Fuu Hououji shut her book and looked at the skyline of Tokyo, wondering where her friends were. She had told them to meet her at Tokyo Tower today, at eleven o'clock. It was almost eleven-thirty, and neither Hikaru nor Umi were anywhere. What could be taking them so long? A voice from behind startled her.

"Hey, Fuu-chan, watch out!" In a flurry of red skirts, a flying body knocked her against the wall in a joyful embrace. Fuu blinked in surprise.

"Good morning, Miss Hikaru," she said, "It's been a long time. Where is Miss Umi?"

"Over here," called a friendly voice. Fuu looked up to see a tall girl in blue smiling and holding out the book Fuu had dropped. "I think this is yours, Fuu?" Fuu nodded and accepted the book, freeing herself of Hikaru's grasp.

"Hello, Miss Umi." There was an awkward pause as the three friends stood, looking at each other for the first time in over a year.

"You came," Hikaru said happily, breaking the silence.

Umi nodded. "Of course we did, Hikaru. Why wouldn't we?"

Hikaru shrugged. "I've been looking for you since eleven. Neither of you were here."

"Yes I was!" Umi protested, "I was in the gift shop since ten-thirty!"

"And I've been over here reading since it opened!" Fuu said.

"I know," Hikaru said, "That's how I recognized you. The book. I mean, who else reads at Tokyo Tower? But you look really different. You too, Umi-chan."

Fuu shrugged. "We are sixteen now. You're much taller, too, Hikaru. I suppose that's why I didn't recognize you."

"Yeah," Umi said with a maniacal grin, "sixteen and dating." Hikaru giggled and nodded.

"Some of us are," Fuu said with dignity.

"Oh, c'mon," Umi said in exasperation, "We all know the only reason you're not is because you probably aren't over Ferio yet."

"Umi-chan," Hikaru said, "This is the first time we've seen each other in a year. You don't need to start terrorizing Fuu-chan right away. Right, Fuu?"

Hikaru looked over to her friend, who was holding her book to her chest, eyeing Umi distrustfully.

"Hey, that's a comic book you're reading!" Hikaru exclaimed in awe, "Umi, she's reading a comic book!"

"Wow! Lemme see that!" Umi exclaimed, grabbing it from Fuu. Fuu protested and tried to get it back, but it was too late.

"Magic Knight Rayearth graphic novel?" Hikaru said, puzzled, "Fuu, where'd this come from?"

"Hey, look," Umi said, pointing at the bottom and dodging Fuu as she tried to reclaim the book, "The author is Fuu's sister!"

"I told her the plot, changed the names and appearances. Most of them. She has no clue it really happened, I swear. I just said I didn't want co-author credit, that's why my name isn't on it. Give it back!"

Hikaru flipped open the book, nodding in approval.

"Hmm. Your sister is a good artist, Fuu."

Umi tugged it away from Hikaru. "Hey, I wanna see where her bookmark is!" She found it, and a maniacal grin crept across her face. Hikaru peeked over, and the grin spread to her face, too. "I see," Hikaru said, "When you saved Ferio in the Forest of Silence. You kept his name and appearance the same."

"Hey, Fuu," Umi asked slyly, tuning pages and examining the pictures, "Did you draw a heart around every picture of Ferio in the book?"

Fuu snatched it back, blushing furiously. "I don't remember giving you permission to look at that."

"So?" Umi said.

Fuu sighed in exasperation. "You really haven't changed much, have you?"

"Nope."

"Miss Hikaru," Fuu asked, looking curiously at her hysterically giggling friend, "What is the matter?"

"S-sorry, but I just can't picture myself with short black hair and the name Momoko."

"You got it good," Umi whined, "I have blonde pigtails! Blonde! No offence, Fuu," Umi added quickly.

"None taken," Fuu said, "And I'm sorry. That was my sister's idea, and she can be quite stubborn."

"I wonder what's going on in Cephiro," Hikaru said suddenly. She looked up at the sky, a hint of sorrow in her eyes.

"And that was relevant because.?" Umi asked.

"Actually, I wonder, too, sometimes," Fuu said. She stared at her feet sadly. "No, I wonder a lot. I miss the world, the people. I wish we could go back." She dug in her pocket that had once held Ferio's communicator.

"I can't believe you two!" Umi exclaimed, "I mean, I worry a little, but if we haven't been summoned, then it's probably okay. So, do you guys want to go to the park or something? I'm getting really tired of this tower, as I said, I was here since-" A bright light interrupted her. Fuu winced and shielded her eyes, wondering what was happening, but halfway knowing. She felt herself falling, and felt the warm Cephiro sunlight on her back. Umi was shouting something, and Hikaru was shouting something back, although she sounded a good bit happier than Umi. Fuu wasn't sure what to think. She had wished many times that she could go back. On the other hand, they must have been summoned for a reason. Why? What was happening? Was everything alright? It looked normal, but was it? An image flashed into her head of a boy with glowing, amber eyes and a wide grin. She hoped he wasn't in trouble.

"Ferio." she said aloud.

"What was that?" Hikaru screamed, "I can't hear you!"

"Never mind," Fuu shouted back, "I was talking to my- oof!" She finished as they landed on the back of a gryphon.

"Oww," Umi whimpered, rubbing her head, "That hurt. Why, oh why, do we always have to fall from the sky?"

"I am sure there are reasons, Miss Umi," Fuu said calmly, "I myself am more worried about why we were summoned."

"I wonder if Cephiro's in trouble," Hikaru said worriedly. There was no time to contemplate this idea before the gryphon took a sudden dive and headed into the forest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ferio smiled out the window at the gryphon as it swooped down towards him. It had worked- the Magic Knights were back. His heart skipped a beat as the idea really sunk in- he was going to see them again. Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu. Even if it was because- he pushed the thought out of his head. He would have more time than he ever wanted to think about that later, when he explained. For now, he wanted to go see them. They were finally back. He turned to the short mage next to him, who was also smiling.

"C'mon, Clef, let's go greet them!" He leapt out of the door and ran down the stairs, almost tripping over his own feet. He realized that this probably wasn't the best way to greet them; they've been yanked from their own world, fallen onto a gryphon, and taken to a castle. They probably didn't want to see a hyperactive prince, who was eighteen and acting eight, tumble out grinning maniacally. They probably would scream and run away. He laughed at the thought. Alright, so now he would scare them even more. He stopped a few meters from the door and took a deep breath to calm himself. He didn't want to scare them away. He heard Mage Clef running down after him, shouting

"That was ridiculous, Ferio! No way for a prince to act! You're older than that, walk for gods' sakes, and wipe that grin off of your face! Ferio, are you listening to me?" Ferio bit his lip and tried not to laugh.

"I'm sorry, Clef." He opened the door to see his three old friends. They all looked older, but that made sense- they were. He probably looked older, too. Hikaru was smiling and inspecting the area around them. Umi was leaning against a tree, seemingly pouting, with her arms folded angrily on her chest. She locked Ferio in a cold glare, although Ferio didn't think she recognized him. He shuddered and looked to Fuu, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, looking rather stunned. She was even more beautiful than he had remembered her. She blinked and met his gaze.

"Who are you?" She asked in a thoroughly clueless voice. Ferio smiled. How cute. Before he could answer, the door opened behind him and Clef stepped out, shooting Ferio an angry glare, and called the gryphon back into his staff.

"Clef!" Hikaru cried, running forwards, "Hi! What's going on here? Who's he?" she asked pointing at Ferio. Ferio opened his mouth to answer her, but she continued. "He looks like some weird prince. No offence, dude. Is he the new Pillar? Why were we summoned?"

Clef held up a hand to silence her. "Ferio will explain." Ferio couldn't help but notice Fuu's face brighten, and she stood up and shot a sideways glance into the woods as if looking for him. Ferio smiled. This would be interesting.

"Yes," he said loudly, watching Fuu as she scanned the woods, "I'll explain." Fuu froze, then turned back to Ferio.

"You are?" she asked in a hushed voice. Ferio nodded.

"Yep, I'm Ferio."

"What's with the weird outfit?" Umi asked, pointing an accusing finger at the white, formal suit and cape that he hated so much.

"I'm Emeraude's little brother." He said casually. He loved saying that just like he was stating that the sky was blue; it always got better effects if you didn't make it sound like a big deal. "Sorry I didn't tell you before."

Umi's jaw dropped, and she stared at him, wide-eyed. Hikaru blinked and then cocked her head in a questioning manner. Fuu simply nudged Umi and pointed at her mouth, upon which Umi stopped gaping, but her expression didn't change. Ferio frowned. That girl sure wasn't phased by much, was she? She walked up to Ferio and made a small curtsy.

"Greetings, Prince Ferio, and we're sorry we didn't recognize you. Would you mind explaining why we were summoned?"

"I will," Ferio said, his frown deepening, "And drop all that formal nonsense. You're old friends, it doesn't matter who I am. Fuu, that means you can stop calling me 'Prince Ferio', got it? I'm the same person I was last time you came. If you keep calling me that, I might have to call you 'Lady Fuu'," He added with a small smile. Fuu giggled. "Alright, Ferio."

"And if you two are done flirting," Umi said loudly, "I'd like to know why we were summoned."

Fuu blushed and stepped away. "Actually, I would like to know as well, Prince Ferio."

"I was getting to that. Lady Fuu."

"Please, don't call me 'Lady Fuu'."

"Don't call me 'Prince Ferio'."

"I apologize; I had forgotten."

"You have a really short memory span, don't you?"

"I'm sorry."

"Quit apologizing! Now come, all three of you, and I'll explain everything." He started off into the forest, then paused. "Hold on. Wait right here, I'm gonna go put on something more comfortable." He turned and ran back upstairs. He was going to need to change if he took them to the lake. Clef probably wouldn't be very happy about sitting down on the muddy banks, but he could cope. It was a great place to talk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Umi watched Ferio dash up the stairs and out of sight. Clef looked after him sadly, then sighed and shook his head.

"For two years, I've tried to make him act like a prince. Two years."

Fuu smiled at him. "I admire you for your persistence, but I don't think he' d ever be able to adapt to the formalities, Sir Clef."

"Yeah," Hikaru agreed, "He wouldn't."

"All I know," Umi said matter-of-factly, "Is that he's too screwy to be any normal prince."

"I'm back!" Ferio exclaimed as he bounded back down the stairs. He was wearing a familiar yellow tunic with green leggings. Clef sighed in exasperation and hid his face in his hands.

"Case in point," Umi said smugly. Ferio looked at the group, confusion plain on his face.

"Huh? What? Did I do something?"

"No," Fuu said, "Please explain now."

Ferio shrugged. "Okay, follow me." He started into the forest, and the three Magic Knights followed.

"I'm going to go tell the others that they were successfully summoned," Clef called after them, "I will see you later."

Ferio turned around and waved, then continued on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey," Hikaru commented, "Nice lake. Pretty."

"Thanks. Sit down here," Ferio said, gesturing at the grass, "It's as good a place as any, and I've got a lot to say."

Hikaru sat down immediately, eager to hear news of what was happening. Umi sat down beside her a moment later, mumbling something about mud. Fuu hesitated only a moment before sitting next to Umi, across from Hikaru. Ferio smiled and sat down by Fuu, completing the circle.

"Okay," He began, "It's nothing real big, I guess." He hesitated. "Well. sort of. I mean. okay, how can I put this."

"As bluntly as possible," Umi suggested, "Because I want to go visit everyone else as soon as you're done explaining."

"Ah, yes, of course. So, in that case. Cephiro has been targeted as an alternate energy source for people who are living on a dying planet, Kanari. They want convert it into fuel, to restore their planet. I don't even know how they plan on doing it- some sort of machine, I think. They're not done with it yet, though. I thought I could handle this myself. But then Ascot disappeared and Caldina tried to kill me."

"Tried to kill you?" Hikaru asked in disbelief.

Ferio nodded. "The other planet's leader, Sizuka, captured Ascot and threatened Caldina that she would kill him if she didn't kill me. Caldina didn't want to, but she thinks of Ascot as a little brother and didn't want to see him hurt. She gave up as soon as I found my sword, but it was quite a scare for the entire castle. Ascot's back now, too, in case you were wondering."

"Are you alright?" Fuu asked worriedly.

"Yeah," Ferio said, "Just got another scar to add to my collection." He showed her the back of his hand, which now had a purplish stripe across it.

"So," Umi said, standing up, "If that's all, I want to go see Clef and all our old friends. I'm a little hungry, too. It's about lunchtime on Earth."

Ferio rose and nodded. "Can do." He turned to the woods and made a clicking noise. A white, fluffy figure flew out a moment later and jumped into Hikaru 's outstretched arms.

"Sir Mokona!" Fuu cried in recognition.

"I believe you'll remember this fuzzball," Ferio said.

"Mokona," Umi groaned, "Why me?"

"He'll show you to the others, and guide you to the dining hall when you're done visiting. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd better run and change back into my uniform before Andromeda sees me. She would positively kill me if I wasn' t wearing all that annoying formal junk. So, see ya at lunch!" He waved and began running back, then stopped and turned around.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, Fuu, but I've got something of yours. Meet me here after lunch and I'll give it back."

Fuu looked a little confused as she agreed. Hikaru yanked their arms, running in a random direction.

"C'mon, let's go!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next hours were filled with joy, laughter, and plenty of chaos. Hikaru got lost chasing after Mokona, and Umi went back to the lake to find her, while Fuu searched the forest. Mokona showed up at the lake, but Hikaru ran into Fuu. When they finally found each other, Umi was very angry, and immediately shoved Mokona at Hikaru. They all found Clef and regained their armour, and got their weapons back from Presea. They also met Andromeda, who was supposedly a friend of Caldina, although Caldina seemed to avoid her. There to 'make the dear Ferio act princely', she was a woman of monstrous height, almost a foot taller than Fuu, with sugar pink hair that flowed loosely down to her waist, and baby blue eyes that quite contradicted her dark skin. She wore a frilly dress that matched her hair in colour, and white shoes with such impossible heels that any normal human would lose their balance in less than a second. Fuu disliked her immediately. She was always referring to the Magic Knights as 'the little ones', 'warrior children', or 'alien fighters', and then would flash them a sticky sweet smile. Soon, they had found all their old friends, including Ascot, who had grown to be taller than Umi. Although it was wonderful to see them again, by the time lunch was over, Fuu was more than ready to go to the lake and have some time with only one other person. When she reached the lake, Ferio was already waiting for her, back in his prince uniform.

"Hi, glad you came!" He turned around and grabbed her hand. "Close your eyes, Fuu."

"What-" Fuu began in confusion.

"Just close your eyes," Ferio said, smiling, "I said I had something to give back to you, didn't I?"

Fuu gave up and closed her eyes, wondering what he was doing. She felt him place something round and metallic in her hand.

"You can open your eyes again." She opened her eyes. A small, pink object lay in her palm. A grin spread across her face. The communicator.

"Thank you, Ferio. I thought I'd lost it when I went back to Tokyo and it was gone."

"No, it was magically returned to me. I still have the other one." There was a comfortable silence.

"I missed you," Fuu said quietly.

"Well, that's an odd thing to do," Ferio teased, "But I suppose that means that I'm odd, too."

He slipped an arm gently around Fuu's shoulder. Aside from a startled look, Fuu didn't object, although a slight blush crept into her cheeks.

"You really missed me?" She asked timidly.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Well. things were probably very busy, being prince and all. Especially with this business about Kanari. I didn't think you would have time to think about much else." Fuu began nervously twirling a strand of golden hair. She was making a fool of herself, thinking of excuses like this. Why was she thinking of excuses for him in the first place? Because he wasn't worried about excuses, maybe? There, she was doing it again, thinking of excuses for thinking of someone else's excuses. She felt him looking at her, and let go of her hair. Now she was looking like a little girl with an annoying nervous habit.

"I found time to think about you, trust me." Was that amusement Fuu sensed in Ferio's voice? She looked at him, trying to read his expression. He was staring at her. She felt her blush deepen, and looked away. Ferio laughed slightly.

"Sorry. Why are you being so quiet? There's no need to be shy," Ferio said,"You can talk, I know that very well."

"I'm not being shy," Fuu contradicted, "I just. I don't know, it's been two years. I'm not quite sure what to say." Oh, now she'd said stupid things before, but that topped it all! She had to go and make herself sound like she couldn't express herself properly, as if she didn't have good enough social skills! Ferio shrugged.

"When all else fails, use the Umi strategy."

"What?" Fuu asked, a little taken aback. What was the Umi strategy? Was she an idiot for not knowing it? Was he making it up? She grabbed a strand of hair and began twirling it around her finger.

"Say whatever comes to mind," Ferio said. He squeezed her shoulder gently.

"I do that a lot. Do you want an example?"

"I. I suppose." Fuu muttered. Ferio paused and looked at her.

"I think you're really cute when you're blushing," He said, then clapped a hand over his mouth as a slight blush rose in his cheeks, too. Fuu giggled, unsure what to think of this. Ferio buried his face in his hands with a sheepish grin.

"I can't believe I just said that."

"You gave me an example, that's for sure," Fuu replied, smiling slightly.

Ferio flashed her a triumphant smile.

"I got you to talk."

"Yes, I suppose you did. I'll have to try that sometime. But doesn't that ever get you into trouble?"

"Into trouble?"

"Like what you just said to me. If I was someone else, I might've slapped you to the ground."

"Ah, but you aren't someone else, are you? Do you think I would've said that to someone else? Wait- what am I saying? I couldn't have said that to someone else, because it would be a lie. And I wouldn't lie about something like that. Hey, depending on how long you plan on talking, we might want to sit down. I'm sure you're tired after all that running around."

Fuu nodded and they sat down.

"What you said about you wouldn't lie about that," Fuu began, "Does that mean your example was the truth?"

"Ah, no," Ferio said. He slipped his arm back onto her shoulder, which somewhat ruined the effect, but Fuu still felt a little disappointed. He had lied after all. In fact, he probably thought she was ugly.

"Oh," she said softly.

"I think you're cuter when you're blushing," he finished casually. Fuu laughed and felt her heart lighten. She put her arm around his shoulder and squeezed him playfully.

"You little." She began. Ferio grinned and opened his mouth to reply, when a smooth, sugary voice from behind them interrupted him.

"Ferio, dear, you shouldn't be outside alone, especially with all this nonsense from Kanari. I've been looking all over for you. Now come in."

Ferio turned around and quickly stood up, dusting off his uniform. Fuu followed suit, and turned around to see Andromeda walking out of the woods, looking rather annoyed.

"I'm not alone, Andromeda," Ferio replied with a hint of anger, probably at his ruined moment. Andromeda froze, seeing Fuu.

"Oh, I see. You were with one of the warrior children. This one was named Mokona, I believe?" She asked, annoyance replaced by the sickening sweetness again. She had that perfect, wide smile painted across her face again, although she regarded Fuu with some unidentifiable emotion that cast a shadow in her eyes.

"I am Fuu Hououji," Fuu said, trying to hide the coldness that had crept into her voice. Andromeda went on, turning her gaze back to Ferio. The shadow disappeared from her eyes, and if Ferio noticed, he didn't comment on it.

"So, she is the Magic Knight of wind."

"Yes," Ferio said, "Now if you would please leave us alone-"

"Why, no, my dear," Andromeda said, still smiling, "You can't be outside without someone who can protect you." Fuu stared intently at her feet, determined not to show her anger. She knew very well that not only Ferio protect himself, she was also a skilled fighter, even if she hadn't practiced in two years. And it didn't look at all as if this pink, frilly annoyance could hurt a mosquito.

"Andromeda, if you would pardon my saying so, both Fuu and myself can-" Ferio began.

"Oh, no!" Andromeda cried, "It's not proper for a prince to fight! I should know, I did come here to help Mage Clef make you a normal, proper prince! No more of this now, inside."

"But Andromeda-"

"No 'buts', dear. And it might be wise to take this child inside as well. I believe Mage Clef wanted to talk to the little ones."

"I can go in by myself," Fuu said tartly, getting up and walking into the forest. She fumed silently, ignoring the voices behind her. Andromeda was quite possibly the most obnoxious person she had ever met, and she was eager to get back to Hikaru, Umi, and Clef, and away from her. She stopped, hearing Ferio's voice behind her.

"Fuu! Wait up!" She waited, and he ran up to her, then slowed to a walk. "I' m really sorry about that, Andromeda's a very sweet person, she really is."

Wonderful. So he thought she was nice. That was fine, as long as she didn't have to see Andromeda, and as long as Andromeda didn't get any closer than calling him 'dear' in that sugary voice of hers. "She just doesn't take kindly to strangers, that's all. You really should get to know her, she's a great friend. Fuu, is something wrong?" Fuu stiffened.

He could tell? Either she wasn't doing a good enough job of hiding her feelings, or he was reading her again. She hated it when people could read her, and Ferio could read people quite easily, as a scholar might read a book. She could tell him, but he thought Andromeda was a kind, caring person. What if he laughed at her? It was best to leave it be.

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong." Ferio raised his eyebrows but said only

"Good. I've got to go now; I'm supposed to be studying from some of Presea's books. Clef, Caldina, and Lafarga are waiting for you in the room across from Presea's study, so I'm going to walk with you, okay? Fuu nodded and let Ferio lead her down the halls in silence. Before he entered the study he gave her a quick hug, leaving her somewhat surprised, then she entered the room where her friends waited.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You're late!" Lafarga barked as the door opened to reveal a rather flustered Fuu.

"Calm down," Caldina cooed, "But where were you, Fuu? Lafarga, Clef and I have been waitin' for you for almost twenty minutes now. The other two missies showed up long ago."

Umi narrowed her eyes, wondering why Fuu was blushing. She had gone down to the lake, why was it again? She had been talking with Andromeda so long that she had forgotten. Andromeda had some amazing stories to tell.

"I-I'm terribly sorry," Fuu stuttered, finding an empty seat at the table between Hikaru and Caldina, "I was talking to Ferio."

Ah. That would explain it. He had said he had something of hers, if Umi remembered correctly.

"What was it he wanted to give you?" Hikaru asked curiously. Fuu dug in her pocket and produced her old communicator.

"What did he say?" Umi persisted. Fuu shrugged and opened her mouth to say something, then shut it as Clef cleared his throat loudly.

"Now that everyone's here," he said, "Let's get down to business. You know why you were summoned now. For the next few weeks-"

Umi made a noise of disgust. They would be trapped in Cephiro for the next few weeks? Weeks! What a pain! Even if time did stop while they were gone, lack of modern technology in Cephiro could really get on her nerves.

"For the next few weeks," Clef continued, "Or until further notice, you will stay in the castle and keep watch, making sure nothing happens. If Kanarian forces come to Cephiro, we will need your help fighting. If nothing happens for two weeks, we will return you to Earth. Understood?"

The Magic Knights nodded.

"Good. Now Lafarga wanted to speak to you about your sword fighting skills."

Umi sat back and made herself comfortable. This would be a long lecture.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The image of the Magic Knights flickered and vanished, leaving only a normal mirror surface in its place. There was a stunned silence.

"Crap!" shouted a feminine voice suddenly. The sound echoed off the walls of the vast room for a moment, then the speaker felt a sudden need to add to her comment.

"That's bad, isn't it? Very bad. Really bad. Awfully-"

"We heard you the first time, Mika," interrupted an icy but exasperated voice.

"So they've been summoned," said a deeper voice with little interest.

"That is slightly problematic, isn't it?" asked a fourth voice worriedly.

"Silence!" Yelled a fifth. The chatter came to a sudden halt.

"Well, that worked nicely, Sizuka," commented Mika.

"I said, silence," Sizuka growled, fighting to keep hold of the small shred of patience she had left, "That applies to you, too, Mika. Now, I know the Magic Knights have been summoned. We need to have them out of the castle. How should we do that without making a scene? If we attract attention, the guard will be increased, making it harder when we need to get in and dispose of the castle's inhabitants. So, any suggestions?"

"How about you send someone in with a false report of a natural disaster that they needed help with?" suggested the icy voice, "The short redhead-"

"I'm a redhead!" Mika contributed.

"The other short redhead would want to help," the voice finished.

"That sounds like a good idea, Kiyome," Sizuka said calmly, "But they would find out quick enough that it is not true, and then they would be more alert."

A murmur of agreement rose and fell.

"What should we do?" asked the fourth voice.

"May I advise thee?" asked a new voice, coming from everywhere and nowhere.

"Who was that?" Sizuka asked sharply, searching the room.

"Don't look at me!" Mika squeaked.

"I didn't say anything," the fourth voice said.

"It doesn't matter," boomed the third angrily, "They should go away!"

"It came from over there," Kiyome said, pointing at the shadows in the far corner.

"Reveal yourself!" Sizuka demanded.

"As you wish," the voice said with a hint of amusement. A blue light shone in a far corner, slowly expanding into a glowing blue sphere. It faded away, revealing a woman with Asiatic features, tanned skin, and long black hair that was pulled back into a waist-length braid. She had silvery green eyes and wore a plain midnight blue dress.

"Who are you?" asked a bewildered Mika.

"My name is Tetsuya, young one. I can help you, if you like. I can help you all. If you would allow me to."

"We would like that very much, kind Miss," the fourth voice spoke up.

"Wait!" Sizuka cried. She strode over to the newcomer, eyes flashing angrily. "How do I know I can trust you?" she demanded.

"You do not," Tetsuya said coolly, smiling slightly, "But is that a chance you are willing to take so that I may help you. Sizuka?"

Sizuka gasped.

"How do you know my name? Tell me!"

"I know everything that happens here. I know everything that happens everywhere. I know every person, every creature on every planet." She raised her eyes to meet Sizuka's shocked gaze. "And I know how to help you."

"V-very well then," Sizuka stuttered, "How?"

"Young one. Mika."

"Huh?" Mika asked, startled.

"Create a disturbance. A small, detectable amount of magic. Perhaps you should summon a snowstorm? A very small one, of course. Or an area of extreme and unusual cold. Stop looking so surprised that I know you can control weather; I told you I know everything, didn't I?" The glowing blue sphere reappeared, and Tetsuya began to fade. "I must leave now, but-"

"Stop!" Sizuka growled, "You leave when I tell you to!"

Tetsuya faded back in long enough to smile and shake her head.

"It would not be wise to anger me. I leave when I please. Farewell until next time." The glowing sphere grew smaller and smaller, then vanished along with the woman inside of it.

"Alright," said Sizuka, rather disgruntled. "Go on, Mika. You heard her. And for anyone disrespectful enough to think so, Tetsuya is simply a helper, like you all. I am the leader, and you are to treat me with respect. Now stop gawking and go, Mika!"

"Y-yes, ma'am," Mika stuttered. A young girl with a tanned face and intensely green eyes stepped out from the shadows. She was very short, although she looked about eleven. She had bright orange hair that was pulled back in a ponytail, and a silver chain with a small green, leaf-shaped pendant hung around her neck. She wore a crimson tunic and a mid-calf matching skirt. She paused for a moment, looking around unsurely, then ran out of the room. Mika grinned as she ran. A disturbance, hmm? This should be fun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fuu blinked in surprise. It took her a moment to realize that she was, once again, on her back with a sweetly smiling Andromeda pointing a sword at her throat. Earlier she had thought she couldn't hurt a mosquito, and so when Andromeda had invited her to practice fencing, she accepted without second thought. This was, however, the fourteenth time that this had happened, no matter how carefully Fuu watched herself. She looked up at the pink frills of Andromeda's dress, fighting the scowl that was forming on her face. This wouldn't be so bad if Ferio wasn't there. It wouldn't even be so bad that Ferio was there, except that he had practiced with Andromeda earlier, and easily beaten her. Fuu had a suspicion that she had let Ferio win, and was trying to make her look bad. She scolded herself immediately for thinking so; it wasn't fair to blame her lack of practice and skill on Andromeda simply because Andromeda could be annoying. She heard Ferio laugh.

"Good one."

Fuu nudged away the sword and got up, dusting herself off with as much dignity as she could muster after being beaten so badly.

"Ready to fight again?" Andromeda asked, still smiling. Fuu nodded, picked her sword up, and got into a fighting stance, determined not to make a fool of herself again.

"Ready." Ferio began, "En guarde!"

Fuu charged at Andromeda, holding her sword close to her to absorb any of Andromeda's attacks. Andromeda wasn't in front of her anymore. Fuu froze, trying to ignore Ferio's muffled laughter. She felt something jab her back and carefully twisted her head around just enough to see Andromeda poking Fuu with the hilt of her sword. Fuu scowled. What unearthly methods did this woman use to travel so fast, especially with those heels? Fuu spun around quickly, using the flat of her sword to hit Andromeda on the shin. Andromeda hissed in pain momentarily, then ran at Fuu. Through some process that Fuu couldn't understand, the flat of Andromeda's sword somehow hit her very hard in the back of her head. Her vision clouded slightly, and she felt a little off balance. She kneeled, grimacing as she tenderly rubbed her throbbing head.

"Oh my!" Andromeda cried, "I didn't hurt you, did I? I'm terribly sorry, dear!"

"I'm fine," Fuu growled, standing up. She stood still, waiting for the ground to stop spinning, then backed up and got back into a fighting stance.

"Actually, dear," Andromeda said, "It's really been wonderful practice, wonderful, but it's getting dark, and we all should get to bed now. Come, I' ll lead you to your room." She turned around and sauntered towards the door, then called back over her shoulder, "You too, Ferio, dear. Sleepy time. In you go."

Ferio shot Fuu a slightly annoyed glance, which she avoided, then followed Andromeda. Fuu ran to catch up with him.

"That was the worst I think I've ever done," she admitted quietly.

"Are you feeling okay?" Ferio asked worriedly. "I know you could've beaten her."

"I'm alright, just a little out of practice," she said. "I challenge you to a match tomorrow."

Ferio gave her a lopsided grin. "Bring it on. Anyway, my room's over there, so I guess I'll see you tomorrow. 'Night, Fuu."

"Goodnight, Ferio."

He turned down another hall, and Fuu continued to follow Andromeda until she stopped, opened a door, and led Fuu inside. She flipped on the light to reveal a rather large room with a three-person bed over in the corner.

"I believe Umi and Hikaru are currently in the library; I will bring them up in a moment." Fuu nodded absently and walked over to the bed, picking up a pair of familiar pyjamas.

"Before I leave, would you like a lamp or something to keep on overnight?"

"No."

"You're not afraid of the dark?"

"No." What did she think Fuu was, an infant? Andromeda smiled mysteriously.

"Maybe you should be." She turned and closed the door. Fuu frowned. Maybe she should be? What was that supposed to mean? She shrugged. It wasn't important.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Umi stared into the darkness and listened to the rhythmic breathing of her two sleeping companions. She couldn't get to sleep, so much to think about. The invaders from Kanari. How many were there? A noise next to her.

"Maybe you should be afraid." The barest whisper crept to her. She sat upright, looking around. Hikaru was next to her, peacefully asleep with Mokona. Fuu was on her other side, face buried in her pillow. Umi gently pulled the pillow out from underneath her head so that she could see her face. She was asleep.

"Oh, yes." the voice hissed, right in her ear, "You should be. you all should."

Umi's eyes widened and she looked from Fuu to Hikaru. Neither was speaking.

"Welcome me. The light needs the dark. You need the dark. It is not wise to be entirely light, as it is unwise to be entirely dark. light calls the darkness from deep in your heart. accept me."

Umi slowly replaced the pillow under Fuu's head and pulled the blanket closer to her, trembling.

"I need your fear. such lovely, intense terror. Your skills matter not. You are me, and I am you. you cannot fight me." Umi turned and shook Fuu.

"Wake up!" she whispered urgently. "Something's in here, and it sure doesn't sound friendly!"

Fuu halfway opened her eyes, gazing up at Umi groggily.

"Miss Umi, is something the matter?"

"There's something out there! A voice! Stop and listen!"

Intense silence filled her ears.

"It was here a moment ago. I guess it's gone now."

"Good," Fuu mumbled, rolling over and pulling the blanket over her head.

"No, really, Fuu! I heard it!" But she was already asleep. Umi sighed and lay back down, closing her eyes tightly as if it would block out the voice.

She should probably go back to sleep. She was only imagining things. She had to be.

"Frightened child. I have business elsewhere. I will return, do not doubt me."

Umi gasped. A harsh rasping noise filled the room, and Umi felt it leave.

Whatever it was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hikaru was awakened by Andromeda's cheery voice.

"Good morning, girls, time to get up! We can go get some breakfast, then I'd be quite willing to take you three for a walk around the lake, if no one else objects. How does that sound, dears?"

"Perfect!" Hikaru cried, jumping out of bed and grabbing some clothes. She frowned, looking at the bed, and the two unmoving lumps on it. Andromeda walked over and shook the smaller one.

"Get up, dear, we have a big day." Fuu's head emerged from the sheet. She looked around groggily, mumbled something, and pulled the sheet back over her head.

"She'll get up eventually," Hikaru said apologetically, "She's always like this. Try Umi." Andromeda had barely touched the other lump when it exploded into a kicking, yelling mass of blue hair and white pyjamas. Andromeda jumped back in surprise. Fuu rolled off the bed, wide-eyed, finally awake.

"Goodness, dear," Andromeda said, smiling, "You seem mighty feisty this morning. Hikaru, dear, you can't tell me she's always like this."

"She's. um. not," Hikaru said unsurely.

"Miss Umi, is something wrong?" asked Fuu.

"Oh," Umi said, sitting back down, "I'm sorry. I was. having a dream."

"Must've been some dream," scoffed a masculine voice. Hikaru turned around to see Ferio in the doorway, holding a slip of paper. "Sorry if I disturbed you, but I was just wondering what all the noise was about." He paused, looking at Fuu. "What in the world happened to your hair, Fuu?"

Fuu bowed her head, blushing.

"I did just wake up, you know," she said, "By the way, if I may ask, what is that paper you're holding?"

"Oh yeah," Ferio said, holding it out, "Do any of you know anything about this? I found it on my floor this morning. Here, have a look at it." Hikaru eagerly took it and began to read.

'For your sake as well as the Magic Knights', please send the Magic Knights back home. There is more to this than you, or any of them, can clearly see. I promise you, you won't regret it. Truly, you haven't any idea of what you are dealing with yet, and having the Magic Knights here will do much more harm than good.'

Hikaru frowned and read it again. That was nonsense! They were the protectors of Cephiro, they couldn't do it any harm, especially if all they were doing was staying in the castle! She handed it to Umi, who leaned over so that Andromeda could read it as well. Andromeda gasped.

"Oh my! I don't know anything about it, but it sounds quite frightening indeed!"

"Oh, you shouldn't worry about it because you fight so well," Fuu said in a slightly mocking tone. Hikaru's frown deepened. Why was Fuu being so unfriendly to Andromeda? She had barely met her, so there was no sort of grudge. Hikaru shrugged. Go figure.

"May I see that, Ms. Umi?" Fuu asked, taking the paper. She read it, then frowned. "I hope you don't believe such nonsense, Ferio? Until further proof of this, I am not going back. However, we shouldn't totally ignore it." She studied it for a moment. "It's in cut-and-paste, but the words are in different type sets. I wonder where it came from? Well, you can have this back, and I'll see you at breakfast," she said, handing it back to Ferio.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"A disturbance?"

Clef nodded.

"Yes, Ferio. How many times must I tell you before you stop asking me if I'm sure?"

Ferio sat back, wide-eyed.

"A lot."

"Well, I'm not going to say it again. The Magic Knights seem to understand it rather well." Three girls stared back at him with uncomprehending faces.

"Uh-uh." Umi said slowly, shaking her head. Clef sighed.

"It's really not that hard. There is someone using magic in the Nordian Forest, which is a ways southeast of here. Your average villager knows very little, if any, magic. They are using unusual amounts of magic."

"How can you tell?" Fuu asked curiously.

"Everyone draws their magic power from something. I draw power from my staff. You three draw power from the gems on your gloves. Some mages and sorcerers draw power from the natural area around them. If too much power is drawn from the surrounding area, the weather can change in odd ways. I believe you called them. storms? Yes, storms. We got reports of snow and rain, and the temperature changing suddenly and unexpectedly from freezing cold to burning hot, within as little as an hour. The only other thing I can think of is that someone is magically controlling weather, but not only is that rather pointless, it would take a very experienced mage."

"So, basically, we've gotta go figure out what the heck is out there," Umi groaned, "Which means travelling with Mokona again."

"Puu!" Protested the white fluffball.

"Shut up," Umi growled.

"I wonder if someone is trying to get us out of here," Fuu said.

"Why?" Ferio asked.

"First that note, now this disturbance that we have to go investigate. It seems likely."

"So we should leave, right? Back to Earth?" Hikaru suggested. Fuu shook her head.

"We are not yet sure who wrote the note. Until we know whose side this person is on, we should stay on Cephiro and be very careful."

"Oh yes," Andromeda said worriedly, "The child is right. You should. If anything happens, though, be sure to send them home."

"Hey, I'd be glad to go home now," Umi muttered, "I've got a fencing match in four days, and I've gotta be ready."

"We are NOT going home," Fuu said firmly, giving Umi a stern glare.

"Okay.okay. sorry," Umi apologized.

"You should leave this afternoon," Clef said, "Get a good sta-"

Clef was interrupted by a loud shout of

"WHAT ON OR OFF OF EVERY PLANET IN THE WHOLE CURSED UNIVERSE HAPPENED IN HERE?!?!?!"

Presea dashed in, wild-eyed and waving a large book above her head. Umi jumped and slowly stepped away.

"Is. is something the matter, Miss Presea?" Fuu asked timidly.

"THIS!" shouted Presea, shoving the book in Fuu's face. Fuu flinched and stepped back slightly.

"Excuse me for saying so, Miss Presea," Fuu said uncertainly, "But I do not see anything wrong with this book. Unless I am missing something?"

"NOTHING WRONG WITH IT?! Oh, yes, you're missing something! In fact, you're missing quite a bit! And so is my book! Let's see if your COMPANIONS can figure out what's missing here!"

Presea thrust the book at Umi. Umi took it and stared at the pages for a long moment. It seemed normal enough. A fantasy story that was probably fiction. Someone named 'Akane' talking to a 'Voogie' about fighting strategies. She shrugged and handed the book to Hikaru. Hikaru peered at the open book without any change in her clueless expression. Ferio craned his neck to look over her shoulder.

"Try turning the pages," Presea suggested in a growling voice from deep in her throat. Hikaru nodded and obediently flipped a few pages.

"Woah!" Ferio cried, "It's got holes in it! Why'd ya cut holes in it, Presea?"

"I didn't! I found it like this, you imbecile!" Presea exclaimed, grabbing the book and rapping Ferio over the head with it. Ferio winced.

"Sorry. ow."he apologized. But Presea wasn't listening.

"FOUR DIFFERENT BOOKS IN MY STUDY ARE LIKE THIS! FOUR BOOKS!" She held up her hands, wiggling her fingers in Hikaru's face, almost poking her in the eye. "AND HALF OF THE BOOKS ARE ON THE FLOOR AND THE TABLES!" She waved her hand in a wide gesture, and managed to knock a rather stunned Ferio off his feet. "I FOUND ONE OF MY VOLUMES ON HERBOLOGY UNDER THE RUG! FIVE OF MY ENCYCLOPAEDIAS WERE BETWEEN THE FANTASY AND HISTORY BOOKS! IT'S A TOTAL MESS IN THERE!" she shouted, waving her hands and flinging the book at Fuu in the process. Fuu ducked, then picked the book up and began to read.

"A MESS! IT'LL TAKE days to clean it up, days." her voice faded as she stomped down the hall, back to her study. After a moment of silence, Hikaru spoke.

"Well," she said, "That was interesting."

"Yeah," Ferio agreed, getting up and dusting himself off, "Painful, too."

"Totally uncalled for!" Andromeda huffed angrily, "Improper! To think that she stays in the castle! She's a disgrace!"

Clef tapped her lightly.

"Calm down, Andromeda. She's just very protective of her books."

"And maniacally violent," Ferio added.

"Nobody asked you," Clef snapped in an unusual display of rudeness.

"That," Umi said slowly, "was weird."

"Well, at least we know where the note came from," Fuu said brightly.

"We do?" asked Umi sceptically.

"Yes. The holes in the book. The note was cut and paste. Someone cut words from books in Presea's study and used them to write the note."

"Which means that it was someone inside the castle," Ferio concluded.

"Exactly."

"So. we should go home?" Hikaru asked unsurely.

"NO!" Fuu, Ferio, and Clef shouted immediately.

"It just means that they are inside the castle," Clef explained, "Until we know their logic, we will not send you home. They may be wrong."

"Or," Fuu added, "They may have been under a trance from our enemies when they wrote the note."

"The only thing we know for sure is that it wasn't Presea," Ferio said.

"Oh." Hikaru shrugged. "In that case, we'd better get ready to go! And whatever's out there better watch out, 'cause I don't like being this confused!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This is sure familiar," Hikaru commented, chasing after Mokona.

"Yeah," Umi grumbled, "Right down to the little fluffball's speed. Slow down, Mokona!"

Fuu nodded slightly.

"Umi-chan, Mokona's just trying to get us to where we need to be!" Hikaru protested.

"Mokona's just trying to drive us insane!" Umi countered.

"Is not!"

"Yes, he is!"

"Not!"

"Is too!"

"Not!"

"Too!"

"Fuu-chan, will you help me here?"

"Mm-hmm," Fuu muttered, nodding again.

Hikaru paused.

"Fuu-chan? Is something wrong?"

"Mmm-mmn."

Umi frowned at her then shook her head with a hint of exasperation.

"Oh, c'mon, Fuu! Ferio's perfectly safe!"

Fuu looked up unsurely.

"You think?"

"I know," Umi said firmly, "He can protect himself fine. Not to mention there's also Ascot, Caldina, Presea, Clef, Lafarga, and Andromeda nearby. So you can stop looking ridiculously worried now."

"That's almost what I'm afraid of," Fuu mumbled, frowning.

"Huh?" Hikaru asked blankly. Fuu jumped, startled, then grinned widely.

"Oh, nothing! Miss Umi is right, there's nothing to worry about!"

Hikaru gave her a strange look, then shrugged and ran ahead, looking for Mokona. Umi frowned as Fuu ran after her with equal vigour. What the heck was up with her today? How could she possibly not trust anyone in the castle? They were all old friends! The only one they hadn't met before was Andromeda, and- Wait. Fuu had been acting kind of weird around Andromeda. But why? Andromeda was so nice! She had willingly taken time out of her busy schedule to show Hikaru and Umi around the castle while Fuu was with Ferio, and then taken the time to hunt Fuu down when Clef wanted to talk to them. It was impossible that someone as sensible as Fuu would dislike Andromeda. Besides, earlier that morning, Fuu had complimented her on her fighting skills. No, it wasn't Andromeda. Could it possibly have something to do with the voice Umi had heard the past night? No, Fuu didn't believe Umi when she had told her. Maybe she was just being weird, and it didn't have anything at all to do with worrying about Ferio and the others. Who knows- after all, she was Fuu Hououji, and that spells o-d-d. Umi wasn't going to let it bother her. She rolled her eyes as she heard Fuu shouting for Mokona to 'slow down, please, or she may have to use her binding spell to keep him tied up for the rest of this journey'. She ran to catch up with her friends. They had a long way to go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It is. cold," Fuu stated, rubbing her arms.

"Glad you noticed," Umi grumbled, glaring back at her.

"It was so hot last night," Fuu continued, ignoring Umi's comment, "We must be getting close to the disturbance for the temperatures to change this quickly."

"That makes sense," Hikaru agreed. They rounded yet another curve in the path, and Hikaru bumped into an extremely short girl with intensely green eyes and mass of bright orange curls pulled back in a ponytail. A silver chain with a small green, leaf-shaped pendant hung around her neck. She wore a crimson tunic and a mid-calf matching skirt.

"Sorry!" she chirped, walking past them. Hikaru had only walked a step or two before she heard the girl stop and turn around.

"Hold it," she said, inspecting them. Her face brightened. "Are you three. the Magic Knights?"

Hikaru nodded curiously, earning a kick in the shins from Fuu.

"We shouldn't trust anyone we don't know!" she hissed in Hikaru's ear. If the girl noticed, she didn't show it.

"Well, great!" she continued, "I'm supposed to be killing you!"

"What?" Hikaru exclaimed in disbelief. She heard Umi and Fuu draw their swords next to her.

"Just what I said," the girl repeated, "So let's get on with it. Lightning call! "

"Winds of Protection!" The bolt of white light fizzled and died against the shield.

"Ugh! That's not fair!" The girl protested. She closed her eyes in concentration and held her hands out, chanting something under her breath.

"What the heck is she doing?" Umi whispered.

"I do not know," Fuu said unsurely, watching her.

"Whatever. We should attack now," Umi said impatiently.

"I'm not fighting anyone until I know why she's attacking," Hikaru growled.

"I agree," Fuu said, "But you should at least draw your sword, Miss Hikaru, if only for defence."

Hikaru reluctantly obeyed.

"Woah!" Umi exclaimed, "Look at her!"

Hikaru turned her attention back to the girl. The air around her hands was glowing a blue-green colour and straightened into a-

"Is that a sword?" Umi asked in disbelief.

"Yep!" The girl replied, "Air sword. Kinda useful, it has magic of it's own. Not to mention you can summon it from anywhere, and best of all, it can't be handled by anyone except for the one who summoned it!"

"Sorry to say it, kid, but we beat you to it on that!" Umi scoffed.

"Oh yeah?!?!" Mika countered, "I can use magic!"

"Why do you think we're called the Magic Knights, ya moron?"

"I never said you didn't, idiot!"

"Shorty!"

"Alien!"

"Slimeball!"

"If your weapons don't send me running, your ugly face sure will!"

"You're so dumb, girl, you're arguing with me when you're supposed to be killing me!"

Fuu cleared her throat loudly. Umi froze, then bowed her head in embarrassment.

"Ah. Anyway. Before we beat you-" Umi flashed her an over-confident smirk.

"We want to know who you are and why you're supposed to kill us."

The girl sniffed disapprovingly and looked away, hands on hips.

"I ain't sayin' nuttin'."

"Please, may I talk with you?" Fuu asked calmly.

"No."

"I'm sorry about my friend, miss, she loses herself sometimes," Umi opened her mouth to protest, and Hikaru put her hand over it.

"Umi-chan, just be quiet. I think Fuu knows what she's doing."

Umi pouted but remained silent.

"But we really would like to talk to you," Fuu continued, "We have many questions. We may answer some questions that you have, too."

The girl looked at her unsurely.

"Well, I dunno about the other two, but you seem nice enough. If you'll go with me someplace where they can't hear, I'll tell you a little bit."

"We will discuss it here," Fuu said firmly.

"Then we won't 'discuss it' at all."

Umi ran at the girl angrily, sword out.

"You are going to answer our questions, or we are going to kill you!" she shouted. The girl brought up her own sword to parry the blow. Umi jumped to the side at the last moment, and the girl found herself standing against a tree in the uncomfortable position of having the point of Umi's sword pressing into her throat.

"Explain."

"I-I'm Mika," The girl stuttered, wide-eyed. Fuu sighed in exasperation.

"Miss Umi, that wasn't necessary."

"It worked," Umi sighed, "So don't complain. Now, why are you trying to kill us?"

"I'll tell you in a minute, sheesh. I was about to tell you, anyway."

"Just get on with it!"

"Fine! I am! Okay, I'm from Kanari."

"Oh. That explains everything, thank you," Hikaru said, "We heard-"

"Actually, it doesn't."

Hikaru looked up blankly.

"Wha? Is that supposed to make sense?"

"You heard a lie."

"No!" Fuu exclaimed, "We heard it straight from Fe- the prince of Cephiro, and he would never lie to us!"

"Yike! Calm down, girl, he didn't lie on purpose! He didn't know either! What he told you was what some idiot made up because he thought it sounded cool. Heh, cool, huh? Well, the joke's on him now, after Sizuka disposed of him."

"D-disposed of him?" Umi asked shakily, stepping backwards slightly, "You mean."

"This guy was lucky, he got it quick. The ones who made bigger mistakes are still paying for them."

Umi took another step backwards.

"So what is really happening?" Fuu asked after a moment, more to change the subject than satisfy her curiosity.

"Don't ask me! I have no clue!"

Umi raised the sword back to her throat. "No clue? None at all?"

Mika glowered up at her. "All I know is that they've created something. A god of some sort. This could change galactic history, and you're sitting here interrogating a thirteen-year-old."

Umi blinked in surprise.

"You're. thirteen?"

"Yep," Mika replied, " and don't you dare tell me I'm short."

"Miss Mika," Fuu asked, "Do you happen to know anything about these odd weather patterns?"

"Oh, yeah! I made 'em! Whaddya think? Not bad, huh?"

"A little imp like you did all this?" Umi asked in disbelief.

"Hey, watch who you're calling an imp!" Mika snapped.

"What's the point of changing the weather?" Hikaru asked.

"I'm no-ot tell-ling!" Mika sang. "Besides," she added, "I've got to get back to our headquarters on Cephiro. Sizuka will be mad if I don't."

"Hah! What if I won't let you go?" Umi laughed.

"Miss Umi." Fuu warned.

"I can teleport there, no prob. I could do it right now if I wanted to. And I will in a minute."

"Miss Mika, if you could've gone back," Fuu asked in confusion, "Why did you stay and talk to us?"

"'Cause I felt like it," Mika replied, "Now I've gotta go. I'll give you a clue just to make things interesting. Look in the mountains. 3. 2. 1! 'Bye!" Mika disappeared in a swirl of flames, causing Umi to jump backwards. There was a moment of stunned silence. Fuu stepped aside and took out the communicator.

"Ferio?" she asked.

"Fuu! Are you okay? Did you get to the centre yet?" The response came a moment later.

"Yes, we're all fine," she said seriously, "Ferio, we've found the cause. It 's a thirteen-year-old girl."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mika reappeared in the common room, a reasonably lit room with a fireplace on the far wall and a rectangular wooden table in the centre. Sitting at the table were her friends- or enemies, in some cases- Kiyome, Mage Kurrian, and Lyone, looking into a visual portal showing the Magic Knights. Kiyome stood up angrily as Kurrian closed the portal. She was an assassin, hired by Sizuka to kill the Magic Knights and prince, although sometimes Mika wondered whose side she was really on. She had silver hair with a tint of blue, impossibly straight (although a little ragged) and flowing loose to her shoulders. She was average in height, with pale skin and ice blue eyes. She wore a midnight blue tunic with black leggings and a black cloak. As far as Mika was concerned, Kiyome was an arrogant beast, and she was always telling Mika that she was a well-accomplished nuisance. As if Mika cared what she thought, anyways.

"That was the most pitiful thing I've seen in my entire existence, Mika! You told them all that you know, sat there and spelled it all out for them! You gave them our location! HAVE YOU LOST YOU MIND, IF YOU EVER HAD ONE IN THE FIRST PLACE, M-" she was interrupted by Kurrian clearing his throat loudly.

"If you're quite finished, Kiyome?" He asked politely, amusement glinting in his soft eyes. Kiyome glared at him, but sat down, fuming silently. Mage Kurrian was quite powerful, but you wouldn't guess it by looking at him. Or at least Mika didn't. He had shaggy auburn hair, emerald eyes and a tanned complexion. He wore forest green robes and practical brown boots. He was almost a head taller than Mika, which annoyed her slightly, but not too much. He was the most laid-back of the group, acting on a whim, and could be rather eccentric at times. He looked at Mika as a little sister, and always stood up for her when Kiyome was being a jerk. He turned on Mika with a stern look, still smiling jovially.

"Mika, why did you tell them that?" he asked gently.

Mika shrugged and sat down next to Lyone.

"I wanted to make things interesting. It's getting really boring as it is," she sighed, staring intently into the fire.

Lyone nodded, then rested her head in her hands. Lyone was a shapeshifter, a kind and quiet soul, hardly ever heard from. She had no gender, or rather she could shift into both genders, which could get very confusing when you were trying to properly refer to. it? Her? Him? Because even the bodies it wore didn't always have a gender. When asked to keep a gender, Lyone would haughtily say that gender was an unnecessary thing that just made the universe more complicated, although it would then obediently shift into a male or female body. Currently, she was a young elven girl with a long raven black hair and dark eyes, and wore a rather plain lilac dress. She looked a little shorter than Mika, which made Mika quite happy.

"Oh yes," Kurrian said with a mischievous smile, "We should make things much more interesting. All of us."

Lyone looked up, mildly interested.

"How do you plan on doing that, Sir Kurrian?"

"I say we all attack at once," he said, looking around at his friends, "And then just see how they handle that. Imagine it; chaos." Mika grinned, leaning forwards. Chaos was her specialty.

"Sounds fun," she said. Kiyome glared at them icily.

"It's stupid," she said, "And it would totally ruin whatever Sizuka has planned."

"I'm afraid to say I agree with them," Lyone said, "Miss Sizuka does not seem to have any plan at the moment, and this may work fairly well."

"If we all attack at one, my dear Kiyome," Kurrian said, "They will be confused, making us practically impossible to defeat as long as we keep some sort of order to ourselves." Kiyome turned her glare to him.

"Kurrian, if you don't stop calling me that, I will wring your bothersome, nonsense-spouting neck."

"But it is a good plan."

"Chaos is not a plan, it's the lack of a plan," she huffed, "And it never -"

"Good!" Kurrian interrupted, clapping his hands, "Then we are all in agreement!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, anything ELSE I left out? No? Great. Thanks for being patient! : )

-Kaylana