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Kazuhiko was already on it, dousing the woman, making sure to get plenty at her face and mouth.
Morrigan trembled for a moment, unable to throw Po-ar off her; the liquid seemed to burn.
It was working, however. Her pupils were starting to shrink, a faint hint of color returning to her face.
A few more squirts, and she was looking at them in disbelief. "P...Po-ar...! Kazu-kun, LOOK OUT!" she shrieked, throwing Po-ar off her. "Genesis' sword is poisoned!"
The boy quickly teleported to her, his senses on high alert, even shaky.
He wasn't going to let anyone hurt him---who else would protect his parents??

Kaguyo narrowed her eyes, taking a step back. "I thought we were fighting for him." she growled. "Coward... Can't fight me without bringing him into it, can you?"

Yuki wouldn't let such a thing happen to Aled.
Almost immediately, she carried him to the lab, setting him on a cot.
Thankfully, Hapushi had brought the other transfusion machine. She grabbed many bags of blood, hooking them up one by one.
The poison had entered through the wound. She jabbed a needle for siphoning out the bad blood through the patch, hooking it up to the machine; in his other arm, she placed the needle to supply him with fresh blood.
"Hang in there, Aled-sama." she instructed him gently, dropping some samples onto a slide for the microscope. "I'm going to try and figure something out... maybe Watari has a cure already."
She quickly began testing substances on the toxins, most importantly the Tree of Life leaves. Whether it was good for him or not didn't matter.
He had to live.

Shiori knew she had ki; even the weakest Tarnbjin did, it was part of their system.
She could fly, she could...
But she didn't have the practice. She couldn't access the power, not even to save her life. She watched the ground starting to rush to meet her, arms outstretched.
She was trying to slow her descent as much as possible. A dive would only end her quicker.
**Tasukete, onegaishimasu...** she pleaded, although the fear and hope were gone from her thoughts.
She realized it wasn't very likely there was anyone to save her. All those who could fight were gone.
**Gomen nasai, Aled-kun... Gomen nasai... Aishiteru... gomen, gomen...**
She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.
She would at least meet her fate with dignity, if there was no way out of it.

Shiori trembled, eyes wide and gaping.
She had never expected this, to say the least. She thought she was done for certain.
"Aled-kun." she whispered, clinging to him. "We, we need to help him!!"

Yuki grimaced, watching over Aled closely. "This isn't going to be very pleasant for you, Ou-sama." she instructed him gently.
The Tree of Life was truly a staff of miracles. The leaves seemed to help just about anything.
"I pray you don't lose yourself because of this." she winced, injecting the extract into the wound. It would start to neutralize the poison, while she upped the blood transfusion to be more aggressive.
She had to keep Aled awake.
"Don't leave us, Aled-sama..."

Kaguyo narrowed her eyes. "What are you up to, Aoki-san...?"

Kazuhiko hugged Morrigan tightly; the woman was highly protective of her boy, but likewise aware of the explosive chemicals within her body.
But Kazuhiko had a remedy for that. He started to feed her the leaves of the Tree, discreetly but rapid.
"Hurry Mum." he whispered, forcing them into her mouth, "Eat, eat!!"
She did as she was told, although she was frankly a bit confused.
"I want you to go find Kaguyo," she whispered to the boy, "I want you to find her and help her with Aoki."
The boy nodded, making a beeline for the couple.
In the meantime, Morrigan tried to encase Aoikage in the earth itself, trying to offer Po-ar an opening to attack.

Shiori went white as the snow, still sitting on the ground. "W..Watari." she whispered, "Get out of here, now."
She sent him flying with a burst of fire, directing him towards the palace.
She knew what Kazuhiko had done with him; she wouldn't let his sacrifice be in vain.
She was encased in flames now, the only form of defense she had at the moment.
What could she say to Konton???
Once they had made eye contact, the woman found it nearly impossible to move or look away.

"Aled-sama, listen." Yuki soothed him, "Watari's going to get Shiori now. She'll be alright, I promise. If you were to die... Well, I don't doubt she'd follow you. She'd never be able to live with the thought that she was the reason you died. You need to work with it. Be calm. The more agitated you are, the more likely you'll attract more negativity from the Tree."
Even if he did go mad, at least he would still be full of hatred for Konton.
She suddenly noticed the explosion, jumping to her feet and running to the window. "Shiori-chan!" she whispered breathlessly, eyes widening. "Oh, oh no...."
From what it looked like, there was some sort of attack going on. "Is she fighting Aoki??"

Kazuhiko paused, however, contemplating Aoikage.
Before he left, he did one thing he was sure would help Po-ar:
He squirted Aoikage in the eyes with the holy-flower extract.
He quickly took off, seeking Ainsu and Kaguyo.
He would start getting people out as soon as possible. He knew a full-out fight would be disastrous; he had to rely on the strength of numbers.
First, he had to try and kill Aoki, or at least weaken him enough...
He paused a moment. He'd need his Shinigami abilities to see the true Aoki; this was important.
Now that he knew how to get there...
He began to open a portal, seeking out Watari.

However, Po-ar and Aoikage had forgotten Morrigan was still in the room.
She began to assault Aoikage with plenty of wind, trying to, at least, knock him unconscious.
"Po-ar-kun, tell me what to do!" she called loud enough he'd hear. "We'll work together!"
Sure, the Celts had a thing about honorable, one-on-one battle.
But in all truth, she just wanted to get the ******** out.

It surprised Shiori too. She had just barely managed to stand up, trying to walk away; the fact that Watari had failed almost made her sick.
"Kami-sama..." she whispered, stumbling backwards. "Tasukete, onegaishimasu..."
She was almost positive she was going to die now. Konton had won the wager.
There was nothing that could be done now, was there?

Morrigan held the gun Kazuhiko gave her, waiting and watching.
Aoikage couldn't keep Po-ar between them at all times.
The minute she had an opportunity, she began to shoot at him. Her blasts were weak in comparison to, for instance, Watari's; however, the holy-flower extract helped greatly.
"PO-AR!! Don't hold back!!" she shouted, trying not to panic. "Don't hold back anymore!!"

Kaguyo was caught by surprise by Aoki's sudden movements; however, she tumbled across the ground, quickly rising to her feet.
Unhooking her ki-whips from her hips, she began to attack the demon viciously, trying to keep predicting where he'd arrive next. She had to attack both the new and old images at once.
But suddenly, Kazuhiko was in the mix---in fact, two of him, each bombarding Aoki with ki blasts.
"Kazu-kun!" Kaguyo got distracted for a second, "Iie!!"
But Kazuhiko shattered the Aoki holding Ainsu hostage, trying to free the man so he could help her too.

Yuki looked grim. "s**t." she muttered, trying to figure out a stabilizing agent.
She already knew the consequences of this would be dire.
"Aled-kun." she spoke into his ear, "Shiori-chan is in grave, grave danger right now. You need to help her. No matter what happens, you need to help her. They're going to kill her, just like they tried to kill you. Don't let them hurt her. Please. Please don't..."
She was planting this thought in his mind. At least if he were to revert to how he was, he could keep that firmly in his heart.
"She does love you, you know... I think she gave up hope on trying to be healthy." she whispered. "She wouldn't kill you though. She couldn't. Don't abandon her, please..."

"Naniyo?!!" Shiori looked to Watari, grabbing his arm. "What did you do to him?!"
She had no idea what to think at all.

Kaguyo held her gun to his head, putting one of her whips away. "How do we kill the Ou?" she demanded harshly, "Yuki-chan is already curing the poison! Where are the keys??"
Kazuhiko was already starting to search his robes. "If you don't tell, I'll rip the knowledge from your mind." he warned. "I'll make you wish you were dead, Aoki-no-baka."

"Po-ar...!" Morrigan's eyes widened, but already she was under attack.
She did the only thing she could in such a situation.
Free from Konton's poisons, blue tattoos started to snake over her body, the woman attacking Aoikage with everything she could muster.
She didn't intend to kill him, but she couldn't let him kill her...
She had to neutralize him somehow, even if it looked like she was already too late to do anything.

Morrigan just barely dodged, but there was something different about her.
A sudden wave of water erupted from the Goddess, shoving him into the wall; at the very least, it washed the toxin from his sword.
She continued to hurl wave after wave at him, trying to knock him out by sheer force.

Shiori shivered in the cold, watching Konton in amazement. "Does that mean... you can take me, to Aled-kun?" she whispered, looking up at him.
She hardly had the heart to see him after what she did, and her grief pulsated from her almost unbearably. How could Kazuhiko deal with such strong emotions??? He didn't realize how empathetic his abilities truly made him.
If sorrow was water, Shiori would be drowning, and all too willing to toss herself to the current.
It was going to be almost impossible to forgive herself.

Kazuhiko shook his head. "The keys." he ordered curtly. "The keys to the cuffs. I'm not worried about the poison. I know Yuki-chan already found a cure." he snapped. "Where are the keys, Aoki??"

This absolutely enraged Kazuhiko. "The keys to the cuffs." he barked sharply, his hold tightening. "Don't make me invade your mind." he warned. "I'll paralyze you first, so you stop moving..."

Morrigan hissed, diving to the side.
She likewise sent a blast of electricity his way, followed by another wave of water.
She couldn't afford to be poisoned. She simply couldn't.


Shiori screamed in terror, clinging to Watari as tightly as she could.
She watched Konton, absolutely frozen; would he follow after them yet?
Were they really safe?
Was Aled alright???

Shiori did as she was told, sprinting through the courtyard and into the palace.
She was lucky not to trip over anything.
"Aled-kun!!" she shouted, bursting into the lab, "Aled-kun, Aled-kun...."
Yuki looked up. "He's sleeping, but he's stable." she answered her gently. "Be careful with him."
The woman shivered, fingers trembling as they brushed his cheek. "I could die for what I've done to you..." she whispered, leaning her forehead against his. "Forgive me, Aled-kun... Forgive me..."

Kazuhiko scowled. "How do they unseal?" he demanded. "Answer me quick."
He wasn't very tolerant of games, that was for certain.

But Morrigan wasn't herself. She was still the Goddess, and while Aoikage was attacking Po-ar, she took the opportunity to attack the weakened demon.
She unleashed a tremendous surge of holy energy over everyone in the room, screaming with rage.

Kazuhiko paused, frowning slightly. "Bad news." he whispered, before a double split from him. "We need to start getting out."
He opened a portal for Kaguyo and Ainsu. "Get in, quick."