Mornings came easy to a girl reborn. The dilemmas of the years were a hazy fog, unable to be burnt away by the glimpse of a sun peeking through clouds of a midwinter day. They were present, subtly throwing angst into her many moods without rearing their ugly mugs.

They were mere, unfortunate events not unlike dreams or distant, enigmatic memories.

Her blankets aided in crafting an impenetrable last defense against the chill that struggled to sap her waking energy. She was a fan of the fuzzy staples of winter solace. Despite her meager strength and frame that often got tangled in the intangible web of fabric, she lusted to live beneath their solitude when drifting into slumber.

Where many desired teddy bears, or jewelry, or cards to collect, she pined for blankets. And many did she obtain.

The burdening weight of six fleece throws and comforters were cast from her with flailing arms and kicking feet, sitting upright on her roll-out bed that Toby acquired for her. History was kind to her sleeping arrangements, often having to share a bedroom with a troublesome brother that rarely saw his sister's way. She was prone to taking up the floor and allowing the brat to have his luxurious lifestyle, with springboards and cushions that relaxed strained muscles after a long day of playing in the mud and kicking tail in the latest video game craze.

A brother that was her life, but no longer. A brother that she cared for deeply, and could no longer. One that she loved, and hoped would forgive her. One day.

She'd forgotten to kick off her slippers before sleeping, the fuzzy innards keeping petite toes toasty warm. They silently met the floor, the girl removed from the roll-out and toward the bathroom down the hall.

She hadn't much taken realization that this method of living was mundane and methodical. For weeks following her return to present day, December Fourteenth, she had forgotten much. Her life past the beginning of April, her training under Zenny's watchful eye, her love life, dying to protect her interests, right down to forgetting how to walk.

All those things, within seldom reason, was beginning to return to her. To haunt her like a vague, hollow calling of her name in a vast mansion. Its words coursing like pumped blood through empty halls and towering foyers. But, once more, like a dream that often eluded the grasp of conscious understanding, she was unable to coop with reason and place it in a timeline of her own life.

To her, the date was April Fourteenth, after all. She was a past replica of a present image.

The door of the bathroom was nudged open with a heavy shoulder, silently treading into the quaint space so a splash of water could meet her face and invigorate cumbering, absent perception.

The running of water streaming from the faucet was a snake's hiss to her ears. It pooled inside the basin much like it filled her head, but the sensation of tepid liquid evaded her senses. She lifted her eyes, watching the reflection of a girl in the mirror that she couldn't quite place at the same time she was vividly familiar with it.

There was an internal struggle of comprehension. Living two separate entities that were both, ideally, the same. Their merging was destined, as they stemmed from the same origins. But eternally, they were not the same. They were historically different, desiring different things. Their goals, separate.

Commixing as they were, those desires and goals steadily converged, on a crash course with something she would never have been prepared for?

Something had been itching at the back of his neck ever since he had strode outside the cul-de-sac created by the three identical apartment buildings. He kept himself from looking back, quickened his pace and continued to scratch beneath the colorful scarf during his entire trip to the market. There wasn't any food left in the fridge, but between the both of them they could each share a small meal and be just fine.

It was hardly a huge deal. It saved him money in the long run, though it wasn't like he needed it. And since he wasn't ever in a rush to bring any back, he usually saved the task for last..only performing it when he, sadly, remembered almost too late.

He couldn't have asked for anything better than to spend the majority of his time alone, out from under the watch of anyone's stare, no matter how vacant or gentle. He hoped that, at least for now, the Organization's own billion sets of eyes were closed too.

But as he stood half outside Ichiraku's curtain, his hand still at his neck and scratching, he couldn't seem to get a firm grip on his head.

He had just lost one friend, something that he never wanted to have happen again. He didn't want to belittle Patrick's death as stupid or useless, he knew he would rather be alive than not, but he didn't want another sacrifice. He couldn't understand why they kept happening. What about him was that important, that special, that worth the death of one of his friends..or anyone.

It had only ever been fixed once. They had just gotten May back, and even if there were still people willing to injure her or worse..he would take care of it. He had to take care of it. He promised he would.

"Hellooo."

His head snapped back around to inside the drink shop at the sound of the serving girl's voice. She pushed a white plastic bag across the counter toward him. He had already tossed the money down by time he was close enough to pick it up and hung it over his shoulder, the handles resting comfortably on the first two fingers of his left hand.

Thinking about May and how much time he hadn't been near the apartment made the itch in his neck shoot down into his gut and cause it to churn.

He was one of the only ones that knew where she was, and who could actually get to her. She couldn't do anything by herself, she couldn't walk. He didn't think anything really serious would happen, Zenny was supposed to be watching the apartment too. The thought made him grunt, his eyebrows drawn as close together as they could go.

He had forgotten about her.

As much as he didn't like her, and as much as seeing her face made him want to hit something..he couldn't really ignore the fact that Zenny was the most capable out of anybody to do something if they needed it.

He could just bring the food back to the apartment and check on May, make this stupid itching, churning feeling go away. Maybe he was just hungry..or tired. Or both. He'd forgotten the last time he'd done either of those too.

He was halfway down the hall toward the apartment that he and May shared before he realized it, the locks on the security door clicking loudly as they fit themselves back into place. He slid the third key on the ring into the lock on the apartment door and quickly angled inside. His eyes rose to the bedroll he had last seen May on and they hit a pair of knees instead. He blinked, easing the door shut with the heel of his hand as his gaze traveled up to the face of their owner.

Lavender hair, red eyes, ears on the top of her head that flopped to look like drooping white socks.

"You.. Wh--"

"Keheheh."

He turned head but it jerked right back around at the blow from a heavy silver candlestick that dented his left temple like a piece of cardboard. The metallic twang rang heavily in his ears, blood dripped freely down his face and into his eye. He slid to his hands and knees, the bag of food falling carelessly from his grasp. He hissed forced breaths in and out between his clenched teeth, trying to clear the vision of his one good eye.

The second blow crunched into the back of his head, laying him out flat on his stomach. Darkness encroached over the sideways view of the apartment. He saw a gigantic, shadowy figure in the kitchen, but couldn't move to see its face.

The voices he heard pounded in his cotton filled ears, echoing painfully.

"Well that was unnecessary."

"Keh..eheheh. He fell down."

Mayu Tsuzuki's player for the play!! ]

"Good for you." The last word had just left his mouth when pain rang through his head for a third time. He felt crunches in his face and in the ground he was laying on as it dipped in beneath him. Either she had hit him really hard, or whatever she was carrying was heavy, and she was a lot stronger than she looked. He had yelled, his hands clenching around one another and pulling at the tight bindings around his wrists and neck. His breath scraped in and out in wheezes. He wasn't going to have a head left..

"Let's bypass all of this nonsense," she suggested blankly, the baton retracting in her hand. "What's your business with the Maiden of our world? Why's she intent on keeping you safe? And what, precisely, do you want with her? Are you the reason she's been missing for months on end?"

His knees jerked then settled back down, the result of a poor attempt to get to his back. Even if he did, he would be further crushing his arms. He couldn't reach the knife at his back. He panted, pushing his face into the floor, waiting for his busted cheekbone to stop throbbing. "Keep me..s-safe, h-huh..?" He had barely opened his mouth, the words not even sounding like they were supposed to.

"There are strict rules for the mortal races outside of Shamanista to not see The Ruler's face under any circumstance. As a Maiden, she knows this quite well. Yet appealed to him directly to spare you. That is peculiar." The baton's cylinder cycled between fingers idly as she enlightened him. "She's never shown signs of urging the rules to be bypassed in the past."

"So answer," she nearly demanded, catching the baton in the palm of her hand to ignite its length.

"Mmph.." The Ruler, the Maiden. It sounded like things had just gone back to the way they had used to be. He didn't know how, and from what he heard, he wasn't going to doubt that she still remembered him. So everyone had really come to take her back. This place hadn't been any safer in the long run. Putting it all together was making his headache worse.

He swallowed thickly, his mouth hanging open. He wished that trying to heal himself didn't take that much energy. He didn't know how to answer, but getting smashed in the head again wasn't an option. "I..h-helped her..tried to.. Set her up..place to stay.. You h-hurt her.." He could only assume so much from walking onto the scene however long ago at the church..an unconscious beaten up May in the hands of Tracy. She'd looked worse than she had directly after that stupid purple girl tossed her into a wall. Beneath his eyelids, his eyes flickered a bright gold and started burning.

"Kidnapping the Maiden is a rather severe crime, you realize," head shaking as she detailed the felony. "Brainwashing her can't be much better. I can't fathom any reason why she would blatantly adhere to another like she did." The baton's crackling end tilted his way. "Yet I've realized you haven't answered my questions in the slightest. What are your interests with her?"

"I didn't..f-f*cking..kinap h-her.." he spat, his body relaxing as he felt numbness going to all the lesser injuries. He couldn't feel his straining muscles anymore and the wound on his temple, which he was surprised to find wasn't the worst of them. "You..p-people forgot her. She s-sat waiting for y-you the wh-whole damn time.."

"I'm afraid that wasn't the case at all, pheasant." She watched him keenly, the deep trenches of ruby pools beginning to stir. "If you refuse to answer the question, that's fine. I'm going to find out one way or the other..." she directly stated to him with an underlying sneer. It was true that she loathed the tools of those Slavers back home. But her own tools were something much different. With nothing but a look, like the one she was providing him, she could invoke the most maddening of circumstances. The most secret of desires drawn to the surface, only to be snuffed before their very eyes like a terrifying nightmare. The most troubling, however, was how the event transpired in real-time. Logic in these moments were illogical. Their resistance would be unknown even to they.

"Why do you keep calling that.." He shot a look with golden cat's eyes up to her. "And she's," he blinked. "...she's my f-friend.." Darkness washed over the room, drowning out everything but her eyes in its fuzzy blackness until she vanished too. He could hear his heartbeat and his breathing too loud, like he was trapped somewhere small and deathly silent. It stayed that way until he started becoming unnerved. The girl hadn't moved to turn the lights off, she must have done something..

His skin crawled under first one, then another, then several chittering insects and goopy maggots. Centipedes slithered beneath his clothes and in his hair. The scent of death forced itself into his nose. He pitched to the side, flailing..to find that whatever had been binding him was gone. The floor his hands touched wasn't made out of wood, but bodies. Old, rotting bodies that sunk in with too much pressure, flesh slipping and sliding from bone as he scrambled to his hands and knees. The sound of giggles and a single high pitched scream had begun and were getting louder.

He found his footing, not without effort, and staggered in the opposite direction. He still couldn't see anything, even the light of his vial had been snuffed out, but he could swear the noise was following him. The closer it got, the more recognizable it became. He grimaced, clapping his hands down over his ears.

She was a motionless silhouette as madness was induced onto him, showing little sign of concern nor care for what he was bearing witness to. It was her greatest joy; her greatest weapon. And from it, answers would be gained over what she wished for. It was strange how few paid heed to the given warnings and underestimated what she could incur. "...well? Do you feel like talking now?" The charade wasn't weakened, nor loosened. It grew in strength; those illusions becoming a more powerful force on the mental stability of her victim. She invited more lashings on his reality. "Perhaps a little more coaxing is required."

A cool ivory floor glistened with glitters of light that radiated from countless hundreds of windows in an expansive room. The crystal blue walls that made up three of four segments flowed, majestically sparkling with the same intoxicating charm of the surface of water on a hot summer day, giving off its radiance of life. While the room was large, it was also mostly barren, where nothing but a bed able to seat an ogre and several dressers made up most of its furniture. It held an aura of mystical youth, like it belonged to a child, where plush animals filled shelves that dotted the crevice between the wall and the ceiling.

It was presented with a swell of pride. "How do you like your room, my Queen?" The Phantasmal Destroyer questioned his beloved, motioning to the large estate that was designed specifically with her in mind. "My architects spent many weeks preparing this room to your liking."

Mayu observed the room's worldly glow with mock interest. "It'll suit me well, my love," she answered with a hollow tone, stepping forth into her chambers.

The Ruler followed shortly behind, broad arms snagging the smaller woman in an embrace tough to be forgotten. "You sound displeased, dear. Shall I request a change?"

While she stumbled against the embrace, she fell into it with natural grace and loveliness. "Not at all. You've outdone yourself, darling."

An ever-present, knowing smile crept through the scruff of a rugged face, parting with Mayu with reluctance. "I will leave you to tend to your needs." Turning, the large oaken door of her room was brushed aside. "Helen, please see that our Queen is given anything she may need. I am certain she is still rattled from her journey."

Entering the room in place of the excused Ruler of Shamanista was Helen Masters, a newly acquired personal assistant. Where most women were like children, frolicking with tantalizing mirth and carefree in their whimsical desires, Helen was stoic and under strict control. She was without the sensational qualities that made Shamanista come alive of its own accord, but also refrained from threatening to sap its charming qualities from under everybody's nose.

Of Helen's qualities, almost as if matching the first impression she acquired upon arrival, she was nearly substandard in appearance. Dark raven hair that crept past shoulders in thin weaves like straws of hay was a natural occurrence to Mayu; a bitter slice of home. Thankfully, at least where Mayu was concerned back when they first met, Helen carried something that was unnatural to Earth: diamond eyes filled her sockets, wholly displacing any iris or pupil a natural human might carry.

"Welcome home, Mistress," Helen greeted, folding her hands at her waist and bowing in demanded greeting. "I am glad you are well. Should you need any-"

A hand lifted to silence Helen, clipping a shoulder as she passed her assistant to tug the door closed. "There won't be any need for that... Helen."

Rising, the woman dressed in a stereotypical black maid's uniform with pink pinstripes watched her mistress in slight surprise. "Mistress?"

"Mayu will do, Helen. Please," she begged, in both words and eyes. "Should you require any honorific, call me Maiden. That is the title we met under, after all."

Helen's brief surprise was masked by feigned adjustment to the request. "As you wish... Maiden Mayu." Helen parted with her Mistress, quickly making way to a small table that was barely enough to seat one. "Shall I prepare tea for you, Mi-Maiden?"

Pools of darkening green eyes watched the woman with familiarity. She was reminded of somebody she couldn't quite recall in full. Which heightened an already perplexed expression. Clearing her throat, she provided Helen with a faux smile to ward away potential questions, "That would be terrific. Tell me, you were going to mention doing something for me should I require it?"

Helen set out a petite, porcelain cup already filled with a sickly green liquid that plumed its heat. "Yes, Maiden, I have been tasked with doing anything that you may ask without question, after all." Stepping aside of the cramped table space, she showed that matters were completed.

Seating herself at the table, Mayu briefly exchanged glances with her assistant. "I see? in that case, I have just the thing you can help me with?" Scooping the cup into hand, she watched its rippling, disturbed contents as she continued. "There's a certain, important boy that I'd like you to? acquire for me."

Toby sat at Ichiraku's counter, the furthest stool on the left, like he had the night before. A cup of cold, flat lemon drink sat between his circled hands. He had dared a couple sips of it when it was warm, an improvement over last time. He shifted every so often, an eye closing, relieving cramps in his legs.

The nighttime air wasn't as unfamiliar as Helen would have normally accepted it as, given that she often didn't feel much of anything. The climate back home was often dry, without the temperature changes or wind shifts. The billowing of nature's breath held a tantalizing invigoration to it. Something that helped guide the tracking hound toward her intended source. The visual aid was a necklace, blue cut with cherry blossoms dazzling its surface. "Strange... I thought it was this way," she commented to herself, lifting the necklace skyward as if to invoke it to tell her which direction to go. "Oh, wait... it is. Stupid me." Leading onward, the woman dressed in a standard maid's uniform trekked on until she found herself before a shack of a shop with only a curtain acting as a doorway. Peeking her head into the building, she surveyed. "Arrr... hello?"

Tracking back and forth from point A to point B was growing tiresome. Katt had made through the marketplace a number of times on her way to and from different places in what could of possibly of been ..work. Something to keep herself busy was more like it. Steps slowed into the market's edge and she craned her head to watch a figure slip into Ichi's. Curiously her head craned and she turned direction, heading that way.

Toby glanced up, expecting the serving girl to show up and greet the new customer. Wherever she was, it was taking her a while to get out here. He shifted again in his seat, his heels moving up one rung on the stool, knees even with the counter now. He folded his arms on them.

"Eeeehk," shifting posture to be consumed by the curtain's lavishing drape to fully step into the small shack. The maid approached the singular male seated several stools down from her point of entry, hands moving to fold at her lap. "Excuse me, sir. Would you happen to be Mr. Toby?"

(s)"Mmph.." His thoughts of becoming increasingly more invisible started to grow as he was addressed. He scratched at the insides of both arms, his head turning slowly to the girl next to him. His expression bordered on uncertain. "Why?"

The curtain was nudged aside just in time to hear the question. The maid attired woman was blinked at and she leaned slightly to look around to spy..well yeah..Toby. Peering questionally at the woman then back katt raised a brow. Toby got a maid?

The twinkle of light in diamond eyes occurred simultaneously with his reply. Helen didn't require to provide further questioning at this time. A slight shift of her gaze was meant to peer across a slender shoulder, but didn't further the look. "Mr. Toby, I have orders from my Master to obtain you."

Toby frowned, sifting through recent events in his head. To his recollection, he hadn't pissed anyone off that had a maid lately.. His eyes flicked to Katt, then back to the girl. "Your master.. Who're they..? And, you..for that matter.."

Another cautious look was given over the curve of a shoulder before providing him with answers. "My name is Helen, Mr. Toby, Personal Aid to the Queen of Shamanista. It is under her authority I am here to obtain you."

Katt's lips twitch when she heard that word she hated oh so much. Slowly she started along the way around the woman who introduced herself as Helen. Fingers curled and relaxed as she made her way towards Toby. Queen..of Shamanista. That word. She knew that word. That was the word for..the other side.. She blinked and looked over to Toby.

He studied the girl's face pointedly, her milky pale eyes that didn't really look like they could see anything at all. "She's..not..ah.." He cleared his throat, his head shaking hard once. "She's not..married..to the, uh..king, Ruler..right..?"

Her head canted to one side, a confused puppy dog who was being spoken toward directly and without proper understanding. After a moment, it shifted direction, processing Toby's inquery. "She is currently unwed, but has taken the title in preperations to the coming matrimony." As a familiar who often didn't approve of sidetracking or detours in her mission, she returned to the task at hand. Something she's repeated variously. "I am to retrieve you based on her orders."

"(vs) She is still here..? She hasn't..returned to ..Shamanista yet..right?" She finally mustered up the voice to question the clear-eyed woman. The idea of Toby going with the woman left her uneasy on so many levels. But ..Maybe he could talk to her..talk her out of it. That feeling of uselessness settled in again and she frowned.

"We--wait, alright." That changed everything. He turned on his stool to face the girl, still bunched up, his hands on his knees. "Where is she.. How are we supposed to be getting there..?" He didn't dare question why he was being asked to go..that might make this whole thing go away.

The Queen's assistant forced herself to turn half-heartedly in the direction of Katt. An unsteady look was handed to her for her question, then back to Toby with heavy curiosity. She didn't continue yet.

"U-uh.." he blinked at the girl, then at Katt, waving his hand between the two. "She's Katt, she's okay. She knows May too." Addressing his friend by anything else didn't really occur to him. Her name and the word 'Queen' were weird together even in the same thought.

Katt frowned at the look. Seemed everyone was giving her those sort of looks. Her head shook slowly and she turned to sit in a seat aside Toby. She didn't like this..but kept her mouth shut regardless.

Helen's lips parted just enough to convey understanding, mouthing an 'Ahh.' "Very well... she is currently at the Palace awaiting the final preperations to be made." Toby's answer came next, "I have fashioned this necklace to attune the wearer to Shamanista for a brief amount of time. It would provide adequate protection against the spiritual elements, if cause slight fatigue." The gifted necklace was held out for display.

His eyes went to the necklace, his right hand venturing forward, fingertips resting on the back of the blue glass charm. He ran his thumb across the smooth surface..and smiled. Then climbed down off of the stool. (s)"We were looking for something to do, right?" he raised his eyebrows at Katt. "It's..just this, though..? There's not one for Katt too..?"

Katt swallowed thickly, partly relieved when she heard Helen's explanation but it still ..left her uneasy. "(vs) Right.." She answered Toby but shook her head when he asked about one for her. She turned away from him and shoved her hands into the coat pockets to stop herself from doing something else. "(vs) You are going. Not..us.."

"My orders were retrieve you, Mr. Toby," she answered punctually. "I do not possess any other objects of relation to the Queen in order to attune you. Only by direct relation by means of an item of important value will suffice as a protective ward."

His mouth opened, then closed with a click. But he turned his hand over to receive the necklace, assuming he had to put it on. "So..fatigue.. How long is this thing supposed to work?"

"I am unfamiliar with your method of time," Helen's lips jutting out in noticable angst. It was debatable if it were directed toward Toby or herself. "Based on your natural control and conditioning to spiritual energies, it could be for mere moments or days."

(s)"Mere moments or days," he repeated, smiling flatly without any real humor. "Awesome.."

"Do not worry, Mr.Toby. Should you be unable to withstand the sheer force, it will be a swift demise," she added with a smile meant to flake off concern.

That feeling was growing worse and Katt's hands pressed to her stomach. Helen's words did not help what so ever. It was best to keep her back to them for the moment if only to hide the fear. And she was just made to sit there.

He laughed suddenly, tugging the necklace free and undoing the clasp. He hooked it again behind his neck, hiding the chain under the colorful scarf, charm under his shirt. "Thanks..Helen. That, uh..even better," nodding.

"Naturally," a tilt of her head, backpedalling with her head lowered to the pair. The slice of white of her headpiece amongst the ebon locks of hair was all that the two would see as Helen started to excuse herself. "I will prepare transport immediately. Please let me know when you wish to depart."

(vsw)"Ugh." Instead of getting up, Toby kept sinking down until his forehead met the cold floor, icing his brow and the palms of his hands. He didn't think he would miss being cold. The light of the room they were in made it past his eyelids and chased away any lingering sense that he was still trapped in a thick, dark and wet blanket that wouldn't let him go. He smoothed his hands over the floor, relishing the fact that he could breathe freely again before daring to lift his head. He couldn't have been more thankful that they didn't seem to have to travel anywhere else. Now he'd just have to worry about someone barging into the..house sized room.. But May had power here..and Queens were supposed to be able to keep that from happening, or punish people that did. Kneeling and bowing in a Queen's room only seemed fitting, something that he'd never thought he would feel.

A throwing of flowing ocean hair was cast over a shoulder, allowing the silhouette a brief glimpse at the arrival. She didn't turn toward her two latest guests. "Thank you, Helen. Leave us, and inform those outside that I wish to not be disturbed for the evening."

Helen's eyes widened a touch to the abrupt dismissal, but didn't question it. A glance was given aside to Toby before departing.

(s)"Mmph.." His gaze followed Helen as she left, still having to squint to fight the onslaught of light stabbing at him from all directions. He could live happily in this room until he died..he just had to get used to it. He finished the unsteady climb to his feet, unsure of what to say.

The click of the door in the distance allowed Mayu to turn around with a dancer's flourish, eyeballing Toby from her considerable distance. Her gown was surprisingly transparent, where only thin weaves of fabric concealed her most sacred portions of body. Snaps of hidden heels disturbed the silence of the room as she hastily charged forward, not allowing him the decency to make it to his feet before she took him in a tight embrace. "...I'm s-sorry," she whispered as if prying ears could listen in. "I didn't m-ean fo-for you to g-get hurt..."

(s)"Ah..!" He blinked, still on his right knee when he was met with her warm, smaller body. He gulped audibly, his arms winding tight around her, palm to the back of her head to hold her in place. (s)"That's..that's okay, uh," he let himself sniff only once, blaming the watering of his eyes on the insane lighting. Even wrapped in her hold and stuck on the ground he felt like he was flying. (s)"I know you didn't, May, it's not your fault. I'm alright. What about you, though..? This..whole thing.. Are you okay with it..?"

The extrme warmth of her touch tapered off as she started to pull away from him, turning back toward the array of windows. It was difficult to answer him and look at him at the very same time. "I don't... I don't have a c-choice in that. I... a-agreed to it a r-really long time ago..." Which translated into mere months, by their normal gage of time. "T-These... p-people need a p-person besides their Ruler... as a M-Maiden... it's my j-job to. ...to pr-protect them, and... b-bear their children." Or, specifically, the Ruler's children. "...t-that's what they're designed for. T-That's what the spiritual energies th-they grant me are for..."

(s)"Do you even remember that..?" His arms dropped away from her, one hand passing over his face just in case. He cast a quick glance toward the door Helen left through. If she was in charge of sending him back.. He fingers poked at the scar on his temple trying to get his thoughts back in order. But at the same time, he didn't want to think. All roads of thought led him to same bottomless pit. He stayed kneeling on the ground. (vs)"You're *not* okay with this, are you? What made you agree in the first place..? Didn't you know what it all meant?"

"I remember it... partially, a-at least," she hesitated in her response, steps leading her back toward the window she hailed from. "When I fi-first came here, Flora g-gave me the objective of being the new Maiden of this world. It w-was something that Zenny was t-training me for a-anyway, so I fi-figured it would be okay." She paused, turning to chance a glance his direction. "I only discovered later what else was in-involved. ...I decided it w-would be for the best."

"So they.." he cursed under his breath. The expanse of the room was beginning to irritate him. He couldn't tell if she was moving because she felt bad about what she was saying, or trying to make it easier to leave when Helen *did* come back. He rose finally, brushing off his jeans with one hand, his fingers still at his temple. "This..Flora person, she offered you this but didn't tell you until *afterward* that this was the whole job..? Is that how they do things here..? Just..give you half the story and then go 'Oh, by the way..' later..? What kind of place is that.."

"That's Flora for you..." she provided him the stereotypical, generic answer where the Flowering Princess was concerned. Her eyes were at half mast, neither narrowed nor squinting. It was a solemn look she provided him when she exchanged glances. "Verbal agreement is like law. ...a-and it's been m-many years s-since I've a-agreed. ...it's f-far too late to s-skip out now."

He kept nearing, but decided to take up one of the corners of the giant bed instead. The place seemed to be made out of windows, and the further he was away from them, the better. He flopped back without hesitation. (s)"God, this sucks. They can make you do anything by doing sh*t like that. And..you know you've been here for years..? But.." he threw his arm over his eyes. "God, May, you've got to have *kids* for these people..I can't.." He sighed. (s)"I can't accept this.."

His words forced her to withdraw from watching him further, swapping him with the mountainous range the many windows provided her with. "There's nothing you c-can do to s-stop it n-now... I j-just... wanted t-to make sure that y-you were okay. T-To show you that I was o-okay. ...and t-to... just move o-on with yourself." She was growing softer by the millisecond. "S-Stop putting yourself in d-danger fo-for me... t-they'll c-come back with a v-vengeance if they discover me missing again..."

He ran his hand back into his hair, staring up at the ceiling so far away. Everything he was saying sounded good, but he knew she was right, and he hardly had anything in the ways of stopping anything from happening. (s)"You can't convince me that you're okay with this. You got roped into it and you got screwed, and it was all for all of these people's gains. This cannot be where you want to live, what you want to do. Be here, be married..have..have *kids* for them.. And that's all you'll be.."

He sat up, pinching the bridge of his nose. (s)"Thank you..I know you're trying to protect me, and that means more to me than you can ever understand..but having you back in the city where you belong, where you can live your own damn life the way you want to live it..that means *more*. You don't know how important you are to me, May..all of this crap they've done, or will do..if it's for you, it's worth it and I don't regret it."
He swallowed, silencing himself before he wasted what short amount of time they did have by rambling. His right hand settled on his chest, the outside of his thumb running up and down against his sternum. He wanted to say he was sorry, but he wasn't ashamed of what he'd said..and kept his mouth shut.

Cue the gleam of red across her cheekbones. She waited for it to fade to speak. "E-Even if... I don't want to," pausing long enough to glance him over. She had to judge his reaction to her question as she asked it. "What do you propose I do...? I-If I decide n-not to do this... t-they'll strip me o-of power and p-put me away for embezzlement... o-or w-whatever it is..." That worked, she figured. Even if the people were not cash. "And t-they'll be out of a Q-Queen... s-somebody to hold the r-reins..."

She could only follow her words up with a heaving sigh. "... I do-don't know where I belong now... I h-have people here to depend on me... w-want me... l-l... l-love me," she meekly finished, that splattering of color returning. "I-It m-might not b-be the b-best style o-of life, but it i-is a life st-syle. Having wealth a-and people w-who'll look after me. And... clearly, I wanted i-it. ...at s-some point or another."

(s)"I don't know.. I really don't. Hell, if this is how they do things, they'll have a new Maiden in here in no time and she'll be the one that gets screwed over with only half of the story." He rubbed his own warming face. He knew he was talking himself right into a hole, and he would have been no matter what he decided to say. (s)"I'm only left to believe that you kept agreeing to this crap because you knew you couldn't do anything about it. Just.. You don't think you have any of those things back in the city..?" It was a pathetic argument and the question he'd just asked made his skin crawl. One person verses how many people.. His hands framed his nose and mouth, he closed his eyes. He could have beaten himself in the head..

She aimed a weak stare at him. It shared her disbelief that he would even ask that question. It was an ignorant thing, to her. "What do you think?" Her words weren't as bitter as they might first seem. She motioned to her surroundings, allowing him to see for himself where she was now, as opposed to where she'd been. "It would seem I h-have much more h-here, wouldn't it?..." His argument might be pathetic. Hers was not much better.

He sniffed again, inwardly kicking himself harder for having to do it, his hands rubbing his mouth clean. (s)"Don't you think..that I would have done something.. Anything.. Anything that you would have wanted, and if it was something I could do something about..even if it wasn't.. You are *not* just some insignificant person to me.." He chuckled sadly. (vs)"I sound pretty pathetic, don't I?"

A brow arched at him, rather confused by what he was saying. It was befuddling. "W-What... are you saying?" Stepping fromthe window, she nudged herself with effort to seat herself beside him on the bed. There was enough space for another twenty of them, and possibly an elephant. Trumpet. "...I don't... understand."

(vs)"I don't.." He shook his head, licking his lips. (vs)"I don't know. I mean.." he cleared his throat. (s)"I do, just..it's not really coming out in the right way. Ah.." He rubbed his eyes again, looking over at her now that she was nearby. (s)"There was a time, once..after you'd come to the city, when you really..really wanted to go back home. To Japan," nodding. (s)"And I knew that, and I knew that if you had the choice, that was where you wanted to be. Because that was your home, and that's where you came from, and you knew that place..and the people there. That city, Rhy'Din or whatever..was *this* place to you, I guess. You were stuck there, but..you stayed. You told me that you being there with us was just temporary and that when you could go home, you would."

He nodded again. (s)"I never, ever..stopped wanting you to stay. Everything was.." He folded his hands, looking down at them instead. (s)"Everything was better, everything was alright..when you were there, when I could see you. No matter what was going on, or what happened beforehand, all of it..everything bad would just disappear, and you were the only thing left. You were my friend, you *are* my friend..and I didn't want you to go.

"But because that was what you wanted..I knew I would have to accept that one day, I would go outside..and everything would just seem so much emptier and unimportant." He squeezed his eyes shut, swiping at them with his fingertips. (vs)"But that's not true this time.. These people..they tricked you into doing this, something you didn't even know about.. I can't see you choosing the same thing if you knew exactly what they were expecting.."

It was all a lot of things to take in at once. The fact that he was even saying them to begin wth startled her beyond her most wildest imaginations. And given the current situation she was in, that took quite a punch. She gawked at him with a hinged jaw, folded hands on her lap moving to her hair to thread the ocean color between the folds of her digits. She was without her glasses, but her hands still fumbled with the edges of eyesockets, wanting to shift them. "...I..." she began, but came up absolutely short on what it was she wanted to say.

Her mind was jumbled with absolutely nothing that would make coherent sense should she speak. She stared at her feet, up to the cream shade of her thighs, and then aside to him. "... you say all of this now... a-and I understand it..." Another hefty sigh meant to conclude where she was going with her train of thought. But something goaded her to finish. "...but that doesn't change the fact that... y-you don't have any ideas on h-how to solve these issues... do you?"

(s)"Not at the moment, no. There has to be something that can happen because this Flora person only gave you half or your duties, or whatever. If it's supposed to be a choice whether or not you want it, you should have been able to know everything.." He lifted his hands, his thumbs digging into the corners of his eyes. (s)"That just makes me think they wanted someone to do this quickly, or make up for the fact that the Maiden before you went nuts and gave up her position. Probably for *this* reason.

"I'm not sympathizing with her." He frowned. (s)"Flora can get anyone to do this if she feeds them this same thing. This isn't where you're supposed to be..and I'm not just saying that because I want to take you back with me," he hoped, "Out of all the things that have happened, that stupid Christmas thing..which I got you something for, by the way.." His hands went to the strap of his bag that was strangling his chest. The trip through Helen's portal had twisted it all the way around, and he had forgotten that he'd even taken it with him when he left the apartment earlier. (s)"I know it's a ridiculous change of subject, but we're here now, so what the hell, right?" He dug his arm into the bag, producing a bundle wrapped in brown paper and tied with pieces of twine. He flicked his teeth together in thought, then held it out to her.

The feeling that he was somewhere he shouldn't be didn't quite sink in until May had disappeared and silence was settling over the room like a thick blanket. He sighed and held half of his face in one hand.

He had made a promise to himself a long time ago that he would trust her, and her judgment, and accept the decisions she made..and technically not a lot of people knew about it, so it didn't matter if he broke it or not.. But it was still one of the things trying to pull him apart and make the pieces go in different directions.

He shoved that same hand back through his hair, sniffing. She had to know what she was doing. She wouldn't leave him somewhere that she knew he would be found..and she had a good reason for leaving while wearing all the things he gave her even though anyone else seeing them would probably want to know where they came from..

She knew what she was doing..

He sighed again, turning away from the bed to face the monstrous wall of windows that still had yellow sunshine streaming in through them. It shouldn't be this pretty or warm here. It should be storming and dark, with dead trees and no color, where the people were all as bad as the things they did..so that it wouldn't seem like such a nice place to stay. With a stupid, huge, comfy bed.

He grunted, kicking one corner of the mattress with the inside of his foot as he passed by it. As he started to wander, a few fingers found the new scar at his temple and started tracing it, applying pressure when his head started to ache.

This room could have fit several of their apartments in it side by side. He hadn't even reached the outer wall yet, and he'd lost count of all of his steps. He looked over one of the dressers and part of the collection of stuffed animals he hadn't noticed before.

How old did they think she was..

Not doing anything would be the same as saying that he didn't give a sh*t about his friend, and he didn't have it in him to continue doing it. He hadn't even done a good job when he'd tried.

He grunted again, backtracking at seeing his reflection in something shiny on the wall..that turned out to be mirror, a big one, attached to a vanity. He turned toward it rather than continuing around the room, dropping down onto the plush seat before the mirror. Even as tall as he was, he sank into the cushion enough to be perfectly framed.

The vanity was clean, like it hadn't even been used, the soft bristle brush and comb set in its left corner lined up as if by a ruler. He ran his hand gently over their handles. Did she use these..? Did she sit here in the morning and look at herself everyday, with the giant, bright room behind her..? Did she think this was somewhere she could stay forever..?

His mind was completely blank when it came to any ideas on what to do..but he couldn't just leave her here. She was going to have to get married, and then just turn into a thing to make children.

He folded his hands tightly, his elbows slamming down into the vanity. He stared at his reflection beyond his knuckles.

He wasn't going to let this happen, he couldn't let it happen. He told May that he would find something to help her.

It went beyond just wanting to fix something for his friend. The simple thought of these things happening made him want to break something. His gut and chest churned with a feeling that he knew he shouldn't be having, but was starting to not be surprised by.

He found himself unable to keep looking at his own face and shoved up to his feet. He was not supposed to be jealous. He didn't even want those things..marriage or children.

But the simple fact that she would be stuck here, stuck with someone else.. And if she didn't want to do this, she would still have to pretend to want to stay, pretend like being here, pretend to enjoy..everything.

He huffed a third sigh, his head hanging low. Then he chuckled, dryly.

He had thought he'd gotten over feeling like this. He shoved the back of one fist across his mouth, lowered it back down to the surface of the vanity.

It had to just be everything getting to him. He had to handle these things one thing at a time, instead of remembering that it was a massive growing pile threatening to crush him under the weight.

Right.. That had to be it.

Elsewhere in the world of Shamanista, much of the realm was set aflutter. Rumors spread quickly that the Ruler had set in stone a date and time for a marital union with the current Shrine Maiden of Dreams. Celebrations were in order, festivals absolutely abound, without a care in the world. By mid-evening, those plans would be set in motion, and their entirety would welcome in a new Queen.

Within the Palace of Canonization, the bride-to-be was receiving the final touches of her dress and being tutored in the coming rituals by Flora Calla.

"Ahm? I'm not sure I understand this ritual, Flora," Mayu piped, nose crinkled with frustration as she skimmed the various note cards passed to her.

"It's rather simple, child," Flora answered sharply, indicating Mayu's current sheet with a pressing finger. "You read the ceremonial words written here, don the Helm of Whimsical Teenage Love and drink from the goblet. By doing so, you justify yourself as our Queen, purify your body of mishandling, and give yourself over to the Ruler."

Mayu squinted at Flora, then down to the cards to ensure she understands everything. "Mi-mishandling?!? and it says here the 'Helm of Cherishment'?"

Flora sighed painfully, ducking down to adjust the length of the royal train. "That's what I said," she uttered, pinching a needle between her teeth as she got to work.

The cards, desiring they remain safe should they be required, were tucked into the miniscule cleavage of her dress. "Ah? right?" hands smothering her face. The exceptional heat she was producing was loud enough to sizzle an egg. Perhaps a side of bacon. "You m-mentioned to me earlier that? all Maidens go through a ritual to become the Ruler's wife. ?why does he only marry us? Why not somebody? else?"

Flora's eyes, rose petals on a dazzling spring morning, rose briefly to the formally dressed Maiden. She offered a weak smile, but it was dreadfully antagonistic. Enough to churn those eggs and bacon in the gut. "You forget you're provided with the utmost power of Shamanista, child. This very realm buckles and heaves to your presence, granting you immense strength, spiritual guidance and control. It is only natural you be his; he that created this realm for us all."

Flora separated the train's hem, providing several additional inches to an already exaggerated length. The length was stressed on heavily, ensuring that it wholly consumed the girl's meager posture and stance. It possibly weighed more than she. Mayu watched Flora's work absently, taking in the offered response. "Why is that?? Why are we? given so much strength? It seems redundant, since nothing r-really goes on here." She paused, cheerfully adding after a moment, "We have Sophia and Melissa for the hard work!"

Flora's eyes narrowed, dangerously jerking on the handled fabric in hopes to topple the girl for even mentioning their names. The action failed horrendously, instead causing Flora to lurch forward from the tangle of weave. She downplayed it as a necessary stress test. "You were fundamental in the retrieval of that strange man one hundred years ago. He put up quite a resistance that even? they couldn't handle. Is that not enough indication of why you must be strong? I swear, you're the first of the Maidens ever to bitch and moan about having exceptional ability."

Mayu's eyes drifted aside, a frown tugging at her features. "D-don't get me wrong, I'm very g-grateful for being provided with all of? this," motioning to herself. Her abilities, her strengths, down to the affection of wealth she was lavished with. "I j-just don't see why I'm s-supposed to have it?" The Maiden paused once again, her idle watch of Flora continuing. "You're the one that provided me with it, aren't you?"

The celestial halted her work momentarily, leaning back on her knees to look up at the woman. "Yes, I am. Are you going to sit there and ask me questions all afternoon?"

Lighting up with embarrassment, Mayu clamped her mouth with a hand. "I'm s-sorry. I g-guess I'm just n-nervous. ?that and I've never really had a chance to chat with you a-about t-this." She was eager to remind herself not to say anything else the moment Flora began working. That eagerness was replaced by a thirst for knowledge. "So? w-why'd you wind up giving it to me?"

Flora got the memo. The chatterbox she was stuck in a room with was incapable of silencing herself. Refraining from her current task, she answered the woman bluntly, hoping it would draw a close to this conversation. "Because you're so painfully innocent and ignorant at the same time. I figured it'd do you good." Feeling the brashness of her comment, she swiftly molded it to a flesh wound, "That, and you carry promising potential as Ria's replacement."

The girl wasn't sure whether she'd just been punched in the mouth, or provided a comforting hug by a teddy bear. She staved a visual reaction. "That's? w-what happened with Ria, anyway? W-why'd she give u-up on being a Maiden??"

There was barely time for Flora to contain herself. She laughed outright. A rich, healthy laugh was a chilling chime of terror in the air. "Ria? Give up? Dear, dear child, I'll forgive you because you're so young." She had to wipe the tears from her eyes before progressing on the train. "Ria never gave up on being a Maiden. She might have turned her back on many a thing, but she vowed nothing greater than to protect this world with everything she had. A pitiful thing, really."

A brief flicker of shock crossed Mayu's eyes as she listened. "I don't? understand. Why would she leave this world? harm mortal souls? if she vowed to protect it?"

"She was in heavy disagreement with the absolute direction of the future. With or without her, things would change." Rising, Flora got to work adjusted the sleeves that graced Mayu's upper arms. "Being a Maiden does not mean you control the future. You're a part of it. An invaluable cog in a wheel that never has time to cease its eternal spin."

It wasn't as history stated. Mayu heard stories of Ria from Sophia and how she threatened the world with her power as a Maiden alongside Flora. Ria was a valuable reason why Flora nearly brought Shamanista into ruin. That's no vow of protection. Lips parting, the Maiden wheezed a fragile breath. "?it doesn't? make sense. Ria was an evil Maiden. The two of you worked together?"

The iris of petals restrained themselves from glancing aside to the girl. "It is true that Ria and I once considered vying for power. The silly Ruler and I never saw eye-to-eye on many issues. But Ria? well, Ria's idea of protection was marginally skewered by a sense of heroism. She felt she had to do everything herself, or not at all. I only sought to progress the matter along. After all, an enemy of your enemy is your friend."

"Then? you're??" Mayu started to feel her throat seize. That unmistakable feeling of dread was eating her from the inside out.

"Myself? Child, I'm well past those events. They occurred hundreds of years ago. We've settled most of our differences. If not, I doubt things would be transpiring today with me at the helm," finishing the last of several adjustments, she withdrew a thin ruby ribbon, tying it within several fistful locks of hair. "There."

Mayu winced at the tie, but did her best to put on a strong front. Her smile was overly forced, and the few tears streaming at the corners of her eyes couldn't deny the pain she felt. "T-that's good news."

"We should consider hurrying along. We have one small meeting to attend to before the rituals are to begin. Just think. In several hours, you'll be royalty. Are you excited?" Flora's tone was agonizing. There could be nobody less thrilled than she. A sharp pat on the shoulder guided the Maiden from the stand she was on and toward the door of her room.

"Let's get this started."

The knock at the door came one second before it burst inward and banged off of the inside wall. His head jerked up off of the bed, the pillow that had been hiding his face landing on the floor with a weak thump.

Zenny marched into the room, her black skirt swirling around her legs. Her eyes were sharp and flashing like lightning as they landed on him and he felt like she was trying to send him through into the bed and possibly through the floor with one look. He scowled and clambered to his feet.

"What the hell are you doing here, where have you been."

"We do not have a lot of time. Most of the window of opportunity has indeed already been wasted on locating the two of you." Zenny stopped before him, her free hand reaching for one of his. In her other palm sat a tiny boat made out of folded paper that carried an even smaller white blue flame.

He didn't think about it. He yanked his hand away, his fingers curling into a fist. Annoyance and the need to do something, anything, about the situation fueled his punch. He had said that he was going to hit her..

Zenny's head tilted away from the blow at the same time that her free hand closed around his wrist. She twisted him like he was a door handle, pain surged through the nerves in his arm. He clenched his other fist, ready to strike, but she pushed down on his already strained forearm. He choked on a sudden yelp and knelt down to go with the pressure. He could feel one of the bones in his arm trying to bend with the force she hadn't let up on.

"Did you not hear me when I said that we do not have the time?" Her eyebrows rose. "Indeed, I understand your anger, and there will be a time and place for that, I assure you, but it is not right now."

"You don't know what's going on," he said through grit teeth. He knew he was fast, he could probably get out of the stupid hold if he tried. But not before she busted his arm.

"I know more than you think, Toby." Her hand slipped away from him and he sat back, shaking out his hand. His fingers twitched randomly, he glared up at her with narrowed eyes. "For instance, that Mayu has since returned to Shamanista and is on her way to be, or currently is, its Queen." He eyebrows rose again. "Did you honestly think that I would let something as preposterous as this indeed is slide by without my knowledge or a plan of action?"

He grunted, hope swelled in his chest before he had a chance to really stop it. His gaze shot down to his stiff hand. He didn't want to depend on her. For all he knew, she was lying. But he didn't have anything else. He clenched his jaw, breathed a hard sigh.

"What am I supposed to do.."

"First, you must indeed get off the floor." Zenny stepped away from him, giving him room. "Second, disguise yourself. You will be taking a trip shortly to the Island of Tranquil Entry."

"I..?" He looked at the desk out of the corner of his eye before he got to his feet for a second time. His bag laid tucked up against the wall where he had left it how many days earlier.

"Indeed."

"What about you. What about Katt, did you tell her any of this?" He upended his bag over the desk top, shaking it until its contents started raining down. He found his crumpled leather gloves first and pulled them on, securing the buckles to his wrists.

"No, I have not. Time is of the essence. Indeed, I have been searching for the both of you, but you, Toby, happened to be found first. Quickly now, just find something to cover yourself with so that you won't immediately be recognizable."

He grunted. "Why are you choosing me..couldn't you go and do this, you could probably do a whole hell of a lot more over there than I can."

"Are you complaining?" Zenny blinked. "Should I have not wasted my time in even visiting you? Indeed, thank you for telling me, I now know exactly how to conduct such things in the future."

Ice coursed through him, he wheeled around with his brown cloak in hand in time to see her turn on her heel and sweep to the door.

"No, wait..!"

Zenny stopped hard on the threshold. "Don't ask such stupid questions, Toby." Her head turned like she was going to look over her shoulder, but she didn't. "If you are indeed getting what you want out of the situation, it is most wise to keep your mouth shut around your false protests. You gain nothing by pretending otherwise."

He grunted again, only one hand able to curl into a fist. The leather of his glove creaked. Zenny turned to face him and her face was blank, like she was trying to will him to understand what she meant. Her footsteps echoed on the floor as she neared him, and successfully grabbed his free hand.

"You will take this," she said as she set the paper boat into his palm. "Do not let go of this charm, Toby. It will disappear on its own once you are firmly rooted in Shamanista."

"Wait, you're sending me there..?" He shook the cloak out and started trying to wrap it around himself with one arm. But Zenny swatted his hand and took over. "Is this thing supposed to protect me or what? The last time I went, I had a necklace that May fixed for--"

"You've recently been to Shamanista? How?" She wrapped the cloak around his neck and shoulders and brushed it off, pulling the hood of it up and over his head. Her expression was nothing but curious now. Without the stern expression, she looked a lot younger. It was startling.

"U-uh.." He squinted at the little boat in his hand, careful not to crush it. "A little while ago, this girl came to get me, she said that she worked for May as her personal aid or something to the queen. Her name was Helen, she took me back and forth."

"Indeed. Most interesting. Manami-san had not mentioned that, it must have been done in a way that she couldn't have known about.." She stepped back, tapped her chin with a couple black fingernails, then waved her hand. "This charm is not meant for protection but a beacon for your location." His mouth dropped open to ask another question, but Zenny silenced him with another sharp wave of her hand. "You are going to be the sole participant of a sponsored tour of Shamanista's places of interest, one arranged by Manami-san herself. As such, you will be protected from the environment right off the bat.

"As I understand it, these tours are strictly supervised by a guide of her choosing. You are tethered to them throughout the journey, but you are indeed able to explore within limits." Zenny began to pace as she spoke, her hand at her chin again. His eyes dropped to the little boat so he didn't have to watch, and he could try to ignore how it almost sounded like she was making everything up as she went.

"Manami-san stated that there will be a public meeting taking place that I am unsure whether or not that was code for wedding.." Her eyebrows drew together. "Either way, these things should be happening at the Palace, it is indeed only fitting." She turned to eye him. "And this Palace is one of the points on the tour."

He swallowed, his fingers shifting around the paper boat. "You want me to go there and see this..?"

"As much as I do not want this to happen for Mayu, there is hardly anything that any of us can do at the present time." Zenny folded her arms across her chest. "This is an event, a gathering, of a great deal of very powerful spiritual beings. A heist or any such operation will fail terribly and result in nothing more than our deaths. We need to gather information first, and unfortunately, the time in which to do so has passed."

"And who the hell's fault is that? If you were here, we could've told you all this and you could've tried to figure something out before then. Do you understand how much time we've wasted just waiting for you to show up?"

She tilted her head. "What exactly do you think I would have been able to tell you beyond what I have already done? This is the union of the Ruler of their land with his chosen bride and a coronation of a queen all rolled into one. Indeed, had I returned earlier, I would have told you nothing different.

"What is important is that we are fashioning a plan and you hold the first step to it in the palm of your right hand."

He exhaled a measured breath, feeling like the bottom had just dropped out of his stomach, and that the floor was falling away from him. He only noticed the eye shaped tear in the floor until the room was growing around him. The desk, chair and nearby dresser got taller, his head was level with the bed. He tried to move, but his body locked up, refusing to budge. His fingers ached around the paper boat.

"And it appears that it is time." Zenny's smiling face and waves were the last thing he saw before the darkness spread thick over his head.

It was a stressful decision to allow Ria Diabulus, a criminal of Shamanista's laws, to be set free by Helen Masters, the woman who once served the ex-Maiden. Ria's freedom came with a hitch: An opportunity to cease the so-called marriage of Shamanista's Ruler and the Shrine of Grassy Knolls current Shrine Maiden, Mayu.

Together with Emma Exire, the scholar, they began to race toward Garden Manor where the monumental ceremonies were already underway. Challenging a clock that none of them could slow, Ria's own perspective of past events became a harrowing insight of what would soon transpire.

Shamanista carried no ceiling that barricaded those with the ability to fly. There was no atmospheric pressure that threatened to crush them, or a celestial body that made up their Heaven. The skies were their shelter, an invaluable veil that not only kept Ria's presence concealed, but allowed them to cover a wide level of ground as quickly as possible.

Ria's leathery wings, like a large vampiric bat's, heaved the cool air. She led the charge in their proverbial march, an estimated half hour transit from the Shrine at their rapid pace. Helen and Emma, slicing the air on a large encyclopedia that made up all of Shamanista's history, took the rear. The gritty surface of the book, parted upside down for the two to ride, was worn and covered in a thin sheen of grime. It felt flimsy to rest on, challenging the faith of the maid who depended on it to keep up with Ria's speed.

Except for the snaps and cracks of wind pressure as they flew, they were eerily quiet. They all felt that ominous twitch in their chests, tugging at their very existence as though a weight of impending doom was overtaking them. It took all Emma's willpower to maintain the power of her tome from falling out beneath them.

Watching her old Mistress, Helen knew something was foul. It was unlike Ria to be so vehemently energetic for a cause. She cared nothing for the position of Maiden as it meant being tied down by the Ruler. To a lesser extent, Flora. But her care for the world, as well as the people who reside in it, was unparalleled. Her blazing aura of protection like a mother bear to her cubs was inciting as it was frightening.

Helen urged Emma to pick up her pace to match Ria's neck breaking limits. "Ria, you've yet to explain what is going on," Helen yelled at the top of her lungs while maintaining her mindful manner of tone, "You've never reacted in such a drastic way before."

Ria sneered as she pressed on. She could feel the two of them nipping at her feet. They were slower than she. They were a hindrance as much as they were a required assistance. "Hurry up, damn it! We're already out of time!"

Emma strained to infuse her magical energies into the tome they rode. She could feel her limits being met in the same breath as she pressed to encourage a second wind. At their current rate, Emma would not be capable of holding out for very long. Helen noted Emma's struggle, admiring it. But if she were show any signs of pessimistic consideration for Emma's ancient power, that lack of faith might be the motivational killer. The stick in a spoke of a bicycle. She bit her tongue. "Ria! Please tell me what is going on. Now is the perfect time to brief us on your concerns. If they're wrong, we can correct th--"

There was no time for Helen to finish her sentence. "Shut up! You explained to me that Flora is the one that's been preparing this ceremony?! What kind of idiot are you to even think there's nothing wrong with that?"

Helen held fast to one of Emma's shoulders, encouraging her to perform to the very best of her abilities. Ria's words were answered in the same motion, "Lady Flora has been a crucial component of Shamanista's stability for these past one hundred years, Ria. While you've been away and under arrest, she has done nothing but helped the people of this world."

It was true that Flora was a questionable resident prior to Mayu's appointment. In specific, when Ria was in charge of the Shrine. But those times had passed. Nothing transpired. Flora was put in place, stripped of instrumental powers that would cause her to stage another uprising. Over time, times quieted down. Things returned to a state of normality. Sophia and Melissa combined ensured the world of that.

The maid seized the moment of silence to confirm it, "She is not the same Flora you knew, Ria."

The ex-maiden hissed in anger, "Bullshit! Flora's ambitions have never been about the people; only her pathetic self-interests!" Ria's wing span condensed, losing the momentum that was carrying her. She was nearly ripped from the sky because of her own haste. Quick reactions of both Emma and Helen managed to catch the small woman before she met an untimely, second demise.

"You should be more careful, Ria," Helen teased, her own demeanor a positive to the Scarlet Maiden's negative. Ria was stretched out on the book they shared. "You're still living in that past. A past you yourself feel is only yesterday. A lot of time has gone by since your memories, Ria. I know--"

"You don't know shit, Helen," Ria spat, the membrane of her wings tucking away as she laid. "Flora took me into her plots the very second I was appointed a Maiden of this world. She owns the damn Shrine."

Ria was regarded by Helen with a wild look. One that would be better fit something being said out of hearsay. "What? That is a strange thing to claim after you worked alongside her willingly, Ria. You admitted it at the trial for your sentence."

"Of course I did, idiot! I left this world of my own accord and took the shell of a mortal to live a new life. I never admitted to working aside Flora through consent, though," she corrected immediately. A finger aimed up at Helen with a glare, "And you of all people should be aware that Flora has artifacts which robs the will of a person."

Emma's eyes were trained on the book they occupied, petite hands firmly planted on its binding. Her voice was strained, shuddering as it attempted to be heard. "Mis--Ria is? correct. I am a-aware of? Flora's artifacts? as I was the one w-who? created them over a millennium ago?"

An all-knowing look was given to Emma, becoming stale and bitter as it turned upward to Helen. Ria was speaking the truth. The maid paused as she considered the situation, "What do you mean that she owns artifacts? That Emma created, no less." Such an accusation required elaboration to Helen.

Since Emma was fundamentally out of commission during their journey, it was Ria who decided to provide that fundamental requirement. "To my recollection, Flora owns three separate artifacts that all carry within them a certain power of control. Two of them are worn, one of which she placed on me when I was appointed," Ria explained, tapping a misshapen, mangled finger still like a tiger's claw, "It was a ring. When I put it on, she explained to me that it was a signet to showcase my power as a Maiden. I could feel my willpower drained when I put it on. So quickly, I couldn't take it off."

The recollection left no scars on the small woman's features. She was stoic, if not solely bitter that she wasn't immediately trusted. She was bratty if nothing else. "I didn't have a choice in what I did or did not do. And part of that task involved using the Shrine's incredible power to assassinate the Ruler."

A brief flicker of Helen's surprise said all it had to as she listened to her previous Mistress. "What?? You were supposed to assassinate the Ruler by Flora's willpower? But? you never were in league with him. In fact, you shared your disdain with me on a daily basis that you would be marrying him."

"Don't get me wrong, Helen," Ria answered immediately, the sharp slit in her ruby eyes dilating. "I hate him. I want nothing to do with that jackass. He with his palace of gold and glass while the human settlements live in dirt and grass. It's repulsive," cursing under her breath. "But at the same time, they were not my own words."

Helen's features contorted, the bridge of her nose crinkling, her cheekbones flushing. It was a difficult thing to swallow all in one breath. She was working alongside Flora for months on the preparations of this wedding. Flora yammered about nothing more than watching the peace and stability of the world become a titanic presence in Shamanista. She gushed of what the new Maiden's marriage to the Ruler would mean to each and every soul. She was? majestic. Nothing excited her more.

She shielded herself from the cracks of wind as they went, watching Ria between several gaps in her fingers. "All this time, Flora has confirmed her wrongs and what she did, Ria. Her account of the events was that you went to her with plots to stage an uprising. A coup to overthrow the current arrangement we live in and plan things anew. She's always been vocal in her dislike for the Ruler's methods in handling things, but she?" It was difficult to even consider, "She would never go so far as to claim other's willpower and commit murder herself."

It took all of Ria's internal energy not to lash out at Helen for her response. Flora's influence carried itself far, judging by Helen's blind admiration for the Celestial. A quick look was given to Emma, hoping she had the extra insight to share. But she didn't. She only knew that Ria's accusation of being used by a Ring of Manipulation was not far-fetched, as Emma herself made one.

She looked back to Helen, something of importance reaching the forefronts of her mind. "If that's the case, why the hell would you let me out of my prison cell? You don't break rules as you're physically incapable of doing so. You're bound to that asshole, Helen. You must have some kind of reason."

Helen's fingers closed together, shielding herself fully from the wind. That was the impression she gave, at least. "I am incapable. You are right, Ria. But you were very adamant about being let out to put a stop to this wedding. I must show you that there is nothing to fear. It will help you release your past and you can go away. In peace."

Ria's head snapped up, hissing at her previous subordinate, "That's not the case at all, you jerk! If you don't stop this wedding immediately, Flora's going to have the new Maiden kill him! In front of the world!"

The ex-maiden was quickly becoming uncontrollable. Her fantasies were drastic. Her concerns unwarranted. There was no reason a woman of her stature would require the use of the Shrine Maiden to commit such a heinous act. Helen's hands parted, clasping Ria by the shoulders while providing her with an incredulous stare. "Your audacity is shameful, Ria. And I won't stand for it. I am taking you there for your own benefit. And you will see for yourself that there is nothing to be concerned over. Once the two of them are married, you will see Flora has done the world a wondrous act and has let the past go. You, too, will have to. Do you understand?"

Ria smacked Helen's grip away. "Emma, try not to keep up too hard. If I don't do this?" Lifting up on Emma's book, her wings outstretched and took off to the skies with the help of their momentum.

The quick movement left Helen without a chance in the world to try to catch her. As if abiding by Ria's request, Emma's speed began to dwindle greatly. "She's? telling the truth? Ria is?"

Helen swore under her breath, hearing Emma, "Is that why you went with her? Because of that story?"

The book came to a near stop, the witch's energy drained entirely in their hasty travel. "Yes? we spent a lot of time together. I could see the look in those blue eyes of hers? distant? lost?"

"Before her transformation, she always appeared lost and confused. I could never reach through to her. She had her own agenda. After her fight with Sophia and Melissa though? it's like they knocked sense into her," Helen retorted, shaking her head. She'd lost all faith in her previous Mistress.

"Or? they returned her to us?" Emma echoed sadly.

(Adapted live play with the help of Toby's player.)

"Wha's tha' o'er there?" Sophia called into her transmitter. Between keeping an eye on the crowd of thousands that gathered for the day's elaborate events and the surrounding area, Sophia had her hands quite full. She couldn't gather her thoughts long enough to interpret who was here to partake in festivities and who might try to take advantage of the event.

She was thankful to have Melissa as support.

Her partner buzzed in with a metallic clang through the ear piece. She couldn't be seen in the gaggle of participants, but gathered whom Sophia spoke of. "It seems Akiko has a tour today. What luck... should we check it out?"

"Prob'ly. Ain't no tellin' wha' she's up'ta, yea'?" Sophia tugged on her flight board, the tool of choice when needing to travel by air, and swept the crowd for Melissa's presence. She had several dolls of her own, designed for the very same task. She was carried with graceful ease beside her companion.

"I don't see any report about her having a tour," Melissa added, thumbing through several pages attached to a clipboard. She glanced up to survey the trademark gourd and horns of the distant figure, "That's her, though. Let's go."

Together, they zipped above the common crowd as the ceremonies began. Flora, in all of her majestic glory, took to the center of the balcony, welcoming the gatherers to such a glorious day as this. Her voice grew steadily distant as Akiko and her unknown companion was closed in on. "Oy. Wha's goin' on 'ere tha' ya tourin' at this 'ere time?"

His stomach lurched around inside of him in time to Akiko's jumps, and he had to keep reminding himself that he wasn't afraid of heights and the how many foot fall straight to the ground wouldn't hurt that much. Even so, he gripped the sides of the gourd with his hands and legs, looking back and forth between the girl and the balcony and large crowd that he was separated from by a ridiculously huge field of sunflowers.

"If..only..I..were..tall..like.. You!! Hey you, yeah you!" she didn't stop jumping, but turned and squatted down so that he would know she was talking to him. It made her look like a really weird frog. "You stay still, Toboby, and together we will ascend to the Heavens!!" She threw her small hands out and gripped him tight by the shoulders..then proceeded to climb him like a tree until she was standing on him, one bare foot on either side of his head. The hem of her dress covered half of his field of vision and he ducked out from under it to keep looking dead ahead.

Only now the scene was blocked by two people.

Akiko put her hand to her brow. "Ohhh, I can see eeeverythiiing!! Hellooo down there, Sophia, Melissa!! How's the weather?" She giggled and swayed dangerously back and forth, somehow without losing her footing. And not answering the question that was asked.

Toby swallowed, staying quiet.

The pair exchanged glances with one another, confused and concerned all in the very same breath. "Um, we're the same height as you, Akiko," Melissa corrected with a sigh. Fingers dabbed her forehead, hoping to stifle a headache in the making. "You didn't answer our question. What are you doing touring at this hour?" she repeated Sophia's question.

Toby grunted and leaned dangerously forward as Akiko smushed her hands into the top of his head like he was a desk and she was leaning across it. "That very may well possibly probably be true, Melissa. You have made and excellentent point," giggles. "I aaam.." she paused dramatically..then yanked Toby upright to show off her tourist. "Followin' Manami orders. She says tour, I says who, when, and what color!"

They were at a lack of words. Manami's order was nearly law, and rightfully so. They didn't require to delve further into a loop of conversation that would find no desiring conclusion; the source of their concern was revealed before their very own eyes. "You," Sophia leered. "Yer' tha' kid from befer'!"

Melissa shared the sentiment of recognition, but showed restraint at her otherwise obvious surprise. "Strange, what are you doing here at a time like this?" curiously inquired of the man.

"I..uh..am..?" Akiko pulled the hood back from his head, letting his hair puff up like it was supposed to, and she regarded him sideways, then upside down.

"You know them, boat squisher? You know them and you didn't tell me? I thought we were friends!! I offered you a drink and everything!" He grimaced as the seemingly small, fragile girl throttled him in every direction.

"I..wanted..to.." He shoved his arm sideways at Akiko, and she dramatically toppled off of the gourd, the chains attaching her to it, and him, the only things keeping her from falling all the way to the ground. "Oops.. Uh," he cleared his throat, looking back up to the two. "I wanted to see May, this..this wedding thing. She's my friend.. I thought Zenny got it all figured out, you guys didn't know I was showing up..?"

Sophia snapped her fingers with command, which prompted Melissa to withdraw a gargantuan stack of papers bound to a minuscule clipboard in comparison. She began flipping the pages, head shaking in the meantime. "I've not heard of any special guests for the occasion," Melissa replied dryly, "Especially if you're on tour and not a direct attendee."

A wide, all-knowing smirk carried Sophia's own opinion. "Jes' as 'ah though'."

The large stack of papers was lowered, disappearing in a puff of smoke. "There's no mentioning of you, officially or from the Queen." The title was already becoming a reality.

"Queen, Queen, bean, bean, clean, clean, spleen~" came the sing song, swinging voice as Akiko swung around underneath them, by her ankle, her long dress upturned and hiding her top instead of her bottoms, bloomers puffy and flapping in the wind.

His eyes flicked over to the large balcony beyond the sunflowers. One darker figure was ridiculously taller than all the rest, and May was obviously the smallest. He squinted. "I know May didn't order this--"

"What does she look like Sophiiie? Melissaaa. Is her dress prettetty? I bet it is. The last ones all were. I wanna go, it'll be fun!! And the boat squisher's tied to me, he won't do nothin' dumb, right boat squisher?"

It was more difficult than let on by either of the girls that Akiko was capable of being looked over. The many times they've visited the shrine was a reminder of that. Sophia chose her moment very carefully, "'ah'm gonna look o'er th' crowd 'n make sure ther's nothin' funny goin' on, 'k?" Waiting for an answer was out of the question, Sophia zipping away in a heartbeat.

It meant Melissa would have to tend to the ushering. She glowered at Sophia's quick escape before tending to her business. "She looks as beautiful as you can imagine, Akiko," quickly providing the oni with a vague picture before resorting to Toby. "Understandably, the Queen has no say in whether outsiders attend this event or not. But from previous experiences, all tours are off." The dolls nudged forward, carrying Melissa closer to the pair. She pointed ahead with an indicating nod, "For now, you should be on your way."

"H'aaaaaaaaawww..!" The gourd dipped and shifted as Akiko flung herself in every direction..either in a tantrum, or to clear her dress out of the way. By the speed she exhibited in zipping back up into place, it suggested the later. "But you are right. A lovely bride and she'll sever be neen by me!! I better be invited to the after party! I'm bringing the drinks~"

"She doesn't have a say in a lot of things.." Toby held tightly onto the gourd, pulling at the loop of chain around his middle. "She doesn't even want this..that..your Flora person didn't tell her everything, and you're just going to let her do this..?"

Akiko repositioned herself at the head of the gourd but looked back at him in surprise, her head tilting hard to the left.

The hovering girl froze momentarily, blinking back her recuperating surprise at Toby's forwardness. She heaved another sigh, calculating her response as necessary, "So that's why you're here." Turning, she watched as the bustling crowd cheered and chanted, Flora's words still a vague haze on the crisp air of their world. "You need to understand that not everything is done with your own interests in mind." The chants and cheers swelled, then fell silent. The event was proceeding. "She's a very special girl, you know. Doing what she believes is best for others at heart."

Twisting, Melissa glanced at Toby with a twinge of envy. "Besides, this isn't any more up to us than it is her. It's customary, our way of life."

"This isn't for *me*, this is for her. As good of a person as she is, this is..messed up." He looked beyond Melissa at the sound traveling across the field of flowers. "It would be all fine and good if she didn't have to have kids for this Ruler of yours."

Akiko gasped audibly and flung herself forward, smushing her palm across his face.

"You shush your boat squishing mouth right there, mister!" He pulled at her wrist but she held on. Akiko giggled at Melissa. "Don't mind him, he just needs another boat to squishish! The sooner this tour's over, the sooner I can go to the party, so pipe your Ruler talk down, sit and behave!"

Melissa turned with the aid of her puppets, one fluttering beneath her to enable her standing support. It was little, but seemed sturdier than the mightiest of mountains. "Insulting a person's way of life isn't healthy. Nobody is forcing or demanding here. Nobody put a weapon to her throat and provided her with an ultimatum." Several of the dolls dressed in Melissa's image scattered, the only remaining one being her foothold. "Akiko, please escort our guest to the next leg of the tour. I must keep my eye on the crowd."

"Mmph..!"

"Ryoukaaai~ And you, boat squisher, you just. Heehee, byebye now!!" The gourd dipped and started moving again. The view of the manor and the field of flowers started to slip by. "You're not supposed to be saying those things, Toboby! You're here, just enjoy yourself~"

(Adapted live play with the help of Toby's player.)

A hiss cried through Melissa's earpiece, its sound a terrifying resemblance to the crunching aftershock the dagger made when being plunged into the Ruler's skull. "Mel'sa, do ya' 'ear me!?" Sophia's voice blared through the miniature device, drawing Melissa from her daze with a sharp wince.

His eyes whirred over to Melissa at the angry sound and so did Akiko's. She even stopped shaking Toby's face as she crawled back up on top of the gourd, then his shoulders to see even further.

"God, yes!" the puppeteer snapped in response. "What the hell is going on over there?"

Melissa had seen everything. It was improbable to presume any less from the hundreds of thousands that attended. "Tha' Maiden jes' 'eaved a knife through tha' Ruler's 'ead! 'e's down! Down!"

Melissa turned back with lightning haste, glaring at Akiko and her touring side, "I told you, you need to get out of here now. Show's over!"

"Waaaiiit, Melissaaa! The Maiden did *what*?! What did she dooo?! That's not how a wedding's supposed to happen, is everything alright, you can't just deave me in the lark like this!"

Melissa wasn't content with repeating herself, but she most likely didn't have to.

Sophia's voice filled the air with the power of a loudspeaker. "'e's dead, 'ah think! 'ah'm gonna--" In a sharp breath, static filled the air, causing Melissa to lift her gaze to the balcony of the Manor.

The air had fallen still, a picturesque setting fitting a bland wall. The figure of Flora could be seen, clutching the bloodied Maiden close in her arms in probable arrest. But what Sophia had said was true. The Ruler wasn't seen following the strike. The setting had gone from a glorious, tranquil bronze to a disastrous red. "Sophia, can you hear me?"

"Sssshhhtt--"

"Sophia? Damn it, the reception is gone," she cursed. Glancing behind to the two, it was clear that nothing she says would coax the two into departing. Much else took precedence.

With tiny wings snapping the air in powerful bursts, she started off in the direction of the carnage.

"Oh my butter and cheese..the Ruler is..he's, and the Maiden.. Forward horsie, gogogooog!!" Akiko pointed her skinny arm straight ahead over his shoulder. The gourd whipped around and started following Melissa, having to raise higher to avoid skimming the sunflowers.

He hadn't blinked in ages, his eyes burning and watering from being stuck open. He had seen a glint of steel and had watched the dark figure fall. It didn't match what May wanted to do.. He had thought she was trying to convince him she was fine with the marriage. He couldn?t believe that she was just saying that. Moreso than lying, he knew she didn?t want to hurt anyone, let alone kill..

But no Ruler meant that there was no marriage, and no having to have kids.. It was probably selfish and a whole lot worse that he thought it, but he couldn't be bothered to care. At least not right now, when there was blood all over the place and May was stuck in the middle of everything. He yanked harder at the chain around his middle and started forcing it painfully down over his legs. He wanted to be able to jump right off when they got there.

The air was stale with awe and horror. Nobody in the crowd of thousands made any move to the scene that unraveled before their very eyes. Silence swelled, causing that drum shattering squeal that all silence is accompanied with, bringing out the most unsettling of circumstances; the most nerve-wracking anticipation that clutches iron will and molds it into jelly.

At the heart of the disturbance that overcame the realm, Flora held fast to the Maiden. Sophia was unseen.

"Hold it," Melissa called out, dolls screeching to a stop midair. Several of the dolls that hovered in her vicinity in a makeshift shield shuddered, writhing in proverbial agony. Something disturbed the flow of spiritual essence that kept them "alive". "There's something unnatural here," she concluded, chancing a glance at her shadows some paces back.

"Waaaaaiiiiiiiit, waaaiiiiit!" Akiko's screeching voice got further and further away as he tore the final links of chain away from his body and jumped off of the gourd. The ground came up fast and pain gripped his ankles as he landed, but he was already straightening. Behind him, Akiko cackled as she passed Melissa and dropped like an anchor from the sky, skidding after him even though there was nothing visibly tying them together anymore. "She saidaid 'Hold it.' Didn't you hear her say 'Hold it.'? Is there trees in your ears? You've gotta clean them out lest they start turnin' your brain into an," she paused and shuddered in horror, "an apple."

"What's going on?!" Toby shouted over his shoulder, back at Melissa.

Blonde snapped through the air as Melissa peeked to the side where Toby had taken to the ground. It was a much more viable option. "You... passed the threshold?" curiously. Signaling to her dolls, she lowered to the ground in his wake.

"There's a field erected here to keep us out, and those present in..." she warned, a finger rising to the sky. Like clockwork, her many dolls heaved back to the air, surveying the outlying, invisible barrier. "Touching this will most certainly be damaging. Sophia must not have realized."

He mumbled 'I did?' as his head swung around so he could see the dolls Melissa was pointing at. They looked like very tiny bees trying to get down on a bunch of flowers. He hadn't felt any sort of barrier or field. He patted himself down. "Maybe 'cause I'm not a spirit, or whatever. If I can get in, fine, I'll keep going forward."

He marched around, trying to find a gap in the throngs of people separating him from the terrace where May was being held, his eyes pinned onto the two. Red stuck out too much on her white dress. Only a few paces after he started forward, he felt a yank in his gut that caused him to stumble to a stop. He shot a cold look over his shoulder. Akiko, looking a little pained and a lot more serious, stared at him and shook her head. His mouth flattened to a line.

A vague glance of caution was given to Akiko, then back to Toby without delay. "You may not be affected, but I'm certain this shielding will gyrate the tie you have to your guide," informing Toby with apprehension. "You should take care."

The various dolls streaking the skies like wiry butterflies attracted the puppeteer's attention, glowering at their movements. "There doesn't seem to be an entrance up above... what is this..."

"Gyrate the tie.." He stormed forward, but got tugged back in the same fashion, the connection based in his stomach uncomfortably tightening.

"You've gotta stop, Toboby, you're not the only one's whose concerned." Akiko turned to look up at Melissa in earnest. "Do you know who put this shield up? This can't bust jee a precaution, who's got the powers to do someomething like this besides the Ruler?"

Sources were not Melissa's forte. Sophia often took the reins when it came to originations. With static still pouring in from the ear piece, she had no choice but to step up her game. "If what Sophia said was true, this barrier shouldn't be here were it his own.

"A Maiden's power could simulate this kind of disturbance, but it wouldn't directly block us like it is..." she added, glancing upward as a doll came careening down. Making contact with Melissa, it shrank away into her person like moisture into a rag.

It suddenly dawned on her. This was Flora's doing. They were the only two known residents to have done harm to the Flowering Princess in the past. This shielding was meant to keep them out. And on top of that...

"We need to disrupt this fielding. Now! Flora's got something up her sleeve here!"

"Agaaaaiiiinnn? You pink she has a thartner like last time? I wonder who it is~ Come on, boat squisher, you're comin' with me!" Another yank of the invisible tie to his gut made him stumble backward. He could only hold onto the fact that if he screwed up the connection to Akiko, he would die before he even took another step toward the terrace.

"There anything we can do, Melissa?" Akiko said around a small saucer filled full of liquor she had produced from nowhere.

"I don't know..." which she did not. ?When we last encountered her, it was face-to-face. There was no barrier preventing us from moving forward. She-" A throb, similar to a beating heart, echoed the air. It quieted Melissa immediately, gaze shifting toward the terrace.

Unearthly silence had time to settle between the ominous rhythms, each set of beats growing in volume enough to painfully constrict the drums of those listening.

"Oh... god."

A swelling of reds and greens sprang forth from Flora?s cradling origins. Immense pressure swam outward, an unseen wave of tremendous power that sent throngs of horrified residents soaring through the air as they made contact with the unfeasible force.

Flora?s shattering laugh accompanied the obliterating tide of destruction. ?Finally!? she rang out, leaping away from the Maiden that she held so close like a motherly figure only could. She took to the railing of the terrace, arms out wide.

The throbs of power were intense and only continued to amass. Pillars of crimson skewered the Heavens; Mayu, once a blossoming figure of white with mere blotches of red, was now encased in that gory flavor as its sole focal point. Digits clutched at her meager chest in agonizing pain, already undergoing rapid disfiguration into feral shadows of themselves with elongated, deadly claws at their ends. She couldn?t fathom what was transpiring around her, weeping between grit teeth more akin to the rapier sharp maw of a beast than her usual, mirthful smile. Without avail, she tried to suppress the aches that wracked her petite figure.

Bulbous masses traveled the delicate surface of her back, flesh straining to its limits to finally allow four leathery spurts of membrane and bone that resembled a bat?s to burst into being, one by one. Even from the considerable distance Melissa stood, she could spy the glistening ruby red eyes that were a trademark in Ria when they first exchanged blows.

"This is..." Melissa uttered under her breath, taking a fearful step backwards.

The ivory white gown was shred to pieces with the emergence of the wings, forming in its absence a loose fitting white blouse underlying a black coat. Crosses took shape at their ends, emblazoning the near floor-length layer, and began fitting themselves within the original ribbons in her still ocean green locks of hair, now shorn a considerable amount to bare a petite neckline. Coils of additional coral hued ribbon wound across her arms and wrists, tying the girl?s presence together as it became more full-fledged.

Where once stood a slight girl with neither rhyme nor reason was now a creature of unparalleled power and ferocity, her mangled appearance something spawned from the nightmares of children. A bellowing cry of warning in dual tones, both her own and of something far more savage, reverberated from the terrace to spread amongst those still standing and looking on.

"We... We need to get out here... forget the shielding," Melissa coupled, reaching for an arm of Akiko's.

It's funny, you know. How I wished from the beginning of my life here to do what I wanted. When I came, I was marveled at how life went. No rules, no regulations. You could do whatever it was you could dream of, and there wasn't a single person who could even hope to tell you not to.

Except for that bitch Flora, that is. She's always had the power and influence to make your dreams your absolute nightmares. I would know.

I get that everybody jumps at her every wish and want. Everybody trusts her implicitly. Like she's some kind of celebrity that people fawn over. Because... believe it or not, I used to be one of those people. That's how I became a shrine maiden of Shamanista. And how I got involved with everything that would lead us to today.

She promised me like she promised that idiot girl they got as a Maiden now. Flora did nothing but enable her feelings to help others. She allowed that want to lead the charge, and then sit back until all of her chess pieces were lined up.

I know there are rumors all over the place. I know that I've tarnished my image by what I did to those mortals. But those mortals... they can be fixed. They can be given a chance. But, to get away from somebody like Flora, once she's got her hold on you? It's either what I did, or death. And I wasn't about to die before I got her back for all the people she harmed.

I can't let Flora do what she tried to do with me. She can't succeed in killing him, or everybody in this world is going to die...

Ria's wings were stretched thin, membrane shredding at the velocity she was traveling at. There was never a time in her entire life that she felt she had to push herself to her absolute limits, and there was never a time that it mattered so much as it did today. Although she was no longer under the power of a shrine maiden, she still had an exceptional reservoir of energy to use, ensuring it be her force of reckoning to reach Garden Manor as soon as possible.

The Manor was as large as it was famous, and over the course of Ria's time as a maiden, she visited it nearly daily. She knew her roads to take like she had a drawing on the back of her hand. It was in her blood.

The countless number of residents that were in attendance could be seen even from the outskirts of Flora's endless gardens. Her vast speed trickled, coming to a near stop midflight. "Good... it looks like nothing's started yet," surveying the crowd quietly. From experience, having attended one personally herself and nearly taking part in another in the worst of ways, the quietness ensured that the ceremonies were only beginning. Winding up another charge of spiritual energy, she rushed on ahead.

"It's strange that people watch from this kind of distance," she continued, both amused and pitying those that were shafted on good seats. "I can't even see from back here. What are they hoping to... wait," commanding herself to stop suddenly. She lurched forward like she was tethered to a post some miles away, then jerking back hastily.

The slits in Ria's eyes swelled, piling together years of experience to examine the airflow before her. "This is some kind of shielding," she concluded, nose hiking as she sniffed the air. An aura of arrogance crackled to life as she grinned, wings snapping in the air to provide herself with renewed momentum. In a push, she continued ahead.

"It's weak. Flora thought she could keep me out?" she blindly assumed, almost laughing maniacally. "What a bitch! You're going to have to try harder than that to...!"

A brash feeling overcame Ria. Her body grew heavy, and the momentum that she was using to propel herself a considerable distance in a short period of time began to work against her. She was a missile out of the bowels of hell, torpedoing through the sky without a restraint. "Shit, shit! What the hell is this weight? This is different from Flora's shield...! Fuck!"

Lowering her gaze, the ground was rapidly approaching, her angle having pivoted to lead her for the earth and the zounds of citizens below. They were still, oblivious to her descent, and nothing, not even screaming, could aid her. Her strings of curses continued, what little that flow of air billowing from her mouth could do to help.

"Come on, come on... expand, damn it!" she hollered, feeling her wings struggle to part and capture the pockets of air to slow her approach. Her body writhed as she fought against the immense weight she was suspended within, wings snapping open for the shredded layers of membrane to seize control of her body, and fumble to the ground below.

"Ow, ow... god..." she heaved, sighing in relief at her landing. "Fucking... Flora," she tacked on, solely for good measure. It was always better when cursing out somebody you loathed so.

Easing from the ground, Ria's scarlet eyes leered at the residents that she was surrounded by. Nobody had paid her even the slightest attention, their focus deadlocked on the terrace only some meters ahead. "Thanks for the pick-me-up..." she sneered, fumbling with the torn sinew of her wings that would otherwise aid in their collapse.

Ria quickly patted herself down, her glances continuing to inspect the many that encircled her person. She was right. Not a single soul even paid her a moment's worth of attention. Of all the things to ignore, it shouldn't be somebody flailing midair and crash-landing in the middle of a ceremony such as this. Her gaze lifted toward the terrace.

Her eyes grew in shock. "What... What is that...?"

Hovering in midair, high above the terrace itself, was like the Angel of Death. Although still some meters away, the display was nearly uncanny. Like she was looking in the mirror at an evolved version of herself. Cloud cover curled the Heavens surrounding the flying creature, shattering what would otherwise be a tranquil afternoon that their local newscaster predicted.

"Is that... Is that the Maiden!?" she squeaked uncharacteristically, fangs bearing down on her lower lip in angst. "I was too late? How... How could this be?"

"Ria!" shouted a voice from ahead. It drew Ria's gaze away from the hovering figure above, and to the terrace's railing. Standing magnificently, cackling as though she were gloating over her marvelous success, was Flora herself. "You decided to show up after all!"

Ria's battered wings refused to correspond with her wishes, remaining on the ground like a sitting duck. She shoved past several frozen residents, teeth clenched as she answered, "Flora! What've you done you jerkshit!?"

Glancing upward, Flora laughed out once more, "Oh, me? Do you like it? Looks vaguely similar, doesn't it? Like you're sisters!"

Ria felt her knees nearly give out, stumbling forward and colliding with somebody. She climbed past them, shouting, "You activated her transformation!? I thought you were stripped of those abilities!"

Flora bit back a snicker, "I was. Nothing stripped the Maiden of her failsafe device, however."

Ria gasped in audible surprise. "The failsafe..."

When a Maiden is provided with the power of a shrine maiden, she's granted the entire power of Shamanista. The buckles that keep the world whole are infused in her person, providing her all the strength she would need to ward off potential disaster should it present itself. With Flora having designed the Shrine with her powers of a Celestial, she was also the one who enabled or disabled the present shrine maiden's abilities. Which happened to include her transformation; the true vessel which could hold all of Shamanista's energies and harness them to their truest, most pure potential.

When Flora attempted to activate Ria a hundred years ago, Sophia and Melissa combined their efforts to cease her efforts. Ria managed only a partial activation, and in the end, Flora's powers were revoked by the Ruler himself to prevent her rebellious nature from overtaking Shamanista.

Without Flora's control, the only way for a Maiden to activate her transformation, against her will at that, is...

"You killed him?!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, clawing through residents to bring herself at the base of the stairs. She was at the opposing end of the U-shaped well, missing sight of the Ruler's tossed remains. "You fucking bitch!"

Flora tutted, "For shame, Ria. You should know better than anybody you could have joined me. We should have done so much for these people."

"Like hell I would, you freaking sock puppet!" she leered, climbing the stairs nearly two at a time. Her short stature left her stumbling as she went, fully prepared to rake Flora's eyes and flail her flesh from her bones. "I'll kill you, you bitch!"

A snort sounded from the Celestial, a hand lifting to shoo the speeding girl away, "So eager to return to your origins, Ria? A shame I'm not recruiting for a Maiden presently..."

Ria's feet were swept out from under her, lifting in a tunnel of turbulent wind. "Agh...! You bitch...!"

"Don't worry about the people so much, Ria. They'll be in capable, attentive hands..." Flora's hand clenched, tightening the wind tunnel about Ria. Her wings snapped closed about her figure, feeling herself be squeezed and crunched underneath intense pressure.

"Now's ah good'er time as e'er! Graaan' Spaaark!" originated a voice immediately behind Flora.

The Celestial turned on a time, loosening her grip on Ria's hold. "Sophia?!?"

A source of light that shone the colors of the rainbow expanded from a miniature device clutched between Sophia's hands, spiraling in a powerful burst into Flora long before she had a thought of what was about to transpire. The impact was as brilliant as it was fierce, causing the earth beneath their very feet to tremor and rumble in terror at the force of the blow, Flora disappearing amid Sophia's signature strike.

When the expanse of line began to dissipate, Flora was nowhere to be seen. Ria, coughing as she strained to capture her breath, was on her hands and knees. Sophia lowered from her flight before the ex-maiden. "Ya'kay?"

Ria wheezed in initial response. "Yeah... that bitch didn't have those kind of powers before..."

"She's a bit more than befer', ya'know?" Sophia remarked in jest, winking to Ria. She overlooked the ex-maiden's release from her sentence. "Ya'gonna 'ave 'ta 'old yerself 'ere fer a bit, 'kay? Got'a Maiden 'ta 'andle."

Like a sack of potatoes, a heavy sound shattered the brief silence between the two, Sophia snapping her head aside to the source. Mayu's lifeless form was laid out in a heap. "'oly crap. Sh' jes' fell outta'tha' sky, 'er somethin'!"

Ria's hacking eased, crawling on her hands and knees to quickly make her way to Mayu. Mangled hands felt the exaggerated figure of Mayu, checking for signs of life. "She's all right... Flora's influence must have dwindled from your hit," Ria concluded with relief. "We need to find the source of manipulation before it's too late."

"Source'r ma'pip'la'lation?" Sophia questioned, puzzled. She quickly swept the opposite of Ria, looking Mayu over closely. "Sh's quit' a bit diff'rent than 'ah rem'ber 'er," she added in continued jest. It helped her cope with the moment that was very well out of control.

"She's just like me," Ria commented with a faint echo. "That bitch's done some terrible stuff here..."

Sophia nodded in agreement. She could tell, just from a glance, Flora had plotted much in the time since they last tangled with her. She damned herself to have gotten so soft over the years concerning the woman. "Sh's ah bit nuts, 'eh. Wha's this ma'bob'la'tition 'ya mentionin'?"

Ria shook her head, a golden hue tracing a misshapen hand. She swept the glow over Mayu's inhuman shape in haste, "Flora's used something Emma created to cause Mayu to do this... this monstrous act... ah," she paused, fingers raking through Mayu's tangled weave of ocean locks to shred a ribbon in the form of a cross from her. "There..."

The blonde magician could only look on, "Sh's o'er it?"

Ria nodded, lifting to her feet weakly, "That's it..." Quickly, she scanned her surroundings. She spied Akiko, watching her pensively before spotting the man she was flailing over. "...injuries. Sophia, can you tend to her for now? We need to get the wounded situated before Flora can rebuild her strength and counter."

Ria was off in a blaze even before Sophia could respond, "Ay', ya' can coun' on meh." A hand pressed to her ear, "'Lissa, get o'er 'ere at th' terrace. We got ah sit'uion wit' tha' Maiden!"

(Adapted live play with the help of Toby's player.)

A sound grumbled in the base of his throat that wanted to be a growl but couldn't quite make it. He wasn't sure if he believed her or not. He continued up the steps to meet her, but he had already curled his left fist and a half a moment later it was zooming forward, trying to sink right into one of her cheeks.

She was caught off-guard by his surge of motion, and wasn't prepared for an attack launched by his person. But, then again, she didn't have to be. She was often caught off-guard by actions that many wished to throw at her. Like Flora's assault that nearly broke her neck.

Her body flickered like a ill-received television channel as his fist went careening through her person, blinking several times in the process of the attack. That surprise that claimed her transformed into amusement, laughing, "Oh, well... I was suspecting such."

Her lies weren't as transparent as her person. She retreated back up the stairs in moments, hurrying over to where the Maiden was seated on the ground.

He had forgotten about her ability to do that.. He kept his arm rigid, eye watching her as she moved back the way she had come, only dropping it when he followed. He was surprised that he felt it was somewhat easier to just accept that she was there..and move on. "If you'd let me hit you, we would've been even. Sort of." He made sure his other hand covered the ruined part of his face as best as it could. Gobs of crimson were still visible through his gloved fingers. He came to a stop a couple feet away from May and let his half gaze drop to her.

The seated Maiden was hugging her knees close to her person, oblivious to the few that were gathered around her, all chatting about the events that transpired. She blinked as she saw a pair of legs nudge into her peripheral vision, and lifted her head up toward the person almost immediately. She was startled by his person, not having been made aware up until then that he had even arrived on the scene. Shaking out a breath from her lungs, she pushed herself up, wobbling to gather her footing as she did so.

She wasn't sure what to say to him. There was much on the table, yet it all returned back to point one. "S... S-Sorry," she muttered against the back of a fleshy hand. The uncanny presence of a gnarly mouth gnashing at air could be the presumed location of where the voice originated, but it was also a highly unlikely case. She found it hard to make any form of eye contact with him, and as a result, did not. The floor could be an interesting sight.

Sophia darted in to the scene just as Mayu rose. "Oi, ya s'ould be sittin', 'er somethin', yea? Ya'need ta' take'er easy."

"Sorry.." He blinked his one eye, it flicked over to Sophia, then back down to May. He swallowed again, his attention skimming over all of the features she still had that made her seem like..her. Which was mostly just her hair..even if it was a lot shorter. He inched around Sophia. "You remember what happened..?"

A slow nod of her head was managed for Sophia, but she didn't oblige the request. Toby's question drew another shaky breath from her, still attempting to gather all of her thoughts. "I... do," she weakly muttered into her hand, unable to speak any louder than she had. "I... I could make sense of everything g-going on, b-but... nothing I t-tried to d-do to he-help the situation was... w-working..."

Sophia prodded one of Mayu's exposed arms, "Sh' 'ad a bit o' ma'bib'lation goin' on, yea'? Somethin' like sh' wudn't 'erse'f."

Somewhere in the distance, Melissa could be heard shouting, "You mean Manipulation, Sophia!"

He glanced up to the random voice of Melissa that he had heard afterward, then his still golden eye swiveled back down. "It's okay. I'm not mad at you..and I don't blame you for any of it. I'm..really just glad that you're okay..you didn't die. Don't worry about apologizing for it." He put a little more pressure on his face. "They said manipulation. I know you didn't want to do this."

Melissa came into view at the edge of the balcony with the assistance of several of her dolls. She latched onto the railing for support, leaping over it with ease. "That is true, and it wasn't the first time we encountered this kind of behavior. She started, flipping through a log she had written up. "We had thought we'd taken all the necessary precautions, but with Lady Emma missing alongside Ria, we were unable to get a full report of all the artifacts she created specifically for Flora."

Sophia nodded, "Ya'got'er righ'."

A frown was hidden behind the bulk of Mayu's shambled hand. "That... do-doesn't change anything. ...I w-was supposed to help these people..."

He recognized each of the names and it scrambled his already weak grasp of everything that was going on. He sighed slowly, thinking. "I know that, May..I know you wanted to. But it seems like from the very beginning..that wasn't even the reason why Flora tricked you into doing this. You didn't know.. You can't blame yourself for anything that she did. It's *her* fault, not yours."

"That doesn't c-change anything!" she snapped in response, quickly turning herself away from the few of them and directly into the arms of Tracy, who was stationed just off to the side of the girl. She paid them little mind.

Melissa blinked up from her log, sighing as she closed it. "For now, the whats and whos are unimportant. She is well, Flora has been temporarily taken care of, and it would seem that there were very few injuries to sort through," she added, tossing the log to Sophia for safekeeping. Which wasn't really safe. "For now, we should consider where to go from here. Without a plan, we're undoubtedly remaining in danger."

(vsw)"Mmph.." He went with it, turning his eye to Melissa. He was thankful that he hadn't been used by someone for something like this..but he wanted to say something..good. He didn't want to admit that there might not be anything.. "All of this just might happen all over again..what can this Flora person do, can she follow us if we leave..?"

Sophia was more concerned with why she was given a large sheet of paper with countless notes and numbers that made little sense to her. She was debating if she was supposed to eat it, or throw it out.

A small shrug made up Melissa's response. "To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure. She has clearly gained new abilities since our last engagement with her."

Looming above the terrace high in the sky was several noticeable cracks that were beginning to form. They branched like an eccentric spider would craft its web, and filled the ceiling of the world in the matter of mere minutes. It began to crumble like a snowpacked roof.

Lifting her head, Melissa took notice with a deep frown, "Unfortunately, I think her plans centralize around Shamanista. Which doesn't bode well for those still here."

He glanced between Melissa and the sky as she looked up, and his single eye widened. (s)"Geez.." He scratched at the short hair on the right side of his head, not taking his hand away from the bloody bandages. "We should leave..figure out what to do then. If I'm understanding this right, she wanted to do this to May so she could keep controlling her. If May's gone, then.." He grunted. "Everyone's kind of..we need to rest a little. We can go back to the city, or something. I know Zenny's there and she'll help.. I think."

Mayu turned aside to Toby's suggestion, silently agreeing with his idea. She could feel an insurmountable surge of power inside of her. It felt like she had a full night's rest, and was prepared to tackle a mountain of work in a two hour period.

"There is the concern of our residing somewhere else, even if we were to put on the table the idea of an escape," Melissa chimed in. She herself could only remain in a different zone for minutes before a reality paradox took effect; destroying her in seconds.

Sophia, as well, showed concern over that idea.

"Y-You can be bound to me, then..." Mayu commented lightly, pulling her hand from her mouth. Razor sharp teeth filled a mouth too small to contain them, jutting from her lips in lumps. "With... With you t-tethered to me, you s-should be able to feed off of Sh-Shamanista's power long enough for us to d-decide what to do..."

Everybody equally exchanged glances. "Is that possible?" Melissa questioned, worry oozing through her hesitating voice. "You're not a limitless vessel for us to feed from."

Mayu cut a hand through the air to convey her polar opposite opinion. "We d-don't have time to w-worry about that... I'm b-bound to this world... I-It'll hold for some time. I can feel it."

He nodded softly as he listened to Melissa ask the question that he wanted to know the answer to too. He knew she wanted to do something to help..and he silently hoped she was right with how sure she felt about it. "She's probably not going to be doing it by herself either. Once we get back and tell Zenny, 'cause it's May, I don't think she'll just ignore it."

"Hm..." a faint sound left Melissa's lips, deciding. "Very well then... we still have the issue concerning how we plan on getting back there. We are a fair distance from Madame Manami."

A subtle wind picked up from above, a shadow casting its large, ominous image across the terrace. In a startling jump, Mayu looked up with horror.

"I have heard you'd like to go somewhere?" called a voice down to the many. Seated atop a large hovering book, with Emma waving frantically from the side, Helen grinned. "I would be disappointed if you decided to leave without us, Mistress."

He whirled around, his head leaning back to look up again at the shadow that was hovering over everyone. "Helen.." His eye went to the other girl on top of the floating book and stayed. Seeing Emma reminded him that he still had a bookbag packed full of May's stuff.. Everything seemed to be working out.

At first, the Maiden held her hand close to her chest, uncertain the best course of action for them all. Then, Mayu lifted an inhuman hand into the air, parting sharp digits for them all. "This might pinch at first..."

To the natural eye, there was nothing to be seen. Everybody winced simultaneously, the girl pleased. But the method involved was much more in depth than that. With coils of Mayu's very life being pulled from her person, she crafted spiritual strings tied to her very heart in order to sustain Shamanista's powerful flow into the spirits that were unable to thrive outside of its boundaries.

These strings were equally tied to the core of each spirit, and with it, were in relative safety so long as Mayu was. She motioned up to Helen and Emma, the process being added to they. "This'll do... p-please, trust me on this..." It was the least she could do.

The book lowered down for Helen and Emma to disembark. Several flourishing motions of her hands produced a similar portal that she used to transport Toby in the past. Her warp devices very rarely changed. "Watch your step... I'm not positive this'll take us where it needs to," Helen teased, a finger pointing to Toby. "You will help us by leading the way?"

He blinked and patted himself down with his free hand when he was the only one that didn't jump. Then it hit him that he wasn't a spirit..he didn't need a pinch, or May's help. He swatted himself in the head, on its bad side for good measure, and stepped forward as his response to Helen's request. He weaved around those standing near him. "Yeah, sure." He sucked in a deep breath before he stepped through the portal first out of habit.

"Ah..." Helen winced as Toby went in. "I don't think he's going to like where he winds up... I didn't open the other end..." Moving with haste, she jumped in after him. Somebody has to claim a lost portal jumper somehow.

Emma followed in with a brief look to Mayu. She was satisfied the girl was being taken care of.

Sophia went without a thought, as she liked waterslides. This was a waterslide, wasn't it?

Melissa waited for Mayu and Tracy to take lead. But was blindsided by a scarlet hue that jetted through the portal first. "Was that...?"

Mayu nodded a single time. "That was Ria. I m-managed to link her up when I did all of you... f-figured she was going to want to come with..."

Melissa giggled before motioning. Tracy nudged Mayu ahead, who went in at the urging. The rest followed.