Moon Knight3: Vengeance of the Talon
Chapter One: The New Crisis
Yukito dashed out of the house, after saying a rushed goodbye to his grandparents. He was late, again. He'd promised to be on time, but he just couldn't seem to do that. He was in such a rush that he didn't notice Sakura and Touya going in the opposite direction.
"Yuki!" Touya shouted, but didn't get a response.
"Yukito-san!" Sakura called, but got the same thing as her brother.
"Wonder where he's going in such a hurry?" Touya murmured.
"Let's follow him and find out!" Sakura said, as they both started going in the direction Yukito had disappeared into.
Umi rolled her eyes. Where was Yukito? What was keeping him? Hikaru and Fuu were already there, waiting for him to arrive. Finally, she caught sight of him moving quickly through the crowd, trying to get to their location.
"So, the White Rabbit is finally here!" Umi said, as Yukito ran up.
"Very…………funny……………Umi-san…………" Yukito gasped, much to the amusement of Hikaru and Fuu.
"I'm glad you could make it, Yukito-chan." Hikaru said, warmly, as they all looked at the skyline.
"To think, our adventures began right on this spot!" Yukito stated.
"It is somewhat hard to believe." Fuu agreed, as she adjusted the sleeve of her green blouse. Loud shouting and Yukito getting tackled by a girl startled them.
"Sakura-chan!" Yukito yelped.
"Yukito-san…………….!" Sakura said, pleased that she'd caught up with him, but confused when she saw three other girls standing close by.
"Hikaru-chan? What're you doing here?" Sakura asked.
"Sakura-chan! You're Yukito-chan's girlfriend?!" Hikaru asked, in disbelief.
"Hai! He is!" Sakura replied, cheerfully.
"Sakura-chan, how do you know Hikaru-san?" Yukito asked.
"Hikaru-chan is in my class at school!" Sakura said, as she and Yukito stood up.
"I see……………Sakura-chan, may I ask you something?" Yukito asked.
"Hai, what is it?" Sakura asked, confused.
"Were you here for the Tokyo Tower field trip a year ago?" Yukito asked. Sakura looked thoughtfully away, then shook her head.
"Iie. I was at home sick that day, remember?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah! I remember! You had a cold that week!" Hikaru said, getting a nod from Sakura. Then Sakura noticed a flicker of pain from each of the other teens' eyes and in Yukito's eyes as well..
"Yukito-san, daijobu?" Sakura asked.
"Hai! Sorry to worry you! Anyway, these are two of mine and Hikaru's friends, Ryuuzaki Umi and Houoji Fuu. We were all here at the same time for the field trip." Yukito said, motioning to each girl as he said her name. Sakura politely bowed to both of them.
"Yukito-san, have you told her yet what happened to us here a year ago?" Fuu asked, speaking up for the first time.
"No. I have not." Yukito replied. Sakura was confused.
"What happened here? Why do you all look so sad now?" Sakura asked, concerned about the people she'd just met.
"It's a long story, Sakura-chan. One I hope I can tell you one day…………….." Yukito trailed off when brilliant white light lit up the sky.
"What the…………?!" Umi yelped.
"It's happening again!" Fuu shouted, as the light engulfed them all. Before they could blink twice, they were falling through a clear blue sky.
"I can't believe this happened a third time!" Umi screamed, as the fell.
"Where are we?! What is this place?!" Sakura asked. All of them looked at her in astonishment.
"But why was Sakura summoned with us?!" Umi asked, before they all landed on something soft and bouncy.
"The flying fish!" Yukito said, pleased to see something familiar.
"Hoee! Where are we? Yukito-san, where are we?" Sakura asked, shaken by the sudden fall through the air.
"Sakura-chan, welcome to Cephiro." Yukito said, as the fish stopped at a cliff and dropped them off.
"Cephiro? Where is that?" Sakura asked.
"Not on earth, I can tell you that much." Umi said, as a familiar bouncing marshmallow greeted them in its usual fashion.
"Puuuuuu!" Mokona cried, gleefully greeting them all.
"Mokona!" Hikaru shouted, as she scooped the puffball up.
"It seems that Cephiro has completely recovered from its crumbling away." Yukito murmured.
"Hey, you guys! Look!" Hikaru shouted, as she pointed at something from a vantage point on the cliff. Upon rushing over, Yukito saw what it was that Hikaru had noticed; their landmarks had returned!
"The ocean, the floating mountain, the midday moon, and the volcano! They're all here!" Hikaru said, ecstatically.
"But all is not well in paradise." A man's voice said, from behind them. they all whirled around and Umi gasped when she saw who it was.
"Clef!" Umi shouted, and dashed over to him, embracing him warmly.
"I'm glad to see you too, Umi." Clef said, as he hugged the blue-haired girl back.
"But what did you mean by what you'd said, Madoushi?" Yukito asked. Clef sighed.
"I will tell you, but first, I need to know the name of that new girl. I have not seen her before." Clef said, as Sakura gazed at her surroundings.
"This is Kinomoto Sakura, my…………..erm………..girlfriend." Yukito said, not quite knowing how to phrase it. Clef nodded.
"I see. Does she know your story yet?" Clef asked.
"Not yet." Yukito said, as Sakura again gave him a confused look.
"Then I suppose this will be best explained in actions. Accept!" Clef shouted, raising his staff into the air. Once again, Yukito and his friends were bathed in warm light and once again, when the light had faded, they stood together in their armor.
"Hoee!!!!!!!!! Sugoi!" Sakura yelped, amazed by what had just happened. Clef chuckled.
"She's like you were in the beginning, Hikaru." Clef said, getting some laughter from the four Knights for that statement.
"Clef, will you tell us now what is going on?" Umi asked.
"Not now. First I need to be sure that we are not being listened to." Clef said, as he raised his staff again. Before the Knights and their guest could blink, they were in a very familiar house.
"This was Presea's house!" Hikaru yelped.
"Yes. Even though the Forest of Silence has lost it's magic, we can still be sure that no one will try to eavesdrop on us here. Now I can tell you what is happening here." Clef said, as he sat down on the sill of a huge window. His captive audience leaned in, anxious to know why Clef had brought them to such a remote area.
"First of all, I am glad that you, the Magic Knights, have returned to Cephiro, since we are in desperate need of your help. You see, a faction of Autozam's army has started attacking Cephiro as of late. Ferio went to Autozam to try to make peace with them, but he couldn't get through to them. About a month ago, Ferio went missing. At around the same time, a silver Mashin appeared." Clef said, as Fuu gasped in horror at hearing that Ferio was missing, and no one knew where he was.
"Madoushi, Hikaru-san, Umi-san, Fuu-san and I were led to believe that there were only four Mashin. There aren't any others that we don't know about, are there?" Yukito asked.
"There are. But the stories behind them are very vague; nowhere near as clear as the legend of the Magic Knights." Clef replied, grimly.
"Clef, who is leading the faction from Autozam? Why are they attacking Cephiro?" Hikaru asked, as Sakura consoled Fuu.
"Someone related to the late Eagle Vision." Clef said, with a deep sigh.
"Someone from his family? But who, Madoushi? And why?" Yukito asked.
"From what I have been able to tell, it is the sister of Eagle Vision. She is attacking Cephiro for revenge. Revenge for her brother's death." Clef said, as shock registered on the faces of the Magic Knights.
Meanwhile, in the NSX, a young woman sits, icy green eyes taking in all that the viewscreen showed her.
"Commander, we almost there." One man said.
"Excellent. Ready the FTO for launch." The woman said, coldly.
"Yes ma'am!" the underling said, before making himself scarce. From her shadow-shrouded seat, the woman smiled.
"Soon Cephiro. Soon you will feel the wrath of Autozam! You will pay for the death of my brother! I swear it!" the woman thought, as she stood and walked down into the docking bay, to get ready for her first battle against Cephiro.
