Me: I have given up on disclaimers.

Kenshin: 'Bout time. You're a fugitive and you waste your time on disclaimers?

Me: Who's the fugitive?

Kenshin: You, me, what's the difference?

Me: Whatever. Anyway, I've decided not to write anymore disclaimers unless a manga/ anime I have not yet mentioned becomes involved. The beginning of this chapter involves another rant with the Missing Persons Department. Sorry 'bout that, but it might prove useful later. And I've noticed that this fic is starting to sound like LOTR, so I'm just going to say here and now that I don't own it. Enjoy!

=^o.o^=

At first, Banks didn't hear the knock at his door for his CD player's volume was at it's highest. After three tries, Melissa gave up and walked in.

"Chris?"

Chris Banks looked up from a file he had been reading, surprised. She sighed and removed the earphones from his head. Her partner could act so childish at times.

Melissa threw some stapled papers down on his desk.

"Those blood results came in. Positive."

Chris picked up the papers and glanced through them.

"For who?"

"Both. Both Cristina and Charoletta."

Chris glanced up at Melissa.

"What?" he asked, making sure he had heard correctly.

"Both. They must have double-checked it ten times. Their blood was identical. And not even that, they even tested DNA, just for kicks. You want to know how that turned out? "

"How?"

"The same. Identical."

There was some sort of panicked look in her face; some sort sign that implied she was close to a nervous melt down. Chris stood up and walked over to her.

"So, you're saying they're the same person?"

"I have no clue what the hell I'm saying! They're the same person except for the fact that IF CHAROLETTA'S ALIVE TODAY, SHE'S GOTTA BE AT LEAST TWENTY YEARS OLD! FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, HER IDENTICAL TWIN IS SEVEN YEARS TOO LATE!"

"Shhh, shhh," Chris hushed. "Calm down, it's all going to be all right." He could hardly believe what she was saying. He wouldn't believe what she was saying if it weren't sitting in front of him on paper. Melissa stepped over to the desk and placed her hand upon it, struggling to keep her balance. There was an awkward pause.

"Chris, do you believe in reincarnation?"

=^o.o^=

Despite Set and Kenshin's struggles to keep up front, Sesshou-maru soon caught up with our Crusader.

"Now that is exactly the kind of thing that will bring you to your next end," he addressed them. Sesshou-maru maneuvered his Crusader in front to block ours. "Get off."

"Wuh?"

"I'm talking to you, Feathers."

Get it where it hurts. I could hear Kenshin's wings cracking as he flexed them.

"Now Sesshou, dear friend, surely we can wok something out."

"Do I have to be any clearer?"

Set butted in.

"Are you saying you truly believed what Eclipse-"

"It appears you two consider yourselves the wiser. Very well then."

Sesshou allowed his Crusader to fall back to the side, as if in surrender. I relaxed. Perhaps there would be no showdown today. But just as I began to breath again, his Crusader shot upwards at a sharp angle, so quickly it's tail swung out and into Kenshin, carrying him up into mid-air. A chorus of swears could be heard, along with a few screams from behind us. Sesshou-maru participated in neither. I could have sworn I had heard his wild malevolent laugh. Sunlight was blocked for and instant as the tip of the knobbed tail covered it precisely. All purely intentional for effect, obviously.

The tail swung back, forcing Kenshin to let go and fall into empty space. The shadow was removed just in time for me to witness Kenshin to fall by us, just out of reach. Despite ourselves, we all leaned dangerously over to watch as he fell helplessly towards earth, facing up towards us. Falling, fallingand within less of a second, he flipped over to face the ground and drew his wings back, as if in a nose-dive. In another split second, he shot upwards spread out his wings to soar up to our level with amazing speed.

"What the hell was that for?" he and Set yelled in unison to Sesshou-maru. Not answering, Sesshou-maru glided underneath us to our left, between Kenshin and the rest of the group. He directed upwards so that his Crusader fitted right beneath ours without any colliding wings.

"You," he addressed Xandria. He pointed down to the Crusader he was ridding. "Here."

"What?"

"He wants you to get off," explained Set.

"What?" she exclaimed once again, not quite getting it. "And how exactly am I supposed to do that?"

I leaned over the side and looked down.

"Jump, I guess. He's in the right position."

Set glance nervously from the reins down to the impatient-growing Sesshou-maru to Kenshin.

"Well, jump for crying out loud, before he does something!"

"Down there? That's gotta be at least 20-"

Set let out a few strong words as he jumped up, threw the reins to me, and leaped over to his hikari.

"For heaven's sake, get down there!" he yelled, pushing Xandria over the edge.

"Sobekuser!" I screeched as I watched. "What the hell are you-"

"Steer the damn Crusader," he snapped. "I'll tend to my hikari, thank you!"

I heard a soft thud, a "Oww", then a "She's fine!" from Kenshin.

"Sobekuser, you just wait, oh, you just wait till I have the chance to get out my spiked-gloves. I'm gonna rip out-" she was cut off by something.

"Thanks, Sesshie!" Set shouted down. "Shit," he mumbled as he turned back. "I am in troouuuble."

"You bet you are," I said slapping him upside the head.

"Hey, what was that for?"

"Xan probably would have liked me to do that."

"Nah, she'll be getting out those spiked glovie-thingies later."

"What is this, every man for himself?"

"Yep."

"And I though you wanted to live for a few more years."

"Hey, a few twenty feet ain't that bad. Now give me back those reins."

"You'd probably know," I mumbled as I handed them back."

=^o.o^=

"Guthor!" Zhiren shrieked over the mild mumbling of the camp. Half of the men winced. "GUUUUUTHOOOOR!"

"Yes, yes, m' Lady? The hostages?"

"No, no, keep them as far away as possible. I'm sick of the sight. Don't bring that Max-boy to me until we get to the cataracts."

"Yes, m' Lady," Guthor said with a bow and turning to leave.

"Guthor! Did I say you were dismissed?"

"Sorry, m' Lady," with another bow.

"Did the scouts return yet?"

"Yes."

"And the messengers?"

"None but one."

"Good. Which one? Point him out."

Guthor directed her attention to a young boy of about fifteen with pepper gray hair.

"He doesn't belong here."

"He's a recruit."

"His comrades?"

"The same. They never knew what hit them, not even this one. For all he knows, it was a tribe of Yharas. He thinks the scouts saved him," Guthor confirmed with a laugh.

"Perfect. His message?"

"From the Eqatis. They agree to your challenge. The fools are giving you the honor of picking the sight."

"All goes well. Thank you for the wonderful news. Unfortunately, we don't' have the time to fight them. Send the boy back out in the company of a few scouts to lead Eqatis to the Fire Pit. Go to any lengths to make sure none of them survive."

=^o.o^=

Cristina did her happy little skip prance up and around the pile of rocks in the middle of the field they were making their way through. Sure, she had no idea where she was, and she had yet to hear anything about her friends, but things could be a lot worse. It was a fine sunny afternoon, she was out in the fresh air, most likely closer to her goal here then back home, and her "captor" really wasn't all that bad. A little gloomy, but really not all that bad. Speaking of her captor

Cristina turned around once she got to the top of the mini hill.

"Hey, Miss, umLady-with-White-Hair?"

She wasn't sure which confuzzled her more, what to call her or how she had suddenly disappeared from behind her.

"You may call me Seulwyn."

Cristina jumped with a "Meip!" and turned around to face the woman. "Seulwyn? Is that your name?"

"I go by many names," Seulwyn announced as she sat down on the ground and began to unload the sack she had been carrying on her back. "But you may call me Seulwyn."

"Ooooooh." Cristina crouched down and observed as Seulwyn pulled out a flint. "What are you doing?"

"I'm making a fire."

"Ooooh. And what is that for?" she asked, pointing to a flask of bright pink powder.

"For the fire. Do you always inquire with such optimism?"

Cristina grinned. "I'm always cheerful."

Seulwyn gave her a rare smile in return as she lit a fire. "A useful trait indeed, though you must use it with caution. There are times when it is not the right remedy." She stood up. "You might as well sit down, we may be here for a while."

Cristina noticed something strange about the flames as she sat down. Was it the concept of a fire during the day? No, that wasn't it. There seemed to be something missing from the scene. A fuel! There was nothing fueling it! There was no wood, and the grass shouldn't be enough to sustain it. The fire was just burning there on the ground. It had to be some sort of scientific break-through! Cristina wanted to ask, but held in her curiosity as she watched Seulwyn continue.

Seulwyn reached for the flask of powder and flicked it open, pouring a fraction of the contents of the fire. Cristina held her breath and waited, but nothing changed to her disappointment. It soon melted away as Seulwyn took out her dagger so familiar to Cristina. It was completely transparent, and just as well could have been made out of glass or ice. And as Seulwyn had demonstrated, it was a quite sharp and durable tool.

She held the dagger blade down right above the flames, in the direct path of the rising smoke. Cristina allowed her gaze to be lead upwards along with it. There seemed to be something wrong with that picture toono breeze! The air was not stirring, and yet the smoke was rising directly to the east. Seulwyn gave a hum of acknowledgement, and the direction of the smoke began to change, turning from east to northwest like a compass.

"Very well then!" Seulwyn snapped to no one, pulling out a flask of water and putting the fire out with one drop. She sat down with Cristina. "We'll be waiting."

TO BE CONTINUED