It was still raining Sunday. Cye woke up at seven, sitting upright. On the other side of the room, Kento was still snoring. Cye removed his headphones and turned off his portable CD player, then made up his bed. Grabbing a pair of khakis, a pale blue sweater, and the CD player, he showered and dressed. Heading silently downstairs, he walked into the kitchen. In the early morning he felt alone in the house, as if he owned the mansion himself and was a solitary human that lived day to day. But, he remembered, smiling, I do live alone in the city. And it's wonderful to see all the guys and Mia every weekend.

       After making a cup of coffee, Cye headed for the living room. He stared out of the large bay windows at the dreary sun, trying hard to light a dark world outside. His aqua eyes took note of everything: the smooth lake with bits of steam coming from it, the frosted grass, and the cedar trees, their branches drooping softly. He turned the CD player on, humming as Elton John's piano playing came to his ears.

       Cye didn't know how long he stared out at the window that morning, or when the water began calling to him. Perhaps as the Water Guardian, and as he looked out at the lake that morning, he felt a different connection to it. No, he thought, that's not it. The water was only talking to him, a soft chanting coming from the waves.

       At eight-thirty, he heard footsteps upstairs and decided to start breakfast. By nine, Sage and Mia had all ready eaten, and Ryo was just coming downstairs. At ten, both Kento and Rowen came downstairs, yawning. Before Cye knew it, the time was eleven. It had warmed up to fifty degrees outside, and the water was now roaring in his ears. Heading for the stairs, he came down ten minutes later, wearing a black and green full-body wet suit.

        "I'm going swimming," he said into the kitchen, heading for the front door.

         A moment of silence followed the sound of the door closing, then Ryo asked, "Did he say he was going swimming?"

        "Good God! It's about thirty-five degrees in that water-" Rowen began.

        "It doesn't bother him," Kento replied, rubbing at his eyes with the back of his hands.

         Ryo and Kento headed upstairs at noon to their study, deciding to finish their homework before school tomorrow. Sage, Rowen, and Mia sat down in the living room, each of them trying to find something to watch on television, but in vain.

         Outside, Cye stood on the dock, feeling a cold wind whip through his auburn hair. It was freezing outside, but he didn't care; the next second, he dove into the water, swimming down deeper and deeper until he touched the bottom with his hand. He could breathe underwater just as Rowen could in outer space and Ryo could in volcanoes. Sage and Kento, the Light and Earth Guardians, had no need for special breathing techniques because their elements didn't call for them. Cye felt himself swirl in the water; he flipped forward and backward, then swam upward to breathe. He felt so peaceful, so at home there in the water.

         He lay flat against the water's surface, closing his eyes to meditate. A serene look crossed his face as he connected with the water, his mind entering the icy depths. Fish swam around him, almost as if they were protecting him; he could hear their calls to each other, but didn't feel like answering back.

        Suddenly Cye's mind snapped free of the water. He gasped, standing erect in the water. He could feel everything around him roaring as an evil neared. Cye's aqua eyes searched the bank but saw nothing; diving beneath the waves, he noted that there was nothing underwater.

      A sudden cold jab to the back of his neck caught him off-guard, and he was sent slamming forward into the water. "Hello?" he called, hovering on the surface as he assumed a battle position. Silence.

       Run...Hurry...Get away... The voice rang through Cye's brain as he floated. The lake began churning around him, and he felt the sea far away begin to roar.

       The water's turning against me, he realized, feeling a cold hand grab for him. Not so fast. "Armor of the Torrent, Tao Shin!" Reaching upwards, Cye tossed his kanji crystal into the air. A moment later, he was covered in sky blue and white sub-armor.

       This isn't a time to fight. That's why they won't attack you: you don't consider everything a need to fight over. Water Guardian, your element is not turning against you. It is protecting you. Leave, now. The voice in his head was a soft female, one that was being kind and simply wanted to protect him.

      "All right-" A shot of black narrowly missed his head. Turning around, Cye raised himself upward in a wave, trying to see what was disturbing the water. A black cloud was beginning to surround the lake, but before Cye was able to attack or do anything, a large white orb appeared above his head; the darkness disappeared, shrinking away.

      Torrent floated, breathing hard.

      They won't attack you... Who won't?, he wondered as he headed back to the dock. The fish had gone into hiding, and the water was silent as he swam. This isn't right. The water is always loud and moving; now it is silent and still. Perhaps it is turning against me. Perhaps Talpa has returned, and no one can tell except me...A deep rumble of thunder in the distance echoed into the water; Cye felt it more than he heard it. He lay flat across the surface of the water, meditating.

      Twenty-two symbols...New allies...Infidum...Irae... Torrent sat up right as lightning struck a nearby tree. It had begun to pour buckets of rain down on him, and he shivered in the growing cold. Climbing onto the dock, he knew that to keep the meditation channel open he would have to hurry. He grabbed his towel as he ran for the back kitchen door.

     Kento looked up from the table as Cye flew by, a black and green streak.

     "Hey!" he yelled, standing up from the counter and racing for the stairs. The door to the room they shared closed; a minute later, Cye appeared dressed in his blue sweaters and khakis, heading almost in a trance for his study.

     Kento watched him from the top of the stairs, knowing that something was wrong. Cye sat down on the carpeted floor of his study, opening two small boxes. There were no lights on, just a candle on his desk that was scattering light into the corners. Inside the boxes lay two balls, both able to fit into his palm. They were the size of the kanji crystals, but he used them specifically for meditation and relaxation. Separating the four balls, he put two in his right hand and two in his left; using his fingers he began moving them in a circular pattern around him palm. Cye of the Torrent closed his eyes, trying to reenter the place where his mind had just been.

      There was a time long ago when each planet and element had their own rulers. The planets had princesses, and the elements had princes. They all lived in the Silver Millennium, a time when the entire Universe was at peace. The Element Princes were matched to the Planet Princesses, and all eighteen of them were part of the Moon Princess Serena's court.

      His mind was blocked by a barrier, one that he could not break no matter how hard he concentrated on the visions and words. He gave up, mulling over the few hints he had been given.