Just in case some people didn't read the bottom part of the last chapter, I will repeat it here. So people don't get confused, the next couple of chapters are happening at the same time, just in different places. Thank you & I don't own MKR.

Chapter 18

"Why does my head hurt?" Umi moaned as she opened her eyes. "And why is it so cold?" she shivered, until she realized it was snowing!

Looking around, she noticed all the mountains had snow covering them, like a pure white blanket. The lakes were frozen, but the fish that lived in it were still alive and swimming under the thick barrier of ice which separated them from the real world.

"What the…" she murmured as she stood up. She was cold in her usual clothes & every time she breathed, a white fog was formed, telling her how cold it was.

"If I stop, I'll freeze." So she kept walking, looking for some sort of shelter.

But the weather began to get worse & worse. She shivered worse, praying that this nightmare would end soon. She kept walking, looking for something to keep her warm.

She finally reached a village where she exclaimed with happiness. "Thank God!" She ran, hoping to find someone.

When she reached it, she gasped. The villagers looked as hungry & cold as she was. It seemed their crops were dying & they did not have enough food. Putting her selfish concerns aside, she told them that if they went to the palace, they would be received with happiness & joy. They accepted & she left.

She traveled like this for four hours. She fell to her knees, knowing she would die if she didn't find something to eat. She looked up & noticed a blue barrier in front of her.

"Maybe there's food in there." she said, standing up. She passed through the barrier.

She felt her body being swallowed by cold water, massaging her sore legs and arms, cleaning her head from all the problems that were heaving her head. Her mind was clean like crystal. Her skin, once dirty because of the journey and the lack of water due to the frozen lakes, was also clean and refreshed. She felt brand new. Slowly, this comforting sensation left, and she opened her eyes.

She was in a forest. But it wasn't a normal forest, with its green leaves and brown trunks. The trees and the floor were hard and blue, as if made of sapphire. And it was. There still were birds and squirrels living in the forest, but they were different from Cephiro's. They were of another specie, but in the same family. How odd..' she thought.

She started walking. She did not want to lose time wondering about the beautiful country. Her ears were alert for any odd noise or movement. Her eyes were looking for any strange sign. But there seemed to be none. She was feeling more relaxed and paying less attention for the forest. She started whistling.

Suddenly, from nowhere, a small fox-like monster jumped on Umi. She tried to protect her face with her arms, but the monster was quick and had already made some scratches which were already bleeding. She used all her strength and will to push away the monster.

Breathing hard, she tried to see who had attacked her so surprisingly. To her complete awe, it was a beautiful blue fox-like monster, but with with a mane around its head made of fish fin & it hd a fish tail.It was blue & its skin was smooth like satin, without any fur covering his body, only thin scales..

Umi stared in awe, recalling what Ascot had told her about this monster. Its name was vaporeaon & they were mystic monsters, very rare and difficult to find.

The vaporeon quickly regained its full force and was ready to attack its opponent. It did not think twice to jump again at Umi, claiming for her neck. Umi, now ready for the attack, brought out her sword. Umi was much taller & faster than the vaporeon, so she could win easily. At least, that was what Umi thought in the beginning. She soon found out that she was wrong.

Umi, noticing that it would jump and bite her, quickly jumped to a nearby tree. Vaporeon noticed this movement and blew an icy breath at the spot. Umi dove to another tree, and the previous one was locked inside of a huge block of ice. Umi tried to stab the vaporeon but it easily moved away. When Umi was distracted, vaporeon blew once more his fatal breath. Ice started to form around Umi, who struggled to free himself. Soon, she was also locked inside of an ice block.

Using all her will, she broke out of the ice block. Breathing hard, she attacked with her Water Dragon . The water wave attacked the vaporeon in the form of a dragon, but controlled itself enough not to kill it. The water hit the vaporeon, who dodged it quickly.

Landing on the ground he attacked Umi again. Umi was already prepared and dodged easily. She threw a water ball at half power. Vaporeon tried to calm the waves that were threatening to drown it alive, but to no success. Whining in pain, the water suddenly was off.

Umi had stopped the water. Slowly, Umi approached the wounded monster. Its skin, once beautiful & smooth, was now chafed & bleeding. Umi willed some medicine & used it on the vaporeon. After spreading some special oil on its skin & bandaging it, she sat with the vaporeon under a tree.

Vaporeon was observing every movement Umi gave. It noticed how she carefully applied the oil on its skin, how she carefully bandaged it. Finally understanding that it would not kill her and that she had a pure and good heart, he roared. Umi was caught up in surprise and thought it was going to attack her. But, suddenly, her head started to feel dizzy and heavy. She found himself drowning once more in that cold water, healing her from any wound. The scratches she had on her face disappeared

This time when she woke up she found herself under the sea, but she could breath. She tried to touch her face but she felt something smooth around it. It was an air blister, giving her air. She saw a path leading to a gigantic palace and decided to follow it. She thought that she had already passed the task, because she had already defeated vaporeon, so she was calm. She walked for a few hours.' Wow, walking under the water is really hard.' She thought playfully.

When she was almost there, five male mermaids appeared and blocked her way. They made a circle and Umi found herself in the middle of the circle, with no way to escape. She gulped.

" H…Hello. I am Umi, the Magic Knight of water & I am here to see the realm guardian." She told them.

"We know that. But, to see her, you must defeat the five of us."

"What! But, I have already passed through your task!"

"You have passed by only a part of it. The second and final part is to defeat the five of us"

Umi had to decide. 'Damn!' she thought. She had to see the realm guardian. But, she had to be ready for this battle. It would be tough and she could not afford to lose. She sighed. Finally she was ready.

"Please lend me your power, Selece." She murmured as her Rune God appeared.

"So this is your Rune God? It seems that we are going to win, my friends" said a male mermaid, the captain of the group. The other four mermaids smiled in knowingly and prepared themselves.

"Selece in the most powerful being here and will easily defeat you!" shouted Umi. She was enraged that someone was courage enough to insult her Rune God. It was something that she just could not bear.

The five mermaids started attacking Selece by the sides. As they were five and very quick, Selece would not attack them. He dodge every time he saw a mermaid ready to punch him. The fight continued like this, with Selece dodging all the punches, slaps and blows of energy from them. He wasn't fighting, but he could not stay like that forever. He began to grow tired.

" My friends, let's give him our full power and finish it! " told the captain mermaid.

The five mermaids gathered together and united their forces. An immense ball of energy started to from between their hands, which were stretched out in front of their bodies. He ball of energy was getting bigger and bigger. When it had the size of a house , they freed it. It went directly at Selece's direction. He did not move away, and Umi was afraid that if he received the blast of the ball of energy, it would certainly be his end.

Umi could not believe that they were going to do this. The ball of energy was getting bigger and bigger and soon, they would free it and attack with it at her friend. She gave a quick glance at her Rune God and saw the wiseness in his eyes. Suddenly, she knew that he would not dodge away from the attack. He would receive the full blast and it would be the last time she would see her Rune God again.

"Noooooo!" Umi shouted when she saw the ball of energy flying in the direction of her Rune God. She did not think twice. She swam with all her will and strength in the direction of her Rune God. She would not let her Rune God die. If he was willing to die for her, then she would also die for him.

Umi jumped in front of her friend, wanting to receive the whole blast if this could save her friend from death. But, oddly, nothing came. The air was terribly calm. She opened her eyes. She saw the five mermaids standing in front of her, smiling.

" What happened? Where is the attack?"

"You proved to be worth of seeing the realm guardian so we stopped the attack." Answered the mermaid.

"What? But, what did I do?"

"First, you saved vaporeon from death, when it was your enemy. You proved mercy and pure heart. Now, when you jumped in front of your Rune God to save him, you proved to have courage, friendship and loyalty for your dear ones. That is why you will see her now."

She followed the mermaids, who led her to that immense castle he had seen before. They opened to heavy door and let her enter the room.

The room was all blue, ornate with fine paintings, tables, chairs and plants. Once, she entered, the air blister disappeared. There was air in the palace! She continued to walk when he noticed a big door made of sapphire. When she was approaching it, it suddenly opened by itself. She entered.

It was a magnificent room. It was like all the rooms she had passed but it was much more luxurious and big. There was crystal candlestick on the roof, illuminating the entire room. On the other side of the room, opposite to where Umi was standing, there was a young girl with dark red hair & light blue eyes, sitting on a golden throne, decorated with sapphires, emeralds and rubies.

"So, you wanted to see me? Well, what is your name?" asked the girl in front of her.

" Hum...My name is Umi, the Magic Knight of water. I am from Cephiro."

"I am Chika, you may call me that. So, what do you want? "

"I wish for the jewel of the water." Umi bowed.

Chika nodded, standing up. "You have passed all my challenges, Umi. You deserve this." She created a light like the others & a blue jewel appeared.

Umi did the same thing Hikaru did. She glowed as well, but her armor was different.

She wore a royal blue dress with a divided skirt that reached hovered the ground. Underneath, she wore a short pleated skirt and around her small waist was a wide leather belt ringed with rectangular blue crystals. Thin silver rings held her blue cloak fastened to the edge of her breastplate. She wore knee-high boots with silver kneecaps, each sporting a blue oval-shaped crystal, topped with blue silk that ended at mid-thigh.

She turned to Chika & smiled a serene smile. "Thank you, Chika, water realm guardian."

Chika bowed. "It's my honor."

Umi nodded. "I see, but I must go now." She shut her eyes & fainted, but Chika caught her.

"You are not going anywhere in your condition. You must stay here." Chika brought her into another room.

So they're all awakened! What will happen now? Please RR