YAYAYAYAYAYAY!!! I've ALWAYS wanted to write a Rayearth story, be it with the original characters, OCs, or heck even a crossover. I absolutely love the Rayearth story (except the ending of the first season, that one was evil "sobs"), though it was the manga that captivated me in the first place. So, a majority of this story will be heavily based on the manga right down to the dialogue…in a sense. The only peeve that I have about MKR is that they always tend to overdo things regarding repeating phrases over and over, so I'm gonna try to modify that a little so that it won't be annoying. Don't get me wrong, I love how it's the theme and all, just not every other page "sweatdrops" Also, while it's manga-based, expect some anime moments now and again to get the ball rolling on some events.
Another thing…this isn't a crossover, this is a form of AU; the CL characters and even some OCs from myself and others are inside of the MKR universe, so it's not really a crossover. This beauty has been in my head for quite some time, and now I've FINALLY gotten enough inspo to write it down "claps hands like mad" I've always favored the series Code: Lyoko and I've fallen in love with it for three or more years, so I decided to incorporate it into this dandy little fic that I hope you all grow to love. I promise to keep the elements of MKR and CL alive in this fic, but if I start to veer away, let me know and I'll fix whatever needs fixing. This was actually very fun to plan out and I hope that you enjoy it all!
I don't own Code: Lyoko or Magic Knight Rayearth, just the idea for this story and MAYBE one or two OCs of mine that I plan to toss in. I also wanna thank G-Force4 for lending me his OCs for this wonderful idea of mine and also Wikipedia and the Official Website of the Eiffel Tower for giving be lots of visuals and facts about it so that I don't come out of this chapter looking like a total dork. Now then, stop reading the Disclaimer, and get on with it!
Crystalline, pristine water reached out in every direction as far as the eye could see, gentle bubbles floating to the far surface as shadows hugged the far deep. The cold waters were not of an ocean, for there was no life within it, no fish that swam by, no coral to illuminate the darkness with beauty. Nothing but cold, dark water made thick with inky shadows. Light just barely breeched the surface above, filtering with pallid luminescence down to the shadows at the very bottom.
To the shadows…and to the flower that stood blooming just above them, its brave stem wavering in the underwater prison as the soft, pinkish-white petals above flitted in the gentle underwater current. Strangely, the flower didn't seem disturbed in the least, floating in the midst of the cold, shadowy sea like it was nothing. But just as it was silent, it was mysterious…especially when an inner, warm glow emanated from the core of the flower, gently pushing its petals apart as it began to bloom within a homely aura within a hostile environment. And as it bloomed, its inner self exposed to all, a lone figure kneeling in its center came into view.
The figure was human in appearance; short dark locks falling before the pale face of a young boy, no older than fourteen, it would appear. Dressed in a long-sleeved white tunic and patching long white pants, wisps of black robes hung about his shoulders, held in place by a golden clasp, he carried an air of authority about him despite his current position. His eyes were closed, his head was down, and his face was drawn in deep sadness as he sat in a cross-legged position, shivering in the chilling sea.
He was a prisoner. A hostage. A young boy all alone. But he wasn't just any boy, in any place…
"…help…"
His voice was so light, it seemed just like a whisper as he slowly raised his head, opening his weary eyes. Dark silver eyes gazed out at the looming petals of the flower and the dark waters of his prison. The pale light from above caught the reflective, prismatic surface of an emerald green sphere framed in a golden diadem nestled around his head, framed by smaller jade ovals that gave a darker glistening.
"…help…save our world…"
When his head was fully lifted, when his eyes were fully open and titled up to the light above, unspoken pain and sorrow hanging at the corner of each. The cold, the loneliness, the shadows…they all threatened to swallow him whole if he did nothing…if he did not act now. For if he did not act now…this cold, this loneliness, these shadows…they'd engulf everything he knew and loved.
There was only one way to stop it.
"Legendary Magic Knights," he whispered again, slowly bring his arms up, hands pressing palm-to-palm, fingers lacing together as his eyes closed in deep concentration.
His face still facing upwards, he felt the power within him surface through the gem nestled between his brow, felt it coursing throughout his entire being as he allowed himself to slowly fall backwards. Suddenly, as his cloaked back began to fall against the soft, velvety petals behind him, the jewel set on his forehead began to pulse and glow erratically with a pure, golden-white light that swelled and swelled until it was close to breaching the jewel.
And then, it did.
In an explosion of light, a beam of pure light erupted from the crystal, sailing upwards through the water, cutting through the shadows as it emerged above the surface, breaking free from the sea like it just pierced through glass. It sailed upwards, pulsating with light and power even now as it shot into the sky, parting the clouds, and entering space, tearing through the very fabric of reality for its mission. All from the boy below, in the prison of water, as he lay there, hands still clasped in a silent prayer as he felt his voice finally rise above a whisper in one final, desperate plea.
"Help!" he screamed up towards the sky beyond his prison, the open sky that his prayer sailed through, "Magic Knights…!"
Chapter 1: Summoned
In the middle of the sea of industrial buildings that framed courtyards of green within Paris and streets that flowed through both like concrete rivers, a tall, metal tower stood looming over all in its vicinity. Dwarfing many of the other buildings surrounding it, it being the tallest tower in Paris and the most well known landmark within France, let alone the world. Many tourists were present today, standing along the Observation Deck with cameras and binoculars, witnessing and capturing the splendor of the River Seine in the northwest end of the deck and even going to the very top of the tower to witness even more marvels. Standard citizens of Paris were also there, spending the days with their families and even holding some luncheons together using the tables available on the deck, preferring a wonderful outdoors view in contrast to the enclosed space of the Altitude 95 Restaurant. It being a Friday, most children and younger teens were in school, eagerly awaiting the short-lived, yet eagerly awaited freedom that the weekend brought. Adults who weren't using the tower as a means of taking a break from chores and stress were either still at work in the steel buildings beyond the amazing landmark or down in the markets, getting ready for another family dinner. However, for the children, while it was true that school was still in progress this time of day...
"Oh God! Of all places!"
...that didn't mean that all the classes were actually in school.
"Nice choice for a field trip," a shaggy-haired, brunet boy grumbled under his breath as he leaned forward on the railing of the Observation Deck, bored out of his mind, "like we haven't been here before."
While most enjoyed the breath-taking scenery and the captivating view of the Eiffel Tower, others weren't so enthusiastic, especially those who visited often. This meant that for half the classes within a two mile radius of the tower had already seen this familiar landmark and visited more times than they could count. So, for the class that was visiting the tower today on a field trip to learn more about their city's local history, everyone was already bored out of their minds, having visited this place hundreds of times in the past already. Most of the kids were hanging about the southeast end of the Observation Deck, completely ignoring the teacher's droning, and chatting idly to one another...like a small group separated a ways from the class on the right were certainly no exception.
"I have to agree with you," a red-haired girl stated, shyly straightening out her braids, "as nice as the Eiffel Tower is, it's kind of plain compared to all the other places we could have gone for this trip's requirements."
The boy leaning against the railing gave her a smile before turning his attention to the dark-haired girl beside her as she leaned her head back against the railing in boredom.
"Yeah, really!" she groaned, resting her elbows up on the railing, "if you ask me, as far as cultural trips go, our school really sucks."
Rolling his brown eyes, the dirty blonde boy beside her nodded in overall agreement.
"Can't argue with that statement," he grumbled, smoothing out his jersey, "what do you think, Odd?"
Silence met his question and it got the attention of the three other kids; their fifth friend was hardly ever silent and it was abnormal for him not to reply right away. Blinking, the shaggy brunet and the tall girl with dark hair exchanged glances in the peculiar gap on silence.
"Odd?" the blonde repeated, a bit louder and more questioning, flicking his eyes around him and the area.
The two girls stared at each other in confusion before exchanging similar glances with the two befuddled boys. Finally, all four turned to their right...where they spotted their friend in question, hunched over the railing and peering intently through a pair of dark purple binoculars. His attire was far from the casual styles his friends had and weren't as quiet either. His hair was a sunlight blonde shade and fashioned in a flame-like shape, sticking up in the air with a pale purple splash on the front. He wore a long-sleeved, purple hoodie with a darker purple hood, tassels, and sleeves that was lavender-rimmed shorter sleeves over the longer ones and side pockets along the hoodie. Just visible below the short hoodie was a magenta shirt that, underneath the hoodie, was also long-sleeved. A pair of indigo blue running jeans with lavender rims at the bottom that spread upwards on both outer sides of the jeans and coloring the pockets fit snugly on his lower body. And finally, he wore a pair of magenta-red shoes with darker red bottoms without socks, showing off his slender ankles.
The boy was very thin and the dark-colored clothing he wore brought out his fair skin tone, though he was currently preoccupied with staring into his binoculars, oblivious to the fact that others were around him until the blonde-haired boy made it crystal clear to him once again.
"ODD!!" he shouted, the time grabbing the boy's attention as well as a few other kid's around them, making the blond's head spin towards them in alarm.
"Huh?" the purple-clad boy asked, obliviously blinking his bright green eyes, "say what?"
Both girls gave exasperated sighs while the shaggy brunet rolled his own brown eyes, used to his friend's behavior by now.
"Don't you think that this place is too plain for a field trip?" the blonde asked, arms folded, "I mean, come on, we've been here before."
Instead of the shorter blonde agreeing with the first, his eyes lit up with excitement as his lips pulled up into a wide grin.
"Are you kidding me?" the boy named Odd asked, incredulously, "this is so cool! It's just as amazing since the last time we were here, especially now that I have my new binoculars with me." At that last part, the petit blond waved his violet-colored spectacles around.
The blonde-haired boy and the redhead stared at him as he stood up straight, revealing that he was shorter than everyone by three or four inches while the shaggy brunet let out a small chuckle at the childish grin on his friend's face.
"You don't think it's boring here?" the dark-haired girl asked, equally dark eyes widening a bit as she stood up herself.
Odd shook his head vigorously, golden hair alight in the sun.
"Heck no!" he objected, still smiling, "I love it!"
The four, en masse, blinked in surprise before the brunet turned towards the others with a face bearing a look that was exasperation laced with smugness. He knew this boy better than anyone…
"He's enjoying this," he stated, flatly.
The blonde pressed a hand to his forehead while the girl with ebony hair stared at the purple-clad boy.
"For real?!" she asked, surprised that he could like coming to a place this dull since he usually preferred places filled with excitement, like video arcades, compared to the more casual approach.
The redhead, on the other hand, couldn't help but give a small chuckle as she saw the excited smile on the smaller boy's face. He got excited over the silliest things and it never failed to amaze his friends.
"That's Odd for you," she stated, smiling, "easily pleased."
Odd, meanwhile, had once again gone back to looking through his binoculars, oblivious once more as he gazed out over the cityscape with a bird's eye view. Normally, he found places like this completely boring, but he made an exception with the Eiffel Tower, and with good reason. His parents first met and were then later married here, on this very deck, and he'd also had his fifth birthday party here. That was the first time he'd ever come to a place such as this: it was so high up, he could see everything and anything that he wanted, from his stuffy old public school to the nearby arcade to even his neighborhood just outside of the city. Giving his binoculars his full attention, he peered back out over the landscape, marveling at the sights, like the Tour Montparnasse in the distance.
"It's so like him to find something so simple as the next big thing," the dark-haired girl sighed, flippantly.
"Since when was one of our state landmarks 'simple'?" the blonde pointed out, smirking at the other girl's look of chagrin.
"Yeah, Louise," the redhead piped in, playfully, "why don't you pay attention to the 'now' and stop reading all those fashions magazines you own."
As the dark-haired beauty stuck out her lower lip, Odd smiled at what he heard from them before going back to what he was doing: his friends were the coolest. From beside him, the shaggy-haired boy threw him a grin.
"Just don't lean over too far, Odd," he said, moving over to him, "last thing you wanna do is topple off at this height." He ended that statement with a playful slap across the shoulders.
However, Odd had gone back to sightseeing, meaning he wasn't fully aware of his friend behind him…and when the slap on his back came, it caused some alarm.
"Ack!" he yelped, arms jolting up…fingers fumbling loose…dropping the binoculars over the railing, "oh noooo!"
The brunet gasped and jumped back while the other three whirled around, time seeming to slow down as the sunlight blonde watched his binoculars slowly fall over the railing in horror, no time to truly react as they were out of arm's reach, unless-
Suddenly, a slender hand with a long red sleeve lunged downwards and seized the binoculars in a small fist, a grunt accompanying the motion. Startled, Odd blinked in surprise as he watched the hand drew back up, causing him to turn just in time to see another boy leaning with his stomach and knees against the rail, his free hand holding his black-rimmed glasses in place. Pulling himself up, the boy soon straightened out as he placed both blue and white ankle boots pack on the concrete deck, taking in a deep breath as he turned to Odd with a shy smile, slightly pale cheeks going a little red when he saw that, not one, but five sets of eyes were looking at him. Rubbing the back of his head with his free hand, the boy held out the binoculars with the other.
"I take it that this belongs to you," he stated, shyly.
Odd blinked again when he realized that the boy was holding out his binoculars and distractedly took them before staring at the boy again, the boy who nearly fell from the deck to get his specs. The boy wasn't tall, but he wasn't short either, about two inches taller than he was. He wore a long-sleeved, dull red turtleneck and khaki pants that stopped just above his ankles, a long, electric blue stripe running along the side of each and going up to his hip. Blue shoes that seemed to be fashioned slightly after boots were on his feet with white bottoms. He was blonde, just like Odd, but a shade darker, almost corn-colored as opposed to sun yellow; it was neatly combed on either side of his head with a stray strand hanging just above his right eye. His lanky appearance gave away the fact that he didn't seem very athletic…and yet he'd pulled a crazed stunt like that? Odd didn't really know how to respond to that, but his friends sure did…
"Wow!" the redhead cried, completely amazed at the daring maneuver, "that was so amazing!"
"Yeah, talk about being a risk-taker," the blonde agreed with a raised eyebrow, "I thought Odd was the only one who did stunts like that."
The bespectacled boy's pale cheeks just blushed a brighter shade of red and sweat-dropped a little.
"It…it was nothing, r-really, I mean it," he stuttered, shyly, glancing back at Odd, "just glad you didn't lose'em. They're the new model that's out, right?"
Odd was still recovering from his amazement, but perked up at the last line, and opened his mouth to speak…
"Hey! Jeremie!" a voice behind the boy called.
Perking up himself, the other blond turned to look over his shoulder, baby blue eyes focusing on two other kids a ways away by the railing. One, a boy with dark hair, was waving at him, obviously the caller.
"C'mon!" he called, waving his outstretched arm harder, "the teacher's gonna be here any minute!"
This seemed to frazzle the boy with glasses as he almost lost them.
"O-okay!" he called back, turning briefly back to Odd with another shaky smile, "see ya." And with that, he was off, running across the sunlit floor back to his friends.
Odd couldn't help but stare after him, taking notice of another group of kids, much bigger than the usual amount. It was only when two grown-up came into view from the stairwell that the dark-haired girl, Louise, realized something as she looked over the two teachers. One was still by the stairwell speaking to a security guard, obviously laying down the rules for him to keep the more rowdier kids away from the edge, and the other appeared to be doing role call, both clad in tidy, formal-looking attire that seemed more aimed at business than scholastic endeavors. But that was what made Louise realize-
"That kid's on a field trip too," she stated, staring at the new flock of kids as the teacher began to herd them away from the area by the five friends, "I recognize those teachers. It's that snobby private school from across town."
The blonde raised an eyebrow as he looked over at the other class.
"That really famous one mentioned in the papers?" he asked, genuinely surprised, "Kadic?"
Louise nodded while the redhead gave off a frown, watching as the boy they'd only just spoken to rejoined his friends and was moving along with the rest of his class.
"They've got the highest praise from the school board for three years straight," she said in awe, "kinda too bad though, I really thought that kid was nice."
The reason for the sudden lapse was understandable; public and private school always clashed where standards were concerned, and, to top things off, their school and Kadic were viewed as rivals within the district. The best of both scholastic markers. Only one person seemed oblivious to this as he continued to stand there, watching the boy depart. The brunet boy behind him, who'd been looking over the rather business-like way the two teachers were handling their classes 'excursion', noticed his friend's spaced look and the events from earlier tumbled into his head.
"Hey, Odd," he mumbled, bowing his head with guilt, "I'm sorry about earlier, I really shouldn't have-" He suddenly cut himself off when he noticed how his blonde friend's head suddenly lowered, hiding his face from view. "Uh…Odd? Odd?"
Louise and the other two stopped speaking when they noticed their friend's bowed head and how the brunet placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, Odd?" he called again, shaking his friend's shoulder; was he really that mad? "are you al-"
Suddenly, Odd's head shot up, a look of pure determination shining in his eyes as he focused on where the other boy had just gone.
"I've gotta go thank him!" he shouted, and took off like a light, almost dropping his binoculars again.
The brunet's eyes went wide as his friends behind him sweat-dropped, hair and clothes blowing in the draft the other's sudden run made.
"Whoa…" they all muttered in unison.
Odd, meanwhile, was more focused on trying to catch up with the boy and his class, huffing as his sneakers pelted against the cement floor.
I'm such a dummy! was what he was currently thinking, I shoulda said something, like maybe 'thank you'! Aw man, he must think that I'm a total moron…
Finally, Odd's bright green eyes found him; the boy in the red turtleneck was still with his friends at the back of the moving crowd of kids, speaking rather shyly with them. Thankful that he hadn't lost him, the blonde was so focused on running to him that he didn't hear the red-haired girl cry out a warning…until his shoulder slammed into someone's arm.
"Ah!" Odd cried out in alarm, almost spiraling to the ground if he hadn't backed up a couple of steps, arms pin-wheeling all the same for balance.
"Hey!" another voice shouted in front of him, surprised and a bit annoyed, "watch it!"
Stumbling back, Odd finally regained his balance, and looked up to see who he had run into…and his eyes met a pair of agitated hazel ones, scowling at him as their 'owner' rubbed his sore arm.
"Uh…" was all that Odd could say at first as he regarded the new boy, vaguely aware of other kids starting to fill out around the entrance to the stairwell, "…oops."
From where they stood, his four friends watched the traffic accident with a very painful wince; typical Odd.
"Guess he got carried away," the redhead related, sheepishly, "again."
The dirty blonde-haired boy rolled his eyes as he glanced at the other kids emerging from the stairwell…a group of kids being escorted by, not just the security guard, but by the group of teachers that filed in after them, keeping the kids in a straight line. Odd had been so busy running that he'd failed to see them come in.
"Hey guys, it's another class," he voiced, pointing at the teachers.
The other three looked to where he pointed, eying the rather snooty looking teachers and the other kids as they wandered between the friend's class and the class that just departed. They were all dressed either fancy or flashy and paid absolutely no mind to the other kids that weren't in their group, chatting nonstop as they were soon all on the Observation Deck.
"There are so many schools here," the redhead murmured in surprise, fixing her own wiry glasses.
The brunet shrugged, pushing back his wavy hair as he studied both of the other classes that had come in.
"It's nearly summertime," he voiced, eyes sweeping over to her, "most schools probably want to make their classes stress-free before school's out. Why do you think we came here for a look at 'our state's history' rather than stay in a stuffy old classroom?"
The redhead only nodded in understanding while Louise stared for a moment longer at the other class and their teachers before recognizing them as well.
"Wow, I can't believe it," she muttered, pointing, "it's that prep school from down the street. They're here too."
This caught the blonde's attention as he glanced over to her.
"What? You mean for those rich kids?" he asked, a bit incredulously, "why would those guys be here? I figured that, if anything, they'd love to stay indoors with their textbooks."
Louise shrugged while the brunet glanced over at them.
"Summertime loosens up even the stoogiest of schools," he said with a wicked grin.
His friend's couldn't help but laugh; everyone knew that the local prep school was only for those with the big bucks who could afford it and the kids who went there were always put under pressure to complete their high score essays and advanced algebra tests. Nevertheless, despite its strict standards, the school was popular all the same, but the scholastic ranking was even harsher there, making other kids veer away from those who went there.
And Odd was in the midst of them all.
Biting his lip, the sunlight blonde couldn't help but swallow hard under the other boy's fierce gaze, but it wasn't an inflicted one; his eyes just seemed to be fierce on their own. His hair was short, but unkempt and a dark brown color, his bangs almost covering his left eye. He wore a brown jersey underneath a dirty green, long-sleeved army-styled jacket with the sleeves rolled back to just an inch above the elbow and a raised collar. Rugged blue jeans covered his legs and blue-gray sneakers his feet, giving him a tough look from head to toe, and him adding in a glare didn't help the impression lessen. Odd averted his eyes for a bit before glancing back up at the Look.
"S-sorry, I, uh-" he stuttered; how could a kid his own age look so fierce? The again, he might not be his age, the other boy being five or six inches taller than he was.
"Hey, Ulrich?"
Both boys turned, well, Odd did while the other boy merely gave a side-glance to another kid. A girl with long black-brown hair and oval glasses moved away from the flock of chattering kids and headed over to where the taller of the two boys was standing. Odd watched as she regarded him strangely before turning to the other.
Probably saw the whole thing and thinks I'm a klutz, the shorter boy thought, biting back the urge to pout, that sucks. She looks real cute too…
"Are you okay?" the girl asked in a kind, but scolding voice as she checked on the other boy's arm, "I told you to stay with the group, y'know." She put her hands on her hips as the boy yanked his arm free. "Why do you always go off on your own?"
This only seemed to make the taller boy madder as he faced away from her.
"Lay off, will you?" he grumbled, annoyed, "you're not my Mom."
Odd blinked as he looked from one kid to another, suddenly feeling that he was in the middle of something as the girl frowned at the other's back a second or so more before sighing and turning away, long hair swaying in front of her face for a second. Looking back over to the other boy, the small blonde couldn't help but notice the personal look of annoyance that covered his face as he jammed his hands in his jeans…and soon realized that Odd was still standing there.
"What?" he asked, calmer, but still very agitated.
Wincing, Odd quickly looked away from him, and looked around the deck, going back to his prior mission: find the boy in the red turtleneck. After scanning the crowd of kids a few feet in front of him now, he smiled as he managed to pinpoint the boy, who was now listening to his friends' talk and joke, falling silent as he appeared to be distracted. Forgetting the kids that were nearby, Odd began to jump up and down, raising a hand and waving it in the other boy's direction.
"Hey!" he called out, "hey!"
Since he was closer to them, the bespectacled boy's head came up at the sound of someone yelling at the top of their lungs, and turned to look over his shoulder with a dubious expression…and spotted the boy who he'd helped earlier…and another boy a ways in front of him, to the side. Odd noticed him too, noticed how he hadn't moved and simply looked over in the same direction Odd was looking in…before glancing back at him with a strange look.
Probably wondering what's wrong with me…Odd thought, frowning a little; he was a bit sensitive to what others thought of him, and right now, these two seemed to think he was-
That was when he realized something: they were all looking at one another. They had all turned to look at one another at the exact same time and were trading three-way looks of confusion and surprise. It was like there was something weird about the way they did so…
The next second changed everything.
The azure sky suddenly filled to the brim with light, dwarfing the sun's radiance as its mass reached every nook and cranny that surrounded the Eiffel Tower. Blinding whiteness filled the restaurants, the lifts going up to the top of the tower, and, more notably, the Observation Deck. It spilled through like a fierce wind of illumination, blinding many and making everyone within the vicinity scream in shock and surprise. Shouts and cries were heard from student, teacher, adult, and tourist alike as light billowed everywhere, casting away the shadows. The forms of those who stood upon the deck were obscured as the light actually seemed to increase…
"Wagh!" the redhead cried out in shock, almost toppling over if it hadn't been for the brown-haired boy nearby, shielding the two of them the best that they could do with the light blinding him.
"What's with this light?!" Louise cried out, arms flailing over her face as the blonde toppled over from shock, the force that followed the light whipping all about the deck.
In between the graceful arches and beams of the structure it swept, the light and the wind that followed it, pulling at all that stood within the area. But around three boys, it pulled the most…
I can't see a thing! Odd thought in a panic, trying to force one eye open to see if he could find his friends as he shielded his face with an arm.
Cracking one eye open, he was able to see only the area around him, almost blinding himself as he managed to make out the seemingly endless crowds of students and sightseers crying out and scrambling for cover, the teachers and security trying to calm everyone. Around him, he could see the brown-haired boy he'd run into come close to toppling over as he tried to desperately shield his face…when a pair of lanky hands steadied him and Odd, who turned to see that the boy with glasses, the one he'd tried to find, was there with them, his glasses probably helping him to see even just a little.
The three were together in one spot…right above the sphere of light.
It was the source of the light, it was what created the force, it was what hovered above the heads of the three boys as its rays danced about them. Suddenly, the light above them seemed to lessen a bit as the center of the orb seemed to flicker like static. Noticing the change in brightness, Odd cautiously looked up…and nearly fell over all over again. In the center of the sphere was a boy: his form see-through and draped in black and white robes, his silvery eyes focused on the blonde as he reached out to him with a hand, his face pleading.
No way…Odd thought, eyes wide, mind almost numb from shock,…no way…
"Help save our world-"
The voice was young and masculine, holding every ounce of authority and yet none at the same time. It entered Odd's ears as the bespectacled boy looked up to see what Odd was looking at while the other boy perked up at the voice, hesitantly looking up as well for the source of the voice.
"-Legendary-"
Looking up to the boy…
"-Magic Knights!"
For some reason, those two words seemed to echo within the minds of all three boys, touching something deep down inside of them, calling to them almost. Odd looked up at the boy within the sphere of light; he was so close he could see himself in the boy's diadem. He felt like reaching up to try and take the other's hand, a beckoning feeling inside those silver eyes…that he was torn away from at the sound of a cry of alarm. Breaking eye contact with the silver eyes of the mysterious boy, Odd whipped his head around to see the bespectacled boy gasping as he looked down at the floor…which was liquefying under his feet!
"What the-?!" Odd began, but never finished as the very floor around him seemed to liquefy, splashing upwards like water and wrapping around his torso.
"Waaah-whoaaaa!" came the hectic cry of the tallest of the two boys who Odd, in his panic, saw being seized by the liquid floor as well.
Suddenly, the floor lost all of its solidity as it seemed to turn to water beneath the three boys, causing Odd to lurch backwards, the binoculars that had been clenched forgotten in his hand coming ajar in his shock. In his dazed and obscure vision, he caught sight of the boy in red crashing forwards, the floor splashing around him like it were a wave and the boy and green being pulled straight down, arms flailing to try to escape.
But there was no escape.
Within a matter of seconds, the floor was devoid of the three boys, rippling only once before it calmed, turning back into the solid cement that it once was before. As this happened, the light itself seemed to diminish above to the point where the children were able to open their eyes and the teachers began checking on their students, clipboards and bags strewn across the floor from panic. A ways away, a group of friends slowly opened their eyes, slowly stood up, and looked around hesitantly as the light's glow began to die down to the point where it was almost nonexistent, the azure sky beginning to show once again.
"Wh-what was that?" the redhead asked in a hushed tone, shakily adjusting her glasses as the brunet pulled her to her feet.
Louise was breathing hard in fright as the blonde beside her hesitantly lifted his head, glancing around, barely noticing how one of the girls from the class beside them was running about the crowd frantically, calling out to someone. Looking back up at the sky, a puzzled look crossed his face as the last of the strange whiteness faded.
"That light…" he murmured, unable to finish as he noticed the state that Louise and the redhead were in.
As he tended to the girls, the boy with the shaggy brown hair was well aware of something: one of his friends wasn't there.
"Odd?!" he called out, looking around him, still breathing hard from the last encounter, "Odd?!"
But there was no answer. None. Only the lone set of violet binoculars atop the cold cement floor.
*+*
There was nothing but water surrounding him, water that neither stung nor burned nor made him feel cold. It was just simply there, like a wet outer space, almost. And he was floating in it; eyes closed, mind reeling, what had happened only seconds ago relaying in his mind. He fell himself falling, falling downwards headfirst, through the silent waters that had sucked him up to begin with. Slowly, cautiously, and almost weakly, he opened his eyes as he felt his descent quicken, pulling him downwards like a crazed roller coaster through night black waters that pulled at him mercilessly. He thought of his friends and wondered if they shared a similar fate with him, but just what was his fate? What was happening to him? Where was he going?
Wherever it was, it frightened him terribly.
Help…was the only thought that entered Odd's mind as, suddenly, he felt as though his head was breaking the surface…upside-down.
Crying out and gasping for air all at the same time, his eyes flew open again as he looked past the obscuring blue water – much different from the stony gray of before – and noticed, for the first time, that there were others breaching the surface with him. As he turned to find out, he stopped midway when another view caught his eye………one that involved looking out at the sky and the puffy white clouds far below.
"Huh?!" Odd cried, the remains of water splashing across his face as he was completely free of the 'sea'…and entered the sky, "eep!"
Around him, through the clouds and the droplets, he managed to catch a glimpse of the ones he'd heard follow him out and gave a start: it was the tall boy in the green jacket and the boy with the glasses. Both were just above him, the former officially freaked out, the latter too disoriented to think straight as he moved to fix his askew glasses. That was all Odd had time to assess as, the next thing he knew, gravity took over…and he dropped like a rock.
"Oh noooooooooooooooo!" he cried, plunging down towards the clouds, face first, and he wasn't the only one.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" came the frightened cry of the brown-haired boy as he fell, headfirst, arms flailing like mad.
Beside him, the boy in red was still a bit in a daze as he numbly looked around at the open sky as the wind whipped at his clothes and hair. He had to hang onto his glasses at the sides in order to keep them from flying off.
"I-I wonder…wh-what's going on…?" he asked to the literally open air, still in a daze.
"What the heck?!" the brunet cried, watching the clouds zoom by him as he fell for the earth below at a breakneck pace.
Below them, Odd had shut his eyes tightly against the blowing wind as it whipped whatever loose clothing it could find on his body. Then, shakily, he cracked his eyes open just in time to see the clouds begin to part below him…and what he saw shocked him. But for the two above, they were still oblivious as one tried to make sense of the matter and the other had his eyes glued tightly shut.
"I-it felt like the floor caved in…" the bespectacled boy stuttered, mind flipping back to what had happened just minutes before.
"Then why did only the three of us fall?!" the brunet retorted, in no mood for the other boy to ask silly questions during their 'descent of doom'. Didn't he realize that they were falling?!
But for Odd, he was realizing something else on his own as he broke through the clouds, the first thing his eyes locking onto being-
"A volcano…?!" he breathed in shock, blinking almost disbelievingly at the tall, craggy mountain chain…and the one with the gaping crater on top that bore an orange glow inside. It was the tallest of the mountain range that seemed to stretch across the rocky brown and lush green land below, billowing out smoky clouds of soot. Odd could of sworn he even heard it rumble before his eyes caught sight of- "An ocean…?!" The azure mass of water stretched out to the northeast of him as far as the eye could see, the waves gently lapping the beaches and shoreline while white birds flew over the surface…where Odd caught sight of a reflection that made his eyes bug out. Looking up to see whether or not her was going crazy, he almost swallowed his tongue when he saw- "A mountain floating in the sky…?!" There was more than one, but the largest was a pointed mass of crystal shaped like a spire with small sediments of soil and grass planted along the crevices, but it was the waterfalls that flowed elegantly over one or two of the jutting crystal cliffs and down into the sea below that made Odd's mind flip…
Where in the world are we…?! he thought, gaping at the sights before him; an endless sea with countless islands, sandy beaches, lush forests, craggy mountains framing the green…
"I'm falling!!" came a panicked cry from behind him, jolting Odd out of thought as he turned to see that the bespectacled boy had finally realized the severity of the situation, coming out of his daze in a set of crazed arm flailing and kicking, almost losing his glasses again, "oh no, oh no, oh no!!"
"Now you notice?!" came the incredulous question of the brunet as he, too, stared at the boy behind him…allowing him to slam into something soft and squishy chest-first with a gasp.
Odd cried out at he, too, slammed and then proceeded to bounce on something super squishy with the other blonde boy's flailing form landing in a bouncing heap beside him, yelping the whole way. Grabbing onto the surface of…whatever it was they landed on, all three boys panted like mad, the experience they just went through spinning through their minds…until Odd took notice of the texture of what they'd landed on. Something rubbery, soft, and smooth… Looking down, the sunlit blonde realized that whatever they'd landed on, it was a funny shade of pink and purple…with tiny scales that looked all too familiar. He turned to see the other boy with blonde hair, just now regaining his bearings, also look down at what had 'rescued' them with a curious eye and in front of them, the brunet was looking all over its smooth, oddly colored surface in a daze. All three caught each other's eye again as, after a couple of puzzled seconds, the boy in red spoke what was on all their minds.
"What…did we land on?" he asked, shy voice shaky as he wondered if he even wanted to know.
Exchanging a confused look with the brown-haired boy, Odd took a deep breath and slapped on his determined face, pushing upwards with his arms. Slowly bringing his feet to stand perfectly flat on the rubbery surface and after waiting a couple seconds to conquer his wobbling, Odd slowly rose into a standing position, trying his best to ignore the wind grabbing at his attire's hood and tassels, golden hair billowing in the air like a flag. Looking around, cautiously, he noticed how the purpley-pinkish surface wasn't really flat; it actually seemed to curve in places and was shaped in a straight line, almost. Then he saw the strange, transparent objects that were as thin as paper and fashioned almost like a dragonfly wing, but much bigger, the length of a couple of buses, practically. Turning to the other side, he saw that there was another wing-like extension, almost glassy texture reflecting sunlight onto the boys. Finally, Odd turned to look behind him…and there he saw it.
A tail.
A giant tail with a pale, almost white fin swishing back and forth behind him.
All the factors then began to click together: rubbery surface with itsy-bitsy scales, large dragonfly-like wings, a fin swaying behind it… All it added up to was Odd legs suddenly turning very jittery as he fell face-first onto the rubber surface, startling the boy with glasses and the boy in green. Looking up with a very stunned look on his face, the petit boy relayed what he'd learned to the others.
"Don't freak out, but…" he began, faltered, breathed in, and then spat it out, "I think it's a humungous flying fish!"
It sounded even crazier out loud than it had in his head, but it was true; all three boys were, in fact, riding on a giant flying fish. It was just a good thing that Odd didn't see the creature's face: its fishy pink lips were set in what appeared to be a very pleased smile.
It was the only one that felt like doing so.
"Really?!" the boy in red asked in shock, fixing his glasses as he examined the rubbery scales.
Looking frantically around, the boy in green soon caught sight of the giant wings…that really doubled as fins.
"Oh God…" he moaned, grabbing his head with both hands, unable to believe all of this craziness.
Odd, meanwhile, was observing everything with one confused mind and it was going on overload.
"What's up with this already?!" he wailed, a pair of purple cat ears popping atop his head and a matching tail popping out of his…respective area as he sweat-dropped. Nothing made sense anymore and his head was spinning. Were they dead and in some funky form of Heaven? Shaking his head, Odd couldn't think clearly anymore and simply shouted out the phrase that he'd thought earlier in pure frustrated confusion.
"WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE WE?!!"
*+*
The same image that played out through the skies just moments ago – the children falling, the flying fish – were also playing out within a cold, reflective surface that could only be a mirror. Icy to the touch and to the very eye, it was surrounded by a cold golden circle-shaped frame, its size covering a good portion of the platform. Upon this platform, practically standing upon the mirror, was a figure draped in flowing robes of ebony and crimson laced with black, slender black metal boots surprisingly not causing a crack upon the fragile surface. Slick, black talon-laden gauntlets covered the individual's hands as they waved over the image in the mirror, the image of the flying fish and its occupants, enlarging the image so that these occupants could be seen.
It was no contest on how the three foreigners had gotten there.
"So, his final power was enough to summon the Legendary Magic Knights from the other world…" the figure spoke in a rich feminine voice, ruby red lips curving upwards in a smile as she gazed down at the mirror.
She gazed down at the image of the three boys: the boy in purple and blue that was just getting his wits back and stared ahead of the fish, intent on finding out where they were; the boy in green who fidgeted where he sat on the fish's back, looking very stressed; and the boy in red who was too busy looking over the 'too-big-to-be-real' fish in a mixture of wonder and disbelief. The female figure smiled again, her mocha face almost hiding her in her dark attire and the darkness that surrounded her in the cave-like room she was in, stalagmites and stalactites looming around the platform, which was surrounded by equally darkened water, connected to the ivory stairs before it by a simple slab of white, water flowing down besides the stairwell placidly. The only thing that lit the dark room were small spheres of pale purple light that bobbed around the pool of water around the mirror. None of this bothered the female as she continued to watch the three children ride the fish towards the cliffs nearby, knowing all-too well who had summoned the creature to rescue the boys.
Boys too young to be considered men.
"But, those children," she drawled, eying each of them, "can they really become the true Magic Knights-" Lifting her helmet-covered head, her dark violet eyes glimmering in the light of the nearby spheres. "-and save the prince?"
Smiling coyly at the mirror's image one last time, she flicked her hand over the mirror's cold surface once more, causing the image to fade away.
"I think not."
And there you have it, the very first chapter of my dazzling new fic! Okay, sorries for being overdramatic, but when one just takes a day to complete an 18-page first chapter, I deserve to boast a little (especially when I felt as though my brain was gonna melt more than once T_T). Even though the edit changed it to 19 pages, I still love it the way that it is. The outfits that the boys are wearing are their Season 4 clothes and sorry G-Force4, but I sorta had to make Jin look royal and depressed, so sorry if he comes off as wimpy "sweatdrops" The bits where Odd's friends and that girl who knows Ulrich are important as they come up later in the story, so keep them in mind. Now, in order to find out what'll happen next, click on the little button down there and gimme your honest opinion of what you've read so far, and I've made that button Flame-proof, so don't even try.. Until next time!