Chapter 2: Fracture
Several millennia in the past, my people abandoned their traditional forms to become beings of akuto. This decision granted them unmeasurable power that was carefully honed over centuries. The denizens of the Magical Kingdom became especially skilled, learning how to turn akuto into magical energy for use in battle, for flight, for teleportation. For a magician, his magic means his life. Never once did I imagine that it would fail me.
The flood of joy and excitement overwhelmed him for a brief moment, but he continued with renewed determination. Yumemi was still alive and safe! Or as safe as she could be, given she had just been abducted from her home.
A dark, shiny contraption was speeding away from the Hidaka household. While his experience with "cars", as Louie called them, was limited, they were far less threatening than any of the magical machines used to fight in the heavens. Already at a neck-breaking pace, he was catching up.
Seconds later, he dropped lightly onto the top cover and raised his arm to fire a small blast to the front of the vehicle. Instantly, the car began to smoke and spin out of control, and he knew that he needed to act quickly or Yumemi would be caught up in the mess as well. Placing his hand on the metal, a red glow emitting from under his palm. The roof of the car shifted and shrieked as it contorted into a small crumbled lump.
Wasting no time, he reached into the hole. "Yumemi, come!" When she didn't immediately extend her own hand, he took a second look. She was sitting in one of the seats, kicking several men dressed in black warrior garb, her arms bound behind her. The entire scene was made more chaotic as the spinning car forced everyone in the corners of the space.
He jumped into the fray, carefully wrapping her in his arms before soaring back into the sky. He frantically scanned the air, trying to detect any other presences that could put them in danger. Finding nothing, he could not shake the feeling that they were being watched.
"Is there a safe location that we can move to?" he maintained his high alert. Heavenly attacks he could handle, but it was difficult to tell what the humans could bring.
Yumemi started to cry quietly.
A mixture of relief and exhaustion rushed into his system, generating a fair amount of guilt. Today was an ordeal for any person, never mind a girl who was still growing into adulthood. How could he have forgotten that? With a wave of his hand, red magic cut through the plastic bonds, releasing her arms with a pop. She reached around with a shaking grasp to softly hold his waist. Gently, he brought up the hand from her back to cradle her head, pulling her in closer.
He silently floated towards her home, but it was as he suspected: there were even more humans crawling around the yard and right outside the door. Returning there was impossible for the time being. Yumemi's tears had subsided and she looked up, also noticing the dilemma.
"Let's try Kazuya's apartment," she suggested.
The human military had one up on them though, for when they arrived at the college student's home, there were more of the same black-garbed military men.
"The school?"
The school. Ichiko's home. Suzume's house. The city park. Each location had military presence, and so, Munto continued to fly, keeping to the deepening shadows. He was anxiously running out of patience because he could feel the subtle pain coming off of Yumemi. They needed to find a resting place and get her healed before her injuries worsened.
"There."
Following her pointed finger, he brought them down to a bridge on the edge of town. Just below, next to the running water, was a place they could take refuge, tucked away between two of the main supporting beams.
Without any prompting, Yumemi slid out of his arms and touched her loafers to the ground, before trying to tuck her mussed hair behind her ears. She accidentally brushed against a cut on her forehead, wincing at the contact.
Instantly, Munto was examining the wound, his golden eyes filled with concern. The cut was nothing major, but the bruise underneath it was not insignificant – it was already swelling, cutting off some of her vision. Uneasiness building, he was not sure what to do next. He had never trained in healing magic and now was not the time for amateur hour. He closed his eyes in regret: what use was his magic now that he could not help the one most precious to him?
"Munto." Her golden voice broke through his insecurity. "I will be fine for a while. What we need to do is decide what we want to do next." She reached up to place her palm against his cheek.
His eyes opened in surprise, but he smiled warmly down at her. She really was the weight that kept him grounded. The number of times she had saved just increased by one.
"I cannot bring you to the Magical Kingdom – not easily." He explained, taking a seat on the concrete, stretching his legs out in front. Yumemi also sat, but in a rather bold move that forced a slight blush on the young king's face, she sat on his lap, leaning onto his chest. "The Alliance has accused me of keeping you hidden. They will be watching my borders for any sign of you."
"Are they watching everyone or just the kingdom?"
"I doubt they are watching Louie and the others; they are not of enough consequence to the council at the moment."
"Then I have an idea." She straightened up a little, digging into her deep blue skirt, and pulled out her phone. Munto had seen this particular device in the past and was a little familiar with its function. He watched with fascination as she swiped on the smooth surface with a fingertip, causing the images to shift and update. It was not entirely dissimilar to the displays used by the magicians, except everything here was captured on the tiniest of screens.
Suddenly she switched to a tapping motion and the phone was filled with runes that he recognized as Yumemi's language.
"Are you contacting someone?"
She nodded and continued tapping, the device making clicking noises with each push of her finger. "I am glad that I saved his number from last winter."
"His?"
Louie cursed rather loudly.
He had been right to be worried over leaving Munto to his own devices at the assembly. The king had assured him that he had everything in hand, so Louie had reluctantly gone to complete an errand for the Lady Ryuely.
What did he find upon his arrival?
His lord had been forcibly removed from the meeting of the United Alliance. How was that even possible? Munto was the leader of the Alliance, for goodness' sake! He had managed to wrest the details from the aide to the king of Shainan. Apparently the hothead had lost his cool when they started talking about the Girl of Destiny and the king of Horguze had requested that he be removed from the room.
Frustrated beyond belief, Louie had practically run to the guest room assigned to Munto, only to find it empty with the windows open.
Why could the king not stay put and act like a rational adult? Everything was spontaneous, especially when it involved her.
It was at that moment that his trousers vibrated. He only jumped a little, but looked around the same to make sure that no one had seen his brief moment of confusion.
He pulled out the phone that Ono-san had been kind enough to assist him in purchasing. On the front was a blinking light and a small written message from the princess.
"Munto OK. Under bridge at…"
Frantically, he jotted down the location provided and then punched it into another "app" as Ono-san called them. A small robotic voice began speaking, giving him direction to where he could find his king. There was much "re-routing" as he also left via the window to speed down to the Lower World's surface.
Time was of the essence. Luckily, the rest of the leaders were still held up in the meeting and had yet to notice Munto's disappearance. But it was only a matter of time before someone came looking for them.
He shivered as he passed through some clouds as the weather began taking a turn for the worse. It would have been so much easier to teleport, but without a focal point, he could not orient the spell to bring him to where he needed to go. Damp and cold would have to do.
It took him close to twenty minutes before the little robotic voice told him that his destination was on the left. Gliding down to the bridge, he landed in what was now pouring rain.
"Munto?" he called, taking cover under the stone structure.
"Louie?" was the tired, but strong response. The king stood to reveal where he had the Girl of Destiny had been concealing themselves. Briskly, he walked over to greet his lord and clasped forearms with him.
"What happened? Why are you here?" He glanced down as the girl was slowly getting up and gasped. Rumpled clothes, dirt smudges everywhere, mussed hair, and a large bruise over one eye. "Princess! What happened to you?"
She smiled weakly. "It's a long story. Thank you for coming, Louie-san."
"We need Sheza," Munto said solemnly, "but first, we need to get her to the Magical Kingdom without anyone noticing."
Louie hesitated. Did this have something to do with the outcome of the meeting earlier? He met Munto's eyes to see complete trust. There would be plenty of time later to discuss these mysterious circumstances. However, at the moment, his top priority was to keep the king and princess safe.
"Understood." He thought for a moment. "Flying would not be recommended as I suspect some of the council may have arranged for watches around your borders."
"My thought exactly," Munto threw a worried glance at Yumemi. "I do not want the council to know that she is with me."
"If only there was a way to get her into the kingdom without one of us. Then we could return to the headquarters and no one would suspect a thing." Louie rubbed his temple. "But that would require someone who can teleport with more than one person."
"Um."
Both heavenly beings were interrupted by the soft murmur. Yumemi looked uncertain, but determined to speak up.
"What is required to teleport?"
Louie immediately began to protest. "Princess, teleport is a high level spell that takes years to master. Having you attempt such a large teleport is not something I could condone. We don't even know if it would work for Lower Worlders!"
Ignoring the outburst, Munto placed his hands on both of Yumemi's shoulders. "Teleportation requires a focal point and then transporting every particle of your form to that location. It requires a lot of akuto and absolute concentration."
Her response was to bite her lip and from Louie's perspective, it was clear that she had doubts. "There must be another way. True, she passed the test of magicians, but teleportation is very difficult. Not many of us can manage it."
"Yumemi?"
"I want to try." She looked up into her partner's eyes, resolute, before flashing a tiny smile. "It can't be any harder than the pillar of light, right?"
He stroked her hair softly and bent down to give her a kiss against the honey golden strands. Louie averted his gaze, uncertain whether this behavior was entirely appropriate. He moved to stand away from the couple as Munto began explaining the teleportation spell in more detail.
After a few minutes, he watched the two share an embrace before the king came to join him.
"We depart for the Alliance Headquarters immediately." Both of them walked out into the rain once more and floated into the sky.
Did the king not care to ensure that the princess made it safely? Louie glanced at Munto, to see a slightly troubled expression on his face. Surely, under all the rain water, there must be the sheen of a nervous sweat. For all his strong words, there was still ample concern.
Louie hoped that against all the odds, the princess would be fine. Otherwise, what would become of Munto?
"Take a deep breath," Yumemi told herself. "You can do this."
All she needed to do was put all of her concentration on a single point in space, then imagine her spirit traveling to that location. Naturally, her body would follow to where her spirit wanted to go.
Granted, that was how it worked in theory. Yumemi was neither a heavenly being, nor was she a trained magician. There was so much that could go wrong here.
But she knew it was the only way. The only way to keep her out of the clutches of both the human military and the heavenly council. Until they could figure out the true intent of both groups, it was dangerous to leave her in the custody of either. Sneaking into the Magical Kingdom while no one noticed was the one and only plan.
Standing at the edge of where the bridge stopped providing cover, she could feel the spray of the rain droplets that were being driven every which way by the wind. There were no other sounds, but the shush of the weather: no cars, no people. Perfect for trying to cast a spell for the first time.
She turned her back to the stormy outside and held out her arms, fingers splayed. Once more, a deep breath, then another and another. Slowly, she formed the image in her mind. It was an image she knew well from her infrequent visits to the Magical Kingdom. Carefully putting every detail in its place, she wracked her brain for any additional features she could add.
Once she was sure that more could be wrung from her mind, she let out one last breath before she let go. She imagined her spirit, pale blue, whizzing through the sky, beyond the clouds, to where she needed to be. As she traveled faster and faster, the picture in her mind began to waver.
A second later, she was lying on the ground, still under the bridge with aching limbs. Her head was throbbing again as she sat up, trying to figure out what happened. It certainly felt like she had fallen from a bit of a height.
Rubbing her muscles, she sat on the ground and began to concentrate again. A bit faster this time, she was able to pull up the picture in her mind's eye. With her focus point, she sent her spirit spinning through the air.
She pushed farther, onward to the edge of the island, past the waterfall where she and Munto had spent last Christmas. Her attention faltered and a second later, she was falling. At a very fast speed.
Shrieking, Yumemi struggled to remember the trick to flying. What was it? Imagine you are lighter than air and allow yourself to drift on the currents? This did nothing to stop her downward drop. The cloud cover was too thick to make out whether she was over land or water. Either option was less than appealing.
That left her with only one option: figure out teleportation or hit the ground.
She forced her body into something resembling a calm state and once again conjured the image of her destination, as bright and clear as her own vision. With a resounding force, she thrust her spirit towards the island that was rapidly falling away.
Dark robes, green cloak. Blond hair, scar on the face. Big, powerful, unmoving, like a mountain. Her spirit sped towards the Magical Kingdom, searching for the once place where she needed to go. Across gardens, past the palace, and into the forest. There he was!
"SHEZA-SAN!" In an astral form, she reached out, latching on to a green spirit, one much larger than her own.
Instinctively, Sheza's spirit grabbed her outstretched hand, giving her an anchor. Moments later, his body braced for impact as Yumemi's body collided.
Groaning, Yumemi clutched her head for a second before realizing where she was, cradled in his arms. "Sheza-san! I am so sorry!" She scrambled to set herself on the ground.
"Princess?" The giant heavenly being gently lowered her with confusion contorting his normally kind expression. "What are you doing?" Then his eyes became grave as he noticed her wounds. "What happened? Where is Munto-sama?" He covered her eye with a glowing palm that filled her with the warmth that healing brings.
"Munto and Louie-san are back at the Alliance Headquarters," she said, trying to prevent her legs from trembling. "Where did I end up? I wasn't sure the teleportation was going to work at all."
Sheza gestured for her to sit on a nearby rock, which she gladly did. He knelt as he tended to each scrape, cut, and bruise. "We are on the outskirts of the palace grounds. I still do not understand how you managed to…" Then her words caught up with his train of thought. "You teleported?"
She blinked as the swelling around her eye reduced. "I tried to anyway." She smiled up at him. "At least it was better than my flying attempts."
The healer's eyes looked ready to pop out of his head for a second, until he regained his composure. No wonder the king was always worried about her! He coughed to mask his embarrassment. "I wondered what was happening. All l saw was your spirit and then the rest of you came after."
"Is that not how it's supposed to go?" she tilted her head inquisitively. "I don't have much experience with teleportation."
Now it was his turn to give her a slight, lop-sided smile. "Alas, princess, you have more experience than me. Teleportation is a skill I have yet to master."
"Oh!" Yumemi's eyes widened. "I had assumed that all magicians could-"
"It depends. The best can work magic naturally, like Munto-sama and Louie-san. Others of us," he shrugged, "have to work at it, so we pick which spells we want to learn." He held up his hands as the healing glow faded. "I focused on healing. I never got around to teleportation."
She patted her face and arms to test if everything was in working order. Please with the results, she gave a little bow and made eye contact. "Thank goodness for that, otherwise I would still be in a world of pain right now." Bringing her fingers to her lips, she pondered what to do next.
Munto and Louie would not likely be back for some time, but she needed to find a place to stay. Putting a little bit of extra energy into her thoughts, she attempted to send enough emotion to Munto to let him know that she was safe. Feeling relief pour back into her system from the ring made her smile. Message received.
"Sheza-san, is there somewhere I can hide?"
"Hide?"
She nodded. "I will explain later, but no one must know I am here," she said, a frown forming on her face. "I think Munto wanted to keep as many people out of it as possible."
"There is a cave," Sheza suggested. "One that I believe only Munto-sama, Louie, and I know." He gave a mildly exasperated chuckle. "The king spent a lot of time there was he was younger, working on his magic. I was often called when he got hurt."
"Shall we go?" Yumemi got off the rock and brushed some dirt from her messy uniform.
Sheza bowed. "But perhaps we should walk?"
Tatakohe sat back and admired his handiwork. The ancient fools were happily being fed from his hand, like some old pets. Too long had the peace-mongering Magical Kingdom held authority over the Heavens, allowing it to dwindle away into a shadow of its former glory. The Alliance needed someone with ambitions and aspirations – not a foolish king who desired parlays and treaties with the human race.
As he looked around the room, as the other rulers and elderly advisers discussed what to do with the human conflict, he knew it would only be a matter of time. And he wouldn't make the same mistakes that Gridori made.
He stifled a laugh, remembering the shocked face of Munto's right-hand man when he entered the room to find his king was not present at the table. Serves him right.
"Then it is agreed. We will have Munto bring the Girl of Destiny before this committee so that we may determine what should be done with her. After that, we can move on to what our next steps with the humans will be." The elders were nodding their heads. "We are adjourned for the day."
Tatakohe smiled. Perfect.
"Munto, what happened in there?"
The instant the two of them had made it back to Munto's temporary quarters, Louie had rounded on his friend. "You did something stupid again, didn't you?"
"I know I shouldn't have said those things or grabbed that Horguze bastard, but they were threatening to make Yumemi the Outsider!" Munto growled back, pacing furiously. Even the small piece of consolation he'd received when Yumemi had used the rings to let him know that she had made it safely to the Magical Kingdom, had already worn off.
With this, Louie sat on the bed. "If that is what the Alliance feels is best, then that is the decision you have to abide by," he said softly. "The war is over – you will not be able to behave the way that did during the akuto crisis. During times of peace, it is your words that communicate your ideals, not actions."
Munto dropped his clenched fists to his side and glowered at the ceiling. "Spare me the lecture. I've heard it all before." Then he lowered his face and shot over a helpless smile. "Let me guess, you disagree with my order to hide Yumemi."
"As the aide to the head of the Heavenly Alliance, I cannot approve of you hiding away the very person that the council seeks. In your own country no less! It is a terrible political decision."
The king frowned again, but Louie continued.
"However, as the right hand to the king of the Magical Kingdom, I will always support any decision to protect the king and future queen of my country." He walked over and placed a firm hand on his friend's shoulder. "And as your best friend, I will stand by any decision that protects your happiness and that of your loved ones. No matter the rationale."
"Thank you, Louie." Munto held out his arm and two of them grasped forearms in the traditional handshake of magicians. "But you do realize, that she might say no. Yumemi isn't any keener on becoming a queen than she is the Outsider."
"Well, I think there is something to be said for how greatly she esteems you." Louie gave him a knowing look. "Although, personally I don't see the appeal-"
A knock at the door silenced them.
"My lord Munto, I have the results from today's session," a muffled voice said.
"Come in."
A small page boy, swathed in flowing purple robes and a velvet cap quietly entered the room. He bowed and then proceeded to deliver his message from a written scroll:
"The council has adjourned for this session, but will reconvene in three days. At that time, the Girl of Destiny will be presented to the assembly of the United Alliance for evaluation. It has been determined that his lordship Munto will be allowed to attend the interview, but will not be permitted to participate in the proceedings to eliminate any bias. His lordship Munto is also expected to do everything in his power to deliver the Girl of Destiny to the council. Any attempt to circumvent the intent of this request will be perceived as malevolence and punitive actions will be taken."
The little boy rolled up the scroll and bowed again. "Does my lordship have any questions for the council?"
"None. You may go."
Munto watched the boy leave and then took a deep breath to contain the anger that was beginning to boil up inside. "Three days. I have three days to figure something out." He held out a hand, preemptively cutting off the argument he knew was coming. "Don't tell me that this is a terrible idea and that I should behave properly."
"Oh no," Louie crossed his arms, a defiant look on his face. "I wouldn't dream of it. This reeks of a power play and it wouldn't surprise me if you said it was coming from Horguze. As you said, we have three days to outplay them all. Now let's get you back to the princess, shall we?"
Sheza led Yumemi through the forest, similar, yet different to the ones on Earth. The leaves on this plant here were much too big, the trunk of that tree over there was vaguely purple, and none of the flowers on Earth could glow in the dark. Following her guide, she allowed herself to be taken in by the exotic nature of it all.
They trekked for quite some time: in fact, the sun was already setting by the time they reached their final destination.
"Princess, we are here." Sheza pulled back some brush to reveal a beautiful lagoon, nestled against a cliff wall. Flowers and moss skirted the perimeter of the water while trees with sweeping fern-like leaves hid the secret spot from prying eyes. She ran up to look into the crystalline waters and was delighted to see gem-like stones of all sorts of different colors catching the last few rays of sunlight for the day.
"This way."
She looked up to see the healer wading into the water, towards the cliff. He turned to hold out his arms, clearly indicating that he would carry her. Much too tired to protest, she allowed herself to be swept into a firm grasp as they moved further into the depths.
The water lapped at her ankles and she realized her head would be completely submerged if she was standing on her own. Once again, she was grateful that all of Munto's retainers were so kind. Then she noticed that Sheza had stopped and was casting some sort of spell.
Green light swirled around a rectangle, outlining what appeared to be some sort of door. Moments later, a space opened where rock had been. Beyond the wall was a cavern of some kind, outfitted with modest furnishings: a shelf with a few knocked over books, what appeared to be a work bench, with small weapons and scraps of metal, and next to a flickering light was a bed. Sitting on the bed was…
"Munto!" She slipped down from Sheza's arms, her wet shoes squelching a little against the stone floor. As much as she wanted to run to him, she was extremely aware of Louie's and Sheza's stares. Luckily, the young heavenly being had no concerns whatsoever as he jumped up and raced over to pull her into an embrace.
"You're safe," he whispered, bending down slightly to meet her. She reached up to stroke his crimson hair. There was a slight cough and she blushed before withdrawing hurriedly.
Louie and Sheza were both looking to their king, clearly waiting for further instruction.
"What is going on?" Sheza was the first to break the silence. "Do you need me to get Harka, Marty, or Tail? Perhaps the Lady Ryuely?"
Munto held out an arm. "No, no one else may know that Yumemi is here." He proceeded to explain what had happened at the council, during the scuffle on Earth, and then the announcement back at the headquarters. "Everything is happening too quickly and the fewer people who know her hiding place, the better."
For the first time, Yumemi could see a flash of doubt cross the healer's face. Withholding information was clearly not something the Magical Kingdom retainers were used to and Munto's uncertainty was coming through the ring, clear and pronounced. She softly treaded over to Sheza and placed her tiny hand on his forearm. "I do not like keeping secrets either, if the others don't know anything, then they won't need to lie if asked." She smiled to reinforce her message. "It's only until we can figure out what is going on."
He opened his mouth as if to respond, but instead pulled back his hand to place it over his heart. He bowed slightly. "Yes, princess."
This reaction was quite confusing: it was one thing to be referred to as a princess, but another thing entirely to receive such formal deference. She looked to the others for clarification, but found Louie's hard stare and Munto's concerned gaze.
"Yumemi and I will discuss what we want to do next," Munto was saying. "We have three days until the council's next meeting. We have until then to make sense of all this." He walked over to Sheza, and in the same manner as Yumemi, placed a hand on the giant's forearm. "Thank you, for keeping this a secret. I am indebted to you for getting her here safely."
A slow smile spread on the healer's face. "Anything, Munto-sama."
With that, the tension seemed to ease, ever so slightly. Both retainers bid a good night and left Yumemi alone with Munto.
"Yumemi."
Unable to resist the call, she turned to face him.
He stood, tall and proud, with his arm outstretched, as he had so many times before. His golden eyes catching the flickering light, his dark coat contrasting against his fiery hair. This was the silhouette that she knew so well, the one that appeared in her dreams, her visions, and her memories. But something was different.
"Come." His command wavered almost imperceptibly, carrying a little less of the imperious weight that it normally did. He was always rather obstinate about letting his true emotions show and she had to let him know that everything was alright.
"You don't have to worry." She quietly made her way over to him and took a guess about the cause of the stress. "Sheza and the others will forgive you. Keeping secrets from your friends is hard, but this is only for a little while. They trust you."
"But apparently I don't trust them enough."
The following silence was prolonged and heavy as Yumemi attempted to make sense of the words that had just been uttered. Carefully, she led Munto back to the bed and sat him down, taking a seat next to him.
"You don't trust them?"
"I don't know!" The king ran his hand through his hair, tugging slightly in frustration. "They're my most seasoned aides – the ones that have been by my side since I was born. I trust them with my life, with your life – so why can't I trust them with keeping this secret?" He swept his arm to gesture at Yumemi and the cave in general. "There's no reason for mistrust, but I can't shake the feeling that I need to keep this under wraps."
Unfortunately, she didn't have anything to say to that; all she could do was sit beside him and continue to hold his hand.
"I mean, I know that someone is feeding information to the Horguze king; he knows too much for an outsider. But even so, there is no way a leak would come from Harka and the others. Someone must be watching us from some unknown location!"
"So let's even the playing field." Yumemi smiled at his confusion. It's always good to keep them on their toes. "You sense a threat because the Horguze know too much and they can use that against you politically. If you reveal all the information, then the Horguze can't be hiding anything."
"That would mean bringing you before the council. They'll interrogate you." Munto placed his hands on her shoulders, his eyes searching hers. "They will force you into becoming the Outsider."
She smirked a tiny bit. "I will go answer their questions and then I will leave. Simple as that. No one will force me to become anything I do not wish to be. And if they persist, well, I always have my trump card."
"What is that?"
"Haven't you heard from my mother? I'm a teenage girl. Rebelling is practically genetic."
Deep beneath the Alliance Headquarters, a shadow stirred. A cloaked figure moved through the darkness, with only the swish of fabric to mark its passage. Down into the dungeons did it go, avoiding all sources of light until it reached the most obscured cell in the entire building. Bars crisscrossed over a door, humming with magical energy.
The cloaked figure drew close to the door and whispered words that were lost under the thrum and buzz of the force fields.
"Excellent," came the raspy response. "Almost all the pieces are in place. You know what you need to do with the Lower Worlders."
There was a nod before a swirl of fabric faded into the night, leaving the owner of the raspy voice chuckling to himself.
Warmth was pressed against Munto's chest as he groggily blinked the sleep from his eyes. His muscles ached from having spent the night in a cramped position. With a jolt, he remembered. Nestled against his chest was a slumbering girl, her breath gently blowing stands of hair backwards and forwards.
His face reddened in embarrassment. She had spent most of the night assuring him, verbally and emotionally, that going before the council was the right decision. When he couldn't shake his instinct that it was a trap, she soothed his soul, wrapping him in feelings of love and support through the powers of their rings. He was truly blessed to have such wonderful people there to help hold him up.
A cloud drifted into his heart. Political intrigue had never been his strong suit and between his suspicions about the Horguze and the council, as well as the recent actions of the human military, he was out of his league. It was so much easier during a crisis – everything became extremely black and white. During these times of peace, he needed to be better than that! Despite Yumemi's best assurances, the seeds of doubt had taken root in his heart.
The girl shifted as she too roused from her sleep.
"Munto?" Green eyes flashed. "Is everything okay?
He sighed and drew her close again. "I wish Gass was here. I feel like I could use some wisdom to kick me into shape right now."
"Then let's bring him back."
"What?" He sat up, watching closely. "What do you mean, bring him back?"
"You said he survived in the void. Let's try to bring him back. Between the two of us, we should be able to do it."
"We don't know if he's still alive," he said, but he could feel his spirit lifting. Was it possible? With her, it just might be. He knew enough about the time-space magic that he could navigate the uncharted paths as long as he had Yumemi's fire power. Another worry floated into his mind. "You should not use the Outsider Magic."
She waved away his concern. "I have you by my side. One more use won't hurt me."
"Then, shall we?" Munto rose from the bed, helping her to her feet. That was when he noticed the state of her apparel. They had apparently fallen asleep in their clothes from yesterday: his were a bit rumpled, but her school uniform was completely wrecked.
Taking a minute, he conjured a new black outfit with a flowing white cape, with some difficulty. He had to shake his head a few times to clear his head. Manipulating the flow of akuto was a talent he possessed since birth. Requiring some amount of concentration was unnerving, but he put it down to lack of sleep.
Next, he swirled his cape around Yumemi to bring forth a new set of clothes for her as well. Again, a process that was normally instantaneous took him several minutes. In the end, he had to tweak her existing clothes, twisting and pulling them into a pale gown with a blue panel on the front, a small white cape and a large golden cap completed the look.
There was a tiny twinge of worry that ran through the ring on his finger: she was concerned about his magic. He shot her a confident smile, even though he knew that she would be able to discern his own imbalance.
Together, they left the cave hand in hand, traveling a short distance to one edge of the Magical Kingdom. The reddish light of the emerging dawn reflected off of their rings, creating an exquisite sparkle. A brisk wind tugged at the fabric of their clothes and Yumemi had to hold on to her hat to prevent it from flying away.
"Munto-sama?" A high voice trilled through the quiet. "Yumemi-sama?"
Both spun around to see the source – who would be out here in the middle of nowhere at this early hour?
A tiny imp-like girl with bright orange hair was rising from the edge of the floating island. She looked as surprised to see them as they were to see her. "What are you doing here?"
Munto needed to make a snap decision. Lying to one of his citizens was a level that he wasn't ready to sink to just yet, especially when the secret would mean so much to Irita. Glancing around, he beckoned her to under the giant leaves of a nearby tree. In fairly short order, he brought her up to speed, swore her to secrecy, and then, against his initial decision, told her about their plan to summon Gass.
Aware of the gravity of the situation, Irita silently listened, nodding where appropriate. Within a few minutes, Munto and Yumemi were ready to begin their attempt.
"Are you ready, Yumemi?"
"Are you sure this is necessary?" she asked, gesturing at the rather ornate clothing he had created for her.
"You should always look your best when going into battle – even if that foe is nothing more than fear and uncertainty."
"Then yes, I am ready."
He reached down to clasp her hand tightly before throwing a quick glance back at Irita, who stood anxiously with clasped hands. "It's time to bring him home."
Looking forward to the sky, the clouds swirled between them and they raised their entwined hands as one.
Munto reached deep within his memories, recalling the brief lessons he'd had with Gass about how to forge a path. Last time, his mentor had been the one to open the way between the worlds, but with Yumemi's raw power, he knew it would be possible once more.
The familiar black swirl of space-time magic flowed around their arms, curling in the air with the fluidity of water. A sharp spike in energy channeled through them, making both cringe slightly at the shock, but they held firm. Pushing away the repellent forces, slowly, carefully, until there was a tiny black bubble floating in front of them. It rippled with a mysterious blue tint, as it turned in on itself. He focused his full mental capacity at gently pulling, making the anomaly expand, but he was met with nontrivial resistance.
"Come on," he muttered as Yumemi added more fuel to the fire, boosting his efforts with her ability to tear into space-time.
Then, the bubble began to steadily shrink. The pair poured in more energy and concentrated harder than ever before, but this seemed to only make the bubble disintegrate faster. Within a minute, the entire abnormality disappeared with a pop.
The king dropped to his knees in exhaustion and so did his partner, both panting from the exertion.
"What happened?" Irita scampered over to them. "What went wrong?"
"I don't know," he replied. "I thought we had it."
Yumemi shook her head, "I can only push ahead. Without a guiding point, I think my energy was going all over the place."
She didn't have to say anything else; Munto knew what the problem was. He had been unable to focus on Gass, to drive their efforts towards a particular location. They might as well have been trying to rip apart all of space and time – they would never cut through the void without purpose. And that was his job.
About to demand to try again, he reevaluated: Yumemi was completely spent, ragged and worn down beyond belief, and would definitely require a long rest before trying again. His heart only sunk lower as he remembered the sight of her, slowly dying, as she was forced to create a space-time portal under Gridori's command. If he continued to push her like this, he would be no better than that twisted creature.
"Let's take a break shall we?" he helped her off the ground. "Maybe we can try later today when it gets dark. I don't want to hang around for too long while it's light out. We never know who is watching."
"You are correct. You never can tell who is watching." Irita was pushed aside as Tatakohe and a squadron of United Alliance guards in purple emerged from the surrounding brush. "We received a tip late last night that you had kidnapped the Girl of Destiny and were attempting to escape with her. It seems our information was correct."
"What are you doing here?" Munto instinctively moved Yumemi into a defensive position behind him.
His opponent raised his arms in an exasperated shrug. "Did I not just say? The alliance received information last night that you had kidnapped her," he pointed accusingly at Yumemi. "I am here to bring you in to answer for your blatant disregard for rules."
"Why are YOU here?"
"Well, the council decided to send me. Apparently they trust me more than they trust you." He nodded his masked face as a signal as the guard swarmed in, surrounding and separating the two. "Any attempt to teleport will result in dire consequences for your partner, understood?"
They were escorted back to a small airship, painted with the symbol of the Heavenly Alliance. Despite protests, Munto was shackled with a device that he'd never seen before: a smooth rectangle with spaces for his wrists glowed yellow with converted magical energy.
Curses! Magitech was not easily disabled and the Horguze were experts at it.
He was briefly relieved to see that Yumemi had not received the same treatment. Clearly they weren't aware of her full power – which did include a bit of magic. Unfortunately, she was untrained and therefore unlikely to utilize that power without aid. At least they weren't in prison cells, yet.
As the airship flew back to the Alliance headquarters, he tried to wrack his brain for what to do. This was the worst-case scenario: they were bringing them in before he really had a chance to brief Yumemi on what could happen, they had found him concealing her presence, and they apparently had even more information at their disposal than before. This was not the position of strength that he wanted to enter this battle with. But with little opportunity to speak before they arrived, there was nothing for it but to wing it and see what happened.
Once back at the headquarters, they were ushered to the main council meeting room, where the elders, rulers, and aides from each of the seven heavenly continents were seated. Even Lady Ryuely and Louie had been summoned, both looking on apprehensively. Munto was dragged to the front of the room.
"What is this about?" he asked the presiding elder who served as the moderator.
"Munto, lord of the Magical Kingdom, you are brought before the United Alliance to answer for your crimes."
From the lack of murmuring, it was pretty clear that everyone had been briefed on these proceedings. Everyone except for the Magical Kingdom contingent. Ryuely raised a hand to her face to cover her shock and Louie stood in protest.
"What crimes?" the young king asked. "What are you talking about?"
At this point, the moderator deferred to another member at the table. Tatakohe rose to speak.
"The most grievous charge is removing the Girl of Destiny from the custody of her own government, thus provoking a threat to take action if she is not returned within twenty-four Earth hours. This act is deemed to be treasonous as it not only throws the Heavens into a dangerous situation, but also demonstrates a blatant disregard for the direct orders of this body."
"That was for her own protection! They had taken her unwillingly from her parents and their home!"
"Regardless, the human military has been made aware of her powers and therefore, your 'heroism' is being interpreted as, and I quote: 'The theft of a weapon of massive destructive potential, which constitutes an act of hostility.'" He waved a piece of paper with Japanese written on it. "As previously stated, 'if the weapon is not returned within twenty-four hours, the Earth Defense Force will be given no option but to attempt to reclaim the weapon through any means necessary.'"
"That is suspicious. How would they know about her powers? We made sure to protect her identity."
"'We'?" Tatahoke prompted. "Who are you referring to? This council made no such decision."
Munto cursed under his breath: this interrogation was slipping out of his control. "Given Yumemi's age and situation, my advisors and I felt it was best to hide her involvement during the akuto crisis so she would not become a target."
"So you knowingly withheld information from this assembly."
At this point, the elder from Ender rose to address the group. "You are mistaken, young king of Horguze. We were aware of the identity of the Girl of Destiny from the moment that she created the flood of akuto that saved us during the crisis. The king of the Magical Kingdom was not malicious in his intent." He turned to the elders from Shozeto, Ryannei, and Ruhkon. "The other elders can confirm this."
"Well, we don't know for certain that his intentions were pure," said the elder from Ryannei, adjusting his red cap. "The akuto crisis was handled largely without our supervision and could have ended disastrously for us all. We were lucky that the situation did not end in misfortune."
"You senile fool," spat the Ender elder. "That is not what you said back then!"
"Silence, please." Tatakohe raised a hand. "The assembly does not recognize the elder from Ender at this time. Nor do I think we will for the rest of this session, given Ender's previous sympathies towards the Magical Kingdom."
The moderator nodded and decreed that Ender would not be permitted to speak for the rest of the meeting.
Munto watched the tragedy unfolding before him. If he didn't do something quick, that Horguze bastard was going to tear the Alliance apart.
"This does not change the fact that you had exclusive access to her powers," Tatakohe continued. "You even manipulated her emotionally to maintain further control over her."
The king's mouth dropped and he quickly looked back at Yumemi. She could not believe his lies!
But he was worried for nothing. Yumemi stood resplendent in her elegant robes, tall and proud, with the all-too-familiar defiant look in her eyes. She stepped forward soundlessly and then opened her mouth to attack.
"You are sorely mistaken, sir. My participation in the events that joined our worlds together was completely voluntary. The king never coerced me in any manner – I do believe that was the job of your former general, Gntarl, no?"
Even behind the mask, there was no mistaking the snide confidence flowing from Tatakohe. "While the council appreciates your perspective, Girl of Destiny, it does not change the fact that Munto sought to cover your powers."
"My name is Hidaka Yumemi."
"Excuse me?"
She crossed her arms and Munto could feel pride swell up in his heart. That's my girl! Holding her own against that bastard!
"My name is Hidaka Yumemi, not 'Girl of Destiny'. I have never pledged my service to any country or ruler. I am my own person – not a weapon."
"Then you admit that you have the Outsider powers over space and time." Tatakohe examined a piece of paper in front of him. "And of course the magical powers similar to those of a magician."
Munto's blood ran cold. No one should have known about that. Few within the kingdom knew that she had passed the magician's test. There had been the day they merged the worlds, where she had displayed her own pink battle magic, but the only witnesses had been himself and her two friends. And of course Gntarl, but he was locked in a cell.
He could tell that Yumemi was also a bit shaken. She made eye contact with him, a little fearful and uncertain. She was probably not even aware of what he was referring to since they had never bothered to discuss the logistics of magic in depth.
"By keeping you hidden away, the Magical King prevented us from having access to a power that is traditionally available to all the Heavenly continents."
"He did no such thing!" Yumemi raised her voice, trembling slightly at first, but gaining strength as she continued. "I am not the Outsider you seem to desire. But if you truly need a guardian of space and time, I know where you can find one!"
Without any hesitation, she flung out her arms and closed her eyes as a wind started up, tossing her hair in every direction. The familiar lightning of space-time magic crackled through the air as a dark spot appeared, fluid and shifting.
"Yumemi, don't!" Munto yelled, running over to her, but he was pushed back by the extreme force of the space-time portal. "You'll get hurt doing it by yourself!" Guards gathered around him, blocking further movement.
Faster than he had ever seen before, the portal to the void opened, right there in the conference room. He kept his eyes on Yumemi the entire time, acutely aware that she was sweating profusely and pallor was settling over her face.
"Yumemi, stop!" He screamed, trying to barge through the wall of guards, who blocked his path. She couldn't keep doing this. Her determination was feeding through to him via the ring, but he could also feel the building pain. "Stop, please!"
"What is that?" Many of the rulers had darted around to the far end of the room, but many were still concerned when a shadow appeared in the portal. "Blast it down!"
Several guards were drawing miniature MagiTech cannons, aimed at the portal. "Fire!"
Magical blasts shot forward with great velocity. The first one hit the target, exploding. Then a second, a third, and a fourth.
"Was that really necessary?" A deep voice called out as the echoes of the thunderous attacks faded.
Out of the smoke stepped Gass, the Outsider, Guardian of Space and Time. He knelt before Yumemi and swept his arm over her face. Immediately, her eyes closed and she crumpled into his remaining arm. With a second gesture, the person-sized portal was surrounded by the space-time runes before collapsing on itself.
"Yumemi!" Munto pushed past the guards, who were too stunned to do anything. He fell to his knees before his old mentor, heart thudding in his chest. Her complexion was much too pale and there were no emotions coming from the ring. "Is she okay?"
Gass gave him a stern look. "I warned you about this: the Outsider magic is not something that just anyone can harness. She was pushing herself to the brink: she has done some serious damage to herself."
No one else dared to say a word as Gass turned over her hands and Munto fell back. Her hands were almost completely black, for all the space-time runes that crisscrossed over her skin.
"Can you do something about it?" he asked. "You can fix this right?"
"A basic tenant of the Outsider power is that only the Outsider has immunity to the curse. Thank goodness she was not using it for personal gain, or otherwise this would be permanent." Gass glowered at the young king. "You were foolish to allow her to do this."
He was about to counter, but he realized that any reasons he could give would only be excuses. "I'm sorry, Gass."
"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to her once you have fixed this."
Now Munto was confused. "When I…?"
"Did I not just say that only the Outsider has immunity to the curse? The only course of remedy is to make her the Outsider." He met Munto with a hard look. "Hence, why this is something that you can do."
"I don't understand," the king murmured, feeling as lost as when he ascended to the throne after his parents had returned to the akuto. Completely untethered and trying to find his true path.
Unfortunately, it seemed Tatakohe did comprehend what had just transpired. "Lord Munto has the powers of the Outsider?" He pointed an accusatory finger at him. "How long have been you hiding that from us?"
The rest of the room erupted into chaos and confusion.
Elders and rulers alike started screaming orders, demanding clarification. Multiple corned Ryuely and Louie, threatening unless they divulged everything they knew. The guards once again surged on Munto, dragging him to his knees. He fought against them, but their numbers were great. Gass was shackled and lead away. Some strangers in pale robes picked up Yumemi and whisked her out of the room.
"No! You cannot take Yumemi! She will die of that curse if we don't do something!" Munto yelled, wrestling with his jailors.
"You do nothing!" Tatakohe yelled back at him. The rest of the clamor died, focusing instead on the two young kings that were facing off. In a calmer voice, he continued. "If what Gass said is true, that you are the rightful possessor of the Outsider magic, then the law is clear: you cannot be the ruler of one of the Heavenly Continents, for the Outsider sits above all."
He snapped his fingers and two of the guards braced Munto, holding out his cuffed hands. Then the Horguze king sauntered forward, taking Munto's hand in his owns.
To the Magical King's horror, Tatakohe slid off his father's ring.
"No! That's mine! It belongs to me!" He yelled and struggled in vain against the strong hold of the guards. "That was my father's!"
"This is the symbol of the ruler of the Magical Kingdom. You are no longer the king, Munto, therefore this ring does not belong to you." Tatakohe held out his hand, the ring nestled in his palm. "This will remain in possession of the council until a new king can be appointed."
"You have no right to do this!" Now Louie was storming over towards the ring. "On what authority do you assume to have such power to dethrone the rightful heir to the Magical Kingdom?"
"It is the will of the council," remarked one of the elders. "We were prepared for such an outcome. It is unfortunate, but this is the consequence of rash thinking and short sightedness. The king was given ample warning that punitive measures would be taken should he continue to refuse to cooperate."
"That is preposterous!" Louie sputtered. "You are all overstepping your bounds, as you well know."
"Guards, see this person to the door. As there is no king, there can be no aide, and therefore, this individual is nothing more than a civilian." Tatakohe practically snarled.
"Munto! Go! Now!" Louie yelled as the guards forcibly removed him from the room. "Get Princess Yumemi and go!"
Shaking out of his stupor, Munto tried to focus on his special person, but for some reason he could not form a clear picture in his head. Every time he tried to draw up details about her eyes, her hair, her clothes, the way she smelled, everything blurred, like the rippling surface of the water.
This should be so easy for him! He had been teleporting since he was a small child – jumping to someone he knew should come naturally!
But it did not.
"Munto! What is wrong?" Louie yelled again. Noticing the king was apparently in shock, the blue-haired man shouldered his way through the crowd, slid deftly between the other rulers and aids. He jumped over outstretched arms and landed next to Munto.
Without a second thought, he pictured somewhere safe, somewhere far away, and then they vanished.
A/N: Here we go! Poor Munto - how will he come out of this one? And don't worry - Yumemi is not down for the count - not by a long shot.
Let me know what you think! I know this one has quite a different feel to it than the last two.