She found him in the little open walkway where, unknown to either of them, Presea had sat when the magic ball Ascot had thrown for his pet monster, Pagero had entered her body, causing her death later that night.

"Ascot!" she called to get his attention. He was supporting himself on the stone column, holding back tears. "Ascot," she put a hand on his shoulder, then held him, comforting him. She knew how he felt, exactly, and she needed the comfort too. After a few moments he freed himself.

"I had no reason to expect. . ." he started

"Neither did I. But we did, didn't we?"

"She never even understood."

"Yes she did, years later, but she was heart broken. She felt, she still feels so guilty. She never wanted to hurt you."

"But she never loved me either. At least Ferio loved you. But I suppose that would hurt more though, wouldn't it?"

"I don't know. I know what I feel, but I can only imagine what you do. Ascot, we had no reason to expect anything, but we did. We hoped that seven years later they would be waiting for us, and they weren't. They've found happiness, hopefully, and we should be happy for them. I'm trying not to dislike Corsica, and I hope you don't make any assumptions about Kakeru. He's a great guy and. . . . "

"I'm sure he's a good man," he cut her off, "hey, she picked him over me and Clef!"

"Ascot," she said quietly, "Try not to look at it that way."

He turned and gave her a weak smile, "You're right Fuu. I'll try to give him a chance, and I'll try not to think of it that way. But I think it's going to be hard."

"Alright, let's go back. I can smell the food from here." This time he really smiled.

Clef sat on his now black throne and brooded. His latest creatures had yet again been defeated. Not that he had expected them to be victorious, but he had thought his former allies would have suffered at least one or two casualties by now. Caldina, yes she had always been annoying with that stupid Chizetan accent and being entirely too fertile. Why wasn't she dead yet? Why weren't any of them dead yet? As he sat lost in his bitter thoughts his master contacted him, as he usually did through his mind, I have something to show you, Clef. You may be pleased or you may be upset, you may even be both. We shall see though, won't we?

"Yes, Master." And a black sphere appeared before him. It engulfed itself in a surface fog and when the fog disappeared he saw Umi there and she was speaking to a man dressed in clothing of her own world. Clef could tell that they were in Cephiro though. He recognized the room in the fortress as Presea's former study. Umi was there, Umi was in Cephiro! Clef was elated until he heard what they were saying.

"Umi, about Clef, or Ascot even, I don't know, if you love either of them I'm not going to stand in your way," he breathed out heavily and waited for her reply.

She gaped at him, eyes wide with shock, "Kakeru!" she exclaimed, "What is on my finger?" She held up her left hand and the diamond on the simple golden band sparkled in the dim candlelight. "What does this mean?" He looked away. "It means that I love you, that I want to be with you. Yes, Ascot loved me. Yes, I loved Clef before I loved you. Yes, I still love him, but not in the way you seem to think I do. I love him like Hikaru and Fuu and all his other students do. Of course I still have loyalty to him, and of course I feel guilty about what I did to him and what I did to Ascot."

"You didn't do any. . . "

She cut him off, "I love you, and that's all that matters at this moment," she hesitated here, "As long as you love me."

He laughed! "Are you kidding? Of course I love you! If I didn't love you I wouldn't have risked our life together by asking you such a stupid question." He swept her into his arms, lifted her off her feet for a moment, and set her down. She was laughing the whole time. They shared a long and tender kiss, after which she whispered, just loud enough for Clef to hear her. "I love you more than anything, Kakeru. Never leave me."

Clef was furious. He grabbed hold of the black sphere and threw it down hard and fast. It shattered with a great crash as it came in contact with the floor that was now dark marble, stripped of its once regal crimson carpet. She had chosen and promised herself to another man! She had stopped loving him. No, she had never loved him! No, it was this Kakeru. He was some how influencing her, controlling her. Clef decided then and there that he would free his beloved from this interloper's sway if it was the last thing he did.

And Clef's master decided then and there that things couldn't be going any better. Everything was happening according to plan.

Of course Hikaru burst into the study while they were in the middle of their second, and really much more exciting kiss. "There you guys are!" she cried as if she hadn't noticed that they were having a private moment. "I was just going to head down to the armory with Lantis and Sierra. Either of you care to join us?"

Kakeru shrugged, it sounded interesting. But Umi shook her head. When she noticed that Kakeru was about to accept she said, "You go ahead. I just want to get some fresh air. I'll meet you down there a little later. Don't worry, I remember where it is." So Kakeru chuckled appropriately and followed Hikaru and the other two down to the surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly extensive armory, complete with a cannon that probably couldn't be moved up the stairs that brought them there.

Umi sat down at the edge of the pond and gazed at her reflection in the water, darker than usual because of the night. There were no stars, and no moon. She saw her own placid blue eyes, not as wide as they had been when she was fourteen, and she saw her lighter blue hair that framed her face with bangs that were longer and more curled than they had been seven years before. But what she heard she did not want to believe.

"I know what he's done to you, and I want you to know that I am going to find a way to reverse it," she heard him say.

Umi clasped her hands to her ears and whispered, "No! I don't want to dream about you anymore!"

He took hold of her hands gently. She looked up into his eyes. He said, "But we aren't dreaming, Umi. I'm here, you're here. See, I can touch you. I couldn't do that in your dreams." Umi hesitated but quickly came to herself and scrambled away from him. Clef had betrayed Cephiro and she could not trust him as she seemed to so desperately to want to.

"Umi, I know why you're backing away from me, but you have to trust me. I want to help you." As he said these words he seemed to grow, he changed from his child-like form into a much taller grown man. He became more menacing. Even as he said the words "trust me" her eyes widened with fear. All she could do was stand there, as if petrified.

He caught hold of her left hand and exclaimed, "This!" He wrenched the diamond engagement ring off her finger and threw it into the pond as she cried, "Nooooooo!"

Kakeru hefted an extremely well built, well balanced sword. "That's a nice one. Odd that I haven't seen it before." Lantis commented.

Sierra walked over, "Oh, yes. Corsica made that one just a few days ago. Very nice."

"She's still creating weapons in her. . . condition?" Hikaru asked curiously.

"Of course. If you remember, Hikaru, creating puts no strain on the body, just on the will."

Lantis looked up sharply, "Clef is here, I can feel him."

"What?" Sierra breathed.

"By the pond. Kakeru, Umi could be in danger," Lantis warned quickly.

"Wha. . . ," but he trailed off as he realized what Lantis meant. "Then what are we waiting for? Where is it?"

"This way!" Lantis called as he ran to lead the way.

They found her at the pond just like Lantis had said. A tall gray haired, young looking man had a hold of her hand and was flinging something into the pond. She screamed. This caused Kakeru to run even faster. He pulled ahead of Lantis and reached them first. He grabbed her shoulder and cut a gash into the man's arm causing him to release her. He pulled her away from the black robed figure and took a few steps back. He encircled Umi in his other arm protectively as he leveled the sword at Clef.

"You," Clef hissed. "I know what you're doing and you had better understand that I'm going to put a stop to it." By that time Lantis, Sierra, Hikaru, and Lafarga had arrived and formed a semi circle around him with the pond to his back. Clef had nowhere to go.

"Even, if I knew remotely what you were talking about, I wouldn't stoop so low as to make idle threats," Kakeru replied.

"We shall see how idle they are, young boy from another world," he taunted then smiled cruelly and vanished.

"That was not the Clef I remember. One of his minions maybe?" Hikaru suggested.

Lantis narrowed his eyes in thought, "No, I'm sure that was Clef. His aura was darker, but still Clef."

"It was Clef," Umi said detachedly, "He appeared at first in his normal form but he changed before my eyes." She shuddered.

Kakeru turned to her, "Umi, are you okay?"

A single tear escaped from her eyes as she sighed and said, "No, Kakeru, I'm not okay. I'm sorry, but a man that I loved for five years of my life has betrayed everything he stood for and believed in for the seven hundred years of his, has . . . has become that because of me."

"I don't think that's what . . . ," he started.

"It is what happened!"

"How do you know?" He demanded, "What? Is it in those dreams you've been having? Dreams that he's probably been sending you? Don't believe a word he says, it's all lies!"

"He doesn't say anything," she defended. "He just asks questions. And it's there; the truth is all there in my answers." She turned away from him then.

"Umi. . ."

She was crying, "I knew. . . I knew this would be a nightmare! I knew that coming here would be a death sentence on a life we haven't even started yet!" And she turned and ran back to the fortress. Kakeru started after her but Lantis put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head as Hikaru and Fuu chased after her.