*A kid version of Mary could be seen in her parent’s home watching TV while her mom was folding laundry on the couch. The mother had red hair tied into pigtails and black eyes. On the kitchen table were bills with some saying overdue. The front door opened and in walked Mary’s dad who wore his work clothes which consisted of blue overalls and a white shirt along with brown work boots. He had short black hair and brown eyes. He had a disgruntled look on his face as he removed his boots and poured himself a glass of water from the kitchen sink. Mary’s mom got up to meet him*
(Mary’s mom): Hey sweetie. How’d it go today? Did you get the promotion?
(Mary’s dad): *Sighs* No. They gave it to Benny. Benny! Of all people! Can you believe that!? He’s only been at the factory for two years. I’ve been there for eight years! I taught that over grown cat everything he knows and they chose him.
*Mary’s dad walked upstairs to his room followed by his wife who was trying to comfort him. Mary could hear the door to her parent’s room slam shut and snuck her way upstairs to listen to their conversation*
(Mary’s mom): I’m sorry, sweetie. It’ll be fine.
(Mary’s dad): No. It won’t be. We were banking on that promotion. We’re barely getting by as we are now.
(Mary’s mom): Maybe I can get a part-time at Jarret’s store. He’s looking for help.
(Mary’s dad): No! It’s bad enough I have to work and live by these animals. There’s no way I’m gonna have my wife work for a long-ear. We’ll get the money some other way.
*Mary took in the conversation she just heard feeling her dad’s anger and absorbing it into her mind. Little did she know that the seeds of prejudice had been planted and in the years to come they would take root into her life*
***
*Present Day*
*Mary walked over to Dust’s bed and was about to stab him until the knife was knocked out of her hand by an object. Mary, quickly jumped back to assess where object came from. Off to the side, the closet door opened and out came Hibana holding a yo-yo in each hand*
(Hibana): I was waiting for one of you to show up.
(Mary): Didn’t you go with the others to investigate the warehouses?
(Hibana): At first, yes. But then I started thinking about the kidnappings and how they all happened perfectly. Especially the ones on the knights. How could a knight get kidnapped right in their own base? The answer, there’s a traitor amongst the ranks who knew where everyone was and could set them up.
(Mary): So you got it all figured out?
(Hibana): The only issue was figuring out who the traitor was and luring them out. Thankfully, Dust willingly offered to be the bait and here you are.
(Mary): And that bait just happens to be worth 500,000 credits. Good money for my pockets. Now move out of the way citizen.
(Hibana): Sorry, but I’ve always had issues following the law.
*Hibana shoots her yo-yos at Mary who blocks them with tonfas made out of light magic and then runs toward Dust to kill him. As she leapt toward Dust to strike him with a tonfa, she was repelled back by a force field. Looking up, Mary could see a drone hoovering over Dust’s bed*
(Hibana): And I’m not your average citizen.
*Quickly figuring out that the only way past the drone was to defeat Hibana, Mary turned her attention toward Hibana and charged at her. Hibana dodged Mary’s attack, but Mary was in pursuit of her. Hibana could tell right away that Mary was stronger and faster than her. She was seasoned knight trained to fight. While Hibana could fight her skills were still that of an immature. If she wanted to win, she had to rely on her brain. As Hibana ran from Mary who was closing the gap between them, Hibana launched her trap. Mary quickly found herself getting shocked out of nowhere and fell to her knees. All of sudden, three drones came out of the ceiling circling Mary and deploy an electric rope to tie her up. Mary tried to escape but had no luck*
(Hibana): Gotcha!
*The drones pulled Mary up and Hibana led them out of the room and into the hall where eight white knights showed up*
(Knight #1): Everything all right? We heard there was a disturbance on this floor.
(Hibana): Arrest this knight. She attempted to kill a knight.
(Knight #1): Really? Is the elf still alive?
(Hibana): Yes, he’s. . .wait, who told you it was an elf?
*Mary snickers*
(Hibana): More traitors.
(Mary): You didn’t really think I was the only knight, right?
(Hibana): No. I had a feeling but I didn’t want to believe it.
(Knight #2): Now step aside and let us through.
(Hibana): I’ll give you one reason why that’s not happening.
(???): Correction. You have two reasons.
*The traitorous white knights look behind them and see Zaito ready to fight. Four of them charged at him while the others charge at Hibana. Zaito focused on Hibana as his eyes began to glow. All of sudden, dark yo-yos appeared in his hands and his eyes stopped glowing*
(Zaito): Salisto (I see).
*Zaito threw one of the yo-yos where it hit one of the knights in the face with dark magic and returned to his hand before he threw the second one and struck the same knight in the knight. One of the knights who was carrying a mace swung at him, but he dodged it with a backstep. His eyes began to glow again as he looked at the knight who swung the mace. The yo-yos then disappear and get replaced by a mace that looks exactly like the one Zaito just dodged. Zaito then charged forward and struck the right arm of the knight holding the mace. The knight screamed out in pain before the force of the weapon sent the knight crashing through a nearby door and into an empty room. The remaining two knights pulled out swords and swung at Zaito who blocked their attacks with the mace. While Zaito was defending himself, Hibana took care of the four knights that charged at her with ease. She used one of her drones to fire off a blast of lightning which struck one of the knights and carried over to the other three shocking them. As the knights fell to the floor unconscious, Hibana ran past them and spun her yo-yos around to build up power. The knights could sense Hibana coming from behind and one of them turned around to face her. As the knight turned around, they swung their sword in the process believing they would hit Hibana. Fortunately, Hibana’s yo-yos had build-up and one of them was able to shatter the sword into pieces while the other one sent the knight up into the ceiling causing their head to get stuck. With only one foe to contend against, Zaito managed to overpower the knight and deliver a swift high kick to the side of the knight’s head to stun him before thrusting the mace into the stomach of the knight causing them to bend over. Zaito finished him off by clubbing him over the head to knock him out.*
(Hibana): Thanks for the assist.
*Zaito starts to work toward Hibana, but she quickly takes up a battle stance*
(Hibana): Don’t take another step.
(Zaito): It’s okay. I’m on your side. Commander Korone and Constantine came to the same conclusion as you and sent me to protect Dust.
(Hibana): They only sent one knight?
(Zaito): I’m a really good knight.
*As they were talking, Mary managed to grab a piece of the broken sword with her foot and kick it toward one of the drones. The sword shard pierced one of the drones weakening the hold on Mary and allowing her to slip one of her arms free. She managed to create her tonfa and smash the other drones to break herself and then charged at Hibana. Zaito acted quickly and pushed Hibana out of the way to block Mary’s attack with the mace which shattered from the attack*
(Mary): Damn long-ear. Stop getting in the way.
*Zaito’s focused on Mary and his eyes began to glow. Before long, tonfas made out of dark magic appeared in his arms and he took up a fighting pose. Mary charged at Zaito who blocked her tonfa attack with his own tonfa. Mary went on the offensive and tried to hit Zaito but he continued to block and defend against her attacks. Mary’s attacks were pushing Zaito back until he finally saw his opening and pushed back against her. This caused her to go on the defensive for a short while as Zaito let up and put spaced between him and her to catch his breath. Mary twirled her tonfas around and went on the attack once again only for Zaito’s defense to knock her attacks away to leave her defenseless. Zaito had a clear shot at Mary and brought his tonfa to her neck to get her to stand still*
(Zaito): Last chance, stand down. I don’t want to harm a fellow knight. Especially a senior.
*Zaito pulled back his tonfa as Mary lifted hers up ready to fight and attempted to strike him. Zaito blocked her two attacks and then countered with a hit to the stomach and then a strike to the back of the head to knock her out. Zaito took a sigh of relief and the tonfas disappeared. He then took out a pair of handcuffs and cuffed Mary*
(Hibana): How did you do that?
(Zaito): Like I said. . .I’m a really good knight. This place has become dangerous. We need to move Dust to a safehouse.
***
*Using a secret elevator for staff, Hibana and Zaito cart the still unconscious Dust out of the hospital’s back dock in a wheelchair*
(Zaito): The coast is clear. Our ride is just up ahead.
*Zaito and Hibana began to push Dust until they were stopped by the sound a gunshot going off*
(Mary’s dad): Don’t even think of moving.
*Zaito and Hibana turned to the side to see a group of human supremacists armed and ready to attack*
(Mary’s dad): We got word the 500,000 credit elf was here. Now hand him over.
(Zaito): We’ll this explains why everyone was after him.
*Zaito steps forward to fight*
(Mary’s dad): You really think you can stop us long-ear?
(Zaito): Yes. But the commander sent me back up just in case.
*All of a sudden the group of supremacists were attacked by lightning, dark, ice, wind and metal magic. Within seconds they were mercilessly taken down. From out of the dust came the members of Javan with Saber leading them*
(Saber): As much as it annoys me to do this, that elf is an important witness in our investigation and must be protected at all times.
(Hibana): Saber? You’re protecting Dust? This day is just full of surprises.
(Saber): Don’t get used to it. We have a car waiting for you. Get moving.
(Hibana): Thanks~. Hey wait! Throw me that guy’s cellphone.
*Hibana points to Mary’s dad. Saber goes into his pocket, pulls out his cellphone, and tosses it toward Hibana who catches it. Hibana then carts Dust to a car that has Brodie and Wato standing by. Brodie helps Zaito and Hibana put Dust in the car while Wato stays vigilante for any attackers. Once Dust is in the car, Hibana and Zaito gets in followed by Brodie and Pennie. Brodie takes the wheel and drives off. Meanwhile, Saber and the remaining members of Javan begin to cuff the supremacists*
(Mary’s dad): You traitor. How could you protect these animals and long-ears who do nothing for our kingdom and take up all of our resources.
(Saber): Contribute nothing? Take up our resources? Did you know construction productivity has gone up 78% throughout the kingdom thanks to demihumans. Or how about the advancements in the study of medical herbs thanks to elves. We also can’t forget the settlements outside of the kingdom as most of the kingdom’s produce comes from demihuman and elf farmers. Not to mention the various businesses own by demihumans and elves who donated to multiple charities, hospitals, schools, small businesses, and families in need. You say they’ve done nothing for the kingdom? They’ve done more for the kingdom than all of you here.
(Mary’s dad): Shut up. You don’t know anything about me.
(Saber): You’re right. But I know your type. Guys who work hard but believe everything should be handed to them because of their race and blames others when things don’t go their way. Because they’re afraid to look in the mirror and see that their the problem. Your type are the ones who ruin the kingdom and spread hatred that gets inherited by your own child.
*Mary’s dad looks to the side and sees Mary being led out of the hospital in cuffs. He was shocked by what he saw. He had no idea his own daughter had attempted to cash in on Dust or was involved in any of this. Mary looked over and saw her dad. Their eyes meeting and Mary turned away with a look of shame on her face. She knew in her mind that everything she worked hard for in her career was over and her dad couldn’t help but feel he was responsible for her downfall*
***
*In the undisclosed location, the kidnapped demihumans, elves, merfolk, and mixed races were locked up. Food was given to them but no one choose to eat it out of fear that it was poisoned. One coyote demihuman with brown and yellow eyes approached the food about to eat it*
(Female elf): Don’t eat it. It’s probably poison.
(Coyote demihuman): What does it matter? We’re all gonna die tomorrow. I might as well go out on my terms.
(Rowen): We’re not going to die tomorrow.
(Coyote demihuman): Oh please. Look around you. We have no idea where we are. We’re starving. And we’re going to be haunted and killed by those savages. Look, even that dog over there knows it and accepted the reality of the situation.
*The coyote demihuman points to Gael who is lying on some hay blissfully smiling and whistling*
(Gael): Actually, I’m saving up my energy for tomorrow. Because I intend to survive. I suggest you guys do the same thing.
(Fei): What’s gotten into you? Ever since we got back you’ve been pretty calm not worrying or anything.
(Gael): Because we’ve already won?
(Kazuma): Huh?
(Gael): They couldn’t catch one of us.
(Keanu): Are you talking about that dark elf from earlier? Wha about it?
(Gael): The fact that they couldn’t catch him means that he escaped.
(Rowen): True. But you heard what Don said, he’s lying in a hospital.
(Gael): Yeah, but there’s no doubt he made contact with the White Knights. If I know that guy he’s given them the information they need to find us. So all we have to do is live long enough for them to rescue us.
(Fei): You’re putting a lot of faith into that elf aren’t you?
(Gael): You guys don’t know him like I do. If you did, you’d be smiling and making plans for tomorrow.
(Keanu): Alright. Let’s say that you’re right. This elf made contact with the White Knights and gave them information into finding the culprits behind this and are closing in on saving us. What should we be doing to survive tomorrow?
(Gael): I’d thought you’d never ask.
***
*Back at Tiger Plaza all the groups have returned from their investigations*
(Ryuuji): The warehouses were a bust. They all cleared out.
(Amarti): All findings were a bit more fruitful. We know Don Castle is behind the kidnappings.
(Korone): We searched his company building but can’t find no trace of him anywhere.
(Constantine): There’s only one other place he could be. The Great King Lodge in the forests east of the kingdom.
(Amarti): Here’s an interesting tidbit we just got from Hibana. Apparently, one of the supremacists received a call from somebody at the lodge. She also pulled up the guest list and apparently all guests currently lodging there are all humans.
(Morgan): Suspicious.
(Sanada): Yes. Tell me where the lodge is and how many are residing there? Then start digging graves.
(Raika): What he said.
(Jade): Okay, you two should not be holding weapons right now.
(Raika): Touch us and you’ll be in the ground first.
(Jade): Dully noted. I’ll let you guys work through this.
(Korone): The lodge certainly does seem suspicious. Unfortunately, that’s outside of our jurisdiction and we’ll have to rely on our friends in the Blue Dragon and Red Vermillion order who are more then happy to investigate for us. Head toward The Wall. They’re expecting you.
*The members of Shadow Eye nod*
(Korone): These citizens getting kidnapped is the biggest failure in the history of the White Tiger Order. To make matters worse we can’t go out to save them. I probably have no right to ask this but please, bring every last citizen back alive.
*Korone bows her head as does Constantine and the other White Knights in the room*
(Sanada): Raise your head. That was always our intention.
*The members of Shadow Eye leave with determination in their eyes to save the citizens that were kidnapped and make the human supremist pay*
Author’s Note: Another exciting chapter down. In this chapter we got to see Zaito in action. I mentioned him in earlier chapters as one of the major rookie knights, so getting the chance to show off this character was a lot of fun. Zaito’s power is actually one I’ve been wanting to show off for quite some time now, a dark mirror/copy of other characters. I wanted to give this power to someone who was smart but also kept a low profile. If you had to describe Zaito’s character, he’s like a cross between Fillmore and Robert Downey Jr.’s Sherlock Holmes. An incredibly brilliant young man with a lot of tricks up his sleeve. I’m looking forward to showcasing him more down the line. Once again we touch on racism in this chapter with Mary and her family. I don’t believe anyone is born a racist. Racism, just like hatred, is something you learn. Whether it be from personal experience or from others around you. In Mary’s case she learned to be a racist from her dad and that in turn shaped who she is now and her view of other races. Next chapter we’ll be returning to Gael and the others. Can they survive long enough for others to arrive and save them or will they be hunted down by the supremicists? Tune in next week to find out. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next time.