~.Black Mist.~

No response from Nova yet. Something must have gone wrong; I can feel it.

I go to the knights' quarters to find the Number worthy of the task I need him to do. It will require stealth to go over the border separating the Number Realm from the rest of the Astral World, so I have the perfect Number in mind.

Without knocking, I throw the door open to find many of the knights checking their weapons, cleaning them and their armor, and everything else they do. I look around for the Number that isn't a knight at all, but rather our own ninja. I find him in the way back, meditating like usual.

"Number 12 Crimson Shadow Armor Ninja," I call with a sharp snap that makes my ears twitch.

Crimson opens his eyes slowly and looks up at me with his serene gaze. "Yes, my prince?" he answers in a slow tone.

"I need you to run an errand for me."

"And what errand would that be?" He gets up from his meditating position. At his full height, he's much taller than any of the knights and slimmer than them.

"I need you to bring back my brother."

~.Astral/Nova.~

I sprint back to my room to keep Bura and Amber from finding my notes from Blackie while Momma charges after me. I know they're only a few notes, but they're meaningful since I know he wants to help me now, and they're a sign that someone out there cares. No one else has ever done that!

Momma scoops me up by the waist with her iron grip, and I do something I've never done before.

I start to scratch her, bite, kick out, anything to release myself from her grip as my hands turn increasingly red. I try to do everything I can to get back to my room and keep those two demon siblings from seeing those notes written in a foreign language. I'm sure that if Momma can read them, so can they.

"Momma, Momma!" Amber cries triumphantly. "We found more!"

The two come out with broad smiles on their wicked faces, holding the letters from Blackie. I cry out in fury as I struggle more, my still red hands grasping the air to reach for those precious pieces of paper. Momma only tightens her grip.

Amber and Bura giggle as they read the words only my eyes should see!

"Momma, the one who wrote these is names Number 96 Black Mist," Amber reports, which Momma already knew.

"And he claims to be his brother!" Bura chimes in.

~.Crimson.~

I enter the house by picking the lock silently. For a while, I have waited for the last people to come out of the house before making my move, which is what I am doing now.

Before I open the door, I take out a small can of oil and grease up the hinges to elimitate the sound that will surely be produced if I skip this step. I slip inside as silently as a shadow.

As I make my way by creeping upstairs, the sounds of struggles accompanied by a small voice that sounds almost like Prince Black Mist's, except it's higher and slightly less demanding, grabs my attention to go there. Well, the small voice is certainly demanding something of the other people, the three others I was told he lives with.

I make it to the top. A young child is struggling from the grasp of his mother while two children read notes that have the young prince's handwriting.

The little girl, who I was told is named Amber, is white with baby blue hair that reaches her waist. She has a pink dress with a white heart on the chest, and on her feet are pink shoes. Her eyes are magenta, and on her lips plays a smirk as she reads the characters of the Number Realm.

The boy, whose name is Bura, is slightly older, but he is still a child. He is dark blue with even darker, almost black, hair that's fluffy and reaches up to his ears. His eyes and hands are in stark contrast with the rest of him since they are completely white. His robe that covers him from the neck down is red.

The mother looks more like a tall teenager from behind, but when I turn slightly to see her face, she is definitely an adult. She is a light blue, lighter than her son but darker than her daughter, and her eyes are of red. She has black and white pants with a black top that stops at her waist. Her feet are bare, so I suppose these are her house clothing. Her hair is dark, and it reaches her waist.

Finally, my eyes settle on the child, who is screaming obscenities at the three. He is completely sky blue with smudges of dirt and grime that must have built up over the years due to neglect. Opened wounds accompany the dirt as well, and I fear they may be infected. markings that were once beautiful are overrun with the scratches and bruises. The long earrings that signify his royal heritage are chipped and lacking luster. The skin around the earrings seem torn and bleeding, probably because those who have harmed him have been pulling on them. From the angle that I am positioned, I cannot see his left eye, but his right one is white, leading me to believe that if he is who I believe he is, his other eye will be gold. What stuns me the most, though, are the hands that are reaching for the papers.

They are red!

Only one child I know of that has red hands, and that is the prince's brother.

This is his brother!

I take three sleeping darts and a tube to blow them through. It is a fairly simple weapon, but these people are not worthy of my katana of my throwing stars. I load the three darts, take careful aim, and blow harshly, sending the three darts into their heads. This takes all of one second.

The prince is dropped before the mother falls, and he scrambles to the papers and holds them close to his bruised chest.

I step out of the shadows to reveal myself to him.

~.Astral/Nova.~

Footsteps reach my ears. Thinking that it's Momma or someone else that's heard the noise, I tighten my hold on the notes and wait for the worst.

"Relax, young prince," a soothing and slow voice assures. "I am not here to do you harm."

I look at the one behind me, shaking and trembling. The person has a red mask with black lining and a black 12 in gothic writing. He has some sort of dark red tunic that may have more layers underneath. His eyes are completely black. Slung on his back, a red decorated sword rests, waiting for use. His tunic and mask has some black on it, like the shadows of the corner of the room. Even as I watch, those black spots recede, leaving only the black lining and 12 on his mask.

The ninja pulls down his mask to reveal a soft smile. "I am here to take you home." He crouches down and picks me up. While he does that, he places the notes into a pouch inside his tunic for safekeeping.

I struggle somewhat, remembering the grip Momma had on me, but the person in red only shushes me and calms me down. Soon, my head rests on his shoulder with my hands loosely wrapped around his neck. I look at them and find that they're not red anymore.

We start descending. Where are we going?

"Your brother was absolutely livid when he read your letter, young prince," the ninja clad in red sighs. "He allowed me to read it, and I must admit that I was also angry with the horrible people you lived with. I don't think they realized who you were even after they late king and queen sent that letter." He sets me down and walks over to a white capsule that has webs and dust on it, worn and chained.

The ninja fiddles with the lock, then he produces two needles from one of his pockets. They're both thin enough to fit into the lock, but I can't help but wonder what he's going to do with that. I guess I just have to sit back and watch.

He moves the needles around. The clicking and scraping are the only sounds filling the eerie silence of the dark, dank cellar. Then, with a snap, the padlock clatters to the ground, making me jump in surprise.

~.Crimson.~

The lock clatters to the ground with a startling sound. Pulling my mask up, my head whips around while my right hand reaches inside my tunic for my throwing stars in the case of any danger. Their reassuring tips prick my skin through my gloves.

When it is clear that no one has heard the noise, I relax. I press the button that brings out the tray that carries the headdress and cape. They're still intact, if not dusted by time.

"Come. We should go now." Tucking the things into another of the many pockets in my tunic, I once again pick up the prince. "Tell me, what is your name?" I ask as I cover the both of us with my cloak.

"Astral..." He says it in such a soft whisper that I have him say it again three more times until I finally catch the single word.

"Astral?" I close my eyes and chuckle as I walk out the back door. "At least they have a good taste in names. It sounds almost like Nova."

Astral cuddles his head close to my chest and looks straight ahead into the outside world, a world that he has never been allowed to explore. I snap, making the hood of the cloak big enough for us both.

"You will be safe with me, little Astral." I walk toward the back exit of the town, leaving behind the memories of today. "You can trust me."