The Evening of the Final Day [PLOT EVENT]

The sun had begun to set on Kana Island for the third and final time for the trip. Alex sat on the bridge of the boat and looked at his watch. "It's already 5 PM....where is that last team..." Alex looked out the window with binoculars and saw Max and Ken approaching with the missing team. Alex breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want those kids showing up dead or anything. If he had an actual dead body on his hands, the magistrate would never let him hear the end of it. As they boarded the boat, Alex finally got on the speakers.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, let me just say congratulations for getting this far. You have proved through these three days that you are the best this university could have. We will be returning to the island by this boat the same way as before. Once you are ready feel free to use the teleportation pads...however there is a catch this time. If you wish to stay aboard the ship and enjoy the luxuries it has to offer, be my guest. This boat will be back at the university in two days. Once I return to the island, the official team naming ceremony will begin." He let go of the mic. He saw Max and Ken walking back towards the island. He didn't like when things didn't go as planned.

Judging by what Tori said, plans had gone bad rather fast. The Arcane Knights had been here. But for what, he couldn't be sure. But all he knew was now he has two people to deal with. Jonathan Slayer....and The Arcane Joker....

"This is going to be an interesting year...." Alex sighed as he looked out at the setting sun, hoping that this year wouldn't be as bad as the last one.

Hibiki and his team were on the boat he felt at ease now that the hard part is over.He found his team and got through some serious danger with them all to find out that the objective is nothing more of a fools errand.

Im glad that we are back safe but all this just so we get ourselves in this mess pisses me off

He sighed at the thought as he hears the speakers flaring up hearing Alex's voice.

Ladies and Gentlemen, let me just say congratulations for getting this far. You have proved through these three days that you are the best this university could have. We will be returning to the island by this boat the same way as before. Once you are ready feel free to use the teleportation pads...however there is a catch this time. If you wish to stay aboard the ship and enjoy the luxuries it has to offer, be my guest. This boat will be back at the university in two days. Once I return to the island, the official team naming ceremony will begin."

Hibiki ponders even further to whathas happened during his ordeal in the island,the creature that gave his team a message the mysterious woman Mari and Carmine.

I hope I get to see them again I still owe them my thanks for their help

He finally thought about the fight he had with "Martha or what seems to be like her.He was amazed he able to pull of a new technique out of the blue.

I still need to get stronger,strong enough to prevent the same thing from happening

With that Hibiki looks behind seeing the island one last time as the sunsets down across the horizon.

"This is where we part ways kana island"

He raises a fist towards the sky and said.

"Mission accomplished"

He turns around and heads straight to up to his new future as a student of Terminal University.

Tsukiko watched silently. He simply leaned against the railings of the boat, as he watched the island begin to slowly shrink in size, and grow in distance. The ocean breeze graced across his face as his new coat moved in unison with it.

Tsukiko however cared not for the breeze, or the ocean smell, or the chatter of others on the boat. His mind was focused elsewhere. His thoughts raced and replayed every event, every word, every meeting, every person, and every fight he had experienced on that damn island.

He was trying to piece it together, to see how each event was connected, how they unified and what they meant too each other.

He knew he should be relaxing, hell he could hear some of the other students enjoying their time on the boat, as if pretending the last three hellish days never happened.

"Trying to ignore what has happened, doesn't change that it happened."

Tsukiko's eyes narrowed. What started as a simple 'test' turned into more than a struggle to survive. First there was the strange creature that had attacked him and his teammates, and soon after had returned, only to SPEAK to them about Cara. It called her its' 'Queen' and him a prince, and had put Cara into a coma fueled by her own fears and nightmares.

It had looked bad until...

"Mari-san.."

Mari-san had shown up, out of nowhere, with that strange and silly aura about her. It was illogical, it was suspicious, and yet if it wasn't for her, Cara might not have recovered. She had removed whatever the creature had done, and put it into an orb for Tsukiko to carry and return when the test was over.

Which....it now was.

"Give this to her as soon as this is over. If need be, you can give it to her earlier than that, but only if it's dire."

Tsukiko reached into his pocket and pulled out the orb. This THING seemed to have caused nothing but trouble since he held it. It had a very powerful and cruel feeling too it, and he had wanted to get rid of it when he saw how happy Cara was. How peaceful she looked from being freed of whatever the creature had done to her.

A part of him wanted to toss it. To any normal person, the obvious answer would have been to screw the promise and hurl the orb into the endless sea. After all if it was gone, then maybe Cara wouldn't be forced to deal with whatever might happen when he returned it. Maybe she'd be free of this damn thing and whatever it held.

And yet...

Tsukiko closed his eyes. Mari-san had trusted him with it. She had helped him and Cara, and had given him the orb for safeguarding. She had asked him to return it after the test, and he had promised her that he would do so.

And he would do so. Because as strange as it sounded, he too, trusted her.

Which was odd. The two had barley met a full 12 hours before the test had begun. He had helped her from some other students, assisted in her 'bar', and had spoken some words with her briefly. In both that short time, and when he had encountered her again on the island, he had come to several conclusions about the blonde woman.

She was kind. She was bizarre. She was playful. She was illogical. She was beautiful. She was a teaser. She was bright. She was strong. She had a personality almost opposite to him. And she was absolutely and positively one of the most ODDEST people he had ever met!

And yet despite the short time he had known her, despite her mysteriousness and odd personality, he had come to strangely care for Mari-san and trusted her fully. And from her words...it sounded like she trusted him as well.

Tsukiko put the orb back into his pocket as he looked at the setting sun.

Maybe it explained why he was so scared when he saw the pillar of light

The damn light on the second day, he couldn't explain it but he knew Mari-san was involved. And it scared him so much that he had dashed off to find her even though it had involved splitting up with his teammates. He had wanted to find her, to make sure she was okay and safe.

What he had found instead, was a man who was involved in both the light, and Mari-sans disappearance.

To Kei. The guy had a calm and serious aura about him, and had spoken about the event only after realizing that Tsukiko knew Mari-san, and after Tsukiko had held hostage the guys pocket watch. The guy admitted his involvement in her disappearance, and stated that Mari-san herself caused the light, just as Tsukiko suspected. Tsukiko would have questioned him more had he not rushed back to check on his teammates, hoping they had found her.

What they found instead was another mysterious visitor. This one appearing in the form of an explosion that nearly killed them.

Yet he couldn't blame Carmine for it. She was a young girl, hesitant and fearful, who had only been trying to do the same as he had. Find Mari-san and see if she was okay.

Tsukiko listened to Carmine's story and of her involvement with both Mari-san and To Kei. She wanted to rekindle the bonds the three had, and bring them together again like they had been in the past. Despite her fears and weakness, she fought on to do something others considered impossible.

Watching her speak, hearing her words and her actions, had brought out Tsukiko's old instincts. Carmine reminded him a lot of the younger orphans he had helped raise and take care of back home, especially Eva-chan. It was just one of the many reasons why he promised her that he would help her try to reconnect the bonds the three had.

"And yet I failed when it mattered."

Tsukiko's fist clenched. He kept seeing it in his head, kept seeing Carmine's fear etched into her face as she fell down the hole. How they had been separated in that damn facility for simply trying to help people. Only for one of those people to not only be Martha, the fucking assistant to the dean of the academy, but to end up trying to kill him and his teammates!

And for what? The orb? Some weird thing called 'Nyx'? Whatever the case, Martha was strong and dangerous, and had trapped them hoping they would not be able to escape, and would die of starvation in those damn cells.

But luck found them, as the cells had strangely opened and allowed their escape, only for Cara to be attacked and possessed by some weird shadow thing and try to kill them. He was just grateful that she had been snapped out of it before it got worse. Following another short confrontation with Martha, Tsukiko and his team managed to escape the facility as it collapsed.

But at what cost? Carmine was still missing, as was Mari-san. Cara was being targeted by Martha and hunted down for whatever this damn 'Nyx' thing was, and he couldn't even do anything about that since he had been shown proof by Ken that Martha was at the academy the whole damn time they were on the island!!

It frustrated and hurt him! What was he supposed to do!? Just wait for Ken and Max to get back too him? What if they found nothing? What if that damn Martha came back for Cara again!?

What could he do dammit!?

"Hmph, look at yourself, sitting there moping like a dog. And here I thought you actually had some damn pride in those golden eyes of yours."

Tsukiko's eyes widened.

That voice.

"You want to make things right? Then get off your ass and do something about it. Or are you going to just sit there and cry about it? Because at this rate, I'd rather have that damn smart ass and stubborn fool from before as my servant rather than some whiny child."

The sound of the ocean and breeze flowed around Tsukiko. Slowly his eyes closed.

That's right.

It didn't matter now. What had happened on that island had happened, and as much as he may want too, nothing would change it. But that didn't mean he couldn't do anything about it.

Tsukiko's eyes opened, his expression full of conviction and strength.

Terminal was around the corner, and with it, a chance to make things right. He would would be taught and trained for the next five years. He would find a way to control this damn curse of his. He would find a way to master it's power and harness it fully.

He would get stronger, so strong that nobody, not even that damn Martha woman, would be able to stop him. So that nothing like this would ever happen again. That no matter what the future held for him, he would be ready to face it head on.

And that nobody, whether his teammates, his precious people, or even some stranger he just met, would ever be hurt again.

That's a damn promise.

"You better keep your word, you damn abyss."

Tsukiko smiled.

"Hai hai, Ojou-sama."

Cara breathed a heavy sigh of relief as they finally saw the boat come into view. "Only a little ways from here," she heard Max casually say. She was thankful they had run into Max and Ken. While they were a little suspicious still, whatever Ken did made Tsukiko believe him...and that's all she really needed. They walked up then ramp to the boat and a suited guard started to walk towards them. Max said to let him and Ken handle it, so Cara remained silent.

The guard looked at the two. "Is something the matter sir?" Did he just call Max "sir"? Ken smiled slightly and pointed to the three behind them. The guard seemed to notice the trio for the first time when Ken pointed them out. Cara didn't mind though. She preferred staying in the background.

"We found the missing team. They unfortunately don't have an idol...but i'm sure that isn't a problem...is it?" The guard must have taken that as a threat because he ushered them on without any complaints. Cara smiled as soon as she stepped onto the boat. She felt safe for the first time since they first arrived on the island. It wasn't too long after that Alex made his final announcement. Cara didn't know what Tsukiko and Hibiki would do, but she opted to stay on the boat.

While she knew her books would help her put the 3 hellish days she had experienced behind her, she was more interested in simply relaxing. She told Tsukiko she wanted to be alone for a bit, and walked off into the inner sections of the boat. After she found a nice quiet place inside one of the guest rooms, she sat and looked out the window towards the ocean.

The ocean was calm, and the vibrant sounds of the waves crashing against the hull of the ship could be heard. She watched as more and more waves swept by, imagining Kana Island as it slowly shrank into the horizon. She was glad she could finally put that place behind her. 

The last three days had been the most exciting, dangerous, and downright terrifying of her entire life. And it all started with that damn creature. Every since she saw it, she felt like there was this lingering feeling in the back of her mind....like she was missing something. She had chalked it up to her being afraid, but then it returned.

It had called her its "Queen". Upon hearing that, she had felt herself give off a devilish smile for only a second. Then, everything became foggy. Tsukiko told her she had passed out and Mari had helped her. She was glad Mari had been there, even if it was a big coincidence.

She had felt so happy afterward. That lingering feeling had finally gone away, Or atleast, so she thought. It had returned. That little voice kept playing over and over in her head. It was her own voice, but it was full of cold detachment to the world. Every time it inflicted pain it enjoyed it.

Then she finally saw it take form. While she was trapped in the cell, it had appeared to her. Nyx. That had been what she called herself. "I am you....you are me...." Cara shook her head. There was no way that could be true. She was Cara, and that's ALL she was. But the thought still frightened her to no end.

A knock was heard on the door and one of the guards walked in. "Are you Miss Cara Suraius?" Cara blinked and nodded. The guard handed her a bag. Her bag to be exact. "Just going around giving students their belongings back." He waved and left as fast as he came.

Cara reached into her bag and shuffled around to see if she could find it. After a while she did, a small envelope. It looked no different than an ordinary envelope, but all that mattered was the return address. "Suraius Estate, 5762 Regnal Street". She smiled as she opened it up. They said open it after the test.

She pulled out the parchment inside. She noticed it was in her father's handwriting, which made her smile bigger. She proceeded to read the letter.

"Dear Cara,


I hope you've gotten to the school and everything fine. I've probably worried my head silly thinking about you. I just want you to know whatever happens, your mother and I will always be there for you. No matter how great the shadows and darkness seem, always remember there's a little at the end of every tunnel. That was one of your favorite things to say, remember? Everytime you were scared as a little kid you'd repeat it to yourself over and over until you felt better. I'm rambling now aren't I? The point is, we love you and wish you the best of luck at Terminal University.


Love, Your Father."

Cara held the letter closer to her heart as she layed in the bed. Everything was going to be alright, she knew that. She couldn't help but laugh at how worried she had gotten. Whatever this thing was, she wasn't about to let it consume her. "Just as every light must fade, every shadow must be lit." She closed her eyes and dozed off, finally getting the rest she needed after the events of the island.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, let me just say congratulations for getting this far. You have proved through these three days that you are the best this university could have. We will be returning to the island by this boat the same way as before. Once you are ready feel free to use the teleportation pads...however there is a catch this time. If you wish to stay aboard the ship and enjoy the luxuries it has to offer, be my guest. This boat will be back at the university in two days. Once I return to the island, the official team naming ceremony will begin."

Zack decided it’d be best to stay on the boat, and enjoy the luxuries that it held. He grabbed a quick bite to eat, and headed to a secluded room so that he could rest up for a while.  A knock could be heard at the door, so he opened it. “Just here to bring back your belongings young sir.” He handed Zack his bag, and he left. All of Zack’s things were accounted for, even the jacket and vest that he left on the island, “These guys are better than I thought” he thought to himself, as he threw the clothing back on. With the free time on his hands, he thought it’d be best to do a quick reading. So he unbuckled his holster, and pulled out the deck.

Spurts of images began filling his mind. The first were two unfamiliar silhouettes down on the ground, unconscious. The second image flashed, and a shadowy like demon was seen at the university, some parts set ablaze. The last image, he could see a familiar figure, kneeling on the ground, tears running down their face. Zack quickly gasped for breath, the images took a lot of energy out of him, so he decided it was best to take a break, and relax until the boat made it back to port. But that shadowy demon, it kept haunting his mind, and he felt he needed to find the dean.

He began searching for Alex around the boat, checking the buffet, the pools, and anywhere else he could think. But there were a lot more teams than what he remembered, and he couldn’t find the dean anywhere. He decided that he had to tell someone, but who?? Then it hit him, why not tell Tori, she was after all on his team, plus she would know how to get ahold of the dean.

Tori sat on the ledge of the boat watching as the sun was just beginning to set. She laughed slightly to herself. She still couldn't believe her team was one of first ones done. Though she also had a lingering feeling of dread. She could still picture the emblem she saw in the security computer. A small shield split into four different sections: A sword, a wand, a cup, and a pentacle. The suits of a Tarot Deck...and the symbol of the Arcane Knights.  I thought they were only in Indus...what are they doing here?

She sighed. This test had been nothing but trouble. First there was the surveillance equipment tampering, then there was the call she got.

Tori picked up the phone and spoke softly into it. "Hello?" She head nothing on the other end and was about to hang up before she heard a voice. The voice was a man. It also seemed to be soft and melodic.


"Hello my dear Tori..." Tori tensed up. She didn't recognize the voice at all, and that scared her.


"Who are you...?" She replied. The man on the other end laughed.


"You can simply call me, The Fool." He paused for a moment before continuing. "But we're not interested in me. We're interested in you...Ms Summers..."


Tori almost dropped the phone. "Who told you that name!?"


"Temper....no need to get violent. I simply wish to talk over a small..."business transaction"."

Tori shook her head waving off the memory. The Fool asked her to meet him in the Neon District of Terminal City before the boat left Kana Island. She would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous. She had heard rumors about the mysterious Arcane Knights, but had never met them in person. Worse still....he knew her real name. Meaning he knew exactly who she was, and knew exactly what her weaknesses and strength were.

Tori stood up and looked off towards the inside of the boat. "Remember Tori....you'll never run away again..." She walked off towards the teleporter pads. She didn't know what she would face on the other side, but she didn't care. She had been running all her life from her duty, and herself. She was tired of it. Her name was Victoria Summers, and she was Magistrate of Terminal City.