A/N: This is a spoiler to the story, so if you don't want to read it just pass over it, if you can, but I was afraid of getting flames for this. Um…Eagle isn't going to be evil forever. Just wanted you to know so you wouldn't get angry and stop reading or something.

Chapter Nine

In the morning all the people met for breakfast, and it was silent. There was no conversation except a few angry glances and sad turns of heads. Umi sighed heavily when everyone seemed to be finished and set her fork down. This was going to be a long lifetime if everyone kept this up.

"So what is going to happen today?" she asked cheerily.

There was a long awkward silence in which Umi felt very strange, as if she was playing the fool for asking a friendly question.

"Or you don't ask that kind of thing here, never mind."

The way she said it was a conformation of her lost memory, and it pained everyone, but Ascot put on a smile and answered anyway. "We're going to take a tour of the kingdom, see if anything sparks your memory."

"That sounds fun!" Hikaru grinned, and they all laughed. She smiled, glad to be able to get conversation started and make everyone laugh.
*

"So they're going to the palace are they?" She cackled insanely, and a man stepped into her presence. Dirty blond hair brushed past brown eyes, and his eyes glinted in mischief.

"Yes madam, they are," he took a seat next to her when offered, and she stood. Her long nails were painted a deep black as she ran them gently around his face. She walked around his chair once, thinking, and then sat in his lap.

"And then we'll have Cephiro, you and I," she held his face carefully and kissed him.

"Yes," but he was thinking deep inside. 'And then I shall have Hikaru, once and for all.'
*

Lantis was startled awake by a loud noise next door, in the library. Quickly, he put on his sword belt and went to investigate. He walked into the library and found Eagle throwing books from shelves and ransacking the library, hissing insanely.

"Come on, where is it?!"

"Eagle?" with Lantis' words Eagle spun on his heels.

"Lantis," he laughed innocently.

"What are you doing?" Lantis demanded.

"Looking for a book," Eagle answered simply, but Lantis knew there was more hiding here, and he was going to find out what it was.

"Looking for a book doesn't involve destroying the entire library," he took a step forward, when he stopped, Eagle stopped.

"I was simply taking them down, I was going to put them back," Eagle protested.

"Do you realize how long it takes to put them back where they belong? Do you realize how long it will take Clef to put them away again?" Lantis questioned.

"A few seconds," a voice answered and snapped. Suddenly, all the books in the library were once again upon their shelves.

"Guru," Lantis turned and bowed, Eagle followed suit, hesitantly.

"Eagle, what were you looking for?" Clef asked; his eyes were narrowed.

"Um…" Eagle faltered. "A book on the Magic Knights."

"What?" Lantis and Clef almost shouted at the same time.

"Yes," Eagle was in the zone now, "to see if there was anything about them we didn't know, anything we could show them. I got so frustrated; I want them back so much. I got angry when I couldn't find it and began to throw things around. I'm sorry Guru," he bowed and waited for reprimand.

"I understand," Clef smiled, and Lantis let out an inward sigh, but both were still wary. "I know that it can be frustrating at times, but we have to keep going on. As for what you were looking for, I've already tried that. I've compiled a list of places."

"I should have known that you would have been a couple steps ahead of me, Guru," Eagle added and bowed.

"Now if you two could keep it down I'd like to get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us still," he turned and walked out, and Lantis approached Eagle.

"Maybe you have an excuse for now Eagle, but I'm watching you," he whispered, and Eagle laughed.

"Abandoned your best friend for the Princess of Fire? I should be watching you, how quickly your loyalties fly," Eagle taunted, and Lantis glared but didn't turn around to indulge him.
*

"So how did everyone sleep?" Hikaru asked at breakfast the next morning.

"Well enough," Lantis muttered and eyed Eagle suspiciously.

Awkward silence filled the room until Umi asked another, lighter question, "So how are we going to be getting around the kingdom today?"

They all grinned and looked at Ascot who blushed, "We're going to take a few of my friends along with us."

With the end of breakfast they all went outside, leaving Caldina, Lafarga, Tatra, Tartra, Aska, Sanyun, Geo and Zazu behind.

Ascot raised his hands in a spell and summoned eight gorgeous reindeer. "What is this Santa and his team?" Umi laughed at the thought.

"They even fly," Ascot grinned, and Umi, Fuu and Hikaru couldn't help but laugh.

"This Santa Clause of yours, Saint Nicolas, he was from Cephiro," Clef told them. "He was a summoner here, brought a few of his charms to Earth and earned himself the title of Saint."

"What?" they just stared in shock.

"Can we go?" Presea was excited to see Cephiro again. She had missed it so much since she had been gone.

Each mounted a different reindeer, and Ascot clicked his tongue, and they all took off into the air.

They flew over the plains for some time until Ascot called for them to land, which they did. They landed gently and dismounted in a tiny village near a roaring volcano. Ascot unsummoned the creatures, and they all looked at Hikaru who stared in wonder at the volcano, and then her eyes headed toward the small village with a sense of knowing,
affection. She walked forward without anyone going to stop her, only following in a safe distance. She walked around the village and people bowed low to the ground.

"Hikaru-hime, glad to see you safe, Majesty," they all whispered to her.

"Onegai, stand," Hikaru begged, and they did so with no curious expressions. This was their Princess, wasn't it? She was truly home.

"Hikaru-hime!" a little girl ran up to her and hugged her around her waist. "You're finally home Hikaru-hime!"

Her mother came from behind her, and their were tears in her eyes as her daughter pulled her hand and pushed her forward, "Look mama! Hikaru-hime is back!"

"I know, it is a miracle isn't it?" she embraced Hikaru, and visions hit her.

The same little girl from her dream, the woman, a servant friend of hers, lived in the palace. She used to be a right hand lady in Hikaru's life.

{"Hikaru-hime, really, you shouldn't go out there and fight with those men, even if you were a Magic Knight," she instructed her on 'proper' behavior for a Princess.

"I know I know," Hikaru laughed. "They're bigger than me, and fighting them isn't feminine."

This made them both laugh.

"Mama can I learn to fight one day?" the little girl emerged.

"Of course you can," Hikaru answered for her, and grinned at the woman. "By order of the Fire Princess of Cephiro. I'll teach you myself. You'll be able to beat the best of them, well, except for maybe Umi-chan."

The girl grinned and thanked Hikaru profusely.}

Hikaru fell back and looked at the woman, "Arisa? Eriko? Is that really you?" she questioned.

"Yes milady," Arisa bowed.

"I was so scared you were dead!" Hikaru grabbed them both into a tight hug. "I was so scared for you."

Eriko laughed, "You're silly Hikaru-hime; you taught me everything I know. I couldn't let mama get hurt."

"What?" Hikaru whispered and the battle came back to her.{Swords rang fiercely in her head and the whole palace seemed to tremble with their fight.

"Eriko, take this!" Hikaru threw the girl something, a jeweled sword decorated in orange stones and with a blade as strong as rock. The girl put on the belt and drew the sword. She stood in a fighting stance and determination filled her face, a calm fighting stance as Lantis pulled her from the room. "Luck and love be with you!"}

Hikaru fell to her knees, just a little under Eriko's eye level, "You fought your way to safety?"

Eriko nodded proudly, "Yes I did Hikaru-hime, just like you taught me."

"She saved our lives Hikaru-hime; your training saved us," Arisa told Hikaru as she stood.

"I'm glad that I could help," Hikaru answered gently and put a forehead to her head.

"So you remember," Lantis sighed, and Eagle grinned. All of the others seemed to sigh.

"Slowly," Hikaru took on a more regal tone. "Slowly, I remember. I remember the war and the times at the palace. I remember fights with Eagle and Lantis," everything came back to her. Slowly, the memories found their spots in her brain. Slowly, everything else was erased.

{"Umi-chan, Fuu-chan hurry up!" she called down to them.

"Come on Hikaru give us a break!" Umi pleaded.

"We're tired!" Fuu added.

"Tired?" Hikaru cocked her head.

"That's right," Umi muttered dryly as she climbed another rock and stopped on a ledge to catch her breath, "you don't know what tired is."

Hikaru laughed and climbed down to them, "You guys!"}

"And Umi-chan and Fuu-chan!" Hikaru ran up to them and hugged them. "We're okay now; we're all okay."

Umi and Fuu looked distressed because they were the only ones left.

"Hikaru-hime, the time has come for you to once again don your armor and fight in the name of Cephiro," Clef raised his staff and a red light shot from the staff, and Hikaru was pulled into the air. Her skirt was replaced with a deep red one and her shirt was covered with white armor, jeweled in rubies. There were white gloves on her hands,
one held a huge ruby. She gasped when she touched the ground, and from the gem jumped a great, flaming, wolf spirit.

"Rayearth!" Hikaru shouted and grabbed the neck of the wolf.

"Knight of Fire," the wolf nuzzled close to her, and she shed tears that sizzled on his coat. "It has been a long time."

"I know," she muttered. "I missed you."

"And I missed thou. If thou hast need of me summon me," and he fell back into the gem.

"What?" Umi whispered.

"What was that?" Fuu demanded.

"Fuu-chan, Umi-chan?" Hikaru looked worried. "Why don't you know Rayearth?"

"They have not yet recovered their memories Princess," Lantis bowed to her, and Eagle did the same.

"Lantis, Eagle," she smiled and hugged them both. "You're okay too, but where is Caldina and Lafarga, Tatra, Tartra, Aska…" she couldn't finish her list because Eagle was hushing her.

"Fine fine, they're all fine," he assured her. "Everyone is safe."

"Then all is well in Cephiro!" she laughed and clapped her hands together. "And we're all together again."

"I fear," Eagle looked down. "Not all is well in Cephiro."

"A dark force has overtaken it," Lantis added and tried not to eye Eagle.

"Dark force?" Hikaru's red eyes filled with fear and worry.

"But not to worry," Eagle added cheerily. "All will be well as soon as Umi-hime and Fuu-hime regain their memories and don…"

With a flick of the hand Clef clamped his mouth shut, "What were you thinking? Now that they know of the spell the effect will be ten times more devastating. What you told them already has slowed the process, this will completely stifle it!"

"Gomen, I wasn't thinking," Eagle responded.

"You're right, you weren't," Clef hissed but let it go.

"When they recover their memories then," Eagle corrected his mistake, and Hikaru nodded, understanding what Umi and Fuu did not, could not.

"And this doesn't help at all? Seeing her like this? Seeing Rayearth?" Ascot questioned both Umi and Fuu, but mostly Umi.

They shook their heads. "No, it doesn't spark anything," Umi muttered.

"Something in Cephiro is bound too though," Ascot encouraged. "Let's keep going."

"Maybe Hikaru-hime should take Arisa and Eriko back to the palace, assuming they want to go," Clef hinted. "And I'm sure the people waiting would like to see you again, well see you've recovered what was lost."

"How about it?" Hikaru offered turning back to them. "Do you want to return to the palace with me?"

"Of course Princess," Arisa bowed, and Eriko did the same.

"It's settled then. But, we'll need to take a few of your friends Ascot."

"No problem, I can ride with Umi and Ferio with Fuu. That way you can each have one and Eriko can ride with Arisa," Ascot sorted it out, and they all mounted and flew from the city, both in different directions.
*

Ferio knew that Ascot was trying to get him and Fuu back together almost as hard as he was trying to get Umi back to where they were. But now, being this close to her but not being able to touch her but for a tight grip so they wouldn't fall…it was torture to him.

"Ferio?" Fuu asked gently, and he turned and looked at her quickly.

"Yes?"

"Is something bothering you?" she inquired innocently.

He nodded, "But you don't have to worry about it."

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Whatever for?" Ferio looked back at her, and then looked around again, toward the forest where they were headed.

"I feel as if I'm not the person you wish for me to be."

"Don't say that," Ferio said softly. "You're exactly the person I wish you to be."

They were silent the rest of the way.

They landed in the forest and dismounted. Ascot unsummoned the animals, and they headed inside, slowly, warily, because this was a dangerous place.
*

Hikaru walked into the palace and was greeted by all her old friends which she hugged and thanked. Everyone shed tears for awhile, and then they got to the issue on hand.

"I'll need to train again," Hikaru said softly. "To recover my skills." They nodded, "Come with us to the training courts, if you dare," Eagle teased, and she grinned and took the challenge.

"Let's do that then," she grinned, and everyone walked to the training courts to see the fight. It used to be something they always did, watch the Princess' fight with people. They would take anyone on, Hikaru was one of the best, the only one that could out battle her was Umi.

Everyone was excited to see her battle with Eagle and Lantis.