Episode 8: 遠くのフリー!;ザマジックシックス Distant Free; The Magic Six!

~Can we really be the team that we once were?~

Six stars…finally, you shall become the will that destroys the heavens!


The five sexy swimming boys stared at their last member of the team before them. They remembered their first meeting with him as dark and vengeful because of his bad childhood life on Earth but this boy before them was even darker yet and more twisted than before. Rei could only feel nervous on what the outcome will be if he told them the truth.

Alex's eyes glowed red at them as he stared with silence and anger.

"Th-those eyes!" gasped Rin.

"It…it can't be!" trembled Makoto as he realized something while he turned to Haruka.

"I remember your eyes did glow red back on Earth. But this time…it's even darker than what it was," said Haruka.

"Yes why?" asked Nagisa, feeling a bit nervous too, "Why are you like this?"

Rin turned to Rei and asked, "You know something about him?"

"He doesn't have a Suiei Necklace either…" said Haruka as he realized that there was no indication of the boy before them possessing any magic.

"It's a long story," replied Rei, "I…"

Alex stared at them for a moment before turning around and muttered, "So…this is what Jadwiga meant…five other boys in total."

"Huh?" asked Rin, "Jad…what?"

Makoto turned to Nagisa as he was feeling a bit nervous but the blonde shrugged, not understanding what was happening either.

"Oi!" snapped Rin, getting annoyed, "Why are you so silent?!"

Alex turned around and replied, "I have nothing in need from you guys; you're all nothing to me."

Makoto and Haruka felt insulted and a bit hurt by that since the latter remembered Alex as his very special person but he showed no sign of tears or anything, just pure shock and confusion.

"H-how dare you!?" said Rin, feeling hurt by this, "You were once amongst us! We were a team together for your own sake and for our sake, and for the gods!"

Rei turned to Rin and said, "Calm down Rin!

Rin grunted to himself while Rei turned back to Alex and replied, "And Alex please, you're making things worse..."

"Rin," said Nagisa, holding the red-haired boy's hand, "We should let Rei explain himself about all of this."

"As I said before, I am only here to defeat my prey," said Alex as he gripped on his sword, "Not to join a circus with you guys."

"What the hell happened to you?" asked Haruka.

"This isn't the Alex that we knew of!" said Makoto, feeling a bit saddened by all of this.

"I have no time to waste," replied Alex, "I must be on my way…farewell."

The Chiropteran took only a few steps when he saw pillars of water blocking all of the exits before him. The five turned to see Suiei Nanase and Tachibana using their powers to block Alex inside.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Suiei Matsuoka.

"The gods!" gasped Haruka, realizing the magic going on.

Rei walked up to Alex and held his hand, saying, "Alex please listen to me! We need to talk to them. You may not remember…but you are important for us!"

"For the team," agreed Rin, "That's what we were! We were known as the Magic Six and we swam and fought together!"

Alex grunted in annoyance and breaks away from Rei but before he could take a step forward, he was flash frozen inside a seal of ice by the combined powers from the gods.

"W-what just!?" gasped Rei as the others were shocked.

"Sorry about that," said Suiei Nanase, "But we had no other choice."

"I don't like this," sighed Suiei Matsuoka, "Not one bit."

"Clearly this Alex isn't the same one as we all remembered," said Suiei Hazuki with a sigh, "And how dare that he tried to hurt the others and Nagisa with those words!"

Suiei Tachibana turned to the boys and said, "One of us is still missing…I am sure you all know that."

"S-Suiei Marotta," muttered Makoto, "He's not here."

Nagisa lowered his head and replied with a sadden expression, "This is because of what happened to him, is that it?"

"Rei, you had something to tell about this?" asked Haruka.

"Yes, please tell us if you know anything about what happened to Alex and Suiei Marotta," agreed Makoto.

Rin sighed and replied, "I can't believe this…I looked forward to a happy reunion and now one of us is missing still."

They all sat down as Rei sat in the middle while the others stared at him, eager to listen to the story.

"From what I have been told," began Rei, "Alex was born into the family of Chiropterans."

Nagisa gasped as he recalled on the visions with Rin about how they saw all various kinds of monsters including the Chiropterans. And that further evidence of the files they found have further their suspicion and now Rei just confirmed it all.

"Just like on Earth…he's not a human?" asked Rin.

"I got a bad feel about all of this," said Makoto.

"Yes, he is not a human once again," replied Rei sadly.

"Keep going," replied Haruka.

"How is it possible this time?" asked Nagisa.

"Well it wasn't easy," said Rei, "I live in Aeuropa City where education is primed of its importance. Anyway, I had a project about what happened in Herisia and then I started to get my memories back so I hacked into government systems to try and find somebody named Alex."

The others waited as Rei took a breath and continued, "I found someone in the next city so I took a train. But the city was under attack and fell to ruins when I arrived. Then, Alex saved me and ran into forest but I wasn't so sure at first. After I found the evidence I needed, I followed him until I found him after he rescued me from a trap."

"Herisia…" muttered Haruka.

"You know, Herisia," explained Makoto, "Was a town that was between Terra Magna and Iglis Magna."

"I knew that," said Rei, "But what about it? And what are Terra Magna and Iglis Magna?"

"Well…Haruka and I were both from there…I was from Iglis while Haru-chan was from Terra," said the taller boy, "After what happened in Herisia, both of our clans were at war with each other."

"So no wonder both of you were fighting!" said Rin.

"Eh? H-how did you know?" asked Haruka.

"I am from Neo Tabuk as prince," replied the red-hair, "My life there was filled with sacred visions that I performed. When I met Nagisa, we both snuck into my private chamber and I was able to see both of you fighting as well as you Rei searching for Alex."

"I see," said Rei as he fixed his glasses with the megane look.

"Did he treat you this harshly the whole time?" asked Haruka.

"Sometimes…but it wasn't so bad, I…I got used to it," replied the megane.

Makoto turned to look at the ice that held Alex inside; he wasn't sure to whether feel bad for him or to regard him as being an imposter.

"H-how can you get used to it!?" said Nagisa, shocked, "It sounds like he hates everything and everyone that he sees!"

"That's just how he is right now…part of his trait as a Chiropteran," explained Rei, "But listen! There's hope to get him back to normal…somehow."

"Is it possible?" asked Haruka as the others were a bit shocked to hear such hope.

Makoto kept silent as he recalled on the story that Anne told him about his father and this Chiropteran…could it be?

"Well what happened after that? Did you figure out what happened to Alex and Herisia?" asked Nagisa.

"Yes," said Rei, "After a few days we were captured and taken in by "The Watchers". They kept Alex in a cage because he was acting up in his own bloody mind and Jadwiga explained to me what happened."

The others grew silent as they were worried on what really went down 18 years ago…the truth was finally at hand!

"18 years ago, they had an emergency mission because of an infestation of monsters invading the village; they took Alex into battle but then something went wrong…Alex grew berserk when his twin brother…Rasputin took over his body and killed everyone in sight," explained Rei.

The other boys' eyes widened in shock as everything that they heard was all making sense. However, the amount of deaths and that Alex still slaughtered people angered Makoto.

"W-what?!" gasped Nagisa, "You mean that it is true then!?"

"H-how did you know?" asked Rei.

"Rin-chan and I found a stash of documents back in a library of my town of Lha'li," said Nagisa, "It had pictures of what looked like Alex with longer, messy hair and red glowing eyes…it was pretty scary looking."

"So…" began Makoto, "He was the cause of the entire war that my clan has fought."

"Makoto," said Rin," Didn't you pay attention to what Rei explained?"

"Anne told me," replied Makoto, "That a monster was in that village 18 years ago…and thanks to him, this was an era of useless bloodshed!"

"Makoto, listen to me," said Rei, "Alex…did…not…KILL…them, you got it? He was controlled mentally and couldn't do anything to stop himself. How do you think he felt? He had to watch himself killing all of those people…and it's no doubt that he still believes that it's his own fault that they're dead."

Makoto grunted but Rei begged, "Please don't hate him because of what his brother did to him."

"You said something about 'The Watchers'," began Haruka, "Who are they?"

"Oh right, The Watcher's is an organization who are rebelling against Alex's true blood parents of the Chiropterans. They also protect Alex when he is in his hibernation cycle," explained Rei.

"H-hibernation cycle?" asked Nagisa.

"Alex sleeps every 2 – 3 years for a cycle of 30 years of rest," said Rei, "It's no doubt that he's far older than us…"

"Was he ever adopted into a family?" asked Rin.

"The last time he woke up, he was in a foster family with his mother, Georgia, and two sisters, Anya and Aki," replied the megane.

"A-Aki…" muttered Haruka, as the name was familiar to him.

"Aki Yazaki," agreed Rei, "She was under the alias of Aki Rover while Anya's true name is Anastasia."

Nagisa's eyes blinked as he somehow recalled a dream that asked him to find Anastasia. Is it possible that the princess was here in this world?

"But first off, how did Aki get in this world?" asked Makoto, "She and the others don't have Suiei Gods like we do."

"Rin!" said Nagisa, "We need to show them the book!"

"Right," replied the red-hair as he watched Nagisa summoning the book from Suiei Hazuki.

"It's funny that Anastasia was also familiar to me," said Rin as he watched Nagisa summoning the book.

"Wh-what is that?" asked Makoto.

Haruka remained silent while Rei asked, "A book? What's the importance of it?"

"It's very important, just take a look!" smiled Nagisa.

Makoto and Haruka joined with Rei as they crawled over to see the contents inside.

"Ehhhh!?" asked Makoto, shocked as he saw the images taking on an animated form, showing a vast of various scenes.

Rin smiled as he sees the four of them when they were kids, swimming in the elementary relay and winning the trophy and stuff. Haruka watched himself and the others separating their ways and coming back as memories of their life in the Time Loop struck them. Makoto on the other hand, saw the Suiei Gods in an ancient city and being betrayed and placing their souls into their own bodies.

Rei watched as he saw himself talking to Alex for the first time as well as going to Iwatobi High School with Serah and Gou when the two foreigners visited their town. Nagisa smiled as he sees himself fighting against the cloaked figures of the Shadow Mafia.

Haruka watched the pictures changing as he saw the rebirth of their lives from the Time Loop as well as meeting with Serah, Izawa, Leon and many others. Makoto smiled and sees the full team, the Magic Six swimming together in a "newly beta-relay race" of six people.

"This is what I remembered," said Makoto.

Nagisa turned the page and saw themselves getting married on Lynwin-Mu and commented, "Oh this was so beautiful!"

Rei turned the page and was confused at the blank pages.

"It's blank," said Haruka, "Why?"

"It is only because five of you have remembered your pasts, or at least most of them," replied Suiei Matsuoka.

"Once all six of you remember, the remaining pages will fill up," said Suiei Nanase.

"Yes! In order to fix that, you must help Alex on his quest whether he likes it or not," instructed Suiei Hazuki.

"You need to assist him on defeating Rasputin…do not let him fight alone," said Suiei Ryugazaki.

"But be careful that they are twins and that Sergi doesn't exist in this world, nor does Gou, Nitori, Mikoshiba, and the others," added Suiei Tachibana.

"However, it is possible that if Alex remembers his real brother, it may help him to defeat Rasputin together with your powers," agreed Suiei Matsuoka.

"But where is his Suiei God?" asked Rin.

"He's not here," replied Suiei Nanase, "But he will rise once more once Alex remembers his past life on Earth."

"Seeing that Rasputin has controlled his body," said Haruka, "It's no doubt that he'll be messing up his mind."

"I suppose we will have to be on alert then when he starts to go off," sighed Makoto.

"That is correct. Rasputin will try to invade your minds as well but seeing that your memories have come back, they are well-shielded from his attacks," replied Suiei Tachibana.

They all heard a crackling sound nearby as the ice that sealed Alex began to split open.

"The ice!" gasped Rin.

The ice exploded into shards as Alex felt dizzy from the flash freeze and was breathing heavily from the cold. He felt that he was going to collapse and fell to the floor, entering to his "sleeping state" from exhaustion. The others turned in shock as they saw their last member on the floor.

"Oi! Alex!" shouted Rei as he got up and rushed over to check up on him but saw that the boy was still breathing, only sleepy.

"What happened to him now?" asked Rin.

"He's asleep," said Rei.

Haruka sighed and replied, "Well then, where are we going to rest?"

"It'd be nice to find a place somewhere," agreed Rin.

"Maybe a pool too," smiled Makoto as Haruka blushed in wanting to strip off.

"Rei-chan," said Nagisa, "Do you know where we are?"

"This is town of Iwamara," he answered, "Alex lived here during his one year…"

"Is it just me or does this town of Iwamara sound a lot like Iwatobi?" asked Haruka.

"Coincidence, no?" asked Rin while Makoto shrugged.

"We'll need a place to eat and rest," said Nagisa.

Rin got up on his feet and replied, "Well, are we going to this 'Iwamara' town or not?"

Haruka got up and stretched himself while Nagisa got up and bounced on his feet for excitement of another adventure. Makoto was still feeling awkward about the whole ordeal of Alex, Chiroptreans, and the Herisia tragedy.

"I don't think we'll find anything there…" began Rei.

"Why?" asked Makoto.

"The city was destroyed," replied the megane.

The others gasped as Nagisa answered, "W-what?! H-how is it destroyed?"

"Remember when I told you that city where I went to look for Alex was under attack? It's this city..." said Rei.

"So not only Herisia…but also Iwamara," muttered Rin.

Makoto turned to see Alex on the ground as he was wondering if Alex did a relapse of what he did while grunting in anger.

"Makoto!" snapped Nagisa, "Stop blaming Alex!"

"If I don't kill him," said Makoto, "Anne will; if she finds out about all of this."

Rei turned to Makoto and snapped, "I hope you don't plan on telling this person about Alex! You want him dead?! He was a part of our lives back on Earth too if you haven't forgotten!"

"I know that!" growled Makoto, "However, Anne was my First Mate of the Tachibana Pirate Clan. Her father disappeared around the time Herisia happened and she joined my crew to find him. It's a good chance that he's dead...because of Alex."

"Only a chance, Makoto; you don't know if he's dead or not so don't make decision based on assumption! Maybe he's alive?!" replied Rei.

"What I'm worried about is what would happen if the people of my town found out about this," said Rin, "Alex is one of the six stars and yet was the one who went rampant…armies from my town went to Herisia long ago and they vow revenge on that madman who killed so many people."

"Well that's not good, I hope we don't have to go to that town," sighed Rei.

"To make matters worse, 75% of the town don't believe in the Six Stars...they are under the influence of the gods of Iwatobi and Sametsuka..." answered Rin.

"Eh?" asked Makoto, confused.

"Iwatobi…Sametsuka?" asked Rei, "I thought they were just mascots..."

"Our religion dictates that the world of Duniya was crafted by Iwatobi...god of the air...and Sametuska, god of the sea. It was once a ball of fire but thanks to the vapor of the lava and fire...the atmosphere was formed with the air that we breathe in...and the sea that covers this world," explained the red-haired boy.

"But what about us? Our Suiei Gods and our own existence?" asked Haruka.

"We all know based from the book here that the gods created the seas that allowed live to exist back on Earth...but you think that they were the ones to construct this world too?" answered Makoto.

"Well it's no doubt that they do know the answers," said Rei as he picked up Alex, "But we'll talk about it later. We need to find a place to stay."

"If Iwamara is destroyed, how the hell are we going to find a place?" asked Rin.

Rei carried Alex in bridal style and walked out to see a small looking house down the hill. The others followed him and they left the temple while the Suiei Gods floated around in worry for their final member of not showing up.

"It's weak…the connection," said Suiei Nanase.

"But they've finally have begun to remember," added Suiei Matsuoka.

"They still have a long journey ahead," agreed Suiei Ryugazaki.

"Humph! I hope nobody will be stupid enough to attack my precious Nagisa!" said a sassy Suiei Hazuki.

"This isn't the time to get obsessive right now," said Suiei Tachibana, holding hands with Hazuki and Nanase, "We have to get our brother back."

The five formed a circular chain as they closed their eyes and focused on their unity in hopes to reach out to Marotta. After a few moments, they heard a barely audio tone of the final star, gasping and moaning into slumber and death.

"H-help…me-meeee," echoed Suiei Marotta's voice.

"H-he's dying!" gasped Suiei Matsuoka.

"We have to help him, time is slipping away!" said Suiei Hazuki.

"We must give them their Arabian clothes for battle…with their swords as needed," replied Suiei Tachibana.

"For now, let them rest," said Suiei Nanase, "They need to settle down before they can ready themselves on what is yet to come."

The gods nodded and vanished into the mists as they could only wait and hope that their human selves will help Alex fulfill his mission as well as regain his memories once more.

The five arrived at an old-looking house while Rei carried Alex in his arms. The Chiropteran was still asleep from all of the distress and other things. Rei wondered if this was just because he was tired...or was it a warning sign of hibernation.

"Oi! Sexy butterfly, what's the matter?" asked Rin.

"I see you still remembered that," said Makoto as he and Haruka dropped a sweat of nervousness while Nagisa giggled a bit to himself.

Rei blushed and looked at his watch and read, "9:30 PM".

"Huh?" replied Rin.

"It's nothing, I was only looking at the time," replied Rei.

"Well, all of you guys are sexy…sexy butterfly, sexy dolphin, sexy penguin, sexy orca…but what was Alex's animal?" asked Rin.

Makoto, Haruka, and Nagisa blushed while Rei replied, "Uhhh, hmmm…you know, I don't remember that part."

"Well once he remembers, I'll give him his sexy nickname as well," chuckled Rin.

Haruka opened the door and the others walked in while Makoto stopped and reached out his hand to him, saying, "Haru, I may not be happy with things...but maybe Rei is right. There's more to what we don't know."

"I just don't want things to get worse than it already has," he replied while holding hands to him, "Now let's go in."

The two walked in as Nagisa found a set of sofas and said, "Rei there is a sofa, you can put Alex there."

The megane nodded and set Alex down to the couch and answered, "We'll have to look around for some food. Maybe can find something to eat?"

Haruka walked into the kitchen along with Rin and Makoto while Nagisa and Rei were not far behind as the megane briefly turned his head to make sure Alex wouldn't move.

"Is it just me…or does it remind us of that time when we did training…" began Makoto.

"Hehehe, it does!" smirked Nagisa, "Which means…Rei will have to check the refrigerator!"

"Me?!" gasped Rei in shock and annoyance, "A-again…?"

Haruka and Makoto shared another sweat drop of nervousness as they both recalled that night back on Earth while they were training to build endurance for the swimming prefecturals.

"Uhhhh? Could someone…explain?" asked Rin, not understanding the joke.

"Nagisa came up with that joke last time...while you were busy with your Sametsuka team," said Makoto, trying hard not to laugh.

"Well it does sound kinda...cheesy?" shrugged Rin.

"Hey! Rei has to check it because it's Rei-frigerator!" laughed Nagisa.

Rin smirked at the joke as he finally understood it.

"Geeze, alright! Alright! I'm going…" sighed the megane as he swiftly walked up to the fridge and opened it like a boss, making sure he wasn't in harm's way. He sighed in relief as he saw plenty of food as if someone was out shopping lately.

"At least it looks better," said Rei, pulling out some stuff.

"Looks like there's plenty of fruit, beef and some other stuff," smirked Rin.

"Mackerel cans…" drooled Haruka.

"Not to mention the drinks here," said Makoto.

"Does someone even live in this place?" asked Rin.

"Well it didn't look that abandoned," replied Rei as he took out some of the soda cans.

"Maybe a monster lives here," smirked Nagisa.

"NEEEEH!?" gasped Makoto as he jumped behind Haruka in fear.

Rin rolled his eyes and said, "Nagisa, that's not cute. You do realize we cannot joke at a time like this where real monsters ARE roaming around."

"Well I'm sorry about that," said the blonde in a sassy tone, "I just wanted to have some fun with Makoto at least…"

Makoto sighed as Nagisa's tone turned to a more genuine and said, "I'm sorry Mako-chan."

"At least you didn't kick a can this time," replied the taller boy.


Back in the living room, Alex tossed and turned a little as he could feel the presence of something warm before him.

"M-mother...f-father…" he muttered.


Rin's ears perked up as he heard something and said, "Oi! Did you guys hear that?!"

"Huh?" asked Makoto.

"Well that was an acci-" began Nagisa when he heard the fainting voice, "Y-yeah I just heard the last of it."

Rei walked into the living room and saw Alex breathing heavily and sweating up a little, "A-Alex, are you alright?"


In a dark place, Alex rushed through the halls of some cold, stone hallway like a medieval fortress. He saw a tall figure standing before him, reaching out to the boy.

"My son," echoed the voice of Tesseract, "Why have you returned? It's not safe here…you must flee!"

"Bu-but why?" he asked, "You know don't you…why is mom trying to…?"

Pandora walked into the scene with three guards by her side while readying a blast of her powers towards them. Before the others could react, Pandora smirked and shattered Tesseract to shreds.

"AAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHH!" screamed Tesseract as a blast from Pandora struck him down, shattering him into shards.

"Why are you with such a child my husband…" she muttered when she recognized her son and screamed violently.

"W-what's the matter?!" asked one of her guards.

"SOMEBODY KILL THAT BOY!" shouted Pandora, "KILL HIMMMMMMMM!"

Pandora was breathing heavily as her outfit changed from robes to a more open-like outfit (almost naked) and her hands transformed into a dagger as wings grew from her back. Alex could feel his heartbeat pounding faster and faster at the moment with fear.

"K-kill him…" said Pandora softly at first, trying to breathe and relax...

"Somebody…SOMEBODY KILL HIMMMM!" shouted the Chiropteran mother as she soared up to Alex for the kill with a wicked smile on her face.

Alex's eyes widened and screamed loudly as he saw her flying towards him; he had to escape this nightmare or else…


"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Alex as he was throwing himself around the couch, his arms and legs kicking all over. His eyes were still locked shut as the nightmare frightened him to wake up.

The others rushed in and saw Rei trying to calm Alex down but it was not working.

"REI!" shouted Makoto as he handed him his vase, "Use this! Get him to drink it!"

"Oh Rei-chan, please save him!" said Nagisa as he was holding his hand with Rin with horror from the sight.

Haruka and Makoto decided to hold Alex's arms and legs with their strength to keep him from hurting Rei as the megane readied the vase.

"Waters of the gentle seas, please save our friend from the darkness cursing in him!" chanted Rei as he poured the fluid from the vase into Alex's mouth.

The chiropteran moaned as the liquid flowed through his system and was finally calming down a little but his eyes did not open up. Haruka and Makoto let go of the limbs and sighed in relief.

"It must be Rasputin," said Rin.

"Poor Alex," sighed Nagisa.

"Maybe he tried to take control of his body again," replied Rei, "We can't leave him alone too much if that's the case."

"Somebody will have to stay to check on Alex. We can take turns and rotate," agreed Nagisa.

Makoto sighed and replied, "R-Rei…I'm sorry from what I said. It's just that all of this has only shocked me to the point that I don't know what to do…but I guess my natural instincts from Earth returned to help him."

"Don't worry about it," nodded the megane, "We're all on the same page here."

"You know, he does look a lot like what he used to be...that hairstyle of his...was his eyes golden too Rei?" asked Haruka.

"Yes they were," said Rei, "But it was like once or twice that I've seen them in that color."

Haruka lied down on the floor and stared up at the ceiling as he was ready to fall asleep soon.

"Haru?" asked Makoto as he sat down next to him.

Nagisa sat down next to Rin and asked, "Is everything okay, Haru-chan?"

"…it feels weird," said Haruka, "I remember Alex being like this when he first got to Japan."

"I remember that too," agreed Rin, "He was after that "celebrity" while he wanted to save his brother Sergi."

"I must admit, it's very paralleled to him...but this time, he's after this "brother" for vengeance?" asked Makoto while turning to Rei.

"Yes," he replied, "Alex wants his brother to pay for what he done."

Nagisa cuddled with Rin and the two fell asleep while Makoto lied down next to Haruka on the floor and Rei looked at Alex sleeping.

"I promise I won't let you fight Rasputin alone," he whispered and he kissed Alex's hand while holding onto him. He sat down on the floor by him and fell asleep also.


Castle Chirottori

In the dark of the night, Pandora walked her way down the stairs and headed her way back to the Lab Chamber. She had heard from Tesseract and the monsters that the six stars have reunited but Alex has still not recovered his memories.

"Perfect," she growled to herself, "But…as long as he cannot remember…they cannot defeat us."

She arrived into a different chamber of the lab and walked up to a set of five gigantic tubes that held something inside. She tapped her fingers on one of the glass and smirked an evil grin.

"I haven't had a chance to play with these guys since they were kids," she muttered, "I'm excited to wake these precious children up also…"

Pandora walked over to a series of buttons and pressed on the activate which caused the tubes to stop glowing their sickly green color, causing the tubes to explode out as five human-like beings with wicked looking staffs they carried stepped down.

"It's time for you to wake up…my Chivashi," said Pandora.

Haruto hissed and bounced his way over to Reiji, Rikuto, Mariko, and Natsuhisa as the five male, monstrous entities glowed their eyes red with their black hair all stylized based from the stars. Neither of them could talk vocally but Pandora could hear their thoughts.

"I was hoping to continue testing for you, but it appears that the game has already begun," explained the mother Chiroptrean, "Your leader, Rasputin is waiting for you. Listen to his orders and follow the agenda."

The Chivashi hissed in reply that their powers weren't activated yet which made her realize that she had to add the Kraata Slugs and placed them on each of their exposed backs, awakening their powers as their staffs glowed with energy.

"Go…do not let the prophecy be fulfilled!" ordered Pandora.

The five summoned their staffs for levitation as they took in a seated-position and flew out the window, following the trace of Rasputin to join forces. She turned to the sundial and waited for Tesseract to return from his mission in Lha'li.

What's keeping him from getting that stupid book, she thought as she looked from the window.


By next morning, Rin was the first to wake up and saw the other sleeping still. Nagisa was resting on top of him and snored peacefully. The red-haired smiled and turned to see Rei and Alex but his eyes widened and gasped.

"Na-Nagisa, oi! Nagisa!" said Rin as she shook the blonde up on the shoulder.

"H-huh?" Rin?" yawned the blonde, "What's the matter?"

"He's gone!" he replied and shouted out, "Oi! Haru! Makoto! Rei!"

Haruka woke up and yawned, asking, "Wh-what's going on?"

Makoto opened his eyes and turned to the couch and saw Rei resting his hand on the couch but Alex was nowhere to be seen! The megane woke up and felt the empty space and gasped.

"W-w-what!? Alex!?" shouted Rei, "Wh-where did he go!?"


Outside, Alex made his way down the hill and headed out to the open road and led to the ruins of Iwamara. It was only a handful of days ago that he lived a happy life with his family…but now it was nothing to him anymore.

However, there was a small part of him that he was concerned with; Aki and Anya. He recalled that Aki was a bit cold to him a few times but Anya was always the cheerful one of the family. And now here he was, dealing with five other humans that he never met before, acting like a family of their own.

He felt a gust of wind breezing through his hair and heard birds crying a call in the distance. He continued to run, heading to the abandoned town to at least say goodbye.


Rei was already panicked by the scenario as he swore to be with Alex whether the Chiropteran liked it or not.

"Rei! Calm down," said Makoto, "I'm sure that there must be a way to find him!"

"Our necklaces," replied Haruka, "Maybe we can link our powers together."

"But what if he…!" began Rei.

"Rei-chan," answered Nagisa, "I'm sure we can find him. He might be strong but we'll make sure he's not that far!"

The five held their hands together in a circle and closed their eyes while their necklaces glowed, casting out various colors before them.

"We need to focus on our unity," said Rin, "With that, we can figure out where Alex went."

At first they felt silence between the circle but the glowing of the necklaces combined their inner strengths of their hearts and they could "see" visions before their eyes; revealing a scene of Alex running across the ruins of the town.

"W-where is he going?" asked Nagisa, "Can you see, Rei-chan?"

"I…I don't know…he's just running…" replied Rei.

Makoto felt a chill in his spine as he finally saw Alex entering to some old building or something but Haruka commented, "It…it looks like a bar or a café…?"

"Oh I know where he is now!" gasped Rei, "Come on!"

"Show us the way," smiled Nagisa.

Rei was already running out the door and the others followed, heading down the slopes and saw the sunrise before them. However, they had no time to stop to enjoy the sight as they ran through the big road and headed their way to the ruins of Iwamara.


Alex walked into the bar and sees it all empty and abandoned except for a box of photos and documents that were knocked over to the ground. He touched the counter and could feel the happy days he had while living here in this place.

He walked around the bar as he could feel the memories during his year here, missing those happy days in his heart. He remembered the laughter, the tears, the celebration, and more. At one point, he almost considered to go back up to his old room but it was too depressing already; all of the emotions were here at the bar. Alex stood by the bar where he began and touched the counter-top with his hand.

"A-aki…A-anya…m-mother," he muttered sadly, "W-why…why was I born to suffer like this?"

He wanted to cry to himself but he heard footsteps of running nearby. The boy turned to see the others standing by the doorway, breathing from the running.

"…why did you come here?" asked Alex, narrowing his eyes a little.

"W-why did you go here alone!?" replied Rei, all shocked and concerned, "We thought that you left us!"

"Alex-chan, at least tell us that you're leaving!" agreed Nagisa, "We were all worried and Rei was almost crying for you!"

Rei blushed a bit while Alex gripped on his sword and answered, "That day…that fateful day when I first came here, I thought I would live happily, never to have realized who I was...and what I truly am. All I wanted was to come here and say goodbye at the least."

"Bu-but still," began Makoto.

"It's not fair on your part to hold the burdens," said Haruka.

Rin nodded in agreement and added, "Look, we may not understand completely about what happened to you, but we know a bit to understand your hard feelings. But that doesn't mean you can't hide yourself from us!"

"We are a team Alex! You have to tell us what's bothering you or we won't know how to help you!" said Nagisa.

"They are right Alex. You have to trust us and talk to us about it. Please don't ever leave like that..." said Rei.

Alex looked at the five young men before him; he couldn't decide to whether he should trust them or not. He was always alone in his life despite his support he got from "The Watcher's". Was it even a good thing to have such companions before him?

Finally he answered, "Th…the reason, why I wanted to go alone...is because I…I fear that if you get involved, you'll be killed!"

Rin remained a bit silent on that part while Makoto was feeling a bit sad by this, prompting Haruka to hold his hand. Nagisa rushed up to Alex and hugged him as the hunter dropped his sword to the ground.

"Alex-chan," said the blonde, almost wanting to cry, "As long as we are together we won't be killed. There is always a person who will protect you!"

"For the team, that's what we promised!" agreed Rin.

"And we keep our promises!" added Rei while he also joined the hug, "Please Alex, don't worry!We know you won't let anything to happen to us and we won't let anything to happen to you!"

The Chiropteran released the hug from the blonde and megane and said, "If you're that determined…it will be a long nightmare ahead for all of you. None of you have the right weapons or the skills to fight. How will you be able to do this?"

"We got our necklaces!" smiled Rin as he showed his.

Haruka and Makoto followed after and Rei and Nagisa showed theirs as well while the monster picked up his katana and gripped on it again.

"Alex I'm 100% sure that soon we will defeat Rasputin and you will get back to your human self!" said Rei.

Rin walked up to them and adds on a hug, followed by Haruka and Makoto as the six stood together as one. At this point, Alex knew that he couldn't break away from this…however, it all felt familiar to him…this hug…was he really a part of their lives?

"Remember that you will always have us," added Rei.

"That and we will swim together! And have fun in the sun! Maybe we can have a sleepover?! Oh, Oh! I know what we should do; we will play Truth or Dare and paint our toenails!" laughed Nagisa.

"Hilarious, Nagisa…" smirked Rin.

Haruka felt like he wanted to strip off but couldn't while Makoto replied, "Well a truth or dare sounds like fun."

"I'm not so sure about painting my toenails...I don't think it would look beautiful..." blushed Rei.

"Not if we make a butterfly design!" replied Nagisa and Rei blushed.

Makoto chuckled and said, "I swim…"

"Free…" answered Haruka.

"For the team!" smiled Rin.

"To strive for all beauty!" nodded Rei as he does the megane look with his glasses.

"For my precious bonds," smiled Nagisa.

Alex's eyes suddenly widened as he saw a strange scene around him and saw a group of people hugging just like how it was right now but the scene showed a massive crowd of people flashing cameras at the group. His brain filled up with a single word in his mind that kept echoing again and again in his mind.

"D-destiny…" said Alex, his eyes shaken by the mysterious visions.

Rin, Haruka, and Makoto gasped at the word as they remembered Alex talking about 'destiny' as his reason to swim. Is it possible that he is beginning to remember planet Earth and their lives together?

That single word...it was like igniting a fire from a match as the five were stunned and remembered that fateful day...The Last Race!

"Y-you said something!" gasped Nagisa, "Oh Alex-chan!"

"It's just a word though," replied the Chiropteran, "I don't know its significance…but it's probably something important."

"It is!" smiled Rei as he spilled a few tears of joy, "Oh my god Alex, you have no idea how much that word means to us!"

"You're finally remembering," smiled Makoto as he was feeling happy in this moment while the group still hugged together as one.

"Even if it's just a one word, it means a lot to us!" said Nagisa.

"That…and I made a promise…but I don't know who I made it to," replied Alex.

"That's two!" said Haruka, smiling a bit, "Oh you have no idea how important this is for you and for us!"

"Once you get more memories, I'll give you a sexy nickname," laughed Rin.

Alex nodded and finally released himself from the hug and the others followed him outside to see the sunrise. The sun shined brightly all over, energizing them with a sense of renewal and hope for their future! They are a team, but not just an ordinary, they were the Magic Six! Reborn in a new world but still have many trials to face.

"We'll start from here," said Makoto.

"Hell yeah!" agreed Rin, "We'll bring this world back to peace, recover your memories and magic back Alex...and we'll have a grand party together!"

"And we'll be together forever!" smiled Nagisa and held hands with Rin.

"We promise you…and I promise you…you won't be alone ever again!" said Rei, "We're here now."

Their clothes transformed into Arabian form, including Alex's which stunned the Chiropteran at first but he somehow felt how warm it was...and yet it was also familiar. He saw the others looking at their outfits with amazement while Rin and Nagisa were just glad to have the full team in the same theme.

"O-our clothes!" gasped Haruka.

"The ones that we used to wear," smiled Makoto, holding his vase.

"So you got them all back," said Rin, "Even you Alex."

Rei took out his sword and smiled, "Well it's a good thing I can remember how to use this."

Nagisa pouted and said, "Lucky…I'm stuck with this spell book here."

"Nagisa!" echoed the voice of Suiei Hazuki, "Don't think you are useless because you don't have a sword. Do I need to remind you of your last fight? When you killed so many enemies using your spells? Do not belittle yourself! I believe in you and so do they!"

The other boys shared a sweat drop of nervousness and Alex finally smiled a bit as he saw them looking all battle ready which met his expectations. As for the Suiei Gods, the boys knew that there was hope for this world to save their final team member and to patch this world up.

"Well then," smiled the Chiropteran while he gripped on his sword.

"You seem a bit more cheerful now!" smirked Rin.

"Seeing that you all have weapons and ready, this will give us an edge," said Alex.

"It will, and we will win this battle!" replied Rei while Makoto nodded.

"We will join you," agreed Haruka, "You're not going to be alone for this!"

"For the team, whether we swim or we fight...no one gets left behind!" added Rin.

Alex nodded as he felt a gentle breeze sweeping through the town as a set of Sakura petals scattered around in the abandoned village and between him and the team standing before him.

"We will win this," said Rei, "And by that we can get your memories back so the team will be completed."

"Then," began Alex, "Let us go… I cannot guarantee what will the results be...but this is something we cannot fail."

"And we won't fail," smirked Nagisa.

The six stars...finally together, despite how much Alex can remember or not...at least two things were in his mind..."destiny"...and a "promise". Together, they begin to make their way out of the city, knowing that in order to fulfill this mission; they would have to start a "journey" as a team in order to make alliances and set up an army that will follow their path to save this world from the monsters as well as Rasputin.

But a dawn of shadow begins as the Chivashi are not far behind and time is running out. The world is at stake and a battle ahead can only determine one destiny…

A world of shadow…or a world of rebirth…


-Book 1: The World of Isolation アイソレーションの世界END -

TO BE CONTINUED IN…

-Book 2: Fellowship of the Magic Six マジックシックスのフェローシップ-

MAY 2014, The Battle for Planet Duniya Begins!

...He shall become the will that destroys the heavens!