Regrets

"Why?" Ezekiel said, looking at the lady who was once their ally, betraying them immediately after she got to safety. Speechless and apalled by what's happening right in front of him. An cluster of different kinds of emotions stirred inside him, seeing that Miranna is unconscious and paralyzed in his arms. Trying to think of anything to say or to do. "Why did you betray us?" Is all he could say.

"I'm sorry" She fired her blowpipe, the dart faster than any normal person could see. "I'm bound within the contract, as so I cannot betray him" She looked down at the floor, filled with shame and anger on how she can't resist, even if she wanted too. She felt angry at herself for betraying a pure hearted, and kind boy. Ezekiel managed to slash the dart down through instincts, using his shortsword he summoned last time to block the dart, remembering the training he did so long ago.

"Never thought you were skilled enough to hit that dart" She answered, looking at him in a coldless stare, trying to mask her shame inside.

"I never thought so either" Ezekiel replied, putting down Miranna at the floor and stood up to face Castriel. Her black eyes staring at him, analyzing on any weakness and opening she could use to her advantage. He gripped the hilt of the sword much stronger, trying to hold the rage he has on his heart for his uselessness to protect anybody. "But, after that one punch k.o." He readied his sword at his front, putting up a stance with his right leg at the front for movement, and his left leg for strength while moving. "I trained myself for that one week on dodging a bit more faster" He smiled at her "Since I don't want to be a laughing stock by Evan again".

She also readied the shortsword she borrowed from him from her right hand, switching places with the blowpipe, which is in the left hand now. "Let's see if you've improved at all" She replied, charging forward to Ezekiel, their swords both clashing in the dark room, with only the little moonlight coming from the door, and the boarded windows. Ezekiel trying to withstood the blow he is sustaining using his shortsword, while Castriel proceeded in adding more strength at hilt.

"You know a secret from swords?" Ezekiel asked, his hands slowly aching in pain from gripping the sword, and also holding the weight of both the shortsword and Castriel.

"What?" She asked, putting in more strength and taking advantage of her early charge. Ezekiel raised his left hand and made a position as how he would grab the sword, but there are inches between him and it. His right hand slowly giving up because of the lost support coming from the left hand.

"Is that their masters" He unsummoned the shortsword she had, leaving a big opening in front of her. "Can unsummon the sword if they wanted to". He answered, charging at the now defenseless Castriel. If it wasn't for the blowpipe she had on her hand, she would've already lost the fight. She used it to block the sword, pushed him away, and distanced herself again.

"That was close" She said, gripping the blowpipe harder in her hand, feeling something at her shoulder, a wound. "What?" She said in shock, holding the wound as blood dripped down on the floor, groaning in pain.

"Never thought I could summon a knife do you?" He said, gripping his shortsword on his left, while summoning another knife on his right.

"How many swords can you summon!?" She complained in annoyance, as his skills with a sword isn't enough. He could summon different kinds without getting fatigued at all.

"Well, I don't know really" He replied, throwing another on at her but she missed it barely. He summoned another one and made it rotate around his hands. "Why don't we find out?" He said, throwing the knife this time with higher speed and targeted the head, but got dodged and only left a wound at right cheek.

"D*****, why is he a cheat?" Castriel said, rotating around the room while Ezekiel threw more knives to her. She also shot at him when he got the chance, and he would dodge it barely. "So" She thought to herself "He still lacks the skill to dodge quickly". After knowing that, she shot a lot more darts, like how firing more and more as she got the chance, turning the tables around and making Ezekiel defend rather than attack. She rotated around the room, shooting much more faster than last time, while Ezekiel either dodged through moving side to side, doing a front or back flip, or simply slashing the darts he couldn't dodge.

Little by little Ezekiel is starting to get tired from dodging, while Castriel also got a bit fatigued from running around the room, shooting from her blowpipe. When she stopped for a second, Ezekiel used the chance as a way to charge at her, running faster to not waste any time. After realizing it, she managed to barely block it in time by using her blowpipe, as she stood there trying to stand her ground against him. Gaining a bit of momentum, Ezekiel summoned another dagger at his left hand, getting a bit to greedy which she sense on how the weight of the sword is diminishing. She used the time to kick him right in the stomach. Making him flew at the wall behind him.

"Seriously" Castriel said, panting at the exhaustion from fighting. "Give up already". She shot using her blowpipe, targeting Ezekiel's head, but barely manage to dodge it by moving his head to the left.

"A bit too greedy" He said, picking up the dart again and threw it at her, she also dodged it as well. "Same as I am". He panted from exhaustion as well, dodging a lot of darts that getting hit means defeat.

"You don't know" She said, inhaling and exhaling pretty fast. "What's going on anyway". She shooted three consecutive darts, which Ezekiel slashed away, not realizing that it was only a trick for him to lower his guard. She charged straight at him with a dart on her hand, trying to stab him with it so that it would be finally over. He didn't thought of it and dodging now would be futile, since she would throw it at him at his most vulnerable time.

"FINALLY" She shouted, happiness and relief now flooding through her as she manage to finally find an opening through him "A D*** OPENING AT LAST....."

She was about to shout in joy, if it wasn't for the hand grabbing her beneath the floor.

"My, my, this isn't what is in the contract" Someone said from the ground, a hand grabbing Castriel's arm, wearing a black long sleeve that is supposedly be the camouflage for the fight. Castriel shivered in fear, knowing to whom that voice is. "S***" She cussed to herself, "So close!".

"Sorry if I got lost" Evan said, now going out from the ground and raising both her arms in the process. "But, I never thought you would betray us after saving your life and all".

Ezekiel looked at the scene unfolding in front of him. Evan barely saved him and now has Castriel's arms locked in on the wall.

"Why would you do it so early?" Evan whispered at her ear, as she fakingly struggled against him to make sure Ezekiel wouldn't knew about it.

"Is she safe now?" Castriel asked, her whole body leaning at the cold wall behind her, thinking about the most precious person now saved from his clutches.

"Yes, she is safe now" He replied, now releasing both her arms on the wall.

"Why did you...." Ezekiel was about to ask before....

"It's ok now" Evan answered, turning his back against her, totally defenseless and open to get shot by the poison darts from her blowpipe. "The deal is already done".

"WHAT DEAL!?" Ezekiel shouted, feeling that he got left out on MANY things. Not knowing that there are plans behind plans, and plans behind the plans behind the plans, and so forth. "YOU'RE LEAVING ME OUT AND YOU'RE SIMPLY SAYING ITS OK NOW!?" He punched the wall at his side, leaving a crack at it and his fist aching in pain. But, he didn't care. "B*******, I TELL YOU...."

"It was about their daughter" Evan replied, looking at him dead in the eye.

"Wha-wha?" Ezekiel answered, confused at what Evan said earlier. "What do you mean by daughter". Evan made a *Come-Hither* expression, which Ezekiel followed, and they went to a nearby corner until they were far enough, leaving Castriel, embarrased and crying in pure relief, and Miranna, unconscious and bubbling, at the room.

"Now" Evan said, putting both hands at Ezekiel's shoulders, looking at him more seriously now, as Ezekiel also returned the stare by trying to act a bit mature, which is failing at the moment. Evan laughed and looked at the side, trying to laugh away the face he saw, then tried to continue after. "Please stop the face so I can continue" He said, grinning at how bad Ezekiel's mature face. He changed his face back to normal silently, wanting to get back to get the conversation started.

"Now" Evan said seriously this time "I'll tell you about the tale of Zach and Castriel, and their daughter who was kidnapped, making them both slaves to fate".

>:T

"It was a bad idea to throw away the steel doors huh?" Pierre said, leaning the right side beside the now open doors.

"Yep" Zach replied, also leaning against the wall, him on the left side. "That was a bad mistake on our part, trying to act cool and all".

Pierre took a peek at the door, and is greeted by an arrow inches from him, and returned back to leaning. Only seeing how so many lifeless men in white tuxedos readying their bows at them. Taking a peek even once meant a vollew of arrows comes out of the open door, and will only go down after a minute or so. He regretted looking this time around, or else he might get shot in the eye.

"I told you" Zach said, looking at the night sky now, admiring how the stars shined brightly against the vast, dark night, with the full moon shoning its light at them. "We could only solve this by getting the steel door".

"Fine" Pierre blinked for a second. "Let's go and get the...."

"Ah, you mean both of us?" Zach said, now one of the steel doors at his hand, using it to block the volley of arrows coming right at him.

"Whaaa, YOU KNOW WHAT?"" Pierre shouted, getting irritated at how easy he did it. He picked up the top part of door, and forced it down to the ground, making it stand still on its own while both of them hold the center part of it, doing so for the wall not to fall. "Why don't we just do this!?"

Zach laughed earnestly, thinking that the whole situation is a whole joke by itself. "If it wasn't for the fact that we aren't allowed to kill them, we would've already ran towards Castriel and the others". He opened one of the pouches at his belt, taking out a dart, with its tip stained of Vermite poison. After seeing how the volley of arrows vanished in a minute, he threw the dart and aimed at any one he saw, targetting the shoulder which is the least vital part, along with the legs. He ducked again and a volley of arrows shot again.

"So" Zach said, holding the fort again and looked at Pierre who was holding the wall as well, a bit confused but understood the idea he portrayed. "Why not let's have a contest to whoever gets the most shots?"

"You're so on!" Pierre replied, picking atleast twent or more darts and dropping them at the floor. When the volley of arrows stopped, he fastly shot the twenty darts and ducked again. The volley of arrows continued.

"I got twenty!" Pierre shouted in celebration.

"It starts the competion then" Zach replied, copying Pierre's idea and also dropped atleast a hundred darts in the process. "Good thing we have atleast two thousands worth of darts in our pouches".

"Yeah" Pierre agreed, laughing at how stupid and fun their competition is. Also dropping a hundred darts at the ground. "Or else we would've considered killing them all".

The volley of arrows stopped and both of them looked at each other, smiling and grinning and offered handshakes at each other.

"May the most shots gets treated liquor!"

"Agreed!"

They then grabbed one dart, and shot at the nearest one they saw, shooting fast until the two hundred darts on the floor vanished. After that, they ducked again and the volley of arrows continued. Along with that, is a lot of bodies falling from the ground.

"This is super fun!"

"Indeed!"

They both laughed at how stupidly fun their game is. They continued their game, waiting, shooting, ducking, and repeating the process. One by one did the possessed men fall, one by one they fell to the ground, and because of it, they volley of arrows slowly diminished as their practice shooting continued.

>:T

"Are you my mommy?" The girl said, looking at the pink haired lady in front of her, making a big mistake of not realizing she is not the real mother, but only a creepy brocon towards her little brother. But, she couldn't say that now could she?

"No" She replied, looking down at her and remembering how cute her little brother is. How he always went to her side whenever he needs her. Now, he would only act that he isn't anyone she knows. "I am not your mother"

The girl started to cry, her tears starting to form at her eyes. Realizing this, she quickly made up an excuse without jeopardizing what she already established. After thinking a bit, she then found a good excuse.

"I'M YOUR AUNTIE!" She replied while shouting, making sure that the statement she said is full of joy. The girl, hearing that, made a smile instead and hugged the lady in front of her.

"AUNTIE, HOW I MISS YOU!!!!" The girl said, happy on how her aunt come and save her from the bad guys who kidnapped her.

"Yes, yes, aunties here to pick you up!" She answered, smiling at the poor little girl. Dirty, sick, and wears a torn up dress for who knows how long.

"You will seriously have to explain this, Evan" Ayako thought to herself, as she raised the little girl up in the sky, rotating around the sky and make her feel as if she's flying up and up in the air.

"YEYYYYYY" The girl said, thinking that she is actually flying up in the air in her own volition, completely forgetting the tortures, experiments, and pyschological traumas she endured just to see her mother. She completely saw Ayako as her loving, doting mother, after not seeing her for almost a year. Illusions piling up at the poor child's brain, as she completely forgot what the bad guys did to her, but the side of effects of experimentation still clouded her head. Only by extensive research and analyzation, can Ayako actually find the cure for whatever they did to her.

>:T

"Hey" Ezekiel said, just finished hearing out Evan's story. "Isn't that a loud shriek coming from Castriel?"

"Yeah" Evan replied, as they both ran towards the room and saw a man, his hand piercing a lady through her chest. The lady saw them and smiled at the two.

"I'm....Sorry."

She said.

Then, the man dropped her to the floor, lifeless as blood spewed out her quickly, her face turning deathly pale.

"No" They both said, as Ezekiel lost his strength and fell to the floor. As they saw.

Their comrade's last moment.