Important (please read!): Unfortunately, I made a mistake in one of my earlier chapters (chapter 10). When I uploaded the chapter a section of it was erased, time slot 10:10 – the last section of the chapter. I apologize and hope everyone will venture back and read that part – it’s last of the chapter. It’s actually highly important and the next chapters would probably be a little confusing. Also, dates have been added into the story and will begin appearing in this chapter. (Do not worry about dates prior to the one in this chapter) Thanks and I apologize once again. Enjoy.

- - - - - - - - - - - 9:45 p.m.

This particular night was darker than the blackest coals of a fire pit. It was eerily silent and still; not a breath of wind ushered from the clouds. The partially bitter cold of the night stung like needles against unmasked faces, but did not penetrate clothing. Any sound would carry for miles, and it was not a night for thievery. It was a night for darkness and the foul.

Careful so that the floorboard did not creak, Sefi stopped quickly and used a small piece of her black sleeve to wipe away a circle of grime. She peered through the filthy window of the rickety old factor building, which they entered not too long ago. “I see it,” she whispered. It was barely audible, to Sabaru, who was staring through an opposite window. Suni, sitting and watching for intruders through the keyhole at the front door, quietly rushed over and shoved her way past Sefi, who was staring bug-eyed out the hole on the window. This was their passage to the target. It was so close yet upon first glance, so far. There were more paladins, three of them, surrounding their glorious, well gloriously repugnant, entrance. Suni let out a disgusted groan, and Sabaru scuttled across the dusty wood floor, leaning across Sefi to look outside. Thankfully they were so used to darkness, for this night was awful and would have taken the best pair of eyes to see the starkly charcoal suits of the paladins.

Those dark uniforms were noticeable anywhere. The sleek, raven black suit jacket with durable pants for men and skirts for the women were almost disgustingly fashionable for combat. The jacket, with silver buttons trailing down the front, and bottoms were lined in a brilliant silver trim and thin chains detailing. Onyx combat boots fitted their feet comfortably, and Sefi knew from the first paladin, that there were hidden projectile knives within the platforms of the boots. Besides the chic appeal to the outfit, the only extraordinary mark rested on the left breast of the jacket, directly hovering over the heart. There sat an exquisite and distinguished crest with an intricate twenty point star design. In the very center of the star was the paladin symbol of a screaming wolf pierced through with two jagged swords. It was the symbol for purging corruption within the world.

“They’ve got this entire city guarded!” Sabaru exclaimed quietly, yet angrily.

The thieves were thoroughly detested with what they had already encountered and now seeing. The paladins were everywhere, guarding every nook and cranny of the city. It had been near impossible for them to even get this far. So far, Sefi had to freeze at least three soldiers, Sabaru had to knock two out, and even Suni had to paralyze one from behind with Prosper’s stunner. If not for all this, they would have been captured and thrown in prison already. It had all been random luck.

Ever since running into the first paladin near their hideout, they had snuck into about a dozen shortcuts and decrepit buildings by going through rafters, basements, and rooftops. It had been a raunchy and slovenly job, covering them all in cobwebs, dust, and dirt. Their black outfits were no longer the midnight color, but rather an off gray. They had stumbled and fumbled through small places and hidden a dozen times when soldiers popped up out of nowhere. It had been scary.

The bangs and pangs of everything they had run into or hit had left them with bruises and scratches. Blood had been spilled and headaches had been wrought. Sefi especially had a major migraine by now, and she was just about to explode when she saw those four paladins guarding their entryway. How dare they, she thought.

One incident left Suni in near tears when she, entirely frustrated, had scrapped her knee against a loose wooden plank in an attic. Sabaru had merely kissed her cheek and urged her foreword, forcing her to forget her woes and march on like a little trooper while her knee miserably bled on silently. It had rendered Suni in a terribly sour mood though.

“Well,” Sabaru whispered, “our only means of getting into there are stealth and a little bit of ice magic.”

“How do you expect me to ice two strong males and one female without them yelling out for help? The others I snuck up from behind and . . .” Sefi stopped her arguing when she saw the sly grin on Sabaru’s face, which caused her face to scrunch up with a frown. “What are you thinking?”

“You know, what happened to ‘Males have certain needs’, Sefi?” Sabaru tried hard to not snicker as Sefi’s face paled.

“Oh I hate you.” Sefi said, forcing herself to not beat him unconscious.

“Start stripping.” Sabaru softly laughed, grabbing a bag from behind and pulling out a new outfit. Sefi continued to glare at him, but began to pull off her buckle jacket and skintight shirt. Beyond confused, Suni stared between both of their devilish faces and didn’t know what was happening.

Tugging off her pants, Sefi shivered from the burst of cold and quickly pulled on the skimpy clothes, ignoring Sabaru’s still half-grinning face. The outfit consisted of an airy, flirty, and obnoxiously short skirt that barely covered her butt and a simple blue tank top. “You expect me to go out in this?!” Sefi hissed under her breath, her annoyance peaking to unseen levels.

“No, not quite.” Sabaru bit his tongue to stop his pools of laughter. “You need to rip and tatter those clothes a little, got that?”

Sefi’s mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding, right?”

Sabaru chuckled softly. “No. You need to pretend like you were mugged. Now let’s go.” He plucked a knife from inside his coat and threw it to Sefi, who caught it with an air of displeasure and slashed it across the top of the shirt.

“Let’s at least do this quickly then,” she barked, staring at Suni, who was just beginning to grasp the situation as she peered at the aqua lace on Sefi’s bra.

After tearing his clothes to the satisfactory of Sabaru, she sulkily marched away, stomping, as quietly as possible, out the door and creeping around until she found herself in the back of an alleyway nearby. She crouched stealthily behind a corroded and rusted dumpster that smelled potently like rotten food. She cringed at the stench and detested her brother for making her do this, but they had no other choice.

With a deep breath, she stood up and let out a rippling scream, sprinting out from behind the dumpster and running into plain sight of the paladins, who jumped out of their places at the sight of her. Forcing her eyes wide open, she jumped into the arms of the nearest male with deep chestnut brown hair, who allowed her to cling and grasp at his shirt in fear.

“Whoa, little lady, what’s the matter?!” He asked, trying hard not to stare at her bra and breasts that were clearly visible through the rip on her shirt. The other male, a red head with orange streaks, turned away, his eyes blushing, and the woman glared at him with a sour look of distaste.

Sefi masked her voice with the sweetest of sincerities and produced quiet tears on the tips of her eyes. “Th-there w-was a man . . . a-and h-he attacked me! St-stole my purse and then h-he t-touched me!” She burst into tears at this point, and a part of her mind couldn’t help but think how much her brother would be mocking her later for this pathetic show. How would these genius soldiers believe her charade?

“Where was this man?” The man asked, leering down at her, masking his countenance with a heroic demeanor, putting on a brave face for Sefi; it made her feel like retching. Lecherous men disgusted her.

“D-down the alley.” She turned to the woman who was surprisingly pretty with light blue, cropped hair. “W-would you m-mind checking it out?” Sefi pleaded with the woman, who just raised an eyebrow at Sefi, and then without even a glance at the boys, took off down the road, heading into the black abyss of the alleyway while pulling a slim pistol from her jacket. Sefi concealed her smile and then peered pearly eyed up at the boy who was still cupping her in his arms. “Aren’t you scared?” she whispered, raising a delicate hand to his cheek, which was deliciously warm beneath her palm. That would change shortly.

“Of course not.” The red head, placing a hand on his partner’s shoulders, ogled down at her with a cheesy smile.

“Why not?” she cooed out, her hand sliding down his cheek to his neck. “Are you two bored?”

“A little. Would you like to keep us entertained?” Replied the brown haired man, his hand trailing down her stomach to the top of her skirt.

“Oh, so that’s how you two play?” she purred out, arching her back so that her snowy lean neck was displayed. “Be my vampires and seduce me with a kiss then, huh? That is if you’re not scared?”

They both snickered and dipped their heads forward, placing their lips on her silky neck. Her hands latched onto their arms as if overcome by passionate emotion. Then the cold piercing feeling that accompanied the ice instantly swam through her body at an immense rate. “Oh how wonderful, but you know what? You really should have chosen to be afraid.” She giggled and the ice flew from her fingertips, spiraling up through their arms. The boys reeled back, their mouths open and eyes filled with panic, but it was too late. The ice spun throughout their entire bodies, freezing them into a body bind. Their eyes glossed over with ice, their lips covered in thin frost, and their skin the dreadful white of snow. It was done in a matter of seconds. Eerie, their faces were hauntingly ghostlike and glossy like crystal.

“Sabaru!” Sefi said, looking over at the window. Sabaru instantly came sprinting out of the building with a brimming smile on his face; Suni followed at his heels like an eager puppy. “Brilliant display, Sefi. Truly brilliant!”

Once Sabaru was at her side, he stared at the boys and whistled. “What pigs!” He laughed, but Sefi smacked him upside the head.

“Come on, tie them up. If I leave them frozen for too long they’ll die.” She ripped the binding straps from his hands and began tying their wrists together while Sabaru shrugged and tied their feet.

Childishly, Suni stared up into the wide-eyed expressions of the boys. “Sabaru, are you not male? Those boys were touching Sefi all over. Why don’t you do that to other girls?”

Face paling, Sabaru’s mouth fell open and he froze. Sefi flung her hand over her mouth to stop from cracking a smile and laughing hysterically. Placing a hand on Suni’s shoulder, while Suni looked up at her expectantly and with a wicked smile, Sefi smirked mercilessly at Sabaru. “Well, that must mean he’s not a man.”

Suni giggled and Sabaru glowered displeasingly at Sefi. “Let’s hurry!” he growled. Ripping the uniforms from their bodies, they grabbed the men by their arms and tugged them to the abandoned factory, laying them beside each other with their mouths gagged. Then Sefi ran her hand over each of their bodies, the ice slowly vanishing and their bodies beginning to thrash furiously against the binds. Their eyes were scary and crazed with madness. They growled through the gags, but made no sounds whatsoever. Sabaru grinned at them and waved a so long, leaving the building. Sefi raised an eyebrow at them. “Look here, you’re in your underwear and I’m not. Was that what you boys imagined? Because that’s how I saw it play out. Oh and before I leave, perverted boys don’t need these,” and she stomped them in the crotch with her heels, sending them both into silent struggles of immense pain. With a cackling smile, she flounced from the room and chased after Sabaru, who was pulling the grate off of their secret passageway, a manhole into the grime filled sewers of Nagoya.

“In you go, Suni.” Sabaru said, ushering Suni down the rusted steel ladder leading into the darkness.

“What about the girl?” Sefi asked before she followed suit.

“Don’t worry. I left her a note saying you three went off to play.” He grinned at her, and Sefi shaking her head with revulsion, followed after Suni, climbing down into the dark pits. The place echoed when her feet fell onto the slimy ground next to Suni who was repugnantly eyeing the dingy sewer. Water the color of vomit flowed soothingly nearby, and Sefi sneezed when Sabaru jumped down beside her. There were swarms of rats around, and Sefi could tell as she again sneezed as loud as a freight train.

“Curse those furry rodents!” She said, sneezing and sneezing into her hand.

“You think you can make it? It’s a long walk through the tunnels.” Sabaru asked.

“Yes, I’ll be fine.” She winced and covered her nose.

Suni’s lip jutted out and she glanced at Sabaru. “This is the worst.”

Sabaru only shrugged. “Throw this on,” he ordered, tossing the uniform to Sefi. They dressed in under two minutes and then Suni gazed up at them with awe filled eyes. The outfits fit surprisingly well, even Sefi’s, though her sleeves were a little long. Sabaru’s made him appear like a knight in shining armor. Suni then frowned. “What about me then?”

“That’s what I have this for.” Sabaru smiled and tugged the last thing from inside his small travel bag, a miniature black uniform, matching the paladin uniforms perfectly. “I had time to sew just one. That’s why I let you both sleep instead of keeping watch at night. I spent it sewing this little outfit. I figured it would eventually come in handy for Suni. It would be easy for us to get ours, but Suni, that was another story.” Sabaru grinned and gave Suni the uniform; her face lit up with excitement as she jerked on the perfect fit uniform.

“Come on, let’s march onwards.”

Month: Maias

Date: dies Lunae 23rd

- - - - - - - - - - 1:20 a.m.

Oh god, Alice was going to murder him. Prosper glanced through the thick woods and a visible shudder raced through him. She would chop him into a thousand tiny pieces and cook him up for dinner. He was dead meat, not that there was anything but dead meat. With a gulp, he thought back to his daring flee from the window in the bathroom. Once out, he had darted through the surrounding trees, the soles of his feet being ripped apart by rocks and sticks since he was barefoot. He ran until he reentered the school through the empty training grounds, where he left and entered the normal floors of the school. Promptly from there he headed to his dorm to grab suitable clothes, not the pathetic, sickly blue pajamas he was in from the infirmary, and he picked up his sword, which he snapped to his belt. Not that he was expecting to kill anyone, but if the paladins were going with ammunition than so would he.

Heavily sighing, Prosper just hoped Alice would not hate him forever, though he knew there was not a very good chance of it. If she hadn’t been so nosy and . . . but then again if she wasn’t nosy, he would not know about the thieves being in danger. She had been his message in a bottle. Stupid bottles were never good message senders. Whoever thought of putting messages in bottles and setting them afloat to sea was, in his mind, stupid. What were the chances of someone finding that message? It would take years to find it, but then again he had heard Alice’s message. Yet she wasn’t a stupid bottle, rather just a metaphor to a bottle. Oh what the hell was he thinking? This was such a tangent.

Yawning loudly and his eyes drooping, Prosper was trying his best to stay awake. He had been sitting in these darn thicket bushes for hours now and nothing had changed. Not one thought was coming to him of how he could enter the mansion without them knowing. Most would know him from sight, and if Zeik caught him, he was surely dead. Zeik would be furiously fuming about Prosper’s idiocy for the rest of their lives.

Was he really an idiot for wanting to save criminals? They might be teenagers, but they were criminals nonetheless. Though it felt as if he was meant to go after them, and that if he did not, something would fail. However, there was still an ominous feeling weighing over his heart. He could not decide what to do.

With a shake of his head, Prosper leaned his back against the tree next to the thicket bushes. He had a clear and perfect view of the mansion from where he was resting. He had no idea how he had come about the spot, but somehow luck had been on his side; he had not encountered a single paladin. He had seen them, but they were never in his pathway. It felt as if he might be invisible to them all, but he just believed it to be luck. Sometimes even the paladins were a little on the slow side, and obviously this mission was put together at the last minute. Prosper could see every loophole so easily, but he still couldn’t find a way around their defenses. There were areas of weakness for thieves, but not for another paladin who would most likely recognize him from sight. They would know he was not of age. They would realize that he shouldn’t be here, and he would get sent back.

Damn them. If his plan failed, Alice would be even more irritated with him. If he at least executed this well, then maybe she wouldn’t get so viper like and vicious toward him. Trophies usually made be people happy, right?

Oh whom was he fooling? Alice would slice his head off with a hatchet. Send him right to this Shadow Realm she talked about. How did she even find out about this stuff? Prosper had not told her about his nightmares, and he had not wanted her to find out about them. He did not need her help, digging her petite nose into his problems. He would solve this by himself. No one would be involved and no one would be hurt. So what if he was playing the foolish hero? This is how he wanted it to be.

A migraine began to grow against the side of his skull and he seethed with annoyance. His eyes were dipping shut and the mansion growing blurry, but . . . all of a sudden he bolted from his stupor and glanced around. He swore he had felt a tremendous pressure of air nearby, as if an impossibly strong person had whipped a hurtling ball past him. It had been sudden and . . . “What was that?” Prosper hissed, staring frantically through the branches of thorns.

Another gust of freezing wind crawled up his skin, and then unexpectedly, a shriek ripped through the air like a warning. It had been quick. Prosper jumped up and took off, thorns clawing against his skin, blood spilling forth from the small incisions. Too soon, screams and cries of alarm sounded all around him from every direction. Gunfire and an animalistic roars tore apart the forest of trees. Something was horrifically amiss, and Prosper halted as a bestial shape took form ahead of him, shock and terror numbed his body as he stared bug-eyed into the yellow-gold eyes of a demon.

- - - - - - - - - - 12:00 a.m.

An hour later and Sefi’s allergies were beginning to become inflamed. Her eyes were watering, nose was stuffy, and her throat itched furiously, but she didn’t complain as they trudged on and on down the creaky and filth ridden sewer. It was quite unpleasant and gruesome wandering around in that drab, stygian tunnel of Nagoya’s underworld. The place had a muggy, disdainful odor that consumed the air like pesky gnats, and every now and then the murky water bubbled and cracked; giant creatures swam to the tops of the water, not showing themselves, but skimmed and then dove deep as if the water went on below for miles. Suni’s watchful and omniscient eyes scanned the water with suspicion and a murderous intent, as if anything that disturbed them would meet their doom. Drops of oozy scum plopped down from the curved tunnel’s roof and landed nastily upon their heads. They ducked beneath pipes and navigated ladder upon ladder, reaching to the streets and dark skies above. The drumming and rhythmic sound of rat feet ticked like the biting sound of an alarm clock: tick tock, tick tock, over and over again. It was penetrating all of their ears and driving them insane.

However, as Sefi was just contemplating about the errors in judgment in going after this idol, Sabaru stopped them before a large set of bars leading up the wall to another grate.

“This should bring us right to the mansion’s mammoth sized kitchen. The mansion has been standing forever, since eons ago. They’ve barely done any remodeling, so this draining grate still resides in the kitchen, which was never changed. They were so primitive back then that they just tossed moldy food down here instead of bothering with throwing it away.” Sabaru said, gazing up the iron ladder.

“How do we know they’re not up there guarding this grate?” Sefi crossed her arms skeptically.

“I told you, we don’t, but we just tell them a fib, got it? We’re their age. They won’t suspect us of being thieves. They probably think we’re some big group of thugs. I mean honestly, what can kids do, huh? Just walk with confidence.” Sabaru eyes flashed with mirth, and Sefi’s face filled with a giant smile. “Suni, you stay here until I call you. Sefi, follow my lead.” Sabaru leapt to reach the first bar and climbed to the top with the speed of a panther, Sefi following him. He tilted up the grate and eyed the backs of two paladins talking in hushed voices. This was their chance.

With a plethora of noise, to ensure that they would hear them coming, he threw off the grate and pulled himself to the floor. The paladins, shocked, flipped around rapidly and flashed their lights into his face. He grinned and waved. “Hi fellows, we’re here to give you a message.” Not even fazed, the paladins glared at him suspiciously while he helped Sefi up from the steep steps.

She smiled sweetly at them, tantalizing them with her adoring look in the men’s uniform. “Hi boys! I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Mir and this is Zeph. I’m one of the younger students here, I believe.” She stuck out her hands, and they both greeted Sabaru and Sefi with a nod and handshake.

“Nice to meet you two. I’m Ronald.” Replied a boy, probably a year younger than Sabaru but with the same curly hair, only blonde.

The other boy yawned and still watched them with a weary eye. “Yori,” the boy hissed, brushing his dirty brown hair from his face. “Why are you two here? And coming through the sewers?”

“Ah, good question!” Sabaru cocked his head and bore his famous grin of friendship. “We were sent from the opposite side of the city, and Master Kegan wished us to hurry through the sewer system to report to you. He wanted to let you know that we are taking over position here, and you two are to report to basement of the house, as there is a possible entryway down there for the thieves.”

Yori raised a bushy eyebrow and crossed his arms. “I thought we were not to leave our spots no matter what orders we were given from other paladins.”

“True, true.” Sabaru nodded in consent and brought a finger to tap his chin in thought, beginning to pace up and down the room. “I suppose this leaves us in a rut, but honestly, this was the message he told us. How else could we have passed the guards in charge at the other end of the sewer? I mean if you wish to stay here with us than do so, but if those thugs . . . I mean thieves . . . get in through the basement, then whose fault will that be? Certainly not mine!”

“I suppose.” Yori said hesitantly, starting to appear worried. Ronald was already half-turned toward the door with a look of dread.

“Let’s go, Yori. If it’s orders from Master Kegan than we have to listen. I’m not taking my chances.” Ronald said.

Sefi nodded and walked over, placing a comforting hand on Yori’s shoulder, which made him flinch slightly. “I don’t want to get you boys in trouble with Master Kegan.” Her long and thick eyelashes batted innocently up at him.

“Well . . . er . . . yes, but wh-why are you in the boys uniform?” he countered.

“Oh, this?” Sefi frowned sadly. “I’m sorry. I prefer this to the other. Boys used to peep up my skirt all of the time, and it made me feel so uncomfortable. I was so ashamed that Master Kegan let me wear this instead. Can you blame me?”

“U-um.” Yori’s face flushed red as she weaved her finger down his sleeve. “Of course not! But I still don’t understand why Master Kegan would go against his own orders!”

Ronald sighed. “Come on, Yori! You can trust a sweet girl like her.”

Sabaru smirked. “Besides, if he found out you weren’t listening to an older student, I believe he would be quite angry, don’t you?”

Yori’s eyes lengthened at this. “I mean, yes, but . . .” He grimaced but finally consented. “Yes, sir!” Yori saluted at this, and then tugging Ronald by the arm, rushed from the kitchen, letting the old oak doors crash behind them

“Are all men pathetic like that?” Sefi sighed in disappointment.

“Well, when they have such a stunning girl flirting with them, it’s quite hard to resist.” Sabaru said.

“I’m not that pretty. Now let’s go, you oaf.” Sefi marched to the door and peered into the keyhole, watching the boys vanish from site. Sabaru disappeared into the manhole again and reappeared seconds later with Suni, who was glad they had come; being in a creepy sewer alone would scare even an adult.

“Is it all safe?” Suni asked, tilting her small body as if to peer through the thick doors.

“Certainly,” Sefi answered, opening the door.

“Good.” Suni cracked an evil grin. “Let’s tear this place apart!”