Hey all! This is my first Legend of Mana fic and this is only going to be said once. Disclaimer: I don't own LOM! The company does. I'm doing this to please the LOM fans. Thank you. Oh by the way, my heroine's name is Artemis. Thanks. –Leaves the room.

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The Bejeweled City

(Home)

Artemis was sleeping on her quilted, comfy bed while the sun rose above and shone through the window to her face. She sat up slowly and stopped as she blinked her eyes and let out a yawn. A huge crash ruined her moment as it was heard throughout the house. She tensed as she put her shoes on and walked by Little Cactus with a hello. She walked downstairs to find Lisa frantically brushing a pile of cracked china with her father's broom as Bud was running around worriedly with his mother's pan in his hand trying to fix everything up.

"What's been broken!" she exclaimed angrily. Artemis was definitely not a morning person. "Well, Lisa did this-." "No, it was Bud who did-." "No, it was you!" They screamed at each other. They continued to squabble as Artemis's new headache was beginning to increase. Her head started to pass the limit as she screamed, "Silence!" They stopped yelling and looked at her with big eyes. "Lisa, clean the pile up, Bud, go help your sister, and you two, do your chores."

She said as she puts her hand to her head. They nodded as they started to do what they're told as her headache grew less hurtful. She walked over to the door and looked at them. "When I get back, I will see the house is clean and if it is, I'll bring something good for you." She said as she walked out, hearing their cheers of glee.

She walked out and closed the door to see the mailbox was opened with a letter inside. Curious, she reached it and took it out. She looked at it and examined it. It was an ordinary letter, but had a stamp of a lighted city. "This must be from Bejeweled City." She said excitedly as she opened the letter. She just came back from helping Sierra saving Larc from Drakonis. She looked as she read it aloud, "Artemis, I've haven't heard from or seen you a while. I'm checking to see if you're okay since Pearl kept bugging me to find you and you're my friend. Anyway, there's going to be tournament here in Bejeweled City. A tournament that challenges knights and guardians to test strength, hardship, patience, and teamwork, Diana asked of you to join watching the tournament since you're the race's savior and honored to have you attend. Pearl and me are going to enter because we're both qualified for the tournament. Hope to see you at the tournament. Your friend, Elazul."

She smiled as she thought aloud, "So, he now calls me friend." She jumped down from the hill and walked down to see the Sproutling walking on her sidewalk. He smiled in his childish way and said, "Hello, Artemis." She smiled and said hello as she walked out from her home and into Domina.

(Bejeweled City)

She arrived at the entrance where there were Jumis running up the pathway to the gate. She looked as she ran up after them until they stopped in front of the gate. A green Rubens was changing the crystals as the gate changed to a different one with torches on the wall. They ran inside as Artemis looked at it weird. "Funny, I didn't see that coming." She said as she walked inside.

Inside, the whole place was packed with Jumis talking to each other in excitement over the tournament. There was a yellow Diana running the registration desk, an orange Esmeralda announcing on a wireless microphone, and a blue Rubens assigning the teams into place. She looked through the crowds to find Elazul and Pearl. She jumped a little as she found them talking with Florina, Diana, and Rubens. She walked over there as they kept on talking. "Hey, Elazul, Pearl, Diana, Rubens." She called over as she walked over there. They turned to see Artemis walking over. Pearl jumped in joy as she ran and hugged Artemis tight. "Artemis, you've came!" she said holding her tight.

Artemis smiled as Elazul came over and Pearl stopped and stepped out of the way a little. Elazul stood in front of her and studied as she felt weird. She looked at the stern Jumi and asked sweetly, "Hey, Elazul, since when did you start calling me friend, friend?" He blush a little as Pearl came over and asked curiously, "Elazul, did you call her friend in your letter?" He blushed more as he turned around to hide it. Pearl and Artemis looked at each other and smiled. She came over and touched his shoulder. He looked at her as she smiled at him.

"Artemis, glad you've come. This is going to be the best tournament the whole race has ever seen." Diana said as she walked up with Rubens beside her protectively. "Yes, it will." Rubens said. "Hello, Artemis. Glad to see you again." Florina said nicely as she stepped up next to Diana. "Hey, Florina, so are you going to join the tournament?" she asked. "Yes, when Pearl and Elazul are done with their battles, then Pearl will change to Blackpearl and we'll do the rest." She explained as Diana nodded. "Artemis, the tournament will start in 4 minutes. Do you want to sit with us?" Rubens asked as they looked at her. "Oh, yes, but I want to stay here for a while, I'll come when I'm done." She said as she looked at them.

"Okay, we'll see at the top box." Florina said as they walked away. She turned around and started walking around the big room. She walked all over meeting other Jumi until she heard, "What? Sapphoe wouldn't come?" Esmeralda's voice exclaimed. She turned to see Esmeralda talking to the yellow Diana. "Sorry, Sapphoe called in and told me he's sick." She said to a shocked Esmeralda. "Wha?" she muttered. "Hey, Esmeralda, what's wrong?" Artemis asked as she walked up to them.

"Oh, Artemis, you've came!" Esmeralda exclaimed happily. "Anyway, I was about to enter the tournament with my knight, Sapphoe, the sapphire Jumi, but he now called in sick without me knowing first. I can't enter without a knight. I was hoping, could you become my temporary knight again? Please?" she asked as she looked down and rubbed her arm. "Well…" she said as she thought. "You should enter." Florina's voice came out of nowhere. "Florina!" Esmeralda exclaimed as they turned to the Fluorite Jumi. "You should enter the tournament and be Esmeralda's knight for a while. You can show what kind of skills you got to the Jumi race. Besides, Diana would be flattered to have you enter, said herself." Florina told her as Esmeralda nodded. "So, can you please my knight for a while?" Esmeralda asked again hoping.

"Sure, why not! I have nothing to fight in a while anyway." Artemis said calmly. Florina smiled with her eyes closed as Esmeralda shriek in joy and hugged her. "All right, sir knight! Let's show the whole race what we got!" Esmeralda said as she posed heroically. "I think you should say lady knight instead." Florina muttered as she shook her head. Artemis giggled at Esmeralda as she grabbed her hand and dragged her to the registration desk. "Excuse me; Esmeralda and Artemis are signing in." Esmeralda said as the yellow Diana looked at Artemis and said, "But she's not a Jumi." "No, but I agreed to be her knight till the end of the tournament, if that's okay." Artemis explained as the yellow Diana smiled.

"Of course, since you're our savior. We're glad to have you battle in this special event. Good luck." She said as she gave them pamphlets. "Hey, Artemis, we're up first. Ready?" she asked. "As ever!" she exclaimed. "Yeah, let's go." She said as they ran into the locker room while they wait. "Hello, Bejeweled City! This is out first annual battle tournament in a decade. The knights and guardians will be testing each other's strength, patience, and teamwork to go up and battle Blackpearl and Florina." The guy on the speaker said. Everyone cheered in the stands as Elazul and Pearl were leaning against the railing looking at the arena that looks like the one in Kristina's basement.

"What's wrong, Elazul?" she asked as she looked at his face. "I don't know. It's a feeling, but I can't describe it and it feels strange." He said slowly. "A strange feeling?" Pearl questioned. "Yeah, whenever I'm with Artemis." He whispered. "What was that?" she asked not hearing it clearly. "Nothing." He said. "How's everything going?" Diana asked as she walked up to them with Florina and Rubens. "Good, but why are you here, shouldn't you be in the top box?" he asked confused. "We're here to see the battles and the top box is too high to see. Besides, we wouldn't want to miss this battle." Florina said as Diana nodded with her. "Wouldn't miss what?" they asked. "You'll see." Rubens said as they faced the arena. "The first battle today is starting now. Here are our lucky competitors. Aqua and Black Sapphoe." The announcer said as a blue Esmeralda and a black Rubens came walking up. The crowds cheered as they waved like they won.

"They would be battling against Esmeralda-," Esmeralda came out walking as Aqua laughed at her cruelly. "Wha, Esmeralda, thinks she can take on me and Black Sapphoe, in your dreams." She retorted as Esmeralda's face stood firm from crying. Black Sapphoe laughed at her with Aqua until the announcer continued breathlessly, ", and wouldn't you believe it! Oh, boy, wouldn't you believe it! The knight is the none other than the great, heroic, and the good-looking non-Jumi savior of our race, Artemis!"

The crowd went wild as Artemis came walking out with her Stargazer spear in her right hand. Elazul's and Pearl's face were shocked as they saw their friend stood by Esmeralda's side. "Look, Elazul, Artemis is in the battle!" Pearl exclaimed excitedly as she hopped. His face was still stun as he thought of her standing with pride and valor. He blushed as Pearl looked at him. "Elazul?" she questioned as he turned away. "Go, Artemis!" Florina, Diana, and Rubens cheered.

Aqua and Black Sapphoe stood there with their jaws touching the floor while staring at the human. "B-But that's not fair! She's not a Jumi!" Aqua wailed out. "No, but she accepted knighthood and she's my loyal knight." Esmeralda said with a smirk. "You can't side with the savior of the race! That's cheating!" Aqua wailed out again. "I side whoever I want to, but not obnoxious girls." Artemis said as Aqua shut her mouth. "Good one." Esmeralda said as she flashed a thumb up. "Everyone is cheering and screaming ready for the most suspenseful battle, knights, are you ready?" the announcer asked. Artemis looked at Esmeralda confused as she explained, "The knights battled first to see who's down and the knight who's down has to be replaced with the guardian, who fights next. Got it?" She nodded.

Artemis raised her Stargazer as Black Sapphoe raised his fists covered in dark flames. "We're going to make you cry!" Aqua shouted to them. "Eat this!" Esmeralda shouted too. "Let the battle begin!" the announcer shouted. Esmeralda and Aqua ran to the wall away from the battle where Artemis and Black Sapphoe are surrounded in a force field. Black Sapphoe shoved his hands in the air as the black flame shot and tried to hit her. She dodged and ran towards him for a quick attack. He tried to release some fire balls as she dodged them and ran up close. He screamed in fury as he let out a wave of flames. She used her spear to jump up high. Everyone watched with awe as she pulls out her flute and plays a playful tune. As she was playing it, an Undine came out and big waves of water came crashing down on Black Sapphoe like a tidal wave.

She puts it back as she landed on the wet floor looking at the drenched Black Sapphoe. He grinned at he was still standing and raised his hands to do another attack. When he tried to summon massive balls of fire, smoke came out of his clenched fists. He sweatdropped at this and pulled it back with a beaten laugh. She grinned back as she ran towards him and summoned a Lancer. After she struck him, not his core, he stood there with her behind him. He collapsed to his knees breathing lightly. "The knight is down, now the guardian will back up." The announcer said. Aqua came out scared as Esmeralda came out to look. She moved in front of her as Artemis waited for her to start the battle.

As Artemis reached to tap her spear on the ground, Aqua gasped and fainted on the floor beside Black Sapphoe. The whole arena was quiet as Artemis looked at Aqua confused and Esmeralda tried not to laugh. Someone coughed in arena coughed as the crickets chirped loudly. "That was kind of awkward, but the battle goes to Esmeralda and Artemis!" the announcer exclaimed as everyone cheered again including Pearl, Elazul, Florina, Diana, and Rubens. Artemis stood there as Esmeralda came up and raised both of their hands up. "You did well, sir knight!" Esmeralda exclaimed as Artemis grinned.

Elazul watched them walked off the arena and into the locker room. He headed there with Pearl and Florina as Diana and Rubens watched the other matches. They past through crowds as they made to a door that said, 'locker room.' They opened to see lockers with lots of Jumi, who are going to fight in the first stage. Pearl spotted them sitting next to Marine, Aqua's totally opposite sister, and Pinkpearl, a pink Pearl. "That was amazing! No wonder you defeated that evil Jewel Hunter with Pearl and Elazul." Pinkpearl said as she talked to Artemis. "You must have begged on your hands and knees to get her to be you're knight." Marine said to Esmeralda.

"It's not like that." Esmeralda said as they walked up. "Artemis, Esmeralda, can we talk along?" Florina asked nicely. "We're just leaving anyway, right, Pinkpearl?" Marine said as she dragged Pinkpearl away. "Right?" she said confused. Florina and Pearl squealed as they hugged Artemis and Esmeralda. "That was incredible." Florina replied. "It almost gave Aqua a fright of her life." Pearl said as she smiled. "You should teach me that someday." Pearl said as she hopped. "Black Sapphoe was never the kind to 'think first, before act' guy, he's seems more 'hurt first, ask questions later' guy." Esmeralda said with a smile on her face.

Florina looked at Elazul and understood what's going on. "Pearl, Esmeralda, I need to tell you something very important." She said as she pulled them by their hands. "Okay." They chorused as they walked out. Elazul looked down as Artemis looked at him confused. She walked up close and looked at him straight in the eyes. "There something wrong?" she asked as her green eyes shined. He looked at her and smiled a little. "That…-." He started to say. She waited for the response. "Was a beginner's luck." He said. Her face broke out in surprise as he chuckled a little. She smiled as she pushed him playfully. "Since when did you have a sense of humor?" she asked. "Since the race has been saved and I returned home." He said as she remembered.

"Oh, so that why you called me friend in the letter?" she asked again. "Well, you're my best friend other than Pearl." He said as he looked away hiding the blush. "Oh, I'm the best friend, ya!" she exclaimed amusingly. "Yeah, where have you been for the last two weeks? Bud and Lisa said that you were out and didn't told me nothing." He said as he looked at her curiously for an answer. "Well…" she started. "Oh, so you were around Larc and Sierra, two dog dragoons." He said as she nodded. "Yup, everything's back to normal now and they are back together from this treacherous war." She said as she looked at him.

"Enough about me, how are you doing? You dating Pearl or any Jumi?" she asked curiously. "N-No. I've been fine here and I usually go around and beat up monsters for practice and fun. Pearl is changing to Blackpearl every time guarding Florina as the other Jumi minded their business." He said as he blushed little. "I'm a knight with no guardian, a misfit of my race." She looked at him sadly as she said, "You're no misfit if you've helped the Jumi get back together and live in this city. Besides, would you be a misfit if you helped me beat the Lord of Jewels by myself?" she said as she pointed to her. He shook his head with a grin on his face. "Thought so." She said as she smiled.

"Everyone, that's all for today, come back tomorrow after a good night's rest." The announcer said as everyone walked out of the stadium. "Huh?" she questioned. "The tournament is ended now until tomorrow. It's 8:47 p.m." Elazul said while looking at her. "But it was 9:45 a.m, when I came here." She said with a moan. "You know what they say, 'Time flies when you're having fun.'" He said as he walked away with her behind. After that, Artemis was invited to sleep at Elazul's house as Pearl knows how much time he needs with her. She slept beside him on his queen-sized bed as she leaned against his back and put her head on her shoulders. He felt her so close; he was blushing red and felt hot. She wrapped her arms around him, not knowing what she was doing as he tensed and relaxed. He flipped around and wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned his head with hers listening to each other's breaths.

TBC

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That so long! Thanks for reading. R+R.