Umi had settled on one side of Fuu's bed and nodded to
Emeruald as she
left. "Fuu... I think we should... no need to go back
to Cephiro. Have you
heard anything on when they are going to release you?"
She yawned covering
her mouth
with her hand. "Hikaru... I think the source of our
problems... is
originating
from Cephiro. I dont want to leave my mother or father
in this condition
but I think we have to.." Her eyes shifted to the
curtains around Fuu's bed
which they had pulled tight in their discussion.
"You will call when they release you? Right? We'll
meet at your house
alright Fuu? Just give us a call..." She got up
rubbing her blurry eyes.
"Hikaru... I'll be out in the car." She stood and gave
Fuu a hug and then
proceeded to the car, however, as she swung the door
open someone had
commenced knocking on the door. "AH! Hold up!" Umi
jumped back from the
fist. "Uh...
***
Hikaru hugged Fuu, before making her way out the door
she turned around and
said, "Take care and get some rest." Hikaru got on the
elevator and pushed
the ground floor button. "What could be happening on
Cephiro that could
possibly reach us here on Earth and cause such
accidents. It definitely
isn't a coincidence that these things are just
happening to us though..."
Hikaru spoke to herself. Stepping off the elevator she
saw Umi...and some
other person. Hikaru frantically raced to her friend,
"Umi, what's going on?"
Chad shyly watched as Umi and now Hikaru stepped
towards him.
Er....Yes...Well..My name is Chad,and I need to ask
you both something. I
know it seems rather odd,and you can probably call me
crazy
afterwards,but....Are the either of you aware of an
incident that happened years ago? There were two
casualties in this
incident,and certain sources point to the two of
you,and one other. She has
glasses and wears
green a lot. I'm sorry to disturb you,and I will leave
as soon as my question
is answered. Are the either of you aware of the
casualties I'm about to
mention?" He gave off each name. First it was
"Emeraude" With an
explanation that fit her description back then
perfectly. And the other was
"Zagato". Which also,was
followed by a perfect description of the High Priest
of Cephiro. "If you
know or have even seen any information regarding these
two people,can you
tell me the connection?" He asked seriously. He didn't
want to make himself
look psychotic by just asking them about Cephiro
altogether. He had to take
this one step at a time. If they were aware,then they
might admit it. If
not,then it was all a dream after
all,and he could try to resume a normal life,and just
put up with such dreams.
kaine sighed and rose to his feet.
'I'm not going to get much sleep after that dream.
Maybe I'll be able to sleep better when I reach where
I 'm going."
He thought as he gathered his belongings. He sighed
again and headed in the direction he knew the capital
lay in.
kaine sighed and rose to his feet.
'I'm not going to get much sleep after that dream.
Maybe I'll be able to sleep better when I reach where
I 'm going."
He thought as he gathered his belongings. He sighed
again and headed in the direction he knew the capital
lay in.
*
His smile widened appreciatively at her comment on his
house and some other
structures here on Earth. It was true that this world
was getting more and
more technological and was beginning to rely less on
nature. Yet Lamont
felt that was bad in its way. He had seen the planet
Autozam in Hikaru
Shidou's mind. In a way, that world was a warning as
to how the Earth would
fare if it got more mechanical.
Arm around her shoulders protectively, the Shadow led
her into the mansion,
where a waiting butler bowed deeply and showed the
both in. Lamont grinned
as he heard her question about wear. "Not to worry. I
have the perfect room
for you." he said as he gently took her arm and led
her up a red-carpeted
flight of stairs.
They walked for around ten seconds, then the Shadow
stopped before a
particular one and twisting the doorknob, opened it.
"This room is yours
from now on." he nodded reassuringly. The room that
greeted Emeraude's eyes
was one of the largest ones in the house, next to
Lamont's own on the third
and top floor. The room around her had much space,
various tapestries hung
from the walls and an expertly painted fresco on the
Japanese Bakumatsu war
decorated the ceiling. In one corner, a large bed
beckoned invitingly with
futons and blankets. The room was cool, easily
explained for the air
conditioner was on. In another corner was a
fireplace, curently unlighted. And a bar supplied well
with drinks from
sake to
just plain water. The door to the bathroom was in
another corner.
Lamont reached out a little with his powers of the
mind, and suddenly, as
if by some unseen hand, the closet in one corner flung
its doors open,
revealing a row of different ladies' garments. From
simple house clothes to
elaborate party wear.
The Shadow smiled again, gestured to the now-open
closet. "I believe these
will fit you nicely." And how couldn't they? They were
all the Princess' size.
He waited a few seconds while Emeraude's mouth opened
in surprise and a
little pleasure, then he stepped back and
bowed-nodded. "Well...I guess I
should leave you...unless you wish to speak about
something with me? I'm
ready to listen, especially after all that I've seen
and encountered
today." Lamont laid a hand on the doorknob as if to
close it, but paused at
the entrance, waiting for her answer.
Emeraude blinked in surprise. In Cephiro, everything
was controlled by the
will, that was true but in this world, it did not seem
to work that way,
yet, the man before her seen to be able to do what can
easily be done in
Cephiro. Then, looking at the garments that he had
offered her, she
slightly colored in embarrassment. "Why...thank you,"
she bowed slightly to
him.
For a moment, she pondered on what she wished to speak
with him. "No..."
Emeraude decided. "I suppose we can talk another time,
I assume you are
exhausted..." How silly of her! Of course he was
tired! Now why would she
wish him any more for tonight? Surely her thoughts can
wait until morning...
Fuu hugged Umi and said goodbye to Hikaru as they
walked out of the room,
something she wished she could do to. Back . . . to
Cephiro? Could they
even do
that? Emeraude's face flashed through Fuu's mind. If
Emeraude-hime could
come to this world, could they go back after Hikaru
broke the Pillar
system? But, how
could Emeraude be here after they-no. She refused to
think about that; it
was to painful, much like when she thought about-no,
No, NO! She wouldn't
think about him either! She now more than ever needed
to keep a level head
and thinking about the past is a necessity she did not
have at the moment.
Her delicate peach hand lightly pulled back the
privacy curtain to check on
Kobe-san. If she had heard anything Fuu would have one
hard time explaining
the conversation that just went on. She released the
breath she had been
holding. Kobe-san was asleep. Leaning back against the
pillows on her bed
Fuu crossed her arms behind her head, shivering a bit
as she saw the IV
needle in her arm. Fuu hated needles. With nothing to
do and no place to go
with a sore foot she turned over in her bed and went
to sleep, the nurse
would come In tomorrow at ten in the morning, she
would ask about leaving
then and call Umi. She wanted to leave so badly, to be
back in the thick of
things again. To go on adventures and do what she was
destined to do,
Save the World.
*
Umi sucked in a breath, took a half-step back as she
gazed at the strange
but seemingly kind and well-meaning youth. If this
Chad wasn't kidding,
then he was actually giving an uncannily accurate
description of the Sol
Zagato and Princess Emeraude.
But what were they to him? How did he know all this?
He dreamt of Cephiro
too? Or he was he even from Cephiro himself?
The sapphire-haired Knight raised her head at last, on
guard, slowly and
carefully speaking, and glancing from side to side as
if to make certain
they weren't being overheard. "I might know.
But...what importance are
these two to you?"
*
Lamont sat in the middle of his room, on his haunches
with eyes closed. He
breathed in, feeling the cool night air flowing in
from the window. He'd
have to remember to have breakfast prepared early for
the Princess. He felt
she was sleeping peacefully, that was good.
It could have been just a trick, but when he glanced
up towards the window,
the white curtain billowing out through the wind
appeared to coalesce and
take the form of...
White hair...
And burning red eyes...
Lamont held his stare for a second, then he blinked.
The figure vanished.
The Shadow couldn't help but consider, that he had
just seen the face of
that dark presence he had been sensing in the past
hours.
Chad fell silent for a few moments and then at last
spoke again. "I'm
sorry. I'm afraid I don't quite know the importance of
them as of yet. I
understand if all of this seems very upfront and I
will understand if you
ridicule me for this,but I've had strange dreams about
the two people that
were killed. And the killers were the very three of
you. I know it's
weird,and it's almost like some kind of fairy tale
about three young girls being called to a land in
another dimension.
But.....Did this happen? If not,at least now I'll know
something else is
wrong with my dreams. After all,it's very abnormal for
someone to have the
same dream over and over
again for a few years. As I once said,I'm very sorry
about intruding like
this,and I know that your friend is hurt,but I have to
know this to settle
my problem. Please forgive me for this." He said
closing his eyes. His
fists tightened up as he thought about what he was
saying. He must have
sounded like a complete nuthouse to the girl standing
before him,but to
settle the issues at hand,he'd have to get something
done about it. He
opened his eyes at last and awaited an answer from
the blue haired girl.
Umi put a hand on one of the boy's tightened fists.
"No.. its alright." She
looked out into the darkened window on the hall. "It
happened about four
years ago." She stared at the mirror distantly. Slowly
she reached out and
touched the black glass. She gasped softly as her warm
flesh touched the
chill of the outside. It was extremely cold even for
spring.
Ragyn tilted his head. So they wanted to go back to
Cephiro. They were as
much of Cephiro as Cephiro was of them. Their call
could be felt throughout
the land and it helped the people feel restless. Their
Knights couldnt
return. Not just yet. Ragyn let out a loud laugh that
filled the crystal
palace. "Madoushi Clef! Bal Ascoto! Representitives of
Autozam hear my
voice!" He grinned walking into their meeting room.
"Prince Ferio... your
sister has returned but if you try to call her back or
the Knights ... your
world will crumple and fall. Bewarned. I've only came
to help..." 'Help...
in many ways.' Ragyn tossed his head back and laughed.
'Shadow... can you
see me now? Hear me?' Ragyn crossed his arms and
smiled playfully. 'Mice...'
***
Emeraude moaned in her sleep as visions swirled into
her inner thoughts.
All the past. Slowly, her eyes opened as her crystal
blue eyes glowed in
the darkness. How long has she been asleep? The
princess looked out the
window to find that it was still night. Soon dawn, she
assumed but it was
still pitch black as the birds chirped, and the
crickets talking amongst
themselves. Emeraude put her two hands
together and as she opened them, a light of warmth
emerged from the palms
of them.
"Golden Orb," her sweet soft voice whispered. "Tell me
what those knights'
are doing..."
To her surprise, an image came to her glass orb. The
magic knights, Umi and
Hikaru were together, speaking with a handsome young
man with dark golden
hair and sapphire eyes. Emeraude blinked as she
studied the youth's
features. So familiar...and seeing this man, she felt
a content feeling
that emerged from nowhere.
'Why does this young man trigger something in my
depths of my heart?'
Emeraude pondered.
She closed her eyes, hiding those innocent, warm eyes.
Emeraude slowly
brought the orb of glass light to her lips and with a
kiss, the golden glow
turned into a mirror of the blue ocean, a floating
mountain and a fiery
volcano.
A faint smile came upon the beautiful maiden's lips.
"It does not seem that
you have changed much since my departure, my beloved
Cephiro..."
With a wave of her graceful fingers, an image of what
seems like the mage's
figure, as well, as three others, started to appear...
There was another presence with them, Emeraude had
noticed, shivering at
the darkness of it. He had heard his words to her
brother, her master Clef,
and the other two.
'Crumble, he says?' Emeraude felt her features harden
with the tension she
felt. 'How does this man know of me? Unless...' The
maiden grimaced.
'Unless he was the one who brought me back...'
"Do not be so sure you'll be winning this one,
stranger," Emeraude said
softly, a determination in her voice. "I will come
back, because they need
me..."
With another wave of her grace, she felt a surge of
power run through her
body. "I'm coming..."
--Lamont, I'm sorry...thank you for everything!-- Her
telepatic voice said
to him, a rush in her words but at the same time, a
grateful touch. --I
know we'll meet again...but I'm going home. Now.--
She soon disappeared into Cephiro, hiding herself in
the floating mountain,
hoping that her efforts to conceal herself is enough
so she may remain hidden.
'Magic knights...Please save our world, Legendary
Magic Knights...' she
called to them once more.
***
Arista shuddered at the man whose voice gave her spine
a chill. The mage,
the bal, as well as her old friend and the prince held
slight frowns on
their faces. Arista felt her eyes shift to the evil
presence of the man,
her violet eyes burning coldly towards him. 'Help?
Does he want to help?'
Arista felt the man's aura betraying his words. She
remained silent leaving
no trace of a smile ever being on her face. The young
maiden was not
frowning either. Her face kept a neutral touch.
'And who...what is he talking about? Who is this
sister of the prince?' she
found herself asking no one in particular.
*
Lamont Cranston's eyes snapped open as the voice
touched his mind. There
was no question about it this time, it WAS him. He
sent his own telepathic
voice came forth, tainted with the darkness in his
heart. "And now that I
can see and hear you, little man, your days are
numbered."
And briefly, Lamont Cranston had an image of a
conference room. Recalling
the personas he had seen from Hikaru Shidou's mind, he
recognized the Guru
Clef, Prince Ferio, the summoner Bal Ascot, the
Autozamian mechanic Zazu
Torque, and a woman he didn't recognize.
The connection was broken as the Shadow realized
something was amiss. Or
rather someone. Then another voice touched his mind.
Warm and gentle, and
tinged with a joyful gratitude.
Lamont, I'm sorry...thank you for everything!
"Emeraude...!!!" The Butcher of Lhasa cocked the
sleeve of his robe, and a
.45 HK USP Tactical pistol fell into his hand. Seconds
later, Lamont threw
the door to her room open and stepped in, gun first in
a double handed
grip. True enough, the Princess was gone. Vanished.
But Lamont knew she
hadn't been taken forcefully. She
must have returned to Cephiro of her own will.
The gun came down as Lamont's gut filled with frozen
needles. She was in
danger in her own homeland. He wanted to help, but
there was no way he
could follow. His powers of the mind were exceptional,
but he had never
done inter-dimensional teleportation.
'Princess...I'll come for you as soon as I can...'
Lamont telepathically
promised. hoping she would hear. He just stood there
by the window as the
night slowly began to give way to the day.
***
Emeraude sat still as she watched the ocean of deep
blue beneath the
floating mountain she had hid herself in. And
suddenly, she was aware
Lamont had been he had whispered in his thoughts, as
well as hers.
She once again put her two hands together and as she
opened them again, a
warm glass light orb appeared as it did before.
--Lamont...-- she whispered to his thoughts. --I
cannot speak to you for it
may reveal my appearance in this world...---
Emeraude's soft voice was
fading quickly. --If you wish to come here, go to the
Magic Knights...they
have a connection.--
With that, her voice faded from his thoughts.
Nova heard Emeraude's voice call the Magic Knights to
Cephiro. "Back to
Cephiro? But, why? Is there some danger there?" Then,
Nova decided to speak
directly into Hikaru's mind. "Hikaru...are we going
back to Cephiro? Will
we finally be able to see each other again?"
Ascot's eyes focused suddenly at the sudden
introduction of a silky smooth
voice, deep and clear... though not loud.. it was
almost as though...
Ascot shivered. The song of he crept up and around
him, spoke into him as
though he were mere moments away from the crystalline,
dark eyed young
spirit summoner.
Cephiro was in a state of chaos, and now this..? Sweat
beaded at his brow,
and his visage darkened as he shot a glance at Kurefu,
and then to Ferio.
His eyes roved until they met with Eagle Vision's
supposed sister... he
wasn't suspicious of her, but..
Too much was going on for him to handle right now. The
words of he who was
unseen hadn't quite sunken into him, but.. Ferio's
sister..why..
Emeraude-hime was dead. And... if she did return..
what of Sol Zagato..?
What of the Cephiro that had been established now?
Without the pillar
system..? He swallowed back his
confusion, the anxious tendencies that had pushed
their way to his knowing,
and
parted his lips to speak. Only... what was he to
say..? What *could* he say?
"Guru Kurefu..!!" Ascot breathed, feeling his panic
rise as soon as he
spoke, "what was..?" The look on the Guru's face told
him all he needed to
know. Apparently, the mage was in as much dire need
of knowing as he.
"I'm... going to..." Ascot's eyes darted back and
forth, trying to find
some logic in what he was going to do. But... better
to be safe, then sorry.
"Gomen..!" the boy bit out, moments before turning
heel and darting out of
the room. Ascot ran down the halls, his concern for
the inhabitants of
Cephiro... of.. Caldina.. of his friends... rising
with each passing
second. Yes, this mysterious man claimed to be of
help, but.. The past
instances had conditioned the tall youth into one of
untrusting nature.
You really *couldn't* trust anyone these days. Is
this was Cephiro was
becoming..? They *did* need a leader.. without one...
they were mere
children, the lot of them, and would in turn come to
destroy themselves as
a society in the long run.
On that note, still, Ascot ran.
"Ascot!" Clef called after the young summoner, but it
he was already gone
and to tell the truth, Clef didn't blame him for
leaving. Hoping he would be
able to at least meet with the tall boy later though
he turned to Raygn with
an indecipherable countenance, though the slightest
hint of an austere nature
was etched into his gaze.
"Before you tell us so many different things we
had not known about, who
are you and how do you come to know of the things you
speak?" Clef asked
firstly unwavering in his place in front of the much
taller stranger.
Hikaru was startled suddenly by the voices that
ringing i her head. 'Was it
Emeraude and...and Nova??' she thought. ' Nova, if you
can hear me, I think
you may be right...' Hikaru just couldn't keep it in
and suddenly blurted
out, "Umi, Cephiro's in trouble! Did you not just hear
Emeraude-hime's
voice??"
Nova smiled and said, "That means I finally get to see
you again, Hikaru!"
But then she frowned. "But...are you really ok with
this, Hikaru? I
mean...with what's
happening to all your loved ones? You're deeply
worried about them, aren't
you?"
*
The sun slowly rose over Tokyo, Japan. Much the way it
did over the rest of
the world. Day was the time when light chased away
shadow. One shadow
refused to be, and would never be, banished despite
the coming of light.
Lamont Cranston sat at the study table in his room,
nursing a cop of coffee
as he did. The Princess' last words to him ran through
his mind like a
litany. He was to go to the Magic Knights, and he knew
who they were. In
addition, he was certain by now that the one named
Ragyn was behind
everything that had been happening to the Magic
Knights' loved ones, as
well as the bombing of the Tokyo Tower last night.
There wasn't much he could do as Lamont Cranston, he
could do more as the
Shadow.
He had some data and theories to process and even
meditate on a little. He
could best do those within his lair. For now, he could
only hope the
Princess watched out just fine.
Within minutes, he had dressed up and the moment he
stepped outside the
gates of his mansion, the familiar taxi pulled up.
"Ohayo,
Cranston-sama!!!" said Jubei cheerily. "Morning
Jubei." smiled Lamont as he
opened the door and climbed in. His driver glanced
back to the house. "That
was a beautiful dame you accomodated last night, boss.
How's she?"
"She's gone."
Jubei raised an eyebrow in puzzlement, broken off when
Lamont said, "To the
Sanctum."
"I hate rain!" kaine muttered to himself. "Why me?
Why is it always me? I don't deserve this kind of
treatment. It least the capital is only a days walk
away."