Crumbling of Time

by Rinoako

Choices must be made when two sides must battle to fulfil a prophecy, but it all started with a tragic legend that began more than 50.000 years ago, a legend that will haunt every generation...set up like an RPG! RR, please!

8. Chapter 08 Stormy Skies

Getting deeper into the plot. Although I actually put a somewhat humorous part in here. Please read and review!





Stormy Skies

Zaria's eyes opened, and she sat up and looked around. Where was she? Then she saw the familiar surroundings and remembered. The only person who could've brought her here was Zeth. She turned around to see Zeth slumped in the chair next to her, fast asleep. She reached over and shook him awake. "Zeth, wake up," she said softly, and then he woke up and yawned. He rubbed his eyes and then stared at her.

"Zaria?" he said drowsily. Zaria smiled and nodded.

"Yes, it's me," she said, hugging him.

He held her tightly as if he would never let go. "Zaria," he whispered. "You don't know how relieved I am to have you back in my arms again . . ."

Zaria laughed lightly and then pulled away. "How long have I been . . . asleep?" she asked, looking up at him. He looked back into her penetrating emerald eyes, which seemed to have gained more knowledge, for she had a worldly experienced look about her.

"For four days," he replied softly. "I brought you here the second day." Zaria's eyes brimmed with tears.

"You brought me all the way here . . . by yourself?" she asked.

Zeth shook his head. "I had you," he replied simply. "And the one hope that you would return soon." Zaria smiled gently and patted his head, ruffling his perfect hair.

"Well, you wouldn't believe what I've gone through . . ."

* * *

"The important thing is that you're back now, safe and sound. The fact that you've received Universal Holy is a blessing, and no one deserves that blessing more than you," Zeth said after Zaria had finished telling him what had happened. Then the happy expression on Zaria's faced dimmed slightly.

"I don't know if I'm worthy of it, or if I can handle such a huge responsibility," she said quietly, her eyelids lowering.

"No matter what, you'll always have me and everyone else to support you," Zeth said, shrugging.

Zaria nodded reluctantly. "Yes, but I feel like I'm going to crack under all this pressure," she said in a troubled tone, looking away.

Zeth shook his head. "Stop your whining," he demanded teasingly, "and let's go back to Icicle so we can tell the others that you're back!"

They then walked back to Icicle together, and although the walk was long and cold, the talking that was going on made them forget. Many hours later, they were standing in front of Zitan's house. Zaria knocked on the door and a few moments later Zitan appeared.

"Zaria!" he said excitedly as soon as he saw Zaria. "You're all right! You're back!" Then Fuuko and Breanna appeared behind him.

"Zaria!" they exclaimed, and hugged her simultaneously. Zack and Adrian followed them closely behind and then everyone wrapped Zaria up in a group hug.

"You all are so great," Zaria said, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I don't deserve this at all."

"Yes, you do," said Zack. "You're our Zaria." He then turned to Zeth and laughed. "Although I know someone here who's not quite willing to let you be 'our' Zaria!" Zeth shrugged and smiled.

They all gathered into Zitan's cabin and sat down, where Zaria told them of what had happened to her, and what power she now had. She told them that now they must hurry to find the eighth warrior, for the time of reckoning was drawing near.

"Tomorrow we must continue our search," Zaria concluded.

She turned to Zitan. "Zitan, would you like to join us?" she asked her brother. "It doesn't matter if you're a warrior or not, but you have vast knowledge and abilities that would help so many."

Zitan looked sad when he replied, "I'm sorry, but it is not possible."

"But why?" Cat asked. "You've been rejuvenated, haven't you?"

Zitan slowly nodded. "But," he said, "rejuvenating magic does have its side effects. That's why it hasn't yet become a substitution for youth elixir. It must remain fully charged at all times, and if it isn't, the recipient of the magic dies. He or she withers away into their true age. I cannot risk that, so I must stay here in Icicle with my magic charging machine. I could unendingly charge it, but then I would be trapped in a life of immortality, and that is against nature's will."

"But that would be awesome, wouldn't it?" Cat said.

Zitan shook his head in negation. "Ask any immortal. Being immortalized is not fun, and usually transforms the recipient into a bitter soul. And I do not have control over my magic like any of you; I can only use temporary spells that come from another magic source. I am not one of the blessed children from the Locke family. I am not the Moon Maiden Artemis," he finished sadly.

"Zitan," Fuuko began, "although you may not be the Moon Maiden Artemis, you are someone very special. We need you. Please, come with us. Charge yourself for a few years worth . . . and then you can come back later to your machine. Just come."

"Yes, Zitan, you're my brother," Zaria said softly.

"Yeah! Blood is thicker than water, right?" Cat chimed in. Cat's cheerfulness brought a smile to Zitan's face.

"Maybe . . ." he said.

"What the @#$%, just come with us, damn it," said Zack. "I'll help you pack now." He then got up and dragged Zitan to his room.

"No one can say no to that," Zeth said, laughing.

Zaria's eyes sparkled with joy. "Then we're all set!" she exclaimed happily, clapping her hands together. "So, where are we going to go next?" she asked. She looked expectantly around the room. "Is there going to be no input at all?" she cried in mock despair. "Well then, I'll decide! Hmm, let's go to the Silver Belt! Then we can search and have fun at the same time!"

She had a gleeful smile on her face, and she struggled to keep in her giggles. "But Zaria," said Zeth, "isn't the Silver Belt kind of far away from the northern area of the continent?

"I don't know what you're talking about, Zeth," Zaria said defensively. "No one ever said we have to search around the northern part of the continent!" Then Zaria looked away nonchalantly. "Let's get some rest before we go, shall we?" she said. Everyone agreed and then that night they slept cramped up together in Zitan's cabin.

In the middle of the night, Zeth heard shuffling, like someone was weaving his or her way through the sleeping bodies, and then he felt a hand violently shaking his shoulder. "Ow!" he exclaimed, getting up and rubbing his shoulder.

Zaria was kneeling down next to him, her emerald eyes glowing in the cold darkness. "Shut up!" she hissed in a shushed tone, and then motioned for him to follow her. He shrugged to himself and got up out of his spot on the floor and followed Zaria out of the cabin into the cold night.

"Zaria, what are you thinking, coming out into the cold at this hour!" he scolded her.

She shrugged and flashed him a haughty smile. "I just wanted to come out to see the night sky, and I thought it would be something nice to share with someone . . ." she trailed off, her eyes cast toward the stars in the sky. Zeth looked up at the sky.

"It is beautiful," he admitted, for there was much more starlight and moonlight up north than anywhere else. It illuminated the snow and falling snowflakes, making the scenery around them glitter iridescently with a beautiful frostiness.

"Yes," Zaria agreed. "I love the stars, love to know what they have to say, love the way that they illuminate the beauty of the planet. The planet that we might not be able to save," she said softly. Then she looked back down and laughed. "Anyway, many people have told me that I look prettier in the nighttime, when it's dark. Probably because they can't stand how I look in the daytime," she chuckled. Zeth turned and gazed at her tenderly.

"That's not true," he said. She laughed awkwardly and looked away.

"We're so lucky to be living in such a beautiful continent, such a beautiful planet. I will do anything to keep this planet and the people I love in it safe," she said wistfully, gazing at the stars. She closed her eyes. "Stars in the sky, please lend me your power of Holy," she whispered.

Zeth saw that Zaria was praying, or talking to the stars or something, so he didn't know what to do. "Well, I'm going to go sleep now," he said. "You come now too."

Zaria opened her eyes and looked at him. She shook her head softly. "No, you go on ahead," she said. "I'll follow later." He nodded and started back to the cabin, turning back once to look at Zaria, but not seeing the tear sliding down her cheek.

Zaria wiped the tear away. "What if I can't do it?" she said to the sky. "What if everyone hates me, because of all the trouble I've caused them, and will continue to cause them? I know that I can't do it without everyone's support . . ."

She reached into her pocket and then drew out the moonstone that Princess Louvia had given her. She held it up towards the moon, and then it started glowing brightly, illuminating moonlight. "Princess Louvia, Princess of the Moon," she whispered, "is simply searching for the Ice warrior the right choice? Am I going in the right direction?"

The moonlight seemed to swirl around her, suffocating her in its celestial aura. "What you heart tells you to do is that path you must take," the moon spirits surrounding her hissed in her ear.

"But what does my heart tell me to do?" Zaria cried.

"Only you can determine that, Zaria," resonated Princess Louvia's voice. Zaria whipped her head around in the direction the voice came from so quickly that it almost snapped.

"Princess Louvia!" she exclaimed, but then the moon spirits slowly departed, leaving her alone again. Zaria attempted to summon the spirits of the Moon again, but this time it didn't work. Apparently, they only worked when they had a message for her, and once they had delivered that message, then they wouldn't return until she had accomplished something and they had another message to deliver. She sighed deeply and slowly walked back towards the cabin. She quietly entered without disturbing anyone and then fell into a deep sleep, not noticing that Zeth was still awake, watching over her.

* * *

The rays of morning sunlight seeped in through the windows, and they burned into Zeth's eyes. Zeth sat up and yawned, and then looked around. Everyone was still asleep, but the second that he turned her way, Zaria popped up. "Rise and shine!" she shouted happily. "We have a big day of traveling ahead of us!"

Everyone slowly began waking up, one by one. Zack sat up sleepily, his shoulders slumped. "What an ungodly hour," he said monotonously, and stood up and shuffled towards the bathroom.

"Hey! I was gonna use that first!" Cat shouted, and she sprung up and raced Zack to the bathroom. Zack beat her to it and slammed the door in her face, so Cat stood in front of the bathroom door banging on it and shouting, which in turn woke Breanna up.

"Shut up!" Breanna yelled, throwing her pillow at Cat, and then the pillow rebounded off her and fell on Adrian's sleeping head. He remained asleep, quietly snoring. Breanna started giggling hysterically and then toppled over onto Zitan.

"Yeeeeooooouuuch!" Zitan howled, struggling to push Breanna off. Zaria started to giggle as well while Zeth sat there appearing amused.

Fuuko woke up looking irritated. "What is all this commotion?" she demanded. "How can anyone sleep in this chaos?" Zaria giggled harder while Fuuko glanced over at Adrian, the only one left asleep. "He sleeps like a log," she remarked. Although there were many feigned anguished cries and annoyed shouts, Adrian still was peacefully asleep.

"He's a vampire," Breanna snickered cruelly, "those damn creatures sleep through anything." Fuuko sighed in exasperation.

"Bree, be nice!" she scolded. She went over and softly shook Adrian. "Wake up," she cooed. Adrian's eyes popped open and he sat up and yawned, looking contented.

Breanna's eyes narrowed. "You were awake the whole time!" she accused. Adrian gave her an innocent, questioning look.

Meanwhile, Zack had finished using the bathroom, and he threw the door open, smacking Cat in the face and knocking her over. He strolled out casually, and Breanna sprang up and flew into the bathroom. She shut the door and then Cat slumped down, holding her forehead.

"Are you okay?" Zaria called from across the room. Cat's eyes were crossed, and then she quickly uncrossed them as she regained her equilibrium.

"Zack!" she screeched, jumping towards Zack. Zack started running away and Cat followed him around the cabin, her shrieks of mirth being heard even outside on the street.

Moments later, Breanna strolled out of the bathroom looking primped up and satisfied, and then Cat stopped her running to spread her wings and speedily flew to the bathroom, smacking Zeth in the face with her wings.

Zack fell over laughing, and everyone else was doubling over with hysteria. "Zeth, are you all right?" Zaria gasped, and Zeth scowled at her. He walked over to the other side of the room and sat down. Zack continued to roar.

"HAHAHAHA! Calm down, Zack," Zaria wheezed as she clutched her stomach in pain. Eventually, everyone calmed down and all was quiet. It remained that way for quite a while until Fuuko finally broke the silence.

"Hey, whoever is finished, go stock up on supplies!"

Zack and Breanna nodded and left to go buy some more traveling supplies. The rest of them got their belongings ready, while Cat continued to use the bathroom.

"She's taking kind of long," Zaria said, raising her brow and looking towards the bathroom. Adrian stalked over to the bathroom and knocked on the door. "CAT, STOP HOGGING THE BATHROOM!" he bellowed, and then he calmly walked back while Cat was spewing muffled insults from the other side of the bathroom door.

An hour later, everyone was ready to leave for the Silver Belt. It had taken a lot of hassle to get everyone ready, but as soon as they were all done, they trooped out to the Firebird and clambered in.

"Where would we be if I hadn't brought the Firebird along," Zack bragged from the front seat, where he was sitting with Zeth. Breanna rolled her eyes and stuck her head towards him.

"Shut up and let's get going to the Silver Belt!" she shouted, and then Zack laughed and then lifted off. The jet zoomed into the horizon in the light of the morning.

* * *

"Time to wake up, my dear," called Professor Stonewall as he stepped towards the glass cage containing a young girl around age eighteen. The girl stirred and woke. She sat up and glared at Professor Stonewall. "Rena, don't be so unappreciative," commented the professor. "I've been taking care of you all this time."

The girl sat there staring at him with an odious look on her pretty face. She was quite comely, with long chestnut hair and jadeite green eyes. In her anger, the radioactive substances charged into her body reflected in her flashing eyes, glowing with repugnance.

"Leave me alone," she said nebulously, and turned away. The Professor laughed, shaking his dirty blond bangs out of his eyes. He considered himself charming and good-looking, and he knew he was quite ingenious. In his own eyes, he was perfect, and no one had the right to refuse his requests. He had the power to control anyone or anything he wanted. What he didn't know was that he had been brainwashed by the Toki government's experiments, and they were just using him as a tool.

"Rena, Rena, please, just cooperate. We have an exciting agenda today! More experiments with radioactive materials," he said, a sickly sweet smile on his face. Rena cringed and the rims of her eyes reddened. She turned back to him.

"Please, Logan, no," she begged. "You don't know how much it hurts. Please!" she cried hysterically. The professor's expression looked confused for a moment. Rena looked at him hopefully, longing to see the eyes of the Logan Stonewall that she had once known. After a moment his warm brown eyes reverted into their previously hard color.

"It's Richard Toki's orders, so deal with it," he said apathetically, which infuriated Rena even more. "You're still alive, aren't you?" He then turned away briskly, walking towards the exit of the lab. As he reached the door, he turned back to Rena. "Oh yes, I have news. Not that you need to know, but the government has succeeded in mutating animals to transform them into cold-blooded killing machines with no conscience whatsoever. There have been some very powerful animals produced, and smart too. Some are just strong and half-witted, but anyhow, they will all be good tools in taking over towns that are not yet under Toki control yet, don't you agree? I have something else to say that I really don't know whether you deserve to know or not . . . I shouldn't be granting you this favor but . . . I'll tell you anyway. It's not like telling you will cause me any loss. I also have news about your family."

"What family?" she spat angrily. "The Toki killed them all!"

"Your Locke relatives," he replied calmly. "We have detected another Locke named Zaria, and she is said to have a brother named Zitan. We are now looking for them, but at the moment you are still our only guinea pig," he said, and then laughing cruelly as if the whole thing were some sort of joke, he left the room.

Rena slumped back into her small mattress in the large glass cage that she was entrapped in. She hated the Toki government, loathed them with all her heart. They had annihilated her whole town just to find her, slaughtering her father and her half-brothers and her stepmother. And just because they thought that her deceased birthmother had been a descendant of the Locke family, who were said to have some sort of special powers.

Rena didn't have any power. She had just been living her normal life as a blithe and fun-loving teenage girl at the age of seventeen when the Toki government had attacked her hometown and taken Logan and herself. They had thrown Rena into a cell while they had injected a controlling substance that one of their infernal scientists had concocted into Logan's mind. They didn't want to put any of it into Rena's mind because they had wanted to keep her for studying and experimenting. Then, they had inflicted one of the cruelest emotional wounds on Rena by having Logan, the person Rena had been affianced to, her one true love, be the one to torture her. Rena remembered the story of the legend of the Locke family that her mother had told her, but she was sure that there were other Locke descendants besides her, such as that girl Zaria and her brother.

"Why me?" she whispered to herself. It was the question that she had been asking herself since the day she had been brought into the lab and put inside the glass cage. She grabbed on her dark chestnut strands of hair and pulled roughly, screaming. She ran over to the glass wall and banged on it, for the millionth time trying to break it. Yet it remained impervious. She fell to her knees, sobbing, too weak to continue her nightly attempt of escape. Why couldn't she just die instead of live through this torture? She lay down and sobbed herself to sleep, knowing that the next time she woke up she would have radioactive chemicals charging through her body, the excruciating pain making every cell in her body cry out in agony. She also knew that the one whom would administer those chemicals would be no other than her love, Logan, and that hurt her even more than the radioactive chemicals.

* * *

Breanna, as always, was sleeping during the plane ride. Cat was groaning loudly. "I don't feel well," she moaned, clutching her stomach.

"You seemed perfectly fine the last time we were on a plane," Adrian commented.

Cat moaned again. "I wasn't feeling fine, but this time it's much worse!" She lay back in her seat and breathed deeply.

"Well, you shouldn't have been reading," piped up Zitan. "And, you should get up and move around a little so you can overcome the nausea."

Cat lifted her head to look at him. She looked hopeful, but then all of a sudden she bolted to reach for a transparent plastic bag, and heaved.

"Yuck, couldn't you have used a opaque or at least translucent bag?" Adrian asked, eyeing the contents of the Cat's stomach that were visible in the bag. Cat's face was greenish, and she sat back and closed her eyes.

"Ugh."

Zaria laughed nervously. "So, we're going to the Silver Belt! Aren't any of you excited?"

Fuuko nodded enthusiastically in response "I've always wanted to go there!" she exclaimed, her eyes shining with excitement.

"You always seem to want to go everywhere," Adrian said dryly. Fuuko ignored his comment and turned to Zitan.

"Zitan, have you been to the Silver Belt?" she asked him. Zitan slowly nodded.

"Yeah," he replied in a bored tone.

"Great!" Zaria exclaimed. "Then you can show us around!"

Zitan nodded again. "Yeah, I guess so," he said. "But for now, can we all just sleep?"

Zaria raised her eyebrow. "I take it you don't wanna talk?"

Zitan just shook his head and closed his eyes. "Just let me sleep, sister dear," he said in a dismissive tone.

Zaria shrugged and turned to Fuuko and Adrian, who were arguing again. She felt to tired to play peacemaker, so she lay back into her seat and closed her eyes. It was going to be a long ride.

* * *

"We're here!" Zack bellowed, sticking his head into the back. All of them were jolted awake.

"OHMIGOD!" Breanna shouted. Then she sat up, her eyes wide, and looked around. "Oh, it's just you people," she said, and slumped back in her seat and shut her eyes again.

"Here already?" Fuuko said sleepily. Zeth stuck his head right by Zack's so he was facing them all, and then smiled and did a thumbs-up sign.

"Here, here," he said. "At the famous Silver Belt. Zaria, get up," he demanded. Zaria opened her eyes and scowled at him, and reached towards the door and opened it. Amusement park music blared into the small jet.

"It's the Silver Belt, all right," Zitan said. They all got out of the Firebird and stood there, still sleepy. Only Zeth and Zack seemed excited.

"Let's go in!" Zack exclaimed, and he grabbed Zaria's hand and dragged her towards the ticket booth.

"400 gold pieces for a pass into the Silver Belt, and it costs 10 gold pieces per game," the lady at the booth said monotonously, her eyes set dully on Zaria and Zack. "How many passes will it be?"

"Hmm, eight, please," Zack replied.

"That will be 3200 gold pieces," the lady informed him.

Zack raised his brow. "Expensive," he muttered to Zaria and then reached into their budget of 80000 gold pieces and took out the amount needed.

The lady then handed them the passes. "Once you leave, the passes are invalid," the lady said. "Unless, of course, if you pay 40000 for a lifetime pass." Zack looked at her strangely and started to walk away while Zaria thanked her and hurried after Zack.

Zack handed the passes out to everyone and then they all walked through the entrance, where they had to board cable cars that would take them into the Silver Belt, which was a small island right off the continent of Nova. "Four people per car!" the Silver Belt worker shouted, and then helped the four girls into the first cable car. The four guys clambered into the next one.

"Wow, not bad," Zack commented, looking at the interior. The he peered out the window. "Sheesh, we're going up pretty high," he squeaked.

Adrian looked out. "Not a problem for me," he said, slightly spreading his wings.

"If we fall, save me," Zack said, still staring out the window at the scenery below.

Zitan laughed. "Don't worry," he assured him. "Never in the history of Silver Belt has any of the cable cars ever fallen, except some people have very foolishly opened the doors and fallen out to their deaths." He then deviously reached for the handle of the door.

"No!" Zack shouted, pushing his hand away.

Zeth laughed. "Gosh, calm down, Zack," he said. "Just enjoy the ride." He then sat back in his seat and looked outside the window. It was magnificent. Nova truly was a beautiful land, and the seas were the same illustrious aqua color as his eyes. Zeth sighed, thinking of what they were there for. He turned to the other three. "We're here to save the world, but still, if there's all work and no play, then what are we saving? While we're here, we will enjoy ourselves. Just watch for any signs of Ice magic from the corner of your eye."

They all nodded dutifully, and then the cable car began its descent towards the Silver Belt. "Wow, would ya look at that," Zack muttered, his eyes glued on the amazing structure. They had somehow shaped it like a metallic belt that spiraled up towards the sky with a large silver pole in the middle, and the whole thing was lighted up and the music was blaring loudly. The spiraling belt was divided up into sections.

The cable car reached the entrance to the actual Silver Belt, and as soon as they stepped out, they fell down into a large pipe. "Ahhhhhh!" Zeth shouted as he flew down the pipe.

"HOLY ^&*(@#$%!" Zack swore as he tumbled down after Zeth.

"Oof!" Zeth fell down onto a remarkably large cushion, where he saw the four girls struggling to stand up. He jumped out of the way as Zack, Adrian and Zitan landed on the cushion.

"What the #$%^ was that?" Zack shouted.

"Sorry I forgot to warn you, but that's how you get into the Silver Belt," Zitan said nonchalantly.

Zaria scowled at him and smacked him on the head. "Anyway, we're here. So what are we going to do first?"

Zeth looked around. They seemed to be standing inside a large dome that had holes that seemed to be passageways connecting to different sections of the belt. "Platinum Hotel, Gold Star Theater, Centennial Rides, Wonder Game Square, Water World, Bumblebee Terrace and Horse Racing," he read aloud. He turned to the group. "So, where do we go first?" he asked bemusedly.

Cat shrugged. "Maybe we should go to the Platinum Hotel first," she said. "Put our stuff there and all . . . I mean, we have to scour this entire place, right?"

Fuuko nodded. "Yeah, I think that's a real good idea! Then we can split into groups and go look around, okay?"

Zeth looked at the others. "Um, I guess I'll go first," he said uncomfortably, eyeing the hole marked Platinum Hotel. He stepped in and felt himself being warped, and the next thing he knew he was at the end of a brightly lit hallway. One of the hotel staff stepped up to him.

"Hello!" she said cheerfully. "Sir, will you be staying here at Platinum Hotel tonight?" Zeth slowly nodded. "Yes," he replied. "A few of my friends will be following me."

The girl nodded, a genial smile on her face. "Sir, you may proceed to the check-in counter while I wait and greet your friends," she said, just as Zaria got warped there.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed. "I actually landed on my feet!" She skipped over to Zeth and grabbed his arm. "Come on, let's go check in!" she exclaimed, just as Cat warped herself there, Fuuko following right after.

Zeth and Zaria walked towards the double doors at the end of the hallway. Everything in here seemed to be silver. "Wow, they sure make it silver here," Zaria muttered, admiring the precious silver figurines encased in glass shelves.

They entered the Platinum Hotel and Zaria plopped down on a plush chair while Zeth headed towards the check-in counter. He could hear the others coming in and the commotion they were making, and he smiled to himself.

"Hello sir, will you be staying here tonight?" the girl at the counter asked him. Zeth nodded. "The cost is 200 gold pieces per room. Each room can accommodate up to four persons. How many rooms will you be needing?"

"Two," Zeth replied, handing her 400 gold pieces. The girl handed him the keys to two rooms.

"There is also a souvenir shop, a fitness center, a pool, and a restaurant for your convenience and pleasure," the girl informed them pleasantly. Finally Zeth thanked her and walked back towards the others so they could put their belongings away and freshen up. About half an hour later they all met in the lobby.

"What are we going to do next?" Cat asked, looking around at the group.

Zack shrugged and looked at Zeth. "What should we do, Mr. Leader?"

"Very funny, Zack," Zeth said. "Why don't we just split up and everyone go do what you want to do?" he suggested, glancing meaningfully at Zaria, who laughed nervously. Breanna saw the glance that the two had exchanged and smirked.

"I'll go to the Bumblebee Terrace and have a drink or something," she said flippantly, and then took off in the direction of the warp hole marked Bumblebee Terrace.

Zack looked around. "I wanna go to the Wonder Game Square!" he said gleefully. "Anyone else wanna come?" Zaria laughed nervously again, while the others looked away. "Whatever," Zack said, shrugging, and walked towards the Wonder Game Square warp hole and was warped away. "AAAIIIIYYYEEEEEEE!" Zack shouted as he was caught in the green warping ball.

Cat giggled and then turned to Zaria, her eyes full of anticipation. "Zaria, I wanna go with you!" Zaria smiled at Cat and then shifted uncomfortably and turned to Zeth, who shrugged. Adrian saw the look they exchanged and quickly turned to Cat.

"Cat, why don't you, Fuuko, Zitan and I go somewhere? I'm sure that Zaria and Zeth wanna be alone," he said, winking. Zaria blushed, while Cat finally understood and laughed. The four of them departed.

"Let's go to Water World!" Zaria could hear Cat saying.

"Whatever," Zitan was grumbling. They all stepped into the Water World warp hole and disappeared.

Zaria turned to Zeth. "So, where do we go?" she asked him. She laughed. "I promised you a date, didn't I?" she said mischievously, and pulled him towards the warp holes. "Let's go to the Gold Star Theater and watch one of their shows!" They then stepped into the warp hole and were warped to the Gold Star Theater entrance. "Oh, an outdoor stage!" Zaria squealed with delight, and she tugged Zeth towards the entrance. As soon as they went through the doors, a loud ringing sound went off, and one of the Silver Belt workers ran over to them.

"Congratulations!" he exclaimed. "You two are the 100th couple to walk in here today, so your grand prize is . . ."

"What is it?" Zaria interrupted eagerly. Zeth internally cringed with embarrassment. The worker looked up at them, laughter in his eyes.

"You two have to be the leads in our play!"

"What?" Zeth exclaimed. "Oh no, we cant-" but then he was cut off by Zaria nudging him with her elbow.

"Zeth, come on," she pleaded. "This will be fun!"

Fifteen minutes later, they were all dressed up in their costumes. "I feel like a fool," Zeth grumbled, fidgeting in his heavy armor. Zaria laughed and skipped over to him.

"Don't worry, you look fine," she said, adjusting his helmet.

"It's time for you two to come on now," whispered the Silver Belt worker, and he ushered them onstage.

A large dragon came and seized Zaria, who was wearing a princess costume. She shrieked loudly but then realized that the dragon wasn't real. "Oh Prince Albert," she cried shakily, "Save me! Help! EEEEK! The Divine King of Dragons is about to devour me! Rescue me from this disastrous fate!"

Zeth stood there frozen in his heavy armor, trying to remember his next lines. "Um . . . um . . . I will rescue thee, Princess . . . Emille! Oh, Princess, please hold on and wait for me, thy prince in shining-I mean knight in shining armor to come save thee!" he stammered, as he drew out the heavy sword made out of lead that they had equipped him with. It was even heavier than his own sword and he struggled valiantly to keep it up in the air. Finally, he got a feasible grip on it and held it out in front of him.

"Oh Divine King of Dragons, I shall slay thee, so might I make a solicitation for thee to put Princess Emille down so she won't fall when thee dies thy torturous death," he said assuredly, finally remembering the lines. The dragon roared and blew out a line of fire and smoke, which missed Zeth by just a hairline. Zeth yelped and jumped aside. "Holy crap!" he shouted, spinning around to look at the Silver Belt worker hiding in the curtains. "This is real fire!"

The worker motioned for Zeth to ignore it, so Zeth rolled his eyes and turned back to the dragon. He sighed inwardly as he realized that he had forgotten all his lines in his shock of the real fire. "I take that as a no?" he said, making up the lines as he went along. "Then die!" He threw the costume sword aside and unsheathed his own blade. He then charged towards the dragon, but astonishingly, it managed to evade his sword strike. Zaria screamed as she was violently bolted in the dragon's grasp.

"This will be harder than I thought," Zeth muttered under his breath, and let out a holler as he charged towards the dragon again.

"Oh no, please don't use Ultima," Zaria whispered, her hands clasped together. "Cripes, Zeth, it's only a stupid dragon."

Zeth continued charging towards the dragon and astoundingly missing his target, and meanwhile Zaria was being roughly thrown about.

"Hey Prince Albert, just do away with the @#$% dragon!" she shouted, as she was once again thrown violently to the side.

"Do not fret, Princess Emille!" Zeth gasped, running towards the dragon with his sword in his striking pose. "Hold on, Princess!" He leaped up and slashed at the dragon innumerable times, moving amazingly gracefully in his bulky costume armor. Finally the dragon fell to the ground, and Zaria flew out of the dragon's claws, falling in an arc right into Zeth's arms. As he reached out to catch her, his sword clanged to the floor. The spectators cheered loudly. Zeth smiled and put Zaria down, and the audience quieted down, expecting an exchange of dialogue. The spotlight was on the two of them.

"Um . . . thou hath saved me, Prince Albert," Zaria said emphatically.

"Anything to rescue a damsel in distress as bonny as thee, lovely princess," Zeth replied, holding his hand out towards her. Zaria laughed and put her hand in his as he knelt down on one knee and kissed her hand. He looked up at her. "Princess Emille," he said, nodding and then standing up. He gazed into her vibrant emerald green eyes.

"Prince Albert," she replied, looking up at him. Then the curtain slowly closed and the crowd roared. As soon as the curtain had shut completely Zaria pulled away, laughing. "I told you it would be fun, Zeth," she said, her eyes shining.

He laughed and patted her head. "Easy for you to say, Princess Emille, you didn't have to slay some puppet dragon that spouted fire!"

The Silver Belt worker ran up to them. "Thank you, you two!" he exclaimed breathlessly. "You were great out there! Thanks again! Anyway, here's a token for all your trouble." He then pressed a coin into Zeth's hand. "A special coin that will let you go on the gondola ride for free," he said, winking. "I suggest you go at night." Zeth looked at the worker shiftily as Zaria hurriedly thanked him, and then the worker rushed away.

Zeth glanced at his watch. "Hey, we're supposed to meet the others at the hotel in fifteen minutes," he said. "Let's go to the Bumblebee Terrace and go get Breanna. She's probably drunk and not in her right mind right now, and will need someone to help her back to the hotel." Zaria nodded in agreement and then they walked together towards the warp holes.

* * *

"Wheeeeeeeee!" Cat shrieked with delight as she slid down one of the waterslides in Water World. She landed in the water with a big satisfying splash, the water splattering all the way to Adrian, who was lounging in a pool chair nearby.

"Hey Cat, watch where you're splashing!" Adrian yelled, pushing up his sunglasses.

Cat giggled. "Adrian, you look like a dork!" she taunted, and swam away towards Fuuko, who had just come down another slide. "Fuuko! Let's go down that one!" Cat shouted, pointing up to the highest, longest, steepest, most spiraling slide in the whole Water World area.

"Whoa, no way," Fuuko said, shaking her head. "That's way too much for me."

"I'll go!" Zitan volunteered. Cat smiled and sprouted her wings out her back, spread them out in the water, gloriously splashing all whom were nearby, and then flew out of the water.

She grabbed on to Zitan's arm and carried him up all the way to the top of the slide. "Here goes!" she shouted, and plopped him down on the slide. He careened down the slide, shrieking with glee the entire time. Cat laughed and then sat down on the slide and let herself slide down. She screeched with joy as the wind whipped her hair away from her face as she careened down after Zitan. She landed in the water with a painful belly flop.

"Owwwww," she moaned as soon as she came up for air. "That hurt!" Fuuko giggled at the sight of Cat floating in the water clutching her stomach. "Serves you right for wanting to go on such a scary slide," she laughed. She pointed to Zitan. "He's not doing much better than you." Cat glanced over at Zitan, who was doing the same as she. "Well, it was fun anyway," she wheezed. "Let's go again!"

* * *

"Awwwwww," Zack complained as he once again saw the words GAME OVER on the screen. He dug out another coin from his pocket and stuck it in the machine. "Oh yeah, let's go," he muttered as the racing car came back on the screen. He raced and then lost again, this time dispirited. He stepped out of the seat and went to stand near a young guy who was playing a fighting game. The guy maneuvered the joystick expertly, effortlessly defeating the on-screen opponent.

"Whoa," Zack said, his eyes wide as the character on the screen executed a powerful kick. He turned to the guy. "You're pretty damn good at this!"

The guy turned around to face Zack. "Ya think so?"

Zack gasped as he saw whom the guy was. "You're . . . you're . . . Zeke Feld!" he exclaimed. The guy laughed and nodded. "You're a hero!" Zeke laughed again.

"Not really a hero . . ."

"Oh, but you are!" Zack persisted. "When you were sent back sixty years ago you saved a whole city that was going to be demolished! It's because of you that the city of Velleweb still exists!"

Zeke smiled. "Yeah, it was pretty awesome being sent back in time. But there were also many warriors back then much braver than I, so I don't think it's quite fair that I got so much recognition and they didn't. By the way, what's your name?"

"Zack Strife," Zack responded instantly.

Zeke laughed. "Nice to meet you, Zack," he said. "I'll remember your name. See ya around." Zeke then turned back to his game.

"See ya," Zack echoed, and walked away, checking the time. He had to be back in fifteen minutes. Hmm, enough time for one more game . . .

* * *

"PROMISES!" Breanna shouted. "Promises. Promises are like spider webs we weave to trap our own dreams, but dreams have a way of thinning out until you're left with nothing but a &#$% web!"

The people listening to Breanna's drunken declarations clapped and cheered. Then Breanna began hiccupping. "Hic . . . I'm . . . hic . . . tired," Breanna concluded, slamming her drink down on the table. At that moment Zeth and Zaria walked in.

"Aha! There she is!" Zaria exclaimed as soon as she had spotted Breanna by the bar. Zaria wove her way through the crowd and came over by Breanna. "Bree, get up!" Zaria shouted in Breanna's ear. She shook Breanna awake.

"Zaria!" Breanna exclaimed in a slurred voice. Zaria sighed and helped Breanna up.

"Come on, let's get back to the hotel."

Zeth rushed to her side and they both took Breanna back to the hotel. When they reached the hotel, everyone was waiting for them.

"What took you guys so long?" Cat chirped, but as soon as she saw Breanna her eyes widened. "Is she drunk again? Zaria nodded.

"Not again," Fuuko groaned. "I'll take her up." She came and grabbed Breanna by the arm and took her up the warp hole to their room.

"So, did you people have fun?" Zack asked, looking at Zeth and Zaria slyly.

"Not the kind of fun you think, Zack," Zeth answered. "We starred in one of the plays they show at the Gold Star Theater, and I was a pretty good knight in shining armor, if I do say so myself," he finished, grinning broadly.

Zitan laughed. "I've seen those before . . . the 100th couple of the day has to play the main roles in a play with a princess and a prince and a dragon, right?"

Zaria nodded, smiling. "Why don't we all go eat now?" she suggested. Everyone agreed and then they waited for Fuuko, who came down soon after. They went to the hotel restaurant and had their dinner, sharing the details of their day. When they were finished they all went into their rooms to sleep, for tomorrow they would leave the Silver Belt. No one had seen any sign of any Ice magic.

Zeth lay awake in the dark. Zitan, Zack and Adrian had already fallen asleep, and although Zeth had had a pretty eventful day, he wasn't really that tired. He lay in his bed staring at the ceiling until he heard a slight tapping at the door. At first he thought that it was some sort of bird or insect outside but the tapping persisted and grew louder. Finally Zeth decided to get up and go see what was causing the tapping. When he opened the door he saw Zaria standing there, anxiously pacing about. As soon as she saw him, her eyes lit up.

"Zeth!" she whispered loudly. "Come out here." Zeth obeyed and stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind him.

"Zaria, it's almost midnight," he said. "What do you want?"

Zaria grinned and held up the coin that the Silver Belt worker had given them. "Let's go finish our date," she said devilishly, and grabbed his arm. "Come on!"

Zeth let Zaria drag him over to the Centennial Rides warp hole, the whole time mumbling complaints about wanting to sleep, and they were then warped over to the Centennial Rides hall. The whole place was full of people bustling around and being loud. They were basically having fun. Zaria dragged Zeth over to the ride marked Gondola Ride. "This isn't a gondola, Zaria," Zeth said, staring at the cable car right behind the sign. "It's a cable car ride."

Zaria shrugged. "Who cares? As long as we have fun, anything is fine with me!"

Zaria handed the token to the worker operating the cable car and then hopped in. She stuck her head out and motioned for Zeth to come in too. Zeth climbed in after her and sat down on the other side. "Do you realize that this is our first real date?" Zaria asked, peering out the window. Zeth shook his head.

"No, I didn't really think of that," he replied. Zaria sighed and looked up at the night sky.

"Sometimes," she said softly, "sometimes, I just wish that we were an ordinary couple, just dating and having fun, and just living normal lives together. I know it seems selfish, but being blessed with magic sometimes seems like a curse . . . especially being a Mage warrior . . . I just can't understand how I feel, but I feel this way anyway."

Zeth looked at Zaria. "I understand what you mean," he said quietly. "But then again, aren't you somewhat glad that we're living now? I mean, all our friends . . . if we had lived then, then we wouldn't have met these people. Zaria reluctantly nodded.

"I know," she replied softly. "Things are the way they are, we can't change anything. We just have to deal with the future. But sometimes, I just can't help thinking about the past, thinking about the 'what ifs' that could've happened." She pulled her gaze away from the window and glanced at Zeth. "We are carrying a very heavy burden, you know," she said. "Haven't you ever thought of what might happen if we can't do it? What will happen to the world? What if we can't save everyone?"

"Then we just can't fail," Zeth said simply. "We will do all we can to save the world. We will find the last warrior. We will build the barrier, and if we can't, we'll just find some other way."

Zaria looked out the window again. "I guess so." She gazed at the stars that they were passing, and looked down at the other people below going on the rides and having fun. Normal people, she thought. I wish . . . I could be like them.

She started laughing uncontrollably. Zeth grabbed her by the shoulders to keep her from falling over. "What's wrong, Zaria?" he asked worriedly.

She abruptly stopped. "See?" she cried. "Look at us! We're doing what normal people do, trying to enjoy life! Yet still, the things we talk about have nothing to do with the lives of normal people. Why? Why us?"

She shrugged his hands off her shoulders and sat back, sighing. "I just wanna be like everyone else," she murmured sadly. Zeth stood up and sat down next to her. He then pulled her close to him.

"Zaria, you don't need to be like anyone else to be happy," he whispered in her ear. "Just be you, and everyone loves you already." She sniffled and turned towards him.

"Zeth . . ." she murmured and rested her head on his shoulder. I just wanna be close to you, close enough to feel your heart beating fast. That's all. Is it real, or just my fantasy? I wish . . . to forget about my desire of being normal. I just wish for you to be happy. Even if the only way for you to be happy were if I was gone, then I'd be willing to do that. Zeth, I don't know how I lived sixty years without you . . . only the thought that you might still be alive kept me going, I guess. Who knows what we'll have to face in the future? Who knows if I'll be lucky enough to have you forever? For now, just stay there as I whisper how I love your peaceful eyes on me. I know you know that I always have mine on you. Let me come to you, close as I wanna be. Close enough for me to feel your heart beating fast. That's enough to let me know that I'm not dreaming.

Zeth's eyelids slowly began sliding shut. Then he heard booming sounds from outside, which startled him awake. Zeth glanced out the window. He could see fireworks illuminating the night sky. "Zaria," he whispered gently, and she sat up and rubbed her eyes. She looked out the window.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, and pressed her face to the glass like a small child. "It's so pretty!" She continued to watch the fireworks while Zeth gazed softly at her with eyes full of tenderness. A few minutes later, the cable car ride ended, and they got out. They walked to the warp hole quietly, until Zaria finally broke the silence. "So . . . nobody has found the Ice warrior," she said. "Where should we go next? We still have no indications whatsoever."

Zeth continued to walk in deep thought. "I've been thinking," he said. "Maybe we should go ask the King of Southern Nova. He should know something, or at least have an advisor who knows about this. Bink probably knows, but he thinks we need to find out ourselves . . . so I think we should go to the capital city of the south first, and if they don't know anything, we'll go back up north."

"Heide Tiseau?" Zaria asked. "Well . . . all right. Maybe one of the royalty is a warrior," she said, shrugging. "Tomorrow we'll ask Zack if he can fly us all there."

* * *

"So, what do you all think about going to Heide Tiseau?" Zaria asked everyone as they were gathered in the hotel room.

"That's a good idea," Zitan said, nodding.

"It makes sense to go there," Fuuko agreed.

"Whatever is fine with me," inserted Breanna, inspecting her nails.

"All right, then we're going to Heide Tiseau," Zeth decided.

"Isn't Heide Tiseau way down south by the coast?" Zack asked. Zaria nodded in affirmation.

"It sounds like the name of a city that would be up north," Adrian said thoughtfully.

"Let's just get on that plane!" Cat exclaimed.

Half an hour later they had all boarded the small jet and were ready to leave. Fuuko climbed into the pilot's seat. "Ooh, Fuuko's gonna fly us there!" Cat squealed, and she scrambled to the front seat. Fuuko lifted off. Breanna, as usual, fell asleep half an hour into the ride, and soon after Zitan and Adrian fell asleep as well. Zack, Zeth and Zaria were left awake. "This feels so pointless now," Zaria muttered under her breath. "Although we have to do as much as we can now . . . it just feels like we're doing this in vain."

"What's that?" Zack asked.

Zaria shook her head. "Nothing," she responded plaintively, and then turned away. "Just wishful thinking."

Zack looked confused. "Whatever," he said. "Anyway, I've always wanted to go to Heide Tiseau! I heard they have awesome shores! And awesome beaches! And awesome chicks to go with it!"

Zeth nodded, ignoring his latter comment. "I've been there . . . it's real nice . . . I knew King Julian ever since he was a ten-year old prince . . . I remember when we went to Heide Tiseau, do you, Zaria?" he asked, turning to Zaria. She nodded.

"I still remember quite clearly. Prince Julian looked up to you a lot, Zeth . . . and to think that now he's a seventy year-old king. It will be pleasant seeing him after all this time . . . wonder if he'll recognize us?"

Zeth laughed. "Yeah. We look no different from the last time that he saw us. Didn't he marry Princess Yvette of Northern Nova? Why isn't he king of all of Nova?"

"Because Princess Yvette's much older brother, Prince Thomas Luke, obtained the throne," Zaria explained. "He married a commoner named Angel who became queen of the northern continent, and they had a son named Rufus who now sits on the throne of Northern Nova. Queen Angel was a wonderful and beautiful queen who did many charitable things for Northern Nova, but then she died, and soon after King Thomas Luke died as well. I think King Rufus, their son, married one of the princesses of Hyrynd, the continent next to us, and their elder son Prince Logan is dead or something. Maybe I heard wrong. I heard he was abducted as a child to a farming town that was annihilated by the Toki government."

"Why do the kings tolerate such a corrupt government?" Zack mused, shaking his head. Zaria shrugged.

"Ask King Julian when we get there. Anyway, King Rufus' youngest son Prince Thomas Luke the Second is now the only prince of Northern Nova, and a very eligible one at that. I think he plans to marry one of King Julian's granddaughters in order to unite all of Nova. King Julian has two granddaughters, I think. Their parents died in a boating accident many years ago, when they were still toddlers. Their names are Princess Rochelle and Princess Giselle. They're about our age, and I've heard that they're both very pretty. Prince Luke is going to have a hard time choosing between the two," Zaria said. "Still, King Rufus will not give up his search for his son Logan. It's sad, really."

"I see," Zack said. "Well, who knows? Hey everybody, look! We're approaching Heide Tiseau!"

Indeed, they were approaching a large coastal town with a magnificent white castle with twin towers. The sea was the exact same color as Zeth and Zack's eyes, just as crystalline and vibrant, just as uplifting to look at.

"We're here!" Fuuko shouted as she landed the aircraft. Everyone slowly woke up and got out of the jet.

"Wow!" Cat exclaimed as the sea breeze blew across her face. "It's nice here!" They entered the town of Heide Tiseau, marveling at what an enticing, sunny capital it was.

"This town is just as beautiful as I remembered," said Zaria, gazing at the white limestone buildings, blue tiles and white limestone bridges over the little brooks that ran through the town. "I think that the castle is that way," Zaria said, pointing in the direction of the twin towers.

Breanna rolled her eyes. "No offense, Zaria, but where else would it be?" Zaria pretended not to hear her uncouth remark, as usual.

The group walked towards the castle, but as they approached the entrance one of the castle guards blocked their path.

"Why do you wish to enter the Twin Castle of Heide Tiseau?" the guard demanded. Zeth stepped up in front Cat, who was about to make an insolent retort. "We're here to see King Julian," Zeth said tranquilly. "We're old friends of his."

"I demand to know your names," the guard stipulated.

"Why the $%^& do you need to know?" Cat shouted at the guard.

Zaria rushed over to shush her. "Cat, calm down, he's just doing his job."

"G-gosh, you're pretty," the guard stuttered when he saw Zaria. Zaria looked at him oddly and stepped back.

"Um, I'm Zeth Lanier," interrupted Zeth. "Just tell the king that, he'll know."

The guard scowled. "All right, I'll go inform the king that a Zeth Lanier is here. I don't usually do preferential treatment, but . . . this time I will." The castle guard glanced at Zaria and walked away haughtily. Zeth smiled and turned to Zaria.

"Thanks, Zaria," he said, winking. Zaria looked puzzled.

"But I didn't do anything," she mumbled. Fuuko laughed. "You don't need to, Zaria. Those big sweet eyes of yours do it all." Zaria shrugged and stepped back, her arms crossed.

A few minutes later, the guard came hurrying back, looking flustered. "King Julian insists on having an audience with you immediately," the guard blurted hastily. "Allow me to show you the way."

The guard walked ahead quickly, and the group followed him slowly, taking in the breathtaking interior of the castle. "This is an awesome place!" Cat exclaimed from way behind. "All these stars and moons and suns in the interior decoration!"

"Please, hurry!" the guard called back at them. Cat rolled her eyes and ran to catch up with the others. The guard led them to the Chamber of the Sun, where King Julian was eagerly waiting on his throne, Queen Yvette sitting regally by his side. Everyone bowed down. The king and queen had warm, sunny expressions on their faces, and they were both wearing warm shades. King Julian's graying hair did not seem gray, but it seemed a gold- silver shade in the sunlight, as was Queen Yvette's. King Julian stood up with slight difficulty.

"So, you claim to be Zeth Lanier!" he boomed. Zeth kept his head bowed down.

"Yes, your majesty, I am Zeth Lanier," he affirmed.

"Lift your head up, son," the king commanded. Zeth raised his eyes to meet the king's gaze.

"Oh, he certainly looks like the Zeth in the pictures," Queen Yvette exclaimed, putting a delicately gloved hand to her mouth. King Julian furrowed his brow. "By Jove, you're a spitting image of the Zeth Lanier I once knew. But it's impossible! Zeth Lanier should be thirteen years older than me! Anyway, I heard that he died sixty years ago!"

"Pardon me, your majesty, but you were misinformed. I was not killed, but was sucked into a time warp, where I was sent sixty years into the future," Zeth replied. "It is the truth, your majesty."

King Julian nodded slowly, still looking doubtful. "Well son, tell me, when you knew me, what did we do everyday?"

Zeth smiled. "We played chess in your room, your majesty. I remember how I would let you win and you would sulk afterwards, telling me not to do that. We had the same argument about that everyday, your majesty," he replied.

King Julian's mouth opened in awe. "By Jove, it is Zeth!" he exclaimed, getting excited and breathless. He turned to the Queen Yvette. "Yvette, this is my childhood friend, Zeth Lanier!"

The queen nodded and smiled at Zeth. "Welcome to Heide Tiseau, Zeth," she told him. Zeth bowed deeply. "Thank you, your highness," he replied.

"Zeth . . . did you ever check up on that girl . . . Zaria Locke, I believe? The one half the guards here took a schoolboy's fancy to?" the king asked. The queen's mouth opened. Zeth smiled and nodded. "Yes, your majesty. Zaria . . . is here. She took a youth elixir, so she is still eighteen."

Zaria slowly stood up and came to Zeth's side and knelt down. "I am Zaria Locke, your majesty," she said humbly. She slowly looked up at the king and queen.

"Zaria! Still a charming budding young flower!" the king exclaimed. "Do you remember me, Zaria?"

"Yes, your majesty."

"Oh, dispense of the formalities and titles already, we're old friends!" the king proclaimed. He turned to the queen. "Yvette, this here's Zaria!"

"Yes, and she's as beautiful as the pictures," the queen remarked, smiling.

"And who are your friends here?" King Julian demanded. "Tell me their names and occupations, all of them."

Fuuko stepped up. "My name is Fuuko Takano, daughter of the President of Nakano. I work for the Arrow organization, your majesties," she said, and stepped back to make way for the next person.

"Diana Wingheart, princess of the harpies. My nickname is Cat, and I work for Arrow too, your majesties," Cat said in an unexpectedly cultured tone.

"A harpy princess? You don't look anything like any of those foul harpy females. The only good harpies are the male ones," the king insisted, confused.

"I'm a crossbreed of male harpy and female elf, your majesty," Cat replied.

King Julian nodded. "I see. Next, please."

"Adrian Wingheart, work for Arrow, your highnesses," Adrian said abruptly.

"Wait! You two married or what?" King Julian asked, referring to Cat. "A little young, I might say! What are you, sixteen?"

Cat blushed. "No, not at all, your majesty. Just pure coincidence!"

King Julian sat back, a smug smile on his face. "Very well, Princess Diana. Whatever you say. Next!"

"I'm Zitan Locke, Zaria's brother," Zitan said, bowing to the king.

"Another young Locke," King Julian said, waving his hand. "Nice to meet you, Zitan Locke." Queen Yvette nodded at Zitan and smiled.

"My mane - I mean name is Zack Strife, your highnesses, and I'm Zaria's next-door neighbor," Zack said humbly.

The king raised his brows. "Zack Strife, huh. Zack, I knew your grandfather," he said. "Jean-Claude Strife fought in the war, and was always with a young woman named Alexandria, whom I believe became your grandmother," King Julian said. "Alexandria and Jean-Claude, Jean-Claude and Alexandria. Sort of like Zaria and Zeth, Zeth and Zaria. Alexandria was a pretty one, with her pink warrior garments and gravity-defying hairstyle. Her eyes were an emerald green just like Zaria's. Boy, you're a spitting image of Jean-Claude, except that Jean-Claude's hair was the most yellow blond I've ever seen, while you have the blackest hair I've ever seen. Such a couple, Jean-Claude and Alexandria," the king reminisced. "Jean-Claude always carried around this gigantic sword, and Alexandria carried around this rod that didn't do much good in combat, but Jean-Claude was always there to protect her, I suppose. Anyway, Alexandria was quite formidable with any magic."

"You seem to remember the details so well, Julian," Queen Yvette commented.

"Ahh, they're just one of those unforgettable couples," King Julian scoffed, and turned back to Zack. "Maybe you'll find your Alexandria someday, son." Zack actually blushed and stepped back, not daring to say anything else.

Breanna took a deep breath and stepped up. "Breanna Cole . . . bartender . . . your highnesses . . ." she said languidly, extending the words out. King Julian roared with laughter and turned to the queen.

"Yvette, this one's like you, just like you when we were that age." He turned back to the group. "We have much to catch up on, Zeth and Zaria. Yvette and I are pleased to meet the rest of you. Tonight you must stay here and dine with us. For now, go and meet my granddaughters. I believe that they're in their rooms. Then we can dress up and dine in style. I shall hold a banquet for you, my two dear friends!"

King Julian clapped his hands together and a woman rushed up. "Yes, your highness?" she asked.

"Ligeia, take these people up to see my granddaughters and introduce them properly," the king ordered. He got up from his throne, and several attendants rushed to his side. "See you all at the banquet."

Everyone bowed as King Julian and Queen Yvette left the room. "Still the same Julian, eh?" Zeth whispered, nudging Zaria. She laughed and nodded.

"Yes, he certainly is," she replied.

"Please follow me," Ligeia said timidly. She led them to a stairway. "We are going to go to the Chamber of the Divine Moon, where Princess Rochelle is staying in her suite," Ligeia informed them. She led them up the stairway to the top of the tower and pushed the majestic double doors open. "Princess Rochelle, your majesty," Ligeia called meekly. "I've brought guests of the king to see you." She then motioned for Zeth and the others to go in. They walked into Princess Rochelle's suite, where Princess Rochelle was primly sitting on a chaise.

"Oh, visitors!" Princess Rochelle exclaimed sweetly. "Please sit down, and dispense with the titles. I'm so glad to have visitors my age! I'm nineteen, how old are all of you?"

"A pleasure to meet you, Princess Rochelle," Zeth replied. "Let us introduce ourselves to you, Princess. Zaria, Zack, Zitan are eighteen," he said, gesturing towards them. "Fuuko here is nineteen, Cat and Breanna are seventeen, Adrian is sixteen, and I'm twenty-three."

"Oh!" Princess Rochelle exclaimed, delighted. "I'm Rochelle Selene Lanford, Princess of the Divine Moon. Of course, the authentic princess of the moon is one of the Locke descendants, but my title is honorary."

Indeed, Princess Rochelle had silver-gold hair and pale skin, and her eyes were a very pale seawater blue color. She wore a dark blue gown and on her head was a barely visible silver crown set in the spun-silver strands.

"H-how do you know about that, Princess Rochelle?" Zitan stammered.

She smiled. "Because Zitan, since I do moon divining, I need to know every legend of the moon, and I know which ones are accurate or not by consulting my sister Giselle, for she can read the stars."

"Oh," Zitan said, understanding. The Princess smiled at Zitan, and then her gaze turned shy and beseeching.

"Um, do any of you know Prince Thomas Luke the Second of Northern Nova?" she asked hesitantly.

"Only in name, Princess Rochelle," replied Zaria.

"What about him?" Cat asked, her curiosity triggered.

The princess blushed. "I . . . well . . . he wants to marry me, but I don't want to marry him!" she blurted, her fair skin reddening. "My grandparents think that I am satisfied with this arrangement, but I am not!" Princess Rochelle burst into tears in an unprincessly manner. "Please help me! Talk to my grandparents or to Prince Luke or something! I don't know what to do!"

Zaria walked over to the princess. "Princess Rochelle, we will help you in any way we can," she said soothingly. Princess Rochelle looked up and smiled at Zaria through her tears.

"Thank you, Zaria," she said gratefully. "Are you and Zitan twins?"

"No, we're just born nine months apart," Zaria explained.

Ligeia rushed over. "Excuse me, we must go see Princess Giselle now, we're quite short of time," Ligeia blurted, looking harried.

Princess Rochelle stood up straight and regained her royal composure. "I will see you all later. Meanwhile, please go visit Prince Luke . . . Giselle can show you where he's staying . . . you will see what kind of person he has become . . . thank you for agreeing to help me," she said, clasping her hands together in a gesture of gratitude. "See you all at the banquet."

They all thanked the princess and followed Ligeia out of the room. Ligeia led them down the tower, across the castle to the other tower. As they climbed up the stairs Breanna started to complain, so Fuuko created her wind vortexes to carry them up, except for Cat and Adrian, who flew up. Ligeia was rather shocked. "Oh dear, oh dear!" she exclaimed. "This is something rather extraordinary." Breanna rolled her eyes again.

They went up to the top floor where Fuuko instructed the wind to gently set them down, and Ligeia rushed to the double doors. "This is the Star Tower," she said, turning her head to address the group. "This is the suite of Princess Giselle, the Princess of Star Divining."

She then pushed the doors open and inside was a very large room, as large as Bink's observatory. Yet while Bink's observatory had moving models that corresponded to the real thing, this room only had a large telescope and bits of glittering dust scattered about everywhere.

"Ligeia, is that you?" called a soft voice.

"Yes, Princess Giselle, there's guests of King Julian to see you," Ligeia replied. The princess walked into the observatory.

"Oh, hello!" she exclaimed. "I'm Giselle Lanford, princess of Star Divining! Who are you?"

Zeth stepped up and introduced them all, and explained his relationship with the king. The princess smiled at everyone. She was cute in the same way Cat was, with a shining halo of golden hair and a bright buttercup yellow gown. Set in her flaxen hair was a miniscule silver crown, and her eyes were cornflower blue. "Nice to meet you all! So I take it you've already met my sister Rochelle?"

Zaria nodded. "Yes, we've met the princess. But there seems to be a problem-"

Princess Giselle put her hand up to shush Zaria, and then she turned to Ligeia. "Ligeia, you may go now. I will show my grandfather's guests around. Just wait downstairs and prepare their resting quarters, please."

"Yes, Princess Giselle." Ligeia curtsied and quickly left the room.

Princess Giselle turned back to Zaria. "Zaria, is what you were going to say about Prince Thomas Luke Lockhart the Second?" she inquired.

Zaria nodded. "Yes, Princess, I-"

"Let me explain to you about what has happened to Prince Luke," Princess Giselle continued. "Prince Luke is a distant cousin, and he used to visit the Twin Castle of Heide Tiseau often, almost every summer in fact. I remember when we all were very young and Prince Logan was still living at the Crystal Palace, Prince Logan and Prince Luke would come here and them and Rochelle and I would play together. Then, Prince Logan mysteriously disappeared. King Rufus was desolate, and the visits stopped. He searched and searched for his oldest son, and though he found out that Logan had been secretly kidnapped to a small farming town, by the time he received that information, the Toki government had already destroyed that particular town. Logan's body was never found, so King Rufus still believes that his son is still alive. Yet, as the Crown Prince has not yet been found, Prince Luke must prepare to take the position of King once King Rufus retires or passes away. Our parents planned to have us unite Northern Nova and Southern Nova, so Prince Luke is to marry either Rochelle or me.

"Prince Luke used to be one of my good friends when I was young, almost as close to me as Rochelle was. He was never really close to Rochelle, but always close to me. We confided in each other about almost everything. Then when I turned fourteen, my feelings seemed to change . . ." the princess blushed. "I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about. Anyway, I didn't know whether Luke was experiencing any change in his feelings, but we were still as close as two people could be. But then, about half a year ago, he seemed to undergo a traumatic alteration in his personality. He became more distant and clipped towards me, and everyone else as well. At first I thought we were just drifting, so I tried harder to be friendlier towards him. Once I came upon him while he was in his room alone. I just opened the door and walked in like I always did. The room had a strange green light glowing inside, but I couldn't track the source. I stayed there waiting for him, waiting to ask him what was going on, although I was scared out of my mind. A few minutes later he emerged from one of the rooms on the side, and saw me amongst the green mist. His normally vibrant hazel eyes were narrowed into slits, and the pupils in them seemed to shrink. He looked at me with a gaze full of contempt. I was frightened, but I tried to talk to him. He began to shout at me, telling me not to bother him and not to barge in on others uninvited. He threatened that if I told anyone about what I had seen, he would slit my throat. I started to cry and ran out of the room. I was up all night that night crying and thinking about what had happened, wondering. I looked into the stars, and they told me that someone or something far away, something that did not exist on this planet was controlling him. Nobody believed me, not even my most trusted associates.

"A week later, he went to my father and asked for Rochelle's hand in marriage. I was devastated, yet I didn't wish that he had asked for mine. I'm seventeen, barely old enough to be married, and I want live happily with Luke, but not with the Luke that he has become. I want him to be the Luke he once was. But I don't know what to do. Now he's obsessed with trying to force Rochelle to marry him, and she doesn't want to. I don't know why, but I do know that once they are married, he will seize power of the entire continent, and who knows what he will do in this state of mind. I really need your help!" Princess Giselle finished, her eyes looking at them pleadingly.

Zeth opened and closed his mouth, speechless. "I think that some force beyond human power is operating here," said Fuuko, her eyes narrowed. Breanna nodded. "Yeah. Green mist? A sudden change of personality?" She turned to the princess. "Princess Giselle, does he remember things from before?"

The princess's eyes widened. "I believe not, in fact. He's seemed to have forgotten many things. Do you think . . .?"

"I don't think, I know," put in Breanna. "Your stars were right. Something's taken control of his mind. Something that might have to do with our mission," she finished, slowly turning to Zaria.

Zaria furrowed her brow. "I don't see how it's related to the Black Hole Project, but it seems like something from another planet has the power to control minds, a power so strong that it's interplanetary."

"These are uncanny forces we're dealing with," said Zitan, his eyes wide. "Magic is always extraterrestrial, Zaria, but this sounds different from simply being called 'magic'. This is more than magic . . . it's like how your Holy power is attuned to you . . . this seems to be a power that only a Being would be able to use . . ."

"And how do you know this? And what the heck is a Being?" Cat demanded.

"It's included in the history of this continent," piped up Princess Giselle. "It most likely occurred throughout the entire planet, but in Nova the ancient texts only talk about our history. Many thousands of years ago, approximately 50,000 years, there was a war, even bigger than the Mage war. Well, to say it bluntly, it was much bigger than the Mage War. It was massive. It is perhaps one of the long-term causes of the Mage war and many other peculiarities and mishaps. It is called the Interplanetary War. It was basically a war between Humans and Beings. Our weapon was our magic, and their weapons were a power similar to magic, but not quite the same thing. In some level of understanding, it was magic, but it used different kinds of sources. It was fundamentally a different force. All creatures participated in the war, for the Beings were invading our planet. Back then, almost everyone had the ability to use some sort magic no matter how minor, but some people were spectacularly powerful with magic. The leaders of our side were three people. Their names were Zelda, Illius and Castor. Zelda wielded the Universal Holy, the rarest and most powerful kind of Holy there is. The Universal Holy is capable of many, many things. Illius had Apocalypse magic. There is only one kind of Apocalypse, but the power of it depends on the sheer amount of willpower the user has. Illius was very potent with Apocalypse. Castor controlled Destruction magic. It was he who refined it and developed it into the lower intensity Ultima magic. Ultima therefore derives from Destruction, but has a more controlled quality, yet it is harder to use, being more attuned to humans. It is by no means more powerful than Destruction, though. These three bravely led the troops out to battle and came back victorious many a time.

"The leaders of the Beings were two Beings, twins named Miefe and Ciefe. Miefe was the more violent twin, and was the one who was more set on conquest. Beings are indescribable unless you actually see one, but no one has seen an officially identified one for 50,000 years. It is said that they're very similar to us Humans. Anyhow, the Humans defeated the Beings and chased them back to their planet, but there was always the risk that the Beings would someday strike again, and it was impossible to send out our planet's troops to their planet to fight. So the three leaders, Zelda, Illius and Castor, sacrificed their lives by using their own life force combined with their magic, their very essence, to create a barrier. They put every bit of magic they had in them to create the barrier that would block out the Beings. It was a demeaning and time-consuming job, but still, the power of the barrier was unsure. There were leaks and cracks in the barrier, and if nothing was done, the fall of this planet could be at hand. Zelda, Illius and Castor could do nothing about those cracks, but Zelda pleaded for the help of the Divine Ones, the creators of the universe, and they granted her a spell, which she cast upon the entire planet. Every time that the planet was under a Being threat, the Divine Warriors would be called upon to renew the barrier and save the world. If they succeeded, then we would never have to be concerned about Being attacks again for all eternity.

"From what I have read from the stars, only twice have the Divine Warriors been summoned. Once, as the Star Warriors, who failed in renewing the barrier. The second time, as the Mage Warriors, who I know you are," Princess Giselle said softly. She turned to Zitan. "So you think that a Being is somehow controlling Prince Luke's mind?" she asked.

Zitan nodded slowly. "I think so," he replied.

"Wait!" exclaimed Zack. "I still don't get all this Interplanetary War business. So the reason we're being called upon is not just to seal a Black Hole? And how do we even know if there really are any Divine creators of the universe? This just makes things so much more complicated!"

"I'm sorry," Princess Giselle said. "But you must have the qualities to save the world, or else the spell wouldn't have chosen you."

"All this, the result of a damn 50,000 year old spell," Adrian muttered, shaking his head.

Zaria was leaning on Zeth's shoulder, shaking her head. "Galen, he was so stupid!" she cried. "That Magic Bandicoot, it was a Being! And he . . ."

Zeth shushed her and held her in his arms, rocking her back and forth. "Everything makes sense now," he murmured. "Everything that has happened . . . it makes so much more sense than it did before. Although I know that there is probably more to it than just this."

"Galen couldn't fight a Being like that all alone without knowing its nature! I should've known, should've told him!" she sobbed. "How would it make sense that one of the most wonderful people in the world died for no reason?" she demanded.

Zeth pulled her closer to him. "We can't do anything about it now," he whispered in her ear. "But we can in a way avenge Galen's death by succeeding in our known mission." Zaria didn't reply.

"Um, who's Galen?" Cat asked tentatively. Zeth looked up.

"Galen . . . he was a special person," he replied softly. He then told them about Galen and relayed the events that had occurred during the Mage War that had resulted in his separation with Zaria. Everyone listened sympathetically.

When he had finished talking, Zack walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said gently. Zeth smiled a sad smile. "It's all in the past . . . now we must help Princess Giselle and Princess Rochelle, and continue on our mission to build the barrier."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Princess Giselle stood up. "I'm going to take you all to Prince Luke's room now, if you're all ready," she said, nodding towards them. Zeth looked at everyone, who nodded, so he turned to Princess Giselle and nodded his consent.

"We're ready," he said. Princess Giselle walked towards the door and pushed it open, and they all followed her out of the room and down the steps of the tower. They walked to another section of the castle. Princess Giselle stopped in front of a door and turned to them. "This," she said dramatically, "is Prince Luke's suite. Let me know when you're ready to enter."

"I'm ready to enter now," Cat declared. Fuuko solemnly nodded.

"Yeah, let's just do it!" exclaimed Breanna.

"Any objections?" Adrian asked, turning to look at everyone. No one said anything. Zeth turned to Princess Giselle.

"We're ready, Princess."

The Princess nodded and pushed the double doors open. "Prince Luke!" she shouted. "It is me, Princess Giselle, and I have come to see you."

Prince Luke barged into the room with an ugly snarl on his face. "Princess Giselle," he sneered. "How many times have I told you never to come in here? This time I really will slit your throat," he said irately, charging towards Princess Giselle.

Zeth jumped in front of the princess, his sword drawn. "If you want to get to the Princess, you'll have to get through me first," he said, his eyes narrowed.

"Ah, a Mage warrior right here in front of me!" Prince Luke said in a completely inhuman voice, staring at Zeth. Zack and Adrian jumped to Zeth's side, Zack with his spear pointed, Adrian in his morphed mode, pumping his wings and holding his bow and arrow in ready position.

"Zitan, take Princess Giselle out of here!" Zeth shouted.

Zitan nodded and turned to the princess. "Sorry, Princess," he said, hauling her up on his shoulder and running out of the room.

Zaria, Fuuko, Cat and Breanna stood in the back. Cat had her whip ready to strike, Zaria had her twin swords ready in each hand, Breanna had her fighting gloves on, and Fuuko had her Claw of Wind invoked and ready.

"Let me through!" Prince Luke shouted in his inhuman voice.

Zeth shook his head defiantly. "We will never let you through," he hissed.

Prince Luke looked enraged. "Then die!" he screeched, and leaped towards them. Zeth, Zack and Adrian jumped towards Prince Luke and attacked simultaneously, yet the Prince defended himself very well. Adrian managed pierce the prince with one arrow and Zeth slashed at him a few times. Zack whirled his spear around, skimming the Prince's body, but Prince Luke dodged expertly.

"They need help!" Zaria shouted, and she jumped forward. She landed behind Prince Luke and crossed her swords in front of his neck, holding him still. "Now!" she shouted. Breanna darted forward and punched the prince's face and hitch-kicked him in the stomach. Zaria released him as he slumped to the ground.

"I just knocked him out," Breanna said in a satisfied tone, brushing herself off.

Zaria knelt down beside the Prince. "I'm going to heal him," she said. She was about to put her hands on his forehead when the room seemed to shake.

"What was that?" Adrian cried out in alarm. Zeth drew his sword.

"I don't know, but it doesn't sound good." He turned to Zaria. "Zaria, get out of range!"

But it was too late. Prince Luke had gotten up and was holding onto Zaria. Zaria's eyes were full of fear. "I don't think I need this human flesh anymore," Prince Luke said, and then he slumped to the ground once more. Zaria tried to scramble away, but couldn't help but look on in horror as a gigantic beast tossed the prince's body away like it was as light as a feather. The beast reached for Zaria and picked her up and tossed her into the wall. She cried out in pain and slumped to the floor. Cat ran to her side.

"Zaria!" Cat cried, and fumbled in her pocket and got out some healing elixir and put it to Zaria's lips. As Zaria swallowed the liquid, she looked revitalized but was still injured. "Wait here," Cat instructed and went to join the others as they fought valiantly.

The beast howled and scratched at Zeth, who momentarily drew back. Then he stepped forward again. "Who are you?" he shouted. "A Being?"

"No, but I come from the world of Beings, and I have come to destroy you by order of my master, Miefe," the beast replied.

"Miefe!" Fuuko exclaimed. "Isn't that one of the 50,000 year old Being leaders?"

"No more talk!" the beast shouted. "You must die!" The beast charged towards Fuuko, but she stuck out her Claw of Wind and blocked it. It pushed the Claw away and Fuuko went tumbling backwards.

She managed to stand up, panting. "We need to use magic!" she shouted. "Normal attacking means will not work with this beast! It thrives on brute strength!"

"Apocalypse Tetra Flare!" Zack yelled, and the Apocalypse magic swirled down and struck the beast. It howled in pain but continued to attack them.

"Ultima Extreme Pulsar Wave!" Zeth shouted and a wave of Ultima magic went through the room. The beast was thrown back, but stood up again.

"Thunder!" Cat cried, and a large bolt of lightning struck the beast. "Tornado!" Fuuko yelled, and a wind vortex surrounded the beast. Yet still, it stood.

"This thing just won't die! Flare!" Adrian shouted, and a ring of fire surrounded the beast and swallowed it up, yet the beast emerged from the flames, only slightly burned and even angrier.

"Earthquake!" Breanna bellowed, and the ground that the beast stood upon shook violently and threw the beast around. The beast retaliated and swung its claws, striking everyone.

"Ugh," Zeth groaned, struggling to stand up. He managed to stand up along with everyone else. "Yaaakkhh!" he shouted and he charged forward and pierced the beast with his sword.

The beast howled and clawed at Zeth, throwing him on the floor. "DIE!" the beast shouted.

Then all of a sudden a blinding white light surrounded the beast. Zeth shielded his eyes as the beast howled and writhed in pain. The white light seemed to dissolve the beast, and finally it disappeared completely. The white light disappeared. Zaria breathed a sigh of relief and dropped down on the floor, closing her eyes. She was exhausted.

Zeth pulled himself up and ran over to Zaria. Everyone surrounded her. "For goodness sake, give her some air!" Zack shouted, and everyone but Zack and Zeth stepped back.

"I think she used the Universal Holy," Adrian whispered. Cat overheard and nodded. "Yes, she has used the ultimate white magic that exists on this universe. The same one that Zelda of the Interplanetary War used. And she has saved us all from that beast."

"Zaria, are you all right?" Zeth cried. He put the vial of healing elixir on her lips and poured it down her throat. Her eyelids slowly fluttered open. "Zaria!" Zack exclaimed.

Zaria sat up, moaning. "Ugh, my head," she muttered. She turned to them all and smiled. "Well, we all destroyed the beast, and probably saved Prince Luke as well."

"Did someone say my name?" asked Prince Luke, standing up. Everyone turned their heads to look at the prince. Even in his tattered state, he radiated charm and authority, for he was once again his true self. He walked towards the group. "I can't even begin to apologize for what I've done during these past few months, but as you all know, I wasn't myself. My body was taken over by the Being monster and no matter how much I tried I couldn't take control. One day, I woke up and was no longer in control over my body, and stayed like that until you folks came. Thank you for saving me and many others."

Just then, King Julian, Queen Yvette, Princess Rochelle and Princess Giselle burst into the room. "Zeth!" the king boomed. "What happened here?" Zeth then explained what and why the situation was the way it was.

"Oh my," said Queen Yvette. She walked over to Prince Luke. "Luke, dear, are you all right?"

"I'm fine now, Aunt Yvette," Prince Luke replied. "I apologize to everyone for anything that I have done these past few months. But I have one very special apology to make." He turned to Princess Giselle. "Giselle," he said softly.

The Princess's eyes filled up with tears. "Luke," she whispered.

Prince Luke walked towards her. "Giselle, I'm so sorry for the way I've treated you." He glanced at Princess Rochelle. "Rochelle, I know you don't want to marry me, but that's all right, because I'm not ready to marry anyone yet, but when the time comes, I know who will be ruling Nova, or Northern Nova at least, at my side," he said, gazing at Princess Giselle, who blushed. He stepped over to the Princess and hugged her. "I'm sorry, Giselle, for treating you so cruelly. When I was not myself, you were the only one who cared enough to come visit me, try to see what's wrong. You were always there for me, and I would give you the world after what you've done for me," he whispered in her ear.

Princess Giselle turned bright pink. "It's all right, Luke, just as long as you're safe now," she replied, pulling away so she could look into his eyes. "I've always dreamed of this moment, you know," she said pensively.

"That's so adorable!" Zaria exclaimed, clasping her hands together. Princess Rochelle looked very pleased. King Julian laughed heartily. "Well, now that everything's settled! It's almost evening, and it's been a big day for all of us, but the day is not yet over! Tonight the banquet will be in honor of these heroic warriors!"

"Who are also the Warriors of Mage, fated to save the world!" Princess Giselle added, turning to the group.

"Gee," Cat said bashfully.

"It's our pleasure to serve thee," Zack declared proudly.

"We're happy to help!" Fuuko chimed in cheerfully.

"I guess we have no choice but to accept our fate," Adrian shrugged, smiling.

"We're a good team, you gotta admit," Breanna told Adrian.

"Maybe we can make it, if we all work together," Zaria said, turning up to look at Zeth and smiling at him.

"I never thought otherwise," Zeth replied, grinning back down at Zaria. "Hey guys!" Zitan boomed from out of nowhere. "Ligeia has our room ready!"

King Julian and Queen Yvette left the room, and Princess Rochelle turned back to the group. "Thank you all so much for helping us," she said gently in her high-pitched voice. "Please enjoy yourselves tonight. After you're settled in your rooms please go see Ligeia about your evening wear." She then turned on her heel and left the room.

"Evening wear?" Cat said, puzzled. Princess Giselle laughed frivolously. "Yes. It would be our pleasure to see you all dressed up in royal finery."

Prince Luke looked at them warmly, still holding on to Princess Giselle. "I have to thank you all so much for saving my life and Giselle's as well. If you ever need anything, feel free to ask any of us for help. We're at your service anytime, anyplace."

"Thank you, your highnesses," said Zeth humbly.

"No need to have all this 'highnesses' and 'majesties' talk," Princess Giselle said. "We're all friends, right?"

Zeth smiled. "Yes, Princess Giselle."





As you can see, everything in this story is getting more complex. It gets more complicated than this, trust me. I hope you like it! Please review, and inform when you want updates.