Hey, I'm back!

Dis: if i owned any of this, do you REALLY think it'd be on this site?

All of my Bishies except Jaenelle and Lucivar stayed in their Bishi Balls. Jaenelle claimed to want to get to know me better, and Lucivar claimed it was his duty to protect Jaenelle, and I knew better than to argue.

We ended up walking for the better part of two hours, since Cigam City was pretty close to where we were. An hour in, I gave in to my curiosity looked at my two newest Bishies. Well, I was actually staring at Lucivar's wings. He noticed this.

"Well?" he asked as he rustled his wings, clearly waiting for my reaction.

"There are no words to describe what I think, it's just that cool," I said. I could feel my hands flexing, fingers just itching to touch his wings.

'No,' I commanded myself silently, 'I will leave his wings alone, however friggin' cool they are.'

"So," Jaenelle said, breaking the silence, "how much do you know about us, other than what that machine said?"

"Judging by how well she knows US, I'd say quite a damn bit," Yusuke cut in. I jumped and looked at him.

"When did you come back out?" I asked. Lucivar smirked.

"My friend, you and I will get along just fine," he said. Yusuke smirked back and then went back into his Bishi Ball. I looked at Jaenelle.

"That was the best damn trilogy I've ever read. I could not put it down, I loved it that much," I said in complete honesty.

"Then you know all the important things."

"If you mean the stuff about Ranks and kindred and stuff, yeah, I know all about that."

"And you're not afraid or nervous?" Jaenelle looked at me and then to the Jewel on her necklace.

"No, should I be?" I asked far more casually than I would have thought was possible, considering who I was talking to. Jaenelle shook her head, but she was much more relaxed after that.

"You humans have something called Birthstones, right?" Lucivar spoke up.

"Yeah, why?" I asked.

"Just curious. What's yours?"

"Well, I was born in September, so that makes me a sapphire," I replied. He nodded. After that, silence reigned supreme.

"I think I see the city," Jaenelle said, breaking the silence that was beginning to get uncomfortable. I squinted through the trees, silently cursing the fact that the prescription on my glasses was getting weak.

"I can't see it. Lucivar, would you please fly up and take a look?" I asked as politely as I could. He looked at me, then at Jaenelle, who nodded, and then he spread his large wings and took off. I felt a slight tingle run up my spine, but I dismissed it as chills from the sudden breeze his wings had created. I watched in awe as he rose higher in the air.

"DAMN I wish I could do that…" I murmured. "That is so damn cool…"

"There's a city up ahead, but there's something going on," Lucivar said as he landed.

"Let's hurry, then. Don't wanna miss out on the excitement," I said. Lucivar and Jaenelle both nodded. Jaenelle backed up a few paces before making a short run and launching herself into the air. I felt that tingle run up my spine again as I watched her keep moving in the air, seemingly unaffected by gravity. I couldn't brush the tingle off as wind-chill this time. My right hand automatically went for Sess's Ball on my belt, but it didn't make it because of the arm that locked itself around my waist.

"It'll be quicker if I carry you. Don't worry, I won't drop you. Cat would have a fit if I did," Lucivar's voice said from right behind me. I didn't have any time to respond before my feet left the ground. The tingle made its way up my spine again, and this time it stayed there. I opened my eyes and looked around, not being aware that I had even closed them. I watched the treetops rushing below me, and I felt my fear of heights try to take control, but I pushed it aside. This was FAR too cool to ruin by stupid fears.

It took us maybe a minute to reach the town. They landed just outside the main gates, and Lucivar put me back on the ground. There was no guard at the gate, which I found odd.

"I guess we just go in?" I said questioningly. Jaenelle just shrugged and we walked through the gate. The two of them went into their Bishi Balls and Hiei came out and took their place. I found I was a lot more comfortable with him than I was with Jaenelle and Lucivar, and for a spilt second I wondered why, but the commotion in the center of town quickly grabbed my attention.

It was an absolutely HUGE crowd. At first I thought it was a battle, but something told me otherwise.

"-and then he vanished!" a girl was sobbing. "He vanished, and he took D with him!" With that, she collapsed into the arms of the Bishonen that was next to her. In the back of my mind, I vaguely pinned the name 'Tet-chan' to the face, along with the phrase Petshop of Horrors. I heard a number of people start murmuring.

"Poor girl…"

"Had a Chibi stolen from her…"

"Third one this week…"

"…hear they target random people…"

"As long as they have a Chibi, doesn't matter who they are…"

"Sad…"

I pushed my way through the crowd, trying to get a better view. Looking at the girl pulled something in me. Why wasn't I trying to find Alex? Wasn't she my best friend?

'I don't know where she is, and I don't know where to start looking…' I thought, trying to justify what I didn't do.

"Hey," I said, not really registering that I was talking until I had said it. Gathering my courage, I continued. "You said they took a Chibi from you?" The girl, who really couldn't have been more than thirteen at the very oldest, nodded tearfully.

"Tet-chan said it was a Halfling," she choked out. Hiei and I exchanged glances.

"What'd he look like?" I asked; dread building in the pit of my stomach. She pointed at my Bishonen.

"Like him, but with blue eyes and a darker skin tone. Said that he was collecting for his employer or something," she described, and then, not being able to say any more, just started crying again. A flash of what I can only describe as guilt lanced through my chest. Steeling myself, I glanced at Hiei, who, knowing what I was going to say, nodded.

"Where did he go?" I asked gently. She tried to tell me, but couldn't.

"He went in that direction," the girl's Bishonen pointed to the southeast. I nodded and went back into the crowd. I spent the next minute or so fighting through the people, who suddenly decided that they had something better to do. Once we were almost alone, I turned to Hiei.

"It's the same one," he said, not having to hear my question to answer it. "I'd have found his hideout already, but I'd need to know what I as looking for." I nodded and reached for one of my Bishi Balls. The Bishonen himself beat me to it, however.

"I heard what happened," Lucivar said the second he was able to. "I might be able to pick up his psychic scent, though it's a slim chance." I looked at him.

"Please? That Halfling took my best friend, and I have to find her." When he nodded, I added, "She'd kill me if I didn't…" Lucivar went back to where the girl and her Bishonen were, and I could feel a sharp tingle run up my spine.

'What the hell is that!' I thought. 'Once when he took off, once when Jaenelle took off, again while he was carrying me and now here. What the HELL could it--' Then a sentence from the books floated through my head, and then it clicked. "Even Eyriens need a LITTLE Craft to fly. Prothvar said so." (1)

Lucivar waved us over just as I figure out what the tingling was from.

"I think I found the right one, but it's like it's being covered up by something."

There's a human camp not far from here. Smoke's voice sounded in my head. He came out of the forest a little to our left, scaring the shit outta me for a second. But… smells unusual. Not human, not Bishonen. He looked confused.

"Halflings," Lucivar spat.

"Show us where," I said to the kindred wolf. He gave an odd sort of nod and led us into the woods.

It didn't take long to get where he wanted to take us, but really, 'human camp' wasn't the right term. 'Fortress' would have been better.

It basically looked like someone had built a three-floor house out of steel. There were fences around it, with barbed wire at the top of them. There were guards placed at every break in the fencing, and at every door, as if they didn't want anyone to get in.

Or out.

This is it. Smells odd. Many different scents, many different ages. Smoke said. Meaning that a lot of people came through at different times.

"So how do we get in?" I asked. "We can't exactly waltz through the front door, and bashing our way through isn't such a good idea either."

"Sneak in under a sight shield," Lucivar said quietly. Before I could say anything, that sharp tingle I came to associate with Craft ran up my spine again. Lucivar motioned for me to shut up and Hiei went back into his Bishi Ball, leaving just myself and my newest Bishonen. I gave a small squeak of surprise when he lifted me up and flew over the fence toward an open window on the second floor.

Apparently, the person who owned this place had no sense of taste. The window opened to the very end of a one-way hall. Everything was either steel or marble, with the exception of blankets in the containment cells we were passing. With every cell we had to pass, I was getting more and more pissed off. Each cell had a Chibi or two in it. I saw plenty that I recognized from watching anime or reading manga, and even a few from video games. They looked well-cared-for, for the most part. I was nearly to the stairs at the end of the long hall when I heard the one thing I didn't think I'd ever be glad to hear.

"Man, I'm hungry… I could really go for some pocky right about now…"

My heart leapt into my throat as I heard the voice I'd know in my sleep. I pulled away from Lucivar and ran to the door I heard the voice coming from. Judging by the lack of tingling in my spine, I figured that the sight shield wasn't over me anymore. I ran up to the little window on the door.

Inside the cell was a girl. She had brown hair that was all stringy from lack of brushing, an orange shirt that looked a little dirty, and blue jeans that looked a little worn at the bottoms.

All in all, my best friend looked alright. Just covered in dirt.

"Al-chan!" I said. Alex jumped and looked up.

"Meg-chan?" she gasped, stunned. "You're…here?" She got up and came to the gap in the door. "Can you get me out? I'm starving! They haven't come by with food in forever! What took you so long, by the way?"

I grinned. Yup, same old Alex. I glanced at Lucivar. "Can you get the lock off the door?"

He nodded and told us to stand clear. A burst of Ebon Gray power and a wiggle-around burst of tingling in my spine, and Alex was in the hallway with us.

"They took my Bishies from me! From what I heard from the Chibis, they keep Trainers' things on the third floor. Did you know that they have the whole group of main characters from that game you like so much?" I grinned.

"To the top floor, then."

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