Angel of Light: This is just a notice. I find that my pen name is too common and unoriginal.

Cody: It took you that long to figure it out?

Angel of Light: Well…I knew I wouldn't be the first to use it, but it's sort of an insider thing…you know how those work. So, I will be changing my name. Don't worry, nothing else will change. You might not recognize it at first, but the same stories will all still be there.

Cody: What'll it be?

Angel of Light: I haven't decided that yet…

The next morning, Hikari found herself in the same situation as the day before. The boy Takeru had come once again to sit with her. She still couldn't figure out why he would, but it was better than being alone.

"So, you got any siblings?" he asked her.

"Yes. I have an older brother."

"Oh. Were he now?"

"To tell you the truth, I'm not sure," she lied. She felt uneasy doing so. "I haven't seen him for a while." Her face saddened. "He's become a whole different person since my parents died." This, was true.

"I see. How has he changed?" Hikari didn't like the questions, but he seemed innocent enough. She didn't think that he was doing this for any particular reason, but for his own curiosity.

"Well, he's become more…secluded. Get on his bad side and it's bad news for you. Even if you're on his good side, you have to be careful. He wants to get revenge on the ones who killed my parents, but it's gotten out of control. He's become a monster. Even I'm scared of him."

Takeru saw the sincerity in her eyes. He guessed that she wasn't telling the truth all the time, but he figured that she had her reasons. He didn't want to press the issue any further, as he sae that he had hit a soft spot.

Takeru had hit a soft spot. It was confusing for the girl, for never in her life had she been able to talk to someone so freely before. She felt like she could tell him everything, though she knew she couldn't. Still, there was something about him that struck her like no one ever had.

"Say, uh, it's my day off tomorrow, and I was just wondering…"

Hikari looked up at him. He diverted his gaze over to the people in line. He looked back, but had trouble looking in her eyes.

"If you're not doing anything, I mean, I know how boring it can be all by yourself…"

Hikari had to smile. She knew what he was asking, but wasn't going to let him know that. The fact that he was so nervous about it as a little flustering to her, but she decided just to shrug it off. She waited for him to finish.

"Maybe, well, I know that you're kind of new here, and you don't really know your way around, so maybe I could show you the ropes…only of you want, though. It's not like it really makes a difference in my day at all or anything. It's just that I thought that you'd like to-"

She cut him off, laughing. "It's fine, I'd love for you to show me around."

His whole face lit up. "Really?"

"Yes!" she said, still laughing lightly.

He smiled, then hid it. "Ahem, well. I guess I'll meet you back here at the same time, then. As for right now, I have to go. I'm in the control tower today. I get the radar station. We monitor ever movement from there. With the technology we have, there's no way any rebels could ever sneak up on us. Well, I'll see you later, then. Bye."

He got up and left.

Hikari smiled lightly, and finished her food. Once again, her life became even more confusing.

~*~

Fed up with just sitting in her room and doing absolutely nothing, Hikari went outside. She found a nice, shaded spot on the other side of a hill. It was also secluded, so no one would bother her. It's just what she wanted.

Lying down on the grass, she tried to forget all her worries, but with no avail. Her brother and his troops would be coming in four days. They would ambush them, and it would be all over.

The longer she stayed her and the more she thought about it, the more she didn't want to leave. This place was everything she'd ever wanted. It was calm, not too big, and the people weren't all that bad. They were hospitable, even to a stranger. Now, she found that her own home was too busy and crowded for her taste.

Thinking about home, she remembered Meeko, her pet cat.

'I swear, Tai had better be feeding him…' she thought.

Her face saddened as her thoughts turned back to what would be happening in the next few days. They would all be dead. Mimi, Joe, Yamato, and …Takeru.

A ray of hope came to her as she remembered something. Takeru had told her that they had a radar system, and no one could get passed it without being detected. This meant that her brother wouldn't be able to sneak up on them. All she had to do was refrain from telling him.

A crackling sound from her pocket crushed all hoped of that. She had forgotten that she had the thing with her. Tai had heard her conversation with Takeru, and she knew that he had the technology to counter the radar systems. They would be masked from the signal.

*Hikari?*

Reluctantly, she pulled it out. "Yes?"

*Good, you're there. I just wanted to say that it's a brilliant idea to become close like that with one of them. Get them to like you; it'll make a big difference. Also, I'm glad that you have this with you at all times. That information on the radar signal was vital.*

She did not reply.

*Hikari?*

"What?" she said flatly.

*What's the matter?*

"Nothing." she replied with the same tone.

*I know something's up. Now, what is it?*

She sighed, "I, it's just, do we really need to do this?"

*Do what?*

"Kill them all?"

*Of course.*

"Why?"

*Because they killed Mom and Dad. They made our lives miserable. They took everything we'd ever had. We have nothing left because of them.*

"And that's why you're a millionaire, married, and the leader of a feared organisation." she said sarcastically.

*We would have better lives if they didn't kill them.*

"But it was just a few of them! This is an entirely new generation of people. It's not like they had any say in the matter."

*Still, they did it. They need to be dealt with.*

"Why not just the ones that killed Mom and Dad?"

*I'm beginning to sense that you want to stay with them, Hikari.*

She was silent.

*Hikari! You were sent there to carry out a mission. You will not fail it now.*

"But Taichi! The people here are so nice to me, even though I'm a stranger. I don't know if I can let them die at my own hands!"

*It's a price you'll have to pay. Besides, do they know who you really are?*

She said nothing.

*That's what I thought. If they knew who you were, then they wouldn't be so nice to you. Keep that in mind.*

Hikari was sick of talking to him. "I never even wanted to do this in the first place!" she yelled at him. Angry and frustrated, she threw the device at the tree. She then stomped on it, and scattered the broken pieces into the nearby forest. She sat down and began to cry.

~*~

"Shoot!" yelled an angry Taichi as he slammed his fist on the table.

Sora poked her head in the door. "What is it?"

He looked at her. "I lost her."

"What? They found her out?" she asked, surprised.

"No. She likes them too much. I'm afraid she'll give them information. We're going in a day early, just to be safe."

"What?"

"You heard me. Send out a message to the others. I'm going to teach Hikari a little lesson in what happens when you double-cross me."

"But, she's your sister!" Sora exclaimed.

"I won't hurt her physically. She's become attached to them. It seems to this with this one boy in particular."

~*~

For an hour she sat there, angry at her brother. Her two sides were arguing. One was with her brother, one was against.

'How could he do this!? I mean, these people are so nice, and what about…Takeru? There's something about him…But if he knew who I was, he'd hate me. They all would. Why not just get it over with? I mean, once their dead it's not like they can get mad at me. But, what about the looks on their faces when they realize? I'll have to live with the pain and guilt of this forever. But, I'm on a mission. Tai's right. They killed my parents, and they have to pay! But…'

"Argh!" she screamed out loud.

Sick of doing this, she went back inside.

It was around lunch time, so she went to get some food. She didn't see Takeru anywhere, so she grabbed something and went back to her room. That's where she spent the rest of her afternoon. She only emerged again for supper. After that, he wandered through the halls, only to find herself back by her room. She figured she may as well pack it in for the night.

~*~

Takeru was worried. He had seen her by the tree line crying, but was hesitant to say anything. He figured that she needed some time to herself, so he left her alone. He had also seen her wandering the halls, but that was just as she passed his station. Troubled, he went to sleep.

~*~

Once again, Hikari found herself sitting across from Takeru at breakfast.

"Do you need to do anything when you're finished?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Nope." She was trying to sound cheerful.

"Alright then."

The two finished their meal, and put their things away. Hikari turned to Takeru for directions as to what they were doing next.

"Well, I guess I'll show you around. I guess the control tower would be a good place to start."

Hikari nodded.

~*~

The rest of the day went a lot better than Hikari had expected. Takeru had shown her around the place, and even let her run a few things. She had to admit that she was having one of the best times in her life, which just shows how exciting her life really is…

~*~

At the end of the day, they ended up outside. The sun was setting, painting the sky a rainbow of colours. Hikari had never watched one before, and was awed by it. She'd seen them, but never actually taken the time to really look at them.

"It's beautiful, isn't it." he remarked. But he wasn't looking at the sunset.

"Yeah, it is."

She noticed that he was watching her, and she felt uneasy. Takeru noticed this.

"Is everything alright?"

She turned and smiled. "Yeah, it's fine."

He looked at her, concerned. "I know something's wrong. I saw you crying yesterday."

Hikari looked at him. Was that all he had seen? She hoped so. She sighed. "I'm just confused, that's all." She didn't like lying to him, so she told him as much truth as she could.

He nodded, not buying it. Takeru didn't press the issue.

"I, I just wanted to thank you for today, it was a lot better than I expected it to be. Actually, it was the best time I've had in a while. It's not very often that I get to be myself."

He smiled. "The pleasure is all mine."

The two stood, gazing into each other's eyes. Hikari felt herself being drawn to him, as if there were some invisible force pulling them together. This sent her into a panic. She couldn't do it. She knew what was going to happen. She knew what he was going to do.

Just as their lips were about to touch, she turned away. Takeru was concerned.

"What's the matter?" he asked, worried.

Tears formed in her eyes. "I-I can't do this," she choked.

He was confused. "Can't do what?"

"Anything!" She responded as she turned and ran. She ran to her room, and didn't look back. She knew she had hurt him, but it would save him from further pain later. She couldn't do it; she couldn't let herself fall even more for him. She was already in too deep, and she knew it.

Hikari closed her door, and locked it. She sobbed into her pillow, not knowing what to do. She couldn't go to breakfast, she couldn't face him. She definitively couldn't let him fall any more in love with her. She would be the one that would have to live with the pain of a broken heart, not him.

Something occurred to her, and she stopped crying. She didn't have to live with the pain. She didn't have to watch her new friends die. She didn't have to hear their desperate cries for mercy as they were put to death, at her hands. No, Hikari would have none of that. Her brother could do what he wanted, but she wasn't going to watch him do it.

Searching her room, Hikari found what she was looking for. They would never know who she was. She quickly and quietly left her room, and closed the door. Making her way outside, she stole through the hallways like a thief of the night. Really, she was, for she was about to take something that was dear to a lot of people, more than she would ever know.

At last, Hikari reached her destination. It was the place where she had had the argument with her brother, and smashed the only piece of communication that she had with him. She saw small remains of it, but paid them no mind. Hikari sat down on the other side of a rock, and began her work.

Bringing the blade up to her wrists and with tears in her eyes, Hikari began to slit away at her flesh. She was scared at first, but she realized how much it didn't really hurt. She didn't feel the pain that she should have. Maybe it was because she was so determined that she numbed out all pain. She watched blankly as the blood began to trickle out. It was slow at first, but as she cut deeper, the flow became faster. She started on the other arm. This one was harder, as her arm was weak and tired. Now she was beginning to feel a bit of pain.

The things around her became fuzzy, but she went on. She was so engrossed in what she was doing, that she didn't hear the person coming up behind her.

~*~

Takeru was taking a walk. He hadn't gone in after the incident. He was confused. He had thought that she liked him. There was nothing that indicated that she didn't, but then again, maybe he had been too fast. Maybe he had scared her. He kicked himself. He hoped that everything would be alright for breakfast the next morning. He hoped that she would pay no mind to the events of that night, that she would forget about it. He hoped that in the morning, he'd be alright.

~*~

Frustrated and confused, Takeru headed back to his room. Just before entering, he noticed something. There was a soft sobbing noise coming from the other side of a rock. Curious, he went around, and saw her. She had tears in her eyes. He was saddened because he thought that he had really hurt her, until he noticed something.

Hikari wasn't looking up. She was concentrating on something. Her arm! Takeru looked down, and was horrified at what he saw. There was a rover of blood flowing from her arms, and she held a knife in one hand.

"Hikari!" he exclaimed, and ran over to her.

He picked her up, and cradled her head in his arms. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Oh Takeru! I-I can't do this! Please, leave me here!" she said between sobs.

"NO! Why would I want to do that?"

"Because if you knew who I was, and what I am doing, then you'd kill me yourself." she told him, still sobbing.

"What are you talking about? I'd never do that to you!"

"But you'd kill a rebel if they snuck onto your base, right?"

"Well, I guess, but what does that have to do with you?"

"It has everything to do with me! Kill me now!"

"What? No, Hikari, you can't…"

"Yes! I'm a rebel spy! Not only that, but my brother is the rebel leader, the bigwig, the head-hauncho. I was sent as a spy, to gather information. I've been communicating with him through a device that he gave me. He can hear what you guys are saying through it. He's coming in two days to destroy you all. I didn't tell him that it was underground, though. And a word of warning, you won't be able to detect him with radar. Send out some troops tomorrow as lookouts, just in case…" she looked up at him. "I am so sorry…" She began to feel light-headed. Soon, everything went black.

"HIKARI! NO!"