Chapter 4

The Red Sunset

(The Lanes Between, Gummi Ship Serenity)

Kokoro leaned over the controls, frowning slightly as he made adjustments. Kaze hovered worriedly over his should, trying to peek at what was going on. Alarms blared from all over the ship, and the cabin flashed red as the ship shook violently. Kokoro was muttering swiftly under his breath as he pounded at the controls, trying to stabilize the ship while trying desperately to shut off the alarm.

"Um, Master? Maybe you should try…" Kaze's suggestion trailed off into mumbling as Kokoro swirled around and shot him a murderous glare.

"Go and find Mizu!" He snapped at his apprentice. "I need her help to pilot the ship." Kaze turned about and headed for the hatch, but it opened before he got to it and Mizu stepped onto the bridge. She was standing straight and tall and though her eyes were rimmed with red, she showed no other sign that she wasn't perfectly alright.

"Did you need me, Master Kokoro?" she asked.

"Of course I do." He snapped at her. "Does everything look like it's going smoothly right now?" Mizu strode over to the controls and took a seat. With the flip of a switch she shut off the klaxon, and as her hands flew over the controls one by one the readouts, moments before fluctuating wildly, came under control. She turned to Kokoro and asked "Is there anything else you need?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. We need to find a world where we can put down. I would have found one already, but I couldn't find the scanner and there were, other problems."

"Wait!" Kaze interjected. "Shouldn't we find a way to contact the academy? We need to find out what happened!"

"We will, but the radio was damaged in our escape. Right now we need a place to hide from the heartless, outside the realm of darkness. " Mizu, who had been perusing the scanner, spoke up.

"There is a world nearby, just on the border of the Realms. It's called Twilight Town, I think." Kokoro bent down and looked over her shoulder.

"Hmmm. Its secluded and more on the light side than the dark. It will do."

They had put down in a forest outside the walls of the city. Once they had made their way to them, Kokoro turned about and addressed the two apprentices.

"I will go ahead to scout out the town and find us supplies. You two stay here and keep out of trouble. Under no circumstances will you enter the town, is that clear?" Kaze and Mizu murmured their assent. Kokoro remained skeptical. "I trust you can handle such simple instructions, Kaze?" Kaze looked at his feet and nodded. Mizu looked between Kokoro and Kaze, then threw her arm around her friend.

"We'll be fine Master Kokoro! I trust Kaze completely! Everything will work out find!" She said, giving him a winning smile. "Right Kaze?" Kaze nodded. Kokoro jut gave a disbelieving sniff and turned back to the wall. He ran at it, and made a series of leaps toward the top.

"Stay out of trouble!" He called to them from the battlements, and then he disappeared over the ledge. Mizu turned to Kaze.

"Well, I don't want to stay here. How about you?" Mizu asked Kaze.

"Not Really."

"I wish we could see the town. It sure was nice of him to leave us without any way up."

"Well, there is this." Kaze said. He touched the design on his shoulder and in a flash of light he was once more garbed in his bronze armor. Mizu didn't look too impressed.

"Well, that's fine for you, but what about me?" Kaze shrugged.

"I'll just carry you up on my back." At this Mizu managed to looked unimpressed and skeptical at the same time.

"Are you sure you can carry me?"

"Oh please, miss twig, I don't think you'll be a problem. This armor does more than just protect us, it lets us channel the light and use special powers." Mizu shrugged.

"Very well, let's go. And I'm not a twig." She said as she climbed up onto his shoulders. Kaze grunted and bent slightly as she situated herself, but finally she perched on his shoulders and got her legs locked in his arms. They would have made a strange sight to anyone watching from the forest.

"Now mush!" said Mizu, pointing ahead with an outstretched hand.

Kaze laughed. "You keep that up and I'll drop you halfway up!" With several leaping bounds he sprinted at the wall and followed Kokoro's zigzagging path up the wall. Once at the top, Mizu slipped off Kaze's back and looked around, as Kaze collapsed and gasped for breath.

A few moments later Kaze looked up to see Mizu still standing there, looking out over the town. "What's the matter Miz…oh?" He followed her eyes and felt the breath leave him again. The sun was setting over the tiny town, shining out from halfway behind the horizon.

"It's beautiful." Mizu said, dumbstruck. "The most absolutely beautiful thing I've ever seen." Kaze began to look around, his eyes falling on a building that rested on the top of the hill in the center of town.

"I'll bet it's even more beautiful from up there."