I meet up with Coal and Ichigo in the castle walls, much to my surprise. "What are you doing here?" I ask as I approach.

"Sei called us back, said he and Free could handle the Luminescent Territory," Coal replies. "He said to look for the lost item."

"How do we know where to look?"

"The library," Ichigo speaks up. "If there is any information on the lost item, it's got to be there."

We hurry to the library to find where the lost item may be when we see one figure grabbing books and another reading them. To our surprise, we see that it's Nova, already out of bed. Heck, I'm surprised he's even awake! According to the time zone here, it's only been two days.

"Nova!" I call. 

Nova momentarily looks up, waves, and goes back to reading. We approach him; he doesn't look up. He just nods his head to the books and keeps reading. We know what to do, so we take a seat and join him in his research.

~.Crimson.~

We arrive at a city not long after we make it here. We would go sightseeing as usual, but the both of us know the gravity of the situation. We have no time for that.

"Do you remember what the item here is?" I ask Free. "It slipped my mind."

Free, who has his flight goggles over his eyes as usual, takes a moment to think. "Wasn't it a black stone? You know, like the opposite of the Obscure Territory."

I nod slowly. "I believe so. It certainly sounds familiar."

"I think it's in a building identical to the one in Obscure."

"And we will have to bypass the hydra guardian."

Free looks at me with a grin. "I thought you forgot!"

I ruffle his hair, earning a protest from him. "I haven't forgotten everything yet! That comes much, much later. I just have not been here for a long time."

Free adjusts his hair some and looks around. "The building's far from this place, though. Are you sure we can make it before this place collapses?"

"If we hurry, we'll probably make it in a day and a half."

Free's wings ruffle and stretch. "Now, then?"

I summon the energies in the air to lift me up. "Now."

The moment we lift up and take off, I see people staring and pointing. Their bright faces and neon eyes stare in wonder. After all, they've never seen people fly by themselves before. The only times they've flown was with the help of machines.

Oddly enough, the wind doesn't whistle by my ears like I expected. Even though the both of us are traveling at extreme speeds, the wind does nothing to hinder my ability to hold a conversation. This gives us the time to plan how to escape and outsmart the hydra. As the guardian, it has to protect the item with its life, and that means killing any and all threats no matter what.

"How do you suppose we should distract the guardian?" I ask. 

"One of us could act as bait," Free suggests.

My answer is immediate. "Absolutely not! I do not like the idea of losing you again. I refuse to go through the grief again."

Free smiles at me. "That's sweet, Sei." Then, his expression turns serious, a rare occurrence for him. "But we still need to get past it. It's the most fierce guardian of all the Territories."

I think for a while, and then I think of something. "I can put it to sleep. Its pressure point shouldn't be that hard to find, and calming it down shouldn't be an issue if it doesn't perceive us as threats."

Free nods with a huge smile. "Sounds good! Makes it easier on us."

~.Astral/Nova.~

My reading is interrupted by footsteps stomping toward the library. Coal, Ichigo, and Crystal look up as a voice booms, "Number 100 Red Nova Sorcerer!"

I close the book, ready to face my brother's rage. He will not harm me; he never has. He never could bring himself to do so. I look at the doorway and in barges my brother, eyes blazing in anger. Those same eyes scan the area until they find me. He storms over and clutches my shoulders. I wince, not expecting his claws to dig into my back as deeply as they are now. 

At the sight of the bandage on my side, Blackie's eyes narrow. "When the fuck did you do this? How deep is it?" he growls.

"You cannot get mad over wounds," I sigh. "It is nothing my body cannot handle. The wounds will heal quickly as usual."

He looks back at my side and finally notices the pink healing band that formed the moment I woke up. He breathes a small sigh and removes his hands. More pink appears on my shoulders. "I'm sorry, but I do not like the fact that the doctors said you could have died in the Obscure Territory if not for Ichigo finding you. I thought you said you would be careful."

I smile at Blackie. "Well, I have to admit, I was in a hurry. You have to control your temper, though. Especially since there are people here."

Blackie waves it off and joins us at the table. "What are you doing?"

"I had a dream," I reply. "The Guardian was watching the Territories fall. Then, he turned to me and told me to find the lost item of the Energy Territory. We're looking for any hints about the lost item here."

Blackie looks at the books. "Father told us about the lost item. All he told us was that the kings of the past wore it."

"They wore it?"

Ichigo closes her book. "If they wore it, it may be kept in a safe and secure area. Do you know any place like that, my king?"

Blackie starts pacing, his cape flowing slightly with his every movement. "In our chamber is a set of loose floorboards under the carpet. In Father's old chamber is a torch holder that acts as a lever, revealing an old storage room. Those are the only two places that I know of."

Coal stands up and goes to the shelves that contain scrolls. "One of the old prints could help," he mumbles. "The new ones would most likely not show all the hidden rooms and areas because they've been forgotten, but an old one would be more detailed." He pulls a few out, looks at them briefly, and puts them back. Finally, after Ichigo gets up and helps him, they find the oldest but still readable map of the castle, complete with all levels of the castle and secret chambers. 

We pour over the map, taking note of all the secret passages. Coal volunteers to take the basement floor, Ichigo takes the first floor, Crystal takes the second floor, and Blackie and I take the third floor. After that, we split up.