Ren Sato immediately let go of the blue haired beauty that had tackled him. He didn't know what was happening, but he did know that he wasn't in Tokyo Tower, getting the extra cash he needed. He also knew that he was in the company of people he had just threatened and had no idea what their reaction would be. They were all screaming, even he was. One doesn't just pop into a totally different place than one was before and start plunging toward an ocean or a body of water one has never seen before without screaming. Ren screamed until all of a sudden they stopped falling. Whatever they had landed on was soft, warm, and alive!
Umi knew exactly what was happening. She remembered this over-grown eagle distinctly. She knew it for one of Ascot's beasts. And she knew that she would have to speak with him sooner than she thought. What she wasn't prepared for was the tall dark man standing next to the one in green she had just been able to spot. Lantis. He and Ascot were standing on the small overhang where they had first met Clef.
Umi observed that because the three girls had noticed the two men of Cephiro, the three men on the bird with them had diverted their attention to them as well. This was the first time she had realized that Yasuo and Kakeru were there, and the man that had held them up was there too. Now she was really confused. But there was no time to think about it because Hikaru had over come her speechlessness and dismounted from the bird before it had even landed, screaming, "Lantis!" She landed neatly and rushed toward him. He swept her into his arms with a look of amazement on his face. They held each other for what must have seemed like years to them. Then, they very tenderly shared their first kiss.
Umi and Fuu looked at each other with tears in their eyes. They knew how much this moment meant to Hikaru, she had waited seven years to see him again. And then Umi saw Ascot.
"Umi?" he asked softly. The tears that were welling in her eyes overflowed. She had hurt him so badly without even realizing it. She looked away as they fell. He was right in front of her now. He looked down at her and laughed. "Umi!" he cried as he hoisted her up in the air, grinning and laughing.
"Ascot," she smiled in spite of herself. It surprised Umi that he was so happy to see her. He set her down lightly and Kakeru was there in seconds, right beside her. Ascot looked startled then narrowed his eyes. He didn't know who any of the others were and she could see that she was on the defensive. Now was the time for introductions. "Ascot, Lantis," she started. Lantis and Hikaru had unlocked their embrace but were still staring at each other in disbelief. They looked up at the sound of his name. Hikaru understood what Umi was trying to do and she said, "I guess we had a few, um, stowaways."
Umi continued, "This is Kakeru Shidou, Hikaru's brother, Yasuo Watanabe, his friend, and. . . ," she had no idea who the thief was.
"Ren Sato," he supplied, seeing no other way out.
"He's an acquaintance," the woman with blue hair explained, obviously not wanting to tell the two men the entire truth.
The man in the green coat asked jokingly (Ren hoped), "Should we take flight?" The three women nodded assent, and they didn't seem inclined to leave him behind, so he climbed back onto the disturbingly large brown bird and noticed a black, horse-like steed that seemed to have come out of nowhere that the girl with red hair, Hikaru apparently, and the dark man, referred to as Lantis (?), were mounting. He really didn't like this place and he certainly hoped the place and the people in it would not feel mutual. As the bird glided through the air that somehow seemed fresher, sweeter than the air in Tokyo, he looked around at the scenery of this world and felt a yearning to become a part of it. Ren did not like or trust this new feeling about a place he had only been in for five minutes. He decided to be very cautious. One could lose themselves in a world that brings out such raw emotion, he thought as he gazed down at the blue ocean that they very nearly drowned in.
There was a floating mountain in the sky! Amazing! Yasuo looked around him, just in awe of this beautiful world that the girls had apparently been to before. Hikaru certainly seemed to know this Lantis person. And the other two were almost completely at ease. Well, almost completely, "Ummm, where's Clef? I mean he usually meets us," Umi asked, cautiously for some reason.
"Yes," Fuu added, "We usually end up on his great big fish."
The eagle flew higher above the clouds as the man in green, who seemed to be controlling the bird said, "Perhaps we can discuss that when we . . . ," Umi let out a cry and would have fallen off of the bird if Kakeru hadn't caught her.
"Ascot! What's happened to the. . . Oh no. . . ." and at the end of her speechlessness he thought he heard, "It's all my fault."
"Sir Ascot, what has happened to it?" Fuu asked when Umi was firmly seated next to Kakeru again. Yasuo could only assume that they referred to the tall black mass that had three towers, two of which were falling down and all of which were very ominous.
"Maybe we should wait," the green man said.
"Lantis!" Hikaru tugged on his shirt and the dark man smiled in spite of himself. "You can't not tell us!" He sighed with a weak grin and started telling them.
"Clef has . . . well there's no other way to say this. Clef has betrayed us and Cephiro." Fuu hissed in surprise and Hikaru gasped outright. Only Umi did not react to his statement. Kakeru wondered why. Lantis continued, "He is residing in the palace with four of the students of the magic school we founded five years ago, the ambassador from Chizeta, Princess Tatra, and the ambassador from Fahren, Sang Yung as prisoners." Hikaru was shaking her head and mumbling to herself as Fuu asked, "How . . . how could he do something like that. I mean. . . Clef?"
"Clef." The one called Ascot confirmed. Kakeru had no idea what was going on, but as he studied the dilapidated palace he felt as if someone or something was watching them. Kakeru was not a paranoid person, even when someone was actually watching him he rarely detected them. He didn't like this new perception and turned his attention back to what was just about the strangest conversation he had ever heard.
"Clef has always defended Cephiro, trained its mages and protectors, he, well he lives for Cephiro. I just don't understand what could have happened," Hikaru admitted.
"We don't understand either, Hikaru. Either he has joined forces with or is being controlled by some sort of enemy being. One with a power we have never come across before." Lantis said gently. There was a long silence. Every one seemed to be at a loss for words. Kakeru knew he was. He had absolutely no idea what was going on.
Fuu spoke up again, "Umm, if the palace is . . . no longer in use, where are we going?"
"To the Forest of Silence. We use Sierra's fortress now," Ascot replied.
"Who's Sierra?" Hikaru asked. Kakeru wondered why she didn't know. They seemed to know every one else here.
Lantis looked sharply at Ascot and the younger, shorter man seemed to realize he had made a mistake. But before either of them could reply Umi said the first thing she had since they had spotted the palace. "Why are we here? Who summoned us? First, Princess Emeraude, then Hikaru, both of them pillars. If there are no longer any pillars, there should be no more need for Magic Knights!" Her voice had become louder, more intense than the practical whisper she had used in the beginning, but Magic Knights?
There was another long silence which was surprisingly broken by the stranger among them. He gave a short laugh then snorted, "Magic Knights?" Kakeru hid a smile as Hikaru glared at Ren and the men of Cephiro studied him cautiously. Ascot turned his attention back to navigating the bird, but Lantis' gaze scrutinized Ren then turned to Yasuo and finally Kakeru. Kakeru didn't like the way Lantis looked at him but could understand his caution. Kakeru stared right back at him; he could not afford to show weakness to this armor wearing, ridiculously tall warrior. Hikaru obviously loved him, but if he took advantage of her Kakeru would have to challenge him. He needed to assert his equality if not his superiority.
"There it is," Ascot declared. They had been flying above trees for quite sometime and Kakeru could only assume they were part of the 'Forest of Silence'. His logic was confirmed when he spotted the large, brown, stone fortress.
The great bird landed as Hikaru and Lantis dismounted from his steed. Hikaru couldn't contain her excitement. She was going to see all her old friends again. Suddenly at least three small children burst out of the tunnel that led into the fortress from the courtyard. They were screaming something about an Uncle Ascot. Wait a minute, Uncle Ascot! Caldina came waddling out after them and Hikaru exclaimed, "Caldina are these yours!"
Caldina chuckled and drawled, "Why, no Hikaru, these are Mokona's young 'uns."
"I can see you have another one on the way, Miss Caldina," Fuu observed.
"Yessir," she patted her bulging stomach, "me and Lafarga have really been going at it lately."
Every one looked a bit shocked at that declaration but Umi of all people at that moment gave a quick laugh.
"C'mere, c'mere, little missies, how long has it been?" This last statement made Umi shudder a bit, but no one seemed to notice as Caldina crowded the three girls in for a group hug. She broke it off quickly though as she noticed one of the little girls on top of the bird thrusting a rag doll in Kakeru's face as he was trying to get off of it. He was being a sport but she cried, "Impala! Imp! Imp, stop it. Get off that bird." She grabbed hold of the toddler, apologized to Kakeru then said, "All these new faces! How did this happen? No wait introductions first."
Hikaru made them this time, knowing all the names, but still struggling to explain their relationship with Ren. "He, uhh, is a . . . acquaintance of ours, yes. We really don't know why he's here," Hikaru shrugged.
"Or why any of us are here," Fuu added quickly.
"Well, why doesn't every one come into the fortress and we'll discuss it all." As they walked along a dimly lit hallway, Caldina was explaining their circumstances. Umi only caught the last bit, "…and so we were forced from the castle and Sierra opened up this place to us. Of course it's not nearly as dangerous as it used to be thanks to you three. Oh yes, Lafarga and Sierra and Ferio are out scouting for any of Clef's creatures we always catch a few lurking around, they'll take care of 'em. Ah, here we are, Liesse . . . "
"They have come," a girl of about sixteen sat in the middle of a room filled with children. "All of them are here." She was slim and had long, straight black hair and deep green eyes. She wore a simple pale green dress and held a tattered book in her hands as if she had been reading to the children.
Hikaru came forward, "Do you know why we're here?"
"No," she said simply while her eyes glazed as if she was seeing something far away.
Hikaru jumped back, surprised, "You don't?"
"No," the girl said quite calmly in spite of Hikaru's explosion, "I know why they are here." She gestured toward the men.
They all looked about as surprised as Hikaru as she said, "Really?"
The girl, Liesse, appeared baffled as she stated as if it was quite obvious, "Why, they are the Magic Knights."
At this everyone exclaimed, "What?" And Caldina said, "Liesse, hun, you got it all wrong. Hikaru, Umi and Fuu are the Magic Knights. Everyone knows that story 'round here."
All the children spoke words or made noises of agreement. Liesse broke her aura of mystery by saying defensively (like a normal teenager), "Yes, I know Caldina," then returned to her mystique, "They were the Magic Knights, now…now they are. . . they. . . are," she broke it again and her eyes returned to normal, "I can't see any more. I'm sorry." Liesse shed a few tears of guilt as Caldina rushed over.
"It's alright dear, no one expects you to see everything. What you have seen is amazing, especially having never been taught."
Umi and all of those from Tokyo were more than a little confused until a girl who seemed to be a little younger than Liesse explained, "Liesse is a Seer, the last of the very few that had lived before the Destruction and Rebirth. She's never been taught how her gifts work but we're very lucky to have her. She foresaw your arrival so that Ascot and Lantis could intercept you before Clef learned that you were here," she stopped for a moment and smiled, "I'm very glad that you came back." It wasn't until after that statement that Umi realized who the girl was.
"Mira?" Hikaru asked happily. The girl nodded and waded through the sea of children to give Hikaru a fierce hug.