A/N: Sort of a Tokyo Mew Mew fanfic, except with my characters. I do this thing a lot, with the same nine characters, but this is the first time I've written it down. Hopefully this won't turn into one of those shitty Mary Sue OC fics.

Disclaimer: I don't own jack. No, seriously, I don't. He's his own man, and recently decided to change his name to Hobo Joe. It's perfectly legal, really.

Chapter 1

At the corner of an intersection in Tokyo at dawn, a teenage boy stood nervously. The light changed, and as the tall young man crossed the empty street, his hands tightened convulsively around the spherical bundle he carried.

Relax, he told himself, managing to quell his anxiety and get rid of the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. This technology will make certain there is no mistake.

Entering the city park from the sidewalk, he stopped in a small courtyard and cast his gray eyes around to make sure he was alone. Reassured, he leapt with uncanny strength and grace into the branches of a nearby oak and there unwrapped the cloth carefully, revealing what looked a bit like MegaTokyo's "C00l Th1ng" ©.

Black hair ruffling in the breeze, he sat back and waited.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Kouri Amara sat quietly on a park bench underneath her favorite oak tree, reading before class started. Her charcoal pleated skirt was settled neatly on the bench, and the button on her pale blue school cardigan was already fastened uniformly. The teenager's long blond hair lay perfectly still on her back, seemingly unaffected by the autumn breezes.

A group of cheerfully chatting schoolgirls passed by the courtyard, cardigans open according to the current fad, and one of them did a double take. Excusing herself from her friends, she dashed over to Amara, short blond hair flying behind her.

"Amaa-raaa!"

Said student's head snapped up in startlement, normally expressionless gray eyes meeting dancing turquoise ones. One slim eyebrow rose into her hairline. "…Stephanie?..." She blinked. "Kazeno Stephanie?"

"Awww, you remember me, cuz!" Stephanie promptly glomped the older girl. "Oooh, and we're gonna go to the same school, too!" she added, noticing their matching uniforms. "I just transferred in from Kyoto for freshman year! What are you, a sophomore?"

"Yes." And with that flat reply, Amara went back to her book.

Just then, a tall redhead and a short brunette walked by, each carrying books, neither watching where they were going. A collision promptly resulted, sending both sets of books, and the smaller girl, tumbling to the ground.

"Oh!" the redhead said, hazel eyes wide. She bent down to help the other girl up. "Sorry about that. I should've been paying attention. Are you all right?" Flushing, the brunette accepted the proffered hand, mumbling apologies and looking at the ground. "I'm Tamano Gloria. What's your name?"

"Hi-Hikari Lily," the short girl finally managed to get out, blushing furiously and keeping her brown eyes trained on the ground in embarrassment.

On the other side of the courtyard, a voice called, "I got it!" immediately followed by a soccer ball bouncing to a halt in the center of the area, drawing the attention of the four girls. A tall, obviously athletic girl sprinted in, short black hair falling over reddish brown eyes as she bent to pick her ball up. This newcomer wore the same school uniform as the others.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

He smiled to himself. Good, now all four are present. Finding a small black button on the "C00l Th1ng"-esque device, he pressed it.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

A great wind picked up, ruffling the girls' pleated skirts and sending Gloria's long red braid flying. A brightness grew in the courtyard, and flashed.

Amara found herself sitting alone in a forest, staring at a large, oddly mottled wildcat. It blinked once and faded.

Lily saw a gigantic meadow, stretching as far as the eye could see, and a small brown rabbit with strangely colored eyes looking straight at her. Its nose twitched curiously; then, it faded away.

Gloria was soaring, far above what looked like mountains, next to an enormous white eagle. One flap of its powerful wings, and it disappeared.

The soccer-playing girl was running at an unbelieveable speed. It was cold, and beside her was a large black wolf, staring at her. It turned transparent and vanished.

Stephanie found herself still in the courtyard, alone. A red squirrel chattered at her from the branches of a nearby tree before fading away to nothingness.

Abruptly all five girls awoke to find themselves on the ground. Bewildered, they glanced as one at their watches and scattered frantically to get to class. As they left, none heard the mutter from the oak tree: "Oops."