Dawnstep: Hello there! I apologize most profusely for leaving you with a mysterious prologue for so long x.x''

Kisshu: -cough- Thisisn'twhywe' -cough-

Dawnstep: Yeah, but I have to apologize. You've gotta admit, that prologue was pretty cryptic.

Kisshu: Well, yeah, but I've got some great dialogue in here! I get to explain about the— *death stare from Dawneh* Er, I mean, I get to see Koneko-chan again!!

Ichigo: -suddenly summoned to the beginning note- EH?!?!

Kisshu: -glomps- KONEKO-CHAN!!!

-Kisshu and Ichigo break into scuffling fight-

Dawnstep: ^.^'' Well, I guess if Kisshu's to preoccupied to do the disclaimer… and "she" and "her" can't do it yet as you all haven't met them yet… OI! CHIBI!!

Tart: -poofs in- WATCH WHO YOU'RE CALLIN' CHIBI!!!

Dawnstep: Just do the disclaimer, runt!

Tart: -huffs- Fine. Dawnstep does not own Tokyo Mew Mew/Mew Mew Power, Tokyo Mew Mew a la Mode, or any of the characters, settings, or plot elements from those works. (Or the song, We Are, by Ana Johnsson.)

Dawnstep: …and…

Tart: -eyeroll- And, if she did Masaya would have been made to jump of the Cliff of Boring long, long ago.

Ichigo: WHAT?!?!

Dawnstep: Shut it, 'Chige. (pronounced: cheege.)

Ichigo: DON'T CALL ME THAT!!

Dawnstep: -runs in fear-

Er, but! Now, please enjoy Chapter One- We Are, without further ado.

"You keep watching from your picket fence,

You keep talking but it makes no sense,

You say we're not responsible, but we are, we are,

We are."

Ryou Shirogane was bent over a desk in his lab. He scribbled madly on a piece of paper, then leaned over further to type something in on the huge, glowing machine.

There was a gentle tap on the door. "Come in," Ryou murmured, still tapping erratically on the keyboard, which was a behemoth, about three times normal size, with keys with odd symbols on them that were probably only recognizable to Ryou. A young girl in a maid-like outfit, about 15, stuck her head through the door. "Ryou?" she said, her brown eyes shining. "We're almost ready to close." He grunted at her in lieu of a response. Rolling her eyes, she stepped back, out of the room, and her retreating footsteps could be heard pitter-pattering back up to the cheery café above.

A few minutes passing, Ryou still tapping quickly away, and then the knock came again. "What is it, Ichigo?" he asked, irritated. "Can you not tell I'm working, here?"But this time, it was a tall man whose dark brown hair was pulled back into a long, thin ponytail who entered, his face tense. "Keiichiro," Ryou sighed, his voice tired. "Sorry, I thought you were-"

"I noticed." Keiichiro cut him off, his tone a bit snappish. There was a tense silence for a few moments, before Keiichiro slowly spoke, his voice reserved and nervous. "Sorry. It's just… we, er, have a visitor."

As Ryou looked up curiously to see who could possibly be making Keiichiro so antsy, he gasped wildly, his question answered in the space of a moment. Another had stepped through the door, more like a man now, less of a boy, than when Ryou had last seen him. He was death pale, with forest green hair that now hung nearly to his shoulders, though still tied in exactly the same ponytails, red leather strips binding them just in front of his long, pointed, elf-like ears. His yellow-amber eyes, usually glittering with mirth, or else wide with madness, were tense, pale, dull, and dark, and his face, usually laughing, now matched- tense and somber, maybe even a bit ashamed. Even though he'd matured, he was still a boy, much closer to the age of Ichigo than to that of Ryou and Keiichiro, and yet he obviously still had that odd air of authority. In all these years, Ryou had never been able to place it. His clothes, too, seemed exactly the same, though off course larger, to accommodate his growth- but yes, that was the layered shirt, exposing most of his belly, and the shorts, and the boots.

"Kisshu-san," Ryou said, leaning back, startled, in his chair. "This is a... um... surprise." Kisshu approached Ryou's desk, bowing. "Shirogane-san," he replied. "I've come to warn you. Every human on the Earth will soon be in grave danger."

Ryou gasped again, shock the only emotion on his face for several long moments. Then, he lowered his head, thinking wildly, and murmured, "Keiichiro. Go get the girls, please." Keiichiro, nodding, swiftly turned to jog out of the room, leaving the remaining pair in an ominous silence. His footsteps retreated swiftly, then there was the creak of a door opening, then the door slammed, and seven sets of feet came bouncing happily down the hall- that is, six, along with Keiichiro's somber gait. There was also a lively chatter, which ceased immediately as Keiichiro reentered the room, now followed by six youngish girls. Five of the girls wore expressions of pure shock, but one was gazing in confusion from Kisshu to her slightly alarmed counterparts. Ryou glanced at her, then at Kisshu, who mirrored her puzzled gaze, then said, "Er, yes, an explanation is in order… Berry-chan, this is Kisshu-san. Kisshu-san, this is Berry Shirayuki-chan. That is, she's Mew Berry… the, er, sixth Mew Mew."

Kisshu continued to gaze at her for a moment, then shook his head slightly, as if to clear it, saying in a hollow voice, "That's good. A good sign- more Mews. More protection. Yes."

Looking even more confused than before, Ryou cleared his throat, than inquired, "Um, yes. Would you explain what you mean by that, exactly?"

"It's as I said before- I came here to warn you," he said, voice still empty. "It's… it's… the servant aliens. The ones used to create the Chimera Anima. The Daa'ken—that's our name for them."

He took one long, shuddering breath, then continued, his head down.

"They… we were testing them, trying to find a way to exterminate them- kill them all at once. Like a super-Masha, really," he said, the ghost of a smile gracing his lips as he glanced quickly up at the little pink puffball who was currently floating just above Ichigo's right shoulder. He gave a little start of surprise when a second one- which looked like a flying strawberry - popped up from behind Berry.

"W-well," he continued, "we were studying them, but what we didn't realize was that they'd grown intelligent- frightfully so. They were a tenfold more intelligent than we'd realized. They could even manage to fool as for nearly a year! Arrrgh, it's all my fault!" he cried, burying his head in his hands. "I was the one who ordered them exterminated."

Ryou, looking a bit awkward, stood up and patted Kisshu's shoulder. "Er- I'm sure you were just trying to do the right thing," he said,.

Kisshu raised his head. "That doesn't change the fact that they… they… they're… They're coming! To kill all the humans on the Earth. That… that desire was… bred into them," he said, voice black as he sighed. "Also my fault."

Suddenly, the expression on his face changed completely. He went from dismayed and anguished to alert, grim and focused in a split second. "And…" he said, his voice now taught and determined. "I got you into this mess. So I will get you out."

"I can bring five of our finest warriors, plus Pai, Taruto and myself. So, eight, plus the six of you," he said, gesturing at the Mews. "That's fourteen…" Ryou cleared his throat. "I think… If the situation is as dire as you say…"

Kisshu nodded. "It is."

Now it was Ryou's turn to nod. "Then it may be time for Mew Mew number seven. And…" he said, a slow smile spreading across his face, "I have just the animal in mind. But the DNA will be very hard to acquire… yes, I'll really have to pull some strings for this one… Yes, yes…"

He lapsed into murmuring to himself, occasional words and phrases such as "Mongolia", "must rush the shipment", and "…hair? Maybe" being able to be picked out of the jumble. Kisshu stared at him for a second, then, shaking his head, turned to Keiichiro. "Well, if that's decided, I'll return home and start preparations. I've already alerted my warriors to be ready at a moment's notice, but it will still take a bit of time. Maybe… three days?"

Keiichiro inclined his head. "Well, we'll try to have the new Mew ready by then." Kisshu nodded, closed his eyes in concentration for a moment, then disappeared.

As soon as he had gone, Pudding leapt forward. "Akasaka-san!" she cried. "Are they really coming?" Keiichiro grimly said, "Yes, Pudding-chan, and it is very, very good for Kisshu to be doing what he is- warning us, putting his life and his friends' lives on the line for us. We must be grateful."

The young girl nodded solemnly, but then it was Berry who spoke up. "Um, who was he, exactly?"

Ichigo stepped forward, saying, "Please, I'll explain. Er, Berry… he was the leader of the attacking aliens, from before you joined the team. Four years ago, do you remember when we explained it to you?" Berry nodded. "Oh, yeah, I get it now. Thanks, Ichigo-chan!" But then she hesitated. "But, there was one more thing…"

Ichigo gazed at her levelly. "Wait, Berry-chan," she said. "I think I know what you want to ask, and… later."

Nodding, a bit sullenly, one might add, Berry leaned back against the wall, obviously mulling over Ichigo's strange words. Ryou suddenly snapped his head up , and, as they all stared at him, he stood, saying, "Girls, I need to make some private communications with an old colleague of my father's… so if you'll excuse me- good night."

They all nodded, and as they filed out of the room, Ryou sat back down at his computer and began typing quickly, opening an e-mail program and beginning to tap out a message to a doctor in Washington, D.C., America, at the National Zoo.

****

As the Mew Team re-entered Café Mew Mew, Berry turned on Ichigo and said, "Well? Why the heck was he looking at you all funny, and smiling at you, and all that crap?"

Mint, taking a look at Ichigo's suddenly tense, sad face, angrily opened her mouth to reprimand Berry, but Ichigo laid a hand on her friend's arm. "No, it's okay, Minto, she has a right to know, I suppose," she said, her tone mirroring her expression. As Mint slowly backed off, Ichigo looked Berry straight in the eyes and said, "Kisshu was- and maybe still is, I haven't a clue- in love with me."

Ignoring the blonde's gasp of surprise, she continued, "But I never loved him… all I ever wanted was to defeat him. All I ever did was hurt him. …Did I make him like that?" she added, almost to herself, murmuring softly. "Why doesn't he laugh anymore? Why is his face so stiff? It looked odd, when he smiled, like he hadn't done it in ages…"

They all stared at the pink mew for a second, and then Berry said softly, "But, Ichigo-chan. He obviously has forgiven you- you don't do that for someone you hate. What he's doing for us, that is," she clarified. "And, he must also be a good person. So I'm sure he's alright."

Ichigo stared at her for a moment, then took a shuddering step forward and hugged her tightly, muttering "Thank you" as she did so. Berry smiled softly and returned the hug. After a moment, Ichigo whipped back around, grinning from ear to ear, and cried, "Oh! Pudding! I just thought of something!" She grinned at the youngest Mew Mew. "You must be happy- Tart's coming back!"

They all laughed, Mint explaining to Berry, "Pudding's in loooove with Taru-Taru!!"

"Am not!" said the girl, a rare blush flashing across her cheeks.

Ichigio grinned. "Really, Pudding? Seriously?"

Pudding considered. "Well, maybe just a li-"

"Oooh!" all the girls chorused, giggling merrily. Pudding blushed again, and, laughing, they all parted ways and headed home, wide grins still on every face.

"What about the world today?

What about the place that we call home?

We've never been so many, but we've never been…

So alone."

-We Are, by Ana Johnsson

Dawnstep: Whew! That was sure long! –wordcheck- 1,788, not including song lyrics, closing and beginning notes, and other such stuff. Aiee .

Kisshu: I don't think it was to long! And I got to see-

Ichigio: -eyes of death-

Kisshu: I mean, um, I got to see… uh… I got to see Ryou talk to himself like a maniac?

Ichigo: -slowly stops looking at him with Eyes of Death-

Dawnstep: ^.^'' Er, well! But what did you guys think about the length? Also, was everybody IC? Anybody OC? Please, please, please review! It really makes my day. :D

Kisshu: -whispers- Yeah, because she's such a dork that she really, really likes it when people actually read her stuff.

Dawnstep: -tries to glare at Kisshu, but fails- You know, if I wasn't madly in love with you, I'd have to hurt you right now.

Kisshu: I know. ;D

Next chapter coming soon! Please review! Constructive crit is appreciated! –hands out cyberwaffles-