*I'm pretty sure someone asked this awhile ago. About the Tori quotes at the ends of my chapters, if you want more information or downloads go to hereinmyhead.com absolutely one of the best Tori sites out there. ^.^ And gomen for the long update problem! School is just crazy right now!*

Chapter Three: Guarding Dreams

"I can't do it!" Umi screamed and slammed her fists on the table as her blue hair fell over her eyes, hiding the stress that lined her face. Two days with only five-minute naps every few hours during the night was taking its toll. Her eyes were underlined in black, as were the eyes of the other two. None of them could sleep for fear of Mala and her dark swords. Tests they could never take- tests that were too horrible to endure.

"You need to sleep," Ascot encouraged. There was no one that sat at the table that wished to see them in pain the way they were now. Their dreams haunted them when they were forced to sleep, and the lack of sleep was tearing them apart. None of the three were eating now either, which made matters worse. As if remembering this, Eagle added.

"And eat."

"What would you have us do?" Umi demanded, more to the gathering of people than to Eagle or Ascot. "Would you have us sleep and be forced to see our loved ones die again and again, or would you have us take the tests?"

"We would have you live to defeat Mala," Lantis answered coolly.

"And you cannot do that without food or sleep," Presea added, much gentler than Lantis' expressionless tone.

Fuu put her head down, and a small tear streaked down her cheek from under her glasses. Ferio gripped her hand reassuringly and kissed her cheek, "I'll never leave you Fuu-chan," he whispered for her alone, but the room was so quiet that everyone heard.

"You must…" Clef limped forward, panting between phrases. "Guard your…dreams…"

"Guru!" the three Knights jumped up and helped him to his chair while the others watched anxiously.

"This isn't wise Guru Clef," Ascot mumbled respectfully and went to stand next to the Master Mage.

"Of course it isn't," Clef's smile was far too bland. "But who else to teach the Magic Knights…to guard their…dreams…" he regained his breath and smiled again, a little stronger this time.

"Guard our dreams?" Umi's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"There is a way to keep her from your dreams," Clef's voice was a raspy whisper, but he was able to go without panting this time, which relieved them a little. "To sleep soundly, though it is very difficult to learn."

"I don't care how hard it is," Hikaru smiled. "I just want to sleep again. I never thought that anything could be worse than my school sleep schedule, but this definitely is."

Fuu grinned and nodded her agreement, no one doubted her school sleep schedule was far harder to deal with than theirs.

Clef smiled at her and raised his hands so his staff appeared in them.

"Guru," Ascot tried to keep the fear from his voice. "Is this entirely wise?"

"Do you question me?" Clef snapped, and Ascot bowed and stepped back.

"No Guru," he mumbled, and Clef nodded and looked back to the three girls.

"All I can do is say the words of the spell. I fear the magic must come from you, I don't have the strength to do the spell myself. Look into yourselves and concentrate all your magic into your body, so much that you can hold no more. Then, once you've done that, force it toward my staff, but don't let it take physical form, or it may kill us all," his words were all too casual.

Hikaru was regretting her decisions when Umi nodded and closed her eyes.

"I'll go first," she muttered and looked inside herself, finding her magic easily. She smiled and began to drink in the great blue ball so that it filled her every pore, so that she was alive with magic. All her senses were enhanced, she could feel every whisper of wind, hear every heart beat. She smiled, completely forgetting her duty.

"Magic Knight of Water, feared by all but respected by all. It was your strength that drew my son, but now your time has come," a voice whispered in her head, and she fell into her magic, drowning in the blue ball, now water. Darkness wrapped her in itself, and she suddenly realized her magic was drowning her, killing her. She had filled herself to the brim, she could take no more and she had tried. But then what was that voice? "Will you kill yourself before I'm even free? No matter, I'll find you in your death and exact my revenge. My son, he loved you, but so did I. I will have my revenge, sooner or later, it will come."

Umi screamed as the searing magic cut through her, then there was a dull pain and she was ripped out of the water and came coughing up onto the floor of the palace.

"You'll kill yourself draining too much of your magic!" Clef shouted at her breathlessly, then hit her hard on her head with his staff.

She glared up at him, but her body was trembling. She had almost died, Clef had saved her, but…she looked at him and realized that he was trembling as well. He must have used a lot of magic to pull her out, or at least more than he had. "Arigato," she mumbled, and he nodded gravely.

"Now we'll have to…" a hand shot to his chest as he fell to the ground, trying to lean on his staff for support. "We have to…" he struggled to stand, but simply fell back.

"Guru!" a dozen voices shouted before Clef fell completely to the ground.

"Guard them Umi…you know…how…"

"I can't!" Umi screamed helplessly. "Clef!"

"You must…protect them…"

She turned and looked at her friends who were frantic in the sudden commotion. Hikaru's pale face and rings under her red eyes and Fuu who was sobbing in anguish. The ones she had saved Cephiro with time and time again. The ones she could trust anything to, they were dying. They were all dying…

She nodded and kissed her fingers, then pressed them to Clef's mouth in a formal pledge. He smiled weakly and passed into unconsciousness.

"Guru," Ascot whispered and picked up the small form in his arms.

"I will take him Ascot," Lafarga took the Master Mage from Ascot's arms and walked down the corridor, while Ascot turned back to direct his eyes on Umi.

"Onegai, Umi!" he shouted desperately, and Umi turned to look at Hikaru and Fuu who were shaking their heads in astonishment. They had no idea, no idea how terrifying it was. They…she had to do it. She had to! She wasn't going to be selfish this time; it wasn't about her now. This was about Cephiro, more importantly about Hikaru and Fuu. She had to help them; they needed her. How many times had she relied on them? It was time for her to repay some of that.

"H-" she had to wet her throat so she could begin again, "Hikaru."

"H-hai?" Hikaru stepped forward, and Umi began to repeat to Hikaru what Clef had told her.

"Look inside yourself, but be careful don't let your magic overpower you, and don't let it take a definite shape. Do you understand?"

Hikaru nodded numbly and Umi smiled and patted her shoulder, "Good."

Hikaru grinned and clenched her fingers before she closed her eyes and a red magic began to surround her body. Umi touched her wrists gently and began whispering words that filled her body, "Accendo, Aqua, Aduro, adligo ad, reservo ad, absolvo ad absisto malefactor."

Magic fell from all over the room and spiraled into Hikaru, every odd thing, including people contributed to the bond. When she opened her eyes she was panting but smiling. "I can feel her presence…it's…gone…" she smiled blissfully, and Fuu stepped forward eagerly. Umi smiled weakly, but she could feel the magic draining from her body. She hadn't even cast the spell upon herself yet. She shook it off and waited for Fuu's magic to cover her in a green glow before repeating the same words. Fuu stepped back with the same effect, and Umi managed to see her small smile before she passed out onto the ground. There was nothing but blackness then.

§§§~~~

"Umi! Oh Umi!" a cruel voice called in the darkness of her dream. She was curled on the ground in a small ball; her feet sprawled out behind her in an awkward position. She stood shakily and looked around her, but all she saw was blackness.

"What? Where am I?" she rubbed a pounding head and realized she had to be in the same sort of dream she'd had before. She was in the third test.

"You thought you could escape me. You might have saved the other two from my dream web, but you forgot all about yourself and got entangled on your own! And don't think those other two are immune now either. They're alone and vulnerable. Your loss is my gain!" she laughed evilly as she stepped from the darkness, materializing in front of Umi's eyes.

"You will never force me to take those tests!" Umi screamed angrily. "You can kill me a thousand times and I will never yield! I am a Magic Knight of Cephiro and my duty is to Cephiro! Don't you understand? What you're doing is wrong!"

"You will die a thousand times then, and a thousand times more for what you've done!" she screamed and opened her hand as black magic shot from her fingers and threw Umi into the ground. She screamed as she fell back into the deep nothingness. It was like a black whole that never ended. She was going die. She was never going to see Cephiro or her friends again. A deep hopelessness surrounded her. No, she was just going to fall forever. Dying would have been better.

§§§~~~

"She's been asleep for hours," Fuu whispered to Clef as he stumbled into her rooms.

"And…" Ascot stopped pacing when Umi coughed lightly. His eyes jumped up; ready to see her beautiful blue eyes, just once…"Umi!"

Her cough caused blood to spill from her mouth, and small cuts appeared on her arms. Ascot's eyes widened in horror as everyone in the room took a sharp intake of breath.

"Mala has her, it's all up to her now. I was so stupid to have let her try that on her own! I didn't tell her she may get her own energy drained as well!" Clef cursed himself angrily.

"Guru, it wasn't your fault!" Presea shouted, and he waved a hand at her.

"Even now you're sick Guru, you haven't had enough rest. You should get back to sleep, Umi is in good hands," Lafarga assured him.

"I-"

"Get to bed!" Presea slammed her hand toward the door, and Clef nodded meekly, looked back at Umi once more and hurried for the door, trying to act like he wasn't hurrying at the same time.

Presea nodded quickly to herself and looked back to the Magic Knight who was whimpering softly in her sleep.

"Help her, someone," Ascot mumbled softly, and the others nodded in agreement.

*Not edited and very short. I was just so excited that I finished something that I had to post. Gomen gomen gomen! But I'm on Christmas break, maybe I can get something done!*