Okay, before you read, I know, I'm a terrible person. I haven't posted in months! Summer begins on Friday for me, and I'll be working on this story full steam. :D I'll be a senior next year, so hopefully things won't be as hard. :) I'm super duper ultra sorry. Forgive me and you get a virtual cookie! :3 Anyways, you can read now. :)

A few hours after she woke, it dawned on Doc and Drew. Why was Rani calling her princess? So they walked to her room, and Drew knocked on the door. "Rikki? Can we come in?" She was happy they asked, unlike some people.

"Sure. Come on in." When they entered, she set down a book. A scrapbook. "What's up?" Rikki had no idea what they were about to ask.

"Rikki, why was Rani Nagi calling you a princess?" Slightly, Rikki jumped. She knew she was going to need help with this, so she shouted for none other.

"Dad! Come here!" Doc and Drew were puzzled. "Dad! They're asking why Rani Nagi was calling me princess. Shall I explain? Or do you want to? And should the rest of the family come?" See, she was still bedridden, and couldn't move much more than to the bathroom in her room. Doyle simply nodded. "Zak! Fisk! Come here!" There was no need to call Komodo and Zon, because she figured, why would it matter to them? "Okay. Looks like it's story time again." A sigh slipped as Zak and Fisk entered. "Okay. Doc, Drew. You have brought up an excellent question. Why was Rani Nagi calling me princess? Well, because... I am one. And dad, believe it or not, probably not, is a king." The family's eyes shifted towards Doyle, who shrugged. Attention went back to Rikki as she began again. "When my mom found out she was pregnant with my brothers, she decided that she wanted to reside somewhere quiet. Where my brothers wouldn't grow up like pampered snobs. Dad agreed, and they moved to the cabin, and she gave my grandparents permission to call on her in emergencies. Well, one year after she had them, she had me. Less than two years later, my grandmother passed, then a few months later, my grandfather. My mom ruled the kingdom from our cabin, in secrecy, sending messengers back and forth. We lived in peace for a while, until that day. When I got to the kingdom, they recognized me as the rightful princess, but I couldn't rule the kingdom alone. I was much too young for that." Doyle cut in for a second.

"And by that time, Reina had already notified two good friends of ours that if something were to ever happen, that they would be the king and queen of Solaria." Rikki nodded.

"Yeah. Leo and Kenta's aunt and uncle. The soldiers called on them, and they told me everything. So I knew I was the princess, but I never really was. When I turn eighteen, I'll be able to rule. So, yes, I'm a princess. But not for two more years." This really surprised them. Those two, royal? They never acted like that.

"Wait..." Drew looked at Doyle. "How did you end up working for Van Rook?" His eyes shot to the left for a second.

"Well, I needed money. And I didn't want to go back there. I couldn't do it. I would have if I knew that Rikki was alive." They smiled. Everyone turned to Zak when they heard him shout.

"Whoa! Hold on! Are you saying that not only do I have a kick butt cousin, but she's also a princess? And Doyle's a king?!" They couldn't help but laugh. A conclusion closed discussion, and everyone was out of the door, except for Doyle, who was stopped by Rikki.

"Dad. I have a question." Her eyes looked so sad, but they had a fire in them. "About the Crystal Heart." There was no debating; this had to be talked about. So Doyle sat down yet again bedside. "I know there has to be a way to get this thing out of me, and if not, there's got to be a way to control it when I get upset or angry. Anything." He watched as she clenched her bed sheets.

"Well... I don't remember much. But your mom and I had some research papers, and books that we kept at the cabin, in a secret location that only we knew about."

"We have to go and get it. I can't stand the memories that come into mind when I'm there, and I know you can't either, but we have to go get it. Okay?" He nodded. She asked him to go ask Drew and Doc, who of course, agreed. Within an hour, they were there. "Well... back again." Rikki looked down, and then back up when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Doyle smiled down at her.

"We can do this. Let's go find the journal." She nodded, and they entered the house. It was small, but very cozy. There was maroon carpeting, and three bedrooms.

"So, any idea where it is?" Rikki watched as her father nodded.

"Yeah. It should be behind here." He pointed to the small fireplace in between two doors. Motioning for Rikki to come over, he grabbed a metal pole, and used it like a crowbar. "Help me out. It's under this metal plate." She nodded and grabbed a pole as well.

"Kinda cliché, don't you think?" He just shrugged. Finally, after a few seconds, they pried the plate off, revealing a small, dark, rectangular hole in the ground underneath. Nothing. There was nothing there except for dirt. "Dad?" This was a shock.

"How? How did they find it?" This was no time for joking, but Rikki really couldn't help herself.

"As I said, cliché." Which received a vicious glare from Doyle. "But seriously, do you think mom may have moved it?" He shook his head slowly.

"No. She never did. Because before then, that book had stayed under the fireplace. Neither of us had touched it. We just kept it hidden, never looked at it once. So someone must have taken it."

"And no doubt it was his royal pain in my butt, Argost." Rikki groaned and kicked a wall. "It's useless. He's always two steps ahead of us… We can't do a thing!" They walked back to the airship, the Saturdays awaiting their return. When they got there, their faces explained it all. Six months passed, and Argost hadn't been seen. But finally, he surfaced. "Dad?" Rikki asked as she walked to Doyle. "Something's wrong." She rubbed her head.

Doyle looked at her and asked, "What is it?" Although he knew very well what it was.

"We need to go back. Back to Solaria." Her eyes darted to the left. "Something is wrong with the shrine… It's driving the Crystal Heart crazy…" She said worriedly. He got up and punched coordinates into the airship's navigation system.

"We'll be there soon, but I have a bad feeling." Soon enough, they were back in Solaria, and they were greeted by all of the people. They then made their way to the shrine, where Argost waited for them. When they walked in, Rikki looked around.

"Be careful." She warned. They walked around and Doyle saw some shadows down a hall, and signaled to the family to come to him.

"Look, down the hall." He whispered. Rikki glared down the hall when she heard Argost's laugh.

"He's here, and he's disturbing the shrine!" She shouted, still whispering. As always, without thinking, she ran in and blasted Argost. "You, what are you doing here?" She shouted as he lunged at her.

"As if you don't know!" He cackled maniacally. He pinned her on the wall and showed her a small relic shaped like a diamond.

"Where did you get that?!" Rikki shouted in fear. Doyle intervened and kicked Argost away from Rikki. "Dad! He has the diamond shard!" She shouted. Doyle quickly made an attempt to get the relic from Argost. Drew blasted at him with her sword, as Doc punched at him with his power glove.

"Rikki, what is that thing?" Zak asked as he fought Munya with her.

"It's the diamond shard!" She took a pause to punch Munya. "If he uses that thing, he'll gain control of the Crystal Heart!" She said as her and Zak tied Munya up. When Doyle heard her, he yelled.

"Yeah, and if that happens, Rikki will die!" He knew she left that out on purpose. Doc and Drew were shocked at this.

Drew shouted, "We have to get that away from him!" They fought hard, but somehow, Argost still managed to get to Rikki.

"You have caused a lot of trouble." He laughed. "It ends now!"