Mission Time

"Hello," the young Neutralizer said, "My name is Amber. I've just moved here, and was separated from my parents." She wasn't yet ready to tell Teefa's mom about her father, what if she had the wrong girl? And what if she was the right woman, yet she was mad at Kagetsu for leaving her for another? There were just too many things that could go wrong, so Amber kept her mouth shut. Hopefully, she could get help.

"This snow, it isn't natural. I have a feeling the Mihan Demons have something to do with it," stated a small voice from behind Teefa's mother. Up on her shoulder, Amber noticed a small ferret with a black collar that had a red jewel imbedded in its center. This made Amber surer that she DID have the right woman since her father had said Tiara's Partner was a small ferret with a large intellect and sharp tongue.

The woman replied, "You worry too much Japolo. The Mihan can't think their way out of a wet paper bag without their general. They're nothing but wild beasts. And even if it is their doing, we can always take them out later." She turned back to Amber. "Sorry about that, my Partner doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. My name is Tiara, Teefa and Donnie's mother. This is Japolo, my second Partner. My first is downstairs, waiting for me to return so we can start the meeting. Our unit needs to know how to deal with the Mihan in the middle of a blizzard. They can hide better in these conditions. If you want, I'll have my friend Lena bring you some nice chicken noodle soup, that should help you feel better fast." Then, Tiara turned back towards the stairs, and headed to the meeting she was having with Lena, Leon, and Graham.

"I don't get it," began Amber, "A person can't have two Partners. The only reason Teefa said she does is a strange occurrence during her ceremony. So why does your mother also have two? If she had encountered the same problem as her daughter, the Elder would have more knowledge as to what it was."

"Mom is what they call a Divine Sorceress. Long ago, a grief stricken woman learned how to walk in the Land of the Dead to revive her Partner. Since she had a second already, she gained new powers as well. The three could merge together and form an extremely powerful creature, and her strength had risen. It became a position in order to deal with the Mihan. Mother was to be the successor to Lady Sienna, she had to retrieve her first Partner who died, but then she killed the general. So she can stay a mortal, and still have her Partner back. Lucky thing too, because he's Donnie's and my father," Teefa informed the girl.

Alan, who had just awaken, stated, "I have heard of such rumors, how a woman can retrieve her dead Partner. But I thought they were all rumors. My Lady is a potent psychic and manipulator of defensive barriers. She has little abilities in front line combat. Sophie doesn't even have a Shadow to transform into."

Teefa looked at the rugged beast, and could see his injuries were beginning to heal. "So, Amber, how about the Youth Alliance helps you look for your parents? If you want, you can even try your hand at one of the Orbs. Master it, and become a member of our team. It might be handy to have a Neutralizer on hand, in case things get hairy. You can always try to steal the magic from our enemies, leaving them open to one of Donnie's special skills." She gestured to her brother, as if telling him to show the lady right away.

"Ok Teefa," Donnie softly said, "But I hope I don't scare her." He then proceeded to turn his right arm into fleshy ropes; just like his father, Graham. They tangled around one of the poles in the back of the room that he used for target practice. Since his magic often went out of control, or refused to activate, he had to rely on his physical talents. He found out he had his father's strange deformity at the age of five, when Teefa asked him if he would help her reach her doll. She had wanted to simply lift him up on top of her shoulders, being a strong girl and all, so he could reach it, but this happened instead. Initially, the boy had been afraid of what he had done, but his father had informed him of how special the talent of his really was.

"That's so cool! You can really attack like that? Wow, with such power, I wouldn't think you would need magic to get by. So even if you have troubles all your life with your spells, I know you can make something of yourself with that arm," Amber exclaimed. She'd never seen something like that in her life.

Donnie was amazed, he was afraid she'd shy away. The only people who knew about this skill were his parents, Teefa, Rooks, Lufia, Max, Sky, and Lufia's parents. Such a deformity could very well make people fear him, and a timid boy like Donnie didn't want others to be afraid. His own cowardice and shyness made it hard to make friends as it was, so imagine him now having to deal with a strange physical ability that caused a deformity in his arm? So, he never told another soul about what he could accomplish.

Amber then told Teefa, "Count me in! I'm not a fully trained Neutralizer, and I'm not even sure you can Neutralize those beasts, but I'll do my best. Maybe, if I master an Orb, I can help you all out in combat too. And I know we can find my parents, we just have to work together and believe in our own abilities."

. . .

Which was how four Guardian World Natives, two Summoned Partners who looked human, a Partner who was a panther, and an enigma who appeared to be a Partner all ended up on putting on their warmest clothing—well Alan and Sky didn't need any, and Amber had to borrow a coat of Teefa's—and heading back out into the blizzard. The goal: To locate Amber's parents, and reunite their family.

Amber was holding the Water Orb, trying to get the feel of it. If they had to go into battle, Teefa had said that she'd teach the girl. Lufia muttered that she wished Teefa wouldn't act like a queen, but didn't say it out loud. After all, they were best friends, and Teefa was the better planner of the two. A pyro like Lufia tended to rush right in and use all her might. She wouldn't make half as good a teacher for Amber, so she just left it at that. Now, all that remained was to run into some Mihan Demons. Then they could begin.

As luck would have it, a small band of the Ryukami showed up right at that moment. Teefa walked out towards the front, holding up the Lightning Orb. "Feel the chant in your heart Amber, then you can transform the Orb into its true form. It will go something like this…Energy of Lightning and Sacred Orb! Fuse to become one. Grant me your power, your energy, to aid in my battle. Inazuma!" With that, the orb began to glow. It suddenly began to grow longer and thinner, until it was a cylinder. Then, it grew longer still, finally stopping when it was nearly as tall as Teefa herself. She held the staff in her hand, with the yellow orb on top.

- - - -

Teefa's Last Words…

The next few chapters should introduce the characters' attacks and such. Like Teefa's Orb Transformation. Just so you know, all of the names of the attacks mean something in Japanese cuz I'm too lazy to think of made up fantasy words to use instead. But they always have something to do with the attack.

Inazuma: Lightning