��������The room was dark; Yuzra couldn't tell where, exactly, she was at the moment. The last thing she remembered, she was standing on the podium, publically humiliating Elbee. She had felt someone grab her waist, and then there was nothing.
��������Yuzra stood up and felt her way around the small room until she found a door. She tried to open it, but found it locked.
��������This is starting to piss me off, Yuzra thought, pulling on the door in vain. Suddenly, she was thrust backwards by the door swinging open, knocking her onto her behind. She looked up; the person standing there was dresses all in black and it was almost impossible to tell if it was a man or a woman.
��������"So," the mysterious person said, "you're Yuzra Mariko?" It was more of a statement than a question.
��������"What do you want with me!?" Yuzra shouted at the person, getting to her feet.
��������"Heh...I thought that would be obvious, you being who you are and such..." was all the responce that Yuzra got.
��������"And what is that supposed to mean?" Yuzra was really starting to get angry; just when things had finally seemed like they were going her way, this person just had to come and kidnap her.
��������"It means that Elbee will probably come looking for you, right? When he does, I'll kill him and rid Maconner of him for good. And if he doesn't come looking for you, well...at least I'll have a sizeable amount of cash."
��������Yuzra couldn't help but laugh at this foolish person. "Come look for me? That's highly unlikely...not after I just humiliated him in front of the entire country! And, even if I hadn't done that, had he come to look for me, I doubt that you'd be able to kill him...he's not that stupid to go without bodyguards, and I don't think you'd be able to kill him and them." Yuzra replied with all of her anger in her voice.
��������Yuzra's speech had apparently stunned her capturer, giving her enough time to rush the stunned person and out of the door. She ran without knowing where she was going; ran until she came to a seemingly dead end. Yuzra started to panic, then. She had no idea where she was and no idea how to get out. And if she went back the way she had come from, she'd surely run into the shrouded one. Doushio~~~~~* Yuzra thought, putting her guard up.

��������Sevena was running through the streets, being chased by some 30 soldiers or so.
��������What did I do to deserve all of this? Sevena asked herself. She turned her head to look behind her; yup, the soldeiers were still after her. Damn! she thought, returning her head to the front position a little too late. Without warning, she had crashed into something. She looked up to see Gem standing there, a scowl on his face.
��������"What're you doing, playing around like this...you should be more careful." Gem said in a cold voice. Sevena looked up at him and he smirked. "Oh well...looks like it's time for some fun." he said, drawing his huge sword and flashing the soldiers a devious smile. "Kagatte koi!"** he shouted, rushing towards the soldiers. He brought his sword up, then swung down in a huge arc, cutting the first row of soldiers. As they lay in the dirt road, clutching at their cuts, the soldiers behind them approached more cautiously. Gem, who was obviously not phased by such grusome sights, advanced slowly, keeping his guard up; he had taken down about 6-10 in his first attack, leaving about 20 soldiers left. Within a short amount of time, Gem and Sevena were the only ones left standing in the street.
��������"Come on!" Gem shouted at Sevena, dragging her by the arm. They started to run, Sevena not really knowing where to. They ran until they reached a small, abandoned house at the edge of the town. Gem kicked open the door, surprising Aerin, Kyri and Matthias, who were waiting for them.
��������"Did you find out who took that girl?" Matthias asked as the swordsman and the sorceress entered, both panting from the run.
��������"No, but I don't think we should waste too much time on her. Afterall, she could still be loyal to Elbee and playing all of us for fools." Gem replied.
��������"You really can't believe that!" Sevena shouted, still panting slightly. "After what she did, I seriously doubt that she would still be on his side!"
��������"Keh...that means nothing; she could be an exceptionally good liar and an actress as well." Gem responded.
��������"Fine! If you won't go looking for her, I will!" Sevena shouted, turning to leave.
��������"And just where will you go? Do you have any clues as to where they've taken her or who took her? It would be foolish to rush off without knowing these basic facts first." Gem told her, trying to reason with her, but failing miserably. Sevena didn't even answer before she stormed out of the house.

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