Part 1
Hikaru, Fuu and Umi, even after three years of high school were still good friends. They joked plenty about Cephiro, though they had never succeeded in returning. They often got together and talked about what they would do if they did return, but even those talks were rare. It was evident that Fuu missed Ferio, Umi missed Ascot and Clef, and Hikaru missed Lantis, but only to them. Everyone else just thought they were having a hard time getting over their ex-boyfriends.
But as of lately, Hikaru and the group rarely spent time together. They were busy with other friends, projects and life in general. And to add to the matter, Umi wasn't speaking to Fuu for some trivial reason. Hikaru was trying her best to keep the group together, but things weren't like they used to be. They'd changed, and they would never be Magic Knights again.
Hikaru sat on her bed and looked at the calendar. Tomorrow was the anniversary of the day they had first gone to Cephiro, and though Umi and Fuu weren't speaking, Hikaru knew they would show up. They always did. Hikaru looked out the window. "Oh Clef," she began. "I wish you could help us. We're so lost without Cephiro. We miss everyone there. Please, let us come back, even if it is just for one moment."
At the same time, Umi and Fuu were both whispering a similar prayer and hoping that tomorrow would be a brighter day. How surprised they were about to be.
* * *
Hikaru was waiting at Tokyo Tower, holding a small glass full of water. She checked her watch. It was already 3:30 and neither Umi nor Fuu had shown up yet. Hikaru whispered that neither of them were going to show up when in came Umi talking to a very good-looking male. She appeared to be flirting and having an load of fun when she spotted Hikaru and dropped off the conversation. She walked over to Hikaru just as Fuu walked up reading a large textbook.
"Four years," Hikaru said. "And four years since we last went there. I wonder if Lantis found a girlfriend."
"Why do we even come here anymore? We know we can never go back," Umi entered. "Let's just get on with our lives. We'll never see any of them again."
"I know that, Umi," spat Hikaru, with tears in her eyes, "but I know there's not a day that goes by where you don't wonder about Clef or Ascot. I just want to know if they're okay."
A girl holding a plate of pretzels walked up and handed them each a pretzel. "I supposed it's your usual?" she said. Since they had come every year, the lady knew what they would order. Each one smiled and took their pretzel, but this year, none of them could eat. Umi just looked at her pretzel, Fuu kept looking at the textbook, and Hikaru looked out the window.
"Do you remember. We stood right there when we first found ourselves journeying to Cephiro," Hikaru stated. She walked over to the railing, bringing her bag with her. As she began to walk, Umi's eyes saw something she hadn't planned on seeing before.
"Fuu," she asked her friend. "What is going on with Hikaru?" Fuu poked her head up from the book and noticed it too. A red aura surrounded Hikaru. Both girls grabbed their own bags and walked toward Hikaru, preparing to tell her what was happening, but Hikaru was too busy talking to herself.
"This is where we saw the apparition of Emeraude," Hikaru looked out at the sky. Then she turned around to face her friends. "Do you..." but she was cut short when she saw a blue aura surrounding Umi and a green one around Fuu. For a few moments the girls stared at each other, unsure of what the others were going to say. In that time, a bright flash caused Umi and Fuu to grab onto Hikaru and shove her to the ground.
Let's just say Dorothy and her friends weren't in Kansas anymore.
* * *
Hikaru woke up to find Fuu and Umi on top of her, in a forest. They were unconscious but still alive. From the moment she sat up, Hikaru knew exactly where they were. She tried to wake her friends.
"Umi, Fuu! We're home! We're back in Cephiro!" but the unconscious girls did not respond. Hikaru opened her backpack and pulled out some rope. "I always bring something," she assured herself, "in case we did get back to Cephiro." She hoisted Umi onto her back and tied her there. Then she picked up Fuu and began to carry both of the girls toward the end of the forest. Fuu was fairly light, and so was her bag, but Umi was quite heavy for such a skinny girl. Part of that weight could have been due to her bag as well as Hikaru's bag.
However, Hikaru managed to get to the edge of the forest to spy the palace where they had spent so many nights while they tried to find the bridge to the pillar. Hikaru lugged the two girls along, until she could not hold them any longer. She dropped to her knees about a mile from the palace. The sun was setting, and she knew it would get cold if they didn't find shelter soon. It was only at that point when Fuu began to stir and wake up. Umi also began to wake, but was not functioning as well as Fuu.
"Are you guys all right?" Hikaru asked the girls. Fuu nodded, and Umi sighed. "We're in Cephiro again," Hikaru said. "I'm so excited."
"You would be," Umi replied, rubbing her temple. "That guy I had been talking to had asked me out. Now I'm stuck here."
"I have exams in a week!" Fuu added. "I can't worry about Cephiro right now."
"Well even if we don't care about what's going to happen now, at least we should get to shelter. If we don't, we'll freeze," Hikaru read the grim situation to them.
Umi and Fuu sighed deeply. It was evident they didn't want to work together, but the group trudged toward the palace, barely making it before the first darkness fell upon the land. They got into the palace and collapsed in the elevator. Hikaru ran her fingers over her red hair was no longer was caught in a childish braid but was neatly tied up in a bun. On her nose was a small pair of reading glasses which suited her quite well.
"I wonder if they'll recognize us," Hikaru looked at her reflection in the mirror. She then looked at her friends. Umi's hair was much shorter than it had been before, and she was now coloring it dark blue to match her eyes. Fuu had thrown out her circle rimmed glasses in exchange for contacts. Not only that, her hair was much longer as well as wavy.
"Hikaru, this might not even be Cephiro," Umi snapped. "For all we know, this is Autozam or some other country."
"This is Cephiro," Hikaru pleaded. "I just know it."
The elevator stopped there and opened. Revealed to them was what appeared to be a young, blonde woman whose hair was tied up into a ponytail at the top of her head. "Welcome to the palace," the woman said. "I'm Presea. What brings you here?"
The same thought ran through each girl's mind. "They don't remember us."
Umi was the one to speak, "We are traveling, and we lost our way. Is it possible we could stay here for tonight?"
"I don't see why not," Presea said. "We haven't had visitors since they removed the Pillar. I'll find you a nice room, but I'm afraid you'll all have to be together."
"It'll be just like ole..." but Umi and Fuu both covered Hikaru's mouth before she could say anything more. Presea just smiled and lead them to a fairly large room. She switched on the light to let them see their surroundings. A large bed was in the center of the room with large pillows and fluffy sheets.
"It may be small for you all, but I'm sure it will work," Presea said.
"Thank you, Pre... Pro..." Umi acted like she couldn't remember the woman's name.
"Presea," the woman said. "The Prince will come to see you tomorrow morning, and when Guru Clef returns, he will see to you as well." She left the girls alone in the room. Umi at once claimed the bed.
"This is my bed. I need my beauty sleep," Umi proclaimed.
"Who said you get the bed?" Fuu replied. "I need it for a clear head."
"I'm not speaking to you, Fuu, so mind your mouth," Umi snapped.
"Will you stop fighting? What happened to you two?" Hikaru got into the middle of the cat fight. Umi and Fuu looked at their friend.
Umi summed it up best. "We grew up, Hikaru. We aren't little girls playing pretend anymore. Cephiro may be a real place, but it is not where we belong."
"People grow apart, Hikaru. That's what happens in life. Umi and I obviously weren't as good of friends as we thought," Fuu said. "I think it's time to get to bed."
Hikaru, still unsatisfied with her friends' answers walked to the closet and pulled out two futons and two blankets and handed one to Fuu. She laid down on the other one and dozed off to sleep. Deep within her dreams, a young girl with black hair and a yellow school uniform was smiling to her as the wind blew through her hair. She seemed kind and happy, but the girl's unforgiving black eyes seemed to hide a deeper pain. She looked away from Hikaru for a moment and disappeared only to appear moments later dressed in the outfit of a Magic Knight. Her eyes were filled with cruelty as she vanished.
The dream awoke Hikaru. She found it to be morning with the other two not yet awake. Hikaru walked into the bathroom and looked at herself. She was not pleased by the mess of red hair that was causing her to look like a child once more. What would Lantis think? She remembered what he had said at their last meeting.
"How do people confess their love where you come from?"
"Some say, 'Will you marry me?'" Hikaru had giggled.
"Marry?"
"It's a promise to always be with the one you love."
She put her hand to her neck where she kept her locket with it's picture of Lantis, hidden from the view of the other two. Neither of them knew she had brought the picture from Cephiro and if they had, they would have surely taken it from her and tried to destroy it.
"After four years, will you still have remained faithful to your promise?" she asked the locket. She put it back inside her shirt and began to brush the tangles from her hair. Umi and Fuu both woke up and began to prepare themselves for the morning. Fuu went straight to the books in her bag and began to study, while Umi started applying her make-up and combing her own hair. No more than fifteen minutes passed before the door opened and a young girl entered the room.
"Misses, breakfast will be served shortly. They request an audience with you," she said. "I will lead you to the room."
"Thank you," Hikaru bowed. "Your name is?"
"My name is Mira," she said, returning the bow. Mira opened the door, and the three girls walked into the room. They sat down at three empty chairs while recognizing several of the other people at the table. There was Eagle Vision sitting next to Lafarga, who had the gorgeous Caldina, hanging onto him. They were laughing with Presea and Geo Metro. It was funny to see them so happy. That's when two more people entered the room.
"Hey everybody, sorry we're..." the tall black haired man began. Hikaru felt her heart drop to her stomach as she recognized the man. She knew he recognized her. He only had to say one word. "Hikaru."
With that she ran from her position in the chair and threw herself at him. Fuu and Umi had never seen her look so happy in the four years they had been away from Cephiro. Lantis returned the embrace of the girl he loved and nuzzled her face.
"You've grown, Hikaru," he said to her.
"I thought I'd never see you again," Hikaru cried. Her head touched the center of his chest as he stroked her head. Umi and Fuu pushed back their chairs and walked over to the person who had entered the room with Lantis.
"Clef-sama!" Umi exclaimed. "It's good to see you."
Presea walked over to the girls, "And I thought you didn't remember us," were her words. Umi looked at Presea.
"I thought you didn't remember us," Umi repeated. "When you spoke, you acted like you didn't remember."
"Well, I admit, I wasn't sure at first, but after I saw the way you talked to Hikaru, I knew it had to be you three," Presea said. Hikaru left Lantis' grasp to hug Presea. Caldina left the table to greet them all, leading Lafarga as well.
"Where is the prince?" Fuu asked, scanning the area around her. "You said he would meet us this morning."
Clef answered Fuu's concern, "Ferio is in danger and was sent away for a while. He is safe, Fuu. You needn't worry." Then he turned to Umi, "Ascot is with him, for assistance."
"Oh Clef!" Hikaru said, "We tried for years to get back, but we were never able to make it. Why couldn't we come back?"
"I have no answers, but this time, Magic Knights, it was I who summoned you," Clef explained. "I didn't know where you would be, but I was sure you would come."
"Why did you summon us?" Umi asked.
"There is danger that is even greater than the invasion of Cephiro."
"What is it?"
"A Magic Knight," Clef said. The girls looked at each other, or in truth, Umi and Fuu looked at Hikaru.
"But I thought we were the only Magic Knights," Umi said. "Was someone else summoned in the time we were gone?"
"I am afraid not. You see, before Princess Emeraude became the pillar we had another pillar who had a pure heart and soul devoted to Cephiro," Clef said.
"But I thought Princess Emeraude was the first pillar," Fuu said. "It sounded that way from what you said."
"She was the pillar in the second Cephiro. The one I'm referring to was the last pillar in the first Cephiro," Clef said. "Before Princess Emeraude was even born, my father helped the pillars grow to become wise and powerful people who avoided love, for fear it might destroy Cephiro. But he died before he could train the next pillar successor."
"What was her name?" Hikaru asked.
"The pillar doesn't have to be a female. The pillar only had to have a strong soul to reach the bridge, but this pillar was female. I tried to train her the way my father had, and I failed miserably. She may have had a pure heart and mind, but she was in love with another. So she called to another world for a person who could destroy her. Do you remember the name of Tomoe Tengami?"
The three girls thought for a bit and looked back at the people at the table, who had obviously never heard this side before. Hikaru remembered something, "She went missing when I was ten. My mother and father feared for my safety after that."
"She became a Magic Knight. The first, since you weren't at the right place when she was summoned, not to mention, you were quite young. I taught her Magic, and she had weapons made for her. She knew her duty was to destroy the pillar, and she did it without any hesitation. Cephiro began to crumble without its pillar and demanded another. I had barely time to find one who was suitable to be the pillar, much less train them. Of course Cephiro was crumbling slower than it did when Emeraude was killed, so it wouldn't have made much difference."
"But what about Tomoe?" Umi said. "She was about eleven when she killed the pillar, but she didn't return to Earth."
"Tomoe's heart was strong enough to keep her in Cephiro when magic tried to send her home. I gave her powers to help rebuild Cephiro, but she had her mind set on something much more dangerous. She wanted to become the pillar herself. She kept searching for the bridge, but after three years, she became angry with herself and began to destroy parts of Cephiro."
Lafarga spoke up, "I remember a storm accompanied by an earthquake which killed my mother and father. A black haired child was standing at the edge of the village and was laughing at us."
"My sister and I were also orphaned, though we were older than Lafarga," Presea said. "I remember the horrible look in her eyes. It is something I never want to see again."
"As she destroyed parts of Cephiro, Princess Emeraude found herself as the pillar. Tomoe realized this and tried to destroy her, but Priest Zagato, as well as Alcyone and myself kept her from killing the princess," Clef said. "But she swore she'd become the pillar one day and destroy Cephiro so we sealed her into a mirror world. A world she'd live in all alone without the joys of real life."
"And she's escaped now?" Hikaru said.
"But what's the big deal?" Umi entered. "If there's no pillar, how can she become the pillar and destroy Cephiro?"
"When she became a Magic Knight, I thought that she might be the only one so I gave her all the power I could. Among her powers is one that can create a pillar system even after it was destroyed. I am afraid it is all my fault."
"Don't blame yourself, Clef. You did what you had to do. Now we have to stop her," Hikaru said.
"You do not have to do this if you don't want to. I can send you back home where you will not have to worry about fighting to save Cephiro," Clef told them. But Umi and Fuu had already decided to help, though their hearts were not in it. "Well then, I will give you your armor tomorrow. You need today to catch up with everyone."
Breakfast was brought in moments later and everyone began to talk with Hikaru, Fuu and Umi. Hikaru and Lantis never let go of each other's hands as they ate. It was comforting, but everyone, including Hikaru, could tell that Umi and Fuu would rather not be there. They tried to ignore the fact, but it would not be. They were too hard to ignore.
The day passed quickly for all of them, as Hikaru, Umi and Fuu spent the day talking to Clef and the rest. Eagle had not given up his feelings for Lantis, though he accepted the fact that Lantis was in love with Hikaru. Caldina and Lafarga were all over each other, making it easy for the group to tell they were a couple. Lantis had not forgotten the promise he had made to Hikaru and was with her now.
Umi and Fuu got their own rooms and went off to bed, while Hikaru stayed up longer, wanting to talk to Clef. She waited until Umi and Fuu had left the room before she began to talk.
"Neither of them want to be here," Hikaru said. Clef nodded. "They said it's because they don't like playing pretend, but this is real! Can you make them understand?"
Clef shook his head. "I can only make them happy here. If they don't believe that this is real then there is nothing I can do for them. If they don't want to be here, I can send them back, but I don't want you to do this on your own."
"I'll stay with her," Lantis volunteered, but Clef put his foot down immediately.
"If I am barely powerful enough to contain her, then there would be nothing that you could do."
"But if she does bring the pillar system back," Hikaru asked swirling her drink around, "will I go back to being the pillar?" Clef did not know the answer to his friend's question so he answered her with a shrug.
"I must warn you, Hikaru," Clef began with a serious tone, "Tomoe is dangerous, not only to your friends, but to you especially. I do not understand why, but she will kill you if she gets you alone."
"So I must kill her first," Hikaru's face gained a sad appearance. Clef nodded. Hikaru tried to smile, but it had tears in her eyes as she left the room. Lantis followed her to her room and stopped her before she could enter.
"Hikaru," he began, but got no farther. Hikaru began to sob in Lantis' arms.
"I'm an assassin, Lantis. I was commanded to kill Emeraude, and now I've been hired to kill Tomoe. I'm so evil," Hikaru told him. She tried to pull away from him, but he wouldn't allow her to leave the protection of his arms.
"You're not evil, Hikaru," Lantis told her. "Maybe you can get through to her without killing her."
"Lantis, I murdered your brother," she screamed. "And I barely felt bad about it! I shouldn't be allowed..." but Lantis slapped her. The look on his face told her that he was not happy with what she was saying to him.
"Hikaru, I know you killed my brother, but I still love you," he said. "I can understand the feelings you had when you killed him, but you're not evil. Even if you have to kill Tomoe to save her and Cephiro, I will still love you." He leaned over and kissed her. "If you would like, you may come to my room in the morning and talk."
A smile appeared on her face as she nodded. He opened the door to her room and she walked in. "Good night, Lantis. " Then she whispered. "I love you."
* * *
Tomoe danced her doll around her room. She looked at her young body that sat on the bed. After being imprisoned in that mirror for so long, it felt good to be in the real world. She had appeared to be a young girl without a mother or a father, and many people were eager to take her in. They had no idea of her real age or her intentions.
"So dolly, should it be this town first? Or should we destroy Clef, Zagato and Alcyone first off? I want to destroy them so bad," Tomoe told her doll. She seemed to hear the doll speak to her, though anyone else would not be able to hear anything.
"You're right. I'll destroy a few towns first to show them what I'm capable of. Then I'll kill them. One by one," Tomoe said. Her pupils grew very tiny as she cuddled with the doll.
The woman who had taken her in that night came in, bringing a tray of goodies for the girl to eat. She looked at the girl and smiled.
"Ma'am, may I ask where I can find Guru Clef and his friends Alcyone and Zagato?" asked Tomoe with a very sweet disposition and innocent smile. The lady was curious why Tomoe had asked such a question but decided that maybe the child had been stricken with amnesia due to a horrific event.
"Clef lives in the palace at the center of Cephiro. Priest Zagato and Alcyone are both dead thanks to the Magic Knights," she told Tomoe. This struck the girl's mind and fancy. The way she turned her head would have been spine-chilling to anyone on Earth. It was slow, with the eyes moving before the rest of the body.
"Magic Knights?"
"Yes. They killed Zagato and freed Emeraude from her prison as the pillar, don't you remember?"
"I do not remember much," Tomoe told her. The woman left the room, and Tomoe turned to her doll. "Did you hear that, dolly? Zagato, Emeraude and Alcyone already paid the price. Now there is only Clef to go. But I'll need to do some research on these Magic Knights."
The doll seemed to tell her something important, but once again only Tomoe could hear what it told her. "I know she might be with them. That is the reason I must find out about them. Then I would not have to be alone anymore." She was looking out the window when the doll said something. She turned around and ran back to the doll, picking it up and cuddling it.
"Of course, I could never leave you, dolly. I will destroy this town first, but I will let this woman live. She cooks such wonderful sweets."
Hikaru, Fuu and Umi, even after three years of high school were still good friends. They joked plenty about Cephiro, though they had never succeeded in returning. They often got together and talked about what they would do if they did return, but even those talks were rare. It was evident that Fuu missed Ferio, Umi missed Ascot and Clef, and Hikaru missed Lantis, but only to them. Everyone else just thought they were having a hard time getting over their ex-boyfriends.
But as of lately, Hikaru and the group rarely spent time together. They were busy with other friends, projects and life in general. And to add to the matter, Umi wasn't speaking to Fuu for some trivial reason. Hikaru was trying her best to keep the group together, but things weren't like they used to be. They'd changed, and they would never be Magic Knights again.
Hikaru sat on her bed and looked at the calendar. Tomorrow was the anniversary of the day they had first gone to Cephiro, and though Umi and Fuu weren't speaking, Hikaru knew they would show up. They always did. Hikaru looked out the window. "Oh Clef," she began. "I wish you could help us. We're so lost without Cephiro. We miss everyone there. Please, let us come back, even if it is just for one moment."
At the same time, Umi and Fuu were both whispering a similar prayer and hoping that tomorrow would be a brighter day. How surprised they were about to be.
* * *
Hikaru was waiting at Tokyo Tower, holding a small glass full of water. She checked her watch. It was already 3:30 and neither Umi nor Fuu had shown up yet. Hikaru whispered that neither of them were going to show up when in came Umi talking to a very good-looking male. She appeared to be flirting and having an load of fun when she spotted Hikaru and dropped off the conversation. She walked over to Hikaru just as Fuu walked up reading a large textbook.
"Four years," Hikaru said. "And four years since we last went there. I wonder if Lantis found a girlfriend."
"Why do we even come here anymore? We know we can never go back," Umi entered. "Let's just get on with our lives. We'll never see any of them again."
"I know that, Umi," spat Hikaru, with tears in her eyes, "but I know there's not a day that goes by where you don't wonder about Clef or Ascot. I just want to know if they're okay."
A girl holding a plate of pretzels walked up and handed them each a pretzel. "I supposed it's your usual?" she said. Since they had come every year, the lady knew what they would order. Each one smiled and took their pretzel, but this year, none of them could eat. Umi just looked at her pretzel, Fuu kept looking at the textbook, and Hikaru looked out the window.
"Do you remember. We stood right there when we first found ourselves journeying to Cephiro," Hikaru stated. She walked over to the railing, bringing her bag with her. As she began to walk, Umi's eyes saw something she hadn't planned on seeing before.
"Fuu," she asked her friend. "What is going on with Hikaru?" Fuu poked her head up from the book and noticed it too. A red aura surrounded Hikaru. Both girls grabbed their own bags and walked toward Hikaru, preparing to tell her what was happening, but Hikaru was too busy talking to herself.
"This is where we saw the apparition of Emeraude," Hikaru looked out at the sky. Then she turned around to face her friends. "Do you..." but she was cut short when she saw a blue aura surrounding Umi and a green one around Fuu. For a few moments the girls stared at each other, unsure of what the others were going to say. In that time, a bright flash caused Umi and Fuu to grab onto Hikaru and shove her to the ground.
Let's just say Dorothy and her friends weren't in Kansas anymore.
* * *
Hikaru woke up to find Fuu and Umi on top of her, in a forest. They were unconscious but still alive. From the moment she sat up, Hikaru knew exactly where they were. She tried to wake her friends.
"Umi, Fuu! We're home! We're back in Cephiro!" but the unconscious girls did not respond. Hikaru opened her backpack and pulled out some rope. "I always bring something," she assured herself, "in case we did get back to Cephiro." She hoisted Umi onto her back and tied her there. Then she picked up Fuu and began to carry both of the girls toward the end of the forest. Fuu was fairly light, and so was her bag, but Umi was quite heavy for such a skinny girl. Part of that weight could have been due to her bag as well as Hikaru's bag.
However, Hikaru managed to get to the edge of the forest to spy the palace where they had spent so many nights while they tried to find the bridge to the pillar. Hikaru lugged the two girls along, until she could not hold them any longer. She dropped to her knees about a mile from the palace. The sun was setting, and she knew it would get cold if they didn't find shelter soon. It was only at that point when Fuu began to stir and wake up. Umi also began to wake, but was not functioning as well as Fuu.
"Are you guys all right?" Hikaru asked the girls. Fuu nodded, and Umi sighed. "We're in Cephiro again," Hikaru said. "I'm so excited."
"You would be," Umi replied, rubbing her temple. "That guy I had been talking to had asked me out. Now I'm stuck here."
"I have exams in a week!" Fuu added. "I can't worry about Cephiro right now."
"Well even if we don't care about what's going to happen now, at least we should get to shelter. If we don't, we'll freeze," Hikaru read the grim situation to them.
Umi and Fuu sighed deeply. It was evident they didn't want to work together, but the group trudged toward the palace, barely making it before the first darkness fell upon the land. They got into the palace and collapsed in the elevator. Hikaru ran her fingers over her red hair was no longer was caught in a childish braid but was neatly tied up in a bun. On her nose was a small pair of reading glasses which suited her quite well.
"I wonder if they'll recognize us," Hikaru looked at her reflection in the mirror. She then looked at her friends. Umi's hair was much shorter than it had been before, and she was now coloring it dark blue to match her eyes. Fuu had thrown out her circle rimmed glasses in exchange for contacts. Not only that, her hair was much longer as well as wavy.
"Hikaru, this might not even be Cephiro," Umi snapped. "For all we know, this is Autozam or some other country."
"This is Cephiro," Hikaru pleaded. "I just know it."
The elevator stopped there and opened. Revealed to them was what appeared to be a young, blonde woman whose hair was tied up into a ponytail at the top of her head. "Welcome to the palace," the woman said. "I'm Presea. What brings you here?"
The same thought ran through each girl's mind. "They don't remember us."
Umi was the one to speak, "We are traveling, and we lost our way. Is it possible we could stay here for tonight?"
"I don't see why not," Presea said. "We haven't had visitors since they removed the Pillar. I'll find you a nice room, but I'm afraid you'll all have to be together."
"It'll be just like ole..." but Umi and Fuu both covered Hikaru's mouth before she could say anything more. Presea just smiled and lead them to a fairly large room. She switched on the light to let them see their surroundings. A large bed was in the center of the room with large pillows and fluffy sheets.
"It may be small for you all, but I'm sure it will work," Presea said.
"Thank you, Pre... Pro..." Umi acted like she couldn't remember the woman's name.
"Presea," the woman said. "The Prince will come to see you tomorrow morning, and when Guru Clef returns, he will see to you as well." She left the girls alone in the room. Umi at once claimed the bed.
"This is my bed. I need my beauty sleep," Umi proclaimed.
"Who said you get the bed?" Fuu replied. "I need it for a clear head."
"I'm not speaking to you, Fuu, so mind your mouth," Umi snapped.
"Will you stop fighting? What happened to you two?" Hikaru got into the middle of the cat fight. Umi and Fuu looked at their friend.
Umi summed it up best. "We grew up, Hikaru. We aren't little girls playing pretend anymore. Cephiro may be a real place, but it is not where we belong."
"People grow apart, Hikaru. That's what happens in life. Umi and I obviously weren't as good of friends as we thought," Fuu said. "I think it's time to get to bed."
Hikaru, still unsatisfied with her friends' answers walked to the closet and pulled out two futons and two blankets and handed one to Fuu. She laid down on the other one and dozed off to sleep. Deep within her dreams, a young girl with black hair and a yellow school uniform was smiling to her as the wind blew through her hair. She seemed kind and happy, but the girl's unforgiving black eyes seemed to hide a deeper pain. She looked away from Hikaru for a moment and disappeared only to appear moments later dressed in the outfit of a Magic Knight. Her eyes were filled with cruelty as she vanished.
The dream awoke Hikaru. She found it to be morning with the other two not yet awake. Hikaru walked into the bathroom and looked at herself. She was not pleased by the mess of red hair that was causing her to look like a child once more. What would Lantis think? She remembered what he had said at their last meeting.
"How do people confess their love where you come from?"
"Some say, 'Will you marry me?'" Hikaru had giggled.
"Marry?"
"It's a promise to always be with the one you love."
She put her hand to her neck where she kept her locket with it's picture of Lantis, hidden from the view of the other two. Neither of them knew she had brought the picture from Cephiro and if they had, they would have surely taken it from her and tried to destroy it.
"After four years, will you still have remained faithful to your promise?" she asked the locket. She put it back inside her shirt and began to brush the tangles from her hair. Umi and Fuu both woke up and began to prepare themselves for the morning. Fuu went straight to the books in her bag and began to study, while Umi started applying her make-up and combing her own hair. No more than fifteen minutes passed before the door opened and a young girl entered the room.
"Misses, breakfast will be served shortly. They request an audience with you," she said. "I will lead you to the room."
"Thank you," Hikaru bowed. "Your name is?"
"My name is Mira," she said, returning the bow. Mira opened the door, and the three girls walked into the room. They sat down at three empty chairs while recognizing several of the other people at the table. There was Eagle Vision sitting next to Lafarga, who had the gorgeous Caldina, hanging onto him. They were laughing with Presea and Geo Metro. It was funny to see them so happy. That's when two more people entered the room.
"Hey everybody, sorry we're..." the tall black haired man began. Hikaru felt her heart drop to her stomach as she recognized the man. She knew he recognized her. He only had to say one word. "Hikaru."
With that she ran from her position in the chair and threw herself at him. Fuu and Umi had never seen her look so happy in the four years they had been away from Cephiro. Lantis returned the embrace of the girl he loved and nuzzled her face.
"You've grown, Hikaru," he said to her.
"I thought I'd never see you again," Hikaru cried. Her head touched the center of his chest as he stroked her head. Umi and Fuu pushed back their chairs and walked over to the person who had entered the room with Lantis.
"Clef-sama!" Umi exclaimed. "It's good to see you."
Presea walked over to the girls, "And I thought you didn't remember us," were her words. Umi looked at Presea.
"I thought you didn't remember us," Umi repeated. "When you spoke, you acted like you didn't remember."
"Well, I admit, I wasn't sure at first, but after I saw the way you talked to Hikaru, I knew it had to be you three," Presea said. Hikaru left Lantis' grasp to hug Presea. Caldina left the table to greet them all, leading Lafarga as well.
"Where is the prince?" Fuu asked, scanning the area around her. "You said he would meet us this morning."
Clef answered Fuu's concern, "Ferio is in danger and was sent away for a while. He is safe, Fuu. You needn't worry." Then he turned to Umi, "Ascot is with him, for assistance."
"Oh Clef!" Hikaru said, "We tried for years to get back, but we were never able to make it. Why couldn't we come back?"
"I have no answers, but this time, Magic Knights, it was I who summoned you," Clef explained. "I didn't know where you would be, but I was sure you would come."
"Why did you summon us?" Umi asked.
"There is danger that is even greater than the invasion of Cephiro."
"What is it?"
"A Magic Knight," Clef said. The girls looked at each other, or in truth, Umi and Fuu looked at Hikaru.
"But I thought we were the only Magic Knights," Umi said. "Was someone else summoned in the time we were gone?"
"I am afraid not. You see, before Princess Emeraude became the pillar we had another pillar who had a pure heart and soul devoted to Cephiro," Clef said.
"But I thought Princess Emeraude was the first pillar," Fuu said. "It sounded that way from what you said."
"She was the pillar in the second Cephiro. The one I'm referring to was the last pillar in the first Cephiro," Clef said. "Before Princess Emeraude was even born, my father helped the pillars grow to become wise and powerful people who avoided love, for fear it might destroy Cephiro. But he died before he could train the next pillar successor."
"What was her name?" Hikaru asked.
"The pillar doesn't have to be a female. The pillar only had to have a strong soul to reach the bridge, but this pillar was female. I tried to train her the way my father had, and I failed miserably. She may have had a pure heart and mind, but she was in love with another. So she called to another world for a person who could destroy her. Do you remember the name of Tomoe Tengami?"
The three girls thought for a bit and looked back at the people at the table, who had obviously never heard this side before. Hikaru remembered something, "She went missing when I was ten. My mother and father feared for my safety after that."
"She became a Magic Knight. The first, since you weren't at the right place when she was summoned, not to mention, you were quite young. I taught her Magic, and she had weapons made for her. She knew her duty was to destroy the pillar, and she did it without any hesitation. Cephiro began to crumble without its pillar and demanded another. I had barely time to find one who was suitable to be the pillar, much less train them. Of course Cephiro was crumbling slower than it did when Emeraude was killed, so it wouldn't have made much difference."
"But what about Tomoe?" Umi said. "She was about eleven when she killed the pillar, but she didn't return to Earth."
"Tomoe's heart was strong enough to keep her in Cephiro when magic tried to send her home. I gave her powers to help rebuild Cephiro, but she had her mind set on something much more dangerous. She wanted to become the pillar herself. She kept searching for the bridge, but after three years, she became angry with herself and began to destroy parts of Cephiro."
Lafarga spoke up, "I remember a storm accompanied by an earthquake which killed my mother and father. A black haired child was standing at the edge of the village and was laughing at us."
"My sister and I were also orphaned, though we were older than Lafarga," Presea said. "I remember the horrible look in her eyes. It is something I never want to see again."
"As she destroyed parts of Cephiro, Princess Emeraude found herself as the pillar. Tomoe realized this and tried to destroy her, but Priest Zagato, as well as Alcyone and myself kept her from killing the princess," Clef said. "But she swore she'd become the pillar one day and destroy Cephiro so we sealed her into a mirror world. A world she'd live in all alone without the joys of real life."
"And she's escaped now?" Hikaru said.
"But what's the big deal?" Umi entered. "If there's no pillar, how can she become the pillar and destroy Cephiro?"
"When she became a Magic Knight, I thought that she might be the only one so I gave her all the power I could. Among her powers is one that can create a pillar system even after it was destroyed. I am afraid it is all my fault."
"Don't blame yourself, Clef. You did what you had to do. Now we have to stop her," Hikaru said.
"You do not have to do this if you don't want to. I can send you back home where you will not have to worry about fighting to save Cephiro," Clef told them. But Umi and Fuu had already decided to help, though their hearts were not in it. "Well then, I will give you your armor tomorrow. You need today to catch up with everyone."
Breakfast was brought in moments later and everyone began to talk with Hikaru, Fuu and Umi. Hikaru and Lantis never let go of each other's hands as they ate. It was comforting, but everyone, including Hikaru, could tell that Umi and Fuu would rather not be there. They tried to ignore the fact, but it would not be. They were too hard to ignore.
The day passed quickly for all of them, as Hikaru, Umi and Fuu spent the day talking to Clef and the rest. Eagle had not given up his feelings for Lantis, though he accepted the fact that Lantis was in love with Hikaru. Caldina and Lafarga were all over each other, making it easy for the group to tell they were a couple. Lantis had not forgotten the promise he had made to Hikaru and was with her now.
Umi and Fuu got their own rooms and went off to bed, while Hikaru stayed up longer, wanting to talk to Clef. She waited until Umi and Fuu had left the room before she began to talk.
"Neither of them want to be here," Hikaru said. Clef nodded. "They said it's because they don't like playing pretend, but this is real! Can you make them understand?"
Clef shook his head. "I can only make them happy here. If they don't believe that this is real then there is nothing I can do for them. If they don't want to be here, I can send them back, but I don't want you to do this on your own."
"I'll stay with her," Lantis volunteered, but Clef put his foot down immediately.
"If I am barely powerful enough to contain her, then there would be nothing that you could do."
"But if she does bring the pillar system back," Hikaru asked swirling her drink around, "will I go back to being the pillar?" Clef did not know the answer to his friend's question so he answered her with a shrug.
"I must warn you, Hikaru," Clef began with a serious tone, "Tomoe is dangerous, not only to your friends, but to you especially. I do not understand why, but she will kill you if she gets you alone."
"So I must kill her first," Hikaru's face gained a sad appearance. Clef nodded. Hikaru tried to smile, but it had tears in her eyes as she left the room. Lantis followed her to her room and stopped her before she could enter.
"Hikaru," he began, but got no farther. Hikaru began to sob in Lantis' arms.
"I'm an assassin, Lantis. I was commanded to kill Emeraude, and now I've been hired to kill Tomoe. I'm so evil," Hikaru told him. She tried to pull away from him, but he wouldn't allow her to leave the protection of his arms.
"You're not evil, Hikaru," Lantis told her. "Maybe you can get through to her without killing her."
"Lantis, I murdered your brother," she screamed. "And I barely felt bad about it! I shouldn't be allowed..." but Lantis slapped her. The look on his face told her that he was not happy with what she was saying to him.
"Hikaru, I know you killed my brother, but I still love you," he said. "I can understand the feelings you had when you killed him, but you're not evil. Even if you have to kill Tomoe to save her and Cephiro, I will still love you." He leaned over and kissed her. "If you would like, you may come to my room in the morning and talk."
A smile appeared on her face as she nodded. He opened the door to her room and she walked in. "Good night, Lantis. " Then she whispered. "I love you."
* * *
Tomoe danced her doll around her room. She looked at her young body that sat on the bed. After being imprisoned in that mirror for so long, it felt good to be in the real world. She had appeared to be a young girl without a mother or a father, and many people were eager to take her in. They had no idea of her real age or her intentions.
"So dolly, should it be this town first? Or should we destroy Clef, Zagato and Alcyone first off? I want to destroy them so bad," Tomoe told her doll. She seemed to hear the doll speak to her, though anyone else would not be able to hear anything.
"You're right. I'll destroy a few towns first to show them what I'm capable of. Then I'll kill them. One by one," Tomoe said. Her pupils grew very tiny as she cuddled with the doll.
The woman who had taken her in that night came in, bringing a tray of goodies for the girl to eat. She looked at the girl and smiled.
"Ma'am, may I ask where I can find Guru Clef and his friends Alcyone and Zagato?" asked Tomoe with a very sweet disposition and innocent smile. The lady was curious why Tomoe had asked such a question but decided that maybe the child had been stricken with amnesia due to a horrific event.
"Clef lives in the palace at the center of Cephiro. Priest Zagato and Alcyone are both dead thanks to the Magic Knights," she told Tomoe. This struck the girl's mind and fancy. The way she turned her head would have been spine-chilling to anyone on Earth. It was slow, with the eyes moving before the rest of the body.
"Magic Knights?"
"Yes. They killed Zagato and freed Emeraude from her prison as the pillar, don't you remember?"
"I do not remember much," Tomoe told her. The woman left the room, and Tomoe turned to her doll. "Did you hear that, dolly? Zagato, Emeraude and Alcyone already paid the price. Now there is only Clef to go. But I'll need to do some research on these Magic Knights."
The doll seemed to tell her something important, but once again only Tomoe could hear what it told her. "I know she might be with them. That is the reason I must find out about them. Then I would not have to be alone anymore." She was looking out the window when the doll said something. She turned around and ran back to the doll, picking it up and cuddling it.
"Of course, I could never leave you, dolly. I will destroy this town first, but I will let this woman live. She cooks such wonderful sweets."