Tegryn opened his eyes groggily and squinted as his alarm clock.
"7:30? On a Saturday morning? They must be joking..."
BANG BANG BANG!
"Teggy, wake up, quick!"
He soon perked up when he recognised the voice behind the bangs.
"Hang on Musie!" he yelled as he scrambled into his dressing gown. After making sure he was decent, he opened the door - sure enough there stood Musa, with the other girls and the lads from Red Fountain all assembled behind her.
"Come on, aren't you dressed yet?" Musa said jokingly.
"But... it's half-seven. There's no school today, right?"
"We've got a big day ahead, and you're holding us up. Come on, hurry up and get dressed. Oh, and wear that new stuff Discorda and Stella picked out for you - I wanna see just how handsome you look!"
Tegryn grinned. "Do I have time for a shower too?"
"I suppose so... just don't take too long."
"What about you guys?"
"We'll wait out here... or do you want us to watch?"
"What! NO!"
"Hey, just chill, I was only joking! Just hurry up!"
"Okay, okay, I'm going!" he said, still wondering what could be so important to warrant disturbing his beauty sleep (beauty sleep? Or do guys have handsome sleep instead?). After taking a hurried shower and dressing up in his new clothes, he opened the door.
"Oh, about time too! What took you so long?"
"Aww, come on - I went as quick as I could. What's the rush anyway?"
Musa beamed. "We're all going on a little trip."
"Oh yeah? Where to?"
"You'll see... you just have to let us in first!"
Smiling, he waved everyone through his door.
"So?"
Tecna stepped forward. "Okay, I have the coordinates programmed in... one trans-realm portal coming up!" she said as she opened it. "Teggy, after you!"
"No no, ladies first."
"Aww, you're such a gentleman!"
One by one, they stepped through the portal. As they emerged on the other side, they looked around them. They found themselves on a well-beaten path in the middle of a thick forest, which rang with the sound of countless birds. Tall cypress trees and fragrant magnolias surrounded them, and a stream could be heard running nearby. In the distance stood a number of misty mountain peaks, covered in thick vegetation.
"This is so beautiful!" said Flora, who obviously felt at home in such a lush landscape.
"So where are we then?" asked Tegryn.
"We were kinda hoping you'd tell us!" said Mimi, laughing.
"Yeah, don't you recognise it?" Nini added.
Tegryn looked around him and thought hard. This place did seem familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it - after all, he'd visited so many places before, it was difficult to keep track. Then, as he gazed upon the distant mountains, and on the largest peak looming above them, he slowly began to recognise his surroundings. A look of amazement edged its way onto his face.
"It can't be... but, it is... it's Panda Mountain! It's my home! But... but how? How did you find it?"
"Well, it sure took some finding," Bloom replied, "But we got there eventually."
"WE? You mean you were all in this together?"
"Uh-huh." she nodded.
"I guess I owe you all a big hug then!" he said, looking at Musa with a happy glint in his eye. "Except for the boys of course - I hope you'll just settle for a good manly handshake instead!"
"Well if you're gonna hug everyone," Musa said, "You'd better start with Anyuna - she's the one who actually found this place on the map."
"Anyuna?" He looked over at his friend, threw his arms open and embraced her happily. "I can't believe this is happening... thank you so much!"
Anyuna nervously hugged him back and blushed... then blushed even more as Tegryn gave her a little thank-you kiss on the cheek.
"So Teggy," said Musa. "Do you remember the way to your village?"
"Hmmm... let me get my bearings a minute." he said as he scratched his head, looking at the landscape around him. "If I'm right, my village should be a mile or so that way."
"Are you sure?" she said teasingly. "We don't want to be getting lost now!"
"Only one way to find out!"
And so they started walking in that direction, quickly reaching a narrow, fast-flowing river.
"Ah yes, I remember now," he said excitedly as the anticipation started to catch up with him. "An-Chuan should be a half-mile or so up that way."
He began to make his way quickly with Musa and the rest in tow, but as they made their way up the path, something caught his eye - it was some sort of shrine, adorned with flowers and various messages.
"Ooh, that's pretty," said Flora. "I've got no idea what all that says though. Teggy, can you read that?"
"Yeah, but I may be a bit rusty. Let's see..." Tegryn slowly began to mutter the words under his breath, but soon let out a gasp and held his hand over his mouth as their meaning became clear.
"Oh no... this is terrible!"