Thanks for the review, Hellix!! Hope everybody (does that imply lots of people? Hehe.) enjoys this!!

Chapter Two

"Where's Michael?" Sara grabbed Audrey's hands.

"I don't know." The small girl's eyes were huge. She jumped at the sound of a bomb exploding.

The two girls stood in Sara's living room, staring out of the large window at the carnage outside. It was awful. That gang had started a horrible war in the city.

Suddenly, Mr. Flannigan strode past the girls, his arms crossed. Chills swept up Sara's spine as she remembered the way he had leaped that building. And now… What was that he was mumbling?

"This isn't supposed to happen, Jones. We have to do something about it. We must make some changes in the local programs." He went to stand in front of the big, crystal-clear window, talking on his cell phone. As usual.

The two girls watched him, the one tall and pale and blonde, the other small and dark and brunette.

Mr. Flannigan noticed them watching and lowered his voice to a whisper.

Sara turned back to her friend. "I'm so worried about Michael. I haven't seen him since yesterday. And I miss him already."

Audrey nodded. "I'm scared for him, too, Sara."

Mr. Flannigan gave the girls an annoyed look and stalked out of the room. Sara watched him go, feeling a mix of fascination and disgust for the man who called himself her father. "Did you hear what he was saying, Audrey?" she asked. "What on earth was he talking about? Programs? He sounded like he was responsible for the way things go in this city or something…"

Audrey shrugged. "Your dad is weird, Sara," she said.

Sara nodded. My dad… Or whoever he was…

Days passed and the war raged on. Sara and Audrey still could find no sign of Michael.

Sara felt as if her world was collapsing. She was doubting her father's identity, she was afraid of the gang and the war, and most of all, she was missing Michael Yamato.

Days became years. The war came close to destroying the city where Sara lived. Strangely, it was her father and his coworkers who stopped the war. Somehow, that scared Sara.

Nearly ten years after the beginning of the war, Sara and Audrey graduated together at its end. Sara graduated as salutatorian. She was sure Michael would have been valedictorian if he had stayed in the city. And as she addressed the audience that had come to see the graduates, she missed no one more than Michael Yamato. She even missed him more than Mr. Flannigan, who had been unable to attend for business reasons.

Sara finished her speech and sat down. She sat right beside Audrey Fleming.

Audrey smiled at her best friend. "Good job, Sara," she whispered, her cobalt blue eyes alive with the excitement of graduating. "I'm sure Michael would have been proud."

Michael… would his ghost never leave the two girls? Was he indeed still alive? Would they ever see him again?

These questions continued to plague Sara. On the day that she registered for Community College in the city, she carried the knight's cloak in her book bag and remembered that strange day when she and Michael had run down the alley in the midst of the war… the day when her "father" had pointed a gun at Michael and jumped over a building.

"Curiouser and curiouser, just like in Alice in Wonderland," Sara muttered to herself, looking up at the college which she would attend. It was a single, tall building in the heart of the city, surrounded by parks and gardens. At its top floor was a renowned restaurant, the 33rd Floor Grill. Sara decided to go there soon, maybe with Audrey, who was also attending the Community College. Maybe there would be cute guys there. Everyone said it was the best place to pick up a date.

Sara shrugged and adjusted the book bag on her shoulders. As she did so, the bright blue cloak fluttered from her book bag and settled on the grass. She hurriedly bent to retrieve it, and as she did so, caught a glimpse of a short, slim young man with pale skin and black hair walking in one of the gardens.

Could it be him? Michael?

Sara ran towards him, the cloak streaming behind her like a banner.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere came Mr. Flannigan. His hand was suddenly gripping her arm. "Daughter, it's time to go home," he said. "I signed you up for karate classes with an associate of mine and you begin tonight."

Sara turned to him and frowned. "Karate classes, father?"

"You never know what kind of ruffians you will meet at college, Sara." Mr. Flannigan began steering her towards his car, a big, black thing. "I want you to be prepared. And I also want you to be prepared to help out my… company. I think you will be an asset to us one day. You already show great promise. You have excellent skills in manipulating the… programs."

Sara narrowed her eyes on him as he opened the car door for her. "Father… what… programs?"

Mr. Flannigan gave a half smile. "The ones all around us, daughter." And he sat in the car and began to drive.

Sara stared out at the garden where she had seen the person who could have been Michael. It was empty now. She turned to look at her "father." Programs? Something about the word jogged her memory. Oh yes!! She remembered now. It had been during the war, by the living room window. He had said something about changing programs to one of his… associates.

Hmmm.

That evening, Sara began karate classes. To her surprise, they were held in an abandoned dance studio, and she was the only student. Her instructor was a master of martial arts who promised to teach all of them to her. His name was Watson.

Sara came home from the class feeling strangely separated from the rest of the world. Something was not normal in her life… Was it her? Was it her father? Was it the city? Or was it just… the world itself? Sara was going to find out. And she was going to do something about it!