Hikaru sat up slowly. Every muscle in her body protested violently at the
movement, twinges and aches running rampant through her limbs. She winced,
but would not be dissuaded from climbing to an upright position on the bed.
Leaning with relief against the carved wooden headboard, she looked
around, attempting to asses her new situation. "I'm in Cephiro," she
whispered aloud, hardly believing her own words.
The room was nearly pitch-dark, lit only by the late twilight glimmer entering through the solitary window. Vague shadows and shapes sat in the gloom, identifying themselves as pieces of furniture to Hikaru's slowly adjusting eyes. Ignoring stabs and pulls from her abused body, Hikaru threw off the enveloping comforter and swung her feet to the floor. It seemed that no one had messed with her clothing before dumping her into her bed - thank goodness - as she was still wearing her armor, her magic ruby secure on her left hand. *They could have at least pulled my boots off,* she thought irritably. It was frigging uncomfortable sleeping in armor, dammit! Hikaru rose and stretched, freezing suddenly as a thought hit her. *Jo! And Rev and Zach! Where are they??*
The flame-haired Magic Knight ran to the door and pulled it open, finding herself in an antechamber, which was filled almost to bursting with three cots, barely visible in the room's quiet darkness. Hikaru let out a relieved breath. *Geez. I'm getting too old for all this adventure crap. Heart attacks every other minute.* She considered waking her friends, but after all they had been through, perhaps a little more sleep was recommended. *Time to find the guys and find out what the hell is going on here.*
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Umi groaned and turned over, burying her face into her pillow. *Oh . . . my . . . I hurt SOOOOOOOO much. No more fencing lessons right before a drinking binge ever again, I swear that's the last time . . . wait a minute.* The Magic Knight of Water raised her head slightly, peering through her azure hair at the wooden headboard swimming slightly in her vision, carved with large flying birds . . . a phoenix? She grunted and turned over, whining a bit at the screaming tantrum her body demonstrated at the movement. *What happened, and where the hell am I?* She remembered the gargantuan monsters and gasped in dismay, jerking up and looking around her in a sudden panic. "Well . . . it doesn't look like a prison," she said softly, uncertain and just a bit afraid. The gloaming of late twilight - almost true night - crept into the room like a stalking beast through a pair of uncovered windows, lighting the room enough for Umi to make out several nondescript chairs and a wooden writing desk in the corner. She espied a door and hurried over to it, feeling her heart rate begin to slow slightly as it opened easily into the next room. "That's promising," she whispered, creeping across the soft carpet to the next door. She opened this as well, feeling more and more as if she knew this place, as if she had been here sometime before . . .
"Umi!"
The yell of joy was all the warning she had before she was enfolded into a choking hug. "H-Hikaru?" Umi gasped, attempting futilely to breathe in again.
"Oh, sorry Umi." Hikaru released her fellow Knight, allowing her to suck in air. The Knight of Fire beamed happily at her friend. "I'm so happy you're OK, Umi," Hikaru began.
Umi stopped coughing and held up a preemptory hand. "Hikaru, what the hell are you doing in my crazy overdose dream? Do you know where the heck we are?"
Hikaru paused, somewhat discomfited, then replied, "We're in Cephiro, Umi. We're back." She rolled her eyes, laughing a little. "Gotta save the world AGAIN!!"
Umi stared at her friend for a minute. "Cephiro." Hikaru nodded. "We're in Cephiro." Hikaru nodded again, smiling. Umi covered her eyes with a gloved hand. "Wake up, Umi," she said calmly. "One, two, three!" She lowered her hand and looked around hopefully, frowning as the scenery did not change. A slightly worried expression began to inch onto Hikaru's face.
"Um, Umi . . . ."
Umi simply shook her head, too numbed at the moment to indulge in a full- scale screaming fit, as she would so very much like to do. "Well, let's go and find out what the hell is going on, then." She stalked down the hall, a slightly confused Knight of Fire following close behind her steps. *Somebody's going to answer for this. Don't these people know I have DEADLINES???*
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Fuu was having the most wonderful dream. The sky was a breathtaking, azure blue, the exact color of her friend Umi's eyes; Fuu's hand trailed through the waist-high poppies as fiery red as Hikaru's long hair. The Magic Knight of Wind skipped a little in delighted anticipation as she made a path through the flowers waving gently in the warm breeze. Ahead on the apex of a small hill she could see an ancient oak spreading its branches wide to catch every beam of the summer sunlight. A figure, blurred a little but still easily recognizable, waved at Fuu from under the tree's massive boughs. Fuu's heart leapt into her throat. "Ferio!" She called, waving back frantically, beginning to run towards her prince. "Ferio!" She was almost there . . . .
The dream became dark in less time than it took for Fuu to exhale her next breath. Heavy thunderheads filled the sky, turning the world black and gray. Rain sheeted down on the Knight, soaking her instantly and impeding her vision. She shivered as the wind began to howl, freezing and biting at her unprotected skin. The flowers in the field were flattened at her feet. She looked down at the dying plants with pity. They had been so beautiful. A huge CRACK and a crash forced her gaze to the top of the hill, where the once-proud oak, stunning in its strength and majesty, was split into two halves. The splintered wood still smoked from the blast, blackened in parts from the immense heat. Fuu's hands trembled in shock, her eyes widened as she tried to find her prince on top of the hill. "Ferio!!!" She screamed, echoed by a mocking peal of thunder. Tears streamed from her eyes to mingle with the punishing rain. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe . . . . "FERIO!!!"
Fuu twisted away from the confining hands, screaming in absolute terror. Her eyes were wide and unseeing, and she trembled violently, fear and shock threatening to overtake her reason.
Ferio grabbed for her again, unwilling to allow Fuu - his Fuu, returned to him! - to injure herself while in the throes of her nightmare. He got a hold on her this time and gathered her close to him, stroking her hair and murmuring her name and his, telling her that she was safe, that she was with him, that she would never again leave his side . . . .
She quieted slowly in the protective shield of his arms, gasping and crying uncontrollably in reaction. "Ferio," she whispered hoarsely, sliding her hands around his waist to hold on tightly. "I thought you were dead, Ferio. I thought you were dead, and the lightning, and the flowers," her voice wavered into shuddering silence as Ferio continued to stroke and soothe her, rocking her as he would a small child. "I'm here, Fuu. I'm here with you. I won't let anything happen to you."
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Rev shook Zach violently, bringing him sharply out of his slumber. "What? What's wrong?" The goth bassist yelped, flinging his eyes open. His brow furrowed at the sight of the lead guitar looming over his bedside. "What the hell, Rev? Did I miss a practice or something?"
Rev rolled his eyes and reached down, gripping the blanket firmly and flinging it to the other side of the room. Before Zach had a chance to renew his complaints, Rev pulled him up and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look around the room. Zach went silent in shock, the events of the previous night flooding back into his conscious memory. Rev ignored his exclamations and went over to the last cot, roughly shaking Jo awake. Her first words were almost intelligible in her sleep-fogged voice, "Hikaru? Where is she?"
The lead guitar of The Knights of Chaos snorted. "I think you should be asking where the hell are we and what did Hikaru get us into?" He threw out a hand to indicate their surroundings. "She left us here. Alone. How do we contact her? What are we supposed to do now?" He gripped his long brown hair in frustration, abruptly coming to a decision. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to find out where she is and where we are and what she intends to do about it." With that he jerked the door open and strode swiftly out, leaving Zach and Jo to follow as they willed. He halted briefly, looking down the corridor left and right, and as both ways appeared identical, he resolutely turned to the left, anger boiling in his chest. *Who the hell does she think she is, anyway? Getting us into this mess . . . monsters and robots and magic powers . . . is she crazy? Are we?* The last thing he remembered from the previous night was a sense of disembodiment as Hikaru's giant robot . . . absorbed them, or something. He didn't completely understand why she had brought them to - wherever they were now - but he had been so confused by the events of the evening; Zach had almost been killed, Hikaru was some sort of wizard or something, monsters the size of elephants attacking her with swords - swords, for cripes' sake! - that he hadn't argued at the time.
Rev didn't notice as he grumbled that he was swiftly coming to the end of the hallway, and he almost bashed his head into the bronze doors before he looked up. "Crap!" he exclaimed in startled surprise, taking a step back. He considered the doors before him, covered with the same flying bird that seemed to be the device carved on any and all surfaces in this place, then shrugged and reached for the handle. He jumped, his hand still on the door, as a voice behind him asked coolly, "Who are you?"
Rev's head whipped around. And up. The man was head and shoulders taller than Rev, standing easily in an elegant black tunic edged in red, with matching trews skimming down his legs and tucked neatly into the black leather boots on his feet. A voluminous cloak that seemed carved out of a moonless night sky was draped in heavy folds on his broad shoulders. As Rev looked further up this massive man, he beheld a face that seemed at the same time manly and beautiful, smooth-cheeked as any youth but hard with years of pain and knowledge. Black hair swept in long bangs over violet eyes, eyes that were now wary and stony as chips of granite, awaiting Rev's answer. Rev did not miss the sword resting in its worn leather sheath at the man's side, and spoke quickly, holding out his hands before him in unspoken surrender. "Hey, man, chill. I'm looking for Hikaru, she brought us here and I need to . . . find . . . hey man are you ok?" Rev asked as he watched the man, his jaw dropping fractionally in a moment of unguarded astonishment, rest his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Hikaru?" He whispered, his eyes blind, lost in bittersweet memory. He regained his customary unshakable composure in seconds, and gazed sharply at the cowering boy before him. "What do you mean? How have you come here, boy?"
Rev bristled slightly at the appellation, but decided not to argue with the man; he had a friggin sword! He recounted briefly the adventures of the previous night, stressing the fact that Hikaru was the one who had brought them. The warrior stood in silence for a moment, absorbing the words, then stepped forward and gripped Rev's arm. "Hey!" Rev cried, indignant. The bandleader tugged futilely a couple of times, but the man's grip was like iron. "We will soon discover the truth of your words," the man said coldly, and began tugging Rev back down the hall.
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The room was nearly pitch-dark, lit only by the late twilight glimmer entering through the solitary window. Vague shadows and shapes sat in the gloom, identifying themselves as pieces of furniture to Hikaru's slowly adjusting eyes. Ignoring stabs and pulls from her abused body, Hikaru threw off the enveloping comforter and swung her feet to the floor. It seemed that no one had messed with her clothing before dumping her into her bed - thank goodness - as she was still wearing her armor, her magic ruby secure on her left hand. *They could have at least pulled my boots off,* she thought irritably. It was frigging uncomfortable sleeping in armor, dammit! Hikaru rose and stretched, freezing suddenly as a thought hit her. *Jo! And Rev and Zach! Where are they??*
The flame-haired Magic Knight ran to the door and pulled it open, finding herself in an antechamber, which was filled almost to bursting with three cots, barely visible in the room's quiet darkness. Hikaru let out a relieved breath. *Geez. I'm getting too old for all this adventure crap. Heart attacks every other minute.* She considered waking her friends, but after all they had been through, perhaps a little more sleep was recommended. *Time to find the guys and find out what the hell is going on here.*
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Umi groaned and turned over, burying her face into her pillow. *Oh . . . my . . . I hurt SOOOOOOOO much. No more fencing lessons right before a drinking binge ever again, I swear that's the last time . . . wait a minute.* The Magic Knight of Water raised her head slightly, peering through her azure hair at the wooden headboard swimming slightly in her vision, carved with large flying birds . . . a phoenix? She grunted and turned over, whining a bit at the screaming tantrum her body demonstrated at the movement. *What happened, and where the hell am I?* She remembered the gargantuan monsters and gasped in dismay, jerking up and looking around her in a sudden panic. "Well . . . it doesn't look like a prison," she said softly, uncertain and just a bit afraid. The gloaming of late twilight - almost true night - crept into the room like a stalking beast through a pair of uncovered windows, lighting the room enough for Umi to make out several nondescript chairs and a wooden writing desk in the corner. She espied a door and hurried over to it, feeling her heart rate begin to slow slightly as it opened easily into the next room. "That's promising," she whispered, creeping across the soft carpet to the next door. She opened this as well, feeling more and more as if she knew this place, as if she had been here sometime before . . .
"Umi!"
The yell of joy was all the warning she had before she was enfolded into a choking hug. "H-Hikaru?" Umi gasped, attempting futilely to breathe in again.
"Oh, sorry Umi." Hikaru released her fellow Knight, allowing her to suck in air. The Knight of Fire beamed happily at her friend. "I'm so happy you're OK, Umi," Hikaru began.
Umi stopped coughing and held up a preemptory hand. "Hikaru, what the hell are you doing in my crazy overdose dream? Do you know where the heck we are?"
Hikaru paused, somewhat discomfited, then replied, "We're in Cephiro, Umi. We're back." She rolled her eyes, laughing a little. "Gotta save the world AGAIN!!"
Umi stared at her friend for a minute. "Cephiro." Hikaru nodded. "We're in Cephiro." Hikaru nodded again, smiling. Umi covered her eyes with a gloved hand. "Wake up, Umi," she said calmly. "One, two, three!" She lowered her hand and looked around hopefully, frowning as the scenery did not change. A slightly worried expression began to inch onto Hikaru's face.
"Um, Umi . . . ."
Umi simply shook her head, too numbed at the moment to indulge in a full- scale screaming fit, as she would so very much like to do. "Well, let's go and find out what the hell is going on, then." She stalked down the hall, a slightly confused Knight of Fire following close behind her steps. *Somebody's going to answer for this. Don't these people know I have DEADLINES???*
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Fuu was having the most wonderful dream. The sky was a breathtaking, azure blue, the exact color of her friend Umi's eyes; Fuu's hand trailed through the waist-high poppies as fiery red as Hikaru's long hair. The Magic Knight of Wind skipped a little in delighted anticipation as she made a path through the flowers waving gently in the warm breeze. Ahead on the apex of a small hill she could see an ancient oak spreading its branches wide to catch every beam of the summer sunlight. A figure, blurred a little but still easily recognizable, waved at Fuu from under the tree's massive boughs. Fuu's heart leapt into her throat. "Ferio!" She called, waving back frantically, beginning to run towards her prince. "Ferio!" She was almost there . . . .
The dream became dark in less time than it took for Fuu to exhale her next breath. Heavy thunderheads filled the sky, turning the world black and gray. Rain sheeted down on the Knight, soaking her instantly and impeding her vision. She shivered as the wind began to howl, freezing and biting at her unprotected skin. The flowers in the field were flattened at her feet. She looked down at the dying plants with pity. They had been so beautiful. A huge CRACK and a crash forced her gaze to the top of the hill, where the once-proud oak, stunning in its strength and majesty, was split into two halves. The splintered wood still smoked from the blast, blackened in parts from the immense heat. Fuu's hands trembled in shock, her eyes widened as she tried to find her prince on top of the hill. "Ferio!!!" She screamed, echoed by a mocking peal of thunder. Tears streamed from her eyes to mingle with the punishing rain. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe . . . . "FERIO!!!"
Fuu twisted away from the confining hands, screaming in absolute terror. Her eyes were wide and unseeing, and she trembled violently, fear and shock threatening to overtake her reason.
Ferio grabbed for her again, unwilling to allow Fuu - his Fuu, returned to him! - to injure herself while in the throes of her nightmare. He got a hold on her this time and gathered her close to him, stroking her hair and murmuring her name and his, telling her that she was safe, that she was with him, that she would never again leave his side . . . .
She quieted slowly in the protective shield of his arms, gasping and crying uncontrollably in reaction. "Ferio," she whispered hoarsely, sliding her hands around his waist to hold on tightly. "I thought you were dead, Ferio. I thought you were dead, and the lightning, and the flowers," her voice wavered into shuddering silence as Ferio continued to stroke and soothe her, rocking her as he would a small child. "I'm here, Fuu. I'm here with you. I won't let anything happen to you."
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Rev shook Zach violently, bringing him sharply out of his slumber. "What? What's wrong?" The goth bassist yelped, flinging his eyes open. His brow furrowed at the sight of the lead guitar looming over his bedside. "What the hell, Rev? Did I miss a practice or something?"
Rev rolled his eyes and reached down, gripping the blanket firmly and flinging it to the other side of the room. Before Zach had a chance to renew his complaints, Rev pulled him up and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look around the room. Zach went silent in shock, the events of the previous night flooding back into his conscious memory. Rev ignored his exclamations and went over to the last cot, roughly shaking Jo awake. Her first words were almost intelligible in her sleep-fogged voice, "Hikaru? Where is she?"
The lead guitar of The Knights of Chaos snorted. "I think you should be asking where the hell are we and what did Hikaru get us into?" He threw out a hand to indicate their surroundings. "She left us here. Alone. How do we contact her? What are we supposed to do now?" He gripped his long brown hair in frustration, abruptly coming to a decision. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to find out where she is and where we are and what she intends to do about it." With that he jerked the door open and strode swiftly out, leaving Zach and Jo to follow as they willed. He halted briefly, looking down the corridor left and right, and as both ways appeared identical, he resolutely turned to the left, anger boiling in his chest. *Who the hell does she think she is, anyway? Getting us into this mess . . . monsters and robots and magic powers . . . is she crazy? Are we?* The last thing he remembered from the previous night was a sense of disembodiment as Hikaru's giant robot . . . absorbed them, or something. He didn't completely understand why she had brought them to - wherever they were now - but he had been so confused by the events of the evening; Zach had almost been killed, Hikaru was some sort of wizard or something, monsters the size of elephants attacking her with swords - swords, for cripes' sake! - that he hadn't argued at the time.
Rev didn't notice as he grumbled that he was swiftly coming to the end of the hallway, and he almost bashed his head into the bronze doors before he looked up. "Crap!" he exclaimed in startled surprise, taking a step back. He considered the doors before him, covered with the same flying bird that seemed to be the device carved on any and all surfaces in this place, then shrugged and reached for the handle. He jumped, his hand still on the door, as a voice behind him asked coolly, "Who are you?"
Rev's head whipped around. And up. The man was head and shoulders taller than Rev, standing easily in an elegant black tunic edged in red, with matching trews skimming down his legs and tucked neatly into the black leather boots on his feet. A voluminous cloak that seemed carved out of a moonless night sky was draped in heavy folds on his broad shoulders. As Rev looked further up this massive man, he beheld a face that seemed at the same time manly and beautiful, smooth-cheeked as any youth but hard with years of pain and knowledge. Black hair swept in long bangs over violet eyes, eyes that were now wary and stony as chips of granite, awaiting Rev's answer. Rev did not miss the sword resting in its worn leather sheath at the man's side, and spoke quickly, holding out his hands before him in unspoken surrender. "Hey, man, chill. I'm looking for Hikaru, she brought us here and I need to . . . find . . . hey man are you ok?" Rev asked as he watched the man, his jaw dropping fractionally in a moment of unguarded astonishment, rest his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Hikaru?" He whispered, his eyes blind, lost in bittersweet memory. He regained his customary unshakable composure in seconds, and gazed sharply at the cowering boy before him. "What do you mean? How have you come here, boy?"
Rev bristled slightly at the appellation, but decided not to argue with the man; he had a friggin sword! He recounted briefly the adventures of the previous night, stressing the fact that Hikaru was the one who had brought them. The warrior stood in silence for a moment, absorbing the words, then stepped forward and gripped Rev's arm. "Hey!" Rev cried, indignant. The bandleader tugged futilely a couple of times, but the man's grip was like iron. "We will soon discover the truth of your words," the man said coldly, and began tugging Rev back down the hall.
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