In a blinding white light, Denys casted a counterspell to keep those black tendrils away from him, and in the midst of that (hopefully successful) distraction, he backed up to run behind the group, but took a different corridor to look for the last freaking number.  He and Edea collided with one another while he was trying to run away; then with wide eyes, he scrambled up to gesture towards the next hallway. 

“Move! Move!! Lukas was right behind me!!” 

“Shit.” Edea quipped as she got to her feet to run... However, something caught her attention. In a glass bottle on one of the shelves, a paper cut out of a diamond set within. Then it hit her: “Three!! The last number is three!!” 

A bit of hope gleamed in Yew despite the fact that Mona was right at his tail coats. This meant they found all the numbers, all that’s left to do it find the exit! While the boy was on Auto-Pilot, he made the careless mistake of running down a hallway that Denys marked as ‘Dead End.’ Now, he stood at the end of the route with no where to go or hide. 

“Dammit,” he sighed as he drew his rapier, “Alright Miss Mona, I’m not going out without a fight!”

Immediately as Faye began causing up trouble with her spells, Henry began firing some of his own since he was completely unarmed.  Panicked eyes searched for something-- anything that could aid in the fight, but his sight was beginning to double and breathing was becoming difficult. Still, he was going to buy as much as as he could while he still stands. With a turn, Henry ultimately ditched the idea of finding a weapon and opted to continue firing off spells to keep Faye from getting to his friends. 

Meanwhile, Aimee was swimming in and out of consciousness. At first, she thought she actually died-- everything went quiet and cold, and despite willing her eyes to open, she was content in floating in the black inkiness that washed over her. However, it seemed that the Fates had another plan.   As the healing magic coursed through her, Aimee felt the warmth of life kiss her skin, and for a moment, she felt the stinging pain on her side melt away to nothing. Soft calls of her name coaxed her to stir, but when she fully awoke, the chaos of everything hit her all at once. 

“Got it--!” she jolted up as she frantically took the crown off her head to place it on its place in the circle. Adrenaline now pumping through her veins pulled her to her feet to take a stance at the door. “We gotta hurry up!! There’s 15 minutes to daybreak!!”

Edea laughed as Mona continued to keep up with her; she was good! As she ran down the shelf lined hall, she realized she was running straight into a dead end... With no other way out, Edea had to think quick of her next move.

She continued to run towards the shelf, and reached into her pocket to grip an asterisk. In a quick blinding white light, Edea donned the Valkyrie’s uniform then jumped up and out of the way into a different section of the maze.  As she landed, her eyes caught sight of a cut shape with a number hanging out in one of the shelves. 

“Hey!! Square is five!!”

Good grief... Yew thought as he heard Janne call out his response to Lukas’ game. He playfully toyed with the idea that his friend was losing his touch; however, he didn’t really think that... It was just one of those fun ideas of ‘what-if though?’  The younger Geneolgia decided to take a chance to run out of his hiding space despite hearing feeling the footsteps drawing nearer. If anything, he could keep that teddy bear preoccupied, and he was the faster one out of the three... He could run circles around the bear if he really wanted to.

He shot out his hiding place, and rushed down the halls, coming to find his brother scribbling down the numbers and their corresponding shapes-- just in case.

“Two more and we’re out of here.” Denys said with a thumbs up. His happier demeanor soon shifted to surprise when he saw Kamizumi and Janne rush straight towards them. 

“Oh... Shi--!” Lukas chasing right behind them caught Denys’ attention, and he immediately whipped out his rapier to take a stance. “Go RUN!”  He instructed as he lunged forward to create some sort of distraction for the others to run away.

“You can,” Henry quipped teasingly, “And you have to... I’ll... I’m not... I can’t leave my family here, Countess. No way you cut it, I can’t.” With those little words, something surged in Henry-- say what you will... But I seemed like a burst of new found energy coursed through his dying body. 

Sure, the stab was deep, but he’s been in worse situations with multiple bullet wounds before.  Quietly, he managed to stand and take a stance next to the Lady of the Lake.

“I’ll help you keep Faye back for as long as I can...” 

Aimee, on the other hand, once the adrenaline slowly died down from her body began feeling everything-- how tired she actually felt, how much her side hurt, and how cold she was starting to feel. 

“D-Dammit...” the Hawkeye fell to her knees, “I... I don’t know if.. I can make it, you guys... I--”

“CARRY AIMEE OUT OF HERE!” Henry yelled. There’s no way in Luxendarc’s bright heavenly light he was going to let her die here.

“Get... Out of here... Countess...” Henry looked up through half lidded eyes; it was clear life was beginning to drain from him. 

The sound of gurgling came from Henry’s body as he was discarded. The sight was enough to launch Aimee into some sort of frenzy.  Red began dying her sight, and yet her body continued to react on it’s own. As quick as humanly possible, the Hawkeye grabbed the crown to place it on her head before she gripped the hilt of Excalibur.  With a pull, the blade slowly slipped from its stony trap to feel almost weightless in Aimee’s weak hands. 

“HEY!” Aimee rushed towards the knight with surprising speed, “YOUR REIGN ENDS HERE!!” despite never really training with swords or blades at all in her life, Aimee seemed to hold her ground pretty well. Her tiny stature against the Knight was stark, but her fight with him had her victorious in the end.  While she drove the tip of the blade through the knight, Aimee just prayed that there wouldn’t be some trick spell that would revive him. 

“I-Is it over? Is it really over?” she asked with a shaky breath.

Well, that was a pretty good answer, and the fact that Janne confirmed the key card was looking rather promising. Yew nodded as he turned another corner; his ears picked up on footsteps, but he didn’t want to risk any chance if it were of their pursuers. Instinctively, he ducked into a nearby closet to wait them out. 

Meanwhile, Edea’s heartbeat picked up with anticipation. The feeling of the hunt-- of being chased and chasing for a common goal... It brought back memories of her youth, before she took on the responsibility of Grand Marshal all those years ago. But this was a different feeling, of course. There wasn’t any sort of impending doom lingering over them like a Holy Pilar or another evil Fairy looking to eradicate the whole of Luxendarc for their false god.  This was just... Fun. Something she hasn’t felt in this capacity in a very long time.

When she heard Mona’s voice behind her, Edea drew a wakizashi from her side, affectionately name ‘Kiseki-no-Edea’ by the friends who gifted her the smaller blade, but rather than unsheathing the blade, she simply brandished the whole unit to keep things safe for them. 

“Unlike the boys, Mona, I’d love to play!” she swung the sheathed blade to create some sort of opening to dodge out of the way to make her way back down the hall... Hopefully, they’d get the code soon, but.. Not too soon.

Henry watched as the Knight stalked their movements, almost waiting for them to move. He heaved a sigh before pulling Aimee in a hug, completely disregarding the blood that was getting on his own white shirt.  While he held her close, he gave her quick instructions then he pressed his lips to her forehead. 

“In adversary--” Henry said softly as he pulled away.

“We carry on...” Aimee finished while she watched him run out of the circle to pull the knight’s attention away. When they were far enough away, Aimee went back to the table to fidget with the block maze puzzle. Her hands began to shake and her sight slowly doubled-- making the challenge hard to complete, but the fear of getting trapped here made her press on. “HEN! WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?!” she called out in hopes he would continue the story. Poor dear seemed like she needed more help to clam down. 

Henry huffed as he slid under the knight’s reach, “The storybook characters began searching for others to take their place! One night, they accidentally overdosed their wizard friend to venture into the village to lure them into the storybook so their places would be filled in!!” Henry shouted as he launched the branch at the knight to hightail is back to the circle, grabbing Aimee along with him so she wouldn’t get snagged. “Even after the wizard died, the storybook held it’s enchantment. So once every year... The book will open to allow the current residents the chance to leave and look for a replacement, and it’s been that way for the last few hundred years.” 

“That’s so sad...” Aimee huffed, still holding her side, “They killed their friend and trapped others to replace them?? That’s--!!” the pain began to numb into something more... Cold. She needed to start moving again. With a nod, she sent Henry out and went back to the table to try and finish the puzzles. 

Shaking but quick fingers fiddled with the puzzles, and after a minutes... Two..! Henry was heard yelling. He was captured.  Aimee could hear the metal clanking somewhere behind her, and it drew closer... Far too close for any comfort, Aimee slammed the last puzzle on the table: completely finished. 

“MY LADY! I’VE DONE IT!”

At the mention of Mona’s friends not really taking to rejection well, Denys couldn’t help but stifle back a laugh. He definitely had a few memories of his past that would lump him in that same boat. His mood was brought up so much that he wasn’t even phased by the gigantic teddy bear coming into view; he simply let out a happy sigh before nudging his awe-stricken baby brother.

“Well, looks like we have our work cut out for us.” 

Yew rolled his eyes at his brother... At least he was having fun...?? He guesses? Regardless, at Kamiizumi’s call, the trio broke out in different directions. At every turn, they marked their way to keep track of where they went.  Yew met his first dead end, and with a click of his tongue, he dug his heels into the ground to turn and run in the other direction. 

“Hey!! By the way!? If these are numbers we’re looking for... Do we even know what sequence they’re suppose to be in?? If not... We could be looking at hundreds of thousands of number combinations!!” A very fair point to make.

Denys vc: The Caldis nobles were very nice. I very much liked talking to them. Now the Florem dignitaries... They scare me.

Yew and Edea are trying not to laugh too loudly, so they’re just sipping their tea.

This game sounded rather familiar... Yew could have sworn that he, Magnolia, and Denys were asked to play this exact game at the Harte estate in Caldis with Lena, Jackal, and Adelle ‘hunting’ them.

He heaved a sigh as the memory of their first round came and went. It certainly wasn’t as easy task to outrun that trio, but hey, more people did mean for an easier outcome... Hopefully. 

With the rules in mind, the three gave a nod before walking into the room. And just as it was described, the room was filled with the scent of old books and parchment. Denys felt right at home as the smell reminded him of his time spent with his beloved mother.  But this wasn’t the time to reminisce on phantoms; he wanted to see what these games led to... If they even had a prize waiting for them at the end of it. 

“Mark the intersections,” Yew started, “On the ground, mark the entry ways you go down so we know where to navigate.” 

“If there’s just  dead end, strike your mark with a line so we know not to go down that way.” Edea quipped before heading into the maze first.

At the Lady’s mark, the two ran towards the clearing. Aimee was holding up rather well in terms of sprinting with that wound on her torso; Henry justified it as the adrenaline beginning to hit now that this was the last challenge. 

From behind them, Hen heard the unmistakable sound of metal-- that Black Knight must be around there somewhere. As they made it to the tables, he was hyper vigilant over their surroundings to assure that the Knight wouldn’t nab them. 

“Henry?” Aimee started as she looked at the table to fiddle with the first puzzle, “Tell me a story?”  She needed something to calm her down enough to actually solve the puzzles, and amusingly enough, Henry told the best stories. 

Henry huffed softly at the request; he had his own problems presently... And yet??

“A long time ago, there was this book full of stories... It was the favoured artefact of a story-loving wizard, and despite the fact that the wizard would have dozens of customers coming through their doors for spells, potions, or readings, they couldn’t help but feel lonely,” the sound of metal drawing near caught his attention, and with a snap of his fingers, the two ran towards the blue pillar of light.

“So, the wizard enchanted the book to allow the residents within the pages to come out once every year-- on the wizard’s own birthday... Aimee, how many did you finish?” 

The girl was heaving as she held her side with both hands. From the bandages, red began to seep through-- clearly telling Henry that she was bleeding a lot more under there than they initially thought. Once more, he called her name, and she leaned on him for support. 

“I just finished the first on, but my sight is getting blurry...” Shit. That didn’t sound good. Henry held onto her for a moment as he watched the Knight stalk around them, then he continued:

“The wizard was overjoyed to finally have friends of their own, even if they had to enchant them to life... And, at the beginning, the storybook characters were happy to celebrate their friend on their birthday... But as the years went by, they craved a life outside their paper lined prison. Anyone want to guess what they did?”

So that was it. The final death match of the night was between Henry and Aimee. 

There was a silence that grew between the two, and for the first time in a very, very long time: Henry felt uncomfortable in that silence. He was caught between a rock and a hard place. Forget what he was thinking a minute ago about having no one to go back to; he knew that even if he had no family, he still wanted to live. At the end of it, Henry was still selfish enough to fight for his life against his opponent for that second chance... But now, to live means to win against Aimee-- the one person he just told to send his greeting back to her family.  This shouldn’t change anything. 

Silently, Henry turned to his wounded friend-- eyes completely devoid of any emotion, and offered his hand to escort her to either his or her final resting place. How sick was it that even after all this strife, they still wanted to watch? Aimee heaved a heavy sigh to dispel these thoughts as she took Henry’s hand to follow the Lady to the next challenge. 

“Alight. What do we gotta do to be worthy of Excalibur?” she asked the Lady, “And really... Most importantly... What do we do to get the hell outta here?” Honestly, she just had to know how they were going to leave this place for good... What’s to say that the Collector wouldn’t allow them to escape and just... Prolong their time within the exhibit to keep them all there? Gods above, she hoped that wouldn’t be the case. After this is all over, there was a hope that she would just return to Luxendarc and forget this night even happened. 

However, that was just a sad wishful thought. No amount of sleep or time would ever undo all this death and suffering...

“I am.” Denys answered casually while Yew and Edea waved when they heard their names, “Are you two alright? Those thuds sounded like they hurt...” he offered his hand to both men to help them back on their feet. Soon, the trio fell silent while the information began trickling out of Geist and Janne. 

By the sound of it: they were going to be chased around again; however, the fact that it was structured as a maze made Edea wonder if they were to find the center to progress further-- or win the challenge. 

Yew was busy looking over the strategies on the white board, but the mention of Bella’s name made a shiver go up his spine. He remembered their first meeting well... That entire arc really did scare him to the point where he’d ask Magnolia to go first in any room at the Clovis Orphanage in case it was full of dolls.  He turned to face his friend to ask further about this teddy bear, but Rafaele’s voice echoed through the room to command his attention. 

"Hold on! ” Edea called out, “Are you going tell us the objective of this challenge or not?” 

Quietly, Denys shifted his  attention back to his former Empire soldiers, “Do either of you know what this room’s objective is?”

“I’ll take Aimee’s vote.” Henry quipped, his eyes were full of resolve as he looked at the group in front of them. This group... They had something he didn’t...

Simply put, they had people waiting for them out the museum. Minette for Kamii, Angelo and Rev for Aimee, their respective countries for their other friends outside of Luxendarc, and the Venus sisters for Fiore-- believe it or not.  Ever so often he would hear Einheria talk to Edea about Fiore, and it sounds like the girls actually liked being around him since being recruited by the Bloodrose Legion. 

All this to say... His family was here. The two people he loved the most were dead in past exhibits, and he’d be damned if he left them behind. Besides--

“She’s already hurt. I’m not sending her in a death match if it means it’s not a fair fight,” he looked to the Hawkeye with a soft smile, “Just... Say hi to Angelo and Rev for me.... Ok?” Hen then stepped forward, ready to cast his own card in the drawing. 

Aimee didn’t even want to argue with that logic. If she wanted to go home, she had to win the challenge, and there was a slim chance of her succeeding if she went in now... Yet...  As she walked towards the cards to vote, she quietly dropped her card in with Henry’s. 

“Don’t worry, Hen.... I’ll pass on your greeting.”

Edea and Yew gave each other high fives when they passed the challenge. Maybe having Kamiizumi and DeRosa here was what helped the most... They spent the most time in the maze to even notice that Lukas was controlling the shadows. Definitely a team effort. 

The two hopped down to reunite with the three older men, and Denys ruffled his brother’s hair for a job well done; he also offered Edea a quick high five and their hands smacked with a satisfying SLAP!

“Nice heads up, Swordmaster.” Edea commented happily, “Shall we head in--!” The sound of thuds caught Edea off guard first; she ran out the door to see what might have made that sound. Honestly, the two people Edea was anticipating to see on the other side was Geist and Janne... So if that was either one of them, then it was them that made that thud... And it didn’t sound good-- at least, not to her. So if they were hurt, she definitely wanted to make sure they got medical attention if they needed it. 

Denys cleared his throat and gestured to the door, a bit red in the face due to the flirtatious nature DeRosa and Lukas had for each other.  “Sh-Shall we?”

Oh... Jackal loved using that tactic while training too...  Whenever they went to the Harte Estate to train with Lena and Jackal, if the thief was their designated opponent, he’d use that sing-song tone of voice to egg them on.... And to be perfectly honest, it did bug Edea a bit; however, it didn’t bug her to the point where she would break focus. 

While the brothers were busy trying to catch the shadows now that they were going even faster, they heard the flustered tone of Lukas just above them. Yew and Denys soon found Edea, each of the huffing a bit for air. They exchanged looks before pinpointing their eyes at Lukas... DeRosa and Kamiizumi had a point: there were no rules against attacking him directly...

“Execute Plan 47: Dotie Lea.” Denys muttered softly. Edea and Yew gave a quick ‘Right.’ before breaking in different directions.  While the two younger guardians went running towards the balcony. they switched asterisks while Denys triggered the Ranger Edea left for him. 

He pulled the string back of the bow, aiming his attack just close enough to miss him if he stayed still... Then throughout the room, his voice boomed, “I DENY YOUR TRICKS, LUKAS!”  Allowing the arrow to fly towards the balcony, just before it could even land near him-- the tip exploded in white powder to obstruct his vision. 

When the powder settled, Yew was in front of Lukas with a Wakizashi pointed at him, while Edea had a kunai to his back.  Both were holding the ninja and phantom asterisk respectively. 

“There was no rule about creating diversions to allow them to get the last of your shadows, Lukas. So, this isn’t cheating.” Yew smiled.