Chapter 5

"Yuri Papa said that the dreams were from him to Daddy Wolfram and I. Papa said that we should embrace the dreams even though they may be painful, and that they would be helpful. Papa also showed me what the man that kidnapped Papa now and then looked like. I caught Papa up with what is going on here in the castle. I told Papa Yuri about Daddy finding the letter and what everyone's reaction was. Papa Yuri said that he expected Wolfram to react the way he did. He also wanted me to give you a message from him Wolfram. Papa will send you another dream as soon as he could. He also wanted everyone to know that he loved them all and that would never change no matter what happened."

When Greta finished talking Wolfram asked her if Yuri told her how to find him. Greta answered that she asked and that Yuri replied that answer was in the dreams he sends. After that everyone was quiet, each one lost in their own thoughts all centering on processing the information given and their Kings welfare. They all stayed quiet until a rumbling belly disturbed the silence.

The family was not the only one that listened to Greta's speech. Several Guards ease dropped on the conversation and passed the information down the line. By breakfast time everyone would know about the discussion and its contents that roused the royal family at dawn.

In the room every head turned to the one whose stomach growled like a bear. It was surprisingly the great sage's stomach that made the noise. Murata had the grace to blush when everyone stared at him with somewhat blank expressions. Sheepishly Murata replied that he had not eaten since yesterday lunch time since he was running back and forth between worlds trying to find news of Shibuya. He had recalled Yuri once mentioning hating to use dungeons and when asked why Yuri had replied that his experience in the dark dungeons in the rundown castle on the skirts of Japan were more than enough for his experience. Murata had gone to check the ruins just in case with no luck it would seem.

Murata had not told anyone about the dungeons and his inclination to check if Yuri was by chance being held there again. When he returned he had gone in to check with Uruike to see if she had any luck. He had just made it back by the time Greta was summoning everyone to Yuri's chambers. He had been as shocked as everyone else when his stomach disturbed the silence after Greta's debriefing. Needless to say even he was embarrassed to have that happen. Breakfast thankfully was not far away. The maids had been awakened to make breakfast by one of the guards to hear the news and inform them that the royal family was up for the day. Breakfast was mostly conducted noisily compared to the pervious meal since the disappearance of Yuri. Discussion of Yuri message was greeted with mixed emotions by everyone. Mixed because it allowed them to know that their king was alive still after all this time on the other hand they knew while alive he was still suffering based on the dreams Wolfram and Greta had all agreed with that conclusion.

The rest of the morning was spent discussing what could be done to aid Greta, Wolfram and Yuri. They decided that Wolfram would try to fall asleep in the afternoon sometime in order to try to reach Yuri. It was a long shot and there was no guarantee that it would work the other way around since they didn't know how Yuri was reaching them in the first place.

That afternoon they tried that with no effect and the next several days proved to be useless. It wasn't until a week later that Wolfram managed to reach Yuri by chance. Even then he did not know how he did it. It lasted jus a few minutes though. It was enough to surprise both Yuri and Wolfram. Yuri had just been chained up again after a beating. Wolfram was shocked to see the scars on Yuri's body. Wolfram suddenly started firing question at Yuri who was overwhelmed, exhausted, and really shocked to have Wolfram reach him.

"Yuri what happened to you? How were you captured? Where are you being held? How are you able to appear in Greta and my dreams? How am I here? Yuri we want to help tell us how"

"Wolfram slow down" rasped Yuri's voice. It was rusty from nonuse in so much time. "It seems you tapped into it to reach me. I managed to fully integrate it fully and mine as well it would seem since Greta is next to you." Wolfram turned his head first to the left then the right and indeed there stood Greta staring at her papa bound in chains to a wall and the smell of the place was disgusting to say the least. It did however bring a smile to Yuri's face. "Papa, Daddy? What is going on", asked Greta. Right when Yuri was about to answer he sensed the presence of someone coming down to the dungeons. Looking at Wolfram and Greta he smiled and said that he would contact them later. Greta and Wolfram had no idea how he did it but Yuri sent their spirit back to their bodies.

Wolfram and Greta tried to reach Yuri again with no luck. After their failure the third time they looked at the clock to see what time it was so they would know where to find everyone. It was dinner time which meant everyone would be together in the dining room. Looking at each other they high tailed it out the room and ran to the dining room with all speed of the devil lighting a fire under them. They burst into the room and shocked everyone. The royal family and the great sage were all sitting down and the maids were about to set down their food in front of them.

Conrad was just about to see if Greta and Wolfram were up when they burst in like Cerberus, the dog that guards the gates of hell was at their heels. They paused to take a breath before they blurted out their news. "We reached Yuri but he sent us away and said he would contact us soon." A second of silence was followed by a collective "Ehhhhhhhhhhhh!" from the occupants in the room.

"Sit down, have some water and start at the beginning" was Conrad's advice to the two of them as well as the rest of the family who jumped up when they blew into the room.

Doing just that, the two sat down after their drink and started at the beginning answering questions as they came. It only took two hours to explain everything. Everyone wanted the two confirm something they said. Wolfram and Greta were getting fed up with repeating the same thing over and over again. When everything was finally settled, they wondered what to do next. Yuri had told the Greta and Wolfram to wait, but that was a hard task to do. Needless to say that they went to bed and woke up with nothing new to add to the information already archived.

It was three days later in the afternoon when Yuri contacted them again. Wolfram and Greta had taken to napping in the afternoon at the same time in order to have a better chance to reach Yuri. This time Yuri appeared to the both of them. Wolfram and Greta both slept in Yuri bed. The two were very happy to see him. They were however baffled by what happened to his scars. When they asked Yuri he just said that the form in front of them was more pleasing. Yuri tried to answer all the previously asked questions. He however refused to answer how Yuri was reaching out to them and how they were able to reach out him. This did of course piss Wolfram off and he let Yuri know so in no uncertain terms. Greta was also a little mad but she trusted her daddy whole heartily.

Yuri did in fact tell them why he had to send them away so they don't get caught by chance. The guards weren't to know that Yuri was still sane and conscious of his surroundings. They were starting to think that he would break and that they could then get information and his throne as well. Yuri overheard some of the plans made by Randy and he didn't think that they were exact because Randy often discarded those who become useless to him. Yuri talked a little more with them then sent Greta to sleep with a kiss on the forehead and cheek.

With Greta asleep Yuri got a little more serious. He informed Wolfram that he would send as much information as he could get his hands on to him as fast as he could. He also informed Wolfram that he himself didn't know where he was being held but was hopeful to find out soon. The closer he seemed to breaking the looser the tongues of the guards were around him.

Wolfram tried touching Yuri's check but his hand went through Yuri. He asked how Yuri was dealing with the pain and if there was a way to help out in any way. Yuri answered that at the moment there was nothing that could be done but wait, pray and hope that Yuri's plans come to fruition. The pain he told Wolfram was second nature by then.

Yuri was running out of time. It was almost dawn and he needed to be comatose before dawns early light. Wolfram looked deep into Yuri's eyes and cried not knowing he was doing so. Wiping a tear off his face Yuri gave Wolfram a ghost of a kiss on his forehead and disappeared with the words; wait for me falling from his lips. Wolfram sat there crying and eventually cried himself back to sleep to wake up somewhere in the afternoon to his brothers calling his name.

Around two in the afternoon Gwendal and Conrad got worried because they haven't seen Wolfram all day. They decided to search for him starting in Yuri's chambers. There they found Wolfram and Greta asleep, Wolfram with tear streaks dried on his cheeks. Greta didn't look any better. They feared the worst by the expressions on their sleeping faces. Their faces looked miserable even in sleep. It some effort but they managed to wake both of the occupants of the bed much to their ire.

Wolfram and Greta awoke with murderous expressions on their faces much to the brothers' alarm. Gwendal approached first in his commander voice asking if they planned to sleep the whole day. As can expected he was treated to a fireball aimed at his face and much to his surprise a small electric shock of all things curtsey of Greta. Now there was something that was very uncommon to have power over. The brothers all ended up staring at Greta for a good five minutes before Gwendal ventured a "how" that was just above a whisper. It would remain a secret for almost two months before they would get a definite answer.

"I don't know" was Gretas confused answer. They were all dumbfounded to put it mildly. The three tried to analyze the power with no results. They in the end decided to ask the great sage and Lady Cheri who couldn't find any type of lighting power in her. It was a mystery to everyone and Greta got fed up being treated like an anomaly after even the resident doctor and scientist didn't have any luck. Somewhere between all the craziness they managed to share what happened with Yuri's last visit.

It seemed that things would only get stranger and more questions would arise then they would find answers to. They had no idea how understated that comment would be made by Gwendal. It was a statement that screamed don't say it, it will come true tenfold.

During all this though Greta worked on the surprise she had for everyone. It was on the two month anaversity of Yuri's disappearance that she revealed it. She did have help form the great sage and Lady Cheri. It was a beautiful collage of pictures taken in the Shin Makou and on earth with all of them. It was to remind them of happier times and who Yuri really is. There was also a little puppet show put on by Greta. She imitated Yuri's whining and Wolframs cheater and wimp yells. It brought a smile to everyone who saw it. Overall Greta achieved her goal.

It was around that time that the dreams started again. Yuri would visit Greta and Wolfram but on occasion Gwendolyn and Gunter and even Conrad by the end of the two months going on three months. Gwendolyn was scared out of his wits when he received the first of two visits from his king. He ended up updating Yuri on the current statistics of Shin Makou and what was going on earth based on the report made by the great sage. Yuri also directed Gwendolyn on what he wanted done based on answers he received to his questions. To say that it was weird would be putting it mildly. Yuri did check up on Gwendolyn's health and well being. He wasn't however as close to him as he was to Greta and Wolfram and even Conrad. The second visit would come close to the end of the month and even closer to his escape time.

Gunter when he was visited by his while dreaming did the usual and tried to clasp him. He fell flat on his face of course considering Yuri didn't become solid in the dream. Gunter updated Yuri on Greta's education and other matters that were part of his tutor duties. Yuri was pleasantly surprised to learn that Wolfram was taking consort lessons for Gunter for when he married Yuri.

Conrad was a bit harder to reach but also accessible because of their bond. The two of them enjoyed a nice long talk as if they weren't miles away in a dream but right next to each other. . These conversations lasted over several days, a different person every night. They had all asked Yuri how to get to him, how he was fairing, what the circumstances were now as opposed to when he was first captured. They didn't much information. All Yuri would tell them is that he loved them and hoped to see them soon.

Gwendolyn was the last to talk to Yuri before Wolfram. Close to the end of the month, not quite the beginning but not quite the end Greta and Wolfram started seeing images of four castles all different but the image of a abandoned and barely recognizable rundown old house. It was Yuri showing them his location. It would take them quite a bit to figure out anything from these images. Almost every night it was the same images with the exception of the sky, sometimes it would be blue and sometimes it would be almost black like thunderstorms that looked like bears.

That didn't help much since they didn't know if it was earth or the demon world. The visions weren't that definite but they at least were something. With each dream, it was the same. They would share it with the rest of the family and then split up and look for those castles that were described by Wolfram and Greta. Murata went to earth and shared the clue with the cops who about ready to give up on find Yuri. They had combed the whole city looking for the boy. In the demon world guards, Conrad, and Gwendal combed every inch of Shin Makou.

It had been going on almost five days without a new clue until they decided to try something different. They would need to have a drawing of the described castles to help out. They brought a painter in who drew the castles as described by Wolfram and Greta. Greta had a bit better memory then Wolfram. Between the two of them they were able to get fairly accurate pictures of the castles and old house.

They went through villages asking anyone if the pictures looked familiar to them. They had no luck. Team one was on its way back to the castle for some well deserve red rest when they decided to stop my Uruikes temple to update her. Nobody had time to do up until them. It was Conrad team and he ended up showing the pictures to Uruike who was able to identify the castles much to Conrad's astonishment.

The reason that they couldn't identify those castles was because they had be protected and shielded for longer then they had been alive. The castle each represented a elemental power except the fifth one. That to Uruike was a mystery. The house she said could be close to there. The castles locations however were not exactly known because they were shielded by priestesses who awaited the king who could hold and harness all four elements in himself and be able to use them all plus the component that balanced the elements out.

That is what had taken Yuri so long to do, gain control over all four elements plus the unifying component. Conrad didn't know this yet but there was a chance that he could find out if he located the castles in the time allotted him which at best was a week and a half. Uruike had helped out a lot and Conrad tanked her and rode back hard toward home. He after all had bid news that would help out but also a big problem.

He arrived in first kicking up dust and yelling for Greta, Wolfram, Cheri and whoever else was there of the royal family including the great sage. They were seen running toward him a minute or so later from the gardens. Heaving and panting he managed out reveal the information that had him panting like a dog not to mention his horse looked like it would die if it didn't see some water soon. Luckily stable hands stepped forward to see what all the commotion was about and saw the poor horse need some tender love and care and lots of water. Conrad called the stable master over and told him that the rest of his team would be there in a few minutes and that the horses had been ridden hard and need water and food. The stable master assured him that they stable hands would take care of it and he should just worry about finding their beloved king in as kind a way as he could to let Conrad know that they were prepared to help in any way the could.

Smiling at the groom master as best he could he thanked him and headed in to share the news and organize the search for the castles. They sat at a table and absorbed much needed nutrition in food and drink. That is where Gwendolyn and his team found them that evening. He was quickly caught up on the new information and what had been decided. They would get some rest and head out at dawns light to search the land for castles. They also informed the great sage that it was possible that Yuri was in the demon realm when he arrived shortly before dawn when they were all set to head out.

It would be easy if that was the case, Yuri in the demon world, Shin Makou but he wasn't exactly there but he wasn't on earth either. He was in between. The castles were situated in the divide between earth and Shin Makou. It would take another two days of searching and yielding nothing that Yuri would briefly appear before Greta and tell her to search by the divide. It would take another day and the help of Murata, Uruike and Cheri before they figured what the divide was.

When they headed out they made sure the horses were well rested and ready for a long trip. Yuri had pointed them in the general vicinity of where he was, not the exact location. It would take time to find him, something they did not have much left of. It was almost the allotted week and a half. Only a little over a day remained before the sun set permanently on their king, or so they thought.

The truth of the matter is that the week and a half was actually the time that it would take Yuri to finish his transformation completely and hopefully escape. He didn't have strength. He was running on pure adrenaline and he didn't know how long it would last. He prayed that they would find him before the fight to the death began.