[center]++ KYUBEROS ++

" Do not worry, I'm sure your father will be very proud of you. " Kyuberos responded in a reassuring tone, though he knew deep down that, at best, the King would just offer a "Good work," and leave it at that. But considering how desperately Bellerophon craved his father's attention, maybe it would be enough? Belzeneff's careless attitude towards Bellerophon always tended to frustrate him, but he knew that bringing it up with the King would be useless, since Belzeneff never did anything he didn't want to.

" Perhaps after he is done visiting your mother, he'd be interested in talking to you about the traitor? You can tell him all about it then," he said, trying to bring Bellerophon's hopes up. Infact, Kyuberos himself would love to talk to him about the traitor and if he had mentioned any accomplices, but his most important task right now was making sure Bellerophon was okay. 

They came to a stop once they reached Kyuberos' door. " If you would just wait here, I'll retrieve the gift." He opened the door and stepped through, light enveloping him and transporting him back to Earth. Seraphim was diligently waiting for him on the other side, spear already in hand, and Kyuberos gave him a grateful look. 

" The customer was dealt with and payment will be due in the next 5 years." Seraphim said flatly and Kyuberos sighed, taking the golden rod from Seraphim, " Tell Ethan and Rodrigo that I won't be back for awhile. Look out for them and give them the missions off that list I gave you. They should be busy with that until I come back. I will be locking this door until I feel it's safe enough to leave Wiz," Seraphim nodded and presented a key from his pocket, which Kyuberos took. They said farewell and Kyuberos was back in the portal leading from Earth and Wiz. He landed back on Wiz gracefully, just as if he had walked into a different room, and shut the door behind him, using the key to lock it.

" Ah, this is for you, my Prince," He held out the golden stake to Bellerophon. It was beautifully crafted, encrusted with tiny diamonds and crystals. He wasn't sure why anyone would pay 44 million dollars for it, but that was how much it was going for until Ethan and Rodrigo stole it.

++ BELISARIO && VALIS ++

Belisario and Valis watched as Belial left with Louelle in tow, both thinking over his words. Belisario was worrying about the possibilities of Trowa doing something bad to his mother --he himself had been a victim of the doctor's advances so he knew what he was capable of; luckily Trowa only managed to get a hand on his shoulder before Valis came tumbling in and forced him off-- and Valis was just grateful that he hadn't been assigned to his mysterious cousin when he joined the Protector's unit. There was no way that he would be able to keep up with Belial and he praised Louelle for his efforts.

" I've made up my mind Valis!" Belisario said, bringing Valis' attention to him, " I'm going to see her!"

" Perfect! Let's go before the King comes," Valis smiled, and Belisario eagerly nodded. May Belial's prayers give him strength!

++ BELZENEFF & STANNIS & VALTREKS ++

In a flurry of blue and white, Belzeneff appeared in the middle of the hallway, Stannis and Valtreks by his side. Without saying a word to neither his son or nephew, Belzeneff roughly pushed past them towards the healing room door and went in, leaving Valteks and Stannis to pick up his mess. Valis barely managed to catch Belisario before he hit the ground, and steadied him so he could regain his balance.

" Where is this vial creature that dare hurt our beloved Majesty?!? Show me this cretin and I will show him justice with my sword!!" Stannis announced, drawing his sword and prepared to fight, assuming his battle stance.

" He's already been taken care of, Prince Bellerophon saw to that." Valis helpfully replied, as he smoothed down Belisario's clothes from where Belzeneff had pushed him. " I guess I won't be able to see Mama now..." Belisario murmured quietly, small tears forming in his eyes and Valis was going to reassure him that he would get to see her later, when Valtreks loud laughter interrupted him.

" HAHA PUT AWAY YOUR SWORD STANNY!! THERE IS NO DANGER HERE MY FRIEND!" He clasped Stannis on the shoulder, taking the time to wave to his cousin before enveloping his little brother in a hug, lifting him off the ground, " AH BROTHER, IT IS GREAT TO SEE YOU AGAIN! HOW HAVE YOU BEEN?!" He bellowed, his loud voice echoing off the walls. Valis could barely breathe in his brother's embrace and patted his shoulder before trying to pry him off, " G-good. Now can you p-please let go?!"

Stannis, meanwhile, sheathed his sword and returned to his previous calm demeanor. " I apologize for the outburst, your Highness, please forgive me," He bowed towards Belisario, who smiled softly and waved his hands, " It's no problem. Ah...Valis, since it looks like we can't visit Mama, I guess we should leave." His shoulders slumped as he sighed heavily, making Valis turn his attention to him instantly. He managed to escape Valtreks' clutches and quickly returned to Belisario's side, wrapping his arm around his shoulder for comfort, " Hey, we can go get some ice cream instead. We can even send some to your Mom if we-"

"YES, THAT SOUNDS LIKE A WONDERFUL IDEA!!" Valtreks interrupted, not bothering to hide the fact that he was listening in on their private conversation, unlike Stannis who was looking at the wall like it was the most interesting thing in the world. " YOU TWO GO GET YOUR DELICIOUS FROZEN TREATS AND STANNY AND I WILL GUARD THE DOOR WHILE YOU ARE AWAY!" Stannis offered a small " You can count on us, your majesty!" from behind Valtreks' shoulder and Belisario nodded, " Y-yeah, you're right! There's always tomorrow to see her!"

Valtreks and Stannis watched as the couple left and waited until they were sure they were out of earshot to talk about what had happened. " Who would do such a vial act to the Royal Family like this? Were they out of their minds?!" Stannis seethed, his grip on his handle tightening. " If only Prince Bellerophon hadn't ended that traitor's life so quickly, I would have bestowed justice upon that disgusting betrayer!" 

" WHAT DONE IS DONE, LET US BE THANKFUL THAT THE QUEEN IS ALRIGHT NOW." Valtreks patted Stannis shoulder again, mostly out of habit, and took out his phone. An attack on the Queen meant an attack on the Royal Family and that meant that everyone should be on their guard. He a message to each Royal Protector-- Lavelle, Pemberley, Valcencino, Louelle, and Cordelia (since he knew Valis was with Belisario and he could bet on his life that Kyuberos was with Bellerophon) --just to make sure that they were with their Protectee and not to leave their side until they were 100% that the threat had been neutralized.

As he waited for any texts back, he relaxed against the wall and Stannis did the same, waiting for Belzeneff to finish up in the medical room.

++ PEMBERLEY ++

It wasn't a surprise when the disguises vanished and the two, previously unconscious men ended up being Belshazzar and Valexander. In all honestly, Pemberley wasn't that angry with Belshazzar for sneaking away and putting himself in danger. He was just easily influenced. It was Valexander that he had a problem with and he shot him an angry glare before turning to Seraphion and the woman who had spoken up to him earlier. " Accidental or not, it's still within my rights to detain those who harmed, or had intentions to harm a member of the royal family. Even moreso if that member is under my personal protecti-" He was cut off abruptly by Belshazzar who ordered him to take him back to the castle. Pemberley could only turn around and give him his best "what the fuck I was in the middle of something, your highness," look, before slumping his shoulders and sighing. No matter how ridiculous the order, Pemberley was obliged to follow through to his very best, as long as it didn't endanger the Prince. " Fine, whatever you wish." He ran his hand down his face in exasperation and straightened up, clearing his throat. " I will return on a later date to full investigate this building and it's...residents." He ran his eyes over Seraphim momentarily before switching his attention over to the little blonde troublemaker.

" As for you," he sneered, " In the name of the Protector division, you, Valexander Mancini, are under arrest for endangerment and kidnapping of a Prince." With a wave of his wand, Valexander's wrists were bound behind his back by an indestructible force that could only be broken by the one who had cast it. It was a very useful spell, known exclusively between Protectors and Knights, that helped them in battles with those with a higher magical power. And though Valexander was in no way stronger than him, he was a slippery little bastard and Pemberley preferred to keep him where he could see him. " Your punishment can range from banishment to the human realm or death for such crimes, but I will bestow upon you the cruelest of all; I taking you to your mother."

Before Belshazzar could complain, Pemberley waved another treestar infront of Belbel so he could get off the guy he was laying on and gathered up Valexander and Belshazzar close enough so that they could teleport with him. He didn't like the thought of leaving Candiland without finding out what the true intentions of those three individuals were, but he had no choice. 

They arrived at the front gate of the castle and Pemberley allowed Belshazzar and Belbel to walk off, but caught onto Valexander's collar before he could escape. " You go on ahead," he told Belshazzar, " I'm going to drop him off and then I'll return." He prepared another teleportation spell and quickly arrived infront of Valora's house. " How many times do I have to tell you not to involve Prince Belshazzar in any of your ridiculous plans?! You're making my job unnecessarily harder by putting him in these situations!" Pemberley scolded, " I don't care if my father and your grandfather go way back or whatever, I will officially arrest you the next time I find you two like this!"

++ PEMPERKNACKLE && VALIANT ++

" Glad to hear that Valentia is okay! Everyone here busted a gut when they heard about what happened," Pemperknackle said through a mouthful of food, as brash as ever. Valiant was still shaken up after seeing his older sister lying in a recovery bed, tired and pale, but Pemperknackle knew that Valiant wouldn't like it if he acted different around him. He pushed Valiant's plate of food closer to him and gave the look that meant 'you-better-eat-this-before-I-stuff-it-down-your-mouth'. Valiant reluctantly took a piece off the plate and nibbled it, which was good enough for Pemperknackle. 

There was a comfortable silence until Valiant's phone jingled and he jumped to answer it. Pemperknackle quietly watched as his friend's expression turned from worried to horrified and he stood up from his chair to move closer to Valiant, hoping to hear something from the other line, but Valiant hung up the phone without a word. Pemperknackle had to dive out of the way to avoid colliding with Valiant's head when he shot out of his chair and grabbed his coat.

" ThisishorriblePemIcantbelievethisishappeningtomeitslikeonethingafteranotherandireallycanttakethisrightnow--" He rambled on and on, tears forming in his eye. " What is it? What happened?" Pemperknackle asked, helping Valiant put his coat on when he struggled to put his arms through because of the tears. " V-V-Valerio's back, but he's hu-hu-hurt," He managed to sob and Pemperknackle swallowed harshly. " Okay, okay, okay, Valiant look at me. I said look at me! Valerio is going to be alright but you need to hold yourself together okay? Don't go crying everywhere and making everyone worry, we need you to be strong." 

"B-b-but what if this is like what happened with Valo-"

" No, no, no, don't think about that. Just go to Valyn and your son and make sure they're alright before you start thinking about that." 

Valiant paused his crying to look at his friend and nodded frantically, " You're right...you're right...I need to go right now." In an instant Valiant was gone, leaving Pemperknackle alone in his office, stunned that Valiant could teleport so quickly, even without a teleportation circle or spell. Well, magic and emotions are heavily connected with one another and the stronger the feelings, the more powerful the spell. But still, Pemperknackle hadn't seen someone disappear so fast before.

♦

" How is he doing?" Valiant asked immediately when he appeared in his home, rushing to Valerio's bedside. His son was lying there, delirious and pale and Valiant could feel his heart drop to his feet. " Is he going to be okay?" He asked his wife, his voice shaking.[/center]