Umi smiled at Arista. "Do... we know you from
somewhere?" She looked like
someone, almost, in a certain light. She settled back
and smiled. "Are you
related to Lafarga?" She grinned and laughed. Her eyes
searched again the
area. "Ascot? Clef? Caldina?" She took a few measured
steps forward.
Ragyn perched from above a skyscraper keeping an eye
on the wavering
Emeruald. He scoffed. She had brought back the Knights
but just because
they were gone didn't mean he had to stop his attack
on their loved ones.
'Humm.. how very Nova like.' He got up. Mentally
scoping out where Lamont,
the Shadow, was hiding himself.
~Oh Shadow... can you guess where Im going? Can you
guess which way the
wind blows to the doors of two sisters? Can you save
her?~ He taunted.
"Ascot!" Umi ran forward and threw her arms about
Ascot's waist. "Have you
gotten taller again?" She smiled up at him her blue
waves of hair falling
back into black around her shoulders.
Arista shook her head slightly. "No, I'm sorry, I'm
not from here," she
told the pretty blue-haired girl. Then she laughed.
"Well, of course, then
I'd know you if I was."
"I'm Eagle Vision's younger sister...perhaps you know
him?"
Chad stood there shocked. Suddenly the blue haired
girl and her
friends all vanished!! What had happened?! Did they
just up and go back to
the land where the blue haired girl and himself were
conversing about?!
What was going on? Only one way he could possibly find
out, and that was to
find a way to the mysterious land himself!
Elsewhere,Skyhawk returned from his previous
mysterious mission and noticed
that something was causing a disturbance in the
hospital. He immediately
appeared there and ran to the area where Umi had
vanished. He stopped
suddenly when he noticed that another young man was
standing there. His
gaze slowly turned to Chad and confusion started to
fill his mind. Is this
the disturbance I sensed? Did he cause it? Only one
way to find out, he
thought silently. "You were here when the disturbance
in the dimensions
happened. What just went on?" Skyhawk asked the other
teen.
"Um...I was talking to this girl and she just
vanished!! Just like
that! Wait..You said dimensions...You know about the
other one?!" Chad
asked surprised.
"Yes, and obviously so do you. What connection do you
have to all of
this?" Skyhawk asked seriously. His visor reflected
Chad's surprised look.
"I don't know! Things have been crazy ever since the
dreams started!
Dreams of another world in danger! And everything has
been turning upside
down!! What the hell is going on?! Do you know?!" Chad
shouted. Panic
started to take over his emotions as people around him
and everywhere else
were being hurt. He had to find a way to help stop
this madness, and it
seemed like the white haired individual
before him had a clue on what was going down! He took
a martial arts
stance and prepared himself to face off against this
young man!
It was then that another voice intervened and stopped
the two
teenagers from attacking one another. The voice
belonged to Skyhawk's
communicator. It was his commander trying to break
through the static from
the dimension rip. "Skyhawk! Listen to me! Don't fight
with that boy! He's
the one I told you about that was separated from you!
That's Chad!!"
Skyhawk's eyes grew wide as he heard this and his
ready position
dropped quickly as he looked towards the young man he
knew now was his
brother. "Now this is definitely a change of plans.
You are the one I've
been searching for all this time. Your blood is my
blood. We are brothers."
Skyhawk said finally regaining his composure.
"Brothers?! Me and you?! Wait....You do look familiar
now. You are the
other one I saw in my dreams and visions!! You....Are
Skyhawk!" Chad
said dropping his guard. Skyhawk's only reply was his
silence. It was then
that another rip tore open and sucked the two boys in
quickly into the land
of Cephiro! Skyhawk's communicator dropped out of his
hands as he was
pulled through and hit the floor. "Skyhawk! Skyhawk!
This is your
commander!! Come in!! Skyhawk!!" The commander's voice
rang through but got
no reply. The two were headed to Cephiro where
they originally came from!! The adventure for these
two was about to
begin!
Chad was the first to land near the castle. He stood
up and looked
over as his brother soon followed. Skyhawk rose to his
feet and dusted
himself off. "That was quite the trip. Looks like we
are in the other
dimension that we both have had these strange
"visions" of."
Chad's jaw was dropped. He couldn't believe that he
was truly in this
dimension his dreams showed him. The dimension rips
finally closed
behind them both as they examined theirselves to make
sure they were not
dead or worse. Chad finally spoke up. "What's going
on?! What are we going
to do now?! This is freaking crazy!"
Skyhawk smiled slightly and looked over at his younger
brother. "Don't
worry about it. We'll head to that castle. If a threat
arises to stop
us, we'll eliminate it. Besides, we need to get some
questions
answered,eh?" He said walking towards the castle. His
long, white hair blew
in the winds as he walked.
Chad shook his head at his brother's calmness at the
present moment
and ran behind him. "Hey! Wait up!" He shouted as he
tailed his brother. It
wasn't long until the two finally reached the castle
doors. Skyhawk smiled
slightly as he approached the guards. "Pardon us, but
we have a meeting to
attend to here." He said with a calm demeanor. The
guards instantly were
taken off guard and let him in. The guard stuttered as
he spoke the words
"Impossible." They immediately let the two boys in the
castle without so
much as a hesitation.
Chad walked in alongside his brother slowly. "What was
that all
about? They sounded like they were really scared of us
or something." Chad
whispered as they found themselves in the main hall.
"They probably were. There are some crazy things going
on so far. It
wouldn't surprise me if we were wanted criminals here.
Now..Where
exactly are we?" Skyhawk said looking around. "I don't
know my way around
here, do you?"
Chad shook his head and looked around. "No, I don't. I
don't even
know if I know my way around my own sanity anymore. I
wonder if those girls
I met earlier are here?" He inquired to himself.
"Perhaps, but the only way we're going to find out is
if we split up.
Let's take separate paths and I'll meet back up with
you later." Skyhawk
said still smiling slightly.
"Alright,it sounds like a plan to me!" Chad said
nodding. He took off
to the west hall as his brother took the right. Only
time would tell who or
what they would find in this castle!!
***
"What a pretty day!" Mackey took a lighter out of her
pocket and lit
her cigarette with it. "Kinna sucks that I gotta visit
the old man today,
though." She folded one arm behind her head and
smiled. Her father had been
incarcerated for life for possession and trafficking
of drugs and for
murder and she was pretty happy about it. At least it
meant that he wasn't
going to kill her for leaving the yakuza as he was
originally intending to.
Chuckling inwardly, she leaned her back against the
wall outside the Auto
Shop and lifted her gaze upwards the top of the
skyscraper across the
street. Murderous bastard or not, the man was her
father and she had
promised she'd visit him if he ever ended up in jail.
Suddenly, she thought she could barely make out a
figure standing on
the roof of the skyscraper. Squinting through
blue-tinted sunglasses, the
girl couldn't really make out who it might be.
Absently, she wondered if
the person was waiting to jump until the
confused-looking blond girl had
moved out of the way so that he wouldn't ruin her day
by splattering his
guts in her hair. Or maybe he was just fixing the roof
and Mackey was
letting her imagination run off with her. There was
just something about
him that said that he didn't belong there.
*
Darkness.
A click and a beam of light shone down on a polished
oak desk. The desk
itself served as support for a large computer, beyond
state-of-the-art,
able to process tons of data in mere seconds, one step
ahead of world technology.
Two hands whose wrists vanished into the darkness
beyond the light
were manipulating the computer's keyboard. The hands
were slender and
encased in black gloves. Upon the middle finger of the
left hand was a
sparkling girasol ring, with a Chinese character
engraved on it. Light
from the lamp reflected off the ring, making it pulse
steadily with a
scarlet aura.
A small clock next to the computer showed it was
fifteen minutes before
1:00 PM. Time was running out.
The right hand momentarily vanished and returned with
a black diskette,
which was inserted into the disk drive. The hands
deftly tapped the
keyboard with amazing rapidity as unseen eyes surveyed
the data. Eyes that
were lost in gloomy evil shadows.
Momentarily, the eyes skimmed through three files, one
by one. Files
of whose content were already known to the unseen
observer. A mysterious
fire had enveloped a kendo school downtown, the Shidou
dojo. A woman,
Hiroko Shidou had been injured and hospitalized with
serious burns and was
recovering slowly. Next was Mariko Ryuuzaki, who had
suddenly come down
with a strange and deadly illness on the day of her
daughter Umi's birthday
and had fallen into a coma. Currently, her husband was
using every resource
at his command to save her life. Last was the strange
death of Kobayashi
Ryo, killed by a heat stroke on a beautiful spring
day. Coroners could not
help but notice the look of horror on the math
teacher's face when they
found him.
At this file, there was a double flash of emerald from
the darkness
outside the light. As if it had represented a flare of
anger. The right
hand clenched into a fist, but slowly forced itself
open as if realizing
anger was useless at the moment.
The hands paused for but a minute, index finger slowly
tapping the
desktop as if in thought. Then the typing rhythm
picked up again, accessing
the last two files.
*
Skyhawk glanced from side to side as he walked down
through the
hallway. His visor picked up readings of many people
inside the castle,but
none he had plans on communicating with. He looked
around for his
communicator but found nothing. "Curses...I must have
left it behind when
we were ported here. This isn't good one little bit.
I'm going to have to
leave my brother alone here and go search for the
supplies necessary to rebuild my communicator. I can't
afford to let
something like that out of my grasp." He spoke turning
around only to
be faced with about 4 guards.
"Hey..It's that guy the entrance guards were speaking
of! He doesn't
look so tough!" One guard replied. The other guards
grinned at the sight of
the visored young man as he slowly pushed his long
white hair out of his
eyes. The lead guard chuckled at this sight. "I don't
think this is the one
that Emeraude and Zagato had! He must be a demon
impostor in disguise!
Let's destroy him before he takes out this entire
castle!!" The guard said
drawing his sword as did his comrades.
Skyhawk smiled slightly at this action. "This must be
a form of
mistake,gentlemen. I don't believe myself to be a
demon. Now if you'll
excuse me." The young man said turning his back to
them all and continuing
on his way. This was not good. He wasn't trying to
make a commotion. In
fact,he was readying himself to leave, but evidently,
that was not going to
happen if the guards had something to do about it!
The lead guard took offense to this and charged at the
white haired agent
of Black Lotus. He swung his sword with powerful force
but ended up with a
blade without a successful attack due to Skyhawk's
maneuvering. "You'll
have to do much better,if you wish to slay me,knight."
The brother of Chad
said still with his mysterious smile. The guard
screamed in a fit of rage
and charged him again. This time Skyhawk stepped to
the side and slammed
his knee towards the guard's stomach and pushing the
guard's back with
force to send him into that very knee with more speed.
The guard's eyes
grew wide for a moment before he hit the ground
holding his stomach. The
other guards stood there in horror,noticing that
Skyhawk's knee had bent
even the armor on the lead guard! The others grew
angry and rushed at the
visored one swinging their blades hoping to defeat the
newcomer! Skyhawk
jumped away from them and instantly his right arm
started to illuminate
with a strange light. An energy shield appeared on
that particular arm and
sparked with it's reddish energy. Skyhawk immediatly
placed his right arm
in front of him and his visor seemed to glow in the
light. He smiled as the
guards all ran at him at once,and finally he rushed
forward,with the same
energy as his shield surrounding him!! "SHIELD RUSH!"
The words escaped
from his lips in the form of a yell as he burst into
the guards knocking
they all away from him at once!! The energy slammed
into them like
electricity as one by one was knocked away and
unconscious. The young
shield wielder skid to a halt a ways after the attack
and the shield
vanished from sight. He turned around and threw his
long,white hair behind
him. He smiled slightly at the defeat of the guards.
"I didn't want to
cause such a commotion,but you left me no choice. I'll
be seeing you guys
later!" he said giving them a two finger salute and
walking away. "They
will probably attack my brother next. I hope he can
fare well by himself on
this one." he said softly as he walked ahead.
Chad slowly closed his eyes as the guards in front of
him drew their
swords and smiled. "Let's end this demon's life now! I
haven't gotten to
fight in the longest of time! Let's go,guys! Get 'im!"
Chad sadly looked towards the rushing guards. "I don't
want to fight
with you..Don't make me do this,please.." But the
words had no effect to
the deaf ears of the fight-thirsty soldiers. Chad
sadly took his fighting
stance and dodged out of the way of a sword coming
down towards his neck.
He gave the guard a swift kick to the side of his head
and sent the guard
spiraling out of the way. Another attacked and was met
with a jump over his
weapon and then a rushing kick downwards to his
chest,knocking him into
another guard and sending both to the ground. The
other guard stared as
Chad attacked defensively. "His strength isn't normal!
Who is this kid?! Is
he really a demon?! He seems like he isn't even
violent! Like
he's.....fighting....because we are making him!" The
guard said lowering
his defense. "Stop..All of you. This young man isn't a
demon,he's a boy
wandering these halls. However,we must detain you for
invading this place!
This is where the great princess Emeraude and great
priest Zagato once
existed! You have disrupted the peace here by your
trespassing! Please at
least come with us! You do understand,do you not?" The
guard asked Chad.
Chad closed his eyes and sadly replied with an "I do."
And with that,the
guards took him away past the other rooms. The guards
opened the doors to
where Ascot,Umi,and Arista were conversing. They
looked confused for a
moment then looked over at each other then back at
Umi. "Water Knight Umi!
You have returned?! Welcome back! Say...We can't find
the
captain guard anywhere! What should we do with this
prisoner?" The guard
said bringing Chad forth. The youth's arms were
shackled as were his feet.
He had now wished he had not come here,but he
understood well that he was
trespassing,and was ready to serve his crime,no matter
what the blue haired
girl would request.
*
Fuu knew she must have been quite the sight. Her hair
in tangles and
wearing wrinkled, blue, hospital issued pajamas and
slightly limping from
her injured foot. She hoped Clef would give them their
magic back soon, she
was dieing to use her healing wind on her shoulder and
ankle. Her green
eyes darted around the expanding group and smiled. It
was good to be back
in Cephiro with all of her old friends . . . and
Ferio, who she thought of
as much more than a friend. She blushed a bit as she
caught him staring out
of the side of her eye. Oh yes,
it was good to be back.
*
The invisible eyes focused on the case report of
Mashigawa Mitshi.
Assistant captain of a fencing team at an exclusive
all girls schools, she
attended practice one afternoon and was challenged by
an unknown girl,
allegedly from a rival school. The two engaged in a
one minute duel when
the challenger was shown to be the better
fighter...proven when her sword
pierced Mashigawa's breast, through her heart and out
her back.
Mashigawa was rushed to the nearest hospital and was
pronounced dead on
arrival. In the confusion, the challenger escaped and
a positive
identification was futile, for witnesses maintained
her face had been fully
concealed with the standard fencing mask. Inquiries
had been directed to
the fencing team of the rival school, yet solid
evidence was shown that all
members of that fencing team and their affiliates had
been far away from
the gym of the incident.
The left hand with the girasol ring hit a button on
the upper left of the
board, exiting the file even as the right clicked and
accessed the next.
Less than a week after the Mashigawa incident,
misfortune had befallen one
Hijimari Koto from another all girl's school. After
classes that day, she
and five other friends had gone out for a snack at the
local ice cream
parlor. As they crossed the street, as if from out of
nowhere, a white
sedan roared past a red light and smashed into her, an
uncannily direct
impact. The entire front skeletal framework of the
girl's body had been
seriously shattered. Doctors fought to save her life
for seven hours before
death claimed her.
Sworn eyewitnesses reported the white sedan's license
plate number as
404-CEP. Yet when land transport agencies were
checked, absolutely no
records showed that such a license plate had ever been
issued. In a minor
statement from one of Hijimari's friends, it was also
reported that the car
"Was strangely new...like it had just been purchased
that day...smelled
like it too..."
The gloved hands clasped together. Slowly and almost
with rhythm, the
fingers on either hand flexed and tapped against each
other. A mind was
working somewhere in the sable darkness.
Then the computer was switched off, the diskette
retrieved, and a board
below the desk was opened. The hands emerged with a
blank sheet of paper
and a pen. Keen thoughts found their cold statement in
blue cursive writing.
"Ragyn targetted people close to the Magic Knights,
for reasons as yet
unknown. Agent Kobayashi Ryo was a favorite
mathematics teacher of Hououji
Fuu. Mashigawa Mitshi was a friend and fellow fencer
of Ryuuzaki Umi's, who
was the captain of their school's fencing team. And
Hijimari Koto was a
seatmate, childhood friend, and confidant of Hikaru
Shidou.
"Elements not of this world, Ragyn's own doing or his
cohorts if he has
them, are responsible. The inhuman skill and speed of
Mashigawa's masked
opponent is one evidence of this. The second is the
car that crashed into
Hijimari, of which no records can be found. The last
is the sudden death of
the otherwise healthy Kobayashi.
"He has already attacked friends dear to the three
girls in some way or
other, but he has not ceased there. The fire at the
Shidou dojo is one
indication. The illness and coma of Ryuuzaki Mariko is
another."
The hand wielding the pen slowed and stopped writing
entirely. The mind
behind it had just realized something. The scrawling
picked up again,
faster now.
"Now Ragyn targets their families. Hououji Fuu's is
the only one that
hasn't been affected yet. Either her father, mother,
or sister is in
danger. He will make his move tonight, under the cover
of darkness. It will
have to be tonight for there will be a new moon and
enough time has passed
since the last incident."
The eyes pored carefully over what had been written,
pen carefully
examining each word. Seconds later, the writing faded
into nothingness,
leaving the paper as blank as when it had been
procured. Then the hands
tore the paper in half, then half again, and again,
until nothing but white
confetti remained. The torn bits found their resting
place in the left
hand. Pen and diskette vanished from the top of the
desk and a plastic
cover shuffled over the computer. The clock registered
3:25 PM.
Then there was a sharp click and the room was bathed
in black again.
All was quiet for a moment, when from the depths of
the Stygian gloom came
a hissing mocking laugh, no louder than a whisper.
Standing in the desert was a man wrapped in a torn
cloak. The mysterious
individual was being confronted by monsters which were
delighted to see
that a new dinner had seemingly been delivered to them
that particular
afternoon. One of the creatures edged towards the lone
stranger with a
menacing look on it's face. "Anything you would like
to say,before you
become our main course,boy?!" The creature squeeled
delightfully.
However,the cloaked traveller stood there. The top of
his cloak covering
his lower face. However,his long black hair as the
bottom part of his cloak
blew wildly in the winds as the creature edged closer
and closer to him.
"Well?! You aren't saying anything! If you won't
talk,then I'll just say
that this kill was a mute one!" The creature said
laughingly charging his
fist at the dark skinned traveller!!
The fist was caught quickly,as the mysterious stranger
stepped to the side
and caught the creatures fist with almost no effort
and with strength that
far surpassed this monster's!! The monster let out a
shriek as the bones in
his hand cracked due to the newcomer's strength!
"L..let go!! What the hell
are you DOING to me?!" The monster howled as his hand
was now nothing more
than a compacted stub. The creature fell to the
ground and immediatly
afterwards,his ever-hungry comrades attacked. One by
one,they dropped as
this man's skill was more than a match for them all!
He caught one of the
monster's arms and broke it in half,now leaving
nothing more than a bloody
stub where the creature's arm once existed. The beast
shrieked like his
now-handless comrade and fell to the ground. The
silent warrior then
proceeded to dash towards the other two stalking
beasts and give them their
rightful punishment! One was met with a kick to his
abdomonen, splitting
the beast in half, killing it instantly. The other
stared with utter shock
written on it's statement. "W..What kind of monster
are YOU?!" The monster
shouted towards the dark tanned individual walking
towards him.
"I'm the one you picked to try and finish off as a
meal. The one that will
feed you nothing but your very demise. My name is
Megor Ryuuzaki...But to
you,I'm known only as death." The young man said
raising his hand and
placing it towards the monster.
"WAIT!! NO! Don't kill me! Please! I beg of...." But
his words ended as a
blast of dark energy came bursting out of Megor's hand
and annihalating the
creature's form into nothing but oblivion. It was then
that the one named
"Megor" turned his back to the dead bodies and
continued on his
journey....To the castle. "It appears that you have
returned to
Cephiro,sister. Now maybe I can get some questions
answered around here."
Megor muttered quietly walking throughout the harsh
heat in which he was so
heavily trained in.
***
Arista turned her head towards the others as the
graceful blue knight
left to talk to the Bal. She tilted her head slightly
towards Zazu, who
seemed quiet through all of this. Arista met his eyes,
smiled faintly, and
walked towards the fire knight, who, strangely enough,
had another maiden
that looked very much like her. Nova, they called her.
"Hikaru?" Arista called to her, a slight amused smile
on her face. "Is this
a relative of yours?" She looked over to Nova.
***
Emeraude woke up and as she opened her eyes slowly,
blurred visions
appeared to greet her. Then, all seemed to clear. She
stood up from the
couch she had been sleeping on. "Where am I...?" the
princess asked
outloud, remembering being on the busy streets, and
the hurt of her body as
she was thrown out of Cephiro.
"You're in my shop, my dear," a slightly older woman
of thirty-five
answered her question. Then the woman's beautiful
serene face disappeared
to take on a different kind of beauty as a lively
smile came upon her
features. "I am Leilani, but you may call me Lani as
many do."
"Oh," Emeruade said, not sure what to say. "Thank you.
How did I get here?"
Lani laughed softly. "You were on the street, and you
were causing quite a
crowd, too! Luckily, my shop is not too far from where
you were."
"I see. Thank you again," the golden-haired princess
told the woman with
soft gratitude. "I am Emeraude..."
"Nice to meet you, dear Emeraude," Lani's golden eyes
twinkled. "Is there
anyone you would like to call to come and pick you up
later?"
"Why..." Emeraude thought outloud. "I dont..."
"Its okay, you can stay here if you like," the pretty
maiden told her.
"No, I have to go somewhere...its very important..."
Emeraude's blue
crystal eyes reflected her panic.
Leilani nodded her head slowly. "Alright...I'll do
what I can to help you,
is there anything right now?"
"Yes, can you tell me how to contact Mr. Lamont
Cranston Jr.?"
*
Hikaru laughed a little and answered, "Yes, we are
related. Nova is
part of me!" She looked around to see if Lantis was
here but to no avail.
Her heart hurt to not be able to see him here. 'Where
is he anyway?' Hikaru
continued, "Um, is...is Lantis here in Cephiro at
all?"
*
Before Arista could comment at her answer, a stab of
recognition filled her
clear violet eyes at the name.
"Lantis.." she whispered softly beneath her breath.
Lantis was her
brother's close friend...until he returned to Cephiro
and Eagle had
betrayed him, as well as his secrets for the sake of
Autozam's dying land.
The silver-haired maiden waited for an answer as the
lights around her made
her golden streaks shine.
*
The afternoon was waning as the taxi took a side
street through downtown
Tokyo. Lamont Cranston's eyes were open, yet he was
asleep. It was a small
technique he had perfected over the years via
self-hypnosis. He was very
much alert of the world around him, yet when he
'awoke' he'd feel as rested
as if he had taken a full night's nap.
In a way, Lamont was glad he'd ordered a full weeks
leave at the company.
In light of the Tokyo Tower bombing, his employees
needed to be with family
and friends. Other offices like Cranston Industries
Japan around the city
were closed.
Lamont knew full well though, there would be no more
attacks on buildings.
The Tokyo Tower had been assaulted because it was
obviously of some value
to the Magic Knights. The darkness in his heart flared
up, threatening to
consume him, yet he forced it down to its rightful
place. Ragyn had been
meaning to damage the Magic Knights emotionally by
taking lives. One thing
for the offworlder to pay for.
Sunset wasn't far. Ragyn, or maybe one of his
henchmen, would strike the
Hououji home hours later, possibly midnight. So would
he.
He awoke at the precise moment his cellphone rang. His
eyes narrowed at the
sight of an unfamiliar number, wondering who it could
be. Lamont couldn't
think of anyone who'd want to call him on any
importance. All calls to his
office were automatically being redirected to his
personal cellphone.
The Accept button was pressed. "Hello?"
*
Relief filled Emeraude as she heard Lamont's familiar
voice. Thanks to
Leilani, she had gotten his number. The golden-haired
maiden looked over to
Lani, smiled faintly, and returned to the phone.
"Lamont...? It's me, Emeraude," a sigh escaped her
lips.
The other woman, still with the faint smile on her
lips that she had
returned to Emeraude's, nodded gently to her and
turned to leave the room
to give her privacy. "I'll be downstairs in the
kitchen if you need me,
alright?" Leilani whispered.
Emeraude nodded her head as the beautiful woman left.
"I'm back from
Cephiro. It was Ragyn's doing....I'm an ordinary
mortal now, he had
stripped me of my powers and had given me a body too
weak to use that
energy I have a right to. I need your help."
A slight pause filled her end of the phone. She was
not sure how to get her
powers back.
"I must go back to Cephiro."
*
A voice like smoke and honey said his name, and Lamont
sucked in a breath
at the sound of the familiar voice. His grip on the
phone tightened.
"Emeraude?! You're back? What hap...?" He fell silent
at her next words,
listening intently. For the second time, anger and the
darkness clawed its
way up his soul, but he pushed it away. Ragyn had
stripped the Princess of
her power and sent her to Earth...hoping she would die
of her own accord,
an ordinary mortal.
Lamont gritted his teeth, nodded slowly, realizing at
the same time why he
couldn't feel Emeraude's extraordianrily powerful
aura, though the psychic
signature that all people possessed was still there.
"Yes...you must return
to your world. I already pledged to help you,
Princess. You have my
support." His mind touched on the current matter of
Ragyn's next move.
"Something just as important has come up that I must
speak with you about.
Where are you?"
She told him.
Not too long after, Jubei stopped the taxi and Lamont
stepped into the
little nondescript shop. Lamont's heart tightened as
his eyes met the
Princess'. Her clothes and face were streaked in the
dust and dirt of the
Tokyo streets, yet her beauty still did not fail to
shine. Like a damaged
flower that refused to fall. Her attractive blue eyes
widened as she saw him.
"Emeraude!" He crossed the room and very nearly
embraced her, yet feeling
she might be offended, he clapsed her hands instead.
"I'm glad you're all
right...we've things to talk about, but you'd better
come with me. It's not
safe for you alone."
Emeraude nodded as Lamont took her hands in his. "Yes,
I know." She looked
towards Leilani who was waiting at the door. "But
wait..."
The maiden walked towards the other woman and gave her
a beautiful and
elaborate golden necklace. "I want you to have this,
thank you so
much."
They said good-bye once more and Emeraude entered the
car with Lamont.
"Alright...please tell me what you have on your mind."
Ascot's cheeks coloured very very slightly at the
bright words and eyes of
the sapphire-eyed Knight whom addressed him on a
lighter note. He felt that
these knights were so at home here.. they were a
comfortable feeling, when
seen... he thought that.. they would be much better
off... if they.. Ascot
bit his lip.
"Eh.. Umi-san.." He laughed lightly, but then heard
the entrance of a
certain red-haired Pillar of Cephiro. Turning, he was
about to wave at
her, when he spied a familiar face.. someone whom..
Ascot's face grew
astonished as the sight registered in his mind.
Nova!! But.. he wasn't
quite sure what to say. Though.. though his
apprehension spoiled him, he
took note of the lack of hostility around her.. the
rouge-haired, elven
counterpart of the She from another world. Perhaps she
was friend then..?
Of course, Ascot hadn't been informed of the truce
between She and Hikaru.
+
Zazu grew quiet, though didn't catch Arista-san's gaze
as she looked over
him. The mahogany-eyed boy only stood back, quietly
backing against the
large, double-doors in which they had entered in
through. The Magic Knights
were here.. surely that meant that everyone.. and
everything would be
okay..? It was.. ominous.. it must be! His thoughts
reveled in what was
to happen with their coming.. and the return of.. of
Nova, even!! Nova..
she had.. with Eagle.. Zazu pushed the memory away
from his mind.
There was no time or tolerance for such depression
now, he mused...
The young man sighed. He was worried about.. about
Geo, now. He'd already
lost one friend; he really didn't expect himself to
hold any if he were
forced to lose another.. Geo was all he had left. But
he caught himself,
and stole a glance over at the tall, intriguing,
Autozamian beauty who
stood resolute and contained through all of this. Was
she his friend..? He
was eager to know what had kept her all this.. this
time. Though those
matters could be tended to later.
Zazu bit his lip and shadowed his face with the rim of
his hat.
*
Seeing that Fuu seemed to be limping slightly, Ferio
moved to stand beside
her. He extended an arm in order to give her something
to lean onto, trying
to act as a support. "Are you okay? What happened?" he
asked the
golden-haired Wind Knight with a worried frown.
Suddenly, the prince noticed Hikaru Shidou arriving at
the scene,
accompanied by a familiar figure. Nova...?
Involuntarily, Ferio moved
closer to Fuu, ready to protect her, should the need
arise. However, it
didn't seem as if Nova was going to do anything
against them... On the
contrary. The elfin girl was standing beside her
counterpart, certainly
making no attempts to harm anyone in any way.
As strange as it was, Ferio couldn't help being
relieved that nothing truly
unsettling was taking place and everyone was safe. He
turned his attention
back to Fuu, giving her a smile.
*
Nova glanced at Ascot, Zazu, and Ferio, who all seemed
uneasy about her
presence, Zazu especially. She walked forward a little
and opened her mouth
to speak, but nothing came out. Then, Nova looked down
to the floor and
thought to herself, "How could I ever think to ask for
their forgiveness? I
don't deserve it after all that I've done, even if I
was under Debonair's
control."
*
It was so bright... So incredibly bright... The light
was piercing and
painful to look at...'I must be dead by now... I...'
Unexpectedly, the
light vanished. At the same time, Quatre felt a sharp
jolt rattling his
whole being as he came in contact with something hard
and flat. The impact
fortunately did nothing more than knock the wind out
of him.
'I guess... I must be still alive... But... why?'
With a small moan, the boy cracked open his eyes,
allowing soft sunlight to
fill his vision. He coughed several times, clutching
at his midsection as a
searing pain shot through him. A collage of events
flooded into his mind.
Failed mission...? Getting shot... An explosion... A
bright, blinding
light...
Quatre grimaced, attempting to breathe properly. He
hurt all over, even the
slightest movement was difficult to perform. How
ridiculous... He could
laugh, really. The situation seemed to be strangely
comical all of a sudden.
"I don't even know where I am..." he murmured, voice
uncomfortably
scratchy. Gazing around as he remained sitting in the
dewy grass, the
blonde pilot noticed that his surroundings seemed to
be a forest. He
couldn't recall having been anywhere near a forest
before the mission...
Looking faintly curious, Quatre struggled to his feet.
That was obviously a
mistake. Instantly, a wave of dizziness swept over him
and he had to grab
onto a nearby tree trunk to support himself. 'Wufei
would call me weak...'
he mused, a sad smile tugging at the corners of his
lips. Were the others
here too?
*
Lamont too smiled and nodded his thanks at the
shopkeeper. He wouldn't
forget this. "Thank you for taking care of my friend."
He watched as the
Princess handed her a beautifully crafted gold
necklace. It was only right
she had something so valuable. She could be playing a
part in saving their
lives, the world in fact.
At the sight of Emeraude, surprise was evident on
Juebi's face as they
stepped in, but he kept silent and drove. Lamont
turned to the Princess as
she asked him what it was. His grey eyes lingered on
hers a moment, then he
spoke. "It's Ragyn...you know that he has been
attacking friends close to
the Magic Knights, one by one. Weeks later, he
assaults their families.
I've very recently learned that only one has not been
affected: the
Hououjis."
Silence befell them for a moment as Lamont shifted in
his seat. Shadows
cast on the sidewalk seemed to elongate and spread
with the seting sun.
There was something about the darkness in the cab as
well. It seemed to be
alive...
The man who had once been known as the Butcher of
Lhasa spoke again. "I
don't know what he could want with any of them, but I
feel it's part of his
campaign against the Magic Knights. He strikes
tonight. And I must stop
him." It could have been just an illusion caused the
darkness...but the
grey in Lamont's eyes sudenly seemed to flare up and
blaze emerald, as if
someone had poured gas into a flame.
The taxi stopped at a corner, and Lamont stepped out
and held his hand out
to Emeraude. Together they walked down a lonely alley,
then Lamont slid up
a particular brick behind a dumpster and input a code
into the number pad
behind it.
Lamont took Emeraude's hand again as a part of the
brick wall slid to the
side, revealing steps going downward. "My...other
home. From where I wage
my personal war." His hand squeezed hers gently, he
could sense her
apprehension. "Don't be afraid Princess. You are safe.
I have promised to
protect you and I don't intend to back down on it." He
smiled reassuringly.
Caldina's feet were light as she jogged towards the
castle, eager to meet
with the Knights she was almost certain she had spied.
And if she wasn't
mistaken, she heard.. a bit of a commotion up at the
Palace up ahead...
laughter and.. Well, her hearing wasn't so advanced
that she could pick up
just exactly what they were speaking of.. But she
knew that they had
returned!!
The airy sound of the bells adorning her outfit rang
out through the
forest; a lulling, surreal sound... Caldina noticed
that the sound of her
seemed to put most off guard, and left her to pick up
on any unseen being..
And that is just what she heard. An offbeat,
shuffling sound interrupted
her thoughts, and instantly, hearing the unnatural
groping of it, she halted.
As she stood, inquisitive, crystalline depths of her
blue eyes scanning the
skies and keen, youth-inflected ears listening into
the forests, Caldina
could.. hear something.. it was something..
It sounded as breathing sounds.. laboured breathing..
The young woman bit
her lip apprehensively. Someone was nearby..
someone.. Taking a few
cautious steps forward, hands on hips, Caldina peered
in through the trees.
Her brow knotted.
"Helllooo..? Is th'someone the'ah? 'Ah you hurt..?"
Caldina called out
semi-quietly, into the depths of the trees, hoping for
a response.. a
someone who didn't talk was... unnerving.. Caldina
caught her breath and
bit her lip. The chizetan charmer peered further into
the trees, stepping
lightly so as not to give herself away.. these were
times in which not
everyone could be trusted..
The light, lustrous pink hair that framed her face
glinted distantly as she
wandered furhter and further away from the light, and
into the soft dark of
the protective canopy of the forest.
"... Hello... heeeelllooOOoo! Hello; are you
ok..aaahhaa!" Caldina stumbled
as she stopped in her track,spying what she did.
A boy... he looked.. about 14 years old.. or 15. Her
mouth worked, but
nothing came. The boy's hair was of the lightest
gold, his eyes of the
softest, sky blue. Though.. his face.. he was deathly
pale.. sweating,
Caldina noticed, even from where she was. The boy
supported himself on the
side of a tree trunk, and seemed to be struggling for
air.. But his face..
she'd never seen it..
"Oh m'stahs... mah poor little darlin.. Are you
holdin' up okay? Sug?"
Caldina went to his side, and searched his features
for any signs of
inevitable death. Instantly though, before she could
check him at all, The
boy's muscles relaxed onto her as she put an arm
around his waist to
support him. He seemed.. she needed to help him.
"Can you talk..? .. eh.. what am 'ah doin'.. you need
help, quick! What
sort uvvah monstah' am 'ah.. askin' you poor dear all
these questions.."
Megor dashed through the desert and finally reached a
nearby town. This
town was rather close to the castle, and the dark
warrior's eyes could view
the castle from a distance. This put a small smile on
Megor's face as he
prepared to head towards the castle. It would not be
long now. Not long at
all before he could finally meet his younger sister
Umi at last.
Skyhawk walked through the forest, not making so much
as a sound as his
feet clearly touched the ground. He kept his mind set
on finding pieces for
his communicator,but it had seemed that this land was
not very good with
technology. What was he going to do now? His
communicator was down. No not
down,gone,and he had nothing better to work with. He
clenched his fists and
uttered a single curse as he continued to think about
his next plan. He
finally thought about it,and realized that it would be
better for him to
head back to the castle,perhaps,and see if his
now-found brother was doing
well. He started to turn,when suddenly,he heard a
woman's voice talking. It
was a girl's voice. The forest seemed to be a
dangerous place,so the
beshaded warrior decided upon himself to head towards
the voice. He walked
until he finally met up with a mysterious young lady
and a
golden haired young man as well. Perhaps they were
fighting,or it was a
battle that concerned him not at all. However,Black
Lotus was not here,and
he at last got to make his own decisions and
judgements. He smiled at this
thought and placed his hands in his pockets and walked
towards Caldina and
Quatre. "Is everything alright? This young man seems
to be injured. If
needed,I can provide protection,while you get him to
the castle." He said
with a calm composure.
Hikaru noted everyone's uneasyness about Nova and
frowned slightly. First
Lantis is not here now everyone is shying away from
Nova. Hikaru sighed,
"Please everyone...Nova isn't going to hurt us. We are
at peace with each
other and I hope you can make peace with her too." she
fingered Lantis'
necklace and smiled, "It looks like you're all
alright, I was really
worried. Things haven't been going well in our world
and I had this odd
feeling that there were some problems going on here.
So, is there anything
us Magic Knights should know?"
The Shadow and the Princess descended down the steps
into what seemed to be
a wolf's mouth. The brick wall slid closed behind them
and for two seconds,
the stairway was bathed in total black...until several
small light bulbs
activated of their own accord and illuminated the way
down for them.
Lamont gently held the Princess' arm and smiled.
"Watch your step now."
Sable shadows cast by the feeble light shifted around
them as they
descended. Perhaps the Princess was already noticing
something about this
living darkness that seemed to surround Lamont like a
mammoth blanket.
Some traditions around the world, like the Chinese,
held that a man's
shadow was a reflection of his soul.
The two reached the bottom into an even better
illuminated large room.
"Welcome to the Sanctum." said Lamont, as he slipped
off the coat he had
placed around Emeraude's shoulders and hung it nearby.
He ran a hand
through his hair, let it linger on his forehead a
moment and rubbed his
temples, frowning slightly. He DID need more rest and
sleep, but it would
have to wait. "Please make yourself at home,
Princess." he said
reassuringly as he pulled up a large comfortable
leather chair for her and
poured her a glass of soda. He could have given her
something else like
brandy, but he figured it wouldn't be good for her at
the moment.
He went to one of the corners of the room towards the
pantry, opened a
drawer and found a cup of instant noodles. He grinned.
"This is all the
food I have at the moment. Are you hungry, Princess?"
Kaine sat on a bench outside an inn on the outskirts
of the capital. He was holding his head in his hands
and mumbling to himself.
'I saw three people fall from the sky. I know I
didn't imagine that. I told the Elders that I wasn't
the right man for the job but they wouldn't listen to
me. Kaine, what have you gotten yourself into?'