"What can you tell us?" Aara asked.

"I will tell you everything I know. I could not say anything before -- the males inside of me controlled me."

"You'd better start from the beginning. I'm already lost!" InuYasha exclaimed.

Tala told them about the birthday party, what had happened at midnight and what her twin brother had told her.

"And this happens once a month on the full moon? So the male Tala that just escaped was the fourth one? Do you have any idea at all where they went? And how they could disappear? The guards were in the garden right away, but still he vanished."

"I wish I knew. I just know that they all seemed to know where they were going. My twin said he was following his destiny. I think Naraku embedded some plan in them that they have to follow. None of us had a choice but I think that they wanted to follow his plan while I tried to stop it, but couldn't. The look in my twin's eyes -- there was insanity and the evil in them. I was terrified of him."

"We can't seem to get rid of Naraku; even killing him doesn't work!" Kurama said with a sigh.

"We need to be able to find them." Bakura added, then turned to Tala. "You saw them nude. Did they have a scar on their back?"

"No, they had nothing. They just looked like a male version of me -- my twins exactly."

"And you are sure that you will not create another one?" Kaiba asked.

"Well, there is a procedure from the Human World called a tubal ligation which prevents a female eggs from forming. But I don't like doing it - you are so young and you don't know what the future holds for you."

Kurama said goodnight to Tala, making sure that guards were posted. Her doors were locked and InuYasha volunteered to guard her room as she slept. They could not take the chance of the male Tala reaching her, not until Kaiba could work his magic.

Kurama and Bakura went to the Princess as soon as they were out of the room. "There is another problem, Princess." The Fox Demon said.

"What is that? Don't we have enough problems already." Aara asked unhappily. The peace of Otherworld was once more at risk.

"Ayala."

"What are you talking about?"

"I am referring to the first daughter of Naraku -- Ayala." Kurama answered.

"The mate of Kome, the daughter-in-law of Kouga -- that Ayala? No, you cannot mean her! She has never done anything wrong."

"And for 16 years, neither had Tala. Tala never knew she had this power. What if Ayala has the same power?"

"But she is twice that age. She had been mated to Kome for 16 years."

"We need to make sure. We can't take a chance."

"And how would you propose we make sure?" Aara asked angrily.

"Have Kaiba check her out. And we will talk to her, explain to her what is at risk." Kurama said, adding, "We need to bring her to the Castle."

"I don't think Kome will let us pry into his mate like that." Kaiba said.

"I am not proposing that we ask him." The Fox's voice was cold.

"Just take her and examine her like a lab rat? I think not!" Aara exclaimed in horror.

"Think about what we are facing. We have no idea what these males Tala's are capable of -- what if they have Naraku's power? It took the lives of Vash, of Keiki, and of Bankotsu to stop him. How many lives will it take to stop four of them? And even if we have stopped Tala from creating more, how do we know that Ayala can't do the same. Perhaps she is the backup -- her power will start when Tala's ends. We need to know! Please, Princess, we have no choice." Kurama pleaded his case eloquently.

Aara sighed unhappily, then gave the orders. She had no choice; the safety of Otherworld was paramount.  She had two messenger birds sent to Kaede's Village, one to Kouga telling him to come to the Castle with his son, and the other to Hiten telling him to bring Ayala here without letting anyone know. The Princess didn't know what she was going to say to the Wolf Demons when they arrived; she only hoped she would find the words to make them understand.

"How dare you take my mate!" he growled, "You have no right to even touch her!"

Surprisingly, Kouga was not angry. He had too many dealings with Naraku and had almost died at his hand. He understood the need to be sure. He loved Ayala as a daughter, but if Tala was creating new Naraku's, then Otherworld had no choice. But Kome was spitting mad. He was trying to get up the stairs to the towers, but InuYasha and Kurama were holding him back.

"Kome, stop!" Kouga commanded his son, "They have no choice. Naraku is too dangerous."

"Ayala is not Naraku! She is my mate!" The young wolf turned to his father. "She has never done anything wrong!"

"And neither had Tala. And Tala didn't want to create duplicates, but she couldn't help herself."

Kome gave up, sitting on the stairs, his head in his hands. He couldn't fight them all, especially his own father. Upstairs, the mages were doing who-knows-what to his beloved Ayala. An hour passed, which seemed like an eternity to the worried wolf, and finally Kaiba walked down the stairs.

"We have a problem."