In the Dark

Part Seven: Magical Answers

***

Standard Disclaimer Thingy: You know the drill by now. This story is mine and the characters aren't. Don't steal, don't sue. Thanks.

***

Yamato pushed open the door and stood in the doorway. Early morning meant that the palace was still dark, but in the dim light of the rising sun he could make out a familiar silhouette against the window. "Brooding again, I see," he observed.

Taichi didn't bother to turn around or to deny the charge as he usually did. "Couldn't sleep," he replied in a tired voice.

"So I gathered," Yamato nodded. "I haven't slept much myself." He shut the door behind him and crossed the room to stand beside his friend at the window. "Too cold to stand outside?"

The other nodded absently. "I keep having these…conflicting feelings," he attempted to explain.

"Oh?" the blond prompted him to continue.

With a sigh, Taichi turned away from the large window and sat on his bed. "I sometimes have these…hunches, you know? Like that something should be done."

Yamato nodded, understanding. "Yes…Takeru said you told him to head to the village because you thought he'd be needed."

The brown haired boy nodded. "And he was, wasn't he? He found his digimental."

"Yes, which was good. Is this what you're brooding about?" Yamato questioned skeptically.

"No, no," Taichi waved a hand and stood up, searching about the mess of his sleeping quarters for a clean shirt. "I have this feeling that Hikari's in danger…and that I should be there."

The other boy removed a shirt from the floor beside his feet and handed to him. "I have a feeling that's not a good idea," he replied prudently.

Taichi took the shirt and studied it for a moment. "Yes, and my logical sense agrees with you. So I wonder if this hunch is one of those hunches I should follow, or if it's just me being worried. And how in the world do I tell the difference?"

Yamato thought about this for a moment while the other boy pulled off his nightshirt. "I'm not sure," he replied after a moment. "I want to be with Takeru, too, but I know that I'm of no use there." He frowned and crossed his arms. "Still, I don't have these hunches the way you do, you know."

Taichi, voice muffled under the nightshirt as he pulled it over his head, agreed: "I know," he said. "They seem to be one of those things…"

"Things?" Yamato questioned, confused.

Buttoning his new shirt, the other boy turned back around and nodded. "Yeah, you know. One of those things that are weird and can't be explained even by magic. It's just you being weird, right?"

Yamato shrugged. "If you say so."

"I do," Taichi nodded with an impish grin and peered around the room again. "Do I have any pants?"

***

Mimi arrived at the palace in the early morning. After a short nap and long goodbyes to the Geckomon, she and her mother had set out before the green digimon could begin their triumphant partying; having recovered their carriage. Now she tapped on a large, thick wooden door located in the lower levels of the castle.

Although the sun was barely up, she wasn't concerned about disturbing the occupant of this room, because most likely he'd not bothered to sleep. After she got no response to the light tap, Mimi pounded hard with a fist. "Koushiro, I know you're in there!" she called.

There was a crashing noise and a shuffling, followed by a groan. "Come in, Mimi," Koushiro's voice called, sounding rather strained.

Concerned about what she would find, she cautiously pushed open the door and peered in. The lab appeared to be safe, though cluttered as usual, and Koushiro was rearranging a pile of books. "Do you ever bother to have this cleaned?" Mimi wondered by way of a greeting.

"Nice to see you, too," Koushiro replied, taking no note of the thinly veiled insult. "Just get in?"

"I did," she nodded. "Mother and I have some interesting news to report, but I need to deliver a message, first."

"Interesting news?" the wizard wondered, and Mimi noted his eyebrows raise. She shook her head, however.

"No, no. Official channels first," she scolded playfully. "We shall tell our fearless leader before we tell you."

"Of course, of course," Koushiro replied, understanding now the game that she was playing. "Even though he'll most likely tell me after he finds out."

"Don't be so certain of that," Mimi replied, wagging a finger. Then she dropped the playful approach and fished into the pocket of her skirts. "This message is the information for you. It would appear your assistance is required."

"My assistance?" Koushiro wondered. He took the paper from the girl and opened it slowly.

She nodded. "It's from Miyako. Seems she's having magic troubles. You're the best one to answer any questions she had, so I volunteered to deliver the note."

"Hmm," he replied, only half-paying attention as he scanned the letter.

***

Taichi gaped in astonishment. "You want to go to the Village?" he questioned. "But – why?"

"Something's happened there that I'm needed for," the wizard replied. He held up the paper Miyako had sent. "Magic troubles."

Frowning in confusion, Taichi took the page from Koushiro and quickly skimmed the words. Having heard the entire story of what had happened from Mimi, the request for magical assistance was not unexpected. "I see."

Koushiro remained silent for a moment before he elaborated. "Miyako didn't get to delve very deeply into her magical training before she had to leave," he explained. "But I know her magic will be useful. It's imperative that she has some sort of assistance if they're going to be successful. She can't be expected to leave, because she's too valuable to the team."

"So it would be best if you went there to help her," Taichi finished. He folded the paper and handed it back to the wizard, still frowning. He sighed deeply.

Yamato, standing nearby, spoke up, turning to Mimi. "Miyako's certain the Kaiser's magic is powerful?"

She nodded emphatically. "She said something about seeing a big cloud of darkness around him, and that his magic was very strong and developed. She had no doubt that he was a wizard. If you'd seen what that Tonosama Geckomon was able to do…"

"He fired that horn and the entire area was torn asunder," Palmon agreed. "But the Kaiser's magic shielded him completely from the attacks. He just…stood there as though nothing had happened."

Koushiro nodded slowly. "Her description sounds accurate," he agreed. "There's going to be magic involved in this fight."

"We might have been killed if Miyako hadn't been able to produce that shield," Mimi added.

"Shield?" Yamato echoed.

"A magic shield?" Tentomon questioned from behind his partner.

Mimi nodded.

"What did it look like?" Koushiro asked impatiently.

"Sort of like a bubble, I think. Nearly invisible, but the light reflected off of it. And it was strong, as well. It kept the Geckomon from getting to Hikari," Mimi replied.

"Getting… to Hikari…?" Taichi asked, slowly. Yamato noticed that he'd gone slightly pale.

Mimi and Palmon exchanged nervous glances. "It wasn't serious," Mimi assured him hastily. "Just that a couple of the Geckomon… well, one of their attacks is to grab things with their long tongues…"
"I have a feeling I know where this is going," Yamato interrupted. "They grabbed on to Hikari and pulled her away from the group?"

Palmon took up the story, nodding in response to his question. "We were in the middle of a tug of war. The other digimon were trying to destroy the tower, and Tonosama Geckomon was about to blast his horn again. Miyako started looking through a book when she noticed that he Kaiser's magic meant he wasn't affected by the attack. She managed to get the shield up, and Hikari was pulled inside, but the Geckomon were left outside."

"How long was she able to hold the shield?" Koushiro asked, before Taichi could ask more about his sister.

"A minute, maybe," Mimi replied. "As soon as she got it up, the tower was destroyed, and Tonosama Geckomon and the others were freed. But that minute left her exhausted."

"Her magic's too weak still to hold a spell for more than that. I'm surprised she was able to even produce a shield," Koushiro commented.

There was a moment of silence then, and Taichi spoke: "Would it be very difficult for Miyako to strengthen her magic?" he questioned, frowning in thought.

Koushiro shook his head. "No," he replied. "But she'd need help from someone more experienced. If her magic was strong enough to produce a shield, then it's fairly strong. I don't expect it would take too much more training for her to be able to use it more effectively."

***

Miyako was pouring eagerly over a book of magic, absorbed entirely. While she waited for a response to the letter she'd sent to Koushiro, she'd decided to at least attempt to study as much as possible. Although some of it she didn't understand, she read eagerly.

Hikari sat beside her, the two huddled before the small stove that gave off heat in the tent. Though the first frost had not yet struck, the cold season was definitely beginning, and the two girls wrapped themselves in blankets as they read.

Hikari lifted her head from her book, momentarily, and listened for a noise. "How long has it been?" she wondered.

The other girl didn't bother to lift her head, but answered absently: "A few hours, I suppose."

"I hope they're okay."

The words hung in the air for a few moments, and then silence descended upon them again. Hikari decided that worrying was probably pointless, and so returned to her own.

The Princess understood little about magic, but was eager to learn. Some of the books Miyako had been lent by Koushiro were interesting reading, even if one was not possessing of magic. So Hikari devoured them as eagerly as Miyako. Though, today, she was distracted.

"They shouldn't have gone," she said after a moment of attempting to read, putting down the book out of frustration.

Miyako, sensing the disturbance, finally looked up from her own reading. "I'm sure they're fine," she said with sincerity. "They just went with the Geckomon to find new territory, remember?"

Hikari was silent for a moment, her worrying momentarily halted by the intrusion of common sense. "I wish I could have gone," she sighed then, and leaned back, frustrated, on the cot.

"You need to let your foot heal," Miyako told her, burying her nose into her book again. They'd had this conversation before – several times, in fact, and she was uninterested in repeating it. Hikari's ankle, injured slightly during the tug-of-war with the Geckomon, need a few days to recuperate, and there was no getting around that.

"Your brother would kill me if you were hurt badly," Jyou had explained. "I'm not going to let you injure yourself if it can be prevented." Hikari had not sulked, precisely – she never sulked – but she had been disappointed, and she'd said so several times.

"There's not enough of them," she protested. With the exclusion of the girls – Miyako wanted time to rest after the exhausting encounter as well – that meant that only the three male members were heading out. Daisuke still limped slightly, and when pressured had to admit that his leg did bother him, but the mission was expected to be low-impact and so he went along for the strategy of safety in numbers.

And so they'd gone, despite any misgivings Hikari might have, and promised to return before nightfall. Sunset was still a few hours away now, despite the decreasing hours of daylight, but with each minute, she grew more anxious.

"He'll be fine, Hikari," Miyako said, suddenly, breaking the silence. She noticed the way Hikari paced about the tent, the way she couldn't concentrate on reading, the way she was always staring into space, and understood that more than simple worrying was going on. From almost the moment Miyako had met her, she'd understood a few things about the young Princess that Hikari didn't quite comprehend herself.

Now, she didn't bother to ask who Miyako meant by 'he'. Nor did she bother to point out that there were, in fact, three 'he' that were not there. She knew who Miyako meant, and she knew that Miyako was aware that she knew.

***

"I was beginning to wonder if there was anything in this area besides forest," Takeru sighed as they trekked on through the endless sands.

"Well, at least there's some amount of diversity," Daisuke sighed with a similar expression.

The Geckomon leader frowned: "This is not a good place," he said with seriousness. "We don't do well without water."

"Perhaps it would have been best to stay in the forest," Iori suggested.

"That would be most agreeable," Tonosama Geckomon's booming voice agreed.

Takeru turned his head around to peer at the vast horizon of sweeping wasteland. "If we could find it again," he frowned.

"I think we left it back that way," Patamon suggested from the relative coolness of his partner's head, pointing off in the distance.

"I don't see anything," another Geckomon commented, tongue hanging out.

Daisuke sighed and sat down with a defeated expression in the sand. "Why did we come this way, anyway?"
"I think we were taking suggestions," Takeru noted with a sideways glance at Tonosama Geckomon. "And it was suggested that we go this way."

"It's nearly winter," V-mon noted. "How can it be so hot?" He wiped his brow.

"Deserts don't really experience a winter," Iori replied pragmatically. "They stay hot all year."

Takeru took a few steps in one direction. "It's hopeless," he sighed. "I can't see a thing."

"Footprints," Armadimon said then. "Did we leave footprints?"

A hot wind blew across the arid landscape then, and the blond boy sighed. "No, the sands have shifted too much."
Iori helped Daisuke to his feet again. "We can't sit here too long," he explained. "We'll be dehydrated."
"Better keep moving then," he sighed.

***

"I was hoping you could come," Miyako told Koushiro as they walked away from the camp. "I know I'm too experienced to really use the magic yet, but I didn't know what else to do."

"You did what is expected," the older wizard assured her. "You're not given magic simply to sit back and watch things. You need to use the gifts you have." When she nodded in comprehension, he continued: "Figuring out that shielding spell and holding it as long as you did without practice shows your magic is as stronger than I'd originally thought." He frowned in thought.

"If the magic is so strong, why did the spell leave me feeling so weak?" Miyako wondered.

"Your magic is strong, but you're not yet used to it," he replied. Now that they'd reached the edge of the camp, he seated himself on the grass, folding his legs beneath him in a typical meditative posture. "The magic stayed hidden for so long, and you're not used to handling it."

She sighed as she sat on the ground beside him. "It will get better, right?"

A nod was the response. "Most definitely. As you get used to the magic it will be easier to cast stronger spells." There was a moment of silence then before Koushiro spoke again:

"I somehow gather that there's more you want to ask," he said cautiously.

Miyako frowned in thought. "Is it possible for magic to predict the future?" she questioned directly.

"Some magic," he replied. "Some people can see magic in the stars, or when certain herbs or ingredients are combined."

"Yes, this you've told me," she nodded. "But without those aids?"

He frowned deeply. "It's very rare…" he said cautiously. "Have you had such an experience?"

Miyako shook her head. "No, no," she said. "It's Hikari…"
The older wizard's expression had been somber and serious throughout the conversation, but now his frown grew more serious, and he got a strange look in his eyes. "I was wondering how long it would take you… That's a serious matter," he stated gravely. "I'll tell you what you need to know, but you must swear to tell no one else. Especially Hikari."

"Why?" Miyako wondered, confused. "Shouldn't she know - ?"

Sighing, Koushiro shook his head. "That's my opinion as well," he replied. "But it's not my decision. The Queen wishes this be kept secret from her children and you know as well as I that I'm not in a position to disagree with that."

She nodded then. "All right. I won't tell."
There was a moment of silence then as he collected his thoughts. "You know there are two kinds of magic, correct?"

"Well, there's dark magic," she answered after a moment of thought. "That's what the Kaiser possesses. I've seen it, it surrounds him like a dark cloud…" She frowned, and shuddered slightly. "That's not my magic…does that mean it's light?"

Koushiro held up a single finger in triumph. "No, actually it's not. Magic in its purest form is neither dark nor light – it's simply – neutral. Blank. However you wish to refer to it. Pure. It's not the magic the Kaiser has which makes him evil, dark, whatever you wish to say he is. It is the darkness in him which makes the magic dark. Do you understand?"

Miyako nodded slowly. "I think so. The magic doesn't control your personality, you control it, right?"
"Precisely. So your magic, my magic, and most magic is simply neutral. Pure magic. We cause the magic to be dark or not, and in most cases the magic is simply pure, neutral magic."

"And Hikari -?"

"Hikari, her brother, and, in fact, their entire family line, possess the third kind of magic."

"That's the light magic, isn't it?" Miyako questioned, slowly understanding.

He nodded. "It is. It is one of the many reasons their ancestors were chosen to lead this kingdom. Hikari possesses a very strong concentration of this magic. In fact, this is the strongest concentration that's been seen in quite some time.

"Somehow, this magic is hereditary, more so than regular, pure magic. Because of the need to marry those without the magic, however, the power became…diluted. The current Queen, who descends directly from this line, possess very little magic herself, but her children are much stronger."

"Taichi as well?" she queried, surprised. "But, wouldn't I have sensed something?"

Koushiro shook his head. "It's a different sort of magic," he attempted to explain. "It's harder to detect, even when it's possible to see magic the way you can. Because of how powerful they both are, the Queen was determined that her children could know nothing of the magic they have. She's ordered that as long as she lives, they not be informed. Of course, those of us who have contact with them and possess magic may find out, and it's necessary in some instances that the magic users be aware, but no one else. We've been ordered to keep secret, under severe penalty."

"But they could have used the magic!" Miyako protested. "Why keep it hidden?"

"It's a danger to them," he replied solemnly. "When they were young, defenseless children, their mother knew that it was possible that others would want the magic for themselves. Such power puts one at incredible risk." When she began to speak again, he interrupted: "I agree with you, Miyako," he said solemnly. "Especially now that they're older, both could learn to use the magic to their advantage. I've tried to argue the point, but the orders stand. It's not in your best interests to try to protest this."

She sighed. "I know. It's just – I was late learning magic, too. And if I had known earlier, I could have been so much more help in that last battle. And Hikari has that magic, but she's not allowed to know of it. At least no one prevented me."

***

The dry, warm part of the desert had vanished, but another sort of desert had appeared. At first the temperature dropped. Then a few patches of ice appeared on the ground. Now, the three Chosen, their partners, Tonosama Geckomon, and the group of Geckomon peered out at a snowy white wasteland.

"Oh no. No way I'm going that way," Daisuke protested, waving a hand and stepping backwards. "I'm not dressed warmly enough." He gestured to the clothes the three humans wore: thin pants and shirts with only light outer jackets to protect against the cold. They'd removed the jackets in the desert, but now reached to put them on once more.
"Cold is not good for us, either," Tonosama Geckomon's deep voice droned. "But I know now where we are."

"Oh yeah?" the boy questioned. "Where?"
"It's not too much farther," the spokes-mon of the Geckomon assured him. "We've been here before, and there's a good forest not far to the south." He pointed in another direction. "It's in a valley, and I'm pretty sure we'll be safe from most attacks there."
"How long will it take us to get there?" practical Iori questioned.

The creature shrugged, glancing upwards towards the sun. "We'll be there before the sun sets."

"The sun sets?" Daisuke questioned. "We were supposed to have returned by then!" He was obviously quite a bit outraged.

"Calm down," Takeru spoke for the first time. He addressed the Geckomon: "I do recall you saying this wouldn't take more than a day."

"We thought it was closer," he replied. "But I guess we were wrong."

"Oh, you were wrong all right," Daisuke fumed slightly. "Is there even food there? We haven't eaten all day and we've been walking. I, for one, am exhausted."

Iori peered at him with concern. "Does your leg hurt?" he asked.

"He has a point," Takeru was saying to the Geckomon. "Maybe you haven't a problem, but humans generally need to eat every few hours. We're tired, and you did promise this would be a short trip." He turned to Daisuke. "Can you make it as far as they say?"
The other boy frowned for a moment. "I can make it," he replied.

***

Hikari peered at the setting sun and frowned. "Something's wrong," she observed, frowning. "I just know it."
"They were supposed to be back by now," Jyou agreed, having passed by her at just that moment. "I'd guess they've been delayed."

"But by what?" she wondered. "Another attack?"

Gomamon, perched on his partner's shoulder, frowned as well. "Who knows," he commented realistically, shrugging.

"If they're attacked, they'll be in real danger," Jyou frowned, paranoid instincts beginning to activate. "And Daisuke really shouldn't have been walking all day."

"They didn't take much food with them," Hikari pointed out, somehow fully aware that she and the doctor were only making each other more anxious and yet unable to stop herself.

"What if they got lost?"

"What if one of them is hurt?"

Gomamon frowned, interrupting. "I really doubt…"

His partner disagreed: "You never know, Gomamon. There's tons of wild and controlled digimon about. They could run into serious problems."

Hikari only shuddered.

***

The sun was just about setting when the group reached the other side of the hills. A green valley, momentarily vacant of all sorts of dark towers and such, stretched before them.

Takeru sat down, exhausted from the climb, and munched a fruit he'd taken from a tree. "Is it safe here to camp for the night?" he wondered, swallowing the fruit.

"Probably about as safe as anything in this territory is," Daisuke replied grumpily, collapsing beside him.

"It looks safe," Patamon noted from atop his partner's head.

"Yes, but how long will that last?" V-mon wondered.

"Hopefully for at least one night," Iori sighed. "Well, I guess we'll make camp here, then?"

Tonosama Geckomon, looking ready for a century-long nap, nodded. "This will be perfect. In the morning we'll start building our new home. For now, we'll eat and sleep."

"Sounds good to me," Armadimon cheered. He, for one, was quite fond of eating and sleeping.

"And just what will we eat?" his partner questioned, once again the voice of logic.

"I think I see a river," Patamon said. "Hopefully there'll be fish there, right?"

"Probably lots of fish," Geckomon cheered. "C'mon guys, let's get food!" With that, the crowd of green digimon disappeared in a cloud of dust, ready to haul in fish and fruit and berries and anything else the valley had to offer, Tonosama Geckomon lumbering slowly after.

Takeru sighed. "This is bad."

"Why do you say that?" his partner wondered.

"We did say this would be a short trip, remember?" the boy reminded him. "Hikari and Miyako are probably worried sick. We were supposed to be back by now."

"Well, it'll have to wait until tomorrow, now," Iori noted with a frown. "We'll just have to explain it to them when we return. Surely they know we can take care of ourselves."

"Let's just hope they're right," Daisuke sighed.

***

Hikari ate the meal given her with some amount of distraction. Alone with her thoughts for the first time in a while, she barely paid notice to the taste of the food as she sat under the stars and ate. "Something's gone wrong," she frowned. "I just know it."

Tailmon paused in her own eager consumption to peer at her partner with a worried glance. "They'll be fine," she said dismissively, too hungry to be too concerned.

Before Hikari could begin to voice her worries, however, Miyako interrupted them to sit beside her. She'd been having a conversation with Koushiro, but now they'd decided to eat. The Princess peered up from her food, glad for the distraction the two were bringing. "Did you find some answers?" she asked casually, taking another bite of the food.

"Yes," Miyako said, and focused intently at her fish, an action which confused Hikari.

"Miyako has some pretty strong magic," Koushiro said, attempting to fill the sudden awkward silence. "But as long as she's not accustomed to it, it'll weaken her like it did this time."

"So all she'll need is practice, then, right?" The wizard nodded, and Hikari felt better. She glanced towards Miyako to see if she had a similar reaction, but she was still focusing on her food, and didn't look up or acknowledge the statement. "What's wrong?"

The girl set down her plate, sighed, and then and stood up. "I'm not hungry," she said, absently. "I think I'll go to bed."

***

Hikari awoke early, feeling strange. Everything looked strange. She sat up abruptly and peered about her, suddenly feeling as though she were being watched and having no idea where the sensation was coming from. "Miyako?" she wondered, glancing towards the other cot.

The other girl rolled over in her sleep, mumbling softly. Hawkmon, asleep at the foot of her bed, moaned contentedly and shifted as well.

"Everything looks normal," she whispered. "So why does it feel so strange?" She sat up and reached for her robe, pulling the comfort of the warm cloth around her in the chilly morning air. She slipped her feet into the slippers and carefully placed weight on her injured ankle, without too much pain. Cautiously, she slipped out of bed and lifted the hem of her nightgown to walk towards the opening of the tent.

The sun was only barely peeking over the horizon, and the rest of the camp and the Primary Village was asleep. In the distance, she thought she could hear a few wild digimon calls, but everything else appeared to still be slumbering. Even the baby digimon were giving Elecmon and the refugees a much deserved nap. Beyond that, Hikari heard a soft noise…

"Water?" she wondered, turning suddenly in the direction of the sound of the splashing. "There's no water here…" But even as she spoke she felt a dampness at her toes, and when she glanced down she saw that there was water, slowly rising. Her ankles were wet now, and the hem of her skirt. From somewhere distant, she heard a voice. 'Help…'

'Who?'  she wondered silently, because suddenly talking seemed impossible – almost unnecessary.

'Help us…' the voice called again, almost like a dream-sound, and she realized then that it was actually many voices speaking at once. 'Help us.'

***

"Well, they may not be much in the way of singers, but Geckomon sure know how to throw a feast," Armadimon commented. As he, too, was not much of a singer but a definite eater, he was certainly qualified to make such a statement. He lounged sleepily beside the bedroll his partner had laid out, looking content and full in the early morning light.

"They'd have to be," Iori agreed, glancing over his shoulder at the still-sleeping Tonosama Geckomon. "When he wakes up he probably eats as much as ten Geckomon."

"At least they did feed us," Takeru sighed, leaning back on his own blanket. "After making us walk all over dangerous territory yesterday, they needed to give us something."

"The food was a good compensation," Patamon decided cheerfully, landing gently on his partner's head.

"Where's Daisuke?" Iori wondered. "Didn't he want to eat?"

"He did," the blond replied. "He went to take a bath." He pointed in the general direction of the stream where their fish had come from. "I took one earlier. The water's cold, but it feels good."

"Sounds like a good idea, to get the dirt and sand from yesterday off before we start off walking again," Armadimon commented.

"It is," his partner agreed. "I'll have to do that before we leave, too. Did you talk to him, Takeru? How is he feeling?"

"He says he's fine, but I think he feels worse than he lets on," the other boy answered. "Typical Daisuke behavior."

"I hope we can make it all the way home today," Iori sighed. "None of our digimon are really very good for transportation, aside from Pegasmon."

***

Miyako arose suddenly, sensing something wrong. She looked frantically around, taking a moment to recall that she was in fact in a tent and not either at home or in the palace. Then she tried to figure out what had awakened her. She glance across the tent to see if Hikari had sensed it somehow, and then saw what was wrong.

Hikari was gone.

***

You know, after re-reading and editing this chapter to make sure it was grammatically correct and all that, I realized something amazing. Nothing much really happens in this chapter… It's mostly just a transition section because soon something big will happen. This non-happening stuff has to occur first.

Apologies for the delay in posting this chapter. Ever have one of those stories in your head where you know what you want to happen, but you can't figure out when? I keep getting ideas for this story that I'm not up to yet! Blast it. Oh well.

The next chapter will not take as long to post as this one did, I can assure you of that. At any rate, hope you enjoyed this part, thanks for all your great reviews!