The Kingdom

Separation

They have searched. They've searched without any sleep. Zoe didn't lose the compass ever since she lost sight of Parka. It had been three months and still there was no sign. "There's no way. We've searched every spot of the layer," whined Mikel.

"You have a point. But what if she's still alive?" Zoe protested. "We need to find her."

Peaches sat down in the grass, tired. "I don't think we can go on. We need to take a break every so often, you know." They all were located on an island that was a decent distance away from the Arche.

They all had dark rings under their eyes. Safari's tail glowed a bright pink and his ears drooped. The triplets' stems were hanging lower than usual. The realisation of fatigue for the Vitae suddenly came to her. "Y-You're right. I'm sorry," she apologised.

Everyone was silent. With no Overseer, no Arche, the Vitae still stuck there are in serious danger. Thanks to Zoe, she had already tired everyone out. So, she waited until it was dark out for Zoe to sneak out and try to find Parka. Tol had a good day's rest, for she only needed just three hours of sleep to reach peak performance, and she had no problem flying so late at night.

Everyone back on the island were sleeping soundly. They were all spread apart and sprawled on the floor. They were perfect prey for the Umbra. A group of two Umbras were out on patrol, daring to go that far from the Arche. Whisper had already returned to the Empire safe and sound. A conversation consisting of clicks and vibrations came from them and they decided to go check out the island. From there, one by one, they snatched the group. However, Myles was able to wake up just in time before an Umbra could lay a hand on him. "Hey! Back off!" he barked.

Safari's ears perked up. His pupils dilated smaller and his rings turned a dark purple. The two Umbras had already taken Mikel, Ike, and Cherry. And for them, Zoe and Tol were nowhere to be seen. Once their cover had been blown, the Umbras made a run for it. They jumped from island to island back to the Arche of Judicium. Safari and Myles looked shocked. However, Myles looked furious. "They took my brother!" he cried out, nearly waking up everybody. "Where did Zoe and Tol go?"

Everyone remaining woke up with grogginess. Kiwi woke up noticing that her sister wasn't there. "Che... Cherry?" she whimpered. Peaches acknowledged this as well and went to comfort Kiwi. Rain soon took note what was going on and flew after the Umbra that was still visible from her point of view. Myles, Peaches, and Alfie took after her, in hopes to help her catch them.

Mikel, Ike, and Cherry, startled, started to scream. "Let go of us, you―!" Cherry insulted and pounded on the back of one of the Umbras. Mikel clawed at the other and growled. Soon, he saw Rain and the other three in his sights. The three suddenly grew stronger and tried their absolute hardest to get out of their grasp. However, they had already disappeared deep into the darkness of the new found Umbra Arche. Everything outlining the edges were purple and to fill in the emptiness in color, it was black. They had not dared to go any further because now that their army was lost, the Overseer nowhere to be found, they were helpless. They watched their friends turn from their usual color to black and outlined purple. Like they were a cartoon. Rain stared and the snapped back into reality to give directions. "Let's go back. We have to find Zoe first," she ordered mournfully.

"But my sister―"

"We'll get her, Peaches," the golden hawk assured. "I promise. Alfie, Myles, you too. We'll get them."

Then they flew back towards their once safe island. They were still tired, and now they were missing five people and a beast. Vincent and Kiwi had offered to find Zoe while the rest of them rest. But, Alfie didn't allow it, for he didn't want to lose another one of his friends. "Zoe will turn up soon. She probably went looking for Parka," he said.