Disclaimer: Prétear. Not mine.

Healing Light And A Search Blossoms

There was nothing but darkness. She could hear a voice vibrating from far away…

'This time you won't win…with my help, the new Princess Of Disaster will rule!' The voice said to her. It was the same familiar voice that had spoken to Mannen earlier.

There was a small light glimmering, brightening up some of the darkness. Himeno squinted. She could see a redheaded boy. She put her hands to her lips. It couldn't possibly be who she thought it was. She had to have been imagining it.

"Himeno…Himeno…" A different voice said.

She woke up. Hayate stared at her with his deep blue eyes.

"Hajime!" She yelled out. There was still doubt in her about whether she had just seen him in her dream, but there is always a possibility for a Knight to be corrupted, no matter how pure or innocent they are. It is possible that the Knight resisted corruption, but in the end, sometimes even the strongest hearts can cave in to the evil.

"What about him?" Goh scratched his head.

"You really are clueless, aren't you Goh? Hajime was the one who attacked us." Mannen said. The Knight of Ice was the first one to see the evil Knight of Water, the first one to see the loss of innocence in his eyes.

"I had a dream about him. He said the new Princess of Disaster will rule." Himeno told them.

"That would explain his odd behavior." Mannen said, thinking about different times at school.

"But who could the new Princess of Disaster be?" Yayoi asked.

"Well, we should get Mannen back to Leafeania to heal." Goh said and looked at the other Knights. There was a hint of worry in his voice, and the he glanced back over at Mannen; Goh had a feeling that the Knight of Ice would be too stubborn to admit that his injuries were serious.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." The Knight of Fire was right about his stubbornness. Mannen tried to get up, and then fell back down; Goh caught him and cushioned his fall.

--

In Leafeania…

Kei, who had been swamped with everything at his job, came immediately when he heard about Mannen.

Light glowed from Kei's hand, healing Mannen's bandaged chest.

"Sorry you had to leave work." Mannen said quietly.

"Don't worry; there are plenty of people at the company. Besides, fighting the Princess of Disaster and her seeds are more important. Now, you say it was Hajime who attacked with 2 seeds?" The Knight of Light asked. Hayate nodded.

"Yes, I never would've guessed that he'd be evil. I thought Mannen was more likely-"

"What's that supposed to mean? I'd never work for the Princess of Disaster, not after all the fighting I had to do!" The Knight of Ice snapped at the Knight of Wind.

"Calm down, Mannen." Kei said, and sighed at Mannen's childishness.

"I am calm!" He replied. Now, the Knight of Ice's definition of 'calm' might have been different then everyone else's, for no one in the room had a look on their face that seemed to agree with his statement.

Sasame started to go towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Goh asked. He turned around.

"To find Shin."

TBC...