Serenity looked down at Milo with worry-filled emerald eyes. The boy hadn't awoken for a while, just mumbled in his sleep and shifted around some. His breathing had picked up to a quicker rate at one or two points in time.
Andromeda, with all her magical prowess, was cuddled up to herself and trying to sit still so the iron floor of the cage didn't burn her as badly. Not to mention that the metal was hot anyway, so really she was being burned by two different influences at the same time. Poor baby...
"Milo...?" Serenity tried to rouse him for the third time in the last ten minutes. She brushed his hair away from his eyes, fanning his face with her hand like she had done before. It wasn't working anymore.
She looked out across the rest of the room. Everyone in their cages was either passing out slowly from exhaustion and dehydration, or they were just staring boredly at the walls and floor. Because Serenity had been the last one to be taken, she had more of her strength still as well as her determination.
"You know what?" Serenity asked loudly in her British-accented voice to anyone who would listen. "We should try to escape."
"How?" Andi asked curiously, sitting up a little straighter.
"We don't have the keys," Jean pointed out in a weary voice. "How would we get out of these cages?"
"I dunno, but there has to be some way out," Serenity answered as she crouch-walked to the door in her and Milo's cell. It was firmly sealed, the lock having been set into the cage itself so there wasn't really a good way of simply cutting the lock off. "I mean, it's not hopeless."
"Those demons... have the keys," Devyn said in a voice that was bordering a moan. It was getting harder and harder for her to form clear sentences. "How're we... gonna get 'em?"
"I..." Serenity trailed off. The heat was making everyone's brains fuzzy. No one had the volition to do anything. And even if they were awake and coherent, there really didn't seem to be a way out for them.
"We... We can't just give up!" Serenity exclaimed, wrapping her hands around the bars before pulling back with a yelp when they started to really sting her hands. "Ouch... I mean, that's not good! That's not okay!"
"Come on, guys!" Serenity coaxed desperately. "We can't let it end here. We don't even know why we're here, why let ourselves be subjected to their tortures?"
For a nine-year-old, she had an impressive vocabulary. Her parents taught her well.
Suddenly, a dull glow caught her eye and made her spin around. Was it a fairy friend coming to rescue her?
No, it wasn't. Just some sort of light peeking out from Milo's bare chest. His pajama shirt had been unbuttoned to help him stay cooler.
Serenity's eyebrows rose as she crept over to his side and picked up the amulet hanging around Milo's neck. It was illuminated with a pale blue light, casting both kids' shadows on the floor of their cage. It was almost... eerie. But still a comfort.
"S-Since when did this have the power to glow...?" Serenity wondered aloud.
She could vaguely remember Milo being given this amulet by one of Kadi's boys and her cousin. Sean, wasn't it? She didn't think there was anything remarkable about it, though. So... Why was it glowing?
Slowly, almost sadly, the light dimmed and went out altogether. Serenity Kirkland was left holding a white scrimshaw carving with a Celtic knot design.
"I... I didn't do that, did I?" she asked herself. It didn't feel like she'd done anything...
Alice's POV~
"Arice, that light isn't herping us stay hidden," Japan hissed from right behind me. He and I were still trying to make it out of The Resort and meet up with the other four that waited stealthily outside for us.
I winced and stuffed my necklace into my shirt. Yes, I had forgotten to take it off. The scrimshaw wedding ring and locket were fine, but the carved whalebone with an image of a phoenix was emitting a blue light that seemed to refuse going away.
"Why is it doing that?" I muttered under my breath, pressing a hand over the black fabric stretched over the trinket.
"Okay, go," Japan advised as he turned to look back. No one was coming down the stairs. In fact, the entire "resort" had been completely empty. No prisoners, no experiments, and definitely no kidnapped children.
I dashed to the window and slipped through it, rolling onto my stomach and then launching to my feet. America beckoned to me quickly from where he was hiding in the deep shadow of an old shed standing forty feet to my right and forward.
Check the skies. Nothing.
Check the rest of the grounds. No one appeared.
Go. I sprinted on near-silent feet, letting my brother pull me down beside him and slow my momentum for me. He gave me a look that asked if I was doing okay; I nodded breathlessly, heart pounding raucously in my ears.
Half a minute later Japan was at my side and we all were ready to try searching a new place. Tael thought for a few seconds, rifling through his brain for a place the missing kids might be.
"Uhm... The Square, maybe... Or the palace...?"
"Sounds like we have a lot of searching to do," Vale commented dryly. "Wish we'd brought canteens with us."
I couldn't help but agree, even if the water would have slowed us down or gotten in the way. The air was really dry down here! It was to be expected, of course, but I still didn't have to like it.
America groaned and took off his cap, using it to fan himself a little. "This sucks. Black clothes and extreme heat, weren't we just geniuses."
"Yes, wear white and stand out like sore thumbs," I shot back with a wry smirk. "It wasn't like we had too much of a choice. At least the clothes are insulated."
"Shh," England warned us, putting a finger to his lips in the universal sign that said "Be quiet".
Carefully, he peered around the far end of the wall and scanned the area around. Then, turning back to us, he said, "We don't have much of a place to go after this."
"Tael, where do we go next?" Vale inquired.
"Let's try The Square," Tael suggested. "The palace is really heavily guarded, I don't think we have much chance of getting in there."
"I don't think any of you have much chance of getting into anything now."
We all jumped and looked up in unison to see Danny smirking down at us from where he crouched on the roof of the shed. His black wings were outstretched and curved toward us a bit, like he was ready to take to the air at any second.
America cursed beside me and I reached for my sword quickly, managing to wrap my hand around the hilt without too much fumbling. The gloves at my hip were calling to me, and I so wanted to put them on and give Danny a taste of his own medicine. Still, I needed to wait for that...
"Pretty sneaky," Danny remarked. "Didn't think I'd be seeing you all again so soon."
Wait... This seemed odd. Why wasn't anyone else coming? No other demons were flocking to apprehend us. Why?
I know I wasn't the only one to catch on to that because Danny was looking at my uncle and grinned. So, England had realized it, too. "You're probably wondering why it's just us here, huh?"
"... Little bit," America replied, one hand gripping the handle of a pistol tightly.
"Everyone else is getting ready for the ceremony," Danny explained, his tail twitching in the air beside his leg. "Pretty big deal, you know."
"The hell're you talking about?" I asked ruggedly, shooting him my best glare. Why wasn't I attacking him right now?
'Because you want to hear this' a part of me told myself.
Danny sighed through his nose. "Well, I don't really want to raise the alarm... And besides, it gets pretty boring down here. It might be entertaining to see what you guys do."
He stood, dusted off his black pants, and placed his fists on his hips. "Really, it's like you're trying too hard. Playing too much Call of Duty, or whatever." With a jaunty little wave, he took flight and wheeled away, heading off into the distance.
"... Let's give Devil-America a hand, everybody," I said lamely.
"Asshole," Vale commented.
"Was he rike that when you fought him, Arice-chan?" Japan inquired.
I nodded wearily. "Yup. He wouldn't stop calling me "Sis", either. Really annoying."
"... So, what now?" England asked us all. It was clear everyone was a bit unnerved by Danny's sudden entrance and exit.
"Tael?" I asked, looking over at him. The look on his face was of utter fear bordering terror. "Tael?" I repeated with more urgency in my tone.
"If... If there's a ceremony," Tael said, starting off at a whisper until he found his voice again, "then... They're going to be at the palace..."
"You're kidding," America groaned angrily, thumping the back of his head against the wall of the shed we still sat behind.
"What kind of ceremony are we talking about here?" England asked quickly, nearing desperation.
"U-Usually a s...sacrif-fice," the snake-boy stuttered, clutching his arms just above the elbows. "But sometimes an initiation, o-or a promotion..."
"A sacrifice?" Japan and Vale echoed at the same time. Yeah, it seemed that was what we all were focused on the most at the moment.
Naturally, we were thinking the worst possible outcome.
"We have to go," I stated, standing uncaringly and unsheathing my sword.
"Put that away, Alice," England said quickly. "Not yet. What if we're spotted?"
"You have no idea how angry I am right now, do you?" I asked, though it was more like a statement in need of an affirmation.
"Well, your face seems exceptionally calm," England noted.
"Exactly," I said, reluctantly sliding my weapon into its case. "I want to kill something right now. It's from Hell, it's got black hair and wings and a tail. Seen anything like that?"
"K-Keep your voice down, Arice," Japan said, looking around in fear.
"Let's just go to the palace and see what's going on," Vale recommended as she also stood and pulled out one of her twin daggers. "We can still save them."
'I hope.'
~
"Time to go, kiddies," Aidan said as he unlocked the door to Serenity's and Milo's cell. She cautiously crept out, looking everywhere in turn. Then she spotted the open door into their room and bolted for it.
"Ah-ah-ah," Aidan said like he was taking something away from a little child. Serenity was caught around the shoulders and tugged back into the room. "Wouldn't want anything to happen to your friend, now, would we?"
"Milo," Serenity sniffed, trying to keep her tears at bay.