we gonna do about you...?" Hikaru sighed, patting him on the head. "Anyway, where do you think this is taking us?"
"I'm sure it's taking us to wherever Princess Emeraude is being held captive." Umi guessed, completely ignoring Mokona as he shook his head. "So we can go back to Tokyo any day now!"
"That theory simply does not sound correct, Miss Umi." Fuu stated, once again causing Umi to do an irritated sweatdrop. "We first have to rescue Princess Emeraude, then save Cephiro."
"Hmph! Do you really have to sound like my English teacher?"
"Wait..." Logan muttered, looking up slightly but still refusing to let go of Hikaru. "Japanese schools have English classes?"
"Do American schools not have language classes?"
"Mine only has Spanish."
"Then when did you learn Japanese? You seem really fluent in it."
"Family study sessions..." He groaned. "Although we never learned to write it. Honestly I'm still having some trouble even reading it..."
"Aw, that's okay!" Hikaru reassured him. "Maybe we can help you when we get back to Tokyo!"
"Ahem." Fuu said. "We appear to have gotten off topic. Besides, that is the future. We must focus on the present."
"Right!" Hikaru agreed. "Back to what Fuu said, have we already become Magic Knights?"
"Even if we aren't, we're certainly getting closer every day. I mean we've got some spiffy armor, badass weapons, and we've even got a fucking mech! And no, I still haven't gotten over that!" Logan explained.
"My, you certainly seem to be feeling better." Fuu remarked.
"Haha. The only thoughts in my head are of not looking down. And thankfully, that is not down." He chuckled, referring to the incoming floating island. The same floating mountain they'd seen when they first arrived in Cephiro.
"It's the same floating mountain we saw when we fist got to Cephiro!" Umi realized, like it wasn't obvious enough.
"I wonder if that is the place where Princess Emeraude is being held prisoner..." Fuu muttered.
"Mokona!" Hikaru shouted, looking down at the fluffy familiar. "Let's hurry!"
"Yeah, let's-" Logan started, only for a familiar burning pain to erupt in his right hand. He let out a grunt of pain, sucking some air in through his teeth. This action garnered alarm from the three girls.
"Logan!? What's the matter? Are you okay?" Hikaru asked, holding up his hand.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He lied, knowing full well that it was the dark mass on his hand. "I just think I fucked my hand up more in the Water Shrine than I thought..."
"May I see?" Fuu requested, reaching for his gauntlet.
"NO! No... Don't worry, it's fine, really!" Logan said in a hurry, pulling his hand back. "It's nothing. I'm serious."
Fuu's emerald green eyes narrowed in skepticism, but she seemed to concede the point, looking back towards the mountain just in time for the sky to darken and lightning to strike. A stray bolt ended up hitting their craft and causing them to start rocking a bit, but they stayed airborne.
"What's going on!?" Umi demanded once the craft stabilized and the lightning calmed slightly.
"Look at that!" Fuu shouted, pointing towards an amorphous, translucent shape appearing before them. Just like when Princess Emeraude had spoken to them before, this figure towered above them. Unlike the princess, however, this figure was cold, intimidating, clad entirely in black.
"Who are you!?" Hikaru demanded as the figure opened his violet eyes to glare directly at her with a chilling smile.
"I am the High Priest, Zagato." The man revealed, his voice echoing through the storm. "I never expected you to make it this far. I commend you, Magic Knights."
"Zagato!?" Logan stated in shock. "Well, at least we have a face to go with the name. Gotta say, I like the long hair."
"Flattery will get you nowhere." Zagato said. "It is time to end this."
The lightning flared up again, now clearly being the result of Zagato's magic. A bolt came down on top of them, making our heroes scream in both pain and terror. Yet the High Priest wouldn't be finishing them off today, as their entire craft soon glowed a bright white, and it disappeared in a bunch of sparkles alongside the Magic Knights.
Within his fortress, the real Zagato watched through his magic mirror as the Magic Knights disappeared, gone without a trace. Said mirror began to glow, forcing the High Priest to pull his cape over himself protectively, which also conveniently protected him from the bits of falling glass that flew at him when the mirror cracked and then shattered, effectively rendering his one method of spying on the Magic Knights useless.
His eyes narrowed. He'd seen this level of magic before. Only one person possessed it. And she just so happened to be imprisoned within the very fortress he was standing in. Turning to leave, Zagato made his way for Princess Emeraude's cell, hearing her tired and labored breathing even before he reached her chamber.
"You saved the Magic Knights, didn't you?" The High Priest questioned, looking down on the Pillar.
"Stop it! Please, stop this!" Princess Emeraude pleaded, her big blue eyes still shaky and watery as they had been when she was first imprisoned. "I don't want anyone else to be sacrificed!"
Zagato and Emeraude maintained eye contact. They both wanted different things, yet neither was willing to back down, either. Princess Emeraude's determination to protect Cephiro and its people was one of the many things he adored about her, even if it had just stopped him from achieving his own goal...
The nearby town of Prius used to be one of the most bustling settlements in Cephiro. Yet now the town square stood empty and silent with no signs of life. Its inhabitants were either dead or gone or tending to what few jobs were left, leaving only quiet and an eerie feeling in the air. One of the aforementioned jobs was maintaining the local tavern. Rarely anybody stopped by anymore, yet it still had to be done.
As luck would have it, though, today was a day the tavern would be busier than it had been in a long time. But for now, only two people were within: The bartender, and the swordsman Ferio.
"I wonder how far it is to the next town..." Ferio mused, leaning over the counter to speak with the bartender. "By the way, it seems like everyone in this town is depressed or something. What's going on around here?"
The bartender sighed before he spoke. Clearly this was something he had to say often. "The monsters attack our town almost every day now. And then there's-"
"What?" Ferio asked. "There's what?"
"Ah, nevermind." The bartender said. Ferio, being known to lie often, saw right through the bartender's excuse. However, he also knew not to pry. Secrets were usually kept for a reason.
At sundown, Ferio left the town of Prius to continue on his own journey, getting barely half a mile out when a one-eyed gargoyle monster leapt at him. After having survived the Forest of Silence, this was nothing. Ferio tossed his travel bag into the air and effortlessly sliced the monster in half, destroying it instantly. And before the bag could even hit the ground, three more monsters appeared, a large red mantis, a giant plant cyclops, and an icy blue bird as swooped into attack. However, due to their positioning, Ferio was able to wipe them all out in a single attack.
"There's so many monsters comin' out..." The swordsman sighed, leaning down to pick up his travel bag and hoist it over his shoulder. "This place is gettin' a little out of control." Then, as if there wasn't enough already, a small drop of water hit Ferio on the head. Then another. And another. Without warning, the clear sunset had become a dark downpour that was almost impossible to see in. "Oh, great!" He groaned, running towards the nearby forest in hopes of finding shelter.
The rain had picked up more by the time Ferio found a thick enough tree to shelter beneath. By now, it was truly impossible to see through the thickness of the rain and the darkness already coating the forest. "Man, it sure wasn't like this when Princess Emeraude ruled over the land..." He mused, trying to dry himself off with a small cloth. "Now even the weather's startin' to act really weird because of High Priest Zagato- Huh?"
Upon hearing the familiar ringing of the communication orb in his tunic, Ferio reached for the device. While he was expecting to hear Fuu, Hikaru, maybe even Umi or Logan, he instead heard a young, feminine voice that couldn't have belonged to any of the Magic Knights.
"Ferio... Ferio..."
"What!?"
"Ferio... I am Emeraude... Ferio..."
"Princess Emeraude! I'll come rescue you right away! Just tell me where you are!"
"At the lake on the outskirts of Prius Village... The Magic Knights must be saved! Please, please save them!" Princess Emeraude pleaded before the orb went dark once again, her voice fading away.
"Princess Emeraude!" Ferio pleaded. "Princess Emeraude!" Yet it was no use. The connection had been severed. Emeraude was gone once again. "The outskirts on the lake of Prius Village..." Ferio repeated, getting up as the rain finally ceased. "Sounds easy enough."
Reaching the lake was easy, even with only the pale moonlight to guide him. All he had to do was climb a tree, see the moonlight reflecting off the water, and then keep moving in that direction. The trip was only about ten minutes.
"This place...?" The swordsman wondered, finding no signs of the Magic Knights. At least, not until a small, glowing dome appeared right in front of him. Naturally curious, he ran towards this light, stopping in front of it as it faded, and four-plus-one familiar faces were deposited.
Hikaru, Umi, Fuu, Logan, and Mokona were all laying in a pil,e unconscious.
"It's Fuu!" Ferio realized, clearly having his priorities in order. He knelt down next to the girl, dropping his sword and travel bag to prop her up in his arms. "Come on, Fuu! Talk to me!"
"Nnngh..." Fuu groaned, opening her eyes slightly. "What are you doing here...?"
One by one, the other Magic Knights regained consciousness. "Mario...?" Logan muttered. "I thought Luigi was green..."
The entire population of Prius was inside the town hall, going through less of a meeting and more of a weekly inspection.
"You stockpiled all of these weapons, but they're not for a revolt against Lord Zagato?" A very southern accent questioned, belonging to the next antagonist in our lineup: Caldina.
If there was one thing Caldina had going for her was her looks. She was easily the most visually striking member of Zagato's minions. Dark skin, aquamarine eyes, striking pink lipstick, and long, curly pink hair she had tied up into a ponytail. As far as clothing went, she donned a black turtleneck that exposed her midriff and had gold plating beneath. A red cape flowed down her back, and two large gem earrings hung from the sides of her head. Like almost everyone in Cephiro, her hands were hidden by gloves, and she also wore a pair of skin-tight leggings.
Before her sat a treasure trove of weapons. Swords, spears, axes, daggers, bows, arrows. You name it. And behind the pile were the villagers, kneeling before her. Although one man looked up. He was rather unremarkable, brown hair and mustache, green eyes, pink shirt. The mayor of the village. If it wasn't for his status, he likely would have received a harsh punishment from Caldina. "I- I swear, it's true! These weapons are only for fighting against monsters, not for revolt against Lord Zagato!"
"These lame excuses won't work with me!" Caldina stated, not believing the man.
"B- But we'd never-"
"However, you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours~"
"W- What do you mean?"
"Money. What else~? You just have to pay up and-" She was cut off mid-sentence when she noticed some rather vibrant colors outside. Red, blue, green, white. She recognized them well by now, even if she hadn't met them face-to-face. The Magic Knights had wandered right to her. "I've changed my mind. Y'all kill those strangers out there, and I won't tell Lord Zagato 'bout your little stash."
"Strangers?" The mayor wondered.
"Those three girls and that boy with them. The white-haired one, don't bother with the other one."
The villagers all looked out the door, watching as Ferio and the Magic Knights passed by.
"I can't do that!" The mayor protested. "They're nothing but children!"
"Are you defyin' me?"
"I must." The mayor said confidently. "Even if it is to protect our village, I cannot take the lives of children."
"You're startin' to annoy me." Caldina stated, adjusting herself so she could lean right up to the mayor. She then dragged a hand across her face, discreetly casting a spell, and the mayor's eyes glazed over, as if in a trance. He moved towards the pile of weapons, grabbing a dagger out of it. Before anyone could stop him, there was a splatter of blood and a pained scream as the mayor drove the blade into his leg.
He snapped out of the trance just as quickly, crumpling to the floor in pain.
"The mayor!" The bartender shouted.
"Somebody do something!" A local shopkeeper demanded.
"If y'all don't wanna end up like your mayor here, I'd suggest you kill those four."
A chorus of agreements echoed from the townsfolk. They'd step in line after that. Caldina looked back to the oblivious Magic Knights. 'Well, am I just the lucky girl or what?' She mused. 'To have those Magic Knights who defeated poor little Ascot walk right into my hands. Now I'll just watch how they fight against these villagers. Then I'll know their true power...'
In the same tavern Ferio had visited earlier today, the Magic Knights found themselves at a loss. During Zagato's attack, Mokona had been stunned, completely unresponsive with spirals in his eyes like when the stampede had made him dizzy. Unlike when he was dizzy, Mokona still was in this state hours later.
"Poor Sir Mokona doesn't seem to be quite back to normal yet..." Fuu muttered. "I hope he's alright..."
"It's just like you guys to go and find a Rune God already." Ferio stated, finishing his drink. "So, how many did you find?"
Silence permeated the room as each of the Magic Knights turned to face Ferio.
"What. Did. You. Just. Say?" Logan asked, very deliberately.
"How many Rune Gods didja find? Come on, didn't Clef tell ya about them?"
"W- well, wedidn't have much time to talk when we first met..." Hikaru explained.
"That makes sense..." Ferio sighed. "Well, alright. When Cephiro faces times of crisis, Magic Knights come from another world. With three swords of Escudo and the legendary Master Sword, they revive the four Rune Gods and become Magic Knights. This is the legend that's been passed on for generations in Cephiro, and how we know there's four Rune Gods. So, how many did you manage to revive?"
"Just one, unfortunately." Logan sighed.
"I see. Just one for now."
"You have got to be kidding!" Umi exclaimed, knocking over a few thankfully empty glasses on the table. "You want us to look for three more? Zagato will kill us before we can get that far!"
"Woah, that doesn't sound like you." Ferio pointed out. "What happened to your confidence?"
"You could never understand! Zagato is so scary!"
"But you four are the only ones who can save Princess Emeraude!"
"It's gonna be alright!" Hikaru declared. "We'll save her!"
"Yeah, but unless we've got a collective death wish, we absolutely can't go against Zagato right now." Logan said.
"Logan!" Umi shouted.
"Come on!" Ferio groaned.
"Unless our weapons and armor evolve further, going after Zagato is just gonna get us killed."
"He is right." Fuu agreed. "As we are now, we will likely stand no chance against Zagato. We must evolve our armor and weapons further to ensure we are at our strongest when the final confrontation arrives."
"And just what are you gonna do if they don't evolve!?" Ferio demanded.
"Everything will be for nothing if all of us die!"
Fuu, Ferio, Logan and Umi all maintained a fierce eye contact as the bartender approached them with a tray of drinks. "I understand you four are friends of Mr. Ferio here..." He announced, chuckling nervously and sweating partially. His hands were shaky as he reached for the first drink. Both boys at the table narrowed their eyes at this behavior, and then at each other, coming to the exact same conclusion.
"Hey, that looks pretty good." Ferio said, eyeing Fuu's drink. "Fuu, lemme try some of yours!"
"Don't-!" The bartender started before cutting himself off.
"Now why can't I have somethin' to drink, too?" Ferio asked, just making the bartender sweat more.
"B- because..."
"Because there's poison in it, am I right?" Ferio questioned, the smug grin on his face never leaving.
"H- How did you..."
"Come on, there's only two reasons why you'd be so nervous doing the job you've been doing for however long you have." Logan explained. "The first is that there's something in there that you don't want us to know about. The second is that you're a pedophile who could be interested in the girls, in which case Mario and I might have to get not so friendly with ya."
It was right then that the tavern's doors were thrown open by the villagers, each armed with a weapon from their stash. Spears, swords, axes, daggers. In an instant, they were charging forward to attack. The first villager reached Fuu, leaping into the air and slashing downwards with his sword. Thankfully, weeks of fighting monsters had trained her well, and she was easily able to sidestep the attack.
Another resident was attempting to slit Umi's throat, yet her battlefield instincts made stepping away methodically a rather simple (if a bit tiring) task.
Hikaru, however, was too busy trying to hide the stunned Mokona behind the counter that she didn't see the man with the spear rushing straight towards her until he was already moving to attack. She let out a brief cry of alarm as the spear closed in...
CLANG!
The sound of metal on metal rang out as the spear tip shattered on Logan's shield. "You're welcome." He said, smiling at Hikaru, who herself was a little red-faced. "Oh shit!" He cursed, blocking a swing from the spear-turned staff. Thankfully his shield was on his left arm by default, meaning he didn't have to use his bad arm to block.
"Don't hurt them!" Ferio commanded. "These people are not Zagato's minions!"
"Then what should we do!?" Fuu cried, dodging another swing from another attacker.
"Just follow my lead!" Ferio instructed, rushing towards the bartender and pulling out his own dagger. He then feinted behind the bartender, taking the man as a hostage. "All of you, call of your attack right now! Or I promise you, I will kill him!"
"Ferio!" All four Magic Knights called out.
"Why are you attacking us?" Ferio questioned, interrogating the bartender.
"This wasn't supposed to involve you..." The bartender admitted. "But our entire village will be destroyed if we do not kill those four!"
"Who's gonna try something like that?!"
"One of Zagato's minions... Her name is Caldina..."
"Caldina?" Ferio asked, releasing the bartender. "Oh, I see. We'll just have to take care of her."
"There is no way you could do that!"
"Really? 'Cause we've already beaten two of Zagato's minions before." Logan pointed out. "This'll be no problem!"
"Ha! It's fine for you because you can always run when you fail!" The bartender shouted. "To all of us here, this village is our home. After you run away, all of us will be left here to die!" He continued, eventually breaking down and sobbing quietly in fear.
"Can we not find a way that you could somehow just let us go?" Fuu questioned. "You could say you couldn't find us."
"No difference! If we fail, Caldina's definitely gonna kill us all!"
"Alright then." Ferio stated. "We won't fight her. Instead, we'll find some other way to save everyone."
"That's ridiculous!"
"Not if you do what I tell you to do. We could just go now and leave you here to suffer the consequences." The swordsman warned.
"No, Ferio!" Hikaru protested.
"Note to self, never bargain with Mario." Logan muttered as the villagers all lowered their weapons.
"So, what kind of person is this Caldina?" Ferio wondered.
"What kind of a person?" The bartender confirmed. "Well, she seems very interested in money."
"Money, huh?" Ferio repeated, making sure he heard it correctly. He then put a hand to his chin momentarily, pondering his options. And then he decided. "Okay."
The group all stared at the town hall from a nearby building, staying out of sight of any windows, and therefore Caldina's prying eyes.
"As soon as I close that front door, you four leave through the back of this building." Ferio instructed.
"But it's dangerous to go alone!" Hikaru protested.
"She's right!" Umi agreed.
"Yes, but if you go, it'll definitely be a battle." Ferio explained. "And if by chance we let Caldina get away, it'll be the villagers who pay the price. So you can just leave this all to me." This information caused the four Magic Knights to sigh in defeat. As much as they wanted to back him up, he was right. It was better if they left without him.
"Why are you making this sacrifice in order to save our lives?" Fuu asked.
"Because Princess Emeraude asked me to." Ferio admitted, giving Fuu a downtrodden look. "But also... Because somehow I think I fell in love with you." He finally said (but in reality, at least two people present saw coming). Nonetheless, Fuu still let out a shocked gasp, her face turning bright red.
"Learn from my example, Luigi!" Ferio called, waving at the group as he jumped through the window and broke out in a run towards the town hall.
"Lu-" Logan started. "Son a bitch heard me earlier..."
Caldina was expecting to either get to destroy a whole town, or report back to Zagato with the heads of the Magic Knights. What she was not expecting was for the one person in their party that she didn't give a damn about approaching her, entering the town hall with no fear at all.
"I hope you'll excuse me." The swordsman requested.
"That depends on whatcha want."
"I'm here to provide you with company while you're waiting." The swordsman explained, walking towards her and kneeling. "I can't help feeling responsible for starting this whole mess, since I'm the one that brought 'em here in the first place."
"What in the world is this nonsense?"
That was when Ferio made his move. He set down a bag, the sound of gems clattering and clanking ringing out. He released the top of the bag, and opened it up to reveal it was filled to the brim with all different colors of rupees.
"I do believe it's money!" Caldina cheered. "Moneymoneymoneymoneymoney!" She rambled before abruptly regaining her composure. "Now, if you're tyin' to bribe me, I'll have you know it's not that easy."
"A bribe? Oh, no, it's nothing like that. I was just hoping that-" Ferio said, pulling out a deck of cards. "-To pass the time, you might wanna gamble while you wait."
"You're gonna regret it~" Caldina teased, kneeling down to be at eye level with the swordsman. "I'm pretty good with almost any game that involves money."
"Yeah?"
The door to the town hall finally slammed shut, signaling to the Magic Knights to book it out of town.
"That's the signal. It's time to depart." Fuu said.
"Fuu... Are you sure about this?" Logan asked. "I mean, it's kinda your call... It's not like he confessed to anyone else here only about five minutes ago."
"I am certainly worried about him..." Fuu admitted, turning away from her friend. "But we would be wasting what Ferio has done for us if we don't escape."
"You heard her." Logan accepted, turning to face Hikaru and Umi, who also just nodded as they began to make their escape.
Ferio was almost certain this was going to be painful for his savings. But as long as he bought enough time, it was worth it. He shuffled the first deck, and then dealt the cards. Caldina was a difficult opponent to read, as her poker face was just her being confident, which was just her. Looking at his deck, Ferio decided to trade out two cards.
"My hand." He declared, laying his cards out, confident he'd win at least one round. Only for Caldina to immediately dash his hopes with a far better hand. "What?!"
"I believe this hand is mine." Caldina corrected, sliding over a red rupee.
Hand after hand, Ferio kept finding himself on a losing streak. Like Caldina had said, she was damn good at gambling. Although Ferio was also partially convinced she was using some illusion magic at times to make her cards appear better than his. Knowing this, though, he stayed quiet. Pointing this out would likely speed the game up, which he didn't want.
"Wouldn't it be better just to quit now?" Caldina asked, staring at the small handful of rupees he had left,
"Hey, if you wanna quit now, be my guest."
"Well, I was only concerned for your sake. I'll take the challenge."
While Ferio knew he was going to lose this battle, he knew he had won the war when there was a banging on the door.
"What's that!?" Caldina demanded, getting up to answer it.
"Aw, come on! Let's play!"
"Okay, let's go!"
As the last hand was dealt, Ferio was done being surprised when he saw that Caldina's hand was once again far better than his. "See now? That's why I tried to get ya to quit~"
Finally, whoever was trying to enter the town hall finally broke open the door.
"What now!?" Caldina demanded.
"We've got trouble!" The bartender revealed. "Those kids you wanted dead ran away!"
"What's that!?"
And then Caldina stormed out of the town hall to check and see if this information was true. Looking around, she saw no signs of them on the streets, in the woods, or in any buildings. And she wasn't determined enough to thoroughly search. They really were just gone.
"Why are you only tellin' me this now?!"
"But we tried to call you! We banged on the door for you!"
Caldina's eyes widened as she realized that she had been the one being played. She turned to Ferio, her surprised expression turning to one of anger. But before she could act, the bartender shoved him to the ground, pulling out a dagger.
"It's your fault!" He shouted. "It's all your fault because you're the one who brought those four kids here!"
"W- wait!" Ferio pleaded. "Can't we find a way to talk this out?"
The bartender screamed as he ran forward, and, much to even Caldina's surprise, stabbed him right in the stomach. Ferio let out a cry of pain as he collapsed to the ground, letting a few labored breaths escape before finally going limp. The bartender screamed in alarm before starting to cry, likely at the shock of having taken a life.
"W- Well then. Guess it's best I'll be goin' y'all!" Caldina said awkwardly, going to leave before stopping. "Actually-" She then turned on her heel, looking back at the table in hopes of pocketing all the rupees that were there, only to see they were missing. Under normal circumstances, she'd be frustrated, but at this point, she simply wanted to leave.
"B- But I-"
"No, no! It's okay! Let's forget about the weapons and the kids and such!" Caldina quickly reassured the terrified bartender. "Bye y'all!" She called, dashing out the door in an awkward panic. Once the door slammed, the bartender immediately stopped sobbing and trembling.
Ferio sat up, completely unharmed. "See? Didn't I tell ya it'd work?" He asked, pulling a metal pan out of his tunic. This pan had stopped the blade before it could pierce Ferio's skin, allowing for the illusion of being slain.
"Thank you very much for all your help..."
Ferio said nothing, simply giving the bartender a thumbs up.
Logan walked back towards the girls with a stupid grin on his face, a small sack hoisted over his shoulder. "Easy payday!"
"Did- Did you actually just-" Umi stammered, completely dumbfounded.
"I dyed my hair white to try and stand out. Guess it didn't work, huh? Just pop off my armor and I blend right in!"
"You're insane..."
"Thanks."
"Not a compliment!"
Caldina's hideout wasn't that remarkable, which was actually the way she preferred it. Nobody would suspect a smooth-talking illusionist gambler like her to live in a small, abandoned stone home in the middle of nowhere. And it worked wonders for her. While she didn't come home any richer today, she was still somewhat satisfied at the presumed death of one of her enemy's friends.
"Hey..." A young voice called from the nearby hall. "Did anything good happen today?" Ascot asked, looking rather downtrodden.
"Listen up, Ascot." Caldina stated. "I'm gonna get those kids real soon, and when I do, you can go back to the castle with your head held high."
"...I don't want to..." Ascot sighed.
"Now hush, child!" Caldina scoffed. "You're a talented kid, and you shouldn't be wastin' your life away like this!"
Ascot remained silent. He knew Caldina was only looking out for him like always. She wanted what was best for him. The only problem is that he wanted to find what was best for him on his own.
Bringing out the Magic Knights' shelter had taken far longer than usual. While Mokona seemed to have collected himself enough to listen to requests and follow directions, he was almost incapable of standing still. Eventually, Hikaru had to hold him still while he summoned the large structure. It was a taxing ordeal, sure, but it worked out nonetheless.
Once again, the girls were asleep, leaving Logan awake, staring at his right gauntlet. He knew what awaited him beneath it, and so he steeled his nerves and reached for the glove, starting to pull it off once again-
Creeeaakk...
Gasping in alarm and nearly tripping over his own feet, Logan whipped around, slapping his glove back on just in time to see Fuu standing in the doorway.
"J- Jeez, Fuu...!" Logan whispered aggressively. "You nearly gave me a heart attack! What are you doing up so late...?"
"I should be asking you that. You haven't even changed into your pajamas." Fuu countered. "In any case, I wanted to speak with you alone."
"Seriously, Fuu? Ferio just-"
"Stop with your banter." Fuu said abruptly. "I wanted to speak about earlier today, right before we encountered High Priest Zagato."
"Uh, okay...?"
"I know you are lying about your hand."
"Fuu-"
"Even before we entered the Water Shrine, I saw you using your left hand for actions one would find more comfortable with their dominant hand. And considering you wield your sword with your right hand, I know you are right-handed. Besides, why else would the last piece of armor you have on be your right gauntlet?"
"...Shit."
"So tell me: What is really the matter with your hand?"
"...Do you really wanna see?"
"I do not like when secrets are kept from me. Especially if they are hurting my friends. If you truly are just injured, allow me to heal you."
"Fine." Logan conceded. "But don't say I didn't warn you."
Fuu watched with curiosity as Logan slid his gauntlet off. But while she was expecting maybe a bit of swelling or bleeding, or maybe some burns or a sprain, she was met with a massive, veiny mass enveloping his hand. By now, it had spread over the back of his hand and was seeping onto his palm. A circle of unaffected skin rested right there in the center of his hand, and the purple veins were creeping onto his fingers and slightly down his wrist although they were either hidden by his glove or shirt, and if they ever were seen, it could likely be assumed that it was just his veins bulging.
She let out a gasp of horror as she saw the truth. "O- Oh..."
"Not pretty, I know." Logan sighed. "I think Alcyone gave it to me when we last met. You were out cold, so you wouldn't remember it. She disarmed me, and so I tried to throw a punch. She just caught me. Her hand started glowing, and there was this burning feeling... I checked later that night, and there it was."
"I- Is... I- Is it s- spreading...?"
Logan nodded solemnly. "Originally, it didn't even take up the entirety of the back of my hand."
"A- and... I- Is it causing any d- discomfort?"
"It flared up before Zagato appeared, and then when I use my magic."
"W- We need to find you a doctor. A- anyone who knows what ailments and curses c- can be found in this world."
"I know. But if I try, it's going to give it away. I really don't want to worry Hikaru and Umi with this..."
"I- I understand now... T- they would be horrified... B- But please... D- do not hesitate to tell m- me if it gets worse."
"Okay. Good night, Fuu."
"G- Good night."
And Fuu left the room, heading back to bed with the other two girls. But as she would find, Logan wasn't the only one having trouble sleeping now...
Word Count: 5,911