Somewhere in Hachijojima prefecture, JPN HAC, JST-1300

"Your Majesty, we haven't found the trace of the running away prince. Waiting for the next instruction. Cerberus one over and out" The green flame flickered and died.

"You fool!" The man's deep voice echoed as he yelled in anger. The fire's reflection glinted on his black leather samurai vest as it flickered and vanished. 

Another spark of flame set on his hand and he yelled inside. "Phoenix!"

Swishing his long lava hair, he gritted his teeth in anger as he found his boy didn't reply. The man walked away from the dark cramped granite room to the marble door. Holding his overly long sleeve, he closed the heavy door and his silky black longpao robe rustled the granite floor as he walked along at the torch-lit corridor.

The Cerberus Force never fail. They always give satisfying results. 

The Sagittarius Stormknight man, and this annoying Ice Prince. The Prince was a very hedonic person, and couldn't wait to go clubbing according to his spy, it couldn't be easier. I should assign Phoenix to help them. I don't know what took them so long.

Magma still felt angry when he instructed the guards beside the throne door to halt everyone that wished to enter. Opening a pair of a great white marble door, he entered a large room.

From the transparent crystal dome, the sun showered the room with plenty of light, showing his neat black mustache and beard on his sculpted chin bone and square jaw. The hair below his obsidian crown was black, but the flowing long hair under his bushy brows are gradually lava red. The hair would change to red completely whenever he uses his lava power.

Just like Magma himself, the room was majestic. Walking to the back of the room, the throne itself was rather dark, else than the shine from eternal fire. All the four big windows beside the throne draped with black velvet fabrics.

The Throne was a chair with a lot of hexagonal crystal on the back, made from natural tourmaline, quartz and obsidian crystal that glinted and refracted colors on the sun. It guarded by several Kabuto and Kuwaga (Japanese Rhinoceros and Antler Beetles) granite statues on either side of it, as also granite Centipede. On the wall over the throne was a large black banner with a red kabuto on it. But he didn't go to the throne, he just walked over a little stream of lava that calmly bubbled and crackled around the stairs to the throne. At the middle of the flight of stairs, stood a pedestal that hold a bowl adorned by gold centipede carvings. Inside it, danced the eternal fire from the famous Ijen crater.

The man stopped in front of the black pedestal, made a triangular stance with his feet and inhaled. A sheer force out from his right hand and a ball of melted rock formed out of nowhere and hovered above the eternal fire. As his other hand circled in front of it, it transformed to a black obsidian mirror.

The man murmured incantation and a slightly blurry image formed.

"This man.. Yes, this man.. Always popping up ''He whispered."I wonder what purpose is he in my plan." His voice wondered.

Another footstep echo made him turned to the newcomer. He squinted his eyes."I already said I don't like an interruption. State your business, I dislike killing too many of my sons." The red and black hair flew as he hastily turned away and erase the mirror to nothing with just a swipe of his hand.

"Father, I bring news" The other man knelt and bowed his head respectfully. He has black hair, cut in short psychobilly with a streak of red. "I found who is the man of your divination," He said without lifting his head.

He turned back. "It better be good news. I never regret disposing of a son as weak as you."

The young man's face darkened but he smiled and gave the older man a bowl with green fire over his head. As his father turned to examine the flame message, hidden under the bow, for a fraction of a second, his son's eyes glinted with hatred.

"I see... I thought it was Sagittarius Knight" The old man nodded, smiling. "It appeared that your wedding is so important for us Saburo. Arrange so that we have not only the princess but also the bodyguard!" He laughed heartily.

US Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia EDT 21:00

Almost all the volunteer already went home, and the so many monitors at the office have turned off. The warm room surrounded by so many book racks and sheet organizers was almost empty, yet a wall filled with big touch screen displayed world 3D terrain map at the Volcanic area office still alighted.

A man walked back and forth in front of it, trying to collect his thoughts about something. The room's lighting was dimmed and he only got light from the big monitor. He stopped and walked briskly to one of the tables. He grabbed the mouse beside the black laptop on the table, scrolled down and opened something, then walked to the book rack just around the humongous screen, scanning the titles and took a book from it. He scrolled the book to index and found what he was looking for and opened the page.

"Yes, it is.. I am right. Hmm.. curious, really curious, this particular event is"

His big hand busily stroked his goatee. He thought for a few minutes, then picked another book.

"Yes, it is not normal, they were so short, the time of eruption is too short, all too short"

He muttered and adjust his spectacle with his finger. He walked back to the very big screen and zoomed in with two of his hand.

"It was here, and" He zoomed another place "Here" He pointed two volcanoes and stroked his chin. "But they don't stand on the same geological plate"

He froze.

"What about?"

His lips suddenly twitched in a smile, but then he involuntarily bit his lips.

"Maybe... yes it sounds ridiculous. But now it is the only way to see it"

He hurriedly put the two books on the table, just beside the laptop, then frantically typed on search engine 'Volcano Cults'

"They are so many...so many... of them" He clicked here n there. His hand raked his hair and then he opened another window, then press print. For a few minutes, the laser printer on the other side of the room busily working.

The bespectacled grizzly man bit his lips again. It appeared that he thought really hard. He opened his glasses and took a soft cloth from his pocket, and wiped it clean. "I remember the legends of..."

He suddenly ran to the other side of the building, where there were many books stored.

"Ah, I am glad you still here," He said to a forty-year-old woman that holding a chain of keys. She seemed ready to get home, as her hand holding a laptop case, and at her back, is a bag of a rolled yoga mat. She smiled back at the sixty-year-old man and said "Oui, Mr. Herbert. Yes but I have to get home soon, my children are waiting for me" Her hair tucked in a small tidy bun just over her back neck.

"Yes yes yes, I do understand that, very much Sally. But you really have to let me in, because I need this book, this certain book that you have in possession" The man feverishly talked while moving about his hand. "Wait, no no no, it is faster when you just come here with me," He said while dragging the woman to her part of the office.

"Oh oh okay okay" She almost ran behind him, holding her laptop bag and a bag of a yoga mat.

In a while, they already stood before the super widescreen that half-filled that part of the wall. The man pointed to the screen. "Sally, If you noticed out data lately, you will notice the many eruptions of curiously so many volcanoes"

"Yes? And?" Mrs. Sally tilted her head.

"And it was so curious, that the violent eruption all just last for several minutes, it all didn't connect to any tectonic plate movement, and the volcano magma chamber is far below the eruption level. Moreover, it didn't make anything harmful, like acid gas, or even an ash cloud. It is all looked like..."

"Controlled?" She interjected his pause. "Yes I do notice that"

Mr. Herbert faces lighted. "You did?"

She nodded vigorously. "It is very odd. And if you saw the report from Goma, you may see the curious sighting that a helicopter hovered over the peak, near the Lava Lake, and someone jumped from the copter to the crater"

Herbert silent for a moment. "You did realize the implication of that right?"

Sally fixed a loose hair on her temple and bite her lips. "Don't tell me, that it is about an almost extinct race, the cult of Lava Gods?"

"Exactly" Herbert nodded. "They can do anything to get any country to their knees" His hand somewhat unconsciously swiped the touch screen and they faced a magnanimous crater.

"Yellowstone" Sally muttered. Herbert nodded.

"Yeah, we have a quite big supervolcano there. They have several very large magma chambers" He sighed.

"If they decide to play with it..." Sally put her hand over her mouth as if preventing her lips to say it further.

Honolulu, USA HI HAST UTC-10:00

The tall muscular black young man stepped out from a lift. Bill twirled his grocery bag, his eyes warily checking around the surrounding. Unwrap his leather jacket from his body, he flung it over his white shirt. The elevator dinged and he raked his hair slowly and sighed.

Sometimes this bodyguard stuff is just a ticket to the guillotine. She doesn't even want to cover her face now. And if she knew his mother sent me free just to get her back...

He inhaled deeply, and let it out again and put a smile on his face. He turned to the door behind his back and knocked it.

"I know it's you, get in!"

The door opened easily with a twirl of his finger.

She didn't lock it again.

He nodded as the door open. "Your Majesty"

The black haired girl lifted her magnifying google, look up from her work on the table and snapped."Ew your majesty...Ever since you hit seventeen and worked with my dad, you became weirdly distant." Luna frowned a bit.

Bill chuckled.

"Code of conduct girl, code of conduct."

"Yeah right. Don't touch another gender, don't sit in a room with the other gender, don't show any skin other than your hand, don't learn anything than what you are meant to, and lately, more ridiculous, don't show your face." Luna turned the screwdriver so hard that a bit of spark jumped. "Yeah right. If one of us missing, no one will be able to find us. Cos no one recognize us. It is as if girls have no meaning." She mumbled.

"Still pissed off bout that, I see" Bill nodded.

The girl in front of him sure looked just like a normal looking late teenagers. Nothing majestic with her white T-shirt and jeans overall that smeared with machine lubricant here n there. She was more like a mechanic girl with her smeared cheek and without makeup.

"Of course I am" She grunted. "You were jailed just because of silly things."

"Na, it's nothing. The queen let me out in the end. And also, you are very important for our diplomatic mission." The boy said calmly.

The girl snorted. "Try me. They had to chain me to marry to some killer."

"I thought you said our country more important than yourself?"

"Garbage. As if I am a piece of steak my father offer just to calm a beast" The girl said.

Bill raised his brows "So, he is a piece of cake?" 

Luna rolled her eyes. "This is not a song. And I care about my country, I just don't care a shit about the fricking unreasonable marriage!"

"I could've severed my head listening to this!" He said jokingly.  He walked in, and his feet make an awkward dance just to try so hard not to step on so many little things that cluttered on the floor.

"What the heck did you do in such a short time? Blast something off?" He said, started to collect each one of the machinery parts that scattered everywhere on the floor. "And what's that? Jewelry?"

The girl sulked and twirl her screwdriver a bit too harsh. "I just want to play a bit. I want to make a kind of weapon." She said, continued to put another gear, screw it, and brought the cable from the odd machine and plugged it into the laptop. She did a bit of programming, then opening a treasure box, and taking a very shiny jewel, and carefully put it inside it. She closed the opening and screwed it tight.

"Still Looks like a bracelet to me" He casually said, still collecting the many parts that scattered all over the floor.

"It's a weapon!" The girl insisted while tapping her keyboard with such force that the man delightedly know that she's annoyed.

"I don't know how you manage to even walk to the middle of the room without stepping on something. And why you have so many big parts? You only need the small parts rite?" He noticed that the white sofa has been pushed over, and the white rose happily sat inside the vase on the wide window sill.

"I cannibalized a few machines, so that's why you see so many parts," She said, then focused on the machine again.

The man already collected all the big parts that scattered on the floor and put it inside a big box and walked to the kitchen. "I can see you enjoy the food?"

"Yeah that was okay"

He frowned "Darn, is that all? I know the food killed you"

"What? Cos it's so inedible and poisonous so I killed? I wonder why am I still alive then?" She snorted and put on her magnifying glasses again and turn back to the jewelry.

"Naaah, cos it's really delicious!" He smiled as he saw the trash can empty and the bowl on the sink was very clean. "You really think my cooking that bad? C'mon, admit it, it was really good isn't it? So good you ate your finger?" He wiggled his brows.

The tanned girl think for a moment. "Hmm... I wonder, will I give you that satisfaction?"

He smiled and snorted. "Sometimes, sometimes I think you are so cruel, Luna" He took one of the oranges in front of the window and cut it into wedges.

She chuckled. "Just to match your mockery and jokes"

He nodded "Fair, fair," He said, sucking the last of the oranges wedge.

"AHAH! GOTCHA!" She lifted her work proudly and clapped both bracelets to her arm.

"Try 'Eureka' the yelling more correct, historically" His hand collecting all the peel and put it into the freeze dryer, and turn it on.

"I don't give a damn about history Bill, and I never will," She said, admiring her works.

He chuckled."Too bad, it's filled with a good story, and it's really interesting you know. And by the way, what is that?"

"A tool to fight!" She said, and with a swish of her hand, she held a laser transparent pink shield on her hand.

"Well, I can make it by myself," He said, transforming the light on his hand easily to become similar shield with blue color.

"And this?" She made a laser falchion on her other hand.

"Like this?" He made the same thing, then "Oh, you mean the tool to fight for YOU?" His lips turned to a mocking smile.

She frowned. "What do you mean by that, exactly?"

"Yeah, since you know, you kind of..." He shrugged and cast a teasing depreciating glance to Luna "You know" And smiled apologetically. "Aw, sorry" He tilted his head, his lips twitched hiding his laughter.

Luna's eyes narrowed and suddenly swished her falchion with all her strength to his head. Bill raised his shield and in an instant blocked her with a glitchy sound.

"Whoa that was fast," He said, laughed, and swing his hand, now forming a blue band of light, which turn into a whip.

"No fair I don't have a chance to train with whip" Luna wailed.

Bill laughed and moved his laser whip "Next time you can beg to the enemy." He swished his laser whip to make a wave that threatened to cut her head. She ducked and swung her falchion to his feet.

He jumped "Sir, would you please change your weapon, I haven't trained with that one" and whipped his leash, which curved and threatened her lower back.

Swung her laser falchion, she tried to cut the whip. "Ha ha, very funny" Luna laughed mirthlessly.

The whip vanished and reappeared as the sword. "You forgot that this is light, not the real material" He swung it to her feet.

Her braided hair whipped as she jumped clear, with her hand swung her sword hand upward. "Meaning?"

He tilted his head, barely escaping the cutting light "You can't cut that, duh!"

A stab nearly touched her chest, but she curved her body to avoid it, and pushing one button the bracelet on her palm turned into a crossbow and it shoots laser arrow right away.

Bill dodged, jumped and rolled in the air above the kitchen counter and hide behind it to dodge all the laser. A mug blasted and an orange turned black as laser pulse hit it.

"Smart" He grumbled and shooting a laser pulse to Luna but Luna went transparent and the pulse just went through.

"Darn, I forget you can do that" He laughed, ducked as another pulse of laser almost hit his head.

Luna gritted her teeth and swung her hand, sniggered. Just above Bill's head, the plate blasted to pieces. An array of light shone between the kitchen counter, bounced on the back of the pan reflected by the mirror that hides her room, and went behind her back.

"I'm not there you know, you want to beat a man nicknamed Light Dancer here" Bill's sound now coming from behind her.But her hand aimed at him and the vase behind him blasted to nothing.

"WHOA SHIT YOU INCREASE THE POWER" He already sat another place else, and another blast hit him unprepared and make a hole in the wall and make him scrambled among the rubble.

"UGH, wow now you able to hit me!" An array of light jump and bounce to the kitchen top, as Bill warped there.

She smiled and threatened to hit again.

But as he landed at the kitchen counter, he looked around the place and yell "STOP STOP STOP, your Father would be mad at me if he knows it!"

For a few seconds, Luna froze, and the weapon turned down. She slowly walked to the kitchen stool, sat there, and put her head on her folded hand.

Bill glanced, opened the bubble gum wrapper, popped it inside his mouth and jumped down from the kitchen counter and began to clean that room. For a few minutes the room silent, only the sound of brush, sweep and crinkle of the glass and rumble being cleaned that ruin the silence.

After a while, the room cleaned. The only remained from that fight was the hole at the side wall, that showed a part of Luna's bedroom.

Luna's eyes suddenly opened, as her hand tugged.

"Come on"

"Huh?"Still on her hand over the table, she lazily turned her head to the side, facing him, with an empty eyes.

"Come on, let's go out"

She begrudgingly stood as he pulled her hand.

"Where?"

He grinned, "Just see" Without waiting for her answer, he pulled back her hand and as they got out, locked the door.

.. Bill?

Oregon, 2 am

It was almost two am and Ara walked slowly along the road, his legs felt like lead as he dragged it along, it was days of tracking with so many methods, so many towns. He hung his head to his shoulder and blew a deep breath to the sky, watching the night light blinked and sparkled over him.

It's been almost a month, and there is no sign of those two men.

He yawned and prepare to cross the road, as he turned his head to the left to cross, couldn't see anything as a bright light blinded him from the left. As he squinted his eyes, trying to see better, someone yelled. "LOOK OUT!"

And then a hand with blue electricity crackled around his arm, pulled him hard in an instant to the side, while a car drove with a high velocity, right where he stood a fraction of a second ago.

Was that blue light, lightning?

At that time, Ara froze, as the man behind him cursed. "Drunk!" He said.

"You okay?" He turned Ara around. It was Ron. Ara gaped.

"Ron?" Ara smiled. "Yeah, I am okay"

Ron looked relieved. "Thanks, God!" Then he frowned. "What are you doing at this hour?" he frowned.

Ara sheepishly grinned. "You know, umm" He shrugged. "Just going to a friend"

Ron snorted. "I don't want to know, but no more going out for you mister!"

Ara snorted. "I am big enough to stay out late"

"I'm sorry. I know that, but with no parents to oversee you, sometimes I feel like responsible for your safety" Ron said, tapping into the teen's shoulder.

He accompanied Ara to his apartment. In the door, he waved him goodbye. "Careful!"

"Thanks" As Ara saw Ron walked further away, he frowned.

I think I know him.