A few hours later, Hanna, Shadow, and Rouge are sat around a table outside a small coffee shop across the road from the Royal Palace, at a table as far away from the other patrons as possible to get a little relative privacy.

"I love this place," Hanna smiles, allowing the scent of her fresh hot chocolate with marshmallows to fill her nose. "Best hot chocolate in the Origin Kingdoms."

"This is pointless," Shadow opines.

"Shush and let the smart people talk," Hanna instructs.

"He has a point though," Rouge replies. "Why are we here?"

"You want to know about the Elemental Crystals, so I've brought you to where they're housed," Hanna explains.

"How come you know so much about them, anyway?" Rouge asks.

"Because me and Rob collected them all originally," Hanna answers. "Also, we've used them on more than one occasion. That's how I know they're so dangerous."

"Where are they now?"

"Under the Palace is the royal research laboratory complex, and deep within that, there's a high‑security vault with a round‑the‑clock guard. The Crystals are locked inside a safe within that vault."

"At least they're securely held," Rouge guesses, sounding relieved.

"They've been stolen twice," Hanna corrects.

"So much for them being secure," Rouge sighs. "What happened?"

"The first time, the Jade Alliance invaded the city, besieged the Palace, and stole the Crystals, leaving several of my friends badly injured, and in one case, dying," Hanna explains. "It later turned out that they were working for an insane off‑worlder who's under the delusion the Crystals are his birth‑right or something, and he had a snake on the inside to help him."

"And the second time?"

"Two of my friends broke in and stole them to help win a civil war in the Gotoshi, again helped by someone on the inside."

"That doesn't exactly reassure us," Rouge informs.

"Don't underestimate how hard both attempts were," Hanna advises. "In both cases, the Palace did everything it could to prevent the theft. They would have successfully defended the second time if it wasn't for the researcher working with the Crystals turning traitor."

"Researcher?" Rouge inquires.

"Never underestimate the desire of the military to learn new ways to kill people," Hanna comments satirically.

A moment later, people start flocking towards the main entrance of the Palace. At first, it's just a trickle, but soon it becomes a flood.

"Interesting," Hanna thinks aloud, finishing her hot chocolate. "Excuse me a moment," she adds, standing and heading towards the Palace.

"Where are you going?" Rouge asks.

"To see if I can get you more up‑to‑date info," Hanna answers as she slips into the flow of people heading to the Palace.

After losing sight of Hanna in the crowd, Rouge decides to follow from the skies. "Wait here," she instructs Shadow before taking off and flying above the crowd.

Shadow watches Rouge fly over the crowd towards the Palace. This is stupid.


Inside the Palace's entrance hall, a lavender purple‑haired dragoness and a two‑tone viridian wildcat emerge from the stairway leading up to the Royal Magister's throne room, and make their way towards the main door.

"Why are we helping with these interviews again?" the wildcat asks. "They're so boring."

"I know," the dragoness agrees. "But when it comes to the Crystals, absolute security is a must, and the Magister trusts our opinions."

"But we don't know much about that sort of thing," the wildcat reminds. "Gong and Neera are more experienced."

"They also failed to defend the Kingdom Stone," the dragoness reminds. "But I do agree we're not really the ones to consult."

"It's because we saved the world, isn't it?" the wildcat asks.

"Yep," the dragoness confirms, not sounding happy about it.

"At least we're done for today," the wildcat remarks. "What do you wanna do tonight?"

"Hang out with my best friend and watch bad movies," the dragoness smiles.

"Ooh! Ooh! Can we make inarizushi?" the wildcat asks, unable to contain her anticipation.

"Sure," the dragoness agrees.

"Good afternoon, Miss Lilac and Miss Tea," the head door guard greets as the dragoness and wildcat arrive.

"Please, just call us Lilac and Carol," Lilac insists. "Is it busy outside?"

"Unfortunately, yes," the guard confirms. "We did our best, but rumours spread fast."

Lilac and Carol sigh in unison. "Hopefully there's no young kids with sticky hands this time," Carol wishes. "I don't wanna have to cut out clumps of matted fur again."

"You shouldn't let them stroke you then," Lilac teases.

"You try saying 'no' to adorable kids," Carol retorts cheekily. "Can we go out a secret way?" she asks, her tone more serious.

"I thought you liked the attention?" Lilac asks.

"Eh… I can take it or leave it," Carol shrugs.

"Also, your bike's out front," Lilac reminds.

"Oh yeah… I hope it's alright."

"It'll be fine." Lilac takes a deep breath. "Ready to meet hundreds of adoring fans?"

Carol takes a deep breath. "Let's do this."

The guard opens the door to allow Lilac and Carol to exit, where they find almost four hundred people crowding the bottom of the stairway, held back by a line of Palace guards. Putting on a brave face, the heroic duo makes their way down to the crowd, Carol picking up her bike on the way. Luckily for them, the crowd is well‑behaved, and soon the girls settle into a surprisingly pleasant round of signing autographs and answering simple questions.

That is, until Lilac spots a familiar vixen in the crowd. Surprised, the dragoness simply stands there, staring.

"Um, Lilac, are you OK?" Carol asks.

Lilac snaps back to the real world and turns to Carol. "Sorry, I just thought I saw… Never mind."

Carol looks at Lilac curiously for a moment, then returns to signing autographs and answering questions.

Lilac looks to where she saw the vixen, only to find she's not there. Must have been my imagination. Pushing the thoughts to the back of her head, Lilac returns her attention to the crowd.

A few seconds later, she sees the vixen again. This time, the vixen sees her and waves 'hello'.

Of all the people… Lilac enters the crowd and walks right up to the vixen. "Hanna Skarlett," she greets tersely.

"Sash Lilac," Hanna replies pleasantly with a respectful if insincere nod. "Good to see you again: it's been a while. How are you?"

"Well," Lilac answers briefly.

"And your friends?" Hanna continues.

"Well."

"Come on Sash, how is this a way to talk to an old friend?" Hanna smiles, convincingly feigning innocence. "You can say more than a syllable or two."

"My name is 'Lilac'," the dragoness corrects flatly. "Why are you here?"

"I was in the area, heard you were here, and decided to say 'Hello'," Hanna explains. "And, if you have a spare ten minutes, discuss some important business."

"With all due respect, there's no business between us to discuss," Lilac informs. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way."

"I understand," Hanna replies. "The safety of Avalice can wait for another day."

Lilac halts. Dammit! She just had to play that card! "OK, we'll talk business," she reluctantly agrees.

"Excellent!" Hanna smiles. "Though I'd prefer somewhere a little less public."

"Surely you can discuss it here?" Lilac asks, thinking she's got Hanna beaten.

"Yuánsù[DM1] jīngtǐ," Hanna replies, in the Mùyǔ form of Classic Yǔyán.

Lilac's expression visibly darkens. "Xīn[DM2] wēixié?"

"Yěxǔ[DM3] ," Hanna answers cryptically.

"Wǒ[DM4] míngbái," Lilac acknowledges. "My apologies everyone, but duty calls," she announces to the assembled crowd.

As the disappointed crowd starts to disperse, Carol joins Lilac. "What's she doing here‽" she growls.

"Hello to you, too," Hanna growls back, dropping her pleasant act now the crowd is dispersing.

"She's here on business," Lilac explains. "Play nice. That goes for both of you, by the way: I didn't appreciate being made to look bad in front of that crowd."

"Boo‑hoo," Hanna mocks.

"Just get on with it," Lilac instructs.

"I will, but not here," Hanna replies. "Plus, you need to meet my new friends first."

"You've made new friends?" Carol asks snidely.

"Yes, because unlike you two, I go out and meet new people," Hanna growls back.

"Enough!" Lilac interrupts. "Hanna, introduce us to your new friends."

"Ask nicely," Hanna insists.

"In the name of the Ancients, Hanna, just get on with it," Lilac sighs in frustration.

"I love it when you get annoyed," Hanna smirks. "You can come down now!" she calls to the sky.

A moment later, Rouge lands beside Hanna. "How did you know I was up there?"

"I heard you flapping your wings," Hanna answers, wiggling her ears. "Also, I saw you following me. Anyway, these are two incompetent low‑lifes that once bumbled their way to saving the world, and are now milking it for all it's worth."

"Hanna, I think you should shut up now," Lilac advises, then turns to Rouge. "My name's Sash Lilac, and this is my best friend Carol Tea."

"Pleasure to meet you both," Rouge replies. "I'm Rouge."

"No surname?" Lilac asks.

"Never needed one," Rouge explains. "I get the feeling you and Hanna don't see eye‑to‑eye."

"That obvious, huh?" Lilac smiles. "Yeah, we don't get along, but that's only because I'm a better fighter than she is, and she can't live with being second‑best."

"Third‑best," Carol corrects.

"Of course," Lilac agrees.

"Your arrogance will be your downfall," Hanna growls.

"So, Rouge, how did you become friends with this 'delightful' vixen?" Lilac asks the bat, ignoring Hanna's jibe.

"We only met a few hours ago," Rouge explains. "Me and my team are here to ensure the Elemental Crystals aren't a threat to our world."

"Your team?" Lilac inquires.

"Team Dark: me, Shadow, and Omega," Rouge answers.

Odd team name. "I can personally assure you, the Crystals are protected about as well as it's possible to protect them," Lilac assures.

"They've also been stolen twice," Hanna reminds.

"Which is why the Magister's upping security," Lilac informs. "But we can't talk about that here."

"Jade Creek," Hanna suggests.

Lilac's hair whips twitch slightly, but she remains calm. "As good a place as any, I suppose," she agrees.

"So much for inarizushi," Carol sighs.

"We'll figure something out," Lilac assures. "Where are Shadow and Omega?"

"I'm here," Shadow replies from directly behind Lilac.

The dragoness reacts on instinct: within two seconds, she's slammed Shadow to the ground and pinned him there. An instant later, she realises her mistake. "I'm so sorry!" she apologises, getting off Shadow and offering a hand. "It's just, you surprised me, and‑"

"Whatever," Shadow dismisses, ignoring Lilac's offer of assistance.

"Real bundle of joy, this one," Carol remarks sarcastically.

"That's Shadow," Rouge shrugs.

"I'll send a message to HQ and let Rob know where we're headed," Hanna informs. "He and Omega will meet us there."