Neither Pluck's siblings nor the Familiar couldn't believe what Asta had explained to them. He along with Karasu, Feodora, Noelle and Pluck ended up telling them everything; about the Trance, about the way Prism acted, and what she could do while in that state. They had even explained it to them, that they hadn't told Prism, much to Asta and Feodora's own dismay.
Though it took them a moment to process, they knew something had to be done.
Right now, the group had been split up into different parts of the capital as they had been on the lookout for Prism.
Asta, Feodora, Noelle, Pluck, along with Yami, Liam and Saorise had been on the Eastside of the Royal Capital as they had been keeping an eye out for Prism.
"Pri!" Asta called out in a low voice, "Pri, where are you?!"
"Prism, if you come out we'll treat you to some delicious food!" Feodora tempted, "And your favorite, berry smoothies, with some extra dose of mana~!"
Pluck added as he had been riding on Asta's shoulder, while Nero had sat on his head as usual, "Come on, Pri! Where are you? Please don't try to eat me again!"
Addeline, who had been walking with the group, suddenly flew up as she tried to cuddle with Pluck.
"Addeline stop!" Asta said as he tried to shoo her away, "You're gonna make me fall over!"
"Quack, quack~!" Addeline said as she nuzzled up against Pluck.
"Addi, we've been over this!" Pluck told her, "I'm your master/partner! Not to mention I'm an elf! It just wouldn't work out!"
"We tried to warn you that she has a crush on you." Saorise said.
Pluck had said trying to push Addeline back, "well now I know!"
"Quack, quack!" Addeline said as she hugged him, nearly knocking Asta off of his feet.
"Can't you get her to stop?!" Asta said as he managed to steady himself, "I thought these guys listened to you!"
Pluck replied, "I tried, multiple times but no luck!"
"Hey--" Yami told them after snapping his fingers, "--Focus, we gotta find a princess to find, remember?" He soon turned over to Saorise and Liam, "That branch of yours appeared yet?"
Saorise shook her head while Liam didn't even seem to respond. "She's not near here." She said, "Are you sure the stone she was wearing told you she came this way?"
"It's never failed before." Yami told them
"That's saying a lot coming from you" Liam said, sounding aggressive which made most of them flinch.
"I take it you're still mad at us for keeping you and the others in the dark, huh?" Asta asked.
"What do you think!?" Liam asked as he had a glare which made them flinch, "You kept something like this from everyone, even Prism! And she's the victim of all of this!"
"I don't like it as much as you do, but what would you have done?!" Feodora said.
"Told her the truth, because I don't toy with people unlike you humans!!" Liam argued.
"Now wait a minute--!" Asta said, "--Not all of us are liars you know!"
"Then what do you call this then?!" He said.
"Save your threats for later, would ya?" Yami said as he gave Liam a glare of his own.
"Like hell I will!" He said, "Prism should've known about this from the start instead of keeping it from her! What do you think is gonna happen if this gets worse, and she starts to have a breakdown?! Huh?! What then!?"
"Liam--" Saorise said worryingly, as she placed her hand on his shoulder, "--Please, try to calm down."
Yami had told him, "She's right, get it together. We can argue AFTER we get the fox girl."
"If anything--ANYTHING happens to her I swear to the Gods, I WILL kill you myself!" Liam said as his eyes had been lit with blue flames.
Yami said to him with a death threatening aura, "Not if I kill you first mutt."
"Hey jerk!" Asta told him, as he got between him and Yami, "You don't have to do something like that! Besides, the Captains have been helping in protecting her!"
"And you call THIS protecting her?!" He argued, "I thought you and the cat girl had that job!"
"I hate how that name is growing on me." Feodora said.
"It's not a job, it's a promise there's a difference!" Asta argued, "And believe me I'm just as upset about this as you are, but right now it doesn't matter! The important thing is we have to find Prism before she hurts someone, or worse hurts herself!"
Yami added, "Shorty's got a point. Granted she's not only the future ruler but she's my squadmate and we'll do whatever it takes to stop her and bring her to her senses."
Liam had growled as his eyes had still been lit with a set of blue flames. Nero seemed to have flown on his shoulder before she tweeted in his ear as if she had been telling him something. In a few short moments Liam seemed to have changed as the flames vanished with a blink.
"You better know what you're doing." Liam told Asta with a growl.
Asta sighed with relief, before he had a smile, "Don't worry, I know exactly what I'm doing!"
"Something you should know about the Dum-Dum here." Feodora said, "When he's got something set in mind, he'll get it done no matter what."
As Liam scoffed, Yami looked at his expression as it changed slightly as he couldn't help but have an odd look. It was then Yami had a thought as Nero flew back on Asta's head, "That bird..she must have said something to calm down the mutt... " He soon looked back to Liam as he noticed the look in his eyes, "No, it's more than that. But that couldn't be right… Or could it?"
***
-Westside of the Royal Capital-
The rest of the group had taken the Westside as they had been checking every dark corner of every alleyway and behind every store though so far even with Brenin's help they had no such luck in finding her. Much to the dismay of the Triple A's, Vandy, Jubei, Karasu, Sachiko and Brenin, Jack had been leading the group.
"Okay--" Vandy said nervously, "--Someone explain to me again, why Jack is leading us instead of Captain William?"
"Because William had to get the necessities needed to reverse the curse." Sachiko replied.
"Yeah--" Aine added, "--We're just lucky this isn't one of the stronger curses."
"He could've gotten the Boogeyman to do it?!" Jubei whispered.
"Jubei, you can't say that in front of him!" Aisling said.
"Yeah! Unless you want to be cut alive." Vandy told her.
"KEKE--I heard that!" Jack said, scaring them as they hugged each other.
Karasu groaned, "We should've gone with the other guys…"
"Yeah--" Brenin said, "--Too late now."
"Hey dog--" Jack soon said, "--Is that wrist of yours glowing yet?"
"No sir." Brenin replied as he looked to his wrist, "She's not anywhere near here. I still don't see why we're not following where the stone is while we're on the other side of town."
Jack replied, "KEKE--For all we know the stone could've slipped off her when she was moving. We need to check every corner!"
"But if she's a fox, she could be anywhere in the Capital right now!" Vandy said, "Do you know how fast these guys are?! It's gonna take days before we--"
Before Vandy could finish Brenin soon shushed him which took him by surprise. Though before one of them could say anything, they heard what appeared to be the sound of familiar squawks. "That's--" Aisling said.
"Adrien!" Brenin said before he dashed in the direction of the sounds.
Eventually they had gotten to an open area where all the buildings seemed to have connected to the open buildings, and that's when they saw the familiar raptor, tangled in metal wirings and strings.
"Adrien!" The Triple A's, Vandy and Jubei exclaimed as they ran over to him.
Adrien had continued to thrash as he tried to break free but couldn't. Aisling slid on her knees before she hugged his neck. "Shh, easy boy, easy." Aisling said as she patted his neck. Adrien seemed to have stopped but he was still shaking, "How in the world did this happen?"
"Brenin, what's he saying?" Jubei asked.
"I-I don't know." Brenin said, "It's hard to understand him when he's panicking!"
"Well we gotta get him out of there!" Karasu said, "Maybe he'll calm down!"
"Can't you cut through it?" Vandy asked.
"Not without hurting him if he keeps moving like that." Karasu said.
"In that case--" Aidan said, "--Jubei we need one of your knives!"
"You came to the right gal!" Jubei said as she took out a knife although-- "No, no, wait that's the wrong." She said before tossing it away and taking out another one, "Or that one."
She tossed another one aside, shocking them.
"Nope."
And another.
"No."
And another.
"Double no."
And a third.
"Definitely not that one."
And a last one.
"That's too small."
"HOW MANY KNIVES DO YOU HAVE?!" Karasu shouted.
"DON'T JUDGE ME OKAY!" Jubei yelled.
"THIS IS NOT HELPING!" Sachiko shouted.
"KEKE--STEP ASIDE!" Jack told them.
Before one of them could ask they paled up as they saw him activate his magic. With a scream they moved out of harm's way as he had taken a swing. In an instant the metal wiring had been cut off of Adrien's restraints allowing him to stand.
"Are you okay?" Brenin asked as he ran to his side, "What happened?"
Adrien shook himself out before he talked to Brenin in an urgent tone.
"Ho--Hold on, I can't understand you if you're talking like that!" Brenin told him.
"What's he saying?" Jack said.
"Just wait, give me two seconds!" He told him before he pat Adrien on his head, "Adrien, Adrien you're fine. You're not tied down anymore. Okay?"
Adrien seemed to have become docile as he seemed to have shaken it off. He soon turned to Brenin as he started to communicate with him.
"What?" Brenin said, "Are you sure?"
Adrien spoke to him again, as if he had been confirming something for him. "Bime i elena…" Brenin said, shocked.
"What is it?" Vandy asked, "What did he say?"
"He said he followed Prism out the window--" Brenin explained, "--And when he saw her attack someone, he tried to get her to stop." Adrien spoke again as he bellowed, "When she sang, he blacked out but he knew he was moving. When he came to, he found himself tied in the metal wiring."
Most of their eyes widened in shock at this.
"You mean--Prism told him to trap himself?" Aine asked.
"No, no, he said--" Brenin said as Adrien made it clear for him, "--His mind went blank and there was only one command. He said the song that Prism sang wasn't her own, it was something else. He just didn't know what it was."
"Song? What's he talking about a song?" Karasu said.
"I don't know." Brenin replied, "He's not making it clear.
"But why would Prism or they tell him to trap himself?" Vandy said, before he shrieked, "THIS IS CONFUSING!"
"He thinks she didn't want him to get hurt, but she didn't want him to follow her either." Brenin said, "So she told him to wrap himself in the wires."
"Wait, wait...You mean like... telepathy?" Jubei asked.
"I'm not sure." Brenin replied, "He's still a bit shook up."
"Still that's pretty freaky." Vandy said.
"Just what in the heck is happening to Prism?" Aisling said.
The group soon had a look of realization as it seemed to have hit them. "Did you just say Prism attacked somebody?" Aidan asked.
"Yeah." Brenin replied.
"Oh no..." Vandy said, "Don't tell me--DID SHE COMMIT MURDER?!"
Jubei shouted as she had been panicking, "WE'RE ACCESSORIES TO MURDER! WE'LL GET IMPRISONED! I'M TOO YOUNG FOR THAT! QUICK WE GOTTA LEAVE THE KINGDOM AND START OVER!"
"No, no wait a minute--" Karasu said as he had seemed to have recalled, "--The last person she attacked when we were in Hage, she didn't kill him. She left him in a state of comatose."
"THAT'S EVEN WORSE!" Jubei exclaimed.
"What are you saying?" Aine asked.
"I'm saying--" He said, "--The only thing she wanted was magic and nothing else." It was then Karasu started to ponder on it, "If she wanted to take flesh she would've done it before with that guy or even Pluck or Noelle or me. Yuno told Feo and I, the moment she was done, she just left him alone."
"If what you're saying is true about hunger being the trigger--" Brenin said as he started to think, "--Then this state she's in, isn't just making her attack at random. She's hunting for food."
"My guess is, since she usually collects mana with whatever her scythe cuts up, whatever's occupying the Tater-Tot got tired of waiting for her to bring her weapon back out." Karasu said, "And decided to take matters into its own hands."
At this, the group was speechless at his thought, though when they had their own thoughts about it. It had seemed to make the most sense out of everything
"You know--you should have told us this earlier!" Aisling shouted.
"Hey, like we told you this is still new to us!" Karasu argued, "And this is basically my best guess here!"
"Well that's some guess!" Aine said.
Jack soon told them, "KEKE--save Killing each other after we find the girl! If anything happens to her I'll cut you to ribbons!"
"WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME?!" Karasu exclaimed as he realized he was looking towards him.
"You know why--KEKE!" Jack said before he started to lead them out of the alleyways, "Have the raptor shrink into a bag and keep searching!"
The teens, Jubei, Vandy and Sachiko looked confused at this though they started to follow his lead. Aidan had opened a bag before Adrien shrunk down to size as he leapt inside.
"Is it me or does Jack seem different?" Jubei asked as she kept her voice low.
"Yeah it's kind of weird." Vandy said, "I mean--Jack normally doesn't act this off. Wonder what that could be?"
Vandy and Jubei both looked to one another before they exchanged a look with the Triple A's. "Prism." The five of them said in unison as they had a smile.
"Definitely Prism." Brenin added.
Karasu and Sachiko on the other hand had their own look of confusion. "Really?" Karasu said.
"What can I say?" Aisling said, "She has that kind of effect on people."
"Even for an honest guy like Pluck." Aidan added
"KEKE--Move it slowpokes!" They heard Jack shout as it made them flinch. With only a grumble from the siblings they were quick to catch up.
***
-At that Moment-
Asta and the others had been stumped.
It seemed as though they had spent hours trying to find Prism, though it didn't seem like they couldn't find a trace of her anywhere it seems. At this point it just couldn't help but annoy most of them. Asta and Feodora had been slumped over on a bench.
"Damn it all--This is just impossible." Feodora said.
"Pri, where in the world did you go?!" Asta said.
"It would be so much easier if I could just focus on her scent!" Liam said as he ruffled his hair, "But with all these humans in one place, I can't determine which one of them is her!"
"I thought since she's human and elf you'd be able to pick up her scent quicker." Feodora said as she kept her voice low.
"That's just the problem!" Saorise said as she held her head down in shame, "She's a hybrid, and a hybrid scents are often all mixed together. It doesn't help that we're still so new to the capital!"
"Why do so many humans have to be in one place?!" Liam exclaimed, "For that matter how the hell can you stand the smell?!"
Yami told him with a puff of his cigarette, "We don't smell mutt."
"There has to be some sign that Prism is here!" Pluck said before Addi tried to snuggle with him.
"Addeline no!" Pluck said. "We've been through this!"
"Maybe I should separate you tw-" Before Noelle could do so, Addeline whacked her hand with her stick causing her to yelp. "HEY!"
"QUACK! QUACK QUACK, QUACK QUACK!!" Addeline exclaimed.
"Language!" Pluck and Saorise told Addeline.
Yami had told Pluck, "huh, maybe you should date your duck. She's sure into you."
"CAPTAIN!" Pluck exclaimed, "THAT'S NOT HELPING!!"
"At this rate we're never gonna find her!" Asta said, "If only we had some kind of sign!"
Just as Asta had said this they had soon noticed some sort of a commotion just nearby; as people started to gather around a certain area. "What the hell?" Feodora said.
"Someone get help!"
"My God, he's skin's all pale!"
"Is he breathing at all?!"
"Is he dead?!"
The group looked to one another before they headed over to check out the commotion. "Excuse us! Sorry!" Asta said as he made his way through the crowd.
"Pardon us, official Magic Knight business!" Feodora said.
"Out of way, move aside!" Yami said.
Pluck had said to the people, "Move people! You're in the way!"
"Barbados!" Noelle whispered as she shut his beak, "You're a duck remember!? You're not supposed to talk!"
Pluck had sweated as he mumbled to himself, "Ana latta as me, you're right!"
"Did that Duck just talk?!" A man had said.
"Uh--No sir!" Saorise said nervously, "That was your imagination! Isn't that right Pluck?"
Pluck had said as he quickly flapped his wings, "Q-Quack, quack!"
"Huh, that was strange." The man said.
The group sighed before Pluck was earned a slap on the head by Liam. "That's for almost blowing it." Liam whispered with a growl.
"Sorry..." Pluck groaned
"QUACK!" Addeline shouted as she waved her stick.
"Oh be quiet you turkey." Liam told her.
They had soon gotten to the edge of the crowd where they had seen it. A young nobleman had been on the ground as he had been practically gasping for air. His skin had been a pale white as the only color that remained had been his hair and eyes.
"Oh my God…" Asta said horrified.
"This is a whole lot worse then I thought." Feodora said, shocked.
Yami had said while taking a puff from his cigarette, as he examined the man; he noticed a set of puncture marks in his wrists as they had been a total of four, "It's the same as the thief they picked up in Hage." He turned to the group, keeping his voice low, "This is the Lizard Girl's doing alright."
"It was a devil I tell you!" They heard a man say, "A devil did this to him!"
"You there! Your Magic Knights aren't you!?" A young woman said, "You have to find this monster and kill it!"
"Whoa, easy!!" Saorise said, "There's no need for that kind of violence!"
"This uh--" Asta soon said, "--You didn't happen to see this beast right?"
"I saw it with my own eyes!" A man had said, "It looked like a silver fox, but this one was growing scales!"
"Scales?" The teens were confused, though the look on Yami's face changed.
"It came running through here and attacked my husband!" A young woman had said, "It almost came after me, but it tackled two more and dragged some others off!"
"What?" Feodora said.
"Dragged them off?" Asta said, confused.
"I don't know what the hell that thing is, but it's something unnatural!" A man said, "Go and find it and destroy that thing!"
"No, wait, hang on!" Asta said trying to calm the man down, "Where did you see h--It drag them off to--"
All of a sudden they had been taken back by the sound of a screech of some kind. The crowd let out fearful cries as a silver fox attacked one of the bystanders from behind as it nearly took the group back. As Asta and the others saw a man get knocked over, there they had seen a silver fox, baring a set of scales and claws which had taken them back.
"Are those--" Asta said.
"--Real scales?" Feodora said, shocked.
The fox--Prism had jumped towards the nearest person, though they had been quick to move out of harm's way as they screamed. She tried and tried again, each time she had become more aggressive than the last.
"What the hell is she doing?!" Pluck exclaimed, "She's never tried to attack anyone!"
"She's going to kill them!" Noelle said.
"No!" Liam said as he noticed the way she had been moving, as she had been trying to bite one of the bystanders' shoulder or ankle, "She would've been aiming for the neck if she wanted to kill one of them. She's just trying to get one of them to stop moving."
"But why would she want to do that?" Feodora asked as she was nearly pushed down by one of them bystanders as they readied themselves with their grimoires.
"It must be her hunting instinct!" Saorise said after giving it some thought, "Sometimes animals won't consume all the food, they'll take it somewhere to store it to eat for later!" Her eyes soon widened in realization as she looked to the man, "She must've used this person as bait so she could get more. "
"You mean the Trance made her smart enough to do that?!" Noelle said shocked.
"I don't think that's her usual feral side." Feodora said.
Yami said with a click of his tongue, "Damn it, she's really sly as a fox."
Before any one of them could act, Prism had succeeded in grabbing one of them by the ankle as it caused the man to hit the ground hard; the spirits that had been on her back had been in the color of white. Most of the people immediately fled the scene as they all let out panicked screams and cries while some were too scared to even move. "DO-DON'T JUST STAND THERE YOU USELESS KNIGHTS!" The man yelled as he had been trying to find grip on the stone ground as he kicked her, "HELP ME!"
"You know, you could ask nicely!" Saorise told the man with a huff.
"What do we do?!" Noelle said.
"Maybe leave them?" Liam asked.
"As much as i want to, we can't!" Pluck told him
"PRISM!" Asta yelled suddenly.
Without thinking Asta suddenly ran to Prism as he grabbed her body and got her to stop moving. Despite him trying to pull her off the man, Prism didn't even budge.
"Dorksta, what are you doing?!" Noelle yelled.
Pluck shouted as he flailed his wings, "Wait you'll get hurt!"
"We can't just stand by while she hurts someone else!" Asta said as he struggled to pull her off. He soon grabbed a hold of her scale leg; the moment he did he could feel several wounds open up in the palm of his hand. Yet despite this he didn't let go.
"Asta!" Feodora exclaimed as she noticed the blood.
Asta gritted his teeth as he tightened his grip on the creature, "Prism!" He soon said as he struggled to pull her off, "Stop it! Can't you see you're hurting him?!"
Much to Asta's own shock, he could feel Prism's body loosen up a little as the growling seemed to have stopped. With no hesitation she released the man's ankle. The group looked shocked by this as they noticed something strange… They didn't see any aggression in her body language, she just looked docile despite the fact the man's ankle had still been in her mouth.
Asta noticed she had been looking at him, as if she had been waiting for something; even the littles spirits had been waiting for him.
"Um--" Asta said confused as he looked directly into her white eyes, "--Let go? Please?"
Even more to Asta's shock, she had done what he had asked as the spirits reverted back to their natural color; she released the man's ankle allowing him to crawl away as he whimpered like a dog.
"Did--" Feodora said as she had been trying to process, "--Did she just listen to you?"
"I--Think." Asta said as he let go of her. Prism soon turned to Asta as she leaned her body onto his own before she started to lick his cheek while the spirits turned pink. "He-Hey!" Asta said, sounding embarrassed, "Prism, stop that!"
Pluick could only choke on his spit as he was on the ground. "Why...Even as a fox...why is she cute--Quack?"
Noelle couldn't help but think as her cheeks had been puffed, "I know she's an animal right now, but why is this upsetting me?"
Asta soon jumped when Prism had suddenly been hit on the head; she let out a pained whimper as she laid on her stomach as the spirits lost their color. They could see the crowd had been grabbing some loose trash and empty bottles as they were tossing them at her; Asta wasted no time as he shielded her with his body as all she could do was whimper.
"LEAVE MONSTER!"
"BEGONE!"
"DAMN YOU!"
"GET OUT OF HERE!"
"DAMN DEVIL!"
"Stop!" Feodora said as she had gotten in front of Asta and Prism, "Leave her be, she's not gonna hurt anyone else!"
"You're just scaring her now!" Asta said as he shielded her shaking body once again.
The crowd ignored their pleas as they grabbed a hold of wooden shards and broken bottles this time.
"That beast is a devil!"
"Kill it before it eats us!"
"Aren't you supposed to be Magic Knights?! What are you waiting for!?"
"Kill the beast!"
Liam and Saorise's expressions grew cold as they watched as Prism had her own tail between her legs. Though before either of them could step in, they were a bit surprised when Yami drew his blade. A familiar dark aura had been rising from him as this time he stepped in front of the three of them.
"Captain Yami!" Asta said, relieved.
"Hey.." Yami said as he had his blade ready; he soon looked at the people with a glare, "What do you think you're doing to my pet? Are you asking to die?"
"Pet?!" Asta and Feodora exclaimed in their heads.
"Is he talking about Prism?!" Saoirse thought as she had been in shock.
"Is he serious?!" Liam thought as his eyebrow twitched.
"He… He is serious." Noelle had said mentally.
Pluck couldn't help but think as his jaw dropped, "Out of all the things to say...he chose to say pet..."
"This monster belongs to you?!" A man had said.
"That's absurd!" The woman said, "This devil monster of yours can't be your pet!"
"Oh? This coming from the same group that hunts magical beasts for their sport?" Yami asked, "You guys are the sick ones you know?"
The crowd looked to be taken back by this sort of thing. "I-If that THING is supposed to be your pet, then prove it!" The man had said.
"Okay." Yami said nonchalantly before he turned to Prism. "Hey--Come here."
Much to the group's shock Prism moved herself from Asta before going to Yami with no hesitation. "She listened to him?!" Asta said in shock.
"Do a flip." Yami said
Prism had soon gotten on her hind legs before hopping in the air and landed on her back paws. She looked happy as she started to wag her tail.
"JUST LIKE THAT!?" Asta and Feodora thought in unison.
Pluck had thought as he had been processing, "Why is she doing what he's telling her?!"
"Now roll over." He told her.
Prism soon fell onto her back before rolling across the floor before standing again. "What in the world?!" Saorise said.
"How did he get her to do that!?" Liam had said shocked.
"Play dead." He told her.
Prism soon fell over on her back as she remained motionless, shocking them even further. Yami soon turned to the crowd as he had a confident smile on his face, "See?"
"W-What?!" Pluck exclaimed. "How did he--"
Noelle soon closed his beak as she said, "Barbados!"
The crowd looked at her weirdly before she said "uhhh---" she had an idea as she held Pluck like she was a puppet as she said "H-how did he do that?!"
Prism soon stood as she sat by Yami; he scratched her ears as he told the crowd, "Now who's gonna pay for the bandanges?"
The crowd jumped as they exclaimed, "EHH?!"
"YOUR PET IS THE ONE THAT ATTACKED US!" The man yelled, "THAT THING EVEN TOOK TWO OTHERS!"
Prism whimpered as she hid behind Yami before he told the man, "are you asking to die?"
"You-You should be the one paying for all this!" The woman said, "You're supposed to be a Magic Knight aren't you?!"
Yami told them with a puff of his cigarette, "Yeah, but whose idea was it to attack my pet?"
"She attacked us first, you simpleton!" The man argued, "What would you have done!?"
"This." Yami said as he soon took out a bottle. The teens quickly held their breath, and Asta covered Prism's snout before he tossed the bottle down; pink smoke soon emitted around the area taking the crowd back. It hadn't been but a few moments later before they collapsed to the floor as they each had fallen asleep. The wind soon carried the pink smoke away.
"Do you always carry a sleeping potion with you?" Liam asked as he tilted his head.
"I didn't till after we found this kid." Yami replied as he pointed to the fox, "We're gonna have to have mushroom head alter their memories."
Pluck had said with a sigh of relief, "Thank mana."
"Is that necessary?" Saorise asked.
"Hey, we can't leave any loose ends and let the king find out now can we?" He said, "Luckily I called on a few friends of ours during that commotion the Fox Girl made earlier. So we don't have to worry about carrying all of them."
Just as this was said, a set of familiar knights had descended from the skies; it had been a couple of familiar faces from the Silver Eagles, two which Noelle had avoided making eye contact with. Nebra and Solid had been leading the group.
"Bring them to the Headquarters." Solid ordered the men, "Make sure you are discrete."
"And take that one to a healing mage." Nebra said as she gestured to the man that had been pale as a ghost.
"Yes sir." His comrade said before they each started to move them. Each of them had started to lift them with their magic and one by one they moved towards the alleyway in the cover of the shadows.
"They're--From the Silver Eagles?" Asta said in awe.
"They're Silva's too?" Saorise said, shocked.
"Sadly." Pluck said before he had a realization "Don't let them see me!" Pluck immediately said as he hid in the bag which made them jump.
"Wait a second, you know those guys?" Feodora asked.
Pluck had said with a whisper, "I wish I didn't. I hate them with every fiber of my being!"
"That---Literally does not help me." She said awkwardly.
"Are you still going on about that feud phase thing?" Liam asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Strange I thought you were done with it by now." Saorise added.
"Quiet you!" Pluck said
"Huh?" Nebra said. "That voice--" She soon turned to Noelle which she had flinched. "What have you got there?" She asked her.
"O-Oh!" Noelle said, "Well--"
"Stuck-Up here got turned into a duck." Feodora replied nonchalantly. She grabbed a hold of Pluck before she held him upside down as he had let out a surprise squawk.
"Hey! Let me go,you!" Pluck said as he flailed around.
"Barbados?" Solid and Nebra said.
Soon enough the siblings began to snicker before Solid pointed out "HA! YOU LOOK EVEN MORE RIDICULOUS THAN EVER!"
"Oh, how the genius sword boy has turned into a fowl." Nebra added.
"Makes sense that a peasant like you is a duck!" Solid said "don't you have bread to eat off the dirty floor?"
"Why you---" Pluck said. "Get them, Addi."
"QUACK!" Addeline shouted as her stick glowed and she proceeded to whack their hands causing them to welp. "QUACK! QUACK! QUACK! QUACK!"
"Why you--" Solid growled
"You rotten duck!" Nebra added time we teach you a-
All of a sudden, Prism's pupils dilated before she grabbed ahold of Addeline's neck, causing her to squawk. She started shaking her violently as Addeline shrieked, "QUACK!!"
"Addeline!" Pluck exclaimed, "NOT THE BABY!"
"Prism no! Stop that!" Asta said as Prism froze up, as Addeline had been in a daze, "Don't do that to her, she's your friend remember?"
Prism only tilted her head back and forth as if she had been processing like she had been expecting something from him again. "Pri?" Asta said confused, "You understand what I'm saying right?"
Saorise watched closely at her behavior, "Asta--" She said, "--I think she's waiting for you to tell her what to do."
"What?" He said, confused.
"She doesn't understand if you tell her something like that." She clarified, "Try giving her a simple command like you did before."
"Uhhh....." Asta soon said "put her down?"
Prism soon spat out Addeline before she waddled up to Noelle and hid behind her. Addeline had said fearfully, "Q-Quack..."
"That could've been deadly." Feodora said in shock.
"Very..." Pluck said.
"So that's the Princess?" Solid said, "To think a cursed item turned her into a fox."
"Wonder who's responsible for that?" Nebra asked.
"Take a guess." Feodora said as she motioned to Pluck.
"AGAIN WOMAN?!" Pluck exclaimed
"Hey you're the one that bought the damn thing with YOUR money!" Feodora said as she possessed a cold look which made Pluck flinch and pale up.
"R-Right.." Pluck said.
"YOU?!" Nebra exclaimed. "Of course Barbados messed it up as usual!"
Solid said with a huff, "Explains SO much!"
"Hey you Silvas are no better either!" Pluck argued. Before he mentally slapped himself, "Oh damn it! No offense to you No--Huh?" As Pluck looked up towards Noelle, he noticed the change in her expression. He couldn't help but tilt his head in confusion before waving his feather to her, "uhhh, Noelle? Hey. Earth to Noelle!"
"Hey you two!" Yami said to Nebra and Solid "That's enough. Right now, we gotta get her out of the open before someone sees her."
Prism only let out a bark of some kind though she had been startled by her own sound.
"Yes about that--" Nebra said, "--The Wizard King is already expecting you. He's already sent word to Captain Jack."
"All he told us, he wants to speak to you both." Solid added.
"Us?" Pluck asked
"The Captains. Barbados, he wants to speak to the Captains." Solid clarified.
"O-oh.. w-well I knew that, Frilly hair." Pluck said.
Solid scoffed as he said "Even as a duck, you have a mouth."
"Don't make me send Addi after you again." Pluck said.
Addilene only let out a gasp before she smacked Pluck hard on the head. "QUACK!"
"What?! It's not like I can use my grimoire like this, can I?!" Pluck exclaimed.
"Wait, what about the people Prism hid!" Asta said, "We can't just leave them!"
"Oh right--" Yami said nonchalantly, as he looked to Prism; she started to whimper a little as her tail had been between her legs, "--Gotta deal with that."
Saorise and Liam noticed her behavior as she had let out a fearful whimper when Yami approached her. They both looked at one another as they both had the same thought.
"Liam, the Trance--" Saorise said, "--You don't think whatever is in her is---"
"--It might be." Liam said, keeping his voice low, "But--Let's wait till after we meet up with Brenin."
Yami soon kneeled towards the cowering fox as she curled her body. He soon told her, "Well fox girl, lead the way."
Prism shuffled back as she started to move her mouth, "Mana… Mana…"
"Mana?" Saorise and Liam said.
"Oh no..she must still be hungry." Pluck said.
"Mana…" Prism said as she shook, "Mana…"
Asta noticed the way she had been acting as he noticed how scared she looked. "I think she's just scared of starving…" He soon said as some looked shocked, "... I don't know why, but I just have a feeling."
"So she doesn't want to give up her leverage--" Feodora said, "--But the way she's behaving she knows she did something wrong. So whatever this Trance is doing to her, didn't make her all that dumb."
Yami soon told her, "hey, we got mana induced smoothies for you when you get home. It's more delicious than eating it raw, you know?"
"...Mana?" Prism said as she tilted her head.
"Yeah, you remember the drinks we made?" Yami asked. "Well we have more for you to enjoy. Once we get back, we'll treat you to some. What do you say?"
Prism seemed to have understood as her tail started to wag. She soon moved from the group before stopping as she let out a yip as she turned her head towards a certain direction.
"Atta girl." Yami said as he stood, "She's gonna lead us to them."
"Alright Pri!" Asta said as he went to follow her, "I knew you wouldn't let us down!"
Thus, they along with Solid and Nebra as Prism lead the way. She turned towards a set of staircases that had descended. It hadn't been too far from where they were and the entrance to the Magic Knight Headquarters. "She took them here?" Asta said, shocked as she went down the stairs, "It's so close to the Headquarters!"
"I don't think that's a coincidence." Feodora said intrigued.
They soon followed Prism down the stairs towards a single fountain; there they saw two people slumped against it as they saw blood on their shoulder or ankles.
"Holy.." Pluck said, "Are--Are they alive?"
"They're knocked out--" Feodora said as she examined them, "--It doesn't seem like she took mana from them."
"So she was storing them, in case she got hungry later." Saorise said, as her expression brightened slightly, "I knew it!"
"But how did she knock them out?" Pluck wondered aloud.
Noelle soon went over and examined the two of them; she soon noticed bruised punctures along their collarbones. "It looks like she bit them." Noelle said, "But--It doesn't look like a normal bite. They're purple."
"You mean she poisoned them?!" Asta said, shocked.
"But that can't be--" Feodora said, "--She didn't have poison before--Did she?"
Yami took a puff from his cigarette as he had a thought of his own, "no..but it seems like whatever made her do that must be giving her new abilities..that could be dangerous for all of us."