(See others)

            Yes, I'm back to writing introductions. I really didn't want to break the seriousness of the last chapter with an introduction, so it had none. Don't worry, there's a bit of comic relief after that highly emotional chapter. This chapter wasn't supposed to be so long! It was actually going to be joined with the next chapter, but it was just getting so long, I decided to make it a chapter of its own. Cooking Spray's review before made me realize that I hadn't included Pudding and Ichigo's families at all! I'm sorry! Anyway, that inspired the funny events in this chapter. Oh, and I get carried away with the news reports, because I like writing them. I wouldn't be good at writing real-life ones, but… There are a few issues. I don't know much, and am notorious for my factual errors, so I'm very sorry if Pudding's siblings are incorrectly named, as I don't know which names are girls' names and which are boys' names. I think I got two of them messed up. Also the scene with Ryou and Pie is kind of weird, but I thought they should have a meeting, since they're the two scientists. Oh well. Sorry if this chapter's not as good as the others, I got a little impatient near the end.

            Arigato to my wonderful reviewers! Ah, you know I'm just buttering you up, so you'll review for me again, but…

Chapter 10: Pressed For Time

            The metal plating was trembling softly beneath her feet. It was a feeling that Ichigo had become accustomed to after the first few hours. She ran the past few events through her head. It all seemed like one long dream, but touching the little dangling heart pendant, she knew that it had actually happened. They had been flying for a few hours now.

            Everyone was exhausted after a day that tested their senses and emotions. Tart and Pudding had curled up together on one of the platforms. Flan had taken over the driving duty since Pie had fallen asleep at the wheel several times already, and she was afraid that he'd be sleeping when it came time to land on Earth. A few times, the oldest Mercurian had advised Ichigo to take a nap, stating that she had to be mentally and physically drained by an experience like that. Occasionally, she did lie down on a platform and pull a brown sheet over her in an attempt to catch a few Z's, but they always stayed just out of reach. She knew she worried Pie by staying up all night, but it was all she could do. This was very unusual for her, since her Iriomote cat genes usually enabled her to fall asleep anywhere, at any time. Maybe they really were degenerating. Ichigo sighed and watched Tart and Pudding, still asleep on the platform. She wondered if she'd still love him after he drooled on her.

            In another corner, Pie was sitting at a desk, writing what he called "note cards" for his "speech." He was grateful that the young lovers were asleep, because before he kept having to yell, "Don't touch my note cards! Back away from the note cards! Look- no one touches my note cards until I am ready! Do you understand???"

            Ichigo smiled, recalling something else Kish had said- "It's changing all of us." He was right, for once. Tart and Pudding, although still very energetic and childish, had become more mature and understanding, Pie was learning to loosen up and have fun, and Kish himself had been becoming more calm and in control. The only one who didn't seem to be changed was Flan. Then, Ichigo thought, what about herself? Was she changed? She felt different somehow. More aware of the universe around her. More open to different ideas and customs. She glanced up as the curved Mercurian ship rumbled more violently.

            "Land ho!" came a cheerful female voice from another room.

            Pie also looked up and stuffed the note cards in a pocket on the side of the desk. He rushed out of the room, and Ichigo finally realized what was happening. They had arrived.

            She yanked her head from her own recollections and got to her boot-covered feet. At last, after a day or two in her comfy school uniform boots, the blisters from her tight princess high-heels were beginning to heal. It hurt a bit as she flexed her feet in mindless curiosity. As Ichigo stretched and stepped out towards the center of the room, the ship jumped forward. She nearly lost her balance, but amazingly remained standing somehow. Suddenly, a warm sensation enveloped her body, and she sighed with the release of pressure. She would very much like to fall asleep now. How could she be in bed while standing up? But that was exactly the way she felt. Her relieving warmth was broken by a screeching young voice.

            "EEEEEEEEEWWWW! Icky icky ick!"

            Suddenly, a blond mop of hair went whooshing past. Ichigo stared in confusion.

            Tart sat up on the platform and wiped his mouth. He turned his head to look at Ichigo. "What happened? What did I do?"

            Ichigo shook her head and tried to focus on her surroundings. What had happened? Maybe that was what was different about her. Going off into trances hadn't been part of her nature before.

            Flan and Pie were standing out in the main room. Flan gripped the steering wheel and pulled a lever to steady the ship as the island of Honshu grew bigger and bigger on the viewing screen. Pie stood silently behind her, watching her every move.

            Just then, Pudding came running out of the side door, nothing but a blond streak against the metal plated floor. "Peachy, where's the bathroom?!?!" she yelled, frantically.

            Flan was too concentrated on the process of landing to notice anything that was going on around her. She gritted her teeth, stared at the screen, and moved the wheel a bit. Buildings and streets were now beginning to appear.

            "Where's the bathroom?!?!" Pudding demanded again.

            "Down the hall to the right!" Pie cried, pointing to a door on the other side of the room. "Hurry!"

            Pudding shrugged and rushed into the door.

            Ichigo came walking into the room, rubbing her eyes after Pudding had disappeared. "Are we there already?" She stepped up and spoke deliberately to Flan. "We're almost home, right? Huh? Flan? Can you hear me?"

            Pie stepped up next to her. "She's in landing mode," he explained. "Not talking mode."

            Tart spontaneously ran out of the room, slipped on the smooth spaceship floor, and went tumbling onto this back. Ichigo couldn't help but laugh at his sudden blunder. "Stop laughing, you ancient monster!" he yelled, sitting up. "Did you see where Pudding went?"

            "She had to go to the bathroom," Pie told him. "And she better have made it, because I'm not cleaning this ship again."

            At last, Flan pressed a red button to lower the ship's large metallic balancing feet. This time, the ship made a loud crunching noise as it landed. "Oh, darn it, I think I landed on a tree," Flan at last spoke up. She turned around and smiled at her three passengers. "Okay! We're here!" Her light pink eyes widened as she looked around the room. "Hey, where's…"

            Just at the mention of her absence, Pudding came flying through the door on the side, looking frustrated. Her eyes settled on Tart, still sitting on the floor after his fall. "Ugh!" she cried. "You're so disgusting, Tart! I'm never sleeping with you again!"

            Ichigo, Flan, and Pie broke into laughter.

            Tart jumped up. "What did I tell you about laughing at me?!"

            "We're…we're not laughing at you," Ichigo managed to say between her giggles. Pudding and Tart just stared at the three of them in confusion.

            Flan giggled a little bit more, and then got a hold of herself. "Well, we need to be going," she said, her voice wavering a little. "We've got a city to reclaim and we don't really know what's been going on here for the past two weeks."

            "That's right!" Ichigo cried. "I gotta go see the other girls! I bet they really missed me." She ran to the entrance of the spaceship and began to descend the ramp-door. Flan, Tart, Pudding, and Pie followed behind. However, the three Mercurians hesitated as Ichigo and Pudding stepped onto the sidewalk of Tokyo.

            "What's the matter?" Pudding asked. "You afraid of Tokyo now?"

            "We can't go strolling down the street looking like this," Pie explained, gesturing to his long pointy ears.

            "Why not?" Ichigo replied. "Everyone will just think you're actors in the role of elves with really bad fashion sense."

            "Hey!" Tart yelled, ticked off once again. "Are you making fun of my clothes again, Mrs. Big Fat Skirt?"

            "Never mind," Ichigo sighed.

            "You just go ahead," Pie decided. "We'll float above you and hide in trees."

            "What about you, Flan?" Ichigo asked, turning back to her fellow Mew Mew. "You can just turn back to your human version and come with us."

            Flan shook her head and her pale pink ponytail bounced. "Nope. Sorry Ichigo, but I can't anymore."

            Ichigo's mouth fell open a little bit. "W-why not? What do you mean, you can't anymore?"

            "Well, you know how when you didn't have to use your wildcat genes anymore, they started to wear away? Well, now that you guys know my real identity, I don't need to use my extra human DNA, and it sort of degenerated and isn't usable anymore."

            Ichigo nodded. "I understand." She looked up at a ticking clock on a building nearby. "Do you mind if we wait a little while before jetting off to Pyridis? I want to see my friends and my family before I leave them again."

            "Fine with me," Flan said with a smile. "I was beginning to miss those other Mew Mews. I think I'll be nicer to Lettuce now."

            "Well, let's get going!" Pudding cried. She began skipping off down the road. Ichigo followed behind, as Flan, Pie, and Tart flew up into the trees, disappearing from view.

---

            After an hour of walking, Ichigo was getting very tired. Even wearing boots, an hour of walking would be tough on anyone's feet. Those aliens had it easy, floating around the city like the distance was nothing. I can't be the princess, Ichigo decided, because if I were, I would definitely be taking advantage of my weightless body.

            Pudding came hopping up to her, twirling her baton in glee. "What's the matter, Ichigo? You don't look so well."

            Ichigo was a little annoyed. She glanced up, her face contorted. "Pudding, I'm tired. Do you know what that word means?"

            Pudding stopped hopping and twirling for a moment. "It means you're grumpy and you don't want to play with me."

            Ichigo growled, almost hissing, a bit of her cat genes surfacing. She didn't know how much more of this she could take. When she looked up, she saw a rounded building decorated with plastic hearts, looking like a cross between a cake and a castle. Ichigo jumped up with renewed energy. Salvation was in sight. "Look, Café Mew Mew!!!"

            "Yippee!" Pudding called with her. The two hyper Mew Mews raced each other to the door (Pudding won) and knocked hard against it.

            Just before the door opened, Ichigo glanced over at Pudding and smiled, mischievously. "Keep it low, and we'll surprise them, okay Pudding?"

            Pudding nodded and the two stepped into the very familiar workplace. It was like coming home. The stone walls of Café Mew Mew resounded with the buzz of everyday activity. Ichigo stepped up in line as the girls in front of her were seated. Pudding was snickering next to her, wanting to yell out and break the secret, but pushed the urge down a little longer.

            "Welcome to Café Mew Mew," a familiar girl with buns and a blue uniform said, snootily. "Now please allow…Aaaaaugh!" Mint burst out in a sudden unleashing of joy. The other customers in line stared in puzzlement as Mint threw her arms around Ichigo. "ICHIGO!!!"

            "Hey!" Pudding cried, putting her hands on her hips. "What about me?"

            Mint looked down. "Oh! Hello, Pudding."

            Pudding still looked a bit disappointed.

            "Guys, they're back!!!" Mint cried into the crowd of the café.

            A minute later, another familiar figure, this one with long green braids was approaching. "Ichigo! Pudding!" Lettuce called, running towards them. Unfortunately, Lettuce wasn't very good at yelling and running at the same time, and she stepped on her own toe, tripping and sliding to their feet.

            Ichigo smiled and helped her up. "Oh, Lettuce," she said, chuckling a bit. "It's great to see you too."

            Zakuro came sauntering up behind her, just wondering what all the commotion was about.

            "Zakuro, hi!" Ichigo called, in her moment of friendly cheerfulness.

            Zakuro's face didn't change. "Good to see you're safe," she simply stated.

            Ichigo just stared, grinning at her friends, as they greeted her and Pudding and started telling them all sorts of tales.

            "Lettuce slipped and got stuck in a mineshaft while we were looking for a Mew Aqua!" Mint was telling them.

            Lettuce blushed. "It was so embarrassing. Zakuro had to wrap her whip around my wrist and pull me out. …I'm sorry for causing everyone so much trouble all the time!"

            "Oh, and then we went towards the Earth's core, and Masha fell into the magma and was fried! They managed to fix him up, though. His fur is just a little singed." Mint went on about burnt robots, false auras, and the absence of weird creatures from Jupiter.

            Just then, a male voice from the head of the crowd reached Ichigo's ears amidst the café din. "Sorry to interrupt the party, but…" Ichigo glanced up from her conversation with Mint and Lettuce to find that tall, blond teenager she knew so well by now. "…There are customers waiting," Ryou finished.

            "So, let them wait a little longer," Ichigo announced. "They can come for their tea and pastries anytime they want, but it's not everyday I get to see my best friends after a trip to another planet!"

            Pudding jumped up and down. "Yeah! Can we have a party? A welcome-back party? Please? Pleasey pleasey please?"

            Ryou smiled and threw pink and yellow café uniforms at Ichigo and Pudding. "I'm so glad you're back," he said. "Now you can help us for the rest of the day!"

            Ichigo angrily pulled her pink frilly uniform away from her face. "Rrrrr, Ryou, you are so insensitive!"

            Ryou nodded slightly. "Don't worry, we'll have a welcome-back party, but after work, okay?"

            Pudding looked satisfied and hopped off to go change, but Ichigo's angry mood remained. She began to storm off to another changing room. As she went, Ryou took a step towards her. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped short. He glanced down at Ichigo's neck, sighed, and walked on.

---

            An hour or so later, all of the people had left the café, and after a quick cleanup session, the reunited Mew Mews were beginning to decorate, hanging streamers on the walls, and slipping on new pink and yellow tablecloths.

            Ichigo glanced around at the place she now could call home. The café was where she belonged, here with her friends. I know now, she thought, I'm not Princess Ichigo Blue, I'm only Ichigo Momomiya, and this is my place. At that moment, a knocking came from the front double doors.

            "Hello?!" Mint cried, aggravated. "Did they not see that big, glaring "Private Party" sign above the door? Honestly, some people just don't even know how to read!"

            Ichigo ignored Mint's comments and rushed for the doors. "Chill, I know who that is."

            "Peachy!" Pudding cried, running up beside her. "Peachy and Tar Tar and um…that other guy."

            Ichigo opened the door as everyone else in the room gathered around. On the other side were of course, Flan, Tart, and Pie, covering themselves with a brown sheet so passersby wouldn't see and get suspicious.

            "Flan!" Mint and Lettuce cried. "You came back too?!"

            Flan smiled at them, obviously having already answered their question. "I haven't seen you guys in a long time!"

            "Well…come in," Ichigo invited, stepping back.

            "We're having a party!" Pudding cried. "Party party party!"

            "But isn't this a private party?" Tart asked, as he and the other aliens stepped inside, removing their cloaks.

            "Yeah, it's our party," Pudding cried. She grabbed his hand, much his surprise. "But since you're my boyfriend, you can come too…even though I still think you're disgusting."

            Mint and Lettuce were glancing around in confusion. "There's something missing," Lettuce spoke up. "Yeah…" Mint agreed. "Where's that weird, perverted one?"

            Suddenly, Ichigo burst out in shock and disapproval. "Don't talk about Kish that way!" she cried. "I know sometimes he can be a real jerk, but he's really a nice guy underneath it…"

            Mint, Lettuce, and even Zakuro were now staring at Ichigo, eyes wide.

            "Are you feeling okay there?" Lettuce asked, in concern. "Maybe you have jet lag."

            "Someone call the hospital right now!" Mint yelled. "Ichigo has a brain tumor!"

            "Stop it!" Ichigo replied. "There's nothing wrong with me, I'm telling the truth!"

            Zakuro stepped up and put a hand on her forehead. "I don't know. You feel pretty warm to me."

            Ichigo sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I know you don't believe me…"

            Mint shook her head. "The way you talk, it's almost like…you like him or something…" There was a pause as Ichigo stared at the floor and fingered her heart and diamond necklace.

            "So…where is he?" More silence answered her. Ichigo, Pudding, and the aliens stared at each other, wondering who would be the one to answer.

            "Well…" Pie volunteered, stepping a little forward. "Yesterday morning…Kish passed away."

            "He…he's dead?!" Mint said, in disbelief.

            "I'm…very sorry for you," Lettuce added, bowing.

            Zakuro just continued staring at them, expressionless.

            "Well, let's not dwell on it," Flan spoke up, trying to get them to relax and enjoy the party. "C'mon, they're back!"

            "Yeah!" Pudding cried, following her lead. "Let's party!"

            So the Mew Mews, the Mercurians, and the Mercurian Mew Mew joined together in Ichigo and Pudding's welcome-back party. The tables were set up with four chairs to a table. Pudding, Tart, Mint, and Zakuro sat at one, while Flan, Pie, Ichigo, and Lettuce sat at the other. It was a bit awkward at the latter table.

            Lettuce glanced over at Pie, blushing from embarrassment.

            Eventually, Pie noticed and looked up from Flan for a moment. "Don't worry…" his deep voice spoke. Lettuce trembled, noticing that he was talking to her, and blushed a deeper shade. "…it seems we've both moved on."

            At last, Lettuce got a breath and managed to reply. "Well…thank you anyway." And that was the end of it.

---

            Somewhere in the middle of the party, Ryou and Keiichiro emerged and were surprised to find the two species integrating at this party.

            "Where did they come from?" Keiichiro asked.

            "Mercury, obviously," Ryou replied. "They must have come back with Peach and the Mews." He looked out at the scene, where Mint was hanging onto Zakuro, Ichigo was talking with Lettuce, Flan and Pie were dancing to music only they could hear, and Pudding was trying to teach Tart one of her tricks.

            "You're cheating again! Stop using your anti-gravity!"

            "I was not! That was a real handstand! Watch, I'll do it again!"

            "…Nuh-uh, you cheated again! I saw those ribbons floating!"

            "They just do that on their own! I have nothing to do with it!"

            "You're lying! Mine never floated!"

            Ryou smiled a bit. He glanced back at the television in the lab behind him and nodded to himself. "I've got an idea," he said.

---

            Flan giggled and plopped down into her café chair. "I'm sorry, I started messing up a little later," she apologized to Pie, who had sat beside her again. "Pudding and Tart were making me laugh."

            "Yeah, I know," Pie replied. "Remember what she said back in the spaceship?"

            Ichigo began laughing all over again as she remembered.

            "What?" Lettuce asked, looking up. "What are you laughing at, Ichigo?"

            Ichigo giggled and got out of her chair. "I have to go get Mint and Zakuro. You guys have to hear this…" Lettuce stood up and followed her.

            Ryou's cue came when Flan rose to get a refill of soda. He casually walked up to the table. "Excuse me," he spoke, addressing Pie. Pie stared, surprised, and wondering what Ryou would need to talk to him about. "Do you happen to know the scientist that injected Flan with her giant panda genes?"

            Pie shook his head. "She merged the panda genes with herself. They were in my possession at the time, but…"

            Ryou nodded, understanding but continuing to question. "How did these genes come into your possession?"

            "Well, we've been studying the creatures of Earth for many years," Pie answered, still wondering what the point was. "Most of the animal genes we have are from a few million years ago, before our kind left this planet. Different genes are given periodically to us scientists to study…"

            "So you're a scientist back on Mercury?" Pie confirmed this with another small nod. Ryou took a deep breath. "Would you mind coming into our laboratory for a moment? We've got some interesting information that we would like you to authenticate." Pie was still a bit confused, but followed Ryou into the dark room on the side.

            Flan returned to her seat, holding her soda. "What the…? Where'd he go???"

---

            The electric glow of the screens reflected off their two forms. Ryou approached the long screen, with Pie following close, yet mystified behind. The younger blond scientist halted in front of a long, darkened desk, pressing a button on the middle section. The screen blinked on, and the news broadcast began all over again.

            Pie crossed his arms, watching the glitzy stereotype reporter read off a story about his race. It annoyed him a bit the way they talked about them, like they were monkey ancestors. Yet, it was still interesting to see the situation from the other point of view. A few times, his eyes wandered over to observe the computers and research equipment in the room. He would very much like to closer study these foreign machines, but that could wait as of now.

            "So…" Ryou asked, hoping for a confirmation.

            "They shouldn't be taking items from the Pyridis ruins," Pie replied instead. "It's disrespectful and terrible bad luck."

            Ryou took a deep breath. "But are the archaeologists correct? Are you…" Just from the way he said "you", Pie knew he was speaking of the whole Mercurian race. "…close relatives?"

            Pie remained silent for a moment, then looked up at him, his eyes strangely flickering. "We may never know. It's a good theory that we are separate species derived from one ancestor. We may have been at one time…" Ryou watched as the older scientist walked over to one corner and put a hand on the DNA scanner that Ryou used to detect the DNA code and project it into his computer. "And what does this do?"

            "It's a DNA scanner. Using a piece of an organism's hair or some article, I can make the DNA code appear on my computer, where I can separate the strands and find out what types of DNA an organism has."

            "Oh," Pie said, plainly, losing interest in the device. "Kind of like this." A glowing green-colored object materialized in his hand. Ryou stared in curiosity as Pie slowly passed the object in front of his body. A moment later, he was looking at a little screen on one side, reading its contents in his mind. At last, he looked up at Ryou again, his eyebrows slightly raised.

            "You have cat DNA." It was a statement. Not a question. Pie looked back down at the miniature screen. "Gray, with short hair, green eyes…I could go on." He waved the device away, and it dissolved into the air around them. "Trait finder," he explained when he saw Ryou's questioning look. "Quite common among us palace researchers."

            Ryou was quite amazed, but masked his fascination with a serious, glaring look. "You have such superior technologies…"

            "No," Pie interrupted. "Our abilities aren't superior at all. We couldn't save ourselves, as much as we worked. One of your creations did that."

            Ryou cocked his head a bit and leaned back on his desk.

            "Our world was doomed, in two years' time, we would all be crushed, and there was nothing we could do to stop it. Our desperate attempts were unnecessary. Ichigo, using the powers you had created, along with spiritual assistance, was the only one to create a perfectly pristine spot, thus growing the first ever Mew Aqua on Mercury."

            Ryou continued to stare, running this through his head. "You know," he said. "I'm in connection with all of the world's major scientists. I could call them up right now and tell them that I've got living specimens of an alien race in my café at this moment. I could be famous for being the person who discovered intelligent life forms on the planet Mercury… But I won't."

            Pie agreed. "It is best that the world never knows of our existence."

            Ryou smiled a bit. "The tabloids are already swarming with news of the "Mystery Tribe of Africa."

            "That is our mission this time around," Pie declared. "To erase the physical evidence and recover what was lost."

            At last, Ryou extended a hand. "Desperations excused. May our technologies continue to collaborate and bring hope to the galaxy."

            Pie stepped up and took his hand, and they gave a firm shake. Then they released and quickly hurried back to their own corners of the world.

---

            It had been hours since the welcoming party had broken up. Two small figures huddled under the brown-flecked cloak. "Why do we have to come and see your dumb family?" Tart complained.

            "That's what you're supposed to do when you have a boyfriend, introduce him to your family."

            "Don't you understand? I can't meet them! I can't be seen by the public!"

            "Stop making excuses."

            "I'm not making excuses, I'm just saying…"

            Pudding abruptly halted as her large eyes lit up. "Oooh, look! Customers!"

            The sidewalks were packed with the people of Tokyo, as they always were at this hour. Young workers walked the few blocks back to their apartments, and late-night shoppers thronged the specialty shops, carrying various plastic bags.

            Pudding slipped out from her spot under the cloak, and produced her glittery baton from thin air.

            "What are you going?!?!" Tart yelled at her.

            "I'm performing!" Pudding cried. With that, she jumped up on a nearby bench. "Ladies and gentlemen!" she called. "Prepare to be stunned and amazed by the great Pudding and her um…amazing feats!" With that, Pudding began to spin the baton at super speed. Then, she threw it into the air and somersaulted off the bench, catching it as it landed in front.

            An audience was starting to gather around her, clapping politely. Most of the pedestrians just shrugged and walked on past, wondering what in the world was going on, but not caring enough to get closer and find out.

            With a few whistles, Pudding attracted her band of monkey friends. The little primates scurried around her, performing tricks along with her. More clapping and a few cheers erupted from the crowd now.

            Tart backed away from the bench, towards the shadowed corner near a trashcan. He grumbled to himself. Why did she always get him into situations like this? It wasn't fair!

            Pudding was interacting with the audience (After she scooped up the change they threw at her.) "And here's my famous ball balancing act!" She hopped onto a soccer ball that someone had mysteriously left on the street and began cheerfully rolling around on her hands. "Now I bet you don't know many people who can do this. Do you?" Pudding cried to the audience.

            Suddenly, caught up in all the excitement around him, Tart threw off his cloak and made a beeline for the bench, which had become a makeshift stage. "Let me try!" he yelled to Pudding. "I bet I can do it without cheating!"

            Pudding flipped back off the ball and looked out as the "customers" stared at Tart with wide eyes. Was this only part of the performance, and acrobatic monkey-girl was supposed to be interrupted by a strangely dressed elf, or was there something else at work here?

            But for the moment, Tart didn't acknowledge their stares, forgetting that he was different from them. He propelled his legs upwards, and almost made it into a handstand, but the ball slipped, and he began to fall. At the very moment that Tart's body would have hit the pavement, his anti-gravity kicked in, and he floated a few feet above the ground, face red in embarrassed anger. From somewhere in the crowd, a burst of light quickly blinked.

            Pudding, who had promptly hidden herself behind the bench, reached out and grabbed his ankles, flinging him backwards, and down beside her. She pressed an elbow over his chest and threw the cloak over them again. "What were you doing?!" she repeated. "I thought you just said that you couldn't be seen in public."

            Tart paused, realizing what had really happened. "Uh…well, I was…oh no…"

            Pudding sighed, gave up, and counted her earnings. "…A dollar and seventy-five cents! That's disappointing…" She got back up. "Well, never mind. Let's go to my house! At least I got something, right?" "Not just candy, like Ichigo gave me," she added under her breath.

            "Alright, alright," Tart muttered, discontentedly. "We'll go see your dumb family…just don't do any more of those performances!"

---

            Pudding's round fist banged against a pair of stone double doors. Tart glanced up at the elaborate stone decorations and plain, monkey statues, sitting upright on their pedestals like humans. "You live in a temple?!" he cried. "You and your family really must be freaky witches or something."

            Pudding continued to ignore him, as she had ever since the performance. It was a little difficult, because he had also been jumping around, making faces at her, trying to surprise her, and doing all sorts of stupid and childish things. Pudding was relieved to finally arrive at her house, when she was a bit nervous earlier.

            At last, a tiny hand managed to reach the handle and fell out once the door swung open. A child with the same color hair as Pudding was lying facedown on the ground.

            "Lucha!" Pudding cried, bending down to help the child up. "Are you okay?"

            The small girl lifted her head. She had round red cheeks, hair curving around her chin, just like Pudding, and a high ponytail braid in the back. "PUDDING!!!" little Lucha squealed. "You're back! HEY EVERYONE, PUDDING'S BACK!!!"

            "That's your sister?" Tart asked, peeking a little out of the cloak.

            "Well, that's one of them," Pudding answered, casually.

            "One of them?" Tart asked, suspiciously.

            That question was answered as four other small figures came barreling straight towards them. "PUDDING!" Four little voices screeched. Pudding laughed as her siblings jumped onto her. Most of them just grabbed onto her shirt, trying to hug her.

            One little boy with a low braid climbed up and began hitting Pudding over the head. "Bad Pudding! Bad Pudding!" he cried. "You forgot to bring me!"

            "We were scared…" another little girl, this time with pigtail braids added. "The first night."

            "Oh, I'm sorry, kids," Pudding replied, bending down to hug all of them. "I missed you too. Have you been okay here?"

            "Yeah, Daddy's here!" another little boy piped up, this time with braids on the sides of his head.

            "What? Dad came back???" Pudding glanced around, releasing some of the children.

            "He's at a thing right now," the girl named Lucha explained. "Come in! We were having supper just now."

            At last, Pudding stepped into the interior of the temple. Tart followed, glancing around suspiciously. The inside was very bare, with only a long table, a few chairs, and a bookcase used as a shelf. The table had no chairs, but cushions, and it had been lowered to be reachable from the stuffed pieces of fabric. Was this what it was like…? Surprisingly, none of the children seemed to notice that mysterious cloaked figure behind Pudding, and continued rambling to their older sister.

            "Where did you go?" a shyer boy with a ponytail-braid asked.

            "I went on a mission…" Pudding began, making her voice whispery and suspenseful. "…to outer space!"

            "Wow!" the little kids cried.

            "Why didn't you take us with you?" the boy that had been hitting her asked.

            "Well," Pudding replied. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And besides, space is limited in…um, space."

            "Did you go in a rocket ship?" the same boy asked, excitedly.

            "Did you go to the moon, Pudding?" the other girl continued.

            "Did you see any Martians?" asked the little boy with the braids framing his face.

            "Oh, that's right!" Pudding suddenly remembered Tart standing, disgruntled, behind her. "No, no," she had to answer them. "I went in a spaceship. I didn't see any Martians, but…I saw lots of Mercurians!" With that, she grabbed Tart's cloak and yanked it off of him.

            "Well, thanks for finally noticing me standing here!" he cried, a bit angry. When he turned, Pudding's five siblings were staring wide-eyed at him.

            "Everyone, this is my boyfriend, Tart. Tart, these are my brothers and sisters…" She walked over, pointing to the little boy with the braids on the sides of his head. "Honcha…" Then, she pointed to the girl with two pigtails. "…Heicha…" Now, the boy with the low braid. "…Chancha…" And the boy with the high braid. "…Hanacha…" Finally, the girl that had greeted them. "…and Lucha."

            "Hiiiiiiiiii," the little kids said.

            "Hi, whatever your names are," Tart replied.

            "You're a boyfriend from outer space?" Heicha asked.

            "Hey, you're not a Martian!" Chancha yelled in disappointment.

            "He's Santa's elf!" Hanacha cried in sudden discovery.

            "They have Santa in outer space?" Chancha asked, confused.

            "Be quiet!" Tart suddenly snapped. "I'm not an elf, I'm not a Martian, I'm a Mercurian!!!"

            Pudding's siblings fell surprisingly silent.

            "But…" little Lucha at last spoke up. "…Pudding said you were a boyfriend."

            Pudding couldn't help but laugh as Tart smacked his forehead, frustrated. "Don't you listen?!"

            In a flash, the children were all around him.

            "Pretty ribbon," Lucha said, wrapping the ribbons on his waistband around her neck.

            "Hey, let go of that!!!" Tart yelled, turning around and trying to yank it out of her grasp.

            "I like your bow!" Heicha added, grabbing the black bow near his neck and choking him.

            "Wow, are these real?!" Chancha cried, pulling on one of his long ears.

            "Aaaaaaauugh!" Tart screamed, but the little boy didn't seem to hear.

            "They are! They're real, they're real!"

            "Ooooh, let me see!" The others all dropped what they were doing to come pull Tart's ears. As much as he yelled, they wouldn't stop. Pudding was cracking up at the sight of it.

            "Stop laughing!" Tart yelled at her. "It's not funny! I'm dying here!"

            Another one of the boys managed to crawl onto Tart's back, grabbing onto his pigtails like bicycle handles. "Piggyback! Piggyback!" he cried.

            Tart felt like his scalp was peeling off. At last, he had had it. Standing up, he flung the boy to the ground. Pudding's other siblings backed away in fear. "Leave me alone!" Tart yelled. "I hate you, you bratty little midgets!"

            There was a moment of calm, before the five children burst into tears.

            Pudding rushed over, the urge to laugh suddenly gone. She put her arms around her upset family. "Stop that, Tart!" she called back. "You're making them cry."

            Tart shrugged. "Who cares? I just don't what them anywhere near me."

            Pudding frowned and turned back to the weeping group.

            "Pudding…" Heicha said, gripping her sleeveless Chinese shirt. "Your boyfriend is mean!"

            "It's okay," Pudding consoled her sister. "He just gets angry when you pull on his ears and all that."

            Tart pouted and looked away from their little huddle.

            At last, the kids were starting to calm down, and it was a good thing too, as a few minutes later, a tall, muscular man entered the room. His hair was surprisingly dark for such a light-haired family.

            "Daddy!" the kids cried, forgetting about Tart for a moment. "Guess what? Pudding's back!"

            Mr. Fong looked down and noticed the taller girl mixed in with the munchkins. "Pudding!" he called, bending down as Pudding ran up to hug him.

            "Dad!" she cried. "I can't believe you're back! We all missed you."

            Pudding's father looked up at all the red-cheeked faces in front of them, but then a strange figure on the other side of the table caught his eye. "My land!" he cried. His mouth dropped open and he released Pudding.

            Pudding glanced up. "What's the matter, Dad?"

            Mr. Fong returned to an upright position, never taking his eyes off of Tart. "Kids," he announced. "It may sound crazy, but it appears that we have a house sprite."

            "Where? Where?" the little Fongs cried, looking around.

            "But this is a temple, not a house," the intelligent (for his age) Hanacha commented.

            "Temple sprite!" Lucha called.

            "Don't be silly," Hanacha replied. "There's no such thing as a temple sprite."

            Tart stared at the wall, still fuming, unaware that they were talking about him.

            At last, Mr. Fong pointed at him, "Right there," he said, mysteriously. "Can you see him?" The Fong family members were very strong and independent, but usually very superstitious, completely believing all legends and sayings, such as the story about the house sprites.

            "Oh him?" Heicha said. "That's just Pudding's mean boyfriend."

            "Nuh-uh, he's a Martian, remember?" Chancha objected.

            "But she said he's a boyfriend, and he's mean!"

            "He's a mean Martian boyfriend."

            "Alright, the debate is over!" Pudding cried, jumping up on the table. This time, Tart noticed what was going on and turned around, interested. "He's not a Martian, he's not a house sprite, his name is Tart and he's my boyfriend from Mercury!"

            "Mercury?" someone else in the crowd continued. "Where's that?"

            "Isn't it in Antarica?"

            "That's Antarctica."

            Pudding slipped off the table, next to Tart. "I give up," she finally admitted defeat. Tart smiled back at her.

            "Well, whatever he is, he is a being from beyond our world and we must make him welcome," Mr. Fong advised his family.

            "But he's mean!" Lucha objected, jumping up. "He yelled at us!"

            "Well that's what happens when you anger a house sprite," Mr. Fong continued. "You must treat them with respect for them to help and bring you good fortune. If you annoy him too much, he could leave, and that is very bad fortune."

            "Well…"Pudding said, a little frazzled. "Could you stay for the night?"

            "I was going to go and sleep in the middle of the road, where it's safer," Tart replied, sarcastically.

            "Please?" Pudding said, trying her big teary eyes on him. "Dad will be so upset if he finds you gone tomorrow morning. Just until we go to that weird city or whatever we have to gain back."

            Tart stared at her for a long moment, and soon he found himself in a "bed" of cushions and blankets, staring at the ceiling and wondering why in the world he had said yes.

---

            "ICHIGOOOOO! Oh, my dear, precious daughter!" Ichigo struggled for breath as her mother squished her body up against her own. "Honey! Oh, she's home, she's back, she's safe and sound!" Ichigo closed her eyes as Sakura Momomiya planted kisses on her cheeks and all over her head. "Oh, Ichigo dear we were so worried!!!"

            "I'm fine, Mom," Ichigo said for the umpteenth time, although it sounded more like "Im fin, murrm," as her face was forced against her shoulder.

            Her erratic father burst into the room, his dark hair mussed, as usual. "ICHIGO! Where in God's name have you been?!?! This is it, young lady! You're grounded for a month, no, make that a year! You're grounded forever!"

            "I love you too, Dad," Ichigo mumbled.

            Mr. Momomiya puttered around the kitchen, searching for the phone. "Now we gotta find the news studio's number, call them up and tell them you're not missing anymore…"

            "You reported me missing?!" Ichigo cried in alarm.

            "Well you were missing, hon," Mrs. Momomiya reasoned.

            "Great," Ichigo grumbled. "Now everyone at school is going to be all over me because I somehow returned from the Realm of the Missing."

            "Yes, you're going to be a celebrity!" Mrs. Momomiya cried, excitably. "They'll probably want an interview, and maybe a novel about your experiences…"

            Mr. Momomiya caught her words from the room over. "We'll be rich!" he exclaimed, sweeping into the parlor, grabbing Ichigo's mother and dancing her around the room. "I'm so glad our daughter got lost…that she got lost and found her way home, that is."

            Ichigo sighed and looked away. I'm so glad to be back with my psycho parents, Ichigo thought, it's better to have slightly crazy everyday adults as your parents than creepy kings who remind you of someone who almost killed you. At least her lunatic father had grabbed her mother off of her and she was starting to get some fresh oxygen through her lungs.

            Growing bored with this pathetic and embarrassing scene, Ichigo made her way to her own room. She snuggled in the puffy pink quilt on her bed, and gazed at the picture of Masaya on her dresser. His short, black hair seemed to shift in the wind as he smiled down at her.

            Ichigo felt strange. Masaya wouldn't know about her trip to Mercury. He wouldn't know that she might be the princess of an alien race, or that she had been to a ball on that planet, or that she had…kissed his enemy.

            Then she looked at her neck in the mirror. It looked a little strange to have both her bell choker and her diamond heart necklace on at the same time. Should she take the necklace off if she had to go see Masaya? Her hand reached up, but then fell down beside her again. No, she had promised Kish that she would never forget him. Taking off the necklace would be the first sign of forgetting. She had to show that she still cared about him, even though she was back in her own world now.

            Not knowing what else to do, Ichigo flopped back onto her bed and flipped her miniature television on. She quickly flipped channels, hoping to find a good anime that she could watch to take her mind off her problems.

            Every single channel had the exact same blank screen and message flashing across the bottom- "Tonight's broadcast of (name of program) will not be seen. A very important announcement will begin in five minutes. Tomorrow we'll be back to your regularly scheduled programming." Ichigo grumbled as the message flashed before her several more times. It was probably another one of those political debates, or speeches by the officials of Japan. Just as she was about to zap the TV quiet, a picture appeared on the blank screen.

            The camera focused on a decked-out lady clutching a microphone. "Good evening," her hard voice fell upon her bedroom, chilling her to the bone. Somehow this didn't seem like the usual boring politics. "Tonight, as you may have already heard, we have received authentic evidence in favor of the Separate Species theory, first brought to the surface by the discovery of the ruins in Africa…"

            Ichigo put the remote down. This was new regarding Pyridis, the city where the aliens used to live before they became aliens. She suddenly remembered that she had to go to the city with the others and help defend it from the archaeologists and the invaders from Jupiter… She shook her head. It sounded crazy, but it was really true.

            The reporter blinked and stared straight ahead, as if not even believing what she was reading off the teleprompter. "A stunned scientific community today announced to the world- "They are here." It has been confirmed that the other species very close to our own that was formerly believed to have become extinct in an unknown incident 3 million years ago, is indeed still among us…"

            A vivid photograph now filled the screen, obviously taken by a professional photographer. Ichigo gasped. Tart had invaded her television, floating in the sky, the lowering sun blazing behind him. Despite the amount of sunlight, his features were clear and pronounced, right down to the glaring slit pupils. His face was bright red, but Ichigo doubted that it was from having his picture taken.

            "Citizens in a crowded street of Tokyo around 6:00 today experienced this bizarre spectacle. In the middle of a show by the city's local street performer, monkey girl…" The reporter's face twitched a bit, probably wondering if she was reading right. "…this mysterious creature appeared, interrupting the performance by jumping on a…soccer ball…"

            Now the reporter was smiling, goofily, pretty sure that someone was playing some horrible joke on her. "This is a live broadcast! Who wrote this? It's not funny, people are watching us!"

            There came the sounds of stumbling and chairs scraping. A man's voice could faintly be heard in the background.

            The reporter shook her head and focused back on the camera. "Uh…please excuse this misunderstanding…"

            The screen became static for a moment, as the news agency rearranged itself. When the broadcast came back on again, a different reporter, this time with black hair and a blue business suit, had taken the seat.

            "As we were reporting, before the interruption, a strange creature was confirmed to have been seen on the side of a Tokyo street earlier this evening. Witnesses all saw the same- that this creature slipped on a soccer ball, and then began floating, holding himself in the sky without the aid of cables."

            Ichigo stared in confusion. The aliens had been taking special measures to keep out of public eye, so why had Tart been spotted on the street, and why had he been trying to jump on a soccer ball? She half-listened as a panicked lady holding about twenty shopping bags described how Tart had jumped out of nowhere and tried to join the show.

            "I don't think it was one of those other species people, because it was speaking Japanese, but how could someone just fly up like that?" More witnesses were interviewed, each adding different details to the story.

            "Some believe that these other people have lived in a secret spot on this planet for millions of years. Although we have no idea why they are beginning to surface now. We advise you that as far as we know, these creatures are not dangerous. This has been the only confirmed sighting, and none we have experienced so far have seemed to want to harm us. We hope to successfully capture an individual of this species for scientific study, to match DNA and confirm that this is the same species thought to be extinct, from the ruins of Africa…"

            Ichigo's ears picked up the sounds of footsteps approaching her room. She quickly clicked the TV off mere seconds before her mother appeared in the wooden doorway.

            "Ichigo, the new studio wants us to come tomorrow morning for an interview!" she called, happily. "Ichigo?" When her daughter didn't respond, Sakura opened her eyes to find a strangely determined expression on her usually cheerful face.

            "That can wait, Mom," she spoke up. "I need to go to Africa."

            You could practically see the question marks in Sakura Momomiya's eyes. "Africa?" she asked in surprise. "Why would you want to go there? All the bugs, and the heat, and those Africans with their body paint and bizarre tribal rituals…"

            "Mom, that's not what I'm talking about."

            Sakura's face contorted in worry. "Ichigo, are you okay?" She sat on the bed beside her in concern. "Did something happen all that time you were gone? You can tell me, I promise."

            Ichigo shook her head. "I have to help my friends. We're all going to Africa. I have to go with them."

            "Why Africa?" Sakura wondered. "None of your friends are from Africa."

            Ichigo didn't know how to explain. She looked down at the carpet and began fiddling with the necklace without even realizing that she was.

            "Oh!" her mother cried, noticing it for the first time. "That's a pretty necklace. Did that nice Masaya get it for you?"

            "Uh…um…yeah." One thing was for sure she couldn't let them know what happened. She remembered her father's reaction when he had seen her with Masaya. She shivered, thinking about what he would do if he knew about Kish. He'd have been dead a long time ago.

            "You're not going to Africa unless I meet and talk to all of the parents of these friends and they are all agreed to keep you safe."

            "Well, that would be kind of difficult," Ichigo said. "You can talk to Pudding's parents, but I don't know the other ones, I've never seen the Glimogs', and the Xenimis' are dead…"

            "The who?"

            "Never mind."

            Sakura reached over and brushed her daughter's reddish pink hair. "I'm only worried about you, Ichigo. I don't know what you've been exposed to out there, and it's changed you somehow…" She sighed, smiled, and twirled Ichigo's hair, lovingly. "But don't worry, whatever happens to you, I will always be your mother and I will always love you."

            Ichigo grinned, and this time voluntarily hugged her mother. "I love you too, Mom," she said. "It's great to be back."

---

            It was over, wasn't it? Tart glanced out of a window with thin wooden pieces holding the glass in place. Just outside, the sun was beginning to rise, a beautiful reddish-orange and blue backdrop.

            He stretched, and looked around. Pudding and her siblings were still sleeping, the small bodies curled together on the table. This was such an interesting experience, even though he dreaded the moment when those monsters would flicker to life. Kish had always told him about things like this, but they were just fantasy stories, because he had never seen the streets, the poor and destitute, the children huddled together for warmth in the cold gutters of Mercuritopolis…and Tokyo. This lump of cushions and blankets was very uncomfortable to him, but the Fongs were sleeping on just the table, with no blankets covering their bodies, sacrificing their comfort to the "house sprite" in return for good fortune. Of course, Pudding knew better, but didn't feel like continuing to argue with them. Tart had hated it when Kish used to call him a fussy, bratty prince, but now he realized why.

            He began to sink back into the cushion-bed. Maybe he could catch a few more Z's before the others woke up. Maybe, by some miracle, he'd be sleeping when they first woke up. Then, the moment his head touched the cushion, it popped straight up again.

            The stone of the wall in front of him unexpectedly broke in two, collapsing inwards. Tart scrambled out of the bundle of cushions just before a long, heavy piece of the wall came crashing down on it.

            Pudding was awake now, jumping up on the table, taking a fighting stance. She stood ready to transform the moment anyone tried to hurt them.

            Little blond heads were popping up around her. The small children gripped each other in fear. "Pudding, what's going on?"

            "Don't worry," Pudding assured them. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you." She stared at the hole in the wall. "How dare you break into our house! What do you want from us?"

            "Don't worry, Miss Monkey-girl," a male voice replied. Five men stepped into the temple, dressed in uniforms. "Consider it your contribution to the preservation of humankind."

            "Huh?" Pudding said. "How will destroying my house help humans?"

            "Relax, Miss Monkey-girl," the officer said. "This doesn't concern you." He turned his head, looking upon Tart with contempt. "This is what we're after."

            "What?" Tart asked. "I haven't done anything! This doesn't make sense."

            "Of course it does," the officer replied. "You're a suspicious character. We don't know who you are…what you are, and in the interest of public safety, we can't have you walking freely among the citizens of Tokyo."

            Tart shrugged. "Why are you arresting me now when I haven't even done anything, and you didn't arrest me when I invaded a concert and tried to kill everyone?"

            Pudding looked shocked. "You shouldn't have told them that!" she cried. "Everyone's memories were erased, remember?"

            The officer now turned to look at Pudding, eyes wide. "So you're its partner in crime!"

            While Tart was arguing with the head officer, another one was sneaking up behind. Without warning, the man bludgeoned him over the head. Tart fell to the ground, unconscious.

            "Tart!!!" Pudding blurted out without thinking. She jumped off the table and hurried up beside him. "Leave him alone!" she yelled. "This time, he's done nothing wrong."

            "This time," the officer repeated. "It attacked a concert and tried to kill the people?"

            "Well, maybe he did, but he had reasons," Pudding answered. "And stop saying it. He's a person, not a thing."

            The officer opened his mouth to say something else, but never got the chance.

            "Whoa!" The interjection traveled through the team waiting outside. Two streaks colored gray and peach burst into Pudding's temple. The forms of Pie and Flan quickly materialized on the floor, grabbing Tart and Pudding. Then, in a flash, they were gone.

            Pudding's siblings trembled in fear. "P-P-Pudding?"

            "What was that?" another officer called from outside.

            "There's more!" the lead officer called, turning around. "Did you get that?"

            A cameraman near the back nodded and gave him a thumps-up. "This is sure to make headline news tonight!"

            "Good work, men!" the lead officer encouraged his assistants. Then, the men turned their identical coats and tromped off through the woods.

            Pudding's dark-haired father stretched and walked into the room from a carved door to the right of where the trembling children were kneeling on the table. "Good morning, Fo…" he stopped short when he noticed the wreck. "…What happened here?!"

---

            Flan and Pie sat in area surrounded by bushes in the local park. Flan kneeled next to Pudding in her Mew Peach form, her pinkish skirt brushing the long grass.

            "Thanks, Peachy," Pudding told her. "I don't know what they're so angry about…"

            "They're scared," Flan told her. "They just don't want to admit it. They think they're helping the world by eliminating what they're afraid of."

            Pie scowled at the surrounding bushes. He hadn't said a word the whole time they had zoomed in to rescue Pudding and Tart.

            At last, Tart's eyes were beginning to blink. He lifted his head and glanced around. "Huh? What happened? Pie? Flan?"

            "Are you okay?" Pudding asked, reaching over to help him.

            Tart stumbled to his knees and held his head. "Oohhhhhhh…" he moaned. "I think my skull is smashed in. Oh, it hurts!"

            "Well, at least you stopped bleeding," Flan said. "We had to grab some towels so we wouldn't be all bloody and suspicious when we were carrying you here."

            "They smacked you over the head with a club-thing," Pudding said. "He did it so fast…I didn't get a chance to stop him."

            "Uugggggggh…" Tart moaned again. "You humans are so weird. I don't get you…" He straightened up and looked over at his three friends. "Well, thanks for rescuing me."

            For no apparent reason, Pie suddenly pushed Tart back down to the ground.

            "Owwwwww!" Tart yelped as his head hit the dirt. "P-Pie??? What was that for?"

            Pie frowned and looked down at him, his features twitching a little. "It's your own fault," he told him, trying to keep his cool. "Nowhere is safe anymore because of you. How can you be so reckless and incompetent as to put all of our lives at risk just because you wanted to have some fun?!" Pie took a deep breath and tried to relax.

            Tart stared, feeling very guilty and a little afraid. He hadn't realized what he had really done, and now recognized the seriousness of the situation. Pie was rarely angry with him, and when he was, it was usually when he had put someone's lives in grave danger. "…I…" Tart was about to say, "I'm sorry", but he wondered if those were the correct words. Nowadays, those words were ones said to try to get out of trouble. That combination was no longer an expression of regret, but a ticket out of the storm.

            Pie looked away for a minute, his forehead creased. "We need to go to Pyridis." His voice had turned cold. "Now. It can't wait any longer."

            Flan gazed at him, worriedly. She reached out to try to comfort him, but he waved his hand to indicate that he didn't want to be disturbed. "They've seen us," he said, speaking of him and Flan. "They'll be coming after us next."

            Flan gave up trying to help and stared at the grass, gravely. Pudding pulled Tart into a hug. There they stayed between the hedges in silence, each dealing with their own internal worlds, and analyzing the one around them.

---

            Ichigo was a bit agitated as she walked to work that day. She had thought she had been finished making up stories. This time, instead of making up stories about her family and her life on this planet, she made up a story about going on an expedition with some friends and being lost in the woods for two weeks.

            "So, how did you feel being a city girl suddenly cast into the harsh world of nature?" the interviewer had asked her.

            "Um…it was kind of like camping!" Ichigo answered, running out of ideas. "Yeah…except a lot more harsh. Yes, nature is harsh…just like you said!"

            The kids at school were clamoring her for her autograph, or to tell them about life in the woods, and she had spent the day avoiding them.

            As she neared the entrance to Café Mew Mew, a picture on the news rack caught her eye. The bold letters on the front page read: Another Species Member Found…With A Mew Mew? Ichigo picked a newspaper up, out of sheer curiosity. Although the picture was a bit fuzzy, she could clearly see Flan on the left side, in Mew Peach form, hoisting Pudding onto her shoulder, and Pie next to her, tightly gripping Tart, who looked unconscious.

            Ichigo wondered what had happened. She hadn't seen any of them since last night. In just twenty-four hours, they had the whole world on edge. Visitors from other countries were beginning to pour in, hoping to glimpse these "Other Species People".

            "At the break of dawn, on this very day, a team of public security officials launched a defensive plan of action, to capture the individual of the "Other Species" seen on last night's news message. Chief (So-and-so) of the Security team led this band of officials into the suspected "monkey-girl's" dwelling, confronting the defiant creature. During the resulting conversation, police have identified the voice of this creature on the audiotape, confessing to the attempted murder of unknown persons "at a concert." To this, the suspected alias, Monkey Girl replied, "You shouldn't have told him that!" These individuals are now considered to be highly dangerous and perhaps with connections to the rest of the Other Species. Once Officer (So-and-so) had succeeded in subduing this unknown wild animal, troops outside…"

            Ichigo's reading was interrupted by a voice just next to her. "Hi, Ichigo," Lettuce kindly spoke up. "I saw you on the news this morning. What have you been doing?"

            "I'm reading the newspaper," Ichigo answered, trying to continue. "…unexpectedly reported unidentifiable light patterns from outside the…" Wait, what did that mean? Ichigo sighed and looked back up at the café.

            Mint scuffled up, once again looking shocked. "You're reading the newspaper?!"

            "Yeah, so?" Ichigo asked. "What's wrong with that? You're breaking my concentration, Mint."

            Mint took a step backwards, trying not to hit the floor.

            Lettuce reached out to catch her if she fell. "Are you okay?"

            "I'm fine," Mint replied. "But something's seriously wrong with Ichigo! Maybe they brainwashed her! Maybe this isn't the real Ichigo, this is just a dummy or something and they're holding her hostage…"

            Ichigo laughed. "You're funny, Mint. I'm right here. This is the real me."

            Mint shook her head, the pieces of dark bluish hair around her face bouncing. "Well, you're really scaring me. First you start defending Kish, and then you read the newspaper, and now you have concentration to break? Next you're going to start liking ghosts or something…"

            "Ghosts aren't so bad."

            "Mint? Mint, can you hear me?" Lettuce called, bending over her body, which had flopped into her arms. She sat her down in one of the café chairs.

            Ichigo sat on the other side of the table, continuing to read. "Um, where was I? Oh, right…"

            "…temple. Our cameramen recorded as these patterns burst into the room, yet disappeared a moment later with the suspects. Slow-motion camera revealed the disturbing image before you. These streaks appear to have been an older specimen of this mystery species and a member of the unknown supergirls' team, a Tokyo Mew Mew, coming to the aid of the younger specimen and the "Monkey Girl". Some now believe that the Mew Mews, who have not been seen since a year ago, defending citizens against wild animals, have risen again, but how are they connected with this other species and why are they helping a suspected murderer? Have the Mew Mews gone bad?"

            There were a few more paragraphs underneath the statement, but Ichigo had read enough. She shoved the newspaper on the tabletop and worriedly glanced around the room. "Where's Pudding?!" she cried.

            "She hasn't shown up yet," Lettuce answered, slowly walking in the room trying not to spill the cup of tea in her hand. Zakuro followed close behind, holding a towel. At last, she managed to place the cup of tea onto the tabletop without losing a drop. "Don't you think you should get dressed, Ichigo, before Ryou comes out and yells at you?"

            "Oh, right!" Ichigo cried, getting up and rushing into the small closet to change.

            As she was hurrying off, a pair of familiar faces stepped into the room. Pudding greeted them energetically, already in her uniform. Her hair was up in a very different hairstyle, a bun in the back of her head, and her face appeared to have makeup on it.

            Flan appeared behind her, wearing her peach-colored uniform and a hat instead of the usual maid's headband, to hide her ears.

            Pudding shook Mint so much, she had to give up playing fainted, but almost fainted again when she saw Pudding with makeup.

            "Wow, I didn't think I'd see you in the café again, Flan," Lettuce said, trying to make friendly conversation.

            "We're incognito," Flan explained. "Well, for a little while."

            Lettuce nodded as Pudding hugged her around the waist. "Ichigo was worried about the two of you. She saw what was in the newspaper…"

            Just then, the customers began streaming in, so Lettuce, Pudding, Mint, Zakuro, and Flan hurried to work like nothing had happened.

---

            Ichigo added the finishing touches to her café uniform, placing the headband over her head and tucking her bell and necklace inside the collar. She cheerfully burst out of the door, ready to join the other girls, but only a step later, a hand reached out, grabbing her collar and quickly pulling her into the corridor that led up to Ryou's room. "Aaaaugh!" she cried in surprise. And when she managed to jerk her head up to see who had grabbed her, she was even more surprised. "Pie?!?!"

            Pie sternly hissed and pressed a finger to her lips. Ichigo remained in that position for several minutes, as he glanced around, making triply sure that there were no hidden cameras or microphones around them.

            A bit confused and frightened, Ichigo crossed her eyes to look at his fingertip, now pressing against her nose. For the first time, she happened to notice that his fingernails were unusually long for a guy. At last, he removed it to let her speak. "Okay, what was that about?" Ichigo spoke up, growing frustrated.

            "Well, I can't just walk up and start talking to you, can I?" Pie said, crossing his arms again.

            Ichigo froze, remembering the article. "Oh, that's right, the government is after you or something…"

            Just then, insane laughter erupted from a corner further in the shadows. Ichigo could see the dim outline of Tart, holding something in his hand.

            "Be quiet!!!" Pie hissed, grabbing his arm. "You want them to find us?"

            "Sorry," Tart told him, not caring about the effectiveness of his words anymore. "But this one is just ridiculous! They called Flan two agents, and they think you might be my father!"

            "Stop fooling around," Pie scolded him. "This is very serious business." He turned back to Ichigo. "I just wanted to inform you that we are returning."

            Ichigo shook her head, defiantly. "What about those ruins? We told the king that we would…"

            "That's what I meant," Pie clarified. "We're returning to Pyridis. Now. It matters not if you tag along or if you remain in your own world, but we need to leave now."

            "Well, then I'm coming," Ichigo insisted, pulling slightly away from them. "I made a promise to your people." Although they could very well be my people, Ichigo thought, but she didn't like to think about the possibility of her being the princess anymore. It made no difference.             

            "I have to warn you, though, things may get ugly," Pie continued. "It would be better for you to just stay here and not get involved…"

            "I want to go," Ichigo persisted. "If I can handle Deep Blue, I can handle a bunch of frantic people."

            Pie exhaled, shortly. "Well, if you must. Go get Flan, we'll be right here."

            Ichigo marched into the buzzing crowd of Café Mew Mew, on a mission. The many wiggling bodies around her passed quickly by. At last, she bumped into Zakuro, carrying an order on a tray.

            She turned around to give her a dirty look, but blinked when she saw Ichigo instead of some roaming customer.

            "Oh, sorry, Zakuro," Ichigo immediately apologized. "Have you seen Flan?"

            Zakuro pointed down towards the kitchen area. "She went that way."

            "Thank you!" Ichigo called, skipping off in that direction. Zakuro grumbled and continued her work.

            Flan bent over the counter, contentedly pouring fruit punch into a tray full of little Dixie cups. It was strange being back, working at the café after all that. After her experiences here, she figured she was a worthless failure too and would never get to see Earth again. She was actually pretty happy to be back on this planet, she only wished the planet was as happy to see her. Flan hummed a little and tipped the pitcher's contents into another cup. Then, a shiver of terror went through her body as a hand suddenly gripped her arm. No! They had seen through her disguise and were coming to capture her! In a rush of adrenaline, Flan whipped around, smacking her unknown attacker with a clenched fist.

            "Oowwwwwwww!" Ichigo cried, gripping her throbbing cheekbone. "Ugh…Fwan? I fink you mwight ev mocked my teef out…"

            Flan's face flushed. "Oh my God, Ichigo! Are you okay? I'm so sorry, I thought you were one of them."

            Ichigo slowly pulled her hand away from her cheek. "Yeah…I think I'm okay now." She flexed her jawbone a bit, thankfully having lost no teeth.

            "So…you're coming with us?" Flan stated with a smile.

            "Yeah…how'd you know that was what I was coming to tell you?"

            "We planned this all out," Flan said. She reached up and adjusted her cap.

            "Ichigo!" a snappy voice called from nearby. The catgirl turned her head to find Mint, sitting at a table, lowering her teacup, pinkie finger out, as always. "You purposely spent extra time getting dressed so that you wouldn't have to come work, didn't you?"

            "Well, you purposely plan your teatime right at the busy hours of the day!" Ichigo retaliated.

            "I don't plan my teatime," Mint said. "It's always been at this hour. If that happens to be the busy time of the day, it's not my fault!"

            Flan felt an argument coming on, so she put a hand on Ichigo's shoulder, trying to get her to forget about this little disagreement. "Well, we've got to get going," she told her. "We need to get Pudding and report back…"

            "Oh, and that's right!" Ichigo continued to tell Mint. "Don't worry, I'm going to Africa, so you won't have to put up with me for much longer."

            Mint was so shocked she nearly dropped her teacup. "Africa? Why are you going to Africa? You just got back!"

            Ichigo tried to think of another insulting comeback, but then she noticed the seriously confused and disappointed look on Mint's face. "I…I'm sorry to be leaving so soon, but I made a promise to the King of Mercury that I would help them protect the ancient city of Pyridis where they used to live…"

            "Huh?" Mint spoke up. "Ichigo, you're not making any sense. I really don't know what's wrong with you."

            "Flan and the others…" Ichigo spoke up, trying to make a very long story short. "Their kind used to live on Earth, in the city of Pyridis in Africa. While I was there, they asked me to help defend it from the archaeologists and the Jupitites. I have to go and help them."

            Mint smiled. "Then I'm going to come too." Ichigo and Flan stared at her for a moment, wondering why. "Why should you have all the fun?" she said, putting her hands on her hips. "How come the rest of us never get to do anything exciting, like go to different planets, or continents?"

            Just then, Pudding, Lettuce, and Zakuro came into their area, obviously heading for the kitchen, but stopping at the sight of their little convention. "What's going on?" Lettuce asked, adjusting her round glasses.

            "We're going to Africa!" Mint called. Customers around them turned and stared, wondering why one of their waitresses was randomly announcing their trip abroad.

            Ichigo had to repeat her brief explanation to Lettuce and Zakuro. "Yea!" Pudding cried. "When are we leaving?"

            "Now." The other Mew Mews were surprisingly compliant and began to follow Ichigo towards the hallway.

            Ryou emerged from the crowd as the team abandoned their jobs and the room fell into chaos. "Hey!" he yelled. "Just where do you think you're going?!" He stepped in front of Ichigo, trying to stop her and the other Mew Mews.

            "We're going to the ruins of Pyridis to save an ancient city," she said, importantly. "And you can't stop us."

            "But…" Ryou desperately reasoned. "…who's going to run the café?!"

            Ichigo grinned and placed Flan's unused headband over his short blond hair. "You are. Have fun." She walked on past, ignoring his various ranting, cursing, and threatening.

            "You're a bit mean to him sometimes," Lettuce commented, worriedly.

            "Oh, he'll forgive me by the time I get back," Ichigo replied. She looked back at the multicolored group behind her, feeling excited. She was ready for another adventure into the unknown, and this time her closest friends would be by her side.