Whenever I Call You Friend

by mizamiko

What if Eagle woke up? What if Hikaru has grown up? What if...

10. Whenever 6

Title: Whenever I Call You Friend
Anime: Magic Knight Rayearth by CLAMP
Author: mizamiko
Rating of Chapter: PG

Whenever I call you Friend: Chapter 6

****Fuu****

I looked back at the building that I knew held my future, the future that I hoped to have-- the CLAMP Campus. The place where all talented and intelligent young men and women were asked to study; it was where I hoped to study.

I was quite surprised when I received the letter, actually. I knew my sister really deserved to be in CLAMP. I, on the other hand... I was just an archer. Given that my aim had improved significantly after the first time I went to Cephiro, (where else could one practice hitting a moving target with a mind all its own) it was still not enough reason for them to ask me to apply.

It has been three earth years, four almost five Cephiran years, since the time Hikaru renamed Cephiro, though to me it will always be Cephiro. Though to Cephirans seventeen was an acceptable handfasting(1) age, many girls were handfasted at sixteen or fifteen, I felt I was not ready to tie the knot yet. Ferio and I had spoken of it many a time, and he had finally relented, after months of convincing, not to hold the handfasting yet.

There were a lot of differences between our outlook in life, but I love him. And he loves me. He wanted us to be married and have a family. I would want for nothing more. First, he was a relative of the last Hashira, his station was secure. Second, I was a Magic Knight, I had rank in Cephiran society. I could practically ask for anything. But...

He wanted me to stay in Cephiro.

I on the other hand wanted to go to college. Finish my education... and find a stable job. No matter how beautiful Cephiro was, I was still a Tokyo girl at heart. I loved to see the suits on the modern young men and women, the kimono on the older people, and the latest fad of the teens. If I were to marry Ferio now, I would lose everything. True, I'd still be able to go back home, but I knew I would regret not achieving the dream that I have so long held dear.

CLAMP Campus was the key to my dreams. A university that had the best education, feeding directly to the Imonoyama Conglomerate Engineering department? it was perfect. Now if I could only convince Ferio of that...

****Eagle****

8...

I lifted my leg and made to do a turning side kick, but instead of extending it out behind me I jumped and delivered a swift a jumping turning roundhouse. I went back to ready position and continued my count.

9...

10...

*Stupid!* I thought angrily, directing all my frustration to the kickpad floating before me. Right then and there I knew I hated myself, my job, and my inability to do anything about the situation.

11...

Helpless... I was utterly helpless to help the people I care for in the other worlds. I knew if I didn't stop "It" here in Autozam, Cephiro-- by extension of my friendship with Hikaru, the present Hashira, Guru Clef, the Madoushi, Lantis, the Kailu, Chizeta-- by extension to my friendship and Geo's relationship with the princesses, and Fahren-- through my friendship with Asuka, will be next. Not because it would strike them next but because they would inevitably try to help me and my people. And they were ill equipped to handle what needs to be done. They were the last persons I would involve in this underground war that we had.

12...

It was frustrating to know that you were merely human and the world you lived in was not magical. No amount of wishing would make everything better. It was more frustrating to be so powerless compared to everyone else.

13...

True, I could see more than anyone else could. But that was about it. I could hone it to the point where I could use the Threads of Power to my will but... I will be forever dependent on its availability.

Unlike Zazu.

Zazu was totally another matter. He was not in anyway dependent on the Threads to use his powers. The family called it a wild gene in us. Everyone had some of this type of power, the strongest I had seen so far was in Presea and Aska. But in my family, it came out strong only once in a while. This generation Zazu had it. The ability to shape one object into another. Transfiguration. A Blacksmith.

14...

Even Geo had a more practical ability than I. Low level, true, but the ability to move things by a mere thought, one that came so easily that he need not form the threads but simply commanded them to do the act, was more usefull than most other abilities. It was funny. By Autozam standards it was low level. But to tell the truth the high level abilities were worthless outside of the Autozam machines.

15...

I looked at my chrono and winced. I was running late. I doubted that I would be able to finish everything before I had to leave for my brother?s flat.

"Stupid gravitational shift!" I grumbled. If it weren't for the gravitational difference I wouldn't even bother with the training but as it was, I was overshooting and was putting too much force into everything. Cephiro had that rotten effect, being a heavier planet.

Maybe, just maybe I would survive the night without getting into trouble.

Maybe.

*Yeah right!*

****Guru Clef****

He stood like a statue in the middle of the throne room, hands out-stretched, balancing his staff like it weighed nothing more than a feather. Soft chanting could be heard as the Master Yil wove the intricate spell around him.

Guru Clef knew that what he had in mind was very dangerous. Anything could happen. But already he knew this, and that the results could outweigh the danger.

Days spent reading up on the old texts had been worth it. There was a spell that could be cast to see the answers, answers to whatever question that may lie in the caster's heart. But they all came with a warning. The future was not set and each choice made along its path changes the outcome in one way or another. Whatever the caster sees is not what would exactly be what will happen but what may happen. What the caster will see is what would happen if everything were left to its present state, which was rarely the case. It was a mere shadow of what was to become.

A small trickle of perspiration slid down his calm, youthful face. His eyes were slits in deep concentration. The air around him took a life of its own, glowing in places and swirled around him as if driven by a gentle breeze. Slowly the breeze became stronger and the movements of the increasing number of floating lights sped up, as he continued with his chant.

As he slowly ended the spell, he caught the twin fluttering ends of the ribbon attached to his staff. Voicing the last word of command he pointed the head of staff before him and concentrated on his question.

Suddenly, the world around him darkened and an endless horizon stared back at him. Guru Clef stood his ground, knowing this was where the revelations began.

To his left, a form of a tall young woman faded in and in the distance another pair appeared. The young woman stopped in her tracks and turned to the other two. She waited for them to come closer as the world around them became sharper and was suddenly recognizable. They stood in the middle of a street and large chrome buildings surrounded them.

The girl was certainly not Cephiran, Clef noted when she passed by him. The dress that she wore was not a style that he recognize, not in any generation of Cephiran attire. He was not able to see her face, only the shock of braided, waist length, light blond hair.

When the other two forms came to a stop before the woman, Clef gasped, recognizing one of them. He knew the tall, dark haired woman in the black and silver fighting gear. She was certainly Cephiran, even without her armour to give her away.

"Astra..." Clef whispered.

Clef could see them talking and yet he could not hear them. The young woman that Clef knew as Astra threw herself to the other woman's arms and held her close. And even though Astra was the one in armour, he knew, but not knowing how, that the other, even if she was the one in a dress, was more dangerous.

The blond woman pulled the taller Astra close and brought her hand on the dark head to press it to her shoulder. She then turned to the redhead and answered him. She then pulled away from Astra's arms and turned away, about to leave.

Then Clef saw the face and held his breath. He knew that face, even if it was in the wrong body and certainly in the wrong time. He knew those amber eyes, the sad smile, and confident stance that the other held herself in.
Everything then faded out and it was dark again.

An explosion greeted Clef to the next scene. He watched as a tall building covered with a material that he could not name erupt, throwing out the same dark material in every direction. Clef noticed that he could see the scene, standing atop another building. A watcher in this slideshow of the past.

He turned to his right when he noticed a group of individuals standing on rooftops. Closest to him, he saw the blond woman again. She still wore the same dark green dress, except the skirt seemed to have been torn two-thirds of the way off. She looked none the worse for wear.

A light burst from the building and swept to a point near the individuals. All of them took to the air easily, as if flying was as normal as walking. Surrounded by lights of differing colours, the four of them scattered around the building.

The place where they once stood exploded and all that was left of the buildings were flames and rubble. In the dark sky, a beautiful lights show ensued as deadly beams shot forth from the building. Every once in a while a beam would hit a building. At first Clef thought nothing of it, until he saw the two dark figures leaping from building to building like cats at play. Being shot at like toys in a circus stall.

The figures leapt to the roof of the adjacent building, where Clef stood on and stopped there for a moment. Clef recognized the first to be the redhead and tensed when he recognized the other. The dark hair was longer and was held back with a clasp, but it was the same features. Dark blue eyes peeked from under soot black bangs, framing a stern face. Once again Clef had a sinking feeling.

The two men looked up at the same time. From the sky, the blond woman dropped right in front of them and quickly passed the body that she held to the redhead. Belatedly, Clef noted that it was an unconscious Astra that she held. The red haired man hefted her gently, like she was spun glass, and Clef couldn't help but smile. He knew what happened next to the two's lives.

The blond woman was about to leave when the dark haired man stopped her by grabbing her arm. He turned to the red head and shouted something. The other nodded and simply secured Astra in his arms before leaping away from the building. The blonde watched them leave, her expression wistful.

The man then turned to the young woman and met her questioning eyes. He pulled the blonde close and ran gentle fingers down her gently smiling face. Clef could see the concern the other had for the woman and could almost hear the words that he spoke to her. He watched the sweet moment as chaos continued. For a moment the two looked like they were elsewhere, reliving a happy memory. It was broken when a beam struck a nearby building the pair parted a little.

The sudden look of surprise and pain on the man's face shocked Clef. He watched the man crumple to the ground, clutching his abdomen as the young woman stepped away, fisted hand glowing light blue. The blonde knelt before the man and smiled sadly at the other's unconscious form as behind her, two elderly men appeared, landing on from another building. She stood and faced the monstrosity wreaking havoc, gestured at the unconscious man.

Clef watched her join the others in the sky, never once looking back towards the man. He didn't know which was worse, not knowing what was to happen to the woman, or knowing that he knew that the counterpart that he knew would do the same.

**** Eagle****

I took one last look at the mirror and smiled at the reflection. It was me, but at the same time it wasn't.

*Perfect.*

I checked on the blade strapped behind me, hidden beneath my jacket, and the ones on the jacket itself. This was the last time I would be able make sure they were not going to snag.

"You can't believe how tempting you look right now." A voice behind me commented. I looked back and grinned at him. It was not the soft, sweet smile that was always associated with me but something closer to the personality I was trying to project.

Another mask.

"I don't know... Don't you think I'm a bit too fat for this?" I asked, as I looked critically at how the shiney, black cat suit hugged my body. It molded to parts of me that I would prefer not to be reminded of. I was no Bluebird, I looked like a rod, no shape at all. But the suit fit. It was practical. But I'd hate to meet anyone I knew while I was in it.

A pillow hitting my head was the answer I got from him.

"Thanks a lot little brother." He said. I could hear the sarcasm dripping from his voice. He reached for an old, dirty shirt and proceeded to wipe his hand. He looked at his drawing critically then turned back to me. "We happen to pretty much have the same type of body, the same size. If you think you're getting kinda fat..."

"Hawk! You know that's not what I meant." I answered back. Add a little innocence to the face and the smile and I watched my brother melt.

"Anyway, I'm glad you decided to take some time off from your busy schedule. Even if this is kinda like work, I do hope you enjoy yourself in the club." He stood up. "I heard a lot of beautiful, notorious, people go to the 'Lamia'..."

He winked at me slyly and laced the belts on the collar of the jacket. "Don't even think of not getting laid tonight."

"Hawk!" I had no doubt that my face was red. I felt the heat warming my face. Of all the things that he had to tell me! "I'm not going to the Lamia to get laid!"

"Hump! I just said that you not 'think' of not getting laid tonight. There 'is' a big difference."

"I seem to fail to see it." I said, tugging at the laced belts. "I better leave. It's late enough so the club would be filling up by now. I hope my contact comes early..."

"Quit worrying! If he doesn't come, he's missing a chance to see you in action. Half his life really." He slipped a card in one of the inner pocket of the jacket and grinned. "Now you're ready! It's loaded but don't go on a spending spree on me you hear?"

With that, he left me to stare at his retreating back. I shook my head. I was nowhere near figuring out my brother now as I did when I first left Autozam. For one, I had no idea why he gave me a second account card. I had my own fake one. I didn't need the additional credit. It was not as if I was going to bring a girl to a hotel and... I felt my face heat up again as I figured out that it might be why he left me an extra one.

I left his apartment making sure that it was locked properly. Knowing Hawk, I didn't try to look for him anymore. He'd be back soon enough. I took the public transport to the ground level of the complex. I was confident that no one heard our whole conversation. One of the first things I did upon arriving in his home was look for bugs. Amazingly he had none. It was only then that I found out that the PS no longer tailed him, or even bothered with my brother. It was just my luck that they still tried to tail me.

Once on the ground level I left the complex and strapped on an air filter. I walked towards the general direction of the club. It was good that the air in Autozam was slowly being treated back to more tolerable levels. Sooner or later, more likely later, the air would be breathable enough that plants might grow again and rain would not be too acidic to kill it.

The place was not that far away, but normally people took a transport there. I had no intention of leaving that much of a mark of my coming.

There was a good reason why people prefer to use transports to get from their home to wherever. One was because it was a lot quicker. Another was it was a lot less work. I was, oddly enough, suddenly faced with another important reason.

One moment I was walking in a more or less empty street-- little wonder since it was past the usual store hours-- the next moment I was up against a wall with a fist driving up my abdomen. Most people would probably try to block off another blow, or curl up, to protect the already abused part and hide from other blows. Me? I did things a bit differently, or rather, I was trained to.

The moment I felt the fist I made a wild strike upward, where I thought my attacker's face would be. I was rewarded with a grunt and the body pressing against me moving away. I knew I had a few seconds.

The very first rule you learnt in this kind of situation was if you could run, you did. If it were possible, fly if you must! Avoid the confrontation if you could. Only if you had no other option open to you do you fight. Fighting should always be the last option, never the first. This was one of those situations.

I would have run like the wind had my attacker not gotten himself together so fast. I was personally impressed by his quick recovery time. He stood right in the alley entrance. I had a choice. I could charge him and risk any weapons that he might have on him, or take a defensive route. I chose the latter.

I took a step back and made to look like I was backing away from him, when I was really putting myself in a backstance(2), readying myself for the attack. I didn't have to wait long.

My attacker brought his fists in front of him; it was only then that I saw the dark shapes at the back of his hands. I knew I was in trouble the moment I was able to identify them. He confirmed my worst fears when twin blades of energy formed. It was a modified version of my own emergency unit, the Zip(3). This was a higher model, the Jazz. From the way my opponent moved, he knew what he was doing.

Unlike my unit, the Jazz's blades did not come out from the front, but from the sides. It was only then I noticed his face. There was nothing wrong with his face and I didn't know him, but where I struck, something peeked out. I knew the heel of my hand had not landed solidly. This was bad.

My opponent grinned when he saw me looking at the peeled portion of his face. I was dead.

"What? Scared already?"

I gritted my teeth at the taunt. Now, I had no qualms on doing any sort of damage. I was now certain that this was one of 'Its' minions. Who else in the whole of Autozam would send a killer robot after me?

****Umi****

"Magical Mirror Shi...."

I lowered the volume of the television when I heard the knock on my door. It was an odd time for me to be bothered by anyone. It wasn't Fuu, I was sure, since she was out with her sister Kou. Fuu had been invited to go to CLAMP Campus. Just like her sister.

It was almost sunset. I knew Lantis was over at Hikaru's place, meeting with her family, and more importantly, her usually absent father. So it wouldn't be either of them...

At present I didn't want to face anyone. My patience had been worn very thin during the day, not that I had much of it to begin with. It had been a rough day. Practice at the fencing club had been hard; apart from training myself I now had to train my juniors. This of course left little time for my own training.

An encounter with an old suitor had been the crowning glory of the day. The fact that my friends were into the whole thing simply made it worse. There was nothing wrong with the suitor... except for the fact that she was a girl. But that wasn't important, except that I was not interested in her, or girls for that matter, I think... I had nothing against their choice in partners personally. If I had, Lantis would have become a pincushion the moment I found out about him and Eagle. But even then I had several choice words for him.

I opened the door and found my mother smiling at me. I couldn't understand it. My mom was always happy, or it seemed like it. She seemed to enjoy life so much, as if nothing stressful could touch her. She and dad were like newlyweds all the time. I was surprised that I was still an only child.

"Mother?"

"Umi! You have a visitor downstairs." She said with a twinkle in her eyes.

I knew that look and groaned inwardly. My mother was probably in her matchmaking mode. I wondered if everyone who was happily in love tended to be that way. Trying to get everyone matched up with others.

I shook my head and turned to switch off the television. The program was not yet ended but I had grown bored with it. Actually I hated the characters in the show. It was another one of those 'Love conquers all' flicks that had 'magical girls' that had overly cute attacks, and rrreeeaaaalllyy short skirts. But considering the alternative was watching a sumo wrestling match, or that tragic soap where a boy dies along with his dog, and a rerun at that... The magical girls with bouquets flick was my best bet.

"I'll be down in a sec mom." I said as I reached for a ponytail holder on my dresser.

"Alright dear!" She answered. "And Umi, I'm glad you have such a handsome and thoughtful suitor. The flowers he brought were beautiful."

I stared at her retreating form. *MY SUITOR!?!*

Who ever it was down there, he was going to have a piece of my mind. Suitor indeed!

As I marched down stairs, thinking of all the things I could do to whomever, I was surprised to see a person whom I'd never expect to visit my home.

"La... Lantis!?"

****Lantis****

I knew the whole idea was stupid, but I really had no one else to talk to. Hikaru was the Magic Knight closest to me but talking to her about this topic would not be a good idea. She would not be very objective about it. Fuu on the other hand would not be very helpful since she wasn't that close to Eagle, and she was close to Hikaru. Now that left only one last person. Umi.

When Hikaru invited me to meet with her family I had hoped that I was wrong. I was unfortunately right. It was eerie to see her, after so many years of hearing about her from my father. She was as beautiful as they said she was.

Umi was the last person I would normally go to, but there was no one else... She knew Eagle. She knew Hikaru. She cared for the both of them; she was the most convenient person to bother at the moment.

*Or maybe not...* I thought grimly as I watched her float down the stairs with a face that said I was dead meat. I had to admit she was really graceful. She reminded me a lot of Eagle. They both had that grace, a certain way of moving. They both seemed to dance in their steps. I knew Umi danced, I had seen her in the balls back at Cephiro. There was no one there who could match her... almost. Caldina was not to be outdone where dancing was concerned; though the fact that she danced for a living should be considered, plus the fact that she was a Chizetan.

Eagle, on the other hand, as far as I was concerned, should never step foot on a dance floor. The boy had two left feet. He couldn't dance to save himself. People could get hurt on the floor if he was left there. He didn't seem to know how to follow a beat. Even Larfaga was a better dancer; at least he could follow the beat and not trip.

You'd think, for all his grace, dancing would come naturally to him, but no, quite the opposite actually. Odd considering his family was so prominent; you'd think they'd send him to dancing lessons.

The only time ever I saw him not fall flat on his face while dancing was in our handfasting ceremony. But then he was in the circle of my arms most of that time; it would have been difficult to fall flat on the grass or trip. It was amazing really. He didn't step on my feet once the whole time, an achievement.

He called the handfasting a 'binding' and in a way it was. We just had different terms for the same thing. But handfasting was not completely like Autozamian binding or the Earthian's wedding. It never asked the couple to vow to stay together their whole lives. While there was love present from both partners, the two were bound together. No more, no less. I knew what I felt for him, the same way I know my feelings for him now. It has not changed. No. That was wrong. It had changed. Later. I'd think about it later.

"So! What brings you here?" She asked politely, though I could see she was not happy.

I shrugged. I hated small talk. "I was in the area and thought I'd stop by."

I waited for her mother to leave the room before adding. "I know you have no wish to see me. But just this once, I need to talk with you."

She glared at me then lifted a delicate brow. "Let me guess, you want a private audience with me because you want to talk about Hikaru and Eagle, right?"

I just had to admire her. She could put things down in a second. I nod then asked, "Is there anywhere private we can talk?"

"I'd offer my room, but since my mother thinks you?re one of my suitors, it would be quite inappropriate." She answered somewhat bitingly, glaring at me. "There's a sushi bar a short distance from here. If you have the cash, we can get a nice secludedbooth..."

"Why not go to Kozue?" A voice interrupted. I looked up, only to see Umi's mother smiling at her with a knowing smile. "They have great food, and lots of privacy."

I knew that tone of voice. It said 'Matchmaker' in bold letters. I knew I should not have brought that bouquet of flowers. But Hikaru had been insistent on my bringing a gift to Umi's house. She even picked the set from the automated flower shop we passed.

"Mrs. Ryuuzaki-"

"Call me Michiko." She cut in, smiling.

I suppressed a shudder. She seemed to have the wrong idea. I was not courting her daughter. Never! Never in a thousand years! True, she was a beauty but she was not my type. I smiled inwardly. I preferred my beloved's sweet and spicy at the same time and at the same measure. She was a bit too spicy for my taste.

"Mother, I'll be going out with Lantis for dinner." Umi said, relieving me of the responsibility of informing her. ""I think we'll be going to Hinazushi. I'll be back early."

Umi grabbed my arm and dragged me to the door. For such a slight lady, she sure was strong. Much like Eagle...

*Stop that!*

I haven't even started my talk with Umi and already I was thinking of nothing else but him. And that was not what I wanted to talk to Umi about, at least not just that.

*You miss him, bad.* A part of me said. *The fact that he had not contacted anyone, even his brother, bothers you. You loathe the fact that he is way over at Autozam and you are all the way here in Tokyo. Even if your visit was of great importance.*

I shook my head to clear it. Time enough to think about that other problem. Something else took precedence over it. Astra.

Once outside the house Umi dropped my arm then gave me that look again. Had I been anyone else I would have been shivering from its iciness. She really had a way with facial expressions.

"Well that's done it!" She uttered in a very pissed off way. "I'm willing to bet that my mom would tell her best friend about this and sooner or later this will reach everyone in school. My reputation is shot."

I raised a brow at this. "Your reputation is ruined?"

She gave me an exasperated sigh then said; "By this time tomorrow everyone will think that I was dating Mr. Grim."

"Mr. Grim?"

"I meant YOU!"

I knew I had to respond that... insult? But it would take up more time and energy than I intended to use. "Lets just find that store you mentioned."

"I REALLY don't understand IT!" She cut in suddenly. I watched her with amusement though I knew it was not shown on my face. She really was such an emotional child. Quite in touch with her feelings.

"IT is so UNFAIR!"

She really did have a nice wide voice range... and putting it to good use to. I was glad she didn't have any weapons on her... or this would turn ugly.

"WHY ME! WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO GO TO SOMEONE ELSE!"

*Interesting... I didn't know she could move so fast...* I though wryly as she started running around and sort of shouted her demands to the world at large. I could never imagine Eagle doing this antic. The boy was more than a bit too proper when in got to these things.

Now I knew why Eagle saw her as someone fun to be with. I was willing to bet that her temper was getting in the way of her thinking sanely again.

When she finally stopped, [I'd say it took her about some time to collect herself to some semblance of calmness,] we went to find this... "sushi? bar, whatever that was...

****Eagle****

I watched him as his body tensed for a moment, the prelude to the charge. I was not disappointed. The blade sang as it went for my head. This told me that my attacker was confident that I would be an easy target. Either that or the guy was really a good fighter.

I ducked, sidestepped, and leapt out of the way of each strike that he threw at me. I backed away from him slowly when a lull came from the furious attack. I knew this was my chance. His next round of attack was where I was to make my move.

Time started to slow down for me as I forced myself to relax, to wait for the attack. I did not have to wait long. When he took off from his crouch, I met him a step nearer than he had calculated me to be. I went down on one knee and struck out one hand low, to his legs, and one high, to his chest. He flew over me and I gripped his shirt to guide his fall. It was good he had a running start so that he didn't fall on top of me. He landed with a resounding thump.
Knowing how fast his recovery time was; I knew I had to act fast. I could break his arms, which I was more or less sure, were mechanical and contact the others so they could take him in, or I could bring out my blade and end everything then. The latter was the easier course but the less productive. I chose the former.

The fight was quick, was all that I thought afterwards. I was glad I was right when I assessed that his arms were no longer made out of flesh but of metal. It would have been disastrous if he didn't. The moment I had him incapacitated, I slapped on a scrambler-magnet on him and made sure he wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

I didn't wait for the pick up. I had no intention of being late for my 'appointment'. I was sad to say, that presently, my jacket was sporting a few new cuts, nothing too obvious but something that made it look more worn. I just hoped it went well with the image I was trying to project.

I walked double time to my destination and only slowed my pace when I saw the lights from the club. I was glad it wasn't that far from my brother's apartment. Though that was not surprising, as my brother loved the action that places like the Lamia brought. I was not that surprised either when I found my present ensemble in his wardrobe. Yes. After years of being mistaken for twins, we still swapped clothes when we needed to get a particular look for a day or night. This of course added to the confusion.

I nodded to the man standing at the door of Lamia and walked past him and started to enter the club. This brought a lot of yells from the people who were standing in line. The usual crowd of wannabe's and at times diamonds in the rough for the club.

And most likely become its regulars, the clientele that they really catered to, the diamonds. Which was exactly what my brother was.

A hand shot out and grabbed my arm. "You can't go in."

I turned and raised a tinted brow at the one who stopped me. Tinted. It was one of those days when Hawk really got on my case about how I should look. This of course, generally meant goodbye blond locks. I was presently sporting a red hair job, no not pinkish red like Hikaru or the bright red that was 'in style', but a dark red that almost looks brown in poor light and looks like blood under the kind of lights that they had in the Lamia. My brows were treated too. I doubted if they'd associate the dark, grey eyed, young man standing before them to the generally 'sweet' Vision son.

The man who made the decisions on who can go in the club hastily stepped in, when he saw me detained. "Let him through. He's an old timer."

I grinned at his description of me, but they'll never guess how close it was to its mark. The Lamia was created for one purpose and that was to be a gathering place where information can be exchanged in discretion by whomever my family wished. The fact that it became ?the? place to be just added spice to the game.

The interior of the building was dark enough to keep anonymity, noisy enough to deafen and loaded enough with people to be packed. I looked first at the bar, which was where I was to meet my contact that night. It was full but none of them was my contact. I started towards the bar when I felt a hand gripping my wrist.

Dark hair, dark eyes, pale skin... and big like an ox.

Not my type, for sure.

"Well, well... Looky here. "

****Lantis****

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE RELATED!?!"

I winced mentally as the attention of the whole restaurant was drawn to our booth. I knew Umi would be surprised by the news but this was not what I had in mind. I caught her arm and pulled her back to her seat.

"Kindly refrain from shouting it to the whole world." I said dryly. "As entertaining as it may be for you to spread the word, I would like to keep it to as few as people as possible."

She glared at me and whispered harshly "What do you mean you're related?!? You can't be related! She was born here on Earth and you live way out there in Cephiro!"

Angry and all, I kept my temper and gave her my usual monotone. "It's through Astra. Astra or Sori-san, her mother, that we became related."

"But... that can't be true!" she sputtered. "she's a redhead!"

"And?" I returned. "If you remember her brothers are all dark haired. Her mother has black hair. And if you must know, my father was a redhead when he was young, before it turned all white after he came back from his travels."

"Your father traveled?" she asked incredulously.

****Umi****

*His father traveled?* I smirked to myself. So the wanderlust was in the family. But this still did not explain how he could be even remotely related to Hikaru.

"That's not important." He answered back. "What's important is that you know, and believe what I'm about to tell you."

*Like I have a choice!* I thought.

"You do have a choice."

"Hey! Stop doing that! It's rude!" I scowled up at him. "Alright! Tell me and I'll tell you if I even remotely believe you."

"Thank you."

I could almost hear the sarcasm but with this guy you'd never know. I took a piece of my maki and munched as he seemed to compose his thoughts. *Must be quite a story if he needs to think and organize it.* I thought wryly.

****Primera****

"WHERE IS HE!"

I screamed to the empty halls of the castle. Not only had I searched for Lantis for the whole of the day, with no results as can be seen, I had been pushed around, played with, and ignored on several occasions. It was not a good day.

I just could not believe that man. Now that that blond, idiot, of a commander was gone, I had thought I would be able to spend some time with my Lantis. Good quality time.

"But noooooo...." I said to myself. "He has to go disappear to one of those special rooms in the castle. The ones I CAN'T GO IN TO!"

It was bad enough that I was able to see a red string tied to his finger when he came back to Cephiro. But seeing where the other end of the string was tied... I could not believe that he would do such a thing. A foreigner. He chose a foreigner. One tainted with blood, one of the Outcasts. And one that was less than half his age when they held the handfasting ceremony at that.

I seethed as I remembered his chosen. A blonde twit that knew nothing about tradition and proper conduct, that was what he chose. I could not believe it was true, even when I saw the thread that bound them glow brightly as it hung between them. How could he have chosen someone not from Cephiro? First I thought he felt something for that stupid redhead, a more stupid choice I might add. He protected her. He comforted her....

"You don't like my brother much, do you?"

I whirled around and found myself staring right at the blonde twit?s brother. Actually, this one was not so bad. He was a lot like my Lantis. "Have you seen Lantis?"

He smiled and shook his head. "No. Not since he left for Earth with the Magic Knights..."

"WHAT!!!"

He merely shrugged then turned to look out of one of the transparent walls. It was dark outside and one could see the clear night sky. I was about to start to ask him about it when he spoke.

"Primera, what do you think about Cephiro?" He asked, without facing me.

I cocked my head then flew over to his shoulder. He didn't wear any shoulder armour or gear where I could easily land. The smooth, dark cloak that he wore gave me a hard time in landing, but it felt good as a seat.

"Cephiro? What about it?" I asked. "It's home. What else could I say to you?"

"I mean, what about when Cephiro was dying and it was all up to the Pillar System to find an new Princess? What were you thinking when everything was slowly being destroyed?"

I looked at him and wondered at the seriousness of his tone. He had not been here long but he, like his brother, was generally liked, except for Lantis. There seemed to be some tension between Lantis and Bluebird. The fact was it seemed like the feeling was mutual. Both seemed to actively dislike each other.

"When Cephiro was being destroyed... I felt helpless." I answered. "There was not a lot that I could do. I had no real power like those from the Guardians. All I could do was watch."

"I see..."

"I'm not as powerful in magic as Lantis. I'm not as strong in will as Hikaru and that twi- I mean Eagle. All I could do was wait for them to decide the future." I looked out to the darkness. "Do you know how that feels? To be there at the same time not be able to do anything?"

I flew to the front of his face and glared at him. "WELL LET ME TELL YOU!!!"

That was the beginning of one of the longest speech that I have ever given.

****Guru Clef****

Wrapped in darkness, Guru Clef watched as another scene played itself before him. It was Astra and the redhead again. Astra, crying, was kneeling before a marker with several more newly laid ones around it. Both turned when the dark haired man from before approached and Astra ran to his arms. The scene faded again.

A new scene started. Again it was in the middle of a street, but instead of bright chrome buildings, everything was dark. Clef noticed that he was inside a place and not out in the open as was in the last street. Down the main street Clef saw familiar faces, Geo, Zazu, Lantis, and Eagle. The four were standing in front of a sweets shop and Geo was clutching a new bag of goodies. The three were laughing while Lantis looked on calmly, though it was apparent that he was enjoying himself.

Clef noticed a movement over at a dark alleyway, to the side. The lighting in the alley was a too dim to see what was happening but Clef could just make out the struggle between several people. He squinted a little. Everything suddenly became clearer though he had no doubt it was still incredibly shadowed for everyone else.

Clef's eyes went wide as he watched another Eagle make short work of his larger, armed opponents. He looked from one Eagle to another.

Two Eagles.

The first Eagle was walking ahead of the others, talking a mile a minute. The second Eagle had his elbow buried in his opponent's guts. Clef blinked in confusion. With a savage kick, the second Eagle sent his other opponent flying. It was then that the group with the first Eagle passed the alley. By then the alley was quiet and the second Eagle merely stood still and let the other pass, watching them quietly. After they passed the second Eagle straightened his garments, dusted it, then stepped out of the alley. He made to be like he had been running and called to the others. With a smile, the second Eagle joined the group. It was then that Clef noticed the odd look in Lantis' eyes and the almost smile on his face. In fact the whole group seemed to be happy to see the newcomer, utterly unaware of the happenings in the alley just behind them.

The world went dark and lights started to blink in a regular way. Clef turned and watched, fascinated, as Eagle, which one he was not sure, sat in a large contraption, clicking away at the control board before him. This faded too, like the other scenes.

A new scene faded in. Another street scene. Here, Eagle, at least the Eagle that he knew, walked passed him and an odd sense of déjà vu passed over Clef.

Eagle stopped and turned towards his left. It was only then that Clef saw Hikaru and Fuu running towards where he stood. He waited for them to catch up to him. Eagle spoke with both of them then Hikaru threw herself to Eagles arms. He then pulled Hikaru into a gentle hug and pressed his face to her red hair, then kissed the top of her head. Slowly he pulled away from Hikaru and made to leave.

Déjà vu.

Everything then faded-out and then explosions brightened everything around Clef. Again, the sky held multicoloured lights but in addition to that machines were also in the air. Now, instead of a large light destroying the surrounding areas, hundreds of what at first looked like people marched, destroying everything in its path.

Clef did a double take when he saw Lantis and Fuu. The two were beating back all the humanoid destroyers that they encountered. Slowly but surely the two pushed towards the battle zone where the others hovered, fighting. Suddenly, the two then turned to face an alley, as two forms seemed to detach themselves from the shadows.

It was Eagle, carrying an unconscious Hikaru. Eagle seemed to be favoring a leg as he walked towards the two. He gave his precious burden to Lantis and started to leave. As he was walking away Lantis called and he stopped and answered, but didn't turn to face the two. He then started his walk again. Behind him Lantis gave Hikaru to Fuu and started after Eagle.

As Lantis approached Eagle the whole place started to become lighter and Clef heard someone calling his name. Clef suddenly snapped out of the spell and everything faded and became the throne room again.

At first Clef could not understand what was happening. It was only until he noticed the very relieved Pharle Presea standing before him that he understood. Presea had broken the spell. Right at that moment Clef didn't know if he wanted to reassure her or feed her to Fyula.

****Zazu****

I watched in pure surprise at the scene before me. Never in my whole life did I imagine that I would see Eagle dressed like 'that'. And there I thought that I have seen everything. Where everyone in the Lamina wore really smart, stylish, eye-catching clothes, my dear cousin just came in a set of clothes that had almost everyone drooling. Male or female. And not one of the snobbier half of the patrons was pointing out whether what he was wearing was appropriate for their standards.

Though the fact that it was a design at the height of fashion at the moment could be part of the reason. I was sure Eagle had nothing to do with the choice. It was totally Hawk ware. Eagle had not been back long enough to bring his wardrobe up to date.

I was sure that this was not his brother Hawk. Though of the two of them Hawk would be the one that I knew who liked to dress like that and go to clubs, this was undoubtedly Eagle. If this was Hawk, then I was sure that in the same getup he would be in the center of a crowd already, wrapping everyone around his fingers. Eagle can be inconspicuous when he wanted to be. But normally, he was the unknowing center of attraction. He could be so dense at times about such things. You'd think he never looked at mirrors.

I watched the whole club follow the 'red head' as he walked in. Some of them discreetly and other not so discreetly. I think my going on bodyguard duty was in order.

*Eagle you idiot! You have really rotten timing. And here I thought I was going to have a night off.*

****End Installment 6****

Draft December 3, 2000

Revision January 19, 2003

(1) Handfasting- I came got the word out of a wiccan encyclopedia. It is described as a ceremony promising that the two people involved would stay together as long as they loved each other.
(2) A backstance is a position where one foot(the one in front) is facing forward and the other foot(the one at the back) is facing perpendicular. The weight distribution on the legs are 50/50. Done properly it is a very stable position.
(3) This is in reference to that little gadget that was shown in the second season of the anime. The small but useful gadget Eagle used to escape. The one with the laser and bombs.

Disclaimers: All characters belonged to their original creator, CLAMP, I just commandeered some of the characters for a night out into my own demented world.

Note : Thanks to the UAWC or SW for reading through this particularly long version of the sixth installment.