Marcus was going to lose his mind if he had to stay in this single, empty room for much longer. Nearly two hours before, Ruby had been taken from him by a single Dark with an unknown intent. Marcus, in an act of angry desperation, had somehow managed to teleport himself outside of his cell. He had decided not to dwell on how he'd figured it out; instead, he'd raced after his wife - only to be confronted by a wizened, strangely sympathetic female guard. When she had found him, she'd mercifully given him the punishment of solitary confinement instead of death, which was what he figured would have come to him if anyone else had come across him. Marcus wasn't sure if he was to be grateful for that or confused about it - or angry. After all, it had ended up with him behind a sealed door for who knew how long. Even if Ruby did return unharmed, he wouldn't be able to see her because of this blasted solitary room.

The room itself was never used, especially because Ariel had no use for it. Any crimes that were punishable by jail time were just that - jail time. There was no need for a solitary confinement room, but they had one just in case, like any other kingdom. Marcus and Ruby had both agreed that they never wanted to use it unless absolutely necessary. 

Marcus never imagined that he would find himself locked behind the door. He never imagined that anything like this would happen. The past five months hadn't even been a possibility in his mind, and that had caused their downfall. The world had been reveling in their relief, too blind to see that the end of the fighting had not been the end of the war. No one had been prepared, not even the kings and queens, who were supposed to protect their kingdoms under any circumstances. No one had been ready for this outcome of their future, and now they were paying for it. 

The king of Ariel was paying for it. 

Marcus had tried everything he could think of to break the metal door down. There wasn't a door handle on his side of the room, so he couldn't try to pick the lock from the inside. He knew punching and kicking would get him nowhere, but he figured that if he used magic, it could at least damage the metal. Somehow, he'd called the darkness to his fingers and coated his hands in it; but slamming his magic-covered hands into the metal had hardly done anything. He'd realized that the door must have been under a spell, and though he knew that there was no way out, he'd angrily thrown his all at the metal for an hour and a half. 

After Marcus had lost his energy, he planted himself directly in front of the door and stared at it as if he could burn a hole through it with his eyeballs. He was exhausted, angry, and devastated - and the anger scorching through him was like madness pinching at his mind. It scared him that he was thinking such horrible things, especially things like how he would maim the guards who had taken Ruby. 

The questions that were running through his mind were all practically the same - what had happened to her, and where had she been taken? Marcus couldn't imagine what The Dark Lord wanted with his wife, but he knew that it couldn't be anything that wouldn't leave her unscathed. If anything horrid was done to her, Marcus would personally find a way to end the unkillable Shadow King. 

Darkness could overcome darkness. 

Marcus would overcome Darkness itself, no matter how long it took him.

~

Two and half hours after Marcus had been thrown into the solitary room, there was a soft tapping on the door. Immediately, the king was on his feet and directly in front of the door, pressing his hands against it like an eager child. He didn't know who was behind the door, but the second they opened it he would bolt. 

No matter the consequences.

A male voice that Marcus didn't recognize floated into the room. "Your Majesty?" 

The title made Marcus pause, his mind turning. No one but Caspian called him "Your Majesty" anymore, and the man behind the metal door was not the cook. Marcus had never heard that voice before - it sounded older than him, with a shaky rasp that didn't sound natural; but there was something fiery and determined in the voice that Marcus did recognize. 

"Are you in there, Marcus?" said the voice, followed by another soft tap-tap. "If you're in there, make it known now. Valuable time is ticking off the clock. I should be on my way the the front gates by now, with you in tow." 

"I'm here," Marcus said with uncertainty, but loud enough for the man to hear. He braced himself for a fight, especially because he didn't know who it was or who he could trust. Whatever this man was planning, it was seemed to be calculated perfectly.

"Ah, good," chirped the voice, and then were was a rattle of something metal that sounded like keys. "I'm going to open this door and you're going to follow me, no questions asked, if you want to make it out alive. Got that, Your Majesty?" 

Marcus remained silent, and thankfully the man took that as a "yes". A moment later, the door swung open, revealing a man hidden by a grey cloak, his face shadowed and his arm sliding back underneath the cloth. Marcus's body was screaming at him to flee, to find his wife; but he stayed put and scowled at the stranger. 

"Come on," said the hidden man, turning around with a whirl of his cloak and starting down the hallway. "Stay close and stay hidden, or this could end badly." 

Questions were burning on Marcus's tongue - Who are you? What are you planning? What is going on at the front gates? Why are you rescuing me? - but he bit them back and followed closely behind the masked stranger. 

The cloaked man led Marcus silently to the gate that surrounded the castle. The sight of outdoors was enough to make the king catch his breath - he hadn't been outside in five months. Through the gate encircling the castle, Marcus could see the rest of the kingdom. It looked dull and desolate, with barely any people milling about. Marcus and the man knelt behind cover, near where public announcements were made. 

Merely moments later, The Dark Lord emerged with Ruby and Shintaro by his side. 

Marcus's breath caught at the sight of his wife, and then again at the sight of the guardian. Ruby looked all right, simply shaken and upset; but Shintaro looked horrible. He looked sleepless and beaten, his wrists raw and his shoulders slumped. Exhaustion and defeat were evident in his eyes, something Marcus had never expected to see in Guardian Shintaro. 

What could The Dark Lord want with both of them?

Marcus glanced at the man beside him curiously and caught sight of green eyes locked directly on Ruby, which made his confusion and caution both rise higher. 

But there was no time to worry about that.

Because the man suddenly stood up and marched around Marcus, heading straight for The Dark Lord. At the same time, the people of the kingdom appeared at the gates, shoving the doors open and spilling into the courtyard like an angry mob. They held weapons like spears and swords, and even the children in the crowd were armed. All of them looked angry and determined, their wrathful eyes locked directly on The Dark Lord. 

The Shadow King halted and raised one eyebrow at the crowd, then allowed his red eyes to fall to the cloaked man. "Ah, it appears I don't have to call the kingdom together. But who might you be?" 

Marcus held his breath and stayed crouched, even though his body was screaming at him to go to his wife, to fight, or to flee. What on earth was going on? 

"I am Machitis," said the man in his raspy voice, his head tilting up in defiance toward The Shadow King. In a flash, his hands were free from his cloak - one was curled around a double-sided spear, and the other was clutching a throwing knife. 

"I take it, Shadow King," the cloaked man said with a grin in his tone, "that you are bored out of your mind here. Just playing with your rebellious subjects" - he jerked his chin at Ruby and Shintaro, making Marcus's anger twist -" is not enough for you, is it? You want a fight. Well, hand them over to me, and I'll give you something you won't forget." 

The Dark Lord stared at the armed man for a bit, then burst into delighted laughter that made Ruby, Marcus, and Shintaro all jump. "Quite a speech, stranger. Yet somehow, you know me so well. Yes, I am rather bored... Something like that of a 'rebellion' would be fun to toy around with." 

There was a long pause, but the stranger spoke again, his voice smirking. "It's your choice, Shadow King. Stay at the top with nothing to do forever, or have your fun at trying to get rid of us." 

"Trying?" The Dark Lord scoffed, tilting his head. "You, Machitis, are going to be the ones trying." 

"The smallest flea can drive the biggest dog mad," Machitis said smoothly. He pocketed his throwing knife somewhere underneath the folds of his cloak, and held out his hand. "Give the queen and her friend over to me. Once we escape, it will be your move." 

A slow grin crawled across The Shadow King's face. "Fair play, Machitis. You are prepared even if I do say no." He nodded to the angry mob behind the stranger. "I doubt they could do much, but you even have snipers positioned around me, don't you? I hope you realize that it wouldn't kill me." 

"No," answered Machitis, "but it would surely do some damage. Especially with poison riddled inside the tips of the arrows." 

The Dark Lord laughed again, and Marcus noticed that his posture wasn't even the slightest bit stiff. "All right, then, Machitis," said The Shadow King. "You can have them, but next... it will be my turn." 

~

Marcus could barely think straight. Everything had happened much too fast.

The man who called himself Machitis had somehow managed to rescue not only Marcus, but Ruby and Shintaro as well. Though Ruby, Shintaro, and Marcus had all desperately argued about the ones they had left behind, Machitis had assured them with the promise that their friends would be rescued too. The kingdom's residents had taken the four of them to the outside of the kingdom - moving through a collapsed part of the wall around Ariel - into an encampment about three or four miles away. There Machitis had promised them safety. 

On top of that, Shintaro seemed so much different than the guardian that Marcus was used to. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and looked more defeated than Marcus had ever seen him. He was bruised and battered, not only physically but in spirit as well. He seemed broken and hopeless, but he made a show of being fierce and hostile toward the stranger Machitis. Despite that, Ruby and Marcus could both see through his wall. 

Now, the three of them were sitting in a tent on the floor, slowly savoring the food that they had been given. Ruby and Marcus were sitting near to each other, both of them relieved that the other was okay. Shintaro was seated on a bench behind them, absently stirring his soup and staring into it. 

Machitis was in front of them, his hood still pulled over his eyes. He had promised them an explanation, and thankfully he was about to give it. 

"As The Dark Lord told you, there has been a recent uprising of the Arielians. Though The Shadow King admitted that they aren't much of a trouble to him, it annoyed him. That was the whole point. I organized the uprising, just to get on his nerves. I figured that he would command them to quit, but I told them to keep pushing it until he got their queen to order them. Thankfully, he went through with my plan without even knowing. As you witnessed, while you two were out in the courtyard, I intercepted him and rescued you. I have many more people on my side, more than you would think.

"Though Utopia has been - unfortunately - wiped out, there were more survivors that suspected. They are rehabilitating here, and they all agree to fight for you at all costs. Many more surrounding towns are with me as well, but once we get things together... They will be under Your Majesties' command."

For a while, it was silent. Marcus, Ruby, and Shintaro could only stare at the cloaked stranger.

Eventually, the guardian spoke. "You planned all of that?" 

Underneath the shadows of his hood, the man smirked. "I did. Honestly, I'm surprised it worked out. I guess I just have that kind of luck." He shrugged with a chuckle.

"We have to go back for our friends as soon as possible," Marcus blurted before he could stop himself. His worry was outweighing his determination to defeat The Dark Lord, as prominent as the latter was. "My father-in-law, Aaron... He's sick. He can't stay there." 

Ruby's hand closed around Marcus's, and the king gave her a sidelong, upset glance. She wasn't looking at him - she was looking down at her soup with a wistful look. 

Machitis drew back with a tilt of his head. "Aaron?" he said questioningly, but he cleared his throat and nodded firmly. "We will go back for your friends as soon as we're ready. We will get them out, I promise." 

"Pardon me," Ruby said suddenly, looking up from her bowl. "But... who are you, and why are you helping us?" 

Machitis chuckled but didn't reply. Instead, he reached up and pulled away his hood. Underneath the cloak was a man possibly Aaron's age or older, with grey streaking his wild, dark hair. One side of his face was gnarled strangely, as if claws had raked through the flesh. Scars ran from his forehead over his left eye and to his throat, which Marcus guessed was the cause of the hoarse rasp in his voice. 

Marcus inhaled sharply as he realized that this man was not Machitis. 

"Is it so bad that I wanted to rescue my niece?" Prince Titan asked with a kind smile. 

~

I

FREAKING

FINALLY

UPDATED???

I always say this, but REALLY

I FINALLY DID IT

AND WOW THINGS ARE HAPPENING

TITAN IS ALIVE

HE IS HERE

HE HAS RESCUED HIS FAMILY

HE GOOD

LKHALJKGAHLKJGH

That's all I have to say about that

Be CONFUSED

P3ac3!!!!~~~~