Standing side by side, Tomoe and Amelia look over the room right after the entrance. Further down, a large hallway at the end of the giant room lets Tomoe know that there is more space further away.

“Lia” Tomoe says “any idea on what is happening with the Grand Castle? It isn’t this big from the outside… right?”

“No, it isn’t. Just staring at it makes my head spin.”

“I can understand that.” Then, turning to Amelia, Tomoe asks “What happened?”

“Well, we were attacked by surprise, that is what happened.”

“Ah?! How?” says Tomoe, raising her voice without realizing it.

“Can’t honestly say.” Says Amelia, as she rubs the back of her neck “We were standing right out of the Grand Castle before Lady Aquamarine opened the entrance. The Grand Castle then started to shine with that strange light. When we entered, we all were really impressed by the size of this room, and, well, we were attacked. Out of nowhere. Lady Aquamarine ordered us to run and then split into two groups to lose them.”

They split up…

The news of the an out of nowhere attack, and them then splitting up, both felt like rocks in Tomoe’s stomach. Thinking about it, it was the better option, we have non-combatants after all, yet… How can she find them in a place as large as this one? The unknowns continue to pile up against her.

Once again, the glaring abyss that her limitations couldn’t overcome was observing her back. Rain continues to fall, and although it doesn’t drench her, she can’t shake the feeling of almost being underwater.

Tomoe did the only thing she could do that moment, joined her hands and a new slew of silent prayers left her heart.

Then, seeing again the bodies in the floor, Tomoe asks “How did they manage to enter?”

“Beats me, but I’m sure of one thing: the bastards are tough.” Says Amelia, as she makes circles with her right shoulder.

“Who did it?”

“Uh? Who did what?”

“Who put you under the rubble? That one must be the most dangerous one.”

“Ah. Yes, you bet he is.” Turning to Tomoe, she adds “It fits the description that Lady Aquamarine gave us. There is no mistaking it: The one that attacked me is the remaining leader of the enemy army. I heard his name is Alexander, Lord of House Lapis.”

At this information, Tomoe felt that she received a punch to the gut. Biting her lower lip, she asks “Aura?”

“I… I… saw blue.”

“You saw ‘blue’? Why do you sound unsure?”

“Because of the way he fought.”

“How so?”

“It's only my gut feeling, but… he looked quite confident, smug even. Wanted to punch his teeth out and use them to make a collar.”

“Sounds rough.”

“It was.”

Taking some steps forward, Tomoe turns to face Amelia face to face.

“Ready to go?”

“Sure am. Now that I’m healed enough, we need to reunite with the others. They worry me, that surprise attack was savage and I saw a lot of Aquamarines running in all directions, before being buried by the rubble that is.”

“Was it a large group?”

“Hmmm… Not that many actually, about ten thousand? All of them know how to fight though.”

“Any idea where they went?”

Raising her hand, Amelia points towards the giant hallway “That is the only passage to continue forward.” Then, looking at the ground, to the bodies around her, she adds “We have lost so many of us” With a sad tinge in her voice.

Putting her fists to her chest, Tomoe says “Let's go and give back the favor.”

Amelia raises her eyebrows and then nods.

Engaging both Auras, and enhancing their bodies, they start to race.

Getting to the giant hallway, Tomoe can’t shake the feeling that she is instead crossing a valley, a valley of ivory and marble, with thousands of full armor sets against the wall. Continuing forward and getting pass the hallway, they need to make a stop to in order to take in the view: A hall is in front of them, and in the same fashion than the first room, the hall is unnaturally large, impossible so, larger than the room they left behind. Right in front of them, there is another abandoned city, almost completely in ruins and overtaken with vegetation. Further away from the city, a huge wall rises, with a natural passageway across a normal-sized gatehouse. The wall blocks the sight from further beyond.

Feeling a pull in her right arm, Tomoe turns to Amelia, and sees she is pointing to their right at the ground, were recent marks of a battle can be seen. Nodding, Tomoe and Amelia get underway, going down the stairs to get into the blades of grass of the vegetation that has conquered the city.

Crossing streets, following the burnt marks, grass and trees burning out, they move through the ruins of the city. Getting to the side of a tall building still standing, Tomoe pulls Amelia into a stop and points upward. Amelia nods, and they enter the building.

Going through the dense vegetation invaded the building, they start getting into the upper floors. First, a set of stairs. Second, the stairs have gone out, but they jump between the gaps. Third, a tree has grown one of its branches into the place where the stairs are and have overtaken the place. Climbing the branch, they get out of the building. Continuing to climb the tree, they get to the top, about double the size of the building they were in just before. Then, Tomoe noticed something: The city is in dead silence.

“Not even the sound of the fighting” she whispers.

Tomoe overlooks the city from this vantage point. Looking towards the wall, she sees that a new fire has been just started.

Turning to Amelia, Tomoe points toward the smoke and says “Look. It has just started.”

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Putting a hand to her chin, Amelia replies “Don’t know Cotton. Seeing how fast we reached this position, I would say that the fight must be, by now, further away. This a bit too close.”

“Couldn’t it be that they were hiding and have been discovered?”

Closing her eyes, Amelia ponders in silence. After some moments, she opens them again, and says “Can’t hear anything Cotton. No sound of arrows, fire, electricity, nothing.”

“I see…” Tomoe turns to the smoke, then back to Amelia, and says “You’re believing that it is a trap.”

“Good to see that we haven’t lost an understanding of each other.” Amelia says, flashing a slight smile.

“In all honesty, that would be impossible. Too much pain to forget.” Tomoe snorts.

“And still you kept with me.” Amelia replies, sticking her tongue out.

Tomoe snorts again, then asks “What about this: Lets go, but we stay at the fringes. If we see something suspicious, we bail out.”

Giving another look to the city in other directions, Amelia finally says “Well, there’s nothing left for us to cling on. I don’t like it but we could get really lost here, and we wouldn’t want that.”

Moving down the tree, they jump right across the street to the building in front of them and continue jumping on, moving through the buildings, towards the direction the smoke is located.

Crossing the third street from building to building, Tomoe lands, and when she is about to stand, her knees falter. Amelia lands besides her, and grabs her by the arms, helping her stand up.

“Thanks” Tomoe says, with a wry smile.

“How much Aura do you have left?”

“Not much I’m afraid.”

“I see. That certainly isn’t favorable.”

“Sorry.”

Amelia smiles slightly “What are you apologizing for? Knowing you, you didn’t have any other choice.”

“I… could’ve done better.”

“Don’t focus on what could’ve happened, focus on the now. You’re alive, you did your job.” Amelia says as she gives a couple of taps on Tomoe’s back.

Tomoe snorts “Is that a low or high standard?”

Amelia snorts “Depending on how many snorts you think are too many snorts.”

Tomoe chuckles.

Amelia continues “Come on, on your feet Beheader.”

“Sir yes sir” Tomoe replies, as she plants her feet on the ground, and tests her knees.

“You good?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

“Not for long.” A voice just came to them. Out of nowhere, in front of them, with the door open, a soldier of the enemy army stood up, with two more behind her.

In an instant, Auras flashed. Three yellows, two blues, and the room Tomoe and Amelia were in, filled instantly with a high-speed flamethrower. Both girls jumped down the window, getting to the street level, and started to run away, but not before Tomoe could see a column of fire, rising to the air.

Moving through bushes and between many trees, Tomoe and Amelia keep running, evading the fire serpent attacks that constantly reach them. Leaving this high vegetation area, they enter a zone of the city where the buildings are build up close to one another, low on vegetation. Getting to the main street, the fire serpents crashes against a couple of buildings, taking them down.

As they are running, Tomoe catches a glimpse of something shining in an alleyway. Seeing back to Amelia, who is running in front of her, and then looking up, she reaches for and stops Amelia from continuing, preventing her from being reached by multiple fire serpents who just crash into the ground in front of both of them.

Grabbing Amelia by the wrist, Tomoe moves towards the alley. Being the place that is tightest, barely the two of them can pass as they continue to run. Reaching a small plaza with a well at the center and sewers following the square shape of the plaza, they stop again right before another fire serpent hits them. When the fire serpent is gone, an enemy soldier is standing in its place.

“Nowhere else to run.” Says the enemy soldier, opening both of his arms.

Crouching, they turn again, only to see two other soldiers from where they just came.

“It was a truly bad idea coming here, princesses.”

“I hate to say this Cotton, but I agree. What happened?” Amelia says while struggling for air.

“Maybe… I saw a mirage…” Tomoe says, falling to the ground, struggling for air and sweating rivers.

“Hey, were are the others?” The man alone in front of them called to the other two in the back.

“Dunno man, maybe they got tired and let us the grunt work.”

“Those guys… Gotta grill their asses when we come back. Let's end this here boys.”

“Yes!” says the other soldier, with the clear voice of a woman.

As the soldiers call forward their fire taming, a yell resonates within the plaza “Get down!”

As Tomoe and Amelia duck, from the sewers, water comes out as spears at high speed. Nine spears, seven hits, three on the heads, one for each soldier.

To the side of the plaza, one of the wooden doors to one of the houses open. Getting down the stairs, a limping Lorelei reveals herself to the two girls.

“Good to see you both are ok” says Lorelei with a smug smile.

This time, Amelia falls to her knees, joining Tomoe on the floor. Both can’t believe it. Looking at Amelia, Tomoe was grabbed a bit by surprise to see her already tearing up, because although Tomoe didn’t realize exactly until now, Amelia was also wishing with all her heart to see familiar faces. At this, Tomoe can’t stop herself from tearing up too.

“What are you doing? Leave the crying for later! stand up, we need to get to the safe house.” Lorelei barks, somehow without losing her usual easygoing attitude, and her voice broke a little. Even with all that, it was clear to Tomoe that the invasion has taken a large toll on her too.