The party is downstairs in the basement having a discussion with Antoinette. Antoinette already knew what kind of situation she has got herself into.

  "All right!" Rei speaks up to start the meeting. "You, the princess, should tell us what the hell is going on here?"

  "Ok. I know it sounds...how should I put this..." Antoinette said with a sigh. "...complicated, but after I confess to you all, will you guys forgive me?"

  "Oh, we will." Rei replied and gave her a meaningful look. "ONLY after you make that confession."

  "All right." Antoinette said, swallowing. "Here goes."

  Shokei already knew in advance that the princess lied to her and her party. She recalled the night of her confession, the truth. Everyone else, it was all new to them. Antoinette became brief to tell everyone about herself from fleeing the castle and the cruelty of her stepfather who's the new King. The confession was about less than ten minutes and now the party gets a clear understanding of what was going on in her case.

  "The reason I want to return back to Senwald is to see my siblings." Antoinette said to everyone. "I want to make sure if they are ok."

  "Never knew you had siblings." Rei said to her.

  "Of course." Antoinette said to her.

  "The real question is this." Rei said and asked. "How will we get into the Kingdom without the guards or the citizens noticing you when we arrive there?"

  "First of all, the citizens don't seem to know me in this outfit that I have on." Antoinette said to her. "Second, if we are heading back to Senwald, I know that there is another way into getting into the Kingdom without being seen or detected. When we get there, I'll expin how we will sneak into the Kingdom."

  "Looks as if we need to keep her indoors until the day, we set out again." Tamiko said, sighed.

  "Bummer." Marie said.

  "Yeah." Kichiro said with a shrug. "But hey, what can we do for now? With those elite guards outside looking for her, we will have to wait it out until they leave."

  Soon, the rest of the day in Itaea was normal and the guards from Senwald are finishing up patrolling the people's homes from their search of Princess Antoinette.

  Night falls in Itaea and everyone is enjoying a rexing evening. Shokei and her party kept themselves occupied and already had their dinner. The party is fixing up for tomorrow before they depart for Senwald.

  Shokei and Antoinette are in the guest room having another private discussion.

  "Antoinette. I've been thinking about one thing." Shokei said to her.

  "Hmm?" Antoinette turned after she finished brushing her hair.

  "From hearing about this situation you're in, I should say that I am...disappointed in you." Shokei said

  "I'm sorry that I lied to you and everyone else." Antoinette said. She closed her eyes. "Anything else?"

  "That and how you lied to us about running away since the day we met you." added Shokei.

  "...I had to." Antoinette said, taking a deep breath. "I cannot bear my stepfather's wraith any longer and I made the decision to run away from my Kingdom."

  "That reminds me. Out of curiosity, how did you managed to escape out of Senwald?" Shokei asked concerned.

  "I escaped from a sewer." Antoinette tells her. "You see, there is a hidden sewer that leads to the inside of the castle. I am the only one that knows the secret entrance and if we can get inside and go pass through the guards without detection, chances are I'll be able to see my sisters and my brother again. All three of them are stuck in the castle like prisoners."

  "I see." said Shokei.

  "I must advise you that going through my castle is no easy task." Antoinette advised her. "My stepfather hired more guards than my real father did."

  "Then we will figure out what to do when we get to the castle." Shokei said.

  "Yes." Antoinette said and yawned. "I need some sleep now."

  "Me too." Shokei said. "I'll see what else is everyone doing before I go too."

  Antoinette sees Shokei getting up from the bed and walks out of the room.

  "Night princess." Shokei said.

  "Ok. Goodnight!" the princess said. She tucks into bed and goes to sleep.

  It is around the time for the party to go to sleep. Shokei's party members are about to take a rest before leaving for Senwald.

  "I'm stepping out of this house for a while." Rei said to Shokei. "I need to get a look around Itaea."

  "You must be joking." Shokei said to her sternly. "At a time like this, you want to lurk around at night and not focus on what's important for tomorrow?"

  "But we've been inside protecting that princess all day!" Rei hissed. "Geez! I haven't got a chance to see what this town is all about."

  "Can't you do it another time when we are not doing much?" Shokei asked, now arguing her. "Better yet, why didn't you get the chance to do that during the daytime?!"

  "I mean...what if those damn guards from Senwald spot me and then what will happen?" Rei asked her. "Do you even think I have gotten the chance to go out?"

  "You do have a point..." Shokei said, looking to the ground.

  "Then again, those guards probably given up by now." Rei said.

  "Look! Save it!" Shokei said back at her. "I don't know what you have in mind but just go to bed!"

  "I don't care!" Rei argued back. "I'm just going to go out to some bar, and I probably won't be out there for too long just to get some sleep."

  "Whatever!" Shokei shrugs and turns away, walking back to her room. "Promise me that you get back here in one piece and get to bed, ok?!"

  "Of course!" Rei said out to her.

  "For someone like you," Shokei said as she is standing in front of her room. "You ought to be crazy going out there by yourself at night."

  Rei looks at her as Shokei takes a sigh of breath.

  "...then again, I have no choice to stop you. Just be careful." Shokei tells her.

  With that, Shokei heads to her room and closed the door.

  Rei leaves the house and closes the door quietly. Now that the party is asleep, she has the chance to experience night in Itaea. Rei did keep her word that she should be back in the house to rest up for tomorrow's journey before it gets too te.

  Later, Rei is walking around the streets of Itaea. She looks around to see what's taking pce at this hour. The kids were up te, pying around with their guardians under supervision, people taking among each other, and all sorts of scenes going on in taverns.

  This looks like a nice evening to go out with someone., Rei thought to herself. Maybe one day, a girlfriend of mines will keep me company.

  While looking around the city, Rei came across a tavern, entitled "The Laughing Courier Bar." The tavern looks nice in the front and inside did not look crowded but has a popution of customers. Rei hears music pying in the tavern and the sound from the music is heard lively and uprising. Entering in, she walks up and sits at the bar table.

  "Can I get a drink please?" Rei asked the bartender.

  "What it will be?" the bartender asked her.

  "An Angelic Schnapps Cordial please." Rei requested.

  "Sure thing!" the bartender replied ready to work.

  While waiting for her drink, minding her business, Rei overhears a conversation being discussed by a group of men. The conversation that they are having brings an interest to Rei's ears as she listened.

  "Anyways, rumor has it that there lies a hidden treasure that's found somewhere in a volcanic mountain in the northwest." One guy said.

  "Travelers that go there never come back alive I heard." One of the other guys said.

  "Really?" the first guy asked.

  "No kidding." The second guy nodded. "Worse, I hear that there's a big monster that lives in that volcanic mountain. I have not met this type of creature at all, but from one traveler that I've met, he caught a glimpse of a monster so powerful, he nearly got destroyed."

  "Lucky for him, at least he made it out of there safely." Said a third guy. "You know, someone ought to be crazy to find treasure in a volcanic mountain, but who would dare go there anyway?"

  Interesting...A treasure found in a volcano? That's on my bucket list for sure! Rei thought.

  During that time, the Necromutant, Bck Death, flies above Itaea. She overviews the area in search for the Emissary. Then, she flies down in between two buildings and hid herself in an alley from the public eye. From taking on the mission that she accepted from Fozoworu, she knew what she had to do.

  "I know that the Emissary of Light is around here." said the Necromutant. "I should really disguise myself to find my way here."

  In front of her, Bck Death sees an abandoned mirror in front of her. Seeing that she can clearly see her reflection, she used her magic to go under her form as a human. Now the harlequin figure looks at herself to see that she is wearing regur clothes, consist of two spaghetti straps and a modest cowl necktie along with dark blue scks with short boot heels, and her body is full-figured.

  "Perfect." Bck Death said, looking at herself. "Now I'll just put myself out there like a regur being."

  With her disguise counterpart in pce, Bck Death steps out in public and walks on normally like a regur citizen. She looks around to see the tavern bars taken pce. While walking, she got some stares from people that are watching her walk on by.

  "ooooooh, shake it baby!" one man said, appeared to be drunk.

  "I'd hit that!" another man said howling.

  Oh noes... Bck Death thought, blushing. I hope what I'm wearing isn't attracting these horny freaks.

  The Necromutant walks quickly to avoid the encounter with the drunks. She managed to get away until she came across a name of a tavern and looks at it from the outside.

  "The Laughing Courier Bar?" Bck Death asked herself as she said the name. "What a pce! HA!"

  Inside the bar, Rei appears drunk. She had her tenth gss of the Angelic drink and now she appears to be drunk. Feeling intoxicated, her whole body feels light, and she appeared to be sick from drinking. Her body felt the jolt of hiccups in between and her breath felt very lemony mixed with alcohol.

  Uhhhhhhhhhgggggghhhh...never *hiccup* had so many...*hiccup* drinks in my life...*hiccup*...

  Rei eyes felt very tired, but she did not appear to fall asleep yet. She saw what time it is.

  That...te? *Hiccup, hiccup* Need...to get back...ooohhh...so bad...

  Rei gets up and she was about to leave the tavern. However, she stops and takes time to hear the music pying. The band that was pying the music sounded good to her ears. She smiled and without thinking, turned to go on the dance floor. The music is gaining attraction as it is getting people in a mood of things. On the floor, Rei dances by herself to get the feel of the music pying.

  Bck Death looks around to see everyone having a good time at the tavern she is in now. Looking bored and not knowing what to do, she recalls the task on hand and the purpose: search and destroy the Emissary of Light before they get their hands on the eight gems. As she wanders around, Bck Death gets her attention on someone on the floor.

  Ooh, who's that? The Necromutant thought.

  In her eyes, Bck Death can see an attractive looking girl that has spike down bck hair, on the small dance floor, who seems to be enjoying herself. She walks up and observes how well Rei dances, not knowing that she is intoxicated.

  I'm amazing that this human got moves, Bck Death thought. How is she doing this? She's not bothering anyone. Hmmm...

  Seeing this, Bck Death approaches Rei to greet her.

  "Er...hi!" Bck Death calls out to her.

  Rei stops what she was doing and then sees a yellow-haired girl standing there.

  "Sh...sh..." Rei tries to vision who this person is in front of her. Drunk, she said, "Sho...kei? You...you're here..."

  "Oh!" Bck Death giggled a little, seeing Rei being confused in her mind.

  Rei hiccupped.

  "May I dance with you?" Bck Death requested.

  Rei stares at her bnkly. Then, she ughed and takes her hand, inviting her to dance with her.

  Rei takes her eyes on the strange girl as she holds onto her while dancing. Bck Death did not know how to feel comfortable since she sees Rei in her drunken state. Rei takes the girl for a ride as she follows the music. The Necromutant had no choice but to go along with her situation as she takes her time to follow the steps to the music while dancing.

  The two girls danced with each other for a while. Now, the music is pying at a slow tempo and partners were holding on to each other as they feel the mood of the music flowing into their souls. Bck Death was holding onto Rei in her arms as Rei closed her eyes as she rests her head on her partner's shoulder. She can feel the weight a little as Rei appears to be dancing motionless.

  Oh dear...never would I thought I'd be dancing with this good looking human, Bck Death thought. I must admit one thing. At least she did not dance around violently to disrupt everyone's evening.

  Bck Death moves in close to where Rei is until she moves in close enough to her body. Rei is about to feel her arms swinging around while drunk, but the Necromutant caught her arms, bringing them down for the two of them to dance together. The mood sted and then Bck Death looks directly to Rei's eyes. She smiled to find herself dancing with someone she never met before. Rei blinks and gets her head off her partner's shoulder and looks into the eyes of Bck Death. The Necromutant smiled back at her and Rei giggled, bringing the smile back to her. Another hiccup exited when she did that.

  You got to admit that she looks fun, Bck Death thought. Very gentle...so soft...and warm.

  Thinking about this made the Necromutant smiled right back at Rei more. Together, both girls dance the night away as they have a good time with each other.

  It was getting very te at Itaea as all taverns are closed for the night. Rei is now walking home, alone and trying to fight her alcoholism. The number of drinks made her stomach feel bloated inside. She feels dizzy as she feels impaired to walk back in this condition. She pauses and backs up against a wall. In her mind, she felt like throwing up, but she fought her body back to indicate that it was not happening. Rei breathes in and exhales out before she continued.

  "Need help getting home?" a voice called out to her.

  Rei turns to hear someone calling out to her. There stands Bck Death, who was following right behind her.

  "Ohhh...It's *hiccup* you..." Rei said to her.

  "Mmm hmm." Bck Death nodded.

  "Hey..." Rei takes a deep breath and exhales to ask. "Just wondering...who are you..."

  "Me?" The Necromutant asked, pointing to herself.

  Rei nodded once.

  "Ohh, ummm..." Bck Death gets confused to say something.

  "What's your...*hiccup* name...pretty dy?" Rei, still drunk, asked her.

  "Ohhh! Right!" the Necromutant said, knowing her identity cannot be broken. Then she tells her, "My name is Lei. It's nice to meet you...er..."

  "Rei." The tomboy girl mentioned her name.

  "Why yes! Nice meeting you!" Lei said to her.

  "Sure..." Rei said, until she coughed a little.

  "By the way, you really need help getting home, right?" Lei asked.

  "Yeah, I need you...to guide me." Rei said. "Where we are...*cough* it's close by."

  "All right." Lei nodded. "Show me the way then."

  With that, Bck Death, now called Lei, helped Rei on getting back to Kichiro's house.

  Back at the house, Rei and her "guest" are sneaking in quietly inside the home. Rei feels very tired as the intoxication made her behavior even worse. Rei giggled to herself as Lei quietly closed the front door.

  "Don't you think you'll disturb everyone in here?" Lei asked Rei in a very quiet voice.

  "Tee hee heee! Never... thought I enjoyed myself outside for once!" Rei said in a near loud tone.

  "Shush! It's becoming rude for you to go on like this!" Lei quietly tells her.

  "Oop...sorry *hiccup*..." Rei said, rubbing the back of her head.

  "Where do you sleep?" Lei asked her.

  "...basement..." Rei tells her.

  Lei takes Rei by her hand and carefully escorts her downstairs to the basement. Both girls walk down the stairs at a slow pace through the darkness. Lei made sure that she guides Rei downstairs carefully and not fall while drunk. Successfully, she brings her to where her bed is and Lei made Rei lie down. Once Rei is in her bed, she shuts her eyes right away as she falls asleep from being drunk.

  Lei looks down on Rei and she can see her sleeping peacefully without a sound. Then, the Necromutant stares down at her, staring at her clothes that she wears, which is a red sports bra and bck leggings.

  She looks kinky in those clothes, Lei thought. She looks attractive in them.

  Since it was her first meeting with Rei, Lei could not say much about her beauty, and she is pleased to find someone that looks interesting to her by her own taste.

  Lei looks around and she can see that there are others sleeping downstairs. She does not know who they are, but she really wants to see who else is in this house. Quietly, Lei goes back upstairs to look around Kichiro's house. The house is quiet, and nobody was up in her sight. Lei decides to go to one room, and she peeks inside. That's when she found her.

  Could that be...the Emissary of light? Lei thought.

  Shokei sleeps peacefully with Antoinette by her side. Lei made an evil grin, knowing that she has found her target. She did not want to go in for the kill just yet, as it would be too early to take her out. As of now, Lei feels tired.

  I really want to head back to Dark Dreams Gaxy, but...hmmm...

  Seeing that it was getting te, Lei knows as her counterpart, Bck Death, a Necromutant, she could go anywhere. Instead, Lei quietly went downstairs and lie down next to Rei, sharing the bed. Rei was unaware of her guest was resting beside her and Lei hoped that she did not mind staying in for the night.

  I guess I have no choice but to rest here. Though I hope this cutesy being will clear things up if her friends see me. Lei thought.

  Soon, she drifted off to sleep.