At 11:00 that morning, Mia decided it was time for the next rescue attempt. Ever since she woke again, she'd been looking for any protection spells that could be used to shield Ryo from Jared and anything serving him. Most of the spells wouldn't be too helpful, but Mia found a few good spells and charms for the protection of a loved one. Now she was ready to go, but Ryo was worried.

    He knew Mia hadn't been telling him the full truth earlier that morning, when she'd asked for his help. What bothered Ryo was that Mia had stopped being totally honest with him, the way she used to before Jared's impending arrival had her sleeping on the couch. _I'll ask her about it after Jared's defeated,_ Ryo thought, and joined Mia in the living room.

    "You ready, Ryo?" Mia asked, taking his hand.

    "Was Talpa ugly?" he replied. Mia rolled her eyes, then opened the portal to Jared's castle. Keeping her grip on Ryo, Mia stepped through and switched modes, so that by the time they had actually reached the castle doors, Mia was in battle-form.

    "Okay, Ryo, put your armor on before we go in. I don't wanna push our luck now."

    "Right. Armor of Wildfire! Tao Jin!" A moment later Ryo was wearing his full armor. He'd put his subarmor on before they left to save time and energy, and was glad now that he had. The doors swung open a moment later, and Ryo looked at Mia.

    "They did that the last time, too," she explained. Ryo merely raised an eyebrow and followed her inside. The doors slammed shut behind them, and for a moment Ryo couldn't see anything. His eyes adjusted to the dimmer light, and Ryo realized the inside of the castle was entirely black and white. He also noticed that Mia was holding his hand again, only tighter.

    "We have to be more careful now. Jared knows we're here and probably has plenty of traps set up. I'll stay alert, but you need to be ready, too. I don't want to come back here again to save four people, and my getting caught isn't an option." Ryo agreed, and silence fell on the pair as they began to explore Jared's castle.

* * * * * * *

    Deep in the cores of all the universe, magic shifted in anticipation. This battle between Love and Order would determine future events, and for the sake of the universe Love had to win.

* * * * * * *

    Cye slowly woke up to discover himself neck-deep in water. The water was filthy, and Cye was pretty sure he felt something swim past his leg. _Not to worry,_ Cye thought nervously. _I'll just call my armor. Good thing I grabbed my orb._ He focused on his virtue, Trust, and felt the pale-blue-and-white subarmor cover his body. It was good to know that Jared had overlooked this tiny bit of magic. And putting Cye in his element was just stupid.

    Cye knew he couldn't get free, so he made himself as comfortable as possible and began to wait.

* * * * * * *

    At the house, all anyone could do now was wait and pray that their friends would be victorious.

* * * * * * *

    Ryo and Mia's footsteps echoed in the hallway as they continued looking for signs of life. For the past twenty minutes they'd kept silent, each afraid of what might happen should one or the other speak. Suddenly Mia was aware of Jared's presence, and he appeared in front of them in the hallway.

    "I was wondering when you'd return, Morgan," the blond man said. "And did you find the way to increase your power? Is the zookeeper the one who broke my spell?" As Jared said this, Ryo remembered the conversation last night-had it been so recent?-with Mia, when she'd refused to answer his question about who had broken the spell Jared put on her. He looked at Mia, wanting to hear her answer as Jared rephrased the question.

    "Well, Morgan? Is this the man you love?"