Disclaimer:

Right. So there's this show, see, and it's called Magic Knights Rayearth, right, and I really liked it, until, like, the end, and that was when there was this, like, discrepancy, you know? So I re-wrote the ending, okay, even though it was owned by this group, right, and they were called CLAMP, see….

Prologue:

Yay! It's on to the fourth installment! (Which, by the way, works out to the third chapter, since the first bit was something of an…introduction.)

I don't actually have anything to say, so let's just move on to the good stuff! Hokay!

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Umi struck the ground running, the slight bruise in her shoulder forgotten in the heat of battle.

She's good! Who would have thought that the nicest of the two Chizeta sister would also be the best fighter?" Umi skidded to a halt, allowing no pause as she swiftly leaped forward to deal a crippling blow to Tarta, the elder sister of Tatra, whom Umi had already defeated. Tarta blocked the blow, sending her energy-whip crackling after Umi, who barely dodged in time.

Umi had arrived at the impromptu dueling arena only twenty minutes before, but Tatra had been more than ready to duel. As it turned out, Tatra had been to overconfident, and Umi had defeated her after only a short, but furious, duel. Tatra had taken her defeat surprisingly gracefully, considering her volatile nature, and she had left the arena friends with Umi. But then Tarta had stepped up, and Umi had been dueling hard for almost half-an-hour. She was getting short of breath and her dodges and parries grew slower and less sure, but Tarta seemed as fresh and ready as she had when they had begun the duel.

Another strike with the whip was sent sweeping Umi's way, and again she jumped, barely dodging the searing energy.

I can't go on like this! Umi thought desperately, So long as I'm on the defensive, I have no chance of winning!

Another blow with the whip grazed the water Knight's side, and she skipped away, avoiding further damage. I can't lose! Cephiro depends on me. Hikaru and Fuu depend on me. Everyone depends on me!

She dodged again, the panic on her face spreading. She knew she had to go on the offensive, but the non-stop attacks from Tarta's deadly whip made it impossible to do anything. She leaped high into the air, evading Tarta's attack and summoning her power as swiftly as she could. She poured all her energy into the spell, yelling the words across the distance, determined that she would win.

"Water…DRAGON!"

Her liquid creature rushed at Tarta, but the princess held it off with her magic, pushing against the dragon and winning.

Umi landed, panting heavily, watching as her attack was thwarted. Her eyes widened.

No! I can't believe it! She blocked it!

Tarta recovered from the blast, standing to send her whip spinning towards Umi.

The girl dodged automatically, her mind still wheeling in shock.

It didn't work! My best was not enough! This can't be! This can't be happening!

But it was. Tarta jerked her whip with practiced ease, sending it from its current path back towards the running Magic Knight. Umi leaped aside, still dazed.

I can't lose. I just can't. I can't lose now. Please, I have to win. Let me win. I need something that will let me win.

Tarta flicked her weapon a final time, drawing it back and flinging it toward Umi in a final, fatal blow. Umi watched the gleaming whip near, knowing that she could not move in time, that this was the finish. And as she watched it, time seemed to slow, so that the whip seemed to almost freeze in mid-air, its death-dealing strength delayed for a time. And Umi flew down deep into herself, down into the innermost depths of her heart, down into what was, above all else, herself.

Images, beautiful and impossible, appeared in a never-ending, terrible mantra. Caldina and Lafarga, standing side by side and smiling. Ferio, holding a blushing Fuu. Mokona bouncing on Primera. Clef turning towards her, a smile flashing onto his face. Ascot, looking down at her from his great height, something strange in his eyes and a faint color on his cheeks.

And Hikaru. Flashes of Hikaru from their last journey to Cephiro. Hikaru introducing herself. Hikaru hugging the great fish-bird. Hikaru meeting Presea. Hikaru holding Mokona and smiling.

Then the scenes changed. Now Hikaru was standing against Alycone though she had no hope of winning. Now she was fighting the great creature Ascot had summoned at Presea's house. Now she was attracting the light-creature with her own blood. Now she was standing in front of Zagato within the volcano, protecting Umi and Fuu from his attacks.

A new feeling emerged. Hikaru holding a dying Presea, tears darkening her once-bright eyes. Hikaru crying out as she was carried away from a fatally outnumbered Clef. Hikaru realizing the truth of the Legend of the Magic Knights.

And suddenly Umi felt it. That strength that came from the love that she had for her little sister, Hikaru. The strength that flowed because she cared for others, because she loved them. The strength that gave her that last, great power she needed because she had to protect those she loved.

Around Umi, a glow suddenly sprang up, pulsing blue, and she raised her great sword above her head, once again filled with the same power that Clef had introduced into her.

The whip sped towards Umi, it's power unheeding the sudden change in it's target. But Tarta saw it, and shock made her hesitate one, fatal moment.

Umi looked up, eyes glowing with the same power that resonated through her.

"ICE BLADE!"

Hundreds of razor-sharp icicles sped towards Tarta, and in her surprise the woman from Chizeta could not block them. They struck and shattered her whip without hesitating. They flew swiftly, narrowing in on the woman Umi had been fighting. But suddenly Tarta was gone, and Umi looked around herself wildly to see where her opponent had gone, expecting another attack.

But Tarta landed directly in front of the water Knight, though she made no move to attack. They stood, staring into each other's eyes, Umi's hard and defiant, and Tarta's careful and searching. Then Tarta stepped back, the same genial smile on her face, and she knelt in front of Umi, the two parts of her cracked whip held out before her.

"T-Tarta…"

Tarta looked up at the bewildered Knight. She tilted her head to the side, still grinning amiably.

"I never would have defeated such power. I concede. Chizeta will not invade Cephiro."

Umi's mouth gaped a few times, making her look suspiciously like a grounded fish. Then she smiled.

"Thank you. Both of you." She took the broken whip from Tarta's hand, and put the two shattered pieces back together. Then she handed it back to Tarta, giving the other girl a hand up.

"I know that now we are at least not enemies. But I'd really like to be friends." Tarta nodded happily in agreement with Umi request, and then pulled a protesting Tatra out to stand with her.

"Of course we will be friends. Right, Tatra?"

Tatra humphed and crossed her arms, turning away from the two others. But then Umi placed a gentle hand on Tatra's shoulder, and they looked at each other. Then, suddenly, Tatra broke out in a smile, and Tarta engulfed them all in a breath-stealing hug.

"Oh, I'm so happy we're all friends!"

Tatra gasped and fish-mouthed, and Umi wheezed out,

"That's great, Tarta. But could you please let go? You're suffocating us."

Tarta smiled and let them both go, where they stood for a moment, catching their breath. Immediately Tatra started to yell at Tarta, who took it all with a bemused and pleasant expression. Umi watched them for a moment, smiling softly.

………

please…

Someone … anyone…

HELP ME!

The cry tore through Umi's thoughts, ripping her mind away and pouring into it terrible pain, denial, sorrow, despair, and agony. It held her for a moment, trapping her.

And then suddenly it was gone, as if it had been cut off abruptly. She reeled a bit from the shock, and Tarta was suddenly beside her, holding her up. Tatra was already on her other side, supporting.

"Umi?" she asked, "are you alright? You kinda spaced out there for a second."

Umi placed her hands on either side of her head, shaking it more in an effort to deny the source of the pain than to clear her head.

"Hikaru." she said shakily. Suddenly she turned to Tatra, speaking quickly.

"Can you get me back to the castle? I need to be there. Now."

Tatra nodded confusedly, and opened her mouth to question. Umi intercepted her.

"Not now. I'll explain later. Just hurry. Please, hurry."

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Not long later they were speeding towards the palace created by Clef and those with strong will. Umi stood at the front of the ship, gripping the railing with whitened knuckles.

We must hurry, she thought, we must go faster.

She had no idea what could have caused the sudden outcry from Hikaru, but Umi knew it was something sufficiently terrible. Hikaru had strong shields around her emotions, and rarely could Umi or Fuu break through them to see how their 'little sister' was truly faring. Whatever had just happened to her, Umi knew that Hikaru must have been in hundreds of times more pain than Umi had felt, simply because it would take that much for Hikaru to broadcast her feelings.

She tightened her grip on the rails.

Hurry.

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Fuu sat, sipping the tea with commendable manners. Lady Aska of Fahren had invited her over to the ship for tea and to announce her decision to withdraw from Cephiro. Right now they were sitting in Aska's receiving chambers, with Sang-yun and Chang-an.

Aska looked up from her cup of tea, looking embarrassed and a little scared.

"Fuu-san…" She trailed off, looking towards Sang-yun for encouragement. He whispered, "Go for it, Lady Aska!", and gave her a thumbs-up. She turned back to Fuu, much encouraged.

(A/N – I hate doing these! It so interruptes the mood. But I figured some of you might want to know that I had to give Fuu the japanese suffix because there was simply no other way to make Aska seem sufficiently polite without sounding stupid. For those of you wondering , the suffix '-san' is a term of respect for someone older or higher up than you. In Aska's case, it means 'Miss'.)

"Fuu-san, will you teach me to use a bow and arrow like you do?"

The question was asked very quickly, and Fuu had to sort through it for a moment before realizing what it was the young ruler from Fahren had said. Then she smiled.

"Of course, Your Highness. I would be honored."

Fuu's response prompted a beaming smile from Aska.

"Thank you, thank you, Fuu-san!"

Fuu smiled again, setting down her tea.

"Highness, please call me Fuu."

Aska's smile brightened, and her face seemed to glow from happiness.

"Really? Then you call me Aska! Is that okay, Fuu-sa…Fuu?"

Fuu smiled at the worried tone that suddenly was present in Aska's voice. The little ruler was so worried about how to act around her first real friend that the slightest thing would set her off. Fuu made sure her smile was specially friendly as she answered.

"Yes, I would be honored to call you that."

Aska smiled, and Fuu smiled back, content with their new-found friendship.

HELP ME!

The scream ripped Fuu's mind, the incredible anguish and pain boring through her skull, catching her in its terrible agony.

"Hikaru…"

And then it disappeared, cut off as if it had never been. Fuu gasped and fell forward a bit onto the table, barely missing her cup. Aska rushed over to her.

"Fuu! Fuu, are you alright!"

Fuu took a deep breath, calming herself before responding.

"I-I'm fine. Aska, how quickly can you get this ship to the castle?"

Aska seemed puzzled and looked to Chang-an to respond.

"Very swiftly, my lady."

Fuu nodded, breathing deeply again.

"Good. Do it."

Aska nodded to Chang-an, seemingly quite unaware that she had just been given her first order. The old man hurried off, and Fuu picked up her teacup again, her faintly shaking hands the only sign of what she had just experienced.

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Presea leaned back in her chair with a sigh, a worried frown on her face. Ever since Lantis had left Hikaru with Clef in the council room, the Master Mage had not spoken one word on the girl's condition. Even now, he was bent over her, his magic as a blue ball of energy within his hand, searching out the wounds and repairing them as best he was able. Clef had been using his magic constantly, except when he had gently carried Hikaru to his own chambers, laying her on the bed softly before getting to work.

Presea sighed again. They had been in this room what, four, five hours? She had lost count. After the first half-hour everything had settled into a routine. Clef leaning over the still form of Hikaru, muttering once in a while, then suddenly looking up and requesting certain items. Presea would dash out to get the requested items, run back, hand them to the Mage, and the whole process would start over again. Once, the smith had broken the silence and asked if she should summon the other Magic Knights. Clef had answered with a curt shake of his head. That had been nearly two hours ago. Now Presea estimated that Clef had moved two inches during that time.

A crease wrinkled her fine brow. Normally, there wasn't much that could bother a Master Smith, but Hikaru's condition and Clef's unceasing efforts to heal her were resulting in causing more worry in two hours than Presea had felt in a lifetime. She sighed quietly and rubbed her temples, bone weary. She sat there a moment, then straightened up, realizing that no matter how terrible it was here, things were no better in other parts of the castle.

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She was right.

"Lafarga, it'd take more than just a coupla scratches to take down our little Hikaru. Sit down!"

Caldina's protest went as unnoticed as all her previous ones. Considering the expression on Lafarga's face, she might as well not have spoken. Caldina sighed wearily, much as Presea had just moments before in Clef's chambers, which were located behind them.

'Them' constituted Caldina, Lafarga, Lantis, and three young children who claimed to have heard their 'big sister' cry out in pain, and had come to see what was wrong. Ferio had slipped in earlier, asked briefly for an explanation, and then left, a dangerous look on his face. Caldina had stopped worrying about him. There were bigger things to think about. The children were all sitting together on the opposite side of the small antechamber, playing with a small bag of rocks one of them had brought.

At least someone's having fun, the tired illusionist thought, looking over at the other two occupants of the room. Lafarga was pacing the room, an absorbed and slightly anxious look on his face. The room was far to small for someone of the swordsman's size to pace very well, and he had been steadily getting more agitated as time went on. Now he was crossing the floor in two hasty, lengthened steps. But he was at least moving.

Lantis had come in about an hour ago, a dangerous look on his face. He had burst through the doors commandingly, making it through the length of the chamber in a matter of seconds, and was about to bust open the door to Clef's room before Caldina and Lafarga had stopped him. It had taken them both almost ten minutes to wrestle the magic swordsman to the ground, and another twenty before he had decided that he wouldn't seek everlasting revenge on them both the moment Lafarga let go of his feet and Caldina stopped sitting on him. They had finally let him up, and he sat on the last chair on the room, staring into nothing. He hadn't moved since them. Caldina scrunched up her nose. That infernal stare was almost worse than Lafarga's pacing.

"Lafarga, wouldja please SIT DOWN!"

The blonde man looked up in surprise at Caldina's cry, finally seeming to realize she was there. He slowly walked over to his chair, sitting in it carefully, as if afraid of further offending the seething illusionist. Caldina glared at him a minute, then sat back in her own seat with a huff. Lantis stared into nothing as though no one else in the room existed. Caldina ground her teeth. Things were not looking up.

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"Why? Why do they have to have this idiotic barrier anyway? It's in my way!"

Eagle slammed his fist into the barrier again, his rage building. Then he sighed, relaxing his fist against the blue wall, his anger gone as suddenly as it had come. Agitation, worry, concern all quickly rose up in it's place, and in a moment the Autozam Commander was pacing around his small cell.

Again.

Things had been much like this since Lantis had left an hour ago. He would pace, grow angry, slam the wall, calm down, think for a moment, and then start pacing again. One question had kept on reverberating through his over-tired mind: Why wouldn't Lantis let him go?

Naturally, Eagle knew the answer. He simply didn't like it, and so pretending he had no clue was an easier task than telling the truth.

Because the truth had become painfully clear in the last two hours. Clearer than Eagle had wanted it to.

She was lying in bed, bleeding…

Eagle completed another circuit, Lantis' words echoing through his head. "But why did you go to her room, Lantis?"

I was very…surprised. I suppose I had imagined that she was invincible…

His steps lengthened, trying to work past some of the tension. "You fool. Everyone has a weakness. Everyone except Hikaru…"

I carried her to the Master Mage. He said he could heal her.

He rubbed his hand where he had punched the barrier earlier. "Of course, he can. Clef could do anything. But Autozam has the best medicines anywhere. Why didn't you bring her here? Why didn't you let me see her?"

When I saw her lying on the floor like that…hardly breathing…I almost…I couldn't even….

"Couldn't even what, Lantis? Couldn't breathe? Couldn't think? That's how I felt. Did it feel like your heart was ripped out of your chest and torn, like you were being suffocated by an overwhelming strength? That's how I felt."

No, Eagle. I can't let you see her. I can't let you near-…

"Can't? Or won't? If I become the next Pillar, then everything will be fine. I simply will never see her again. But if she becomes the Pillar…"

Eagle dropped his head into his hands, sinking onto his bed, a strange laugh echoing about the small chamber.

"Oh, Lantis. We might have fallen in love with the Pillar of Cephiro."

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The Pillar of Cephiro…something has happened to the Pillar. She's…she's…in love?!?

Clef gritted his teeth and concentrated. He was over-reaching himself, he knew. But Hikaru, the Magic Knight of Fire and possibly the next Pillar, was dying on his bed. He had to do something.

It's someone close to her. She loves him very much. He has dedicated his life to serving her, and she knows this.

The glow between his hands brightened as he began to work on another of her broken ribs.

The funny thing is…he loves her back. They've been in love since they first saw each other, and neither of them knew it.

A drop of sweat slid down the side of the mage's cheek, his forehead wet with perspiration.

He knew it…when he first told her his name. He fully realized when he began to talk to her, to help her on her path. She always seemed so eager to do the right thing, to become the perfect example for everyone. Always so happy, so ready. He knew he loved her. He knew she loved him…but as a friend…or was it more?

Slowly, grudgingly, the splinters of bone began to pull back together, to recreate themselves into what they were meant to be.

He knew it. But he could never say anything. He was her protector, her guide, her helper in all things. They could never be together. She could never say she loved. Not just him, but anybody. But she did love this world, the world that she saved time and again.

Cautiously the bone began to knit, forming a weak bond that grew stronger as more of Clef's magic poured into it.

But from the love, all that came was sadness, pain, and betrayal. It was never meant to be.

Slowly the last bone fit together slightly, warning that rest and recuperation would be needed before she could be totally healed.

Princess Emeraude, the Pillar of Cephiro, who so loved High Priest Zagato that she died for him. Would that story ever be repeated? Watch the legend, young man, watch the legend.

Clef frowned deeper. The words of the legend poured through his brain, as told by his mother. The last part, about Zagato and his Princess, had been added only recently. Now the legend had come to pass…but as the last words said, who knew if it were over?

Clef shook his head slightly, banishing the words. He didn't, couldn't care about what had happened to Zagato and Emeraude, because now he had others he had to protect, to guide, to help.

He looked into the face of the Magic Knight of Fire.

Would that story ever be repeated?

Her long, unbound red hair, flowing over her shoulders; her face, fine and elfin, engraved on his mind; her eyes, now closed, that had so torn his heart in two when he looked into them. Eyes that could be warm, smiling, laughing, gentle, crying, determined, strong, hurt. Eyes that seemed to stare at him from inside his head.

Watch the legend, young man, watch the legend.

Slowly his head lowered, the glow in his hands fading, an indescribable sadness falling over him.

It's not over. It's not over.

His hands came up to cover his face, tears falling from his eyes. Vaguely he heard Presea saying something, but the only voice he heard was his own.

I've done it. I've repeated the legend. Oh, princess, forgive me.

He collapsed onto the bed, and his cries were muffled in the fine, bloodstained sheets. He ignored Presea as she got up, crying out, trying to reach him.

I've fallen in love with the next Pillar.

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Eagle leaned back in his bed, his face a mask of indifference.

I don't care. She's the enemy. I don't care. She's the enemy.

He had started this mantra but a few moments ago, trying to somehow reason out why no one had told him what had happened to Hikaru. His best response was to lapse back into the apathetic boredom that had so characterized his life before he had met Lantis.

So far, it wasn't working.

She's the enemy. I don't care.

A minute passed.

She's the enemy. I don't care.

Two.

She's the enemy. I don't care.

Five.

She's the enemy-…Curse it, why hasn't Lantis come back?

He stood, resuming his pacing. In the back of his mind, the truth lingered. And, curse it, it wasn't letting him lie to himself.

He was just rounding the corner of his pallet when a crash shook the palace.

Ah, he thought, smiling wryly, the other Magic Knights arrive.

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Aha! Now the other magic knights arrive! They haven't had a lot of screen time to this point, so now might be a good place to bring them in.

Please make allowances for any time or place discrepancies. There aren't any contradictions within the story, but the places and times that everything happens are a little difficult to understand if you're going strictly from the series.

Hehe! A little Eagle, a lotta Eagle…Ah, I love his white-haired goodness! Mmm…

Review! The gophers that dance on your uncle's cabbage will forever bless you! Trust me!

Thanx. Ja, minna!