*So…much…homework. Sorry this was so late, and it's really all I could do to get it up tonight, so it's not edited or anything *sweat drops*. I hope it's not too terrible though! Oh, and I have to give credit to the concept of the Rings of the Test to Robert Jordan, I didn't think of them, only the actual test. His books are amazing, I would recommend them to anyone who loves fantasy.*

Chapter Eight: The Rings of the Test

"So now you bear the scars," he shook his head and laughed cruelly. "So now you see what my life was like for four hundred years while you served punishment. Now you come to me and ask revenge."

"If I will never have her in my arms again I want only to see the blood of those who took her from me," he responded more calmly than he felt.

"What an odd twist of events. Never, I would have never thought that you'd give up your ways, no matter how Cephiro turned on you-"

"I loved her, and she was stolen from me! I served an exile without her for four hundred years only to regain her and have her taken again, only permanently this time! I shall never forgive Cephiro or the Keepers or that damn Dragon that stole her from me!" his words were not his, those cruel words could not be pouring from his mouth, but they were. His whole body was numb to the world around him. Hate was the dominant emotion; he could taste the revenge, fresh in his mouth. He would have it; he would stop at nothing to get it. So this is what it was like for Silvius, he mused and smiled slightly.

"Yes you will do, you will do," he grinned at his new partner.

§§§~~~

The world around her seemed to fade away, but she was aware that she was being tested, somehow strangely aware. Still, when the images began to form she couldn't help but smile innocently and walk around the field filled with wild flowers. Well, if this was the test it wouldn't be so bad.

She grinned and waved at Fuu and Hikaru as they walked up to her, but her smile faded when she realized they were wearing their armor, their swords were drawn and they were soaked in blood.

"Fuu! Hikaru!" she screamed and ran toward them, but before she could reach them there was a figure cloaked in black in front of her.

"They're mine now," it whispered, and the voice was oddly familiar.

"Clef?" she reached out to the figure, not even thinking of the danger.

"Damn the Dragon that lives inside of you!" he shouted and threw back the cloak revealing violent blue eyes. "I'll kill him!"

"Clef!" tears filled her eyes as she realized that Clef was beating Fuu and Hikaru with magic. He whispered words of spells and new places on their bodies began to drip with blood. They swung out helplessly, but there was no way they could stop him. "Clef!" she ran forward but was only thrown back by an invisible wall of magic.

"Akai Inazuma!" Hikaru's attack was so weak that it was merely reflected off of the shield and thrown back at her.

"Iyashi no Kaze!" Fuu's barrier couldn't protect Hikaru from damage, but the flaming arrow was weak, so she managed to stay standing.

"Clef why are you doing this?" Umi screamed, and he shook his head, his blue eyes sad and tender.

"Why are you doing this?" he repeated, and she reached for him, but he threw her back again.

A glowing ring in the distance made her think of the test. She had to go back, she couldn't deal with this. But how was she to live with abandoning her friends? She had to save them, and then she would go back, but the ring was shrinking. She couldn't decide; things were racing through her mind.

'It's a test!'

'These are my friends!'

'It's a test!'

'But this couldn't have come from nowhere!'

'Run!'

She followed this one and headed toward the slowly shrinking rings, diving through it as it vanished behind her.

*

She hit the cold stone and choked on her tears, trying to keep in the contents of her stomach. Clef…

Two strong arms were lifting her up and off of the floor, and she met Veneficus' strange colored eyes, and shook her head, "No, it wasn't real," she whispered and pulled away. As she backed away she headed toward the rings, and had to back away the other way, cornered between Veneficus' outstretched hands and the glowing rings. "No!" she screamed and fell into fits of sobbing again.

"It wasn't real," Veneficus mumbled softly, visions of his test filled his mind. "It was merely a dream, but…you have lived. You will now become the new Keeper of Dreams."

"Clef!" Umi screamed, and it echoed through the castle and fell into the streets. Every Keeper in the city shuddered and felt her pain through wounds of their own.

*

"We have to see her! You can't throw us out! We have to!" Hikaru screamed, and Fuu nodded emphatically.

"The Keeper of Dreams can attend to no human, and you have not passed the tests, so you are not a Keeper. You must leave," the Gate Keeper was telling them angrily as they were escorted from the Village, more like dragged from the Village though.

Hikaru was blatantly facing the other direction and trying to march toward the fading Palace while Fuu would try to seem submissive and then bolt away toward the castle. No matter what they did, they were no match for six Keepers all at the height of their powers.

"We promised we'd be there!" Fuu shouted. "We swore to her!"

"And be there in spirit you shall," the Keeper of Emotions was telling them while trying to keep from crying at the emotions that she felt in the two.

"We swore!" now Hikaru was crying. "Umi-chan!" she screamed, and once again all the Keepers in the city were forced to shudder and revisit old wounds.

*

'It cannot be,' the image was barely visible, seemingly a floating serpent in an ocean of black. His scales flashed blue and silver as he glided through the nothingness. 'Surely it cannot be.'

'It is true Selece,' the gold and green feathers glinted as the powerful beak opened in a wordless call.

'We have seen it for ourselves,' the great Lion appeared from nowhere, wreathed in flame, standing proud and tall, but with sad eyes. They were all connected to one another, and this was a loss for them all.

'A new Knight will have to be summoned,' the Phoenix tried to sound apathetic, but pain shown there.

Selece tried to keep from roaring his fury, but his reply came out in a low growl, 'We will get her back. I will not see her pay this price and then be forced to live a life of solitude. She will die in there!'

'Selece it is against our laws. We cannot go against the Will of Cephiro,' Rayearth tried not to put himself in Selece's place. He didn't want to think of what he would do.

Selece's mind was torn. He was ancient, as old as Cephiro itself, but he had served four centuries of punishment to be reunited with the Magic Knight of Water that had stolen his heart. Seeing her slip through his fingers was a pain he could barely take, 'Umi!' This time, all of Cephiro shuddered.

*

"Where is he?" Fuu swatted her tears angrily.

"He said he'd wait," Hikaru chorused Fuu's actions and glared, adding to the effect of the motion.

"Maybe he couldn't stand it. He knew it would be her. We can't blame him," Fuu tried to push away another onslaught of tears.

"Come on Fuu-chan, we'll figure a way out of this," Hikaru patted Fuu's shoulder affectionately.

"But how? What is there left to do? Another Keeper is being born this very moment, but it may be generations in Cephiro until they're even old enough to come here, let alone be trained. And what if she gets sent to that horrid Floor for some reason? Hikaru-san, she's not even allowed to cry at losing the love of her life!"

"So now you know the punishments of the Keepers," both spun and watched the man slip from the shadows the trees provided.

"Why would Cephiro do this to her? She's already served her punishment for a crime we don't even understand!" Hikaru screamed, enraged, clenching her fists in a weak attempt to hold in tears.

"So Cephiro isn't so perfect as you thought?" his jet black eyes glinted maliciously.

"We never…it always…" Hikaru fumbled, and his smile widened. But she had, despite the Pillar system, despite the wars, Cephiro had grown, and now it was perfect, now it was. Except, there was this one major flaw.

"You see now, your precious Cephiro is darker than you believed. I have what I want now though, or will shortly. Still, preach the punishments of the Keepers. Tell Cephiro of our plight and maybe the strength of their Will will save them," his expressions seemed drawn. "Does being mortal have this effect?"

"What?" Fuu inquired.

"I feel my end, I feel myself growing and moving toward death," he shook his head almost in weariness. "A sad end, but…far away."

"How can you know it's a sad end?" Hikaru inquired with deep sympathy in her flame-ridden eyes.

"No matter how happy the story, whenever the end comes it is sad, because there is no longer anymore left. Don't look troubled Magic Knights; dark thoughts have always suited me, mortal or immortal. I still am the same person, after all," his smile never seemed to touch his eyes.

"What will you do?" Fuu persisted.

"I will wait for Alianore, and then we will find Silvius and try to bring him back to the way of the light. No matter what Guru Clef believes I know Silvius will stop at nothing to see Cephiro brought down around itself. Just because he has yet to gain Umi does not mean he does not still want Selece's blood," his voice still carried the weight of power, even without his title. They both quickly realized the man in front of them was practically bursting with magic.

"Do you have magic?" Hikaru asked bluntly, and he almost smiled.

"You didn't think Veneficus would leave us out here newborn kittens did you?" he shook his head. "No, for as jealous as Veneficus is, he wouldn't abandon a fellow Keeper. Now, may I ask the same question of you? What will you do, Magic Knights?"

Hikaru and Fuu turned and looked at one another, realizing they didn't know what to do, "I guess we have to go back and wait for the Water Knight to be summoned," Fuu's voice was cracked and choked.

"No," Hikaru shook her head. "No, we will…we will go on! We will go with Noctis, and whoever this Alianore is, though I'm not sure Quies will be pleased…" Hikaru looked at him again, cocking her head. "Who exactly is Alianore?"

This time the smile reached his eyes and he shook his head, "The thing is, Keepers have titles all in their name. Noctis is the title of the Keeper of the Night, just as Quies is the title of the Keeper of Dreams. When a new Keeper is raised the name is passed on. My First Name, the one before I entered the Sacred Village, the one I used during my training, is Blade. Quies' is Alianore. Because we are no longer Keepers, we can no longer use the titles. The new Keeper of Dreams will assume that name, that title," quickly his smile faded and the mood became somber. After a while, he broke the silence, "We would welcome you if you truly do wish to stay with us, only I fear that would be a break in custom. You cannot go without a Magic Knight of Water; it has never been done. It would be betrayal to Cephiro, but the choice is yours."

There was barely a moment of pause before Hikaru stepped forward, her voice angry, "Cephiro be damned," as the words left her mouth she could barely believe they were hers. Still, Fuu's clenched fists showed she meant the same, and it was silently agreed upon that they would not be there to greet the new Magic Knight of Cephiro.

*

"It's tugging on me," Clef whispered and closed his eyes as sweat overtook him. "It's…duty…so heavy…"

"Fight it!" he hissed and held back just barely from hitting the Master Mage. The fool couldn't even fight off a simple spell.

"It's…so strong…" sweat poured down his back so his robes clung to him like new skin. He could feel her, the Magic Knight of Water. She was in the tower, near the portal, waiting…simply waiting.

A smile crept upon his lips and he shook his head, why hadn't he thought of it before? "If you summon her, we will get Selece right where we want him. Vulnerable, a new Magic Knight, maybe even before he can be revived to his full strength."

Clef nodded, more to get rid of the pain than to cause any harm, "Yes," he somehow managed a grin almost as ruthless. He raised his arms and began the intricate workings of the Summoning Spell, almost heaving his chest in relief as the pain slipped away.