Nikado sighed to himself as he listened to Ameko and Alex argue. The problem with strongly opinionated people was that if their opinions disagreed, the disagreement was, well, strong. "It's too dangerous," he told her. "The Ozwargs are in power and they've got a full force out there. We don't have the manpower to waste on a visit to Moonbrook."
"Then I'll leave by myself. I never asked you to come along, and quite honestly, I'd be glad if you didn't. Traveling with the pair of you is grating on my nerves," Ameko replied. "I came out with you to the Tower of Wind as agreed. Now I'm going to Moonbrook as I agreed."
"Alex," Nikado spoke up, "wouldn't it be better if we tried to sneak in like we did?"
The prince of Cannock shook his head. "They'll be alert to such a scheme. The best we can hope to do is approach the castle from afar. There's no way we can get inside. They'll be expecting you, Princess."
"All the better for me to blow the hell out of them," she growled. "They caught me by surprise. They won't do it again."
"Underestimating your enemies like that is a good way to get yourself dead, Ameko."
"I don't care. I'm going to see my home. At the least, I want to set a headstone for my father."
"Why? So the monsters can defile it? Now isn't the time, Princess."
"You have no idea what it's like to lose a family member, do you?"
Alex's expression darkened at that. "I know very well what it's like, thank you. I don't need to be preached at from the likes of you."
"Both of you stop," Nikado said firmly. "Ameko, I understand how you must feel. If there's anything we can reasonably do that won't get you or all of us killed, I'll gladly go with you. But we have to think about our goal. Do you want some other little girl to lose her father because we weren't able to stop Hargon? Because we weren't together?"
"I know damn well what our goal is," she hissed at him. "But I have my duties as the Princess of Moonbrook, regardless of whether you agree with them or not."
"I understand that. So what we need to do," Nikado said patiently, "is figure out how we can get inside without being seen or noticed. Do you know of any passages, any spells that might help?"
Ameko frowned, crossing her arms as she paced around a few steps. "A transformation won't work like it did with us," Alex said. "Are there any secret passages in the castle that would still be accessible?"
"Probaby not accessible," she said with a shake of her head. "Let me think about this for a moment."
Nikado looked to Alex, smiling, but the man shook his head. "I don't like this idea."
"I didn't ask you to like it. If you don't want to come, that's fine."
"If I don't come, you'll get killed," he sighed. "But I don't see a way around it. If we can't figure out a way in, will you give up on this?"
"I'll think of a way in," she growled. "There should be some trap doors that still work. Where do we need to get to?"
"Your father is in the throne room," Nikado said. "Is that where you want to go?"
She nodded, and Alex snorted to himself. "Then I'll come with you," he said. "If we do run into trouble, you'll need help watching your back."
"Fine. I'll agree to that."
Alex shook his head. "This is a futile gesture."
"Keep talking like that if it makes you happy," she said. "I'll meet you downstairs shortly to head out."
Alex shook his head after she had left. "This is a bad idea, Nikado. Seeing her father in the state he's in is going to make her more upset than if we had denied letting her go."
"I don't think that's the case," Nikado replied. "If your brother was in the same sort of situation, wouldn't you want to see him one last time?" Alex didn't answer. "At any rate, she might think of something we don't. Something to help them."
Alex frowned. "I can't say it's out of the realm of possibility, but supposing she does. How are we going to work a spell that would be required to be complicated, given the situation? It's a hopeless task."
"A lot would say we're on a hopeless task," he pointed out, "what's one more?"
Alex shook his head. "I don't like you."
"Are you going to not like me every time I'm right?" Nikado asked with a grin. "I could start being wrong."
"Are you on about that again? I'm not in love with you."
"I didn't say you had to be," Nikado replied, leaning in with a cheeky grin and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Meet you downstairs."
"Damn it, you--" Alex sighed to himself; Nikado had already made his quick escape. Rubbing at the spot on his cheek, he sighed, and for a moment, allowed some corner of his mind to admit that he was lonely, had been lonely ever since his older brother had died.
And maybe he wasn't quite as lonely anymore.
The tunnel underground was small, forcing them to crawl on hands and knees, and smelled of wet earth, the loose dirt clinging to their hands and clothes. Ameko led the way, carrying a small torch with her as she made her way through the tunnel first, letting the others follow. "How much farther?" Nikado questioned.
"We should be under the castle foundation by now," Ameko whispered back, halting as she came across a small door above her head. Listening, she cracked it open after she didn't hear anything.
The tunnel opened up into a narrow passageway that was still intact, nestled between stone walls and covered in dust and spiderwebs. "This is close," she murmured to herself. "It's the way Father told me to escape."
"You didn't?" Nikado asked her.
"I couldn't leave him to die alone," she replied at last, keeping her gaze averted from the other man. Stopping in front of a peeping hole in the wall, she looked out, then nodded. The throne room in front of them was empty, nothing but a blue fire burning. "Where's his body?"
"I'll show you," Nikado replied. "Can you hide us, Alex?"
The other prince waved a hand silently, gesturing for the pair to go on. Opening the door, Ameko stepped out, and Nikado led her over to the blue fire.
Inside, they could still make out the figure of the king, and Ameko let out a little gasp, reaching forward. "Don't touch it," he warned her gently, taking her hand. "You'll be killed."
"Father?" she managed in a quiet voice barely above a whisper. "Father, what have they done to you?"
He barely stirred at the words, head lifting slightly as his blank eyes stared in vain. "Who's there? Is someone out there?"
"Father, it's me," Ameko pleaded, taking a step closer. "Ameko. Your little Ameko. Father, can you hear me?"
"Ameko?" He looked up, then curled back up again. "I see nothing. I hear nothing. Ameko...where is my Ameko?"
"I'm right here, Father. Can't you see me?" she cried out, her hand tightening on Nikado's as she tried to resist reaching for him again. "Father!"
There was no response as he curled back in on himself, nearly obscured in the blue flames. "Father!!" Ameko cried out in anguish, Nikado swiftly dragging her back to the secret passage.
"I told you this was a bad idea," Alex said with a scowl. "You're going to give us away."
"Sh," Nikado said to Alex, putting his arms around the woman. "Let her rest for a moment."
Tears were running down the woman's face as she shook, wiping at her face. "My father, they're trying to destroy him. They can't even let him rest in peace."
"That's the general idea, yes," Alex replied. "I told you it was a bad idea to come here."
"Alex, please, shut up," Nikado said firmly, tightening his grip on the woman. "Just imagine it was Jer in that fire and you couldn't save him. How would you feel?"
He let out a soft sigh. "Not like this," he said at last. "I won't do any good to my brother's honor if I get killed in the same place."
Ameko shook her head slightly, still shaking violently. "I have to find a way to help him. I have to. I can't leave him like this. Is this what's happened to the others in the castle?"
"Yes."
"You can best help them by defeating Hargon," Alex told her. "We can't afford to get killed here."
"Alex," Nikado said in a quiet tone, "you know more about magic than me. Is there really nothing we can do? None of Ameko's spells that can snuff this evil fire?"
"It's an Infernos, it's not that easy to snuff," Alex said with a shake of his head. "And to cover the whole castle, you'd have to have a magic circle that size. It'd be impossible."
"Where do we start, then?"
"Weren't you listening? I said--"
"You're already thinking about how to do it and the potential problems," Nikado replied. "I think you know a way."
Alex let out a sigh. "It's too risky. It could do worse than kill her. It could do to her what it's doing to them."
"That's a chance I'm willing to take."
"It's not a chance I'm willing to take," he told her. "We need you. We need your help. Nikado and I can't defeat Hargon by ourselves. We need you and your ability. That's why I can't let you risk yourself on something like this."
"Something like this? This is my home, Alex. If I'm not fighting for them, who am I fighting for?"
"I don't know. But you'll have to find someone. I think there will be plenty of people that will change your mind."
"Alex," Nikado repeated calmly. "What do you want us to do?"
Alex let out a long sigh, crossing his arms as he watched the two of them in the passage's dim light. "It won't work unless there's a passage that extends around the entire castle's perimeter."
"There is," she answered. "It's inside the outer walls. What next?"
"Chalk. Lots of it. We won't be able to do the magic circle without it, it's too large for another medium. And it will take some time."
"Then let's go ahead and get started," Nikado said firmly. "Do you have chalk on you?"
"Yes, but not enough."
"You get started, Ameko and I will find more. Ameko, is there some in the castle that we can get to?"
"In the storeroom." She got to her feet.
"I don't know that you'll agree to this when I tell you what you need to do," Alex stated.
"What is that?"
"Your absorption spell," Alex said. "You're going to use it at full blast and absorb the Infernos inside the castle."
She paused briefly, then set her jaw. "I figured it would be something like that. It was the only thing I could think of, myself. Can you make a magic circle that'll amplify it that much?"
"Yes. The problem is whether you can control it."
"I will. I won't fail my people," she stated flatly. "Get to work on the circle."
"You're terribly pushy for someone doing you a favor," Alex grumbled to himself, digging in a pouch on his belt for some chalk.
"I'm sorry," she apologized abruptly, and Alex looked up at her. "Please get started. This is important to me."
"What do you want me to do?" Nikado asked as Ameko led them back into the ground, to a connecting passage that opened up inside the outer walls. "This is really secure."
"In times of danger, we're supposed to be able to flood it with oil, magic, something deadly," Ameko told them. "We didn't get a chance. Be careful, there may be gaps in the wall. The gate is going to be the tricky part. There isn't a way around it."
"We'll do that part last. Nikado," he instructed the other prince, "go with Ameko and get me the chalk. Then go with her to the uppermost point of the castle and guard her."
"What about you?"
"I can take care of myself," he stated. "I've already got a design in mind that will cover the gate area quickly without weakening the circle. Go."
Ameko nodded, taking the other man by the hand and leading him away. "Isn't this great?" Nikado said with a soft smile. "I'm glad there's something we can do for Moonbrook and your father."
She gave him a slight nod in response, but didn't respond. Nikado ducked under a cobweb, letting her lead the way. "After you take this back, stay there," she instructed. "I can make my way to the uppermost point by myself. It'll be easier by myself, the passages are small and cramped. He'll need help getting across the ground in front of the gate."
"But--"
She cut him off with a finger to his lips. "Don't worry about me. I'm not the type to get killed that easily."
"That's what I thought about him, too," Nikado said softly. "Please be safe, Ameko."
She nodded, handing him the chalk before taking off at a run down the passageway. He frowned, hoping she knew what she was doing. Alex had already gotten a significant portion of the circle done, and was waiting for more chalk when he returned. "Where's the princess?" Alex asked as he began the circle anew, carving out the runes in swift strokes.
"She went to the uppermost point by herself. There are passages--"
"I thought I told you to stay with her. If she gets captured or killed, this will be all for naught."
"If you get captured or killed, it'll still be all for naught," Nikado pointed out, "and you have a bigger chance of that happening when you get out in the open. Alex...I'm scared. I don't want to see you killed again."
"I don't want to be killed again," he replied as he continued to move down the hall, Nikado following. "I have no intention of letting it happen. I don't require your presence for that."
"Yes, you do," Nikado said in a quiet tone. "I'm scared for you, Alex. I'm deathly afraid that they're going to find you and tear you apart. You mean so much to me, but you don't mean anything to yourself."
"That's not true."
"Is it? It's because of your brother. I wish he'd never been born," Nikado said bitterly.
Alex stopped in his runewriting, pinning Nikado against the wall, sword out before he realized it. "How dare you--"
"I don't know the dead, Alex. I never met your brother. But I'm sick of everyone, including you, thinking that you're no more than a second attempt at him. I can't compare you to him, Alex. All I know is you. Stop trying to be your brother."
"I'm not my brother," Alex said, and this time it was his tone that was bitter. "I can't be. It's impossible for me."
"Then why do you keep trying?"
"Because I'm doing what I can to repair the hole in my family. My parents were devastated when he died. I'm the first prince of Cannock now, and I have things that requires me to do."
"Alex," Nikado said, putting a hand on the other man's sword hand. "Your parents will never get better if you keep trying to be Jer. Be Alex and let the rest come naturally. That's the way things are supposed to be."
The sword gradually lowered, and Alex finally turned away, putting it away. "I don't have time for this. I need to hurry and finish the circle."
Nikado nodded. "Keep going. I've got your back, Alex."
Alex ignored the other man from there, working in silence as Nikado followed along, careful not to muss the markings on the wall. The other man seemed to know exactly what he needed to write, marking the walls in a rhythmic pattern as he walked down the secret passage. "Are these symbols the ancient language, too?"
"Yes," Alex replied shortly, continuing his work.
"Are you mad at me?"
"No," he replied in the same tone. "I'm trying to focus. Be quiet."
Nikado eyed him for a long moment, then decided he was mostly telling the truth, and let the other man work, following him. All too soon, they came to the end of the castle on the other side of the gate, the circle now nearly complete. "Now what?" Nikado asked.
"If the pattern is symmetrical, there should be an opening...Ah." Alex found the trap door, stepping down into it, Nikado dropping down in afterwards, shutting the door behind him. Lighting a small fireball, Alex made his way back to the way they had come in, stopping under a spot Alex estimated to be under the front gate.
"Are we going to burst our way through?"
"That's the gist of it." Alex raised his hands, then fired a fireball through the dirt, loose chunks of rock and tree root raining down on them. Alex hopped out swiftly, going over to the wall by the gate and continuing his circle. "Cover me!"
Nikado did so, swinging his sword as the monsters, initially stunned by the pair popping out of the dirt like spring flowers, now charged at them. Using the closed gate to protect their backs, Nikado continued to hack his way through the monsters, holding his footing steadfastly. "How's it coming?"
"Pretty good, I--" Alex cut himself off as a fireball hit the gate near his head, fizzling out against the wood. "Watch it!"
"Sorry!" Nikado cut down the offending monster, looking around for more. There were still some charging, but he could hear shouts on the interior of the castle, signalling reinforcements. "We may have company soon."
"Just give me enough time to complete the circle," Alex grunted, working the nubs of chalk so fast his fingers were getting scraped up against the wood and dirt. "Then we'll go back into the passageways and try to get out of her way."
"Ah!" Nikado looked up as he could see what the monsters were in an uproar over. "Alex, she's in place. Hurry."
The Princess of Moonbrook was perched on the top of the central tower, almost an extension of the fortress of Moonbrook, a natural steeple of the tower's tapering roof. Her eyes were hard as she gazed down at the monsters that launched themselves out of the windows, flying up and crawling across the roof. Waiting until they got close, she then waved a hand, and a quick barrier flicked into place, shimmering outward from her to cover the roof before disappearing. The monsters on the roof were knocked off, falling to the ground below, leaving her to deal with the flying ones, which were greeted with flame. "She's okay for the moment," Nikado said. "Done yet?"
"Almost there," the other man grunted, covering the far wall with scribbles. "There! Give her a signal, quickly."
Nikado raised his sword in the air, waving it at her, hoping she could see it. She turned toward him, and he could make out her nod before the circle began to glow. "That's done it," Alex said, pushing against the gate. "Let's get out of here before it activates fully. I don't want to be caught in that thing when it does, and I imagine neither do they."
"What's going to happen?" Nikado wondered.
"Ideally, the Infernos is going to be stripped from the entire castle. That will have to go someplace on its way to her, and chances are in its uncontrolled state those monsters won't be impervious. I just hope she can handle it."
"She'll be okay," Nikado reassured. "She's of a house of Loto, like us."
Alex shook his head. "That's not an automatic grant of immunity."
"No, but it is a vote of confidence." Nikado looked up, watching as the monsters that had been circling were scorched by the flames being drawn to the top of the castle, falling to the earth in blackened heaps. Ameko's figure was obscured entirely by the blue flame, and at the distance Nikado couldn't tell if she was in trouble or not. Biting his lip, he kept a hand on his sword, watching and waiting, since it was all he could do.
"It's dying down," Alex observed. "That means she's winning." As they watched, the last of the blue flames came to her, and slowly worked themselves down until there was only flame inside her palms, and then even that was gone. Lifting her head, the woman slid backwards, falling forward onto the tower roof.
"No!" Nikado cried in shock, running back through the gates. Heedless of any surviving monsters that attempted to get in his way, he plowed through the main hall, making his way up the stairs, trying to guess the fastest way up to her.
He had made it to the base of the tower, standing on the roof outside that connected with it, when he looked up and saw her form slipping, sliding off the roof. He gasped in shock before making a run for it, jumping to catch her body as she fell. She landed neatly in his arms, and for a moment, he allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief.
Then the roof collapsed under their weight, dropping them down to the floor below, and Nikado let out a cry as pain shot up his leg like the strike of a hammer. That one, already weakened by the structural damage, proceeded to collapse as well, showering both of them with rock and dirt as they finally came to a stop on the floor below, stone and beams of wood collapsing on and around them. Nikado only had time to think that he may not have saved her after all and to hear a distant voice crying out in panic and fear when the world came crashing down on him.
When he awoke, he could hear the sound of running water, and then something cool and wet pressed against his head. "How do you feel?" Alex's voice greeted him, and the cloth moved across his forehead. "Do you have a headache? I was worried about a concussion."
"No, I feel fine...I think." Nikado tried to sit up, then groaned and sat back down. "I'm achy all over, especially my leg. What happened? Ameko!" he realized suddenly. "Is she all right?"
"She's sleeping. She hasn't woken up since she finished the spell. She probably overexerted herself," Alex said with a shake of his head. "Worry about yourself first."
"I feel fine. Well, not fine, but functional, I guess. I want to get up." Against Alex's protests, he sat up, swinging his leg around and wincing at the bruising down his leg. "That looks horrible."
"It was worse before I healed it," Alex pointed out. "You're lucky it's still attached. That was a pretty nasty break."
Nikado shuddered at the memory of the pain. "I believe it. You pulled us out, didn't you? Thanks."
"Who else was going to? It's a good thing one of us wasn't dumb enough to go charging in," Alex stated, putting the cloth back on the nightstand with the bowl of water he had been using. "I put her over here. She'd probably protest if she knew, but I wanted to keep you both where I could keep an eye on you."
Nikado nodded, going over to her and placing a hand on her forehead. The woman didn't appear to be wounded, which meant Alex had probably finished healing any of her wounds there had been. To his surprise, she moved as he touched her forehead, opening her eyes and looking at him blankly. "You're awake," Alex observed, placing his own hand on her forehead to check her temperature. "How do you feel?"
"Like shit warmed over," she grumbled, looking from one to the other. "Nikado...Alex...thank you both. I couldn't have done that by myself."
"Don't worry about it," Nikado reassured her. "The important thing is that you're okay. Did it work?"
She nodded slightly. "The Infernos spell...I absorbed it. I know it now." She couldn't stop a shudder. "I saw them. They thanked me and moved on. Things will be all right now for them." She closed her eyes, a tear running down her cheek. "I can't do anything more than that. At least Moonbrook will be able to rest in peace now."
"Yes," Nikado agreed, smiling as he patted her shoulder. "They will."
"A promise is a promise," she stated, looking up at them again. "I'll go with you, wherever you say we need to go, to the ends of the earth and back. I'm ready to defeat Hargon."
"You're not ready to do anything," Alex said, and Nikado turned as the other man chuckled. "Both of you just had a building collapse on you a day ago. Get some rest. All right?"
Ameko sank back into the bed, then managed the first smile she had shown since she had been with them. "I'll see you bright and early, then." With that, she turned over, closing her eyes and letting her breathing fall into a slow, steady pattern.
"Good to know she can rest easy," Alex said with a shake of his head.
"Let her be," Nikado said with a smile, shaking his head. After a moment, he added, "Do you think we should tell her that she's sharing a room with us right now?"
"She'll figure it out in the morning."
