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Chapter sixteen: Junk Island!

The engine room of the Tsubasa no Mikomi was filled with thick acrid smoke. It stung his eyes even as he wove the spell that would draw it from the room. Shiro coughed once as the spell finished its work. In his hands was a small smoky looking marble. He slipped it into a pocket and thought. You never know when something like this might come in handy.

"Thanks Shiro." Said Musashi.

"Yeah." He coughed. "No problem." Shiro spent the next few minutes trying to clear his lungs. The Tsubasa no Mikomi had been forced to make a water landing. They had gotten about halfway home, when they had been hit by a bout of bad weather.

Namely, a waterspout that had decided to toss them about for awhile.

Now everyone was busy seeing what repairs needed to be made before they would be able to fly.

Musashi came back holding up a twisted fragment of blackened metal. "Looks like our mobius strip is broken. We won't be able to get home without one."

"Can't we just repair it?" Shiro pulled his hand back as sparks of blue lightning played across its surface when he tried to touch it.

"Not without an artificer on board. I'm good enough to make a new one, but I can't duplicate the spell-forms woven into the metal itself."

"And I can't study the spell-forms without being able to touch it." The Artificer's guild certainly likes to keep a tight rein on their secrets. The mobius strip had more than a dozen security spells cast on it. Even the simple diagnostic spell Shiro had attempted had set off more than half of them. "So what do we do?"

"Well, we have two options. We can send a message to Veil and have them gate us a replacement."

"Which could take months." One of the major downsides to living on a floating island that moved around the world. The mail was sporadic, if it arrived at all.

"The only alternative is to set sail for Junk Island and search for a replacement."

Shiro went with the lesser of two evils. "I'll let Kiara know the score." He sighed. "Looks like we're in for a course change."

Sailing across the ocean. Could it be any more slow?

* * *

The sun beat down mercilessly on an ocean of clear glass. Shiro groaned. The heat was oppressive. He longed for a cool breeze. Something, anything to take his mind off the heat.

It had been three days with no sighting of land. Kiara had assured him that the current would draw them inexorably towards Junk Island. It would just take a hellishly long time.

Well, she didn't exactly say that. Just that it would be a few days till we're caught by the right current. That and that he was absolutely forbidden from tampering with the weather for any reason. As if I'd want to. You think, I'll just borrow a little wind and Bam! You've got a hurricane barreling down on you. Nothing quite like Mother Nature with a case of PMS to liven things up. Shiro rolled over. They had stretched a piece of canvas to create some artificial shade. And it had helped, but not by much.

It was even worse inside. No matter where you went on the ship you simply couldn't escape from the heat.

"Y'know," yelled Shiro. "some clouds would be nice!"

The sky remained mockingly empty.

"Kraken!" Someone shouted. "It's a Kraken!"

Shiro's ears perked up and his stomach growled as a sea serpent with iridescent scales shining in scintillating hues of silver and blue leapt over the deck and broke through the surface of the water on the other side without making a splash.

It was a common hunting tactic. Kraken's were well known to sink ships by crashing through their hulls. That, and trying to snatch the unwary on one of is passes.

Shiro ran to the side, his mouth watering as the sable shadow drifted through the water with consummate ease. "Here fishy fishy fishy." He waved a tail temptingly over the edge. "Nice tasty tail for you." He began gathering electricity in the palm of his hand. And a lightning bolt chaser to go with it!

The Kraken broke through the surface with a roar. Shiro grabbed it with both hands and hurled it towards the center of the deck. The heavenly aroma of roasting fish filled the air.

Musashi edged towards it and tapped it with his foot. "Is it, dead?"

At least six feet long and more than a foot thick the Kraken twitched and writhed on the deck. Its scales shined like miniature stars. A luster they would lose soon after death.

"Of course it's not dead. I only stunned it."

Koji was wearing his shirt tied around his waist. "Shiro, don't you think you should maybe, finish it off?" Some of the crew were muttering under their breath. They had never come to accept him with the ease that they had Koji. Or Leon for that matter.

"Are you nuts? You don't just kill a Kraken! You eat it raw." He was already examining his prize. It is a little on the small side. Shiro shrugged. Oh well. "We used to celebrate the winter festival with Takoyaki made from fresh Kraken. It twitches all the way down." He shivered in delight. The Kraken was female, and that meant they could harvest the roe and make it into caviar. He and Nelo would be able to spend the night performing a traditional lovers rite. He could hardly wait.

"I'm going to take this to the cook." Shiro slung the Kraken's tail over his shoulder, hauling it towards the kitchen he began reciting various recipes along the way. "Kraken fin soup, Kraken sushi, roast Kraken tail, Kraken tempura with grilled vegetables and sake."

Shiro smiled uncontrollably as he overheard an offhand comment from one of the crew as he opened the door. "We shout monster he shouts fish. Guess he really is just a cat after all."

* * *

Simply navigating the shoals of Junk Island proved a dangerous prospect. The waves had dredged all manner of salvage from the ocean floor and left it scattered about the beach.

It was a veritable cornucopia of lost cargo and sunken ships. Their rotting hulks left to pepper the landscape like broken teeth.

Shiro stepped off the landing ramp and onto the waiting sand. Forty-Nine caught him as he lost his balance. "Thanks Forty-Nine." He hadn't expected the sand to give way so easily.

Forty-Nine seemed happy to be of service. Most of his time aboard ship was relegated to loading and unloading supplies.

Shiro wondered idly if golems ever got bored.

Their destination was a relatively intact airship not far inland. Parts of it were floating around, trapped in a nimbus of motion. It seemed the perfect place to begin their search.

Shiro pushed aside an etherium crystal as it floated by. It was cracked, but there was still enough power left inside for it to warp the space around it. It was a bad move. The agitation sent ripples through the corrupted space.

Weightlessness gripped him as he was lifted into the air. Shiro scrabbled about to find purchase, his claws flailing wildly about.

Koji swam forward a few strokes and let his momentum carry him lazily by. He was the very picture of relaxation. "Having fun?" He said.

"Hell no!" Said Shiro. "I'm a cat not a kite!" Forty-Nine plucked him from of the air and planted him firmly on the ground.

"Sweet, solid soil. To walk upon you once more." Shiro had a death grip on Forty-Nine's arm. "I did not enjoy that."

"It just proves that there really is a mobius strip nearby." Rosalyn grabbed the crystal out of the air and threw it as far away as possible. "The 'nimbus effect' is what happens when an improperly calibrated ring amplifies the etherium crystals power."

Free of the mobius ring's influence the corrupted space dissipated instantaneously.

"Ow." Koji had landed on the ground with an audible thud. "You know you could've warned me before doing that." He gave himself a once over to see if he was still intact. "I think I landed on my tail."

"A pity you didn't land on your head." Said Rosalyn. "Maybe it would have knocked some sense into that thick skull of yours."

"You just have to add insult to injury don't you." Koji started to move some of the wreckage aside when something bit him. "Sonuva!" He pulled a kid free from the wreckage and lifted him to eye level. Elven ears stuck out from beneath a disheveled mop of dirty blond hair. His eyes were the color of new leaves.

"Lemme go!" He twisted about, trying to break free. "I said lemme go!"

"Um, Koji?" Forty-Nine was starting to act strangely. "You might want to put him down."

"Are you kidding? The little punk bit me. I say we teach him a lesson."

"Stupid wolf. Lemme go." Koji raised an eyebrow as the kid glared at him. "Or you'll be sorry."

Koji wasn't impressed. "And what's a little shrimp like you going to do? Kick me?" Forty-Nine lifted Koji into the air.

It was a strange sight. Forty-Nine holding Koji holding a kid.

"Because he's a Machinist," Said Shiro. "He can control machines the way Rosalyn can control plants."

* * *

It turned out the wrecked ship was actually Kirin's home. After great deal of time spent consoling him Rosalyn had managed to convince him that they were actually friendly.

Most of them anyway.

"I wasn't actually going to hurt him." Said Koji.

"You've scared him." Said Rosalyn as she pushed him out the door. "So make yourself useful and go find the mobius ring." To Kirin she said. "It's okay Kirin. I won't let the big bad wolf hurt you."

His eyes lit up as he crawled into her lap. "Promise?"

She started to comb his hair. "Of course."

Koji rolled his eyes as Kirin stuck his tongue out at him. Rosalyn's actually good with kids. Who knew?

"Kirin. How old are you?" Asked Shiro.

"Um." He held up his fingers. "This many years."

"And how long have you lived on this island?"

He scrunched up his face. "This many?" He took one of his hands away.

"Ten years old and five of them spent on this island. Do you have any family?" It was a slim hope.

Kirin shook his head.

"He must have been a passenger aboard a ship that crashed. Its wreckage could have drifted all the way here." Rosalyn tightened her grip. "How horrible to think that he would have spent all this time alone."

Kirin squirmed. Rosalyn was hugging him just a little too tightly. "I'm not alone."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, think about it." Said Shiro. "Someone cleans this room for him. Someone must provide him with food. Since he still knows how to talk he's obviously been speaking to someone."

"You're right," Rosalyn said as she thought about it. "but who?"

"You mean you still haven't figured it out yet?" Shiro hooked his thumb towards a porthole that served as a window. "They did."

Golems of every shape and size had gathered around the makeshift hut.

"Musashi told me about this place. Junk Island is like a kind of graveyard for golems. Arcadia sends them here when they can't be bothered to repair them, or they outlive their usefulness."

"Kirin. Did you repair all those golems?"

"Most of them. I like golems. They're nicer than the people who come here."

"If there have been others. Why did you never ask them to take you with them?"

"I stayed hidden. Till that mean wolf found me. Lots of bad people come to this island. I don't like them."

Shiro made up his mind. They couldn't leave him here so. "Kirin. We know lots of nice people. In fact, we have someone on board our ship who'd love to meet you. He likes golems too. I'm sure the two of you would get along."

Kirin looked to Forty-Nine for reassurance. "He says your a nice person. So, I guess that means I can trust you."

Shiro wondered what exactly Forty-Nine could have told him.

Kirin started trembling. Now he was looking around for someplace to hide. "Bad people. Bad people are coming." He looked at Shiro. "They're looking for you."

Koji burst through the door. He was out of breath when he said. "Shiro. We've got company."

* * *

Two strangers stood on top of a hill, radiating power. Shiro reached out and felt nothing. No joy or anger, hatred or sorrow, they were completely devoid of fighting spirit.

With the strangers impossible to read with his spiritual sight, Shiro felt as if he had suddenly been struck blind.

The taller of the two spoke first. "We are Kurotama's Steel Lieutenants. The elite of his vanguard. Thank you, for sparing us the trouble of having to look for you." Shiro focused his attention on him. He was built for power. His arms were thick around as tree trunks and he wore black sunglasses that covered his eyes.

"I'm Cassiopeia." Said the other, pointing to her chest. She had black hair cropped short with a slim lithe build. They were both wearing black leather gloves with metal studs.

"But you can call me Cassi for short." Her voice was bright and cheery. "And this strapping hunk of man metal is Schroedinger. I like to call him Schroede." She ran a finger down his chest. "Cause it makes him angsty."

Schroedinger endured Cassiopeia's affections in silence. He neither enjoyed her attention or hated it. It simply wasn't in him to feel those things. Of all those Kurotama had created they came the closest to mimicking human beings. Cassiopeia was just acting the way she wanted to. She wouldn't be Cassiopeia otherwise.

"Hope you don't mind but Master Kuro sent us to play with you." Said Cassiopeia. There was an inhuman look in her eyes. "Make sure you don't break too quickly."

Shiro tossed the smoke ball high into the air. Releasing the spell that held it together shattered the marble, covering them all in a thick veil of smoke. "Rosalyn take Kirin and the mobius strip back to the ship."

"What! No." Rosalyn stood her ground. "I can help."

Shiro appreciated the sentiment, but he had a greater task for her in mind. "Its more than

just our lives that are in danger. Its going to take time for Musashi to repair the engines. Right now the safety of the entire crew is paramount." The smoke was beginning to clear. "Besides. It would be nice to know that if things suddenly took a turn for the worse, we would have the means to escape."

Leon nodded his acceptance of Shiro's plan. "He is right Mistress."

She stood torn by indecision. "But . . ."

"You heard Shiro. He's trusting you with our lives, everyone's lives." Koji shouted at her. "So quit wasting time and go!"

* * *

Life had been easier as a cat. Thought Nelo. Simpler perhaps, but not better.

Gone were the days when she had simply contented herself to watch. An unobtrusive observer, a carefully overlooked cat who seemed to appear whenever and wherever things began to happen.

The passing of time was an inconsequential thing when one bore silent witness to history. The days even in their regularity. The nights long in their passing.

The quiet unassuming times were behind her now, and She longed once more for the things that made life worth living.

But how to grasp them? How to hold on to them? Someday soon Shiro would realize the truth. That as an immortal she did not age. That she was beyond even hunger. Would he leave me? Worse, would he hate me?

But the flames of desire long since cooled stirred to life within her. Shiro had awakened the dormant feelings she had long buried in her heart. And when they were apart. She felt as if she had lost the other half of her soul.

Nelo felt a ripple in magic's flow. "Zeyd?"

"There are not many who can sense me so thoroughly." He rested his arms on the railing. "Even using the Tenkoha to mask my presence; I still can't sneak up on you. You'll have to teach me how it is you can do that."

Years of practice. "You're trying too hard. Every time you use magic to hide yourself, your scent, your presence, even the sound of your footsteps. The spells you use send out ripples in the fabric of magic. To those who are attuned to magics flow, you announce yourself as clearly as if you had spoken your own name."

"A convenient explanation to be sure, but only someone who was in constant contact with their power could achieve such a thing." Zeyd turned his sightless gaze on her. "Just as you are now."

It was unnerving in the extreme. For it was impossible to determine what Zeyd was actually looking at. Her? Or something else entirely?

"So you noticed."

"These eyes of mine see more than you think they do." He traced the air in front of her. "Their is a secret wrapped around you, one you hold so tightly, even I cannot pry it free from your embrace."

"If you're here to lecture me about keeping secrets." She considered him. Zeyd almost never left Kiara's side. The two of them were inseparable, and bound in more ways than one. "No. That isn't what you came here to talk about. Is it?"

Zeyd awarded her with a weak smile. "A goddess who stands upon love's distant shores, awaiting her errant knight's return. With beauty and insight such as yours . . . it is no small wonder why Shiro entrusted you with his heart."

Nelo flexed her claws at him warningly. "Don't bother wasting your time with sweet flattery, you know such words will avail you naught." She had fought long and hard to hide her secrets, and she damned well how to keep them. "Deliver your message and be done with it." She snapped at him. "For the gods make toys of men at their own peril."

He lifted his hands to ward her off. "Truth then lady, I would merely have prepared you for this." Zeyd removed the blindfold from around his eyes.

In one single moment, Zeyd had managed to transform his entire face. His countenance was no longer filled with that of a gentle softness, but instead, it was if it had been replaced by something fierce, and all together predatory. And though his eyes were as clear as an empty sky, and slitted with an endless black deeper than the night. Even the faint dusting of silver scales surrounding them only served to betray the truth.

Zeyd was a being trapped between two opposing worlds.

And then it happened.

Nelo felt as if the deck had suddenly given way beneath her feet, leaving her to fall through the empty air. For nothing he could have said would ever have possibly prepared her for what she had just caught sight of.

For the briefest of moments, it had been eternity itself that she had seen in his eyes.

"My mother sought to seduce a dragon." Said Zeyd by way of explanation. "And I was the result. A dragon halfling, a changeling child with eyes cursed to see the river of times many flows."

Zeyd's usually calm voice took on an unusually bitter edge. "I am an outcast from more worlds then one."

Nelo found herself staring, unable to even look away.

When Zeyd returned the blindfold to its rightful place, he was the Zeyd she had come to know once more.

"I would not seek to look to deeply if I were you." His words were a cautious warning. "There is a price to knowing the future. Even greater still is the price for those who see it."

"The desire to tell others." Said Nelo.

There was a breath, a silent sigh as a whisper carried on unseen winds passed between them. It was a knowing of that terrible price, and the burden of that shared knowledge.

"You understand." Said Zeyd.

"When one sees a vision of the future, one feels a compulsion to share that vision with its intended. But therein lies its price." Nelo trembled, to live beneath such a terrible burden. "For those who see the future, it is as simple to understand as breathing. But for the intended . . . many are the times when others have killed the messenger.

"I have never enjoyed being the bearer of such ill tidings."

"Then speak them. And I will decide for myself whether they are truly good or bad."

"How very wise." Zeyd's voice echoed, as if he were speaking to her from a great distance. "You are running out of time."

His words shook her to her very core. "What?"

"The secrets you are keeping from him. Your time to tell him is growing short. If you do not tell him soon. Your chance to tell him will disappear forever."

"I've just been waiting for the right time." She knew it was useless to argue but, she still tried anyway. "So much has been happening. There's just never been a chance to tell him."

Zeyd tone was consoling. "You know that that is not true. The reason you hide the truth is because you're afraid of losing him."

"And if I were to tell him the truth?"

"You would still lose him anyway."

There was a wealth of sorrow in that one word. "No."

Zeyd looked out over a tranquil ocean. Beneath the calm surface a darkness was stirring within its depths. Events that had long ago been set into motion were even now coming to fruition. And at the heart of those events . . . "Shiro's, was a fate that was decided long ago."

"Then what good is it to tell him?" She asked. "If I am to lose him anyway, then at least we can enjoy the time we still have."

There was an errant smile, a flitting ghost of possibility that passed across his face. "Because your fate has not. And therein lies a chance. The future can always be changed. But one must be alive to do it." Zeyd shook as the effort to wrest even a small glimpse of the future from times shoals cost him immeasurably. "You changed your fate once before. You can . . . do it again."

Nelo tentatively reached out to touch his shoulder. If he was in the grip of a vision then she too could be dragged into its flow. "Zeyd? Zeyd?"

"Find . . . Kiara." His head rolled back on his shoulders.

As his eyes gazed upon some far distant shore, his body became as lifeless as a rag doll cast carelessly about.

* * *

Shiro had charged before the smoke had even finished clearing. His sword coming down in an arc that would have split Cassiopeia from head to toe. "You aren't human." He said.

She had blocked his sword and was holding it scant inches from her face with just two fingers. "Your just like Forty-Nine. You have the same aura."

"Don't even think of comparing me to that walking pile of scrap you call a golem." Shiro caught her fist as it swept out. "We're on a completely different level." The two of them stood locked together in a standoff, their faces close enough to touch. "Master Kuro's magic gives us life and mobility. We are more than mere golems."

He had her hand. Contact was enough. It would take but a moment's thought to unleash his power. "It would be different if you had feelings, a will of your own. But in the end, no matter how advanced you may be. In the end you're still just a machine."

She surprised him by saying. "So what if we are machines? Does that imply that we can't have feelings?" Shiro hesitated. She licked her lips. "Too easy."

Cassiopeia kicked him in the ribs, the force of it lifting him off the ground ever so slightly. With the blow leaving him stunned she reversed his grip and followed the momentum through with a shoulder toss.

Shiro went flying.

"It would seem your friend has his hands full." Said Schroedinger.

"What, Shiro?" In a graceful display of acrobatics and mid-air ballet he righted himself and landed on his feet with sword in hand. "He can handle himself." Koji hammered his fist into Schroedinger's face. "He just needs to warm up a bit. Besides. He isn't the type to hit a lady."

Schroedinger flexed his neck from side to side and snapped his jaw back into place. "And you are?"

He and Koji began circling each other. Exchanging blows. A test of endurance, to see who would be the first to fall.

"Trust me when I say this. Your friend ain't no lady."

* * *

"Flesh and blood may grow weak, at times pushed beyond their limits without warning they expire. But machines are made of something else, and thus never tire." Cassiopeia spoke mockingly. "What's the matter, giving up already? Or are you just buying time so your friends can come and rescue you?"

Shiro nursed his ribs where Cassiopeia had kicked him. His strength was fast beginning to fade. Already he was favoring his right side.

Koji stood at his back. His body was a mass of bruised muscles and tissue. Shiro could feel him radiate pain. Koji could often give out as good as he got, but he was at a marked disadvantage in a protracted fight. And their opponents were anything but amateurs.

Cassiopeia and Schroedinger had truly earned the moniker 'Elites'. They countered every attack with pinpoint precision. No wasted movements, no unnecessary strikes.

They could afford to play a waiting game.

"These guys are good." Said Shiro.

"Almost as good as Zeyd and Kiara. Almost."

"Time to change dance partners?"

"Oh yeah."

* * *

"So the little one is my adversary now." Said Schroedinger. "A pity, I was beginning to enjoy your friend's company. His fists speak well of him."

Shiro twitched. Little? Little! "Who the hell are you calling little? I may not be tall, but I can still kick your ass!"

"Ah. Apologies. Perhaps I will understand you better once we have traded blows. After all, a man's words are often sealed within his fist."

Shiro abandoned his sword for a much more familiar stance. "Fine, we do this the old fashioned way. I'm used to fighting taller opponent's anyway." Size isn't everything. Thought Shiro as he ducked a blow meant for a much larger man. In a contest of power I can't compete. But if it comes down to speed, I win hands down.

Shiro made Schroedinger look cumbersome in comparison. With rapid flowing movements he slipped through the iron giant's guard in search of a weakness.

He found it in the very land that surrounded them.

Drawing energy from the air and into his own body in amounts too small to be detected Shiro acted as a living transformer, shifting the elemental nature of the energy to suit his needs. In his eyes he was surrounded by a web of energy. A thousand threads woven of light.

Every strike attached them to Schroedinger's skin, transferring more and more of those subtle threads of power.

Schroedinger was beginning to catch on. "That's starting to tingle." He said, as he reached out and caught something that had flown towards him.

It was a bolt of some kind. A fastener typically used on airships.

He tried to throw it away but it remained stuck to his hand. "What exactly did you just do?"

No matter how hard he tried he just couldn't get rid of it.

"It's a little trick Musashi taught me." Shiro ducked as a nail flew past his head, whistling through the air as it passed. "I've just taken the liberty of converting you into a giant electro-magnet. And on an island covered in junk well . . ."

An immense wall of metallic debris gathered from all over the island was rushing towards Schroedinger at an unhealthy speed.

Shiro waved goodbye as he closed his eyes. "Enjoy."

* * *

"You actually beat Schroede?" Cassiopeia already had her hands full dealing with Koji. "Two against one is so not fair."

Shiro pressed his palm to her skin. Lightning flashed out around his hand.

Cassiopeia stood completely unaffected.

"So that's how you did it." She brushed Shiro aside with her fist. "Sorry to disappoint you. But that little trick won't work against me."

Shiro used his sword to help himself stand. "It wasn't meant for you."

Koji knocked her off her feet with a magic powered punch. "Gravi Res!"

Cassiopeia's entire body slammed into the ground. She started to get up and suddenly found herself unable to do so. "What. What did you just do?"

She was being forced downwards. As if an invisible hand were pressing down upon her.

"Shiro might be able to control the power of heaven. But I can control the power of earth."

"So you integrated gravity magic with your own style of fighting. That little trick. He was just showing you how. Heh." The ground around her split and cracked. A bowl like depression spread out around her as the gravity well intensified. Even with the increased pressure She was still trying to stand. "Sacrificing your own body as a focus for your power. That is just sick. The two of you. Your level of power. It makes me wonder who the real monsters are."

Koji started to walk away. "Shiro let's go."

"Finish us."

"Why?"

"Because if you don't." Cassiopeia was standing now. "We'll just keep coming back. Until we kill you."

"If you really want to die that badly." Koji snapped a finger and the gravity well spread outwards a few more feet. "Then that's the choice you'll make. Killing you now would only serve to make us murderers."

She was looking at Shiro. "And you? Do you believe that as well?"

"Yes. I do." Shiro sheathed his sword. "But don't mistake my actions for kindness, if you do follow us. Next time. I won't hesitate to destroy you."

"Both of you. Your too soft. Your consciences are too clean." She was on her knees laughing. "Master Kuro will destroy you. Your end is coming. There's nothing you can do to stop him!"

"Shiro, let's go."

"Right."

"Nothing." She called out after them. "Do you hear me! Nothing!"

* * *

Musashi had already finished repairing the engines by the time Shiro and Koji had returned. Both of them had refused to speak about what had transpired on the island after Rosalyn had left.

Shiro had locked himself in his private quarters, preferring to be alone while he sorted out his thoughts. With nowhere else to go Nelo had sought out Zeyd. "How is he?"

Kiara was watching over him. Ready to tend to whatever need he may have when he awakened. "This isn't the first time he's been struck by a vision. Give him time and he'll recover."

"I can't help but wonder what happened to them out there. Shiro has never been this distant. And Koji. He just stands staring out at the waves. His gaze hasn't left the island."

"It happens. Give them some time to sort out their thoughts. They'll tell us when they're ready."

* * *

Cassiopeia stood on the shore, watching as the Tsubasa no Mikomi disappeared beyond the horizon and smiled. Like a hound following a scent Shiro would race to the end, never knowing what awaited him.

A shadow gate opened, a void in the world of light its darkness was all consuming.

A robed figure stepped out of it, his features hidden by a deep hood.

Cassiopeia knew her master well. "Congratulations Master Kuro, your plan was a perfect success."

"And the magic cancelers?"

"They worked perfectly." She traced studs of the leather gloves she wore. They were connected to a negacite core deep inside her body. "Once we turned them on of course."

Kurotama was pleased to hear it. "You sound as if you had fun."

"Oh we did. Schroede here might even have cracked a smile." Schroedinger remained blank. Cassiopeia shrugged, it was a subtle distinction anyway. "Those two are certainly interesting though. I look forward to playing with them again."

Kurotama opened a second shadow gate. A fountain of darkness welling up from the ground, its sable surface solidified until it looked like black glass. Wherever there were shadows he could travel. And there were shadows within every heart. "Then I must prepare a suitable welcome for them. Shiro has been wondering for so long, it wouldn't do to disappoint him."

Schroedinger stepped into the gate. "The rumors of those two didn't do them justice. If they continue to progress at their current rate, the next time we fight, we may not be able to defeat them."

"Relax Schroede," Said Cassiopeia, "next time, we'll be taking it seriously."

* * *

_Kurotama. Now I know the name. Now I know who it is who has been pulling the strings, manipulating us like puppets from above the stage.

The puppeteer has shown his hand. And I intend to remove it from him._