~Ahh.....another new chapter! You don't know how long I've been wanting to post this one up! Hope you like!

Chapter 6

Autozam

Hikaru looked with wonder around the planet that was called Autozam. Flying cars zoomed past her, and towering buildings were filled with lights. It looked like a larger and more advanced Tokyo than she could ever imagine. Geo patted her on the shoulder. "Pretty amazing, huh?"

"Wow," Hikaru cried out, eyes filled with interest, "This is beautiful!"

Zazu nodded enthusiastically, "Autozam is a great country. Now don't think all we have is a bunch of buildings, Hikaru. There's a whole garden at the center. It's the only natural piece of land there is in this country, but it takes a huge chunk of Autozam. The garden is also the power center. Geo, we've got to land the NSX before heading to the center. Shouldn't we bring Hikaru to an inn?"

Geo scratched his head and smiled, "Why not? But doesn't Hikaru want a tour of the city?"

"Maybe she might like to come with me," Lantis said, coming up behind them, "I do have some errands to run around Autozam."

Zazu and Geo raised their eyebrows. "Errands? In Autozam? We thought that when you left, you left everything and put it behind you."

Lantis nodded, "Yes, but when I did leave, some things I had been doing here were cut off and left in the middle. I have to finish them."

"I'll go with Lantis-kun," Hikaru smiled, "That is, if you don't mind."

The three men nodded and left for their own direction. Lantis walked slowly, so Hikaru could match his pace. It's amazing how she hasn't grown that much in three years, and still is about two feet shorter than Lantis. She shook that thought out of her head and looked around, enjoying the sites. A figure passed by her, and she turned to look back. She gasped. Lantis looked down. "What's wrong, Hikaru?"

Hikaru shook her head, "Oh, nothing. I was hallucinating…that's all. Might be the bright lights. I'm okay."

"…" Lantis continued to walk and they stopped at an arena. "I'll be going inside. If you like, I'll give you some Autozam currency and you could browse the shops. Or, would you rather you went in with me?"

The Magic Knight decided that she wanted to see what Lantis would be doing, so she followed him inside the arena. Some of the men there looked up and gasped. One came up to Lantis. "Kailu Lantis! What are you doing here? Come to fight our champion again?"

Lantis smiled. "What kind of challenge would is that if the FTO and Eagle are lost to your country?"

The man shook his head, "Yes, but there is someone who has replaced him. Zazu might not have been able to replace the FTO, but our new and improved mashin is as good as the FTO. Our new captain pilots it. You won't be able to meet the captain today."

"No, I'm only here to show the woman around," Lantis said blankly, looking at Hikaru, who didn't really believe that this was the case. The red head frowned, but Lantis continued, "Can I have his name?"

"Whose name?" the man asked, puzzled.

Lantis raised his eyebrow. "The captain's name."

"Oh, you're mistaken, Lantis. This time, our captain is a female. Her name is Pygmy."

Hikaru cheered, "Oh wow! A female pilot! I'd like to meet her!"

Lantis' friend smirked at her, "Well, miss, you're going to have to return tomorrow. She won't be here for the rest of the day. But, if you like, you might want to check out the candy stores. She has somewhat of a sweet tooth." To Lantis, "Hey, if you'd like, maybe you would want to have a small tournament today? It's really slow today, and we are getting really bored. Pygmy is too much of a challenge, and so not many people want to challenge her anymore. But why don't you show us how much you've still got it, Lantis? Eh? How about it?"

The Magic Swordsman thought it over. Hikaru's eyes gleamed with interest. He smiled and nodded. The mechanic clapped his hands. "Splendid! Let me show you to the mashin room and you can pick your own! Um…miss? Why don't you wait in that room over there? Someone will show you to the ring where you can see Lantis fight."

"O…okay," Hikaru answered, leaving Lantis. She wondered if Umi and Fuu were having a great time at the country they went to visit. Or…did they feel as if something wasn't right, like Hikaru was feeling now? The Magic Knight wished that she was able to communicate with them. Unfortunately, even Mokona wasn't taken along, and she didn't want Clef to use any more of his energy.

"Miss Hikaru?" a young man asked, uncertain. "Can you please follow me? I'm to bring you to your seat."

Hikaru seated herself in the front, as two great mashins came out of the arena doors. One was colored black, and the other one was a brown model. The brown one circled the black mashin, but it didn't look like it was getting an advantage. Hikaru guessed that Lantis was in the black mashin, calm as it was. Then, in a lightning movement, the black mashin shot down its enemy. The crowd gasped and then began to cheer. Hikaru looked around, and noticed that a whole lot of people did turn up for the tournament. Most of them were still shocked that a stranger beat one of their best pilots. The mashin opened up and revealed Lantis, who calmly stepped down. Again, more people cheered.

A woman cried out, "It's Lantis! He's back! Why on earth is he here?"

Another one said, "Who cares? He's back, and still a great fighter! I wonder if he'll be able to beat Pygmy?"

"Who knows? She's not here for us to find out…"

"I want his autograph!"

Hikaru grinned. This atmosphere really did feel like Tokyo. She stepped out of the crowd and went to congratulate her companion. Out of the corner of her eye, she also saw someone coming down from the seats and going towards the black mashin. "Lantis! That was really fast! I only saw you move for one bit and then you had him!"

Lantis nodded. The two heard a clap and both turned around to see who was making the noise. Lantis' eyes widened with surprise, and Hikaru was also astonished. The woman had familiar, bright, and intelligent amber eyes. She had a gentle face, but the features engraved there also contained a determined and strong personality. With all those features came long, white hair that flowed down to her waist. Seeing that she's caught the two visitors' attention, she smiled. "You're Lantis, am I right? That was a great performance. I haven't seen something like that since…well…our last general disappeared."

"And you are?" Lantis asked, afraid to know the answer.

"You can call me Pygmy," the woman said, "I suppose you've already heard of me from one of the mechanics here. He was surprised that I'd come back to see what the new excitement was. I must admit, the people here already know you. Have you been here before?"

The Magic Swordsman tilted his head and asked instead, "You knew the former champion?"

Pygmy nodded her head. "Yes, but I was moved to a farther area, and I was still in training when he started competing here. I did know Eagle Vision. Of course, so did everyone who lives in Autozam. Unfortunately, he left to this place called Cephiro with the NSX and the FTO."

"Lantis! Hikaru! There you are!" Geo cried out, waving at them. Zazu and he approached them and the two stopped dead. "Pygmy?"

The woman nodded coldly at them and turned back, her eyes icy. "Lantis, now I remember. You were Eagle's friend, were you not? Well, it's finally nice to meet you. I'm sorry, but I must be going now. I will see you next time."

With that, Pygmy hurried out of their way, and Geo sighed. Hikaru looked from the icy woman back to Geo. "Do you know her, Geo?"

Zazu nodded. "That's the new champion. She's Pygmy, Eagle's cousin. Of course we'd know her."

"NANI?!"

~Ahhh....okay, now I've done with introducing you to some of the new characters the Magic Knights may be facing later on. But...I wonder what's happening to Clef? Maybe I'll write about that in my next chapter. ^-^ Have fun trying to find out what's gonna happen!