As soon as he's sure that his lord will stay put Rasha sets off like a shot, transforming just long enough to open the door before dropping back on to all fours and racing off through the halls, his nose up for any sign of negativity. Any sign that someone, anyone in the palace is feeling anything more than perhaps a little jealous or something. His tail flares out as he runs, helping him take corners without tripping on his own feet, and he is careful to avoid being seen. 'I need to find them, whoever they are' His mind is filled with the need to discover the evil doers, for there is no doubt this is evil. He hates to think it of his fellow dream denizens, but as he's often had his own morals questioned by many of them, it's easier for him than most to view his fellows in a less than absolute purity of spirit.

Little scents linger here and there, but none seem substantial. Finally he decides to go to the place the guardian vanished and begin sifting out scents there. 'I've not always been seen as a good guy, I know my pranks have done my no real services here, but now, in this time, I am actually very glad for them' He lets out a tiny kitty growl as he leaps from hiding spot to hiding spot in one of the more crowded corridors on his way to his destination. He knows now, without his nature being what it is, he would be completely useless right now. He's just a little dream, not powerful enough to sift through the energies beyond a few meters from him, and even then most dreams aren't all that good at it, the skill not a priority. But, as a prankster, he has the skills, and the practice. He will make a difference in finding and rescuing My Lord Seishu.

~*~*~*~*~

The doctor's check-up revels no change in the guardian, but given he is in the dream realm normally he would have expected some positive change. However he keeps himself from getting upset by reminding himself that being around Inui is more than enough to slow his lord's healing process, just as being in the dream realm had slowed Seishu's recovery significantly. Letting out a soft sigh he reaches across the red head's body after he finishes his check to just run his fingers through Inui's hair, his eyes soft. He refrains from saying 'poor thing' aloud, not wanting Lord Enasi to feel even worse about wounding the innocent child, but he hopes a touch of the sentiment gets across in his action. Looking at the aforementioned lord he offers a strained smile. “No change, for either of you.” he murmurs, moving back around the bed to settle into his chair, hoping that simply sitting there with them will somehow be helpful, or at least keep Enasi and/or Inui from running off to find the missing guardian.

~*~*~*~*~

“More salt.” he calls out, putting his testing spoon away as he practically floats through the kitchen getting the mid day meal ready with his cadre of cooks working full tilt. Cho's eyes dart about the room, watching everyone like a hawk, but as far as he can tell, everyone there is simply there to cook. He hates to think that anyone would ever hurt anyone else, let alone one of his won little cooks, but he is not so naïve as to believe it's impossible. 'We all have to keep our eyes open, even me. . .' He saddened by the thought but as the feeling catches the attention of a little dream he passes he smiles warmly at it and pets the little one on the head before racing off to check the rolls. 'Eyes open, heart hopeful, that's the best I can do. . .' Taking a calming breath he begins plotting what he's going to bring his Lord, his love, and the rest who got left behind from this venture for however long the search takes.

+~*~*~*~*~+

Looking to the sky Harper curses under his breath as once again the sky lightens heralding yet another day greeting them in their search. Hearing the utterance Rue pauses beside the giant rodent and gives him a sad, sympathetic look. As if sensing what Harper is thinking the fairy murmurs, “That makes what, ten days now?” The general looks at him, nodding slowly and letting out a sigh before turning to greet the plant siblings as they race up to report in. His mind is pulled from the bad thoughts however by new ones as he spots the matching expressions of panic on their faces. Rue takes off once more, rising into a hover at the energy coming off of them but he waits to move anywhere until they at least give their report.

Finn is the first to speak up as they skid to a halt before their commander, though he does so softly, obviously distraught. “Ran and Lan are pinned down on the other side of town, Kaila and Jentou say that they need us over there right away to get them out.”

Starla adds with a hiss, “They say they can't even help the fight until get back-up, so Lan and Ran are fighting a mass of nightmare minions alone, and Jentou said at least two of them have already gone back to report to that Gin bastard!”

As soon as her words finish leaving her lips Harper motions for them to move out, it taking all his discipline to not race off and leave the siblings behind in his haste. He understands why they need the full team for this, the need to finish the fight quickly and intact outweighing the possibility that less of them could handle the fight and come out unscathed. His feet kick up dust as he races along, a few bewildered humans stopping to look at the odd occurrence as they are out on their early morning walks or errands, the hum of Rue's wings also making several turn their heads in curiosity. The siblings notice the humans noticing their passing and decide to inform Harper later that something is very wrong. Their affect on the world should not be something a human can notice.

~*~*~*~*~

Gin paces back and forth, the minions before him cowering slightly even while looking quite pleased with themselves. And some of Gin's most loyal followers they feel they are rather safe from the new guardian's wrath, however recent events have made them rather cautious. After the humiliation of Master Seishu basically strolling back in and giving him a tongue lashing like a child who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Gin has become rather unpredictable. In the past week alone he's sent some of the palace minions to well known dream gardens on earth, most coming back severely wounded, while still others he's punished himself for no greater offenses than asking a question. However, having delivered this “fantastic” news, they are quite sure he will at least be pleased with them.

The wicked smile that slowly grows on his lips is a good sign to them and they mimic the look, waiting for him to say something, anything encouraging, however, without a word, he leaves them standing there without so much as a glance. They look after him, watching the large side door to the throne room swing wildly on it's hinges with the force of which he'd kicked it open. Te delicate balance inside each of them, the same balance that exists in every nightmare minion, begins tipping inside the young ones, much as it has inside many of Gin's followers, and they can feel the negative inside them threatening to consume them, but in this moment, they can't seem to bring themselves to care, too stunned by his utter disregard for them.

Time was unimportant most of the time in the realms. It didn’t really matter when they had all the time in their worlds. But now, now was different. Enasi had stayed calm. He had stayed utterly patient with his minions, but he had been growing weary. He had been anxious. If he counted correctly, about a week and a few days had passed. He hoped he was wrong, but even just two days had been too long. His healing had gone relatively slow while he was protecting Inui but he felt fine. There was no convincing the doctor though. Everytime the doctor saw the huge scar on his guardian it only made him worry that what he was doing wasn’t enough.

“How are you feeling Inui?” The doctor spoke as he examined the small minion over.

“Be’er ac’uawy.” Inui said with a tongue depressor in his mouth. Crios removed it from his mouth and nodded.

“You are healing up. Slowly though now that you’re taking in negative energy. Lord Enasi, your progress is a lot slower since you’ve been keeping your energy low.” Inui frowned a little, knowing that it was his fault, but Enasi gave a nod in understanding. He climbed out of bed right after, making both give confused looks.

“Inui, I need your help dear. I know you’re not at full health, but we can’t sit around and wait for miracles.”

“Lord Enasi, I highly recommend-”

“Crios, I’m not going to stand by and just wait for them to find him. It’s been far too long.” He rubbed his hand, looking at the fading symbol, his worry only further growing. “Besides, if anything happens to me, I’m in my own realm. It’ll be easy to heal. It’s Inui we have to worry about.” Crios shrank a little towards the sudden stern tone of the guardian. However it softened after and he relaxed, bowing a little.

He didn’t approve of it, but he still complied. “Yes sir.” Crios made note to get a few of those medicines ready for both Inui and Enasi.

The guardian put his hand out to Inui, waiting for him to get out of bed and follow him. His wound was still a bit numb, but it didn’t hurt unless he moved in odd ways. However, he was only going to walk around for a bit. “Inui, I need you to tap into your negative energy for me. I know it’s dangerous, but I need you to see if you can find Seishu. We have to use all our options- and our human realm teams have yet to return home.” He tried to stay calm as possible despite his own growing worry. The last thing he wanted was for Inui’s worry to grow out of control. “Don’t worry about harming anyone okay? That’s for me to worry about.”

~~~~~~~~

The siblings race as fast as they can behind Harper and Rue. It takes them longer to get there without Rue or Harper’s speed, but they make it just in time to see the brothers surrounded. “Starla!” Harper didn’t have to further his command. He rushed into battle with Finn. Starla raised her hands in the air, causing various vines to grab the nightmare minions and raise them in the air.

Rue skidded to a halt, not in any condition or shape to fight anyone. Instead, he kept watch, speeding around in circles to make sure none of them tried escaping or calling for more back up.

'I can smell it!' Rasha is in a tizzy. All wee he's been racing about, morning noon and night, trying to track down a faint scent that seems to keep disappearing on him. It's faint, and somehow feels not exactly negative, but it's definitely unusual and out of place. It took him days to realize that it always disappeared from one of two general areas, and now that he's caught the scent again he doesn't even bother to follow it. Instead he races to the area it normally vanishes and tucks himself up into a corner to watch over the hallway leading out on to the plains behind the palace. His little whiskers twitch and tremble every so often, but other than that, every part of his body is completely still.

'If I can just find out who or what this is, I'll be able to figure out if it's a waste of my time to chase down or not. If I can get a good look, maybe I can confirm whether or not I'm on the right track and if so, where to go from here. . . .' His thought still as a figure comes into view. It's wearing a thick cloak with the hood pulled up, but the little troublemaker's nose is sharp. The disguise can't hide the smell of disinfectant, gauze, alcohol, not to mention blood and other bodily fluids. He stares hard at the figure, trying to distinguish anything that would give it away, but other than having what looks to be a really wide head he can't see anything of the underlaying figure. 'Shorter than me, that's for sure, but I can't even tell if they're fat or thin. . . .'

Suppressing a sigh he watches it vanish from view, counts to five, then leaps the fifteen feet to the floor, landing softly in his slick shoes, his feline body transforming half way down. The being is gone. Out the back door and through a portal. He felt it, but he could not risk following. Little dream that he is, he wouldn't last a minute riding the coat tails of a much more powerful being. Taking one last, long whiff he rotates his head this way and that, bitting his lip. “Female. . .Minion. . . .” he murmurs softly, looking towards his guardian's room. He knows Lord Enasi will want to know, has been itching, to know anything, for day now. “But, Harper said. . .And Crios, he'd. . .Crios!” Transforming he races through the halls. If he can just get Crios out of their lord's room, he can talk to the doctor about smelling what's obviously someone in his department vanishing off into the human realm on a daily basis.

'If I can do that, maybe he and I can discuss what to tell Lord Enasi, and. . . .And. . . .' His thought trail off as he approaches the door. The lord is up, and he's approaching the door. He can feel it. And Inui's with him. 'Oh, no, I wasn't fast enough! Lord Enasi's doing something reckless, I have to do something! I have to stop him, he needs to stay put! Crios would not approve, is he in there? Maybe he and I can. . . .' Skidding to a halt outside the room, his shoes squeaking on the tile underfoot, he takes a few breaths before throwing the door open and throwing his arms around his lord.

~*~*~*~*~

The battle rages back and forth across the park grounds, neither side able to get the upper hand, and Rue begins to notice that the dust and tossing leaves are beginning to cloud the area. 'Oh no! If they can't see, or I can't see in, someone might escape!' Fretting, he darts back and forth, his hands held up in front of his lips. He only stops when he notices the dust his wings blowing away, keeping the area directly around him clear. Without thinking he begins circling the battlefield. Moving faster and faster the wind around the combatants begins to shift and more, throwing the nightmare minions off kilter, while the dream minions – who are far more used to Rue's presence and the effects of his buzzing – begin to take the upper hand. He can see Harper giving him the thumbs up with one of his furry humanimal paws.

Nodding to himself he watches as Kaila is the first to really recover, but before anyone else can get used to the buzzing and the wind Rue breaks the sound barrier and there is a resounding boom. The sound echoes off the buildings and all around the area human voices can be heard. Rue breaks to a stop, his eyes wide in terror. The dream minions and Kaila's team take down the opposing nightmare minions swiftly, the vines unaffected by the sound and providing Kaila and Harper the opening they needed to deliver blows hard enough to knock out those still standing. The two pause after taking down the last of them - Kaila taking a tight hold of his brother who looks ready to eat the fallen after spotting a cut on Kaila's brow – and together they assess the situation.

Finn lay cradles in his sister's arms, wounded but clearly still breathing. Lan and Ran look rather battered and bruised, and other than looking furious and covered in others' blood, Jentou looks completely unharmed. Rue of course is completely alright, but Harper follows his gaze and nearly jumps out of his fur as he sees humans approaching from all angles. Looking at the fallen minions he barks out orders quickly. “Lan, Ran, Kaila, grab those three over there, I'll take these two. Rue, you stay on Starla and help her as needed. We need to get away from here. Kaila, lead the way!” He looks to his counterpart, almost expecting him – or his brother at least – to object to having orders barked at his equal. Instead they simply nod and Jentou even helps hoist the indicated minion on to his brother's shoulder.

The people don't seem to be able to see them clearly yet, most looking around confusedly and looking past those gathered, but a few definitely are locking on to at least vague shapes and Harper makes haste to Starla's side. He takes only a few moments to whisper softly to her. “We need to go now Starla. I know you're strong. You can do this. Pick him up, it's time to go.” She looks up at her general, tears shimmering unfallen in her eyes, and with a faint nod she finds her strength. Rue hovers next to her, hoisting Finn up as she stands to make it easier on her before drifting around behind her to be at the ready should she stumble or if Finn wakes and sends he tumbling toward the ground.

Crios fumbles for something to say, anything that will hold his Lord’s attention and convince him to sit back down. On the other hand, he understood his guardian’s impatience. He had waited so long and neither of them received information from Harper. Even he was starting to get a little worried. Enasi looked out into the distance, at nothing in particular and frowned a little.

“What’s wrong sir?”

Enasi couldn’t put his finger on it, but once again he found himself rubbing the symbol on his hand. “Something’s wrong. . .” He glanced over at Crios. “Something else is wrong.” Crios gave a confused look, only for Enasi to continue. “I’m not sure, but it’s not right. . .” He could feel the balance of the worlds slowly being pulled into chaos. It wasn’t settling right with his stomach.

“We need to take time to think this through. We need to-” Crios’ attention turned to the sudden rush of energy come toward them. Inui was quiet throughout the entire endeavor, watching the doctor and dream guardian- mainly watching the less than pleasant reactions from Enasi. He had never seen him so upset before- sad sure, but nothing like this. When Rasha entered, Inui perked up a little, excited to see one of his friends after being stuck in bed for so long. “Rasha, be careful.” Crios spoke out of instinct. Not seeing his guardian falter made him relax however.

“Rasha, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” Enasi gently rubbed his back as the shapeshifter hugged him.

“Oh Lord Enasi I had- I had gotten so worried. More worried! First Lord Seishu and Inui then- then,” Rasha gave the saddest expression he could muster. “I mean, what if you got hurt again? Things are already so chaotic now and- and I wouldn’t know what to-” He was silenced with a comforting hug. At the time Rasha was simply making excuses for Enasi to stay still for a few moments, but he had started to believe his own ruse.

“Relax Rasha, relax. I’m not going to get hurt again. There’s nothing you need to worry about, okay? The only thing I planned to do was go and take a look outside. Inui was going to tag along in order to help.” Rasha pouted, looking from his guardian to Crios. “I’m not sitting in this room while realms are crumbling.” He made it final.

An idea popped into the shapeshifter’s head. He bounced on his toes for a brief second, staring at his beloved guardian with a serious expression. He remembered just how nervous he had always been around him at first- but now was not the time for such nervousness. “Well, if you’re going to go. . .you should at least gain some energy. You haven’t been able to heal properly while protecting Inui. It’s not safe to go out while you’re still injured.” He gave an apologetic look towards Inui, not meaning to make him feel guilty. The nightmare minion nodded quietly and sat back on the bed. “If you go to TB, I’m sure it wouldn’t take as long either. . ? I can sit with Inui. And Crios can stick by in order to make sure we’re okay.” He figured it was the only option in order to separate the two.

Crios didn’t like the idea, but a brief look in Rasha’s eyes made him go quiet before nodding. “It would help if you were fully healed sir. That would be one less thing to worry over. . .”

Looking in between the three, Enasi nodded. “Fine. I’ll go out and get healed first.” It was the least he could do considering Rasha did raise good points. At least he took the time to reason with him. He didn’t want to admit it, but he also felt himself getting a lot weaker. Not simply because of the lack of energy, but because his connection with Seishu wasn’t as strong as it used to have been. Enasi nodded again and headed to the door, Rasha walking him all the way out. Crios and Inui sat in the room, waiting for Rasha’s return rather curiously.

“Be careful please.” Rasha smiled when a gentle kiss was placed on his forehead before bounding off towards Enasi’s room. “I found something!”

~~~~~~~~~

“Finn. . .” Starla held tight to her unconscious brother, following near Ran and Lan who each had a fallen nightmare minion over their shoulders. They looked at each other, understanding the sibling bond Starla had. They didn’t exactly know how to express their encouragement, and they were still in the heat of running away from people.

“Are humans supposed to be able to see us!?” Rue spoke in mild fright. He could have sworn he saw two of the humans staring right at him as he flew around.

“No. They’re not.” Harper responded, trying to stick to a decent running pace to keep up with the group. The two minions he held did little to slow his pace. “I’m sure this is apart of the chaos that has already happened from Seishu’s disappearance.”

“I wonder if Lord Enasi knows. . .” Rue spoke loud enough for them to hear, though it was more of a rhetorical for himself. Harper didn’t respond. He had somewhat hoped his guardian didn’t know, in effort to keep him calm, however he had the feeling that after so long Lord Enasi probably began to sleuth things out himself.

“This way.” Kaila turned a corner, leading into an abandoned brick apartment complex. The sign they passed mentioned it being torn down in a couple of days or so. Inside, they all tossed the minions on the ground while Starla carefully placed her brother down, creating a soft moss padding to keep him comfortable. Rue stopped hovering and took the liberty to sit with him while Starla went over and tied the minions up with vines.

“I need to get Finn home. We need to take a break. We can’t keep searching until we burn out. If-,” Starla corrected herself with a more determined look. “When we find Seishu, we have to be at our best to face whatever or whoever decided to cause this much hell. And we’ll need that energy to get Seishu’s throne back.” She glanced over her shoulder, checking on Finn and then looked at the two leaders, Kaila and Harper. They needed guidance. They needed a better plan. It had been more than a few days and Seishu wasn’t around yet.

Crios waves a hand at the dream, motioning him to calm down before tilting his head towards Inui. Inui tries to say he's fine but one look from the doctors critical glare and he hushes up. He doesn't more away though. Rasha obviously has big new. Big enough news to get Enasi to leave so he can deliver it. Not that he's tapped into his negative energy he can feel deception a lot easier now. For his part Rasha takes a calming breath before moving closer to Crios so he can speak more quietly. Inui leans in to listen. “I've been following a trail for a few days now. It's always eluded me though. It kept vanishing. It felt. . . .Just a bit off. It was the most off thing I could find and with it always vanishing on me, I thought it must be important!”

Crios takes a seat, steepling his hands in front of his mouth as he listens. A part of him wants to urge the prankster to get to the point, but he knows that would just agitate the dream further. Taking a deep breath, Rasha goes on. “Anyways, I finally managed to track the source today! It'd always vanished in one of two places, one being the medical win, the other a side door to the palace. Anyways, I felt it again, and ran to the outside door, and I watched, and I saw!” Crios sits forward, a painful ache in his stomach as he thinks it may be one of his team.

“I saw them, but they had a hood on. I could really see much, but it kinda looked like they had a really big head, but mostly human body. It was strange, maybe not a big head, but the hood was held out at the sides and stuff, and I was confused, but. . . .I. . . .Crios?” The dream and minion both look at Crios, the expression on his face bringing Rasha's rambling to a screeching halt.

The doctor looks disbelieving, confused, hurt, and angry all at once. Inui can feel himself feeling better as he leeches off the waves of negative and has to carefully tuck it in best he can to keep from hurting Rasha. The shapeshifter on the other hand transforms into a kitty and hops up into Crios' lap, trying to make him feel better with little kitty nuzzles to his chest and chin. After several long minutes of silence however Crios ask one question. “Is the person gone now?” Rasha pauses and nods. Without wanting Crios is on his feet and off towards the medical ward. He pauses at the door. “Go back to where they vanished and wait. Come inform me the moment it's safe to reach me. Inui, stay here, and stay under covers, please.” He knows he can't order the little nightmare minion around, but he also knows that Inui love his master and won't do anything to jeopardize getting him back.

Inui and Rasha both nod, doing as they were bidden. On his way to the spot the minion vanished Rasha worries about Crios, glancing over his furry shoulder every few steps. 'I really hope he'll be okay. He seemed really upset. . . .'

~*~

Crios is very upset, and while he prays that Rasha s somehow wrong, or that his translations of the facts are wrong, deep down inside he can feel the words ringing true. It's one of his. It would take a trained medical professional to subdue Seishu silently, not to mention lead him away from people to begin with. 'Seishu is smarter than that. Foolish, reckless, and on occasion downright moronic. . . But he's not stupid. . .If he was taken, ti was by surprise, and there are only a few minions with the talent to do something like that. . . .' With a sigh he slips into the main room of the medical wing and begins doing bed checks. The doctor on duty looks at him a little funny but says nothing. It always helps to have extra hands.

Having checked the chart on the way in to see who is working at this hour his stomach drops to see that the doctor is the only one in the room. Offhandedly he asks, “Where's your partner for this shift? They take the day off because of sigh a light load right now?”

The doctor looks at him, then looks around the room. “I didn't even notice she was gone! She's always so quiet, that Fuan. No, no, I don't know where she is. Should I call for her? Did you need her?” He seems sincere and Crios really hopes he can trust what he ears.

'But then again, I never suspected her. . . .And if I'm right, that means she deceived me. . . .' Shaking his head he smiles at his underling. “No, no, it's alright. I was just wondering.”

~*~*~*~*~

Harper looks back at the warrior, trying to think of a better plan, trying to come up with some way to keep going without having to take the time to bring Finn back. 'I know we have to do something. Maybe we can treat him. He could have just taken a hard knock, he may not be. . .' A faint continuous twitching out of the corner of his eye catches his attention, interrupting his thoughts. Turning to see what it is he stares openly as both Kaila and Jentou stand, heads up, eyes wide, hands linked. The movement comes from their wings, twitching almost rhythmically in tandem with one another. In a gentle voice as if trying not to break the almost trance like state he asks softly, “Seishu?”

His heart skips a beat as they both nod, their eyes locked on a distant point past one of the walls. Rue's wings let out a happy little flutter before stilling again. Finn lets out a groan and Starla is at his side in an instant. “Finn, are you okay? You should rest, I. . .” He shakes his head before grabbing it tightly.

“No, no, I'm okay, I just. . .I just need some water, and maybe a new head. I'm fine. . .” The siblings drop into a quiet fight about his current state and Rue leaves them to it, overing over to Harper.

Looking nervously happy he motions towards Kaila and Jentou, watching their fingers turn white as they grip one another's hands tightly in clear distress. “They found him. We should. . .Mister Seishu, he needs us. . .”

Harper nods, looking over at the plant siblings. He knows what needs to be done, but his basic instincts are at war. [i]'Finn is hurt, but I don't know how much, and part of me is sure that the best thing to do is to get him to safety first, but. . . But we don't know how much time we have, and I will need all the hands I can for this, even injured ones. The realms depend on this, on getting Seishu back, and we don't know how much time Night has left. . .” He looks at Finn, waiting for a break in the arguing before calling out, “Soldier, are you okay to continue on?”

Finn looks up at Harper, his general, his sister holding his arm tightly, and without hesitation nods. “Yes sir. I am still able to assist.” Starla lets out a small noise, but Harper disregards it.

'The point is that he's ready and willing to see this through. That energy is what we need right now' “On your feet then.” Finn complies as quickly as possible, taking a drink Starla supplied for him and downing it before giving the general another nod. Harper gives a sharp nod back before turning to his counterpart. Reaching out he gingerly places a hand on the second's shoulder. Kaila barely registers the touch and when Harper leans in and murmurs, “Lead the way.” he doesn't hesitate for an instant. He and his brother are off, through the walls, and on to the street before the slowest in the group clear the first room. Harper calls out for Rue to keep pace behind him while Harper himself moves at a bit of a slower pace behind his counterpart as to not lose the rest of their group. 'This is it. . . .We're almost there. . .We've almost found him. . .'

Enasi sighed, taking a breath of fresh air. He took down the protective barriers, letting the natural positive energy flow around him. It felt much better than being cooped up, however he was doing it to protect Inui so it was important. He absentmindedly walked, more focused on the energies around him than the scenery. He had walked to TB plenty of times to have the trail to heart- then again, he knew the entire realm by heart. It was one of the many parts of his job. There was no negative energy around. Everything was in balance in the area. In his search, he heard a soft hissing sound. “Hm?” Turning to his side, he saw the familiar large snake resting in a bush. It stretched out to greet him and Enasi smiled and rubbed its head. “Nice to see you as well. I can’t stay though. I must see TB.”

Once he was sure there was nothing out of the ordinary, the guardian took off in a slow jog towards the open field. The large turtle sensed his guardian from a distance and already had it’s large head out of it’s shell. “There’s been a disturbance in the balance. . .And you’ve been injured. No wonder your energy has been so low recently.” The turtle huffed, blowing a heavy gust of wind at the guardian. Instead of it knocking him backwards, it wrapped around the guardian, turning into a blanket of positive energy. The energy from the age old turtle was enough to aid the guardian in healing. In fact, he felt a lot better afterwards. Enasi bowed in thanks. Before he could begin, TB began to speak, so he sat in the somewhat tall grass. “You haven’t found the Nightmare Guardian.” It was just a statement of fact. Enasi patiently waited for him to build to his point. Ancient and wise, he was still a turtle and still a bit slow with movements and speech. “He’s not here, but there’s been a flickering negative energy...It comes and goes, but always in the same spot. I believed it to be the small minion at first until I realized it wouldn’t go in between realms like that.”

Enasi’s eyes widened a bit. “Could you possibly tell me where or who it was? I can feel the balance of the realms shifting. . .My mark is fading. . .I need all the help I can get.”

TB nodded slowly in understanding. “The realms are weakening at this sudden state. And you are as well. It’s happened before. One guardian gets weaker and weaker and the other does the same...You may feel the pain of the other too.” There was a pause before he continued. “The energy was in your castle...I cannot tell you who. There were too many weaker, sick energies around. But, I can tell you where that energy landed in the Human realm.”

~~~~~~~~

Rasha waited in his hiding spot. His entire body was still, if he even went noticed he could’ve been mistaken as a statue. The wait was long, but Rasha remained alert. He couldn’t let this mysterious figure escape him. Not this time. The figure was crafty and silent, managing to wade through the halls, going ways that most didn’t. Rasha couldn’t follow them for long with the lack of places to hide, so as fast as he could, he rushed back to Crios. From what he could smell, there were traces of metal and...food? For some odd reason, there was a heavy lingering of the smell of pizza. He didn’t know if that’d be helpful or not, but he kept the small details in mind. “Crios!” He yelled out as he got close to the medical ward.

The doctor had been walking around the medical ward, critically analyzing everything that was out. At first the doctor on duty thought they were being inspected and got a tad bit more nervous because of it. “You’re fine. I just am looking for something. . .” The doctor sighed and watched as Crios looked around.

“Do you need any help, sir?”

Crios shook his head, not taking his gaze off shelves and tables. He was trying to figure out if anything was out of place, if there were things taken out of where they should have been, however he didn’t find anything. Before he could continue going through one of the workspaces, his ears twitched at the sound of his name. ’Rasha must have found them.’ In his mind he knew Fuan was to be blamed, however his heart just wouldn’t allow it. At least not until they had cemented proof. “I think it may have been somewhere else. Keep up the good work. Everything is well here.” Crios hurried out, meeting the cat half way. Rasha didn’t stop. Instead, he bolted into a U-turn and ran to where the figure had appeared from.

“Definitely a she. I think something’s on her head though. The fabric was still able to cave in some spots of her hood. Smelled like metal and pizza oddly. She knows empty paths in the castle. I couldn’t hide to follow her so I got you.” He added a few more details he could make out. It was his quick run down before they stopped at the corner of the hall. They had to wait for the hooded figure to go through the portal again and just before it closed, Crios could hold it in place for them to follow her.

They just had to wait. . .

~~~~~~~~~~

“Thank you TB. I am in your debt.”

The large turtle let out a soft chuckle. “You are my guardian. Just keep this realm safe.” Enasi bowed, walking through the portal TB had created. When he walked out, the sudden chill made him shiver slightly. There was no one around, however there were plenty of cars parked. In front of him and practically exploding with positive energy was a bright, giant sign that read ’Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza’. For a moment, he stared at the cartoons on the sign. “A child’s play pen?”

Enasi spotted a girl and her father walking into the building, the former rambling on about pizza and games and how happy she was that he took her to the place.

“L-Lord Enasi!?” The shrill squeak made the guardian whirl around, only to be facing bright, wide eyes. Rue had nearly plummeted to the ground when he saw his guardian. Harper had skidded to a halt, followed by the rest of the dreams.

“Sir, what are you doing here?” Despite being just as shocked, Harper was less inclined to show it. As if on cue, Harper’s ears swiveled towards the sound of two more people approaching. “Crios, Rasha?! You two were supposed to be watching him. . .” Rasha’s ears flattened in guilt, right after he and Crios stood in shock, spotting the guardian.

“We thought you went to TB.”

“I did go to him.” Instead of answering their questions, he pushed past, looking Finn over. His hand cupped the young minion’s cheek and he frowned gently. “You’re hurt. . .” He didn’t hesitate to share some of his newly refurbished energy with the plant sibling. “Brave as you are, you shouldn’t rush into battle not at your best.”

There was a sudden growl from atop one of the cars. Jentou gave the dreams cold stares as they paused in the middle of their pursuit. Kaila glanced at his brother, giving a look in order to silence him and then cleared his throat to get the dreams’ attention nonetheless. “We should be moving. We don’t have time to waste.” The confusion and surprise faltered amongst them and they all were once again serious. His gaze landed on the building in front of them. “There’s a lot of positive energy bundled into this one area. It explains why we couldn’t sense our guardian as easily.” It was hard to pinpoint where the negative energy was coming from, but he concentrated.

The dream’s had a harder time depicting the negative energy, their senses naturally taking in what they knew was familiar. Enasi waited, listening and staring out into space. His hand went up to the mark on his hand again, instinctively this time. This time, there was a numbing pain he could feel going up his arm. He said nothing of it though. “He’s not in the building. . .There’s some sort of room under the building. . .I- It’s too faint up here, even for me. Just trust me.” The last part had been added more so because of the rise in negative energy near him. Jentou was still on the verge of speaking out against the dreams, but he held his tongue mainly because of Kaila. Rue gazed at his guardian’s clouded expression with concern, offering a light, comforting touch on his hand.

’Hang in there Seishu, we’re close.’

His breathing has become ragged, he knows that his life is fading, but still he keeps his eyes open. Those around him are unnerved, but they can sense it too. They can feel his energy fluctuation. In the low moments the kick and beat him, trying to bring him further down, but every time a small surge goes through his body as his mind and heart rebel against the idea of such pathetic weaklings thinking they could even make him feel pain. Though, he does feel pain, loads of it, but they wouldn't know looking at him, and he likes it that way. He will not give in. He will not give up. And all these little mites around him will wither and blow away on the breeze before they are given the satisfaction of seeing the mighty Master Seishu flinch.

~*~*~*~*~

They have been gathered, the greatest of the Dread Slayers under his command. No others would do. 'He will not slip between our fingers again. I won't let him. He will fall, by my hand, as it was meant to be. . .' His fingers run over the handle of the blade at his side as he looks to the gathered minions, the pulse of power from his marking seeming t feed the pulse inside the blade itself. 'The will be the day it ends, I swear to it. . .' Moving through the group he glares around, his steely eyes letting each of them know what's waiting for them should they fail, then with one final hiss he takes off, ripping open the realms and creating a portal to the human realm. There's only one reason for both seconds to be on earth, and that's if their masters are there as well. . . .

~*~*~*~*~

It's today, she can feel it. 'The creature is so close to falling' she thinks wickedly, smiling in a sickeningly peaceful way as she slips into the medical ward unseen. Grabbing a tray of carefully prepared syringes she tucks them away under her cloak, not bothering to “come back from break” and instead heading right back for the exit point. She's far too excited to see this evil beast leave the world to bother with her daily dues, and instead allows the twisted peace guide her to hasten Seishu's destruction. Humming softly to herself she leaves her home realm and with ease makes her way into the establishment nearby that houses the monster, not noticing her portal stying open far longer than it should have.

~*~*~*~*~

Sitting quietly as he watches the shocking reunion Kaila begins formulating a plan. Clearing his throat once there's a moment's peace he speaks softly, but with clear intent. “Humans have begun being able to see us, and I get the feeling that even at our most careful the people in here would notice our presence. Not to mention Jentou and I sport enough negative energy to bring this place to a screeching halt, and I am unwilling to lower it this close to where Master Seishu is being held.” Jentou lets out a small coo, shifting a little closer to his brother protectively as he notes the tenseness in Kaila's voice. Harper nods in agreement and motions for Kaila to go on. With an nod he looks at the front door to the establishment.

“I think Sir Harper and Rue, along with you two in the back,” he points at Rasha and Crios, “should go in and find out how to get to lower levels and should open a portal for us once you have a clear place to do so.” He eyes the creatures on the sign, recognizing the kind of place this is from any a child's nightmare. “This place seems to have animal and non human humanoid creatures wandering around in there, and since you are all exuding positive energy you'll fit right in. You should have very little trouble. . .” His eyes go back to the group, the orbs glowing fiery violet as he looks around at them all, adding a half bow to Enasi as he adds, “That is my opinion at least, and I request you make your decision quickly as we can feel Master Seishu's energy. . . .” he leaves his sentence unfinished, unable to bring himself to say that his master is getting weaker by the minute.

They stood there, listening and searching. Enasi barely heard what Kaila had to say at first, too focused on trying to pinpoint where Seishu was. He was starting to feel more of the pain that Seishu felt. It hurt, but he stayed rigid. The last thing he needed was anyone worrying about him. Crios kept an eye on the Guardian, sensing his energy fluctuate now and then. It was off-putting to say the least. Enasi wasn’t telling them something. The guardian’s eyes never lied. His ears twitched towards Kaila when he was assigned a job. The doctor only nodded, waiting for final confirmation from his guardian.

“Go. Hurry.”

Despite the worry that grew from that empty voice, Harper nodded and looked at the others. “Move out.”

Their natural invisibility was waning rapidly. It was much harder to see Harper and Rue dashing back and forth over the place, but they could still feel sudden winds rushing past them and constant blurs stopping at certain points. The children seemed to have an easier time pointing out the large rabbit when he did stop. One kid, in particular, got in his way, so he patted her head and smiled. “Be a good little girl and pretend I’m not even here.” She giggled and covered her eyes as if agreeing that he had disappeared.

Crios and Rasha roamed more slowly. They were like ghosts fading in and out of sight. “This is weird. They can see us, but they aren’t sure…” Rasha’s ears laid flat against his head as he turned this way and that. The positive energy flowing around was helpful, especially from being stuck so close to nightmare minions ready to lash out at the first sign of them being capable.

“Just stay quiet. Keep looking.” Crios mumbled, searching for a back door or some entrance to a staircase. “If one of these sticky-fingered children touch my tail again…” He grumbled under his breath, trying to curl his tail tighter to him. His frustration festered with the amount of luck they had.

“Excuse me, darling.” An employee noticed Rue messing with the door labeled ‘Employees Only’. She saw the wings and could only assume the child was a part of the fairy themed birthday not too far away. The occasional twitches and movements did make her stare. Fake Wings weren’t supposed to do that. “Did you need something? The birthday party is over there unless you’re looking for the bathroom. Then I can show you where that is.”

Rue played innocent and faced the woman. “Oh, no thank you! But I saw someone go in there, and they looked like they weren’t supposed to…” Of course, as an employer the woman had to go in and check. While she did, he peeked to see what was inside of it. To his misfortune, it was just another closet filled with boxes and a few other things, so he hurried off before she could even turn around.

“I don’t see anything. This place isn’t even that large!” Crios, Rasha, and Rue had regrouped, sitting in one of the distant booths, trying to devise a plan.

“I know Rasha, I know.” Maybe they could trick one of the employees into telling them. Maybe they could-

All three of them turned their attention to Harper, who had hopped onto the stage where the animatronic animals were standing.

~~~~~~~~~

“Come on you four. . .” Starla paced impatiently. Everyone shared her impatience, but she was the only one to express it. Finn was standing at his guardian’s side, staring him down. “Lord Enasi. Something is wrong. What is it?”

“No time. . . Need to hurry. . .” His voice was distant, and he continued to stare out at nothing. Even the nightmare minions were starting to get a little worried by the state of the Guardian. Finn looked at Starla as if she would know the answer. He only received a confused and worried expression.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Harper’s foot tapped rapidly against the floorboards between the animatronic animals. He ducked when people passed by, hiding behind the large bear. The sound of excited children made each one of the dreams look over to see someone in a large bear suit. The distraction was used, and the three rushed to Harper’s side. “It’s here.” With a swift kick, he damaged the hinges and lifted the door open. While Harper chose to ignore the pain that followed, Crios kept a tab on everyone’s injuries. He was mentally prepared to point out each injury to work accordingly. At the top of his list was Seishu.

“Hurry, they’re coming back.” Rasha looked back to see the others filing into the trap door and end up in a pitch black room. Feeling around, Crios found the stairs. “The portal first. . .We don’t know how many of them are down there.” He restrained a whine, now feeling Seishu’s energy more clearly. It was getting more and more faint by the second.

~~~~~~~~~~

Time seemed to slow, making the ticking minutes feel even longer than they were. The moment the portal began to open everyone leaped to their feet and towards it. Harper stuck his paw out, gesturing them to come in. As they filed into the pitch black space, Crios warned them to stay quiet. They still had the element of surprise. If they were silent, murmured voices could even be distinguished.

“We shouldn’t rush out there. We need to be tactile about this.” Finn whispered quietly. Even though no one could see too well, save for Rasha with cat-like vision, he stared where he sensed the rabbit. Each of them mumbled and whispered, realizing the dangers of busting into the room.

Except Enasi. The Guardian pushed past the group, heading straight down the steps. A barrier protected a second door, but that didn’t slow the Guardian down. The wall gave way at his command. It was positive energy. He didn’t realize it, but Enasi’s emotions had been slowly boiling. With each step, those feelings festered. . .into worry and anger. Swinging the door open to see Seishu on the ground with one of five cloaked figures bent over him made his anger boil over first. He unleashed a feral snarl that made Rasha and Rue pause in shocked fear. “Get away from him!” His hand raised. Following it was a whip of positive energy- though instead of its usual bright yellow color, it was dim and much darker than normal. The whip lashed out sending the figure hovering over Seishu into a wall with a hard thud. A cracking sound followed, along with a yelp of surprise and fear.

The hood fell off the figure's head to reveal Fuan, clutching her bruised stomach and head. Part of her right antler had snapped and fallen off right next to her. Seeing that his minions had been the cause of the destruction of the realms only infuriated Enasi more. His glare darkened and his fangs were bared. Tendrils of energy flickered behind him as he walked over to Fuan. The other four cloaks who he recognized as Iro, Shasta, Tormali, and Haru had all tried to escape, going towards a back entrance of the dungeon-styled room.

One of those various tendrils picked up the needle that Fuan planned to use and lifted it to Enasi. “You were going to kill him. . . You were going to kill him! You ungrateful little fool! I trusted you to your job, and you betray that trust! You're the reason these realms are falling apart." Fuan was frozen in fear as her guardian yanked her to her feet. She clutched the broken antler in her trembling hands. "You've lost your sanity thinking this was a good idea."

There is a tug. A faint pull. Something familiar. Something from the distant past. From before the pain. . . Sucking in a sharp breath his eyes peek open as a foot connects with his side. 'Well, don't the seem excited. . .' There's no mistaking it. The excitement racing around the room is palpable. 'I'm not that weak yet though. What the heck are they thinking, getting all. . .' Finding breathing a little hard he sucks in a ragged breath after another kick removes the air from his lungs. They're all talking now, about something. Something special? A concoction maybe? Seishu remains strong, suppressing the shudder at the thought of more injections. This is not the most pain he's ever been in. That pain is reserved for the betrayal and brutal attack from his own blade. However he can feel it. He's taken more damage this time. Internally. But still he refuses to believe he will die. No, it's just. . . .Not. . . .Possible. . . .

The tug, he feels it again, and all of a sudden he feels a sickening, but comforting energy. The door to the room flies open behind him, he hears it smash into the wall, and the snarl that follows makes his heart skip a beat. 'I know that voice. . . .So feral, such passion. . . Enasi, I never knew' Despite the sarcasm he really is glad to feel his other half in the room, though from the flavor of the feelings coming of of him, Seishu sees his work cut out for him. One of them, the one who always jabs him, she flies across the room and the sound of her pain brings Seishu both comfort and sadness. 'I'm the one who loves with pain Enasi, not. . . .Not you. . .'

He wants to speak, to tell his love that everything is okay, that no matter what, he must not lose himself. However as he draws in long deep breaths, sucking up as much negative as he can, he can't seem to get his vice to work. His heart skips a beat once more, Enasi coming into view as he stalks closer to the female figure, but this time it's not a good skip. The anger, it's too strong, too much. He knows that this would break the man, that this fury is irrational, and he recognizes it immediately. 'That's. . . .My anger. That anger that was suppressed by the pain killers. The anger that had me lashing out and acting like I hated everyone and sent me into fits of fury at the smallest things. . .He's. . . He's tapping my own anger, in defense. . . .of me. . . .'

The minion pleas, her eyes filled with fear and tears as she looks up at her guardian, begging for him to spare her and to see reason. To understand why she did what she did and assuring him that the balance would return once the negative element was removed. 'Yeah, that'll work' With painful, slow movements, Seishu manages to get on to his stomach, drawing his limbs in to try and tuck them beneath him. At the door Harper and the gang take down those trying to flee, Jentou and Kaila pinning the largest to the wall by his throat with their flames dancing around their bodies. The mix of energies in the room is a bit confusing, but as he finally gets to his hands and knees Seishu can feel the true negatives around him giving him strength.

Once Finn and Starla have secured the largest one Kaila and Jentou both rush to Seishu's side, Jentou having to be held back from reaching out to the guardian. He looks hurt and confused at first, but a look from his brother carries all the meaning he needs to see to relax and watch. Only moments have passed, the rush seeming to be in slow motion through all the pain, but Seishu knows he needs to act quickly as he can. He needs to stop him, to pull it back, to take it all in. 'I can not let this fury consume him. . .Can't let him do something he'll regret' His second and his brother stand back and watch, pouring as much negative energy as they can towards the white haired male. Kaila recognized at once that Seishu was trying to act on his own, rather than waiting for help, and that doing so meant that doing it alone was important.

They have to stop Crios who tries to rush forward as well, cursing at them loudly and demanding to be let past, but by then Seishu is on his feet. Taking a long, deep breath, the Nightmare Guardian looks to his counterpart still looming over his underling. With an effort he manages to call out softly, “Enasi, don't. . .” Swallowing hard, he tries again, and gets a little more volume. “Don't. . . .Do that. That's not you. . .Remember? I'm. . .The master of. . .Of fear. . .” Rue hovers behind Crios, watching silently. Crios quits at the sound of Night's voice. Kaila and Jentou let out matching small whines as a very slight strained smile come to their master's lips. Against the wall by the door Starla and her sibling, along with the Naginata Duo, keep the prisoners in place to free Harper's hands should he need to do something about the Dream Guardian. As his second, the giant rodent needs to be at the ready to help the enraged man.

Another ragged breath. His red eyes focus on the man he loves and once more he pulls his voice from deep inside. “Enasi, my love, let her be. . .Come. . . Come over here and give. . . .Give me what I need, hmmmm? Ta-take care of this poor broken me. . . .I. . . . I need you. . .” Rasha curls around Harper's ankle, watching from his vantage point on the ground and sticking close to the strongest source of positive energy in the area not ready to murder. He lets out a kitty whine, praying that their guardian will see reason and stay his hand. The lashing tentacles of energy are frightening, but everyone stands strong, complete faith the ones they have been born to give their lives to, to guard, protect, love, and command them.

Fuan's cries and pleas fell on deaf ears. Enasi didn't bother listening to her. Not after the multitude of times he explained that Seishu was not to be killed. The Balance they were trying to create was chaos. They'd end up hurting everyone because of their foolishness. The only way that could be prevented was if they were removed. The less problems created, the better the harmony would have been. That sounded like it would work. It would save a lot of time rather than scolding and punishing all of them. That sounded like the best option.

“You-”

Hearing the voice behind him made him whirl around, his grip on the doctor never loosening. He glared, ready to snap at whoever dared to get close. Because his eyes weren’t on Fuan, those tendrils of energy pointed at her. She didn’t dare to move. Seeing Seishu made him pause, his glare turning into a frown. His voice held a sudden sense of familiarity and warmth, but it began to fade soon after. At first, his energy still lashed and his fangs were still bared. ’No, they deserve to be punished. They were bad. They are ruining things. They deserve to be removed. . .Don’t they?’ His narrowed eyes turned to Fuan. She was still quaking and pleading, begging him to reconsider. She was. . .afraid. Afraid of him.

The others watched as realization began to creep onto Enasi’s expression. His gaze pointed to the needle now directed at Fuan and then at his hand, gripping the collar of her hood. Slowly, his eyes widened and the needle shattered at her side. He stepped away from Fuan, tendrils fading as he did. The deer woman slid to the ground and curled up in tears. ’Oh no. . . W-What have I done. . .’ He hesitated, thinking to reach out to Fuan and comfort her but he couldn’t. Not after that.

Harper stared as the guardian broke away from the doctor, the building terror of what could have happened obvious on his face. As if reading his thoughts, Harper spoke. His voice was soft as he didn’t want to startle the guardian more than he already looked. “She’s okay. Just shaken up. You didn’t,” Harper carefully worded his phrase, not wanting to upset Enasi even further. “cause any physical damage. I- we all know you wouldn’t hurt your minions.” He didn’t move from his spot. Harper wanted the guardian to snap out of things, but there was still the chance he could have lashed out. The rabbit’s ears twitched when Enasi started to speak but lost the words to say. “We know you love us all. We trust you.” It was hard to be convincing with five of his minions staring at him in fear. “It’s okay. We were here to rescue Lord Seishu. . . remember?” Harper nodded in Seishu’s direction, making the guardian slowly turn back around.

“S-Seishu. . ?” Enasi stared at the injured guardian in front of him. Of course he couldn’t steel his resolve about what had just happened. However Enasi refused to make any of the situation about him and his actions. Harper was right. They had come here to rescue Seishu and that’s what they did. If he hadn’t stopped them, things could have been worse.

Enasi closed the distance between them and hugged Seishu as tight as he could, trying to be as gentle as possible as well.. The guardian was in tears before he could even reach Seishu. “I was so worried. I didn’t know what to think. I’m so, so, so sorry. If I knew I would have- I- I didn’t even think to assume my own minions would do something so dangerous, so horrible! I should have paid more attention.” He continued rambling and pouring his heart out. Most of it had been him blaming himself and his worries, especially when he noticed the symbol on his hand fading. He didn’t want to mention that he had slowly started to feel the pain he had, but he was talking faster than he could think.

Despite not wanting to let Seishu go, he did and began rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, slowly containing himself again. “We need to get out of here. . .We have to tend to your injuries.”

“Lord Enasi,” Harper started. When the guardian looked over at him he continued. “what do you want me to do about them?” All five of them were gathered and contained by the two sibling pairs. A sharp pang of guilt hit Enasi as he looked at the five. The idea of his minions losing all trust in him and seeing him as they looked at the nightmares threatened to shatter his heart.

“Put them away where they were before. I-. . . I will deal with them later. For now, make sure they don’t escape. And make sure they’re okay.” The last part was mumbled out. Before his gaze could fall to the floor, he looked at Seishu and allowed him to steady himself in order to move. As much as he wanted to stay by Seishu’s side, he gently called Kaila and Jentou over. The guardian needed as much negative energy as he could manage. They were probably going to need to take stops into a few nightmares to be sure Seishu was stronger. Crios would be able to help too. It eased him a little, knowing how much help Seishu would be able to get and rather quickly as well.

The shift is slow and Seishu can tell that, at first, Enasi doesn't even recognize him. However, the chance does come, and the Nightmare Guardian waits on unsteady feet for his lover to calm and return to normal. The anger would, under other circumstances, perhaps be exciting for the guardian, but as it is, here, in this way, he realizes that this is not something that should be happening. Enasi needs to be calmed and his ire soothed. Seishu has to work hard to keep his feet, his words having taken almost all his strength, but despite this Jentou and Kaila still hold Crios back, his doctoring instinct once more urging him to try and lunge forward to help the poor man.

Harper tries his hand, and Seishu can't help but smirk slightly as the rabbit man uses him as a focal point. 'Yeah yeah, remind him of his lover. Good little bunny. . .' Hearing his name from Enasi's lips makes his smirk become a smile and he carefully looks up, trying to keep his eyes on the smaller man's face. Then, without warning, Enasi is holding him. He wants to be happy about this, and all the pain and sorrow inside the man is soothing, however the sheer agony of being in contact with someone in this state steals his breath. It's all he can do to not cry out, his arms hanging limply at his sides. As he rambles on however, Seishu can feel his strength returning, but before he has enough energy to return the hug, Enasi is pulling away from him.

He wants desperately to just grab the other male, take him off to somewhere beautiful and secluded to shower him with love and affection, to love away all his pain, but in his current state the best he can manage is to remind himself that he will see the other man in Their World when at last they return home to rest. More pain travels to him from his lover and he calls out softly, “It's okay, Enasi, it's. . ..It's okay. . .” Still feeling very weak however his words are almost too soft to hear. Before he can collapse Kaila and Jentou are at his sides, carefully leading him over to a wall where they help him settle into a seated position. Like children they settle down next to him, each one taking and arm into their own, their heads settling on his shoulders.

Jentou has never shared with his master before, but he's seen Kaila do it a million times. He knows the need for the close connection, the loving positioning, the open heart now shinning in his brother's eyes. He wants to help, he really does, and he's determined to do exactly that. “Give us a few minutes, Doctor.” Kaila murmurs softly, casting his gaze up to Seishu's face as once hand slides up to settle over the guardian's heart. Crios hovers several feet away, Rue landing beside him to wait until he can approach. Jentou's hand slides up to join his brother's over Seishu's heart and with a slow exhale they both open themselves up to the guardian.

There is a sound like a storm, air rushing about and loud crackling. Bolts of black energy rush around the bodies settle on the ground, their clothes and hair whipping around with the sheer power concentrated in this one spot. Rasha leaps into Enasi's arms for protection and the siblings blanch at the feeling of it. Even as contained as it is, the waves coming off the three of them is very strong. Seishu looks almost blissful for several seconds as the energy lashes about, his face looking almost relaxed for several seconds as his wounds seem to slowly begin closing and the color to fade from his cheeks. The unhealthy flush of red slowly dies away leaving his skin the normal healthy shade of pale they are suppose to be.

Unfortunately, the battle from before, and the constant searching for over a week has left the two minions not at their full power and they are unable to give him as much as he needs. They both try but with a sudden snap he breaks the connection, making sure they have enough to get home. They both let out a whine as the energy stops flowing, but he gives them both a pat on the head and a kiss before smiling gently. “Thank you, but you need that.” They nod without question and help the guardian to his feet. The prisoners are gone now and Seishu is a little sad to see that so is Enasi. He understands though, his pout more for show than anything else.

Before he can go anywhere however he finds himself being placed back on the floor and a very disgruntled looking Crios kneeling in front of him. Glaring at Seishu he murmurs, “My turn.” before opening his bag and rummaging around. Seishu can feel his irritation flickering in the back of his mind and he knows that Crios needs to do what he needs to do, but the sight of the needle makes him flinch as he pulls the relaxant slash painkiller from his bag. Crios freezes at the sight of the flinch and a pained expression flashes past his eyes. On impulse he reaches up and cup the white haired man's cheek and murmurs, “I am so sorry Night. . .” The pet name, so long from his ears, brings a faint smile to his lips and Seishu reaches up and takes the hand in his own, giving it a kiss before squeezing it gently.

“Just do what you need to Doc. I'll recover just fine. . .” Crios nods and focuses on treating Seishu quickly while Rue and Rasha gather at his sides to snuggle him. Rasha slips into his humanoid for for this and the twins stand back to watch these two bestowing such fervent affection on to their guardian. Jentou isn't really sure what to make of it, the whole thing looking, just, so strange, but Kaila feels a faint swelling of joy at the sight.

'At least while he's there he receives the love and adoration of those who admire him. . .' Without warning Rasha hops up, plants a kiss on Kaila, gives him a big hug, then with a sigh returns to Seishu's side. Jentou just stands there, trying not to laugh out loud as his brother stares, stunned, at the dream creature that's obviously overflowing with love for the other side. Seishu sits quietly, rubbing Rue's back, trying to soothe the little fairy as he cries into the guardian's chest and petting Rasha's head as he lays across his leather clad lap. Shredded leather now, but still enough to “keep his dignity”.

Catching Rasha as he leapt toward him made him relax a bit more. The little bits of reassurance knowing that his minions were okay and that they weren’t afraid of him were helpful. Unfortunately, he couldn’t hold Rasha for long. Enasi gently set the cat down, sharing some of his energy to keep him calm as the nightmares aided Seishu. He was hesitant at first, but the purring from the cat minion let him know it was fine. He had nothing to say to the others besides, “be careful” so he turned to where Harper waited. Passing Crios, he started to rest his hand on the fox doctor’s shoulder but he paused and returned his hand to his side. “I suggest getting him as much energy as possible. Take him into a few dreams- well nightmares. I don’t want him home until he’s able to at least walk on his own.” Crios nodded in full understanding. After the damage Seishu took, it was best not to have him take on an entire realm of positive energy. “Thank you.” He whispered before walking off to stand beside Harper and the plant siblings.

The guardian continued to glance over at the prisoners, more worried than he was upset. Sure he was furious with their decisions, but he was still terrified they were hurt. Finn quietly held the guardian’s hand, obviously spotting the worry easily. He said nothing, simply offering a small smile to Enasi before they all walked through the portal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rue, similar to his guardian, blubbered barely coherent words of how worried he was and how scared he was and how Lord Enasi had started acting stranger and stranger. After sometime, he finally managed to calm down and relax, still hugging Seishu.

“How are you feeling?” Rasha mumbled as he nuzzled closer to Seishu. The nightmare minions, still rather confused by the display mentally debate if they should be okay with it or even a tad jealous. After all, the dream minions had the fortune of seeing their guardian everyday. Instead of any confrontation about it, they waited quietly and watched.

As Crios treated Seishu, he began to speak. His eyes were still trained on the spots he had been treating. “Lord Enasi believes it’s best you get as much energy as possible. Well, he doesn’t want you back home- our home that is, until you’ve done so.” He began to clean the materials he had and put them away. “I think you should as well. After all the positive energy you’ve had, it’s better to be sure.” He glanced in the direction of the nightmare minions. “I suggest going with them. Finding a few dreams to...taint and such. Whatever you nightmares do.” He gave a small smile as he noticed the life finally finding its way back into Seishu. “Besides, they were worried sick. I’m sure they want your attention and Rasha and Rue are stealing that.” He teased and then stood up.

He had done the best he could. He nodded to Kaila, indicating that he was done and then stood back to watch what Seishu planned to do next.

~~~~~~~~~

Prison bars closed and plant vines slithered back towards Starla before disappearing completely. “Thank you. You two can take a break for now. Though when you’re done, I’d like you to go back out and see if things have changed- well, gone back to normal. See if we remain unseen.” The siblings looked at each other, both immediately deciding to do the work first, and then saluted their guardian. Right after, they darted off. Enasi then looked over at Harper, who had still been glaring daggers at the prisoners. When he heard the guardian step forward, he relaxed a little and stepped back. “You can go check on the realm or check on Seishu. It’s your choice.”

The rabbit wondered what the guardian had planned, but simply bowed. “Of course sir. I’ll check on our own. I’m sure Night has enough people in his face.”

Soon enough, it was Enasi and the prisoners left in the cell. For a long moment, he could only stare at them with sad eyes, trying to figure out just why they didn’t understand the consequences of their actions. He sighed and walked into the cell, making the five stiffen. Their reaction threaten to sadden him again, but he steels himself and gets close to each one, healing them. “I apologize for my own behavior. It wasn’t natural and I could have harmed you all. However, your actions would have caused greater damage if I did nothing…” His voice trailed off as he bent down in front of Fuan. She was the most terrified, having seen the shocking murderous intent in her guardian’s eyes. He healed her as well, but took the antler she was cradling away. Reaching up, he touched her antler that was still intact. A light glow circled near the bottom of it and the antler fell off.

Fuan’s eyes widened as her second antler was taken from her. “You don’t deserve these. Not until you understand- not until you all understand what you’ve nearly caused.” He went back to each of them, taking something important from them whether it was physical or simply their status. He heaved a sigh again and paced back and forth. The prisoners said nothing.

“Since you don’t seem to realize it, I’ll explain it again.” He continued to pace as he explained the Balance between the Dreams and Nightmares, going further to explain how if one fell so would the other. He explained the dangerous of being seen by humans. All of it took well over an hour as the guardian made sure they understood. A few times, one or the other wanted to protest and tell him that it couldn’t have been true, but the guardian raised his hand to silence them. “You’re going to be here for awhile. It’ll give you time to think about that. I’m disappointed in you all. We spread positive energy and you were no better than the ‘monsters’ you were trying to get rid of. I expect better from you all.” He turned away, locking the cell door behind him.

A guard met him at the door and gave a slightly worried expression. “Are you alright sir?”

Enasi nodded. “I’m fine, just a little tired.” He smiled gently and then walked off. The items he took were all placed in Crios’ office since all of them had been doctors, save for Haru. But it didn’t matter too much. He wandered past the room he was designated to for treatment and went into his own room. He hadn’t been there in awhile, but by the looks of it everything was still as he left it. Even the black flower given to him by Seishu was in tact. He didn’t realize just how much the prior events tired him until he collapsed in his bed. The searching, the worry and panic, the fighting and angry energy had finally started taking a toll. It wasn’t just physically exhausting, but mentally and emotionally too. The deep red sheets encompassed him in such a welcoming manner. Not even trying to climb onto the bed fully, he simply pulled one of the closest pillows and pushed it under him. ’It won’t hurt. . .to just rest for a little while. . .’

~~~~~~~~~~~

Finn and Starla had returned to Earth, where the others were still standing around. They received a few confused looks, wondering what they were doing. “Lord Enasi wants us to check and make sure that things are falling back into place. If things are ‘normal’ again.”

Finn nodded and then further clarified. “He asked Starla and I to make sure we couldn’t be seen by humans now. Now that Seishu is better, hopefully the Balance isn’t being tipped too far.”

“Shhhhh, shhhhhh, I'm okay Rue, shhhhh.” Seishu murmurs over and over as he pets Rue's hair, rubbing his back and trying to calm him down. Eventually the little fair does manage to relax and the Nightmare Guardian is able to relax a bit. He'd been siphoning off the negative feelings coming from Rue while he cried but had to be careful in containing them as he is not quite in complete control of his faculties at the moment. Smiling at the little minion when he looks up at him Seishu murmurs softly, “I am fine Rue. I'm doing better now than how I was when I first got here, and I survived that, right?” Rue nods, his eyes still full of tears, but as Crios begins speaking he contents himself with laying silently against Seishu's chest, listening intently to make sure Seishu's heart remains beating.

He nods slowly at the doctor's words. “I understand Doc. Kaila and Jentou will see it done.” Out of the corner of his eye he sees the both of them salute and his lips curl into a half smile. 'They are still my well trained little ones. . .' He lets out a sigh, the meds making him mallow and relaxed, a feeling he missed. It's not so much that he wants to feel drugged all the time, but the pain and sickness of the torture makes him long for something, anything that feels better than that. Feeling rather affectionate after his treatment, and having to Enasi to bestow his affection on, when Crios steps back Seishu lifts little Rue's head and gives him a kiss, making the little fairy light up like a Christmas light. Rasha, spotting the kiss, sits up expectantly for his own and sighs into it as Seishu chuckles, planting a soft kiss on his lips as well.

With the little dream denizens taken care of Seishu holds out his hands and without a word Kaila helps him to his feel. Crios eyes the Guardian warily, but before he can escape Seishu pulls him into a rather firm kiss before falling back against Kaila with a chuckle. Crios' tail is three sizes too big but the flush on his cheeks is clearly not an upset flush. He mumbles and kicks out towards Seishu but it's clear he starting to understand this affection thing when it comes to the Nightmare Guardian. 'He really is that affectionate with those he cares about. . .Meaning he cares about me. . . . .' Crios isn't quite sure how he feels about this, but as he watches the twins move in really close to their Guardian, their hands caressing him slightly in their worry, he lets himself relax a bit. 'How could we all have been so wrong? Was it all instinct? Indoctrination?' He lets out a sigh and motions for Rue and Rasha to join him.

The two side up next to him, Rasha elbowing him slightly in the ribs and mouthing the word 'jealous'. Crios rolls his eyes at this and shakes his head, but as Kaila and Jentou begin leading the Guardian towards the door he holds out a hand. “Wait.” he calls and chews his lip a little as the three turn to look at him curiously. He wonders for a moment if it's the right time, but as he feels Seishu can use all the good news he can right now he decides to fill him in on the serum he's created. “I'm not sure if you wanna hear about this right now Night, but I thought I'd let you know about a new discover and creation that will help with bringing peace between our people. . .”

Seishu raises an eye curiously, his heart jumping. “I'm gone for. . .” He looks over at Kaila.

“Ten days Master Seishu.” he replies promptly.

Seishu nods. “I'm gone just over a week and you find the time to do some major universe altering discovery?” He doesn't sound upset, or even skeptical. In fact, he seems almost excited.

The enthusiasm makes Crios a little happy and he goes from unsure to eager. “Yes. It was a shot in the dark really, but you know how Rue is able to tolerate your presence for the most part without getting sick?” Seishu nods. “Well, it turns out that the reason is that he now has negative energy running through his blood, like a natural thing, and it allows him to adapt to negative energy around him and keeps him from being overwhelmed by it, and in most cases, from even feeling ill.”

Seishu looks over at Rue, eyes a little wide. Rue clasps his hands behind his back, swaying shyly back and forth. The Guardian gently removes his arms from his underlings' shoulders and motions Rue over. Rue slips over without hesitation, holding out his hands as Seishu beckons for them. He does his best to stand still as the taller male leans in close, looking deep into his eyes. His wings tremble every so often but other than that he manages to stand completely still. Rue watches, a little envious, however he does his best to keep the feeling down least it distract the Guardian.

His gaze goes deep, looking for the truth of what Crios said, and when at last the flavor of negative energy races across his tongue as if he could taste it in the youth he smiles softly. “You are an amazing little creature Little Bite. . .” he murmurs, making Rue flush proudly, his wings twitching and fluttering happily. Kissing him on the forehead he lets the fairy's hands go and moves back to being held by the twins, giving Crios a nod. “You can tell me more about it later Doc. It's amazing, and you were brilliant for noticing it before anyone else.” He nods again. “Thank you. . .” Crios swells up proudly and nods back, smiling.

Lan and Ran, silent until now, move forward and greet their Guardian, warming at the sigh of his smile as he grins lazily at them. The moment is short lived however as they hear feet on the stairs. All eyes in the room go to the plant siblings as they walk in and explain why they are there. Seishu nods. “Good thinking.” With a look at the Duo he communicates silently that they should do the same and with final expressions of love and relief directed at their Guardian the two lead the way out of the basement, Kaila, Seishu, and Jentou pulling up the rear.

They pass through the room full of squealing and crying children without being seen, the little figures passing right through them, as they should, as they run about wildly in their zeal for fun. Once outside the two sets of siblings not attached to Seishu take off to make more thorough checks and Seishu looks over at the three remaining dream denizens. “I'm sorry to say this, but I need you three to stick around.” He motions to the minions on either side. “I have a couple fighters here, but they aren't at their best.” Jentou pouts but Kaila simply nods in agreement. “I don't see there being any real problems, but once I'm back on my feet properly I want to get back as soon as possible, and right now, the only one who has the power for that is you Doc.”

Crios looks around, just realizing for the first time that he's the most powerful force for good around right now and he feels a little intimidated by the idea of so much being on his shoulders. He is a very good doctor, powerful and smart, but a fighter he is not, and he's not used to being the strongest person around in the field. However, instead of openly showing his unease he simply brings his gaze back to Seishu and nods. Seishu smiles at the touch of nervousness in his stance, but he doesn't comment, instead directing Kaila off to go find him something tasty to munch on.

~*~*~*~*~

And hour later the group is gathered behind a large apartment building, Seishu standing on his own but still a little wobbly. With his wounds from before not fully healed followed up by several days of weakening and torture he's actually kinda surprised that it didn't take all that long to reach this point. He says his good-byes to his minions, their eyes not betraying their sorrow to be leaving him but he knows they are all weeping inside. He takes Kaila aside and pulls him into a tight hug, making the little minion's eyes go wide before they close and with a long exhale he allows his energy to mix with Seishu's. The Guardian drops a small gift of energy inside him to make sure he will be able to do his job when he gets back and Kaila doesn't complain, the feeling of the energy swirling warmly inside his chest making him feel calm and delighted.

When they pull apart Jentou appears behind his brother and hugs him from behind, earning him a rolling of the eyes from his violet haired counterpart. The blond is a little glassy-eyed and calm again, but Seishu can see little bits of the spark returning to the youth, and he is very glad to see them together. The little exchange over he moves back over to where Crios is trying to open a portal and waits patiently. The doctor has had very little occasion to do this and it's giving him a little trouble. Out of the corner of his eyes Seishu spots Jentou moving away from his brother and he turns his head curiously.

Rasha, relaxed and happy now that everything's been put back on the right path, wanders closer to the slightly smaller male and has a shy expression on his face. Kaila looks completely confused, looking over his shoulder to see why his brother moved away. When he turns back he finds lips on his own, and unlike when his Guardian kisses him, he can feel his heart flutter in a completely different way. He doesn't really understand it, and when Rasha pulls back looking both shy and a little disappointed he murmurs, “Um, what?” The confusion makes Jentou and Rasha giggle slightly and Seishu hides his own sniggering behind a hand. No one has ever had the balls to try anything like that with his second and he's quite sure that Kaila still has no idea how Rasha feels about him.

Rue, hiding his face behind his hands, giggles silently, his ears bright red. With a sigh Seishu murmurs, “Rasha, you must be really good. I've never seen him speechless like this before.” Rasha turns several shades of red but is not deterred. Reaching forward he takes Kaila's hands gently and swings them back and forth slightly while swaying his own body.

Kaila is still very confused, but he does not object to the childishness and lets Rasha do what he wants with his arms. Shaking his head slightly however he asks a little clearer this time, “What's wrong? You looked sad. . .”

The dream giggles again and instead of answering, kisses Kaila again. This time letting his lips linger and Kaila relaxes slightly, this time at least understanding that he's being kissed. Rue moves over and hides behind Seishu, still trying desperately not to laugh out loud. Then the mood is broken as the portal crackles to life and Crios turns around. The scene that meets his eyes makes them go wide and he shakes his head and motions Rasha over. “Rasha, before you go trying to make babies, I think you'd better undergo some treatments so you don't die from it.” Rasha flushes deeper and gives Kaila's hands a squeeze before letting them go. Kaila stutters, trying to explain that he doesn't understand any of this and asking what he means by making babies.

Seishu waves a hand to indicate it's not important at the moment and after a final touch for each of his underlings the dream denizens and the Nightmare Guardian vanish into the far too bright portal back to the Dream Realm. Seishu closes his eyes and leans heavily on Crios as they pass through the swirling lights, his stomach quite empty but still ready to boot up bile should he get too dizzy. Once on the other side Crios orders the two smaller ones off for bed rest in pure positive energy so they can recover and so that he can continue monitoring the effects of negative energy inside Rue. Rue leaves only after getting the okay from Seishu, but Crios doesn't mind. “He really love you you know. . .” He murmurs, looking up at Seishu.

The Guardian nods, smiling softly. The pain killers have him very light feeling, but he's still conscious enough to look around, trying to find his lover as they move down the halls. Crios notices the head movements but decides against saying anything. Instead he keeps his eyes on the path they have to take and once they are at his room he quickly moves to stand behind Seishu as a head of jet black hair attached to what seem so be a rocket comes firing out of the room and straight at the two of them. He feels the hit and hears the groan from Seishu when Inui lands and he is careful to keep Seishu on his feet when he stumbles backwards from the force of it.

The minion is silent, his tears soaking quickly through the Guardian's tattered clothing as he presses as close to Seishu as is physically possible, and once he's sure that the white haired male won't topple over Crios takes his leave without a word and heads for his office. Despite his own exhaustion, he knows that there are things that need tending to before he goes to sleep. 'Not to mention, in the mod Inui's in, there isn't any being alive who would dare mess with Night right now' Letting out a sigh he vanishes around the corner, leaving the pair right outside the room the little nightmare minion has been using since Seishu was kidnapped.

The two simply stand there for several long minutes, Inui crying out all of his bad feelings, Seishu absorbing them and filtering them back to help soothe the little red eyed male. The Guardian is careful to keep their exchange contained, as best he can, and by the end he feels like they are surrounded by a nice, warm blanket. When at last Inui is able to breathe normally again – or at least without it sounding like each breath is his last – Seishu runs his fingers through his hair over and over as he pulls back slightly, his tear streaked face turned up towards his Guardian's. With a gentle smile Seishu says softly, “I'm back.” Inui nods, offering up a wet smile. Seishu gives him a little kiss, making him sigh and then with a slightly stealthy expression he asks, “Hey, can you help me with something?”

Inui nods rapidly, waiting to hear what Seishu wants. Leaning in close the Guardian whispers into his minion's ear and the boy's smile grows even wider. Nodding again he lets Seishu lean on him then together they head off down the hall, past the door to their room. Seishu feels extremely lucky that they don't run into anyone on the trip and once they are standing outside the room he'd been looking for he lets out a faint sigh of relief. Before he can push open the door however he spots a familiar white figure at the end of the hall. Pausing he stares at the long eared creature and they share a long moment before Harper nods and Seishu smiles.

The two slip into the room, Inui relaxed and calm enough to keep his energy in and Seishu in control enough to do the same. Upon entering he takes a moment to just stare at the sight before him. His lover, completely clothed, frumpy and filthy looking, laying face down mostly on his bed, looking like he'd been hit by a truck and sleeping away despite his space being invaded by two creatures bearing negative energy. Inui lets go of Seishu at the edge of the bed and goes around to the curtains, closing them as quietly as possible as Seishu climbs gently on to the bed. He winces with the pain of it but is careful to not jostle his lover too much as he carefully drags him a little further on to the bed. Carefully removing his shoes he waits until Inui is available to help to remove his shirt as well.

With a sigh Seishu vanishes his own clothing – making Inui blush slightly – before settling next to Enasi and draping an arm cross his body. Now that the red head is on his back Seishu can see his face more clearly and for a long while he simply lay there, admiring the man he loves with a soft expression on his face. Inui carefully crawls up behind Seishu and settles with his back against Seishu's and when eventually the Guardian settles down to rest the little minion snuggles in a little closer before nodding off. Seishu follows soon after, his head resting right next to Enasi's shoulder, his arm still resting across his lover's chest, one leg draped over Enasi's nearest one.

~*~

~As soon as he falls into the darkness, despite knowing it's not the best thing for him to do given his condition, Seishu flexes his desires and almost like a silent explosion the darkness ripples into a completely different scene, rushing outwards from the focal point, Seishu. Trees explode from the earth, the thick grass beneath his feet warm and springy, splitting to make room for the tall slender trunks. Here and there larger trees appear, their boughs thick and their branches broad.

Too plain

He stretches on the spot, feeling the world comply to his need and with a grin he watches as giant flowers appear. Nearly twice his height they bend and twist, beautiful music drifting out of them, bringing peace to the Guardian. They erupt all over the forest and with a smiles Seishu murmurs, “Getting there. . .”

Birds fill the air, adding their voices to the soft music as they flash their feathers and drift lazily on the gentle breeze. They are joined shortly by tiny little drakes, the scaly creatures about the size of macaws. He smiles at his work, hoping Enasi finds him soon, hoping that Enasi isn't sitting somewhere, blaming himself and avoiding him. That would make him very sad. The sky overhead is twilight and with a hum he brings forth a large pool of warm, clear water, filled with beautiful creatures whose voices can barely be heard, but seem to add to the song perfectly. He can feel his weakness growing, but he is unwilling to do anything short of what he wants, which is fill this place with so much beauty that Enasi's breath will be taken away.~

As Crios walked away, he gave a sigh of relief and exhaustion. He and the rest of the group had been working their tails off the past few days with little break. Fortunately, the end results were positive. The fox doctor was debating if taking his own advice was a good idea; whether or not taking some time to rest would be beneficial or detrimental. After all that happened, he’d probably collapse on the spot without it and he needed to rejuvenate his own energy. Being around the nightmares made him have to constrain most of it and he felt a little low. Maybe it was still the air of ‘nightmare affections’ still haunting him, but he did have an idea of just who to call to help him relax. Before he did, however, he went to his office to set his equipment down.

Much to his surprise, he was greeted by the sight of Fuan’s horns on his desk. ’I knew Lord Enasi was serious, but I never thought he’d go so far as to take something precious from them. . .’ He doesn’t doubt his Guardian’s decisions. He simply found the action surprising- more so because no one ever disappointed Lord Enasi. In a world of positivity and tranquility, things always ran smoothly- even with minor bumps here and there. And on the outside, it seemed that way too. On the inside, however, things were much more topsy-turvy. The doctor still couldn’t believe that his Guardian would even attempt to burden himself with so much weight. Somehow, it only took Night himself to make Enasi crack under pressure. . .Even if it was for the better.

Crios sat his bag on his chair and shifted through the things on his desk, before setting them on one of the higher shelves, as if putting them on display in one corner. He really hoped those dreams would come to their senses before something worse happened to them. That idea alone made him think to snuff out his other workers to check their loyalty and trustworthiness, but once more he reminded himself that he needed to rest. Crios forced himself away from his office and began walking towards his source of positive energy.

On his journey there, he ran into Enasi’s second. “Oh, how is he?” It was obvious just who he was talking about.

“He’s resting. Asleep in his room.” Harper informed with a nod. Crios was glad to hear it. It eased him a little more. The look Crios gave made the rabbit raise his paw up to stop him. “I understand your concern Crios. However, I have to be awake to make sure nothing else goes astray while our Guardian sleeps. Don’t worry, I’ll rest when I’m given the opportunity.” Crios didn’t like the idea, but he understood it and simply nodded before turning to walk off. He also had to remember, just as he shouldn’t talk back to his guardian, Harper was technically no different.

The rabbit decided to go and check on his guardian once more just in case he ended up falling asleep on the floor. The first time he peeked inside, the guardian looked quite...ruffled. So, he decided it was best not to bother him. On the way there, he ran into Seishu and Inui. He stared at Seishu for a few minutes, before he finally accepted the idea and headed out to go continue with his job.

~~~~~~~

“Cho, you have company!”

“Oh?” The ever happy chef wiped his hands off with a towel and took his apron off. One of his cooks took it for him. “Crios? Well, this is a pleasant surprise. Are there orders to be taken? How is everyone doing?” The bad news that was relayed to him made him pause and give a concerned expression.

Crios quickly shook his head. “No, no. Things are fine. They’ve calmed considerably. I’m sure when both wake, they’ll need to eat and so will the others, but that’s not why I’m here.” He felt the sudden flush growing again as Crios’ eyebrow arched quizzically. Crios cleared his throat. “I was wondering if you’d be able to take a break and,” He felt like a child all over again when he and Cho were together. He was always more quiet and calm about things, letting Cho be the excitable one and the one to lead the way. Crios began to wonder how he let his work get in between them.

Cho watched as Crios’ thoughts took over his initial question. It made him giggle, knowing well just what Crios was going to ask. He had been around the doctor way too long not to know. Things unrelated to his practice made it easier for him to go off on his own little tangents. Taking too long, Cho leaned over and kissed the doctor before smiling. “Yes, we can go. I could use a break- and I definitely wouldn't want to miss one of the fabled breaks you actually take. I mean who knows how long it’ll be before you take another!” Cho grinned and walked over to declare his break before taking Crios’ hand and leading him off.

“Oh, before we go...do you mind having one of your cooks send something to Harper? He needs it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

’Waking’ in the void of darkness wasn’t as pleasant as he had hoped it to be. Well, as pleasant as it could have been. The Guardian felt like he had fallen into the nothing instead of woken to it. No matter. As soon as he adjusted, his senses had dulled as usual, leaving him trapped with nothing but his thoughts. Enasi rested in a sitting position and closed his eyes.

Things are okay now. Everyone is safe. Seishu is being taken care of. The minions are in their cells and away from harm.

He would have whined towards that thought if he could have. It was hard to convince himself that they were okay after what had happened. He wasn’t even sure what happened! He recalled being nervous and feeling sick. Then he started to feel pains...That, he understood. He and Seishu were connected. That he knew. Then somewhere in that, his emotions got out of hand.

Ugh. . .

He rested his head in his hands and sat in the silence, waiting for the moment he’d wake up. Much to his surprise trees and tall grass sprang to life. Enasi jolted up only to yelp in surprise and fall backwards.

He laid in the grass, staring at the sky as things began to form around him. The sky was a perfect blend of colors. Creatures flew through the sky and music filled the air.

He’s always been so creative...

Enasi couldn’t help the smile that spread as the world formed around him. He took a deep breath and sighed, letting his senses kick back on and adjust. Rolling to his feet, Enasi turned his head left and right, not spotting Seishu anywhere. The wind shifted, pushing him forward gently. He took a few steps forward only for the wind to change and go upward. “Go up?” Well, he supposed that would be the fastest way to find the guardian he was looking for. So, rather than wading through grass and trees, he stretched his arms out for his fluffy white wings to sprout behind him.

Guide the way.

He rubbed the symbol on his hand, taking off into the sky. The birds and drakes flying around lazily flew through the air, occasionally flying by the guardian in intrigue. Some even looked as if they were pointing him the right direction. He was high in the air, and flying for a few minutes before he noticed the sparkling pool of water below him. Not too far away, Seishu was standing by it.

With a small smile, Enasi swooped down, the wind causing the lake to ripple gently. He landed silently and his wings disappeared. He took a few steps towards Seishu, glancing around the scenic view once more. “It’s really lovely. I’m almost jealous of how creative you are.” His playful grin relaxed and he looked at his counterpart. “Everything went well when I left, right?”

~~~~~~~

It seemed everyone was well on their way to relaxing. Rue and Rasha were getting well rested and energized, the Guardians finally were back together, even Harper had felt a little better as a random dream gifted him with food. In the opposite realm, nightmares alike were able to rest a little easier knowing their guardian was safe and well again. As much as they worried about their guardian having to rest on enemy grounds for so long, he was in better hands there.

Because despite the wave of relief amongst many, there was one who was quite the opposite. Enraged and filled with venomous fury, Gin paced back and forth in front of a large table. The room itself looked as if it was for guards to plan tactile attacks. The minion desperate for Seishu’s position could have practically pulled his hair out.

’I was so close!’ He was growling to himself, digging his nails into a chair every time he stopped. “How could we let him slip away! How could we have missed this opportunity!” One of the chairs had crashed behind him. No longer than an hour ago had they found Seishu’s trail of negative energy. They had started their search not long after Gin realized just how strong the mock symbol on his hand began to grow. However, just as it took Harper and the rest of the crew forever to find Seishu, Gin and his followers had a similar issue. Except they were too late. The dungeon style area was completely vacant with nothing but faint traces of energy.

The nightmares knew to stay out of Gin’s way. In his line of fire, they were sure to be attacked first hand. If they were lucky, it would maybe be verbal abuse, or even a few punches. When he had a weapon at hand, they were sure to keep their distance. Some of them were not so lucky. “S-Sir, please!” One minion was ordered to fetch him a drink.

Now, the drink was shattered on the floor and Gin held the minion by his collar. “You. I bet you’re still devoted to that scum of a guardian aren’t you!? What were you going to do, huh? Try and poison me!?”

“N-No, of course not sir! I-I am loyal to only you.” The minion’s voice wavered in fear as he stared up at Gin who was glaring daggers at him. After agonizing moments with a sword pressed over his heart, he was dropped to the ground. Why he wasn’t killed was beyond him, but instead of questioning it he scooped as much of the broken glass as he could and ran off.

Gin was in one spot now, glaring at nothing in particular. His nails dug into the wooden chair he was leaning against. Anger, frustration and paranoia ran through him like a storm. “I was so close. . .” Gin needed a plan. He was tired of waiting for the guardian to rot away. It was taking way too long. . He needed to lure him out, away from the protection he had. . .Or lure them both out to kill them. That was a much better, more dangerous plan. It would be fine just killing Seishu first. Once he took that power, then he could get rid of the rest of the dreams.

Gin growled again as his brain wracked over just how he could get rid of Seishu for good. Until he could figure that out, he was in a perpetual state of anger towards everyone who came near. He wasn’t crazy enough to murder them though. He did realize he needed as many of the ones loyal to him as possible if they were going to attack.

~A low ripple of relaxed delight tumbles through the guardian's body as his love descends from the sky. Seishu's eyes remain on the man as he lands, the slight breeze from his descent making him shiver lightly. Not out of cold, but from the pure joy of being with the man he loves again. He smiles softly at what Enasi has to say, but he does not reply aloud. Without a word he drifts forward and slips his arms around the smaller male, his embrace strong and comforting. A slight tremble goes through his body as he is finally able to hold his lover once more, but the magic of Their World keeps him from reliving the pain that had kept them apart.

For a long moment he simply holds his lover, taking comfort in his presence and trying desperately to convey just how much he's longed to do this since he was spirited away over a week ago. Eventually however, he pulls back ever so slightly, his half lidded eyes gently caressing Enasi's face until at last they land on the red head's own and he lets out a soft sigh. Leaning forward so that their lips are barely touching he whispers, “I've missed you, so much. . .” And instant later his lips press gently over his lover's, his right hand coming up to cup Enasi's cheek while his other settles in the small of the shorter male's neck pulling them flush together, eliminating every bit of space between them as he conveys as much love and longing he can with lips alone.~

~*~*~*~*~

They decide it's best to use Cho's room, Crios' in a permanent state of dissary as he only really uses it for sleeping and doing the occasional bout of paperwork, leaving the bed a mess and the floor strewn with loose sheets of paper and scattered folders. As they step into Cho's relatively neater abode the scarlet haired male prances off to make some tea for them while Crios makes his way over to the bed in the corner. All the heads in the palace have their own room, the rest of the staff having places in the town, but despite starting with a standard room, each head's room look very individual.

For Crios, it's always been standard sheets and blankets, very clinical looking, messiness aside, and only a single picture as decoration. The same picture hangs on Cho's wall. His eyes fall on to it as the foxy doctor takes a seat on the edge of the bed. It's from their bonding ceremony. The chef had just jumped playfully into Crios' arms, much to the tailed man's surprise, and planted a kiss on his cheek. A friend of Cho's had snapped the photo and sent it to them as a gift. Cho had requested a second copy so that they both could have one and even helped Crios hang it so that he had no excuse for not doing so. He was always forgetting things like that, and still does in fact.

'The only bit of color in that place. . .' he thinks softly, feeling slightly ashamed at how little care he takes of his room, and how little time he actually dedicates to the man he loves. His eyes drift about, taking in all the images of the two together littering every surface and with a pang Crios can't help but think that not only are most from before they were bonded, but also that each one likely represents each time they've gotten together just to spend time together over the years. Given the time they've been friends, then lovers, the number is saddeningly low.

Cho reappears to find Crios holding one of his bedside picture frames, gazing down at the image. It's from their training days. He'd convinced Crios to join him at the lake, and one of the others had snapped a photo of Cho having a tug-of-war with Crios, trying to get him to stop running around hidden under a bath robe. The robe is open, but it's clear how hard Crios is fighting, the flush on his cheeks quite adorable as he tries to desperately hide himself. Cho smiles at the memory, sighing softly.

Moving further into the room he sets the tea tray on the bedside table and gently wraps an arm around his lover's shoulders. Crios continues to stare at the picture, but the red head can tell that he's not really seeing it. He's lost in thought, in some far off place, and Cho just accepts it, waiting for his lover to return to him with the same patience he's always shown with his dedicated, deep thinking lover. It doesn't take long and with a hum, Crios sets the picture back where he found it. Then, in a soft voice he murmurs, “I don't deserve you. . .”

Cho is shocked, but rather than responding, he waits, knowing Crios has something he wants to say and interrupting would make him shy away. With a deep sigh, the doctor goes on. “I spend all my time caring for others, and when I do see you your first thought is 'what task does he need of me now', not 'oh yay, my lover's come to see me' as it should be. . . .” He bites his lip, hurt by his own words. “I love you, but I feel like I never show it. I never seem to have time for just you, and when I do come to you, it's always for m-” His next words are cut off by a pair of soft lips on his own. Cho's heard enough.

The kiss is light, but insistent, and when at last Cho pulls back he is smiling, but with a serious glint in his eyes that is normally absent from the happy-go-lucky cook. “I am happy Crios, and as long as you are too, that is all that matters. . .” He kisses Crios' forehead gently. “Silly man, you give me everything I could ever want from you.” He smiles a little wider, a new glint in his eyes. “I knew what kind of man I was binding myself to when I did it. I knew since before then what kind of man you were, are, and will continue to be, and I am happy with all of that.”

Kissing the tip of the doctor's nose he slips around behind his lover and begins massaging his shoulders and back, his fingers finding skin aase he carefully pulls down the top of Crios' kimono. Kissing his freshly exposed neck he smiles at the shiver that raves through the foxy man, holding back a chuckle as he watches that fluffy tail poof out in delight. Sliding his hands down his lover's chest he hugs him from behind, kissing his temple before whispering into his ear, “Now, let's see to doctoring the doctor. I prescribe vigorous relaxation. . . .”

~*~*~*~*~

In the garden, Finn lay sprawled out on the ground, just soaking in the sun and energy coming from the plant life around them. The medic had patched him up and ordered him to rest, so while his sister tends to the garden around him, he does his best to comply. Starla glances at him every once in a while, but for the most part she tries to complete her task quickly so she can return to his side. After half an hour she at last makes her way to his side and she finds him quite unconscious. She's begins to worry, then reminds herself that he's suppose to be resting and lets out a grumpy sigh. She starts a bit as a moment later she feels a hand on her leg. Looking down she realizes that even in his sleep, he's trying to comfort his little sister. With a slightly wet smile as his foolishness she scoots closer, laying down at his side and using his shoulder as a pillow. A little nap wouldn't hurt, and right now, she doesn't want to leave him alone.

~*~*~*~*~

Rasha drags his feet to follow Crios' order. 'I don't really have anywhere I can go. . .It's not like I have family up here, or friends really. . .And that's never been a problem before, but now. . . .' He lets out a little kitty sigh, wandering around outside town, wondering how many dreams and minions would shoo him away because of the negative energy he's currently wrapped in, and how many would just shoo him away for simply being “Rasha the Trickster”. He isn't left wondering long however when suddenly a shadow looms over him. Before he can look up his feet leave the ground and he, mewling in confusion, curls around trying to see who's got him. Then the buzzing hum finally registers and he calls, “Rue?”

With a chuckle the fairy murmurs, “Yup, it's me.” He carefully turns Rasha in his arms so he's carrying him more comfortably. Rasha looks up at him curiously, but the winged youth remains silent until they find a good tree a little ways from town to settle in. Rue continues to hold the feline dream, petting him slowly.

Finally, Rasha has to ask. “So. . . .Weren't you basically ordered to go home? Why aren't you there, resting up like Crios told you to?”

Rue continues looking out over the field dotted with trees just like the one they are resting in, his eyes fixed, staring. He doesn't look sad, but when he speaks Rasha can't help a pang of sorrow. “I planned on it, going home. But then I remembered. . .Last time I was there, they all got kinda uncomfortable around me. I don't think they meant to, but they did. . .And now, I'm. . .I'm even more different, and I know they still love me, but. . .I just didn't want to see it again. Not just now. Every thing's turned out, every thing's good. I didn't. . . .I didn't wanna ruin it. . .” Glancing down at the cat in his arms he murmurs, “What about you? Why were you wandering about rather than resting?”

Rasha lets out a short laugh, looking away. “I'ma trickster, remember? I got. . . .i got a house, somewhere, but I'm rarely every there. It's never felt like home, and. . .,” he lets out a sigh, “and all my friends are currently elsewhere. I don't. . . .I don't have any friends outside you guys, nor anything resembling family, so. . .” He shrugs his little kitty shoulders. “So, I really had nowhere in particular to go. . .” Looking up at Rue, the two share a long moment, then with a purr Rasha licks the fairy's cheek and settles in to rest.

In a soft voice Rue murmurs sleepily, “You may have a family soon though, if. . . If Kaila ever catches on.” He smiles, his ears flush pink at the memory. Rasha mewls happily, not replying. He's no so sure. He definitely likes the violet haired man, but a part of him in convinced that a mixture of his clulessness and Rasha's very nature will kill any romance they could ever have. He knows he's being pessimistic, and that it's likely all the negative energy swirling around them, but for now, he can't help the feeling. Instead, he settles in to rest, relaxing in Rue's arms and letting himself drift off to sleep, the fairy following right after him.

~*~*~*~*~

Stretching out on the ground Jentou stares at the starry sky overhead, wondering if Master Seishu is getting any sleep this day. The full moon is high overhead, flooding the lands with glittering blueish light and as he watches a few clouds pass over, marking the passing breeze. He rolls this way and that, trying to find any way to get comfortable, but in the end he knows what he's missing, an how to get it.

Rolling on to his front he quickly scopes out the camp. He doesn't really need to, he can sense his target a mile away no matter what, but it still helps to have a visual. When at last his eyes lock on he slowly begins creeping through the sleeping masses. Despite his stealthiness, he is rather easy to spot in his fresh, clean, gleaming white robes, but none the less he does his best to become one with the ground as he stalks his target. He's ten feet away before it notices, but bu then it's too late. With a giggling yelp the blond flies through the air and lands on the Nightmare Realm's second in command, tackling him to the ground with a giggle, forcing a grunt out of the pounced male.

Kaila, kinda expecting something like this, only puts up a small fight before stilling on the cool ground with his brother still laying on top of him. The alabaster clad man snuggles in close, seeming not to care that his win is being forced to lay on wet, cold ground, but after a few seconds Kaila finds himself pulled to his feet and in moments is being dragged off away from the meeting he'd been having with his team. “Jentou, I need to finish. . .” he starts, but Jentou just shakes his head, leading his brother to the pile of furs and skins the lighter haired male had gathered to lay on for the night. Without so much as a 'by-your-leave' he tackles his brother to the ground once more and cuddle up to his warm body.

“Your guys and gal are smart, they know what they are doing. Let them be, and sleep with me. . .” The white clad male already sounds half asleep and with a long sigh Kaila stops all objections. Before he drifts off however he decides to make an observation. Looking up at the violet haired man with a sly smile he murmurs, “You know, that dream really has a thing for you. And he's cute, for a dream. . .”

Kaila looks down at Jentou, bewildered. “What? You mean Rasha?” His mind goes to the repeated touches and kissing but his mind immediately files those away off into the same folder as the one he puts the affections from his brother and Master Seishu in. “He and I share a passion for Master Seishu. We both admire him. That's all. . .” he says softly, gazing down at his brother with a certainty in his eyes.

The other shakes his head at his silly sibling. “No, Kaila, that's not “all”. He really, really likes you, I can tell.” Sitting up a little his kisses his brother softly, then pulls back. “Did that feel the same as when he kissed you?”

The second returns the kiss, then listens to what his brother is saying. Closing his eyes he recalls the feeling in his chest when Rasha had kissed him. The flutter, the warmth, and he has to admit that it was different. 'But that was just because it was a surprise. . . .Right?' He recalls the second kiss, the same flutter, and he furrows his brow slightly. 'I suppose it was different, but that doesn't mean. . .He's a dream after all, and at my level that kiss alone likely made him sick. Having a thing for me would imply he wants something more, but that would. . .'

He feels faintly flustered at the idea, his mind jumping to what it actually felt like to be kissed like that. To have someone look at him that way is a new concept for Kaila and as his mind goes on to mentally admire Rasha's face and scolds himself silently. 'He is a low level dream. I can not think like that, and next time we meet I will have to let him know that. . . .That is if he really. . . .Not that he does. . .' Glancing down at Jentou as he get re-settled he murmurs, “Anything he has for me must be forgotten. It just wouldn't work.” He jumps slightly as his brother gives him a pinch. “What was that for!” he cries, irritated.

“If it's really, really real feelings, and you don't hate it, you shouldn't just dash it on technicalities.” He glowers up at his brother cutely. “After all, look at Master Seishu! Look who he fell for. Do you really think you're more special than he and can't make a cross realm relationship work?”

“I don't even know if I like him back, or if her really does like me. . .” Kaila grumbles. Jentou lets out a long sigh and nuzzles in close to his sibling.

“Then I suggest you figure that out before you two are making babies and you start running around wondering where the father is. . .” he murmurs wistfully and Kaila simply gives him another look of utter confusion before letting out an exasperated sigh and settling in for a good day's sleep.