Inside the safehouse Yami was enjoying a night to himself as he was reading the newspaper while taking a puff, though he noticed that things were---TOO QUIET. So he got up and went to make his way to check Prism's room. He gave it a knock and much to his surprise, it was quiet.
"Hey kid, are you doing okay there?" He said as he knocked on the door.
He didn't seem to get an answer on the other side. He knocked again before he said, "Kid, in your condition you can't stay up late, so whatever game you're playing you better--"
He was soon taken back when he heard a sneeze from a familiar creature, which made him jump.
"What the--!?"
Immediately afterwards he kicked down the door, only to find that Prism, or the others had been in the room. It had just been Adrien as he looked to be covering his nose. Yami had a twitch before he said "That damn little--Okay bud, wanna tell me where your owner is?"
Adrien looked around as he was about to leave but Yami took his neck as he let out a squawk of some kind before he froze..
"Nuh-uh. You're not escaping. Now where are they?" Yami asked with an aura.
Adrien only shook as he used his tail to point towards the fireplace. Immediately, he had put it together as he let go of Adrien's neck after he noticed the tapestry had been stained with coffee.
"Those turds are SOO dead." Yami soon said with fire in his eyes. He soon turned to Adrien, "You Lizard--Take me to your owner and those other brats."
Adrien only whimpered fearfully as his body shook; much to Yami's own shock he ran under the bed as his body shrunk. "Nuh-uh--" Yami said as he got him out by dragging him by his tail; he reverted back to size. "You are not bailing out on this one. You're taking responsibility."
Adrien only let pout a low squawk as he hung his head in shame before Yami asked. "Hey...where's that damn duck?"
Yami soon heard the sound of thunder outside as it suddenly put Adrien on alert almost as if it had been on instinct, as Yami himself looked shocked when he growled. "...Crap.." was all Yami could say.
***
Karasu had been first to emerge from the sewer as the passageway. He looked around and saw no one had been in the street before he climbed himself out, as he pulled Sachiko out. "Alright guys, come on up." He said as he motioned them.
Prism was the first person up as Karasu helped up; helped her out as she kept her red shawl on. "Ow! Hands!" Prism exclaimed as she shook them out, while the little spirits tended to her hands, "Grip!"
"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Karasu said, "Though I had to keep you from breaking a leg."
Pluck soon came up as he gasped air before he felt a bump "HEY! Easy you stupid Pigtailed Cow Sule!" Karasu soon pulled him out as he shouted, "Why did you have to hit me that hard!?"
"It's your own fault!" Noelle called from inside before she climbed out as her night gown looked to be stained with a bit of green, "You're the one that landed me back there! And dragged me into that sewer water when you tripped!!"
Pluck said as he stuck his tongue out, "Only because of your complaining!"
"I thought we were supposed to be having fun tonight." Sachiko said as it made Pluck and Noelle flinch. Pluck immediately said with an innocent smile, "O-oh we are! Hehe don't mind us!
Noelle added as she had a nervous smile on her face, "y-yeah! We're having fun, aren't we Feodora?""
Feodora soon came climbing out as she gave them a look, "Don't try to bring me into whatever you two got going on." She said as she helped Asta out from the sewer as he had been carrying both Vandy and Jubei while Nero still sat on his head. "Where is this house?" Asta asked as he looked back down.
The Triple A's soon emerged; Aisling, Aine and Aidan in that order. "It should be just near here, if I remember!" Aisling replied.
"Ooooh, this is gonna get spooky-scary real quick!" Aine said.
Aidan soon looked back down, "Hey guys, what are you doing in there?"
Brenin, Saorise, and Liam came out, as Addeline had been hitching a ride on Brenin's head. "Sorry." Saorise said as she and the others had adjusted their magic items slightly, "We're not used to traveling through the sewer system."
"How do you people live in the city with all of those smells?" Brenin asked Karasu in particular.
"Who said we did?" Karasu replied with a shrug as he caused him to flinch.
"Well now that the gang's all here!" Aine said before she started to go down the block, "Onward to the Scare Dare!"
The group soon followed as it seemed as though the storm clouds seemed to have followed. For a moment Prism looked back as she could feel herself shaking while some of the spirits seemed to have lost their color, though she shook it off as she went to catch up.
It hadn't been long before they arrived at the location; when they did they saw how rundown the building had been as it looked to be boarded up and on the verge of collapsing. Not to mention as the wind blew they could hear this eerily howl. There looked to be a wooden fence surrounding the entire vicinity as what stood in their way had been tall blades of grass.
"There it is." Aisling said, "The building that's said to be haunted."
"Haunted?" Noelle asked before she huffed. "We'll see about that. Royalty doesn't get spooked easily."
"This coming from the girl that shrieked in the tunnel because she thought something was crawling in her clothes?" Pluck asked.
Noelle flinched before she said "W-well, I—"
"Exactly." Pluck told her. "So hush."
Prism could only shake at this as she trembled, though the group nearly let out a shriek as they could hear loud banging coming from the house; the group looked and saw the sound had been made from a window.
"O-Oh!" Feodora said with a laugh, "It was just a window."
"I-I'm not worried!" Jubei said, "You're worried!"
"I don't feel safe." Vandy said which earned a look from them; he soon laughed nervously as he "I mean--I totally wasn't startled or anything!"
"Wow, that was something.." Pluck sighed. "Why do i feel like two objects are pressing my back." he turned around to see Noelle was holding him as he gave a look that meant really, "would you get off of me. I thought Royalty doesn't get scared easily."
"Sh-Shut up!" Noelle said, before she gave Pluck a shove, "Anyway don't crowd royalty!"
"Sure your highness. "Pluck said as he rolled his eyes,
BAM!
The group shrieked again as they ended up hugging each other, only to see it had been a fallen wood pillar as it had broken apart. Immediately the group let go of each other as they laughed sheepishly.
"Just a stupid pillar--" Liam said, "--I didn't get freaked out did you?"
"N-Nope not me!" Prism said.
"No, no, don't be silly!" Karasu said, "I was just making sure you guys weren't freaked out!"
"Ye-Yeah well, you didn't need to--" Feodora said, "--I didn't jump or anything!"
"Fu-Funny, me neither!" Aidan said.
"Ye-yep!" Asta said, "N-Not jumping either!"
"Now I feel someone's claws..." Pluck groaned. "Can someone retract them please?" He soon turned over to Noelle, "I'm looking at you!"
"Uh--That's not me." Noelle said.
Pluck soon looked over and noticed it had been Brenin who had been giving him an awkward look. Brenin immediately retracted as he saw a set of claws, "So-Sorry--" He said trying to play it cool, as he adjusted the magic items slightly allowing his claws to retract, "--Must've not adjusted them correctly."
Pluck said with a forced laugh, "Don't worry...we make mistakes."
"QUACK!" Addeline shouted as she whacked his hands as he yelped.
"I said I was sorry!" Brenin told her as he showed teeth,
"Addeline, be nice!" Saorise told her
The group soon froze up as they could hear the howl from the building come again this time it had sounded louder then it did before. "S-So--" Asta said, "--Who's going in first?"
"Y-You can go first Plu-Plu!" Prism said, "Y-You're technically a senior among the Black Bulls."
Pluck said as he lifted his hands, "I would but I think someone here wants to prove that Royalty can't be scared. Stupid Silva, why don't you go first."
"EXCUSE YOU?!" Noelle shouted before everyone shushed her.
"What's that? You saying you're happy being my servant?" Pluck said.
"Are YOU happy to be MY servant?" Noelle asked, as it made Pluck gasp in horror.
"Just go inside and play seven minutes in heaven or something!" Jubei shouted which shocked all of them
"JUBEI!" Pluck, The Triple As and Brenin exclaimed.
"What?! Mom used to play that with Dad when they were young!" Jubei said.
"Oh! How about Feodora?" Vandy said as he hopped onto Feodora's back, "You're used to scary stuff right?"
"What?" Feodora said with a forced smile, as she scoffed, "No, no, no, that's an exaggeration!" She soon turned to Karasu, "How about you Karasu? I insist!"
Karasu replied as he laughed sheepishly, "Oh that's alright, besides it wouldn't be gentleman-like of me."
Liam couldn't help but roll his eyes as he groaned, "At this rate it's gonna take up our whole night for someone to go in first."
"You're right--" Sachiko said, "--There's gotta be an easier and quicker way to do this…"
The group pondered and pondered on what they should do, before they each seemed to have the same thought and idea when they looked at one another.
"ROCK, PAPER SCISSORS SHOOT!"
Most of them seemed to have sighed with relief except Asta as his jaw dropped as did Prism's. "An-Ana latta as me…" Prism said fearfully.
"welp , it was nice knowing you." Vandy said to asta as he patted his back.
"Go and roll with it Pri--" Feodora said as she patted her shoulder.
Asta and Prism looked at each other before they gulped. They soon went to step into the yard, minding the broken fence while the others followed close behind. They each made their way through the tall grass as Prism had kept a firm grip on his shoulder. Asta could feel the little Spirits climb onto his shoulder making themselves comfortable as they made their way through.
The sound of the thunder came again as Asta could feel Prism's hand tighten slightly.
"You okay?" He asked worried.
Prism only smiled as she replied, "I-I'm fine, I-I'm okay!"
Asta soon noticed some of the Spirits started to lose color. "Yo-You know--" Asta soon said, "--If you don't want to do this, you should really say something."
"I'll be fine Asta." Prism said as she gave him a smile, Asta could only have a look of worry as he saw her flinch when the sound of the thunder came again. Finally they had approached the door as they noticed the sound of the hinges creaking from it as the wind blew.
Asta had creaked the door open as all that had illuminated that had been in front of them had been the red lit moon. Each of them shook as they stepped into the house while they could hear the sound of creaking. They looked around as they could see it looked to be a common room of some sort.
Pluck said as he gulped while he forced a smile, "Say, this is not so bad...right?"
"Y-yeah.." Brienin added as he hopped into Pluck's arms. "N-Not bad at all!"
"I-I'm totally not scared right now!" Vandy added.
Jubei said as she shook, "M-Me neither!"
"S-So, anyone w-wanna call it quits?" Aidan asked.
"Nope!" Pluck said
"Not me!" Brenin added
"Hell no!" Feodora and Liam said.
"There is no way Royalty like me will back down from a challenge!" Noelle said with a huff. "The last i want is to be a servant of Barbados!"
"Or a servant to Stupid Silva!" Pluck said.
"Be-Besides it's just an old house!" Aine said, "Afterall what could happen?"
SLAM--Went the door suddenly as it caused everyone to jump and scream; Prism jumped into Asta's arms while Sachiko hopped into Vandy's. Feodora and Karasu ended up hugging each other while Pluck leaped into Liam's arms as Saorise and Brenin screamed.
"ZOINKS!" Aidan exclaimed as he jumped on Aisling.
"QUACK!" Addeline shouted as she jumped on Noelle's face causing her to shriek.
"Uh---" Feodora said, "--The door closed shut."
The group looked towards the door; Karasu went over to the door and tried to get it open though he found difficulty in doing so. They soon noticed that Karasu's face had paled.
"Is---Something wrong?" Asta asked.
Karasu only laughed sheepishly as he looked, "Okay--No one freak out, but--" He tried to get it open again only to have the same result, "--We MAYBE sort of… Locked in here."
At this everyone's faces paled. "You mean like--Actually locked in." Asta said with a fearful look.
"Like--REALLY locked in?" Prism said.
Everyone looked at one another; not a second later they started to scream and run around in circles as they did. Immediately afterwards they ran into each other as they fell onto the ground.
"Okay we might as well sacrifice someone in order to escape. Pluck you're up." Jubei said
"WHAT?!" Pluck exclaimed before he bonked her head "We are NOT sacrificing anyone! Besides, Yami will kill us if one of us even dies."
"I like to see him try!" Liam said
"THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO BUFF YOUR CHEST!" Aisling shouted
"QUACK!" Addeline shouted
"We-Well--" Saorise said with a gulp as she forced a smile, "--We ALL agreed to the Scare Dare challenge. So the only logical thing to do is, we continue the dare. Unless of course one of us turns chicken?"
They each looked to one another before they froze at the howling sound again. They soon laughed as they seemed to have shaken it off.
"Yo-You kidding?" Feodora said, "I'm totally gonna win this, and put Stuck Up in a dress and have Noelle do ALL my work in the base."
"Like hell that'll happen!" Pluck said as he got up. "I'm gonna win this and have not only the Stupid Silva be my sevant but you do all my chores INCLUDING cleaning Addi's pen!"
"H-Hmph!" Noelle said as she had a nervous smile as she turned her, "I-I'll be the one to win this and have yo-you be my servant!"
"Are your legs shaking?" Pluck asked
"A-A-And I'm gonna have you all b-be my chauffeur and mules!" Vandy said as his own body shook.
Everyone soon hugged each other as the sounds of creaking came again. "We-Welp!" Liam said as he stood up, getting out of the hug while he cleared his throat, "I'm gonna take a look around! Anyone care to join me?"
"O-Oh sure! Definitely!" Saorise said as she went over to him.
"Ye-yeah, same here!" Brenin said as he followed.
"Uuh--" Vandy said, before he took Jubei and Sachiko's hands, "--Let's go see if this place had a kitchen!"
"O-Oh! Sure!" Sachiko said
Feodora turned to Pluck and Noelle as she let go before she said "I'll leave you two alone.." She soon gave a wave as she went up the old set of stairs, "Laters!"
Pluck shouted, "HEY DON'T LEAVE ME WITH HER!" he showered her away before he regrouped. At least that's how it would've gone, were it not for Asta and Prism immediately making a run for it which surprised him.
"He-Hey! Feo!" Asta exclaimed as he ran to Feodora, "Wait up!"
"Wai-Wait for me!" Prism exclaimed as she ran after Asta as Nero landed on her shoulder.
Karasu sighed as he looked to Pluck and Noelle who were both in complete and utter shock while looking to the Triple A's, "Annnd then there were us."
"Yuuup." The Triple A's said.
At this Pluck and Noelle could only think to themselves "WHY?!"
***
-At that Moment-
Despite the barrier being the entire Royal Capital the clouds seemed to have started to surround the entire city. Yami had been roaming the streets with Adrien at his side as he appeared to be tracking. Though at one point, Adrien started to go in circles as he looked to be distressed as he whimpered.
"Hey Lizard, the hell's wrong with you?" Yami asked as he took a puff.
Adrien responded in gestures as he repeated the gesture while he whimpered again
Yami seemed to have put the two together before he sighed as he said "Damn it, you lost her scent, didn't you?"
Adrien could only whimper in response as he bowed his head while his tail had been between his legs.
Yami clicked his tongue as he said, "Okay, don't get freaked out. Now is a good time to test the cursed stone out." He soon pulled up a magical device as a holographic image appeared; a blue sphere soon appeared in a certain location.
"There you are." He said, "Now what could you be doing there?" Before he could move, he heard his communication device had soon gone off as it made him freeze.
"Ah crap." Yami said before he had taken the item out, knowing exactly who it had been. The device soon stopped beeping, "Yuki, this is a really bad time."
"A really bad time?" Yukiko asked. "What happened?"
Yami sighed as he said "Well, you're not gonna believe it but Lizard Girl got out."
"What?!" She exclaimed, "When did this happen!? I'm coming over no--"
Yami immediately stopped her as he said, "No need, I already know where she is, besides the last thing we need is more chaos."
"You mean the cursed stone you gave her? Is it really working?" Yukiko asked.
"Yeah, it's working like a charm." He replied, "At least with locating her anyway. So long as she keeps it on her I'll know where she is at all times."
Yukiko said as she sighed with relief, "Oh thank Mana. What about Pluck, is he in the house with his siblings?"
"Oh no. He and the others are gonna get a talk later." He replied, "They ended up playing some kind of a challenge, and now they snuck out."
"Do you mean the Dare Bucket Challenge?" Yukiko asked before she sighed, "Ana latta as me."
"How did you know?"
"It was a popular game in our village. The kids loved it, especially Pluck. Though the one thing they couldn't take was the scare dare challenge."
Yami froze up a bit, "Scare Dare? That's a thing?"
"Oh it is." She replied, "It's basically a tie breaker and a game of chicken. They played those in the village all the time. Though Prism didn't participate since she ended up getting scared. It's not like they would play something like that though. Especially since it's a Scare Dare."
Yami groaned as he said "is that so..Damn it all..Thanks for the info, i'll let you know if anything happens."
"Wait, wait, wait, you don't think they're doing the scare dare challenge do you?"
Yami sighed as he said "It explains why the safehouse was rowdy all day today after we got settled.." He soon heard the sound of thunder again before he added, "Better get them out before things get worse."
"Why do you say that?" She asked, "Yami why is it--"
Yam only hung up as he looked to the sky as a thought soon came over him, "Kid, please don't do anything reckless..
Asta, Fedora and Prism approached the top of the stairs that had been the third floor as each of them seemed to have been on alert. For a moment, the darkness had been the only thing in their path until the familiar light lemur had illuminated their path. Though they could hear the howls only faintly and shivered slightly from the cold.
"W-Well--" Prism said as she looked to the ruined hall and rooms as she forced a smile, "--This is--Lovely."
"Ye-Yeah, not gonna bail out or anything." Feodora said.
"Le-Let's go see what's in the rooms." Asta said as his hands shook.
The three of them ventured forth as the light lemur appeared to be leading them. They creaked the nearest door open as they entered what they assumed to be a study. Books and pages looked to be laying about and a desk that appeared to be broken in half.
"Okay--" Feodora said, "--Not creepy whatsoever."
"It kind of makes you wonder who could've stayed here." Prism said, "If--This was someone's home."
"I guess so…" Asta said with a gulp.
The light spirit and some that were of fire illuminated the room almost as if the room had been surrounded with lanterns once again. Though they sat on top of the wood, they didn't set fire to any of it. They each looked around, as every so often they found themselves freezing at the sound of the wind.
Asta took a deep breath before he had a thought come over him, "So Pri--" He soon said, "--The little spirits that come around you, do they have names?"
"Of course they do." Prism replied as what looked to be a fire bird sat itself on her shoulder, "Though sometimes when they're bonded to a Mage, they're entitled to give them a new one, that is if they desire. But they tell me their names, when they first meet me that is."
"Does that little guy have a name?" Feodora asked as she pointed to the light lemur, "He's been coming around since we first met you."
"Yeah--" Prism said as she picked him up and held him, "--Sorry for not telling you before. He told me he's very shy. And he's a bit iffy around people."
"That's okay." Asta said, "I wouldn't trust me either." He soon patted the lemur on the head as his fur glowed and left a trace of sparkles along his fingertips as he laughed softly.
"What's his name?" Feodora asked, "The name he told you I mean?"
"Elior." Prism replied as he climbed up on his shoulders while his tail wrapped around her neck, "He said his previous partner gave him that name."
"Elior huh?" Asta said as the lemur hopped onto his head, "That's a pretty good name."
"So these guys had Mage partners before?" Feodora asked, "All of them around you?"
"Spirits have been around for a long time." Prism explained, "Some of the ones that appear had partners before they came to me. You'd be surprised at the stories they have to tell."
"Do they tell you everything?" Asta asked.
"Some of them do." She answered, "Though they only tell me what they want me to know. According to them, they have stories that are more gruesome than others." She soon looked down a bit, "I can understand that though… Some of the people they've known were their friends. They often tell me they miss them."
Asta and Feodora looked at the little spirits with solemnity as they each looked at them curiously. "Did you ever see your mom's?" Feodora asked, "Before she met hers?"
"Not that I can recall." She replied with a sad smile, "I've met so many of them, it's sometimes hard to remember who comes and who goes. But--It's not all bad, because I remember the stories they tell. When we were in Airedale, I'd always tell them to the children. So this way the Mage that they fought with would be remembered."
Asta and Feodora looked to one another as they both had the same thought. "Maybe--" Asta said, "--You can tell us one of their stories someday? And the kids back in the Church."
Prism smiled at this as she could feel her chest warm up, though before she could reply--
RING
A strange solemn tone rang through her ears like it had been from a music box; though she could feel her head sting slightly; her vision seemed to have gotten blurry as the sound seemed to have gotten louder. Then, came a voice.
"Prism… Prism…" It called softly.
The voice had been familiar, and yet nostalgic; right when she was about to collapse--
"Pri?" Asta called out as the sounds stopped.
"Are you okay?" Feodora asked, "Your face looked pale."
Prism looked around, as she noticed how uneasy some of the spirits looked. Though she seemed to have shook it off, "I-I'm fine."
"You sure?" Asta asked.
Prism nodded with a smile as she said, "I guess I didn't have enough to eat when we were having din… Ner…"
They noticed her expression as the spirits around her immediately cowered behind her, including Elior. "Pri?" Asta said before he and Feodora froze at the sound of bones cracking and a groan as they saw out of the corner of their eyes long slender fingers.
Prism could only tell them one thing, as she kept her voice low while keeping a firm grip on their hands, "Don't… Make… A… Sound."
***
-Basement-
Pluck, Noelle, the Triple A's and Karasu were explosting the basement. They each shook by the sound of the creaking from the stairs as they practically froze with every step they took.
"Not scared--" Aisling said, "--Totally not scared at all."
"Anyone--" Aine said with a gulp, "--Anyone ready to call it quits?"
"Not me!" Pluck said as he stammered. "We B-Barbados aren't gonna lose to a Silva!"
"A-And I'm no-not gonna lose to the li-likes of you!" Noelle said as her body shook.
"J-Just Kiss and M-Make out al-already!" Aidian said.
"I-if i wasn't shaking i'll pull your hat down right now." Pluck told him
"O-Okay then go-good for you." Karasu said, "I-I'm not backing out e-either!"
"Gu-Guess neither of us are gonna--" Aidan started to say before they heard a loud sound.
BANG--It went as it sent them tumbling down the staircase. They each fell on top of each other as they each let out a shriek before they hit the ground as they heard the sound of a splash.
"And there went my shoulder…" Karasu groaned, "... Great." '
"Ugh...what's covering my--" Before Pluck could ask he began to shriek in muffles.
Noelle groenewald "what's that on my c--" Noelle suddenly felt screaming on her chest before she looked to see she was on top of Pluck as she shrieked. "YOU FILTHY CUR!"She shouted before she slapped him across the face, "WHO SAID YOU COULD GO THERE?!"
"YOU FELL ON ME YOU STUPID SLIVA!" Pluck shouted as he used his Cat Paw sword and latched on her face. "IF ANYONE'S A PERVERT, IT'S YOU!"
Noelle shrieked as she shouted "GET THIS THING OFF ME!"
"Bro! Come on!" Aisling said, "Now's not the time to--"
They suddenly jumped when Aine let out a shriek; Though it caused Pluck and Noelle to be put in an even more awkward position.
"What is it?!" Aidan exclaimed.
"So-Something just touched me!" Aine exclaimed, "I don't know what it is but it touched me!"
"Are you sure you're not ex--" Aisling said before she let out a shriek causing them to jump again, "Something just touched me!!"
Pluck had said with a nervous smile, "N-Now let's all calm d-down." He soon felt another soft thing as his hands gripped on it "wait what am I touching?"
"W-WHO IS TOUCHING MY REAR?!" Noelle exclaimed.
Pluck shrieked as he shouted, while his face turned red, "THAT WAS YOU?!"
"Would you stop it with the--" Karasu started to say before he froze. Pluck soon noticed that the Triple A's had paled.
"Wh-What?" Pluck said, "What is it?"
"Why are you looking at us like that?" Noelle asked.
Aisling slowly raised her hand, "Bro--Noelle--Whatever you do, don't move."
Before either of them could ask, they froze at the sound of a hiss. Pluck had nearly jumped as he felt something move along his shoulder and back. He and Noelle nearly found themselves jumping as they saw the source of the hissing had been from that of a blue eyed snake that looked to be all white. Pluck could feel the body as it had been two or three feet long at least as it appeared to have sneered at them.
Pluck said as he paled, "B-Bime I elena..."
"No sudden movements." Aidan said.
"Wha-What the heck is that?!" Noelle said.
"It--" Aisling said as she gulped, "--It looks like a ball python. But ball pythons don't have that color."
"It must be an albino." Aine said.
"But what's it doing here?" Pluck whispered
The snake looked to be focused on Pluck as he froze up. It soon turned it's sights to Noelle as it went along Pluck's arm. She flinched as she tried real hard not to move. "It--" Noelle said as she shook, "--It's not poisonous, right?"
"It's uh--" Aidan started to say, "--Fifty-fifty with python's really. They are sometimes born with venom, but you won't know until after they bite you."
"... Great." Noelle said as it seemed to have slowly moved up her body.
"Don't worry Noelle--" Aine said, "--We've had snake encounters before. You'll be fine, as long as you don't do anything to startle it."
Noelle almost found herself jumping as she could feel it's tongue flick her nose slightly. As it started to move off of Pluck and her body he seemed to have noticed something about its behavior. "Somethings wrong--" He said, "-- It's searching."
"How do you know that?" Noelle asked.
"I've read all kinds of books on animal behavior including snakes." Pluck explained, "if it was hunting, i think you wouldn't be alive considering how that snake is..but the question is--what is it looking for?"
"Maybe its owner?" Aine said.
Much to their surprise it seemed to have gone over to Karasu as its tongue flicked at his foot. It seemed to have picked up it's pace a little as it went up his leg and up his body till it wrapped around his neck; even Karasu looked surprised as it seemed more relaxed.
"Uh…." Karasu said dumbfounded as he looked at the snake, "... Hi?"
"It was--Looking for Karasu?" Aidan said, surprised.
Pluck had said shocked, "You mean to tell me that snake is yours?"
"N-No!" Karasu said, "I've never seen this snake before, let alone an albino one!"
"Then I guess, it must be like you?" Aine said as she wasn't sure herself.
"You sure we can keep a pet snake?" Noelle asked "I mean what if she eats Addeline."
"Have you met her? That's the same duck who whacks Yami's pets out of discipline." Adian said
"Would you call that discipline?" Noelle asked
Pluck scratched underneath his chin, "Still--Pythons, especially wild ones are known to be aggressive. How is it okay with you?"
Karasu flinched as he oddly looked nervous; he only seemed to have snapped out of it when the snake nuzzled his cheek. "Uh--Maybe it knows my personality." He said before he had a thought as he could feel his arm throb slightly; the world seemed to freeze around him, "Crap! I forgot! This curse doesn't just bring bad luck, it attracts snakes! I didn't worry about it as much since there weren't many in the Capital, even at the Black Bulls! I'm lucky there was just one, but either way I let my guard down! I'll--" He soon thought of Sachiko in that moment, "--No, we'll be screwed if they suspect something. Stay calm, don't lose your head!"
Pluck had said as he didn't seem convinced, "really? We just met. I'm sure it never met you before, with the way it's acting towards you right now."
"Oh. y-you don't say." Karasu said.
"Why are you shaking?" Aisling asked. "It's not like it's gonna bite you."
"Oh no. I'm just--" He said before he had a thought, "Come on damn it! Think of an excuse!"
Pluck had said, "Hey, you okay? You start to sweat."
"I'm fine!" He exclaimed as he stood while gripping his bandaged arm, "An-Anyway! Let's go see what the others are doing!"
As he walked, the other's couldn't help but look at him awkwardly as they looked a bit worried. "Karasu looked a bit pale." Aisling said, "You don't think he's getting sick do you?"
"That seems a bit off even for someone as unlucky as him." Pluck said.
"Something seems off don't you think?" Noelle said.
"Yeah…" Aidan said.
Pluck soon started to think aloud as he said, "Hmmm, I wonder if--"
They soon were taken back when they heard the sound of a shriek which made them jump into each other's arms.
"Wait a minute--" Aisling said, "--That sounded like Vandy, Jubei and--"
"Sachiko!" They heard Karasu shout before they heard the rushing footsteps. "Karasu!" Pluck exclaimed as he ran up the stairs, "Wait a minute!"
They each ran up the stairs as they managed to get back to the common room; though when they did they saw that Karasu had been holding Sachiko in his arms as she appeared to be crying, while Vandy and Jubei looked to be terrified.
"What is it?!" They heard Brenin say; they looked over and saw the Familiars had run back into the room.
"We heard screaming!" Saorise said before she noticed Sachiko, "Oh no, she's crying!"
"It's okay--" Karasu said, giving her pats on the back, "--It's okay. Aniki's here."
"I-I don't want to be here anymore!" Sachiko cried as she hugged him, not minding the snake, "I don't care about the challenge! I want to go home!"
"Hey, hey come on." Karasu said, "It'll be okay."
"What's going on?" Noelle asked.
"Noelle it was horrible!" Vandy said, "We were looking around in the kitchen and-and-and--!
"A-and w-we saw a Tainted!" Jubei exclaimed, "We almost screamed but we knocked over a jar of salt and it disappeared! It scared us, and Sachi especially!"
The group froze at this as Karasu seemed to have been broughten back to the dungeon. His expression grew cold, "A Tainted?"
"Are you sure?" Brenin asked as he and Saorise and Liam's own expression grew cold, "Are you sure you saw one here?"
"Ye-Yeah!" Vandy said, "It came out of nowhere, and it nearly had us!"
"What are you talking about?" Noelle said, "What in the world is a Tainted?"
"A corrupted Spirit." Aisling said, as Noelle noticed the horrified look she had, "Only instead of making someone their partner, they take them to who knows where!"
"Why would one be here then?!" Karasu said, before he turned to Saorise and Brenin, "I thought you two said they only come when Prism is in a weakened state."
"We did!" Brenin said.
"Though sometimes a Tainted lingers in a place where their partner died!" Saorise said.
"If a Tainted is here..." Pluck said "That means--!!! Oh no! We have to find Pri and the others and get out of here now!"
"Easier said than done! How are we gonna find the others?!" Jubei asked
"But I don't understand it was just the one right?" Noelle asked.
"A Tainted never travels alone." Liam told her, "We need to get to Prism! The other one is bound to go to her regardless if she's weakened or not." He soon turned to Brenin and Saorise, "Let's grab all the salt we need from the kitchen!"
"Right!" Brenin and Saorise said before they ran towards the kitchen area with Liam before anyone could stop them.
"Damn it--" Karasu said before he handed Sachiko to Pluck, "--Take care of her for me!"
Pluck had been shocked as he said, "W-wha?!"
"P-Pluck-sensei....i want to go home." Sachiko cried.
"Just forget about the challenge!" Karasu said, "Get her and your siblings back to the house before the other Captains find out! I'll be back soon!"
Pluck exclaimed as Karasu soon went up the stairs, where the others had gone. "H-Hey! Karasu?"
"Ye-Yeah leaving would be a good idea!" Aisling said.
"What about Asta and Feodora?!" Noelle said, "We can't just leave them!"
"The Familiars handled Tainted before! They'll take care of it!" Aidan said, "Besides, even if we could do something, we left our grimoires back at the house! If magic could hurt them, we're pretty much defenseless!"
"But Saorise and Liam don't have grimoires either!" Noelle retorted.
"Like we said they're experts!" Aidan said before he tugged them to the door, while Aisling and Aine picked up their younger siblings, "Now come on! Let's go before it wanders down here!"
Pluck had said hesitantly, "o-oh right!"
The triple A's quickly ushered them outside after Aisling blew up the door with a white sphere just as the thunder seemed to have gotten louder, the rains started.
***
The Tainted wandered into the very room, Asta, Prism and Feodora had been as it had started to look around from them. The three of them were quick to hide behind the desk that had been in the room as they remained perfectly still.
As it took a step forward they could hear its body crack and it let out a groan; it seemed like it had been looking around as it had been sniffing the air as they were each too scared to even move. The creature had been tall and slender, as it's skin looked to be wrinkled and it's neck had almost been as long as a giraffe.
It soon spoke, it's voice sounding odd, and strange, and yet they could hear it loud and clear.
"CAN YOU HELP ME… FIND MY EYES…?"
Feodora peeked out from behind the table as it's neck looked to be extending and looked around the room; when it looked in their direction with eyes which appeared to be wrapped in its own hair she immediately retreated back down.
"I'm uh--" She whispered as she said with a gulp, "--Guessing that's a Tainted you guys told me about?"
"Wh-Why is there one here?" Asta asked.
"This place--" Prism whispered, "--Must've been its home. They often linger in a place where their partner passed on."
"Good to know." Feodora said, "Any ideas? Because I left my grimoire at the house."
Prism shook her head as her body shook, "No, no, we can't attack it with magic. It's only going to aggravate it, not to mention get stronger." She soon took out her own grimoire, "Maybe I can try to use my scythe on it."
"But we're not sure what that's going to do you." Asta said, "We can't risk it."
"What's the plan then?" Feodora asked before they froze when they heard it step towards where they were, "Because I get the feeling fighting this thing ain't exactly an option."
"We-We can't do anything to it without salt, or rosemary, or Blessed Water." Prism said with a gulp as it moved away, "Ma-Maybe we can sneak around it."
"I guess we have no choice." Asta said before he moved slowly, shocking the girls, "Stay close and stay quiet."
The girls nodded as they started to move slowly as the Tainted moved to the corner of the room. The minute it turned towards them, they froze and waited for it to turn back around before moving again. They managed to reach the door as they soon put their backs to the wall as they could hear the Tainted coming towards where they were.
"We gotta get down the stairs." Prism whispered.
"Got it." Asta whispered back.
The droplets of rain started hitting against the broken windows as the winds started to pick up. They were just about half way towards the stairs just as the Tainted had gotten out of the room and went in the opposite direction. Though right before they could---
RING… RING...
The sounds came again as this time Prism ended up freezing. Asta and Feodora had taken notice when they heard a thump noise behind them; even the sound of it had the Tainted stop what it was doing. The two of them looked back as they saw Prism had collapsed to her knees.
"Prism?!" Asta said with a whisper; he went over as she shook her, "Prism are you okay?!"
"What's the matter!? Why did you--"
"Prism…"
Asta and Feodora froze at a voice that had echoed around them; Prism had picked up her head as they were quick to notice that they were of a familiar white color as her pupils were silted which made them jump. The voice soon came again.
"Prism… Can you hear me? Come outside."
"The hell is--?" Feodora said, before--
"GIVE ME MY EYES!"
The Tainted suddenly charged at Asta and Feodora as they were nearly startled when it charged at them. They were quick to move as it had shattered the wall, nearly taking down the second floor. As they each let out a cough from the dust Prism stood up from the floor before she calmly started to walk down towards the stairs as her eyes were still in a shade of white.
"Prism!" Asta exclaimed, "Where are you going?!"
"He's… Calling…" Prism said, sounding strangely odd and yet had been speaking softly as she continued to go forward,, "... Must… Go to him…"
"Prism wait--" Feodora shouted as she went to stop her before the Tainted went to charge at her again as she was quick to move.
"Prism!" Asta called out as the Tainted attacked her.
Karasu, Brenin, Liam and Saorise made it to the bottom of the stairs with the supplies they needed. Though before they could venture up, Karasu had been taken back when the three familiars started to groan in agony and nearly collapsed.
"What's wrong?!" Karasu said.
"Pri--Prism--!" Brenin groaned, "--Somethings--Happening to her--!"
"That--That ringing--" Saorise said as she covered her eyes, "--It's--Too loud--! It--It hurts--!"
"Ringing?" Karasu said, "What ringing?!"
"Prism!" Liam exclaimed as he picked up his head.
Karasu looked to the top of the stairs as he noticed Prism descending down towards them. That was when he noticed the eerily white glow in her eyes.
"The Trance…?" He said though he was quick to notice something off as the snake around his neck slithered into his shirt, "No--This is…"
"Must go…" She spoke mindlessly, as she walked past them, paying them no mind, "He's…. Calling…"
"Prism?" Karasu said worryingly.
"Karasu!"
Karasu looked to the staircase as they saw that Asta had been holding back what looked to be an amorous looking hand that had been long and thin, and yet it grew a set of claws. "I don't know what's happening to her--But DON'T let her outside!" He told him before he tossed the hand, as they could hear the sound of crashing.
Karasu didn't seem to understand it either, but in that moment, he made a split second decision as he had taken out his grimoire and sword that he had brought with him beforehand.
"Jinx Restraining Magic--Yellow Flower Vines!"
A set of vines emerged from his sword as it wrapped around Prism's body as she had stopped halfway towards the door.
"What are you--" Liam started to say before he groaned.
"Nevermind, just help them!" Karasu said.
"In… My way…" Prism suddenly said softly which Karasu had been taken back by. Her grimoire soon floated beside her as it glowed red.
"In… My way…" She repeated again.
Her grimoire turned to a certain page as she spoke aloud a familiar set of words.
Shadows reveal thy form
Let your power aid
Lead the hunger astray
Bring me victory today
The scythe emerged from the pages as it did many times before, as she slashed the vines in one swing. The vines turned to dust before it flew into the eye gems allowing them to glow slightly. For a moment her veins glowed purple before they vanished as she sighed.
"Bime i elena--!" Saorise said, shocked.
"Go!" Karasu told them as held his sword, "I've got her!"
"You're not gonna--?!" Brenin said.
"I won't hurt her, I promise!" He told him as if he read the Familiars minds, "Now just help them!"
He and Prism charged at each other as their blades clashed with each other. With hesitation, the three of them went up the stairs to assist Asta and Feodora. They saw that the second floor had been in complete ruins. They noticed that Feodora and Asta had been struggling to keep the Tainted hands off of them; they both had been holding it back--Literally.
"Help us!!" Asta yelled to them
"We can't hold it back much longer!" Feodora shouted.
"Hang on guys!" Saorise said before she had taken out sacks of salt as she handed them to Brenin and Liam. "No retreat--" Brenin said as his fist towards them.
"No surrender." Saorise and Liam said as their knuckles touched their own.
Brenin, Saorise and Liam quickly moved as they grabbed whatever sharp they could use as weapons before they each went to attack. Asta and Feodora had been taken back as it shrieked when Liam and Brenin stabbed it's wrists.
Saorise kicked herself off the wall before she kicked it right in the face causing it to let out a wail.
"Now!" Liam yelled before they held their brown sacks; The moment it hit the Tainteds body salt had spilled all around it. It let out a shriek as it soon vanished into that of vapor. It allowed them to breathe a sigh of relief. "Who knew that's all it took." Feodora said as she sighed with relief.
Downstairs Karasu had been having trouble holding his own as he nearly found himself taken one fatal hit after another and narrowly dodging her blade. He couldn't find himself blocking her blade fast enough as all he could do was move or at least try to counter.
"This is definitely not the Trance!" He thought as he blocked one attack after another, "If it was, she would've used her claws instead of her blade to take my magic! And she's fighting me like she wants to kill me! Not to mention, she's using those techniques Captain Jack's been showing her! This has to be something else at play!"
Prism soon tripped him as he fell on his back causing him to grunt; the blade would've gone through his chest if he hadn't flipped back causing the scythes blade to get stuck to the floor.
"Even if it is--" He soon said aloud, "--How am I supposed to get you to wake up Tater-Tot?!"
The two continued to fight as they didn't realize that the storm had started to pick up. That was until--
KABOOM--Went the thunder as it sounded close to the house. The very sound of it caused Prism to stop what she was doing; her eyes had reverted to the lialic purple as she let out a gasp. The rain poured as she looked towards the cracked window as the thunder came again.
Karasu soon noticed that her face paled, and the Spirits had started to lose their color.
"Tater-Tot?" Karasu said.
Asta, Feodora, and the Familiars came down the stairs as they noticed how terrified Prism had gotten when the thunder roared once again.
"Prism?" Asta said.
"This--" She started to say.
For a moment, Prism found herself back into a familiar setting; no more like a familiar dream. The set of red eyes appeared through the clouds before she felt herself getting attacked; her scars had throbbed as she could feel that same agony she felt. She started to hyperventilate as everything from her head, to her scars, even her wounds began to hurt.
Her scythe had dropped to the floor as it disappeared in a white flash.
"Prism?!" Asta said as he noticed how distressed she looked.
"Pri, what's wrong?!" Feodora said.
"N-No!" She screamed as the Spirits looked just as distressed as she had been; she let a shriek as the thunder roared once more, "No! NO!"
Instead of the Spirits letting out various attacks, they were taken back when a set of white flames suddenly formed at her feet as the gems in her scythe glowed violently; even the veins in her body glowed white. Asta, Feodora, Karasu and the Familiars jumped back at this as the very floor caught on fire.
"Prism!" They all exclaimed.
As this was happening Pluck was rising in only to have a look of horror as he was witnessing this event. "What the hell?! What's happening?!" he turned to see a familiar girl in agony as she let out a scream. "PRISM!" He soon turned to the others, "What's going on?!"
"How should we know dumbass?!" Liam yelled, "This just happened!"
Pluck yelled, "WELL THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING!"
"Not a good time!" Feodora yelled to the boys.
"Somethings not right--" Brenin said, "--The Spirits aren't doing that!"
"It doesn't matter if they are!" Saorise said, "We have to get her out before she burns herself and brings down the whole house!"
Karasu quickly went to act as he set down his sword. The moment he tried to reach in the tornado however, he cried out in agony as he felt his skin a lit.
"It's too hot! I can't get through!" Karasu exclaimed.
"Damn it! How can we pass?!" Pluck asked.
"Don't you have that sword that can put out that fire?" Feodora said.
"Are you stu--Oh right!" Pluck said before he had taken out his grimoire, "SWORD CREATION MAGIC: AQUAMARINE EDGE!" he took it out as he tried to put out the white flames--Or at least that's what would've happened but the moment the water touched the flames, it turned into dust and had gone into the fire.
"The fire--Ate it?!" Feodora said, shocked.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Pluck shouted. "Is this---some type of forbidden arts or something?!"
"How are we supposed to get through now?!" Liam exclaimed.
Before anyone could answer the fire seemed to have grown more aggressive as they each moved back; though Saorise ended up tripping before she could even make it to where they were.
"Watch out!" Asta shouted before he ran to her as the flames looked ready to devour her.
He quickly pushed her out of the way before he found himself engulfed.
"ASTA!" Feodora exclaimed though Pluck stopped her from running towards him. Though each was taken back by when they saw the most extraordinary thing. For a moment they saw what looked to be a spark before the flames seemed to have vanished as they saw that Asta had been just fine; there wasn't even a wound on him, not even his clothes looked burned.
"He's… Okay?" Brenin said surprised.
Pluck said as he had been trying to process, "the flames...they didn't kill him...was it because he doesn't have mana--no...it was to be something else."
"There's--Nothing?" Asta said looking at himself, before he saw something faintly glow on his wrist. Upon further examination he saw it had been from the familiar mark that had been on his wrist as he couldn't help but recall.
"The bite that Prism gave Feo and I, when she was in the Trance…?" Asta thought, "... Did this save me?"
He could hear Prism scream as the thunder came again. Looking towards the center he saw Prism curled herself into a ball as they could hear her crying, mumbling something that had been incoherent. Though Asta didn't seem to understand, he had only one thing in mind.
Before anyone realized it, Asta ran into the tornado of flames as he let out a warcry.
"ASTA?!!" Feodora, Pluck and Karasu exclaimed.
"HE'S--NUTS!!" Saorise couldn't help but shout.
As Asta had thought, the mark on his glowed as the flames in front of him seemed to have vanished, like he had been trapped in a bubble. "The mark really is protecting me!" He thought, "I don't know what Prism did back then, or fully understand how it's possible, but I'm going to hold up my end of our promise!"
Finally, he had gotten to the eye of the fire tornado as the wall of flames built up behind him. Her cries had been more clear as he could see her shaking; the veins on her body seemed to have been illuminated with white.
"Prism!" Asta said as he ran to her without hesitation; she seemed to have flinched the moment he placed his hands on her.
"Pri--Pri it's me." He said, trying to stay calm, "It's Asta."
"Can't be here--Not again--" He could hear her say, "--The storm--It's going to come again--"
Asta held onto her as he saw the ground around her had become a lit; it seemed to have pulsed through the ground like that of a heartbeat as it couldn't help but bring him back to a familiar place, to the place where he and they found her.
"Prism…" He soon said as he seemed to have gotten the idea, "... Is the storm outside scaring you? Is that why you're acting this way?"
Prism didn't answer as she only continued to whimper. "I can't do this--" She soon said, "--I can't do this… I thought I could do this, I thought it would be different--"
"What are you talking about?" He asked.
The flame tornado started to grow again as it almost reached the wall of the house, while the winds outside picked up again.
"I-I just wanted to be like my parents…" She soon said as Asta looked shocked, "... I just… Wanted to be strong like them… Stuff like this… Stuff like this isn't supposed to scare them… They're the greatest people the world has ever known, and their daughter… Is just a coward… I'm just a scared little girl… Who got scared by a dream..."
Asta's eyes widened in realization as it all seemed to have clicked in his head. "That's why you wanted to do this?" He said, "You just wanted to prove yourself?"
Prism couldn't answer this time as she buried her face into her knees. "Prism--!" Asta soon told her, "--Getting stronger is one thing, but forcing yourself into doing things you don't want to do doesn't get you anywhere! I mean okay, it seems like a better option but it's not! Conquering your fears can be difficult I know but it doesn't automatically mean you throw yourself into fire just so you can beat it faster! You need to be patient and take things slow!" He soon smiled at her as he showed her his arm muscles to her, "How do you think I got where I am today? I didn't grow these overnight you know?"
He soon brought her out of the fetal position so that he could get a better look. He soon gave her a hug as her head rested on his shoulder. "If you didn't want to do this in the first place then you need to speak up." He said, "It's okay to be scared sometimes and it's okay to be honest. No one's gonna fault you if you say something. And if it makes you feel better, I don't think your parents would be disappointed. If they could see you after all that's happened these past months--They would be proud of you."
Though Prism still shook at the sound of the thunder and rain she returned the embrace as all she could do was cry. The tornado of fire soon stopped expanding before the flames disappeared, and the veins on her body had stopped glowing.
The group had looked shocked as the flames died down leaving behind only scorches on the floor. The Spirits colors returned as they looked a bit confused before they gathered around Prism again.
"What just happened?" Karasu said.
"Is--Is it over?" Brenin said.
Pluck said as he scratched his head, "probably.."
"At least the house and us didn't burn down." Feodora said.
"There's that but--" Saorise started to say before--
BAM--Went the wall suddenly causing most of them to jump out of shock and surprise just as the thunder roared. All they could see through the dust cloud had been piercing red eyes.
"There you brats are."
"IT'S THE GRIM REAPER!" Saorise exclaimed fearfully as she jumped into Pluck's arms.
Pluck immediately shouted fearfully, "THERE'S SO MUCH STUFF I WANT TO DO!"
"No...i think it's someone worse..." Liam said nonchalantly.
"Yeah--" Brenin said as he hid behind him, "--Judging from the smell it's--"
The dust cloud soon cleared up as they, minus Liam jumped at who they saw. It had been their captain and despite him being soaked from the rain, they could tell he wasn't happy.
"Oh no it's worse--" Feodora said, as she paled, "--It's Yami!"
"I HAVE SO MUCH TO LIVE FOR, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" Pluck yelled.
"You're spineless as ever." Liam said, giving Pluck a look.
"I think I would've preferred the grim reaper." Karasu said as he shook.
Yami said with a death threatening aura, as he held his sword, "Oh don't worry, I'll do his job for you. Since you all are asking to die."
"If you're gonna sacrifice someone...." Pluck said before pointing to Liam, "--SACRIFICE HIM, NOT US!"
"YOU DO THAT AND I'M DRAGGING YOU WITH ME!" Liam yelled as he glared.
"ENOUGH!!" Yami yelled as hit what was left of the wall hard as they froze up. "All of you, Outside---NOW."
"But--" Pluck was about to say until Feodora covered his mouth
"Don't make this as bad as it is already, you damn Sword nerd!" Feodora whispered.
With that said Pluck, Feodora, Karasu, and the Familiars quickly rushed outside as Asta stayed with Prism, as she couldn't move. They didn't even flinch as Yami went towards them. "She—" Asta soon said as he gulped, as he stood, though he held onto her hand, "--Isn't hurt, but I don't think she can move. The storm outside really freaked her out."
Just as this was said the thunder came once more. Prism let out a fearful whimper as she pulled herself closer to Asta.
Yami's look softened slightly as he said with a puff of his cigarette, "hey kid, it's just a storm, it'll go away soon." He nudged her head with his knuckle as he told her, "Let's get back to the house and call it a night."
Prism went to respond but when the thunder came again, she squeaked again. Some of the Spirits started to lose color again as it made Asta jump. "Prism?" Asta said, "Can you stand at least?"
Prism only shook her head in response.
Yami sighed, before he said "here, let me help." he reached out his hand which had taken Prism back a bit. Though with a bit of hesitation she reached out and took his hand; he pulled her to her feet with ease as she almost stumbled.
Prism rubbed her eyes as she sniffled before Elior nuzzled her cheek as to comfort her; Asta kept his hand on hers as she tightened her grip. "I--" She finally spoke, as she looked to the ground; her voice sounded hoarse, "--I'm sorry… I--I thought…"
Yami gave her a nudge on the shoulder before telling her, "hey, it's fine...You're still a kid after all. I'm just glad you're safe."
Prism only sniffled though she had been able to pick up before flinching at the sound of the thunder. "Come on--" Yami said before turning to exit the building after picking up Prism's grimoire, "--Time to head back."
"Ye-Yes sir!" Asta said before he gently pulled Prism towards the exit. He soon gave her a smile, "Let's go Pri!"
Prism could only utter a small smile before she was dragged out of the house; their grip on each other's hands, still stayed firm, even as the storm had passed.