A/N: Alright, so I reread the chapters I have put up so far and came to the realization that the few chapters in the beginning seriously suck. Especially the conversations. So I am once again, re-rewriting it but the plot is still the same.

But hopefully, now, at the very least, this won't look like it was written by-

Kurogane: an amateur?

Me: What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be locked in a closet.

Kurogane: That was for the A/N of 'Shattered Secrets'. I'm not trapped in this one.

Me: *sighs* Alright. Fine. Whatever. I'm lacking my usual energy today so I won't be bantering with you. I'll just let the readers know a few things about this fic.

It's loosely going to follow the manga storyline though there will be newer worlds which will replace a few of the ones visited by the group in the manga. But there is a reason for that. Also there will be two OCs travelling with the group, and while I will switch around POVs to the TRC gang as well, majority of the fic might be told in the OCs's POV. Oh and you might see a few crossovers characters here and there but that is mostly because I'm just being lazy to create more OCs. *shot*

Everything that will happen in this fic will have a reason that will be revealed sooner or later. I'm going to try my level best to clarify everything, though if you have any questions regarding it, please, don't hesitate to ask. I won't bite. ;)

And now, please read and enjoy. Don't forget to review.

-0-

Thoughts or flashbacks

"Normal speech"

Chapter 1:

"Ugh! I can't believe it." Madiha groaned in disgust as she scanned through all the channels for the umpteenth time. "A hundred channels and I can't find anything to watch."

"Calm down," her raven-haired friend spoke in a placating tone as she entered the den with a bowl of spaghetti, "I'm sure you'll find something to watch."

"Yeah right," The first girl snorted. "Easier said than done." She began her ritual of scanning the channels once more. "I'm so damn bored, and nothing good is on." She threw the remote control on the couch with a sigh as she closed her eyes. "I seriously hate this. Why couldn't my parent have taken me along with Dani?"

"Maybe because we have our exams coming up in about a week's time?" The other girl answered as she loaded the noodles into two separate plates.

"I know that, Xahra," she groaned, feeling the couch dip as her friend settle in next to her. Opening her soft brown eyes, she took the plate the other girl offered. "I remember perfectly well what my beloved mother said to me while she was packing for the wedding. 'I'm sorry Madiha, but you can't go to your cousin's wedding. You need to prepare for your upcoming exams. Wasting time is not an option for you.' As if she doesn't know I never study until the night before the exams anyways."

"Maybe she was hoping for a miracle?" Xahra suggested helpfully, but the effect was ruined by the silly grin on her face. "Besides, it could have been much worse."

"Oh, yeah?" Madiha quirked a brow in mock curiosity.

"Yeah," she nodded, ignoring her friend's mocking tone as she picked up the remote previously thrown by the brown-eyed girl. "I mean, just imagine. What if your parents had left you with that freaky neighbor of yours?" she said as she scanned through the channels herself.

"Well, I suppose you do have a point," Madiha said thoughtfully, twirling the fork in her plate to wrap some noodles around it, "Your place is a lot less creepy. Well," she added as an afterthought, "maybe except your bedroom."

"Hey!" Xahra cried indignantly, "I'll have you know that my room is a lot better than that junkyard you call a room."

"Whatever you say." The other quipped with a teasing grin.

"So," the lavender-eyed girl turned her attention on Madiha after a while, "When are your parents going to return?"

"In a week. Why?"Madiha replied casually as she looked at the girl, "You tired of having me over already?"

"Nah, I was just thinking about something."

"What?"

"Well, your parents are gone for the wedding, and my parents are gone on their business trip," Xahra spoke as she turned her head back towards the T.V set.

So?" Madiha asked indifferently, also returning to watching the movie.

"So, that means we get a whole week of freedom," Xahra replied, looking at her with twinkling eyes. "No parents, no rules!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

"Seriously, you sound like a little kid that has never been left alone at home on their own before." The brown-eyed girl spoke without much interest, keeping her gaze fixed on the screen. "Act your age for once."

"I always act my age," Xahra huffed, crossing her arms in indignation. "Sometimes I just find it more fun not to."

"Sometimes?" Madiha looked at the girl with a raised brow.

Her dark-haired friend was about to retort when they heard a static noise coming from the TV. Looking in the object's direction, they discovered that the screen had died out. Not a second later, the lights flickered before everything was immersed in darkness.

"Oh, great," groaned Madiha. "A power outage."

"Don't move," Xahra instructed as she climbed to her feet and made her way across the room in darkness. "I'll go get the candles."

Madiha sat there in silence, patiently waiting for the other girl to return with some source of light. She could hear her rummaging about the closet for a while before she reappeared with a lit candle stick in her hand.

"Okay…" the brunette drawled as her friend set the candle on the glass table top right next to her plate before settling back in her seat. "Now what?"

"We could play this new game I bought at the funfair today." Xahra suggested instantly. Then, without waiting for her friend's reply, the raven-haired girl ran to her bedroom with the candle, leaving the former in darkness once more.

Five minutes later, Xahra reappeared with a flat wooden box tucked under her arm. Repeating the earlier motion of setting the candle back on the table, she dumped the game down in Madiha's lap.

Frowning in annoyance, the brunette looked down at the box, studying it in the dim light of the candle. She could tell that it was very old, as could easily be seen from the faded and peeling-off paint on the carvings of the box.

"This is the one that you bought from that weird woman, right?" Madiha asked as she picked it up to take a closer look. The wood felt warm beneath her fingers, as though if it had been lying in the sun for hours. She ran her finger on the top of the wooden lid where a metal plate was fixed with a strange feather embossed in the top right corner.

The name was written in a strange, cursive sort of writing: "Feather Chronicles."

"Feather Chronicles...?" Madiha repeated, her voice betraying her reluctance to play such a silly sounding game. She looked up to see her friend pouting at her, silently blackmailing her with puppy-dog eyes. Sighing, the former turned the box over to see the base. Another metal plate was affixed to the wood here.

"How much did you pay for it?" she asked, without paying much attention to her answer. She had just noticed that, even though the language was weirdly symbolic, she could still understand the small note written the bottom of the plate.

For those who love Adventure, Fantasy & Magic:

Help the princess of the desert gather her memories scattered amongst numerous dimensions.

"Wow…" Madiha started, shaking her head in disbelief, "talk about using your imagination. There is no way I am playing something this stupid." She lightly tossed the box back to her friend. The wooden object almost landing on top of the burning candle but Xahra caught it just in time, gripping it tightly to make sure that it wasn't anywhere near the flames, before she looked desperately back up.

"But Maddy, come on. Please?" the lavender-eyed girl begged, enhancing her innocent, puppy-eyed look. Madiha turned to glare at her, though in the end she sat back down with a dejected sigh. "I cannot believe that we are friends," she said, shaking her head. 'How in the world did I end up with you, again?'

"Want me to remind you?' Xahra grinned as she excitedly opened the wooden box. A weird sort of maze was carved into the wood with some sort of glowing metal embedded in it. Her grin changed to a look of pure awe. This thing was amazingly beautiful, almost magical.

Madiha on the other hand could not see what was so special about this old piece of wood.

"Let's just get this thing over with so I can get some sleep," Madiha said, waving a hand in front of Xahra's eyes to get her attention away from the board. "How are we supposed to play it?"

"The woman said that we just had to push the buttons on its side to start the game," Xahra replied, mesmerized by the maze.

"What? It doesn't have any dice, or something?" Madiha asked as she got off the couch and sat on the floor.

"Nope," Xahra replied, mimicking her friend's actions.

"Okay, fine, does it have any rules?' Madiha sighed for the umpteenth time. She had been irritated by her friend's behavior from the beginning but now…this was getting just plain annoying.

"Just a warning," Xahra said, finally coming back to herself. She read from a worn out age old yellow piece of parchment. "Begin this game only if you intend to finish it. You can't abandon it halfway through."

"Right… Scary warning," the brunette laughed, "Maybe they should have added something like 'don't try to leave before then or the universe will be blown up by a crazy witch who happens to be your best friend.'"

"And you said the game was lame," Xahra said tonelessly.

"Oh shut up." Madiha rolled her eyes.

"Okay, so all we have to do is push these buttons, I guess," Xahra waved her hand at the two buttons on either sides of the board. They pressed them simultaneously but nothing happened.

"Okay, we pushed the buttons…Now what?" Maddy raised her brow. No sooner had she said this, that a strange multicolored light started emanating from the board. The wooden boxed rumbled slightly before the light vanished.

There was silence for a couple of seconds before the board started shaking once more, slightly at first but getting more and more violent.

"What the hell?" Madiha exclaimed, staring at the object in wide-eyed horror. A multicolored smoke began escaping from the metal plates, giving off an enchanting, almost magical glow as it slowly began to spread all around them. As it enveloped the girls, their bodies began dissolving in the places where it touched them.

"What's going on?" Xahra cried in a panic-stricken voice.

"I was hoping you'd tell me. You bought the stupid game!" Madiha responded, trying to sound brave, but truth be told, she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Or maybe she had already had a nervous breakdown from utter boredom, and now she was having hallucinations, or something?

The room vanished from sight just as they were completely surrounded by the strange smoke. She could feel her friend's presence close by, but it was impossible to see anything around her with darkness was pressing in on her from all sides. Just as suddenly as it had started, it all stopped. The smoke vanished and the girls were assaulted by rain.

Madiha picked herself off the wet grass in one swift move and began brushing off her clothes.

Wait a second…

Wet grass?

Madiha blinked hard as she took in her surroundings. She was getting drenched by the rain in someone's backyard. Beside her, Xahra stood with her mouth hanging open as she gaped at the tall buildings surrounding them. But, she was not the only other person getting wet in this place. There were several more people. Two young girls who appeared to be aroundthe age of ten stood behind a beautiful woman with a voluptuous body. She was wearing a quite revealing dress. Wonder who made their hair? She thought while inwardly smirking at the two girls. The woman was currently looking at someone behind her. Madiha turned her head to see who it was, but midway there, it snapped back to the front. This woman had red eyes.

How can someone have red eyes?

The red eyed woman raised her head to look at the sky. "Here they come," She spoke softly, apparently to herself.

Madiha followed her gaze, only to see a piece of the sky bulge inwards, or downwards, actually. At the same time, she heard Xahra gasp. Her head whipped in her friend's direction.

There, right beside her, a piece of the ground was also bulging outwards. Seconds afterwards, two men stood right where the swirly bulges had been.

I think I really am having a nervous breakdown. What the hell is going on here? Red eyed people, and swirly bursting bulges? What's next? Princesses and talking animals? Madiha thought in exasperation.

"Who the hell are you?" growled one of the men, while at the same time, the other one asked politely, "Are you the dimension witch?"

A/N: Man. This took so long to rewrite (sort of) ;)

Hopefully this will now be much better to read.

Oh and I'm gonna be deleting the rest of the chapters till the time I put up their rewritten versions. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Ciao!