A/N: This is the updated version of chapter 4. 10/24/16

One year ago.

I stepped into the section of the complex I shared with Nathaniel. There was only one door to the area, and only Nathaniel, Adrian, and I had clearance to enter it. Anyone else would be met with an alarm, and me. Most of the people who worked in the facility shouldn't be able to access this floor. I quietly closed the door behind me and announced, "I'm back."

The living room's carpet and ceiling shared warm brown hues, and the glass walls played stylized ocean waves in shifting blues and greens. The windows were one-way, so people on the outside couldn't see in, but it still let sunlight through during the day, and I could see out into the rest of the city far below. We could see Elpedite's shimmering blue and silver businesses and houses stretching into the night. The sky was black, the misty lights of the city shielding the stars from view. The only lights in the sky were several airships and one of the atmos-cities drifting across the night.

Nathaniel sat in a cushy chair by the window, curled over the screen in his lap. Upon my announcement he looked up, and a grin spread across his face as his eye met mine. I returned his smile. The familiar stab of guilt and fury I felt every time I saw his eyepatch didn't make it to my face.

He unfolded from the chair and set his screen aside, running over to give me a hug. "Finally! It feels like you've been gone forever."

I returned the embrace, beaming down at him and ruffling his black hair. "I know. Sorry. Haven't Mika and Rutile been keeping you company? And I hope you didn't follow Rutile's plan to flood your classroom's sink with soda and mentos."

He pulled away, but gripped my hand and led me back to the windows. "Nah. Mika talked us out of it. How'd you know?"

"Well, I'm glad to hear it. And Mika called to tell me. But of course I wasn't going to get back in time to stop you, so I left it up to him."

"Well he did a good job of it. He distracted Rutile with a game of chess. Besides, I was too busy reading. Did you know about the ancient city of Whe'na?"

"No, I don't. What makes it so fascinating?" I asked, pulling up a chair beside Nathaniel's as he dropped back into his.

"Well, not a lot is known about it. Most of what is known comes from the building some archeologists found on Ugein Island." Nathaniel tapped the screen a few times before turning it to me. On the it was a picture of an ancient stone building with arched doorways, rounded rooftops, worn spiral patterns carved into the walls, and one tower at the top. Trees grew up the sides, their roots choking the crumbling stone. The sky was a deep grey with plateaus visible as dark silhouettes on the horizon.

"What is it?" I asked, resting my chin in my hand.

Nathaniel pulled the screen back, tapping it a few times. "No one's a hundred percent sure, but they think it was a town hall of sorts. They've found evidence of all sorts of things inside: libraries, royal chambers, and crypts." His bright blue eye darted across the screen. An excited smile crept up his cheeks as he listed off the strange building's rooms. "It was built like it was the center of a city, but there aren't any signs of the rest of it. It's like all the buildings and people just vanished. Even the crypt was empty, no bodies anywhere, only empty tombs."

I was quiet for a moment after he fell silent. "How busy is that place? It must attract a huge amount of tourists." I didn't expect it to, actually. I just wanted to confirm my suspicion. If the place was nearly abandoned, maybe I could get us a visit there.

"That's actually the really weird part; not a lot of people go there. It was never a very popular subject in the news, and it was too hard to build any sort of tourist attractions there, so it's mostly untouched."

"Hmm." My gaze wandered over the article on the screen. "Would you like to go there?"

He snorted. "Of course! That would be amazing! Imagine what I could find." His smile faltered as he spoke. He tried to hide it, but I caught it.

"Then I'll try to get us a trip there," I said, standing up and pulling off my coat.

"What?"

"I'll ask Adrian about getting us a visit."

"But that's— Adrian wouldn't— "

"Why not?"

Nathaniel froze, his smile creeping back. "You think you can?"

I crossed my arms and stared at the wall. "I can try. And I think it will work."

A weight fell against me and I looked down to see Nathaniel hugging my side. "Thank you."

I snorted. "Remember that when I tell you this: bed time."

"Aw, come on! It's only ten."

"And you have math in the morning. Bed," I said, turning him around to face the stairs.

"But you only sleep for like, four hours."

"I have a computer in my brain. You don't."

"Fine," he whined, right before trying to turn and duck under my arm.

I tripped him, catching him in my right arm before throwing him over my shoulder. "Again: computer in my brain."

"Ugh." He went limp. I carried him up the stairs and into his room, dropping him on the bed. He rolled off and grabbed his pajamas from the drawer. "Will you walk me to math tomorrow?"

"Sure. If I can," I said, tapping his windows. The glass turned black, blocking out any light. Nathaniel put on his pajamas and jumped into bed. I threw his covers up over his head before he huffed and pulled them back down, shooting me a look of mock irritation. "Love you. Goodnight," I said, going to the door and tapping the wall to shut off the lights.

"Love you too."

As I stepped back into the living room, an alert flashed in the upper right corner of my vision. Adrian wanted to see me. I sighed, glaring at the floor as I shrugged my jacket back on. Hopefully whatever he wanted wouldn't take long. Shutting the lights off as I went, I exited. After pulling the door shut behind me, I waited a moment. A click echoed down the hall, confirming it had locked.

My footsteps echoed against the silence of the smooth, white halls of the facility. "I'm headed for the hundred and tenth floor," I said.

"Understood," The sterile voice of the building's AI replied.

As I passed the door to Nathaniel's classroom, a ding announced the arrival of the elevator at the end of the hall. The doors parted. I stepped inside, and they slid shut behind me. Machinery whirred as the elevator rose. The number 110 scrolled across the screen in the top right corner of the elevator.

The elevator slowed to a halt and another ding rang out. As the doors parted I stepped out, past two masked soldiers on either side of the doorway. They both held new TER guns, full gear, and stood rooted to the floor. They faced away from the elevator, and as I walked into their field of vision, the soldier on the right's heart rate rose. She must be new.

The glass covered walls of the entryway, playing gold and blue spiraling patterns, slowly flowing across the room. The gleaming white floor and ceiling contrasted against my black boots, the black receptionist desk, and seats lining the walls. The receptionist's eyes glanced up to meet mine before darting back to his work. The doors to Adrian's office were closed, but I pulled them open without a word of protest from the receptionist.

Silently, the office doors swung shut behind me. The far wall of the office wasn't a wall, but a single giant window. The dim lights of Adrian's office let the glow of the city light the ceiling. None of the wall art of the entryway played across the blank white walls.

Adrian sat in his desk, silhouetted against the dotted lights of Elpedite shining behind him.

"What do you want?" I asked as I approached his desk.

He tapped the screen in front of him, not glancing up as I sat down in one of the chairs facing his desk. I glared at him and waited for him to finish the paperwork he was working on. As he tapped his screen a final time, he sat back and the dim glow it cast on his face faded away. "Hello, Alice. Thank you for joining me." He gave me a smile, his green eyes crinkling at the corners in a way that radiated warmth.

"I don't enjoy your jokes. What do you want?" I grit my teeth.

His warm smile vanished and a cold smirk replaced it. "To speak with you about the future."

"Couldn't this have waited until tomorrow?"

"No. I had time now, so now we'll talk." His smirk remained frozen in place. "You've been going to the west mostly, and within certain areas of Elpedite, but I'm going to be sending you north more. You will start training with Amale and her team starting tomorrow at eleven PM in area seven to prepare. Your sessions with Fare and the others will be canceled. You've moved beyond them anyway."

My eyes narrowed. "What about with you?"

"You'll still train with me every third week."

"Good."

"That was all. You can leave now." He turned back to his screen.

"Actually I have something I would like to discuss," I said, leaning forward to rest my elbows on my knees.

"And what would that be?" he asked without looking up.

"Nathaniel and I would like to visit some ruins within the next few weeks. The ruins of Whe'na on the island of Ugien."

There was a moment of silence as Adrian's fingers ran across his screen, presumably checking out the ruins and island. "All right. You can go next week. I'll prepare everything soon."

"Are you really going to make this that easy?" I said, a sneer pulling at my lips.

Adrian turned to look at me, his smirk still in place, but steel behind his eyes. "Yes, I am. I remember the conversation we had. We resolved this then. Don't waste my time or my patience. Leave."

I rose from the chair, locking stares with him for a moment longer before turning away and exiting the room. I passed the receptionist and guards and entered the waiting elevator.

"Floor one hundred," I said.

"Understood, Alice."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Present.

"Masayoshi-kun, I really want to thank you," Syaoran said.

We were back at the okonomiyaki restaurant at Masayoshi's request. He'd figured out that we'd be leaving and had shown up this morning with his kudan to ask if he could take us out to lunch as a goodbye party. We'd agreed, but left Sakura with Arashi since she was still falling asleep unexpectedly. This included during dinner last night, when she'd accidentally used her bowl of rice as a pillow.

I sipped from my glass of water and absently watched Mokona once again go after Kurogane's food. Oddly enough, Kurogane seemed less irritated this time, and although he glared, he actually engaged the creature in a mock sword fight with their chopsticks.

Masayoshi sniffed. "Both my kudan and I—We're always so weak, so—so—" He brushed a tear away. "I'm glad you were able to get the feather."

"You aren't weak," Syaoran said, his voice firm. "Strength and weakness aren't measured only in battle. Going out and doing your best for someone else's sake is a wonderful sign of strength."

Masayoshi blinked away the rest of his tears and smiled. "Thanks! Thank you."

"Yo," a voice said. I turned to see Shougo waving as he walked over to our table. His gang, following behind him, poured into the restaurant and started filling every empty table. Mokona took advantage of Kurogane's distraction and snatched the okonomiyaki they'd been battling for. "I'm glad my team gets good intelligence," Shougo went on as Masayoshi scooted over to make room for him on the bench across from Kurogane, Fai, and me. "I'll have futa-modan," he called to the blond waiter from the other day.

"Of course, sir," the man said. "One futa-modan for this gentleman, Your Majesty!"

The voice of the waiter that looked like Syaoran's king snapped across the restaurant. "I told you to stop that!"

Shougo turned to Syaoran. "Nobody got wounded, right?"

"We're fine," Syaoran said. "I'm sorry to have interrupted our battle."

Shougo smiled. "It's okay. It was the only thing you could do, circumstances being what they were."

A distressed squeak drew my attention and looked over to see that Kurogane's miraculous patience had apparently evaporated. Kurogane grinned as he dangled a squeaking and flailing Mokona over the grill.

"Besides," Shougo said, his voice falling to a more serious tone, "I was losing that battle anyway." Shougo's men erupted into boos and taunts, filling the restaurant. It was interesting that Shougo knew when to admit his loses. I still thought the street brawl enthusiasm of this world was reckless, but maybe Shougo did have a certain honor, like Masayoshi said. But regardless of who was winning or losing, the fight had been unnecessary once we found out Masayoshi's kudan had the feather. If Syaoran and Shougo thought finishing the fight would be polite or something, I was glad circumstances forced them to cut it short.

"Oh shut up!" Shougo said, cutting off the jeers of his gang.

"Alice-san?" Fai asked.

"Yes?" I asked, turning to him.

"I was wondering; do you have a kudan? I haven't seen you use one."

I frowned. I hadn't thought to much about it, since magic was still so alien to me, but I couldn't think of an obvious reason I wouldn't have a kudan. "No, I don't. Why do you ask?"

"Just out of curiosity. It seems strange that a kudan wouldn't appear for you, but the rest of us all found them. Do you have any idea why that would be? And you haven't had any strange dreams, have you?"

It was odd that I didn't have a kudan when that seemed to be one of the rules of this world. Was a special dream necessary to get a kudan? If it was, that would explain it. I'd only slept that one night. But the dreams seemed more like side-effects than the cause. And the only dream I'd had was a familiar one, without any mysterious beasts.

I frowned and ran my thumb over the edge of my glass. "No, I haven't had any odd dreams. And I'm not sure why a kudan hasn't come to me."

"Hm." Fai rested his chin in his hand. "You said magic didn't exist in your world, right? Maybe that has something to do with it."

"Maybe." If magic somehow didn't work the same with me as it did with the others, whose worlds were built with magic, that could explain it. But if that was the cause, then how could I travel with it? Maybe that wasn't the issue at all; maybe there was a reason unrelated to magic that I didn't get a kudan.

After the meal, Shougo, Masayoshi, and the rest of us left the thunderous buzz of the restaurant to find a quieter space to say goodbye. Syaoran stood with Masayoshi and Shougo, saying his farewells as Kurogane, Fai, Mokona and I waited a few feet away. Syaoran smiled warmly as he shook Masayoshi and Shougo's hands before walking over to join us. He turned to beam at Masayoshi. "If we make it back here we'll be sure to visit, okay?"

I turned away as Fai gave a wave, and we started back to Sorata and Arashi's place.

"Take care!" Masayoshi cried as we turned the corner.

Starting a brisk pace, I left the others behind as they stopped to admire the shops. I wanted to get away from the others for a while and get my mind in order. My gaze locked on the ground as I made my way through the crowd.

The dream I'd had the night before last unsettled me. I hated that dream, even more than the painful ones I'd had. I couldn't tell exactly why, but it always left me with a hollow feeling in my chest. Like something creeping through my veins from my core into the rest of my body. I'd been able to ignore it yesterday with all the chaos, but today left me with more time to think.

Slowing my pace, I worked over my thoughts and emotions. The dream had upset me. If I let this continue, it was going to distract me from more important things and I needed to get it under control.

I stopped, my gaze flicking away from the ground, to the crowd around me. I was letting it distract me right now. The System could scan for Adrian, yes, but the cameras were in my eyes, which meant they could only see what I could. I'd just been staring at the ground for ten minutes while dozens of people had walked passed me.

This was idiotic. I took a deep breath and as I let it out I pushed aside the gnawing hollowness, the anger. If my mind was clear, I could focus on what was important: finding Nathaniel and avoiding Adrian. I couldn't allow these useless emotions to rule my head. Anger could fuel my fights, and a certain sense of unease could alert me to dangerous situations. But none of those feelings had any use here.

I let cold focus crawl across my mind, freezing anything that could distract me.

After organizing my emotions, I returned to Sorata and Arashi's home. I nodded a greeting to Sakura and Arashi as I headed to my guest room. I found my clothes folded where I left them and changed back into them. I wanted to be ready to go when the others returned.

As I fastened my sword back into place, I wondered if I could get a gun here before we left, or at least a knife, but I dismissed the thought. It would take too long to find either now, and I wasn't sure if this world had guns. But if I got into a fight where the enemy used distance to their advantage or had a gun of their own, I was going to need one. I could ricochet bullets with my sword, but I couldn't deflect them back at the enemy with guaranteed precision. And if I was caught unprepared, I wouldn't have a chance to get my sword in position to block the bullet.

A knife and gun would also be necessary if I ran into Adrian. I suspected he knew how to disarm me if I used my sword, so I needed a backup. Even if I didn't have the time to find anything in this world, any world I could imagine, no matter how primitive or dependent on magic, must have knives, right?

I folded the clothes I'd borrowed and placed them on the floor. As I straightened I caught sight of myself in the mirror on the wall across from me. Blue flickering in my eyes. The System analyzing my own reflection. I glared at myself for a moment before turning away and going to the small balcony that overlooked the apartment front and bustling street to wait.

Seven minutes later, the others filtered out of the crowd and into the yard, Fai and Syaoran chatting while Kurogane followed behind. I left the balcony and returned to the kitchen, where the others had stepped in and were talking with Arashi and Sakura.

"Tell me when you're ready to go," I said as I walked past them and into the yard. Outside, I leaned against the side of the apartment and watched the crowd. The people moved past the building in a constant stream. Two school girls around my age walked passed, giggling as they flipped through a magazine. A father held his bawling daughter while the child's mother tried soothing her. A man in a suit power-walked, checking his watch as he swung his brief case.

The people here weren't so different than the ones from my world. The girls in Elpedite would be giggling over something on their screens rather than a magazine. The parents would still be fussing over their child, and the man who was late to work would still be checking the time. But the same feeling of distance was here as well. The girls, the family, and the working man all seemed far away somehow. The girls whose only worries were school, family, and other basic things . . . I couldn't imagine what it would be like to live so simply. And the parents with their daughter— what was it like to be confident you would always have that? The confidence that they would always have each other, that they could raise their daughter and watch her grow.

Looking at them felt like looking at the stars.

Sakura drew my attention as she wobbled out of the doorway, along with Syaoran. He held her arm, gently guiding her. Fai, Mokona and Kurogane followed behind them a moment later. Everyone was back in the clothes we started our journey in. Sorata and Arashi came out next and I pushed off the wall to join the group.

"You're going already?" Sorata asked, looking disappointed.

"Yes," Syaoran said, his voice kind, but firm.

"But you haven't tasted all the cooking me and my wife can make," Sorata wailed as Syaoran returned the frog purse to Arashi.

Sakura blinked, staring at the ground as she wobbled for a moment. But Fai noticed and took her arm with a smile, steadying her. I returned my attention to the passing crowd, half-listening to the others' conversation. I didn't need to focus on the people myself, just make sure the cameras could see them.

A disc of spiraling colors bloomed beneath my feet, making me jump. I glanced over to see Kurogane's eyes locked on mine. He'd been watching me observe the crowd. He was probably going to ask about that again soon, and I doubted he would take another 'wait until later.'

Mokona rose from Syaoran's shoulders as wings sprang from his back. "Thank you so much for everything!" Syaoran shouted as the wind rose, threatening to consume his voice.

"For what?" Sorata asked with a smirk. "We didn't do anything special."

"I pray that you find one of Sakura's feathers in your next world," Arashi said.

Then Mokona's mouth gaped open, and Sorata and Arashi vanished along with the rest of their world in a swirling blend of color.

Whatever this was, traveling between worlds, dimension, or planets, was just as disorienting as the first time. I held my arms out and shifted my legs in an attempt to right myself. Colors flowed around me, making it impossible to decide what was truly up or down. I managed to spin myself into what I hoped was an upright position.

I half turned to see the others falling through the vortex of hues with me. We all fell a few yards away from each other, except for Syaoran and Sakura. Syaoran had an arm securely around her waist.

When the stream of colors pulled apart beneath me, I was ready. Until I saw the crowd of gaping up at us in shock before they started scrambling to get out of our way. As they cleared, a dusty dirt road, cloth stalls, and crates of fruit filled our landing space. I grit my teeth as I realized this was going to be rough, and potentially messy.

I bent my legs slightly and kept my hands out, doing my best to brace for the landing. I dropped onto one of the crates with a crunch, the wood breaking beneath me as I let my legs bend, cushioning my impact but sending me butt first into the crate behind me. The crack of more breaking crates announced the others landing next to me, as slivers of wood scraped my face and a persimmon bounced off my head.

I sat up and brushed the wood chips from my hair, looking around. Fai and Mokona laughed, stuck in crates of their own. Syaoran and Sakura stared, bewildered at the chaos we'd made. Kurogane wiped some fruity mush off his face, muttering to himself.

The crowd that had cleared as we landed quickly reformed, gathering around us with alarmed stares and hushed whispers. I pushed myself out of the crate I'd landed in and flicked my gaze over the crowd. No sign of Nathaniel or Adrian. I sighed in a mix of relief and frustration. It was exhausting looking for the both of them constantly, and I had only been to one world before this one. They could literally be anywhere. Which made nowhere safe, for me or Nathaniel. Adrian's presence loomed behind every door and amidst any crowd.

An even spread of men and women surrounded us, but some of the men shot dark glares at us and brandished long poles. There were stalls lining the dirt road, selling fruit, fish, clothes, jewelry and other wares I couldn't identify. No buildings loomed above us, and no sidewalk lined the road. The street lights and flashing signs I was used to were gone. I listened and found no hum of machinery. In its place was the aggressive buzz of the crowd.

I flexed my hand as I resisted the temptation to grip the hilt of my sword. If anything could diffuse the aggression of the crowd, going for my weapon was not it.

One of the men in the crowd towards us, and my gaze met his. "Who are you?" he barked, leveling his staff in our direction.

"Huh?" Kurogane said. "What is it now?"

"Wow!" Fai said. "I think we're the center of attention."

"We're visitors," I told the man.

A towering man stalked toward us through the crowd as they hurried out of his way. He glared down at us, his wide shoulders stiff, small eyes narrowed, and a frog-like mouth curled into a sneer. "Who the hell are they?" he demanded. "And where did they come from?" He breached the distance I would define as friendly, and his pace wasn't slowing. His tensed shoulders and quick pace exuded aggression as he reached out towards Sakura. I took a step sideways to intercept him, but before I could get around the crates, he'd grabbed Sakura's arm.

Syaoran shot up immediately, leaping from a sitting position to deliver a flying kick to the man's face. The crack from the blow rang through the now silent street as the man stumbled back. Syaoran landed, placing himself between the man and Sakura, glaring.

Fai and Mokona laughed, and Kurogane gave a snort of approval. I eyed Syaoran. Something about the way he'd moved was familiar, but I couldn't figure out what.

"You think that was a good idea, kicking me in the face?" the man yelled, blood streaming from his nose. I stepped around the crates, making sure they were out of my way if the man tried anything else. I usually wanted to maintain a certain peace with strangers, and I could let a few things go to maintain it. But when I met someone like this, who clearly wanted a fight, it was best to establish dominance from the start.

The man took a step forward. I spaced my feet a little farther apart, setting one farther forward then the other, and lifted my back heel off the ground. But before he got too close, a girl's voice thundered across the street. "Stop right there!"

I followed the voice to a rooftop across from us. A young girl sat on it, her arms crossed, a livid expression on her face. She had long dark hair, pulled up in a ponytail, and she looked about thirteen years old. "If you don't want to be kicked," she said, "don't go attacking people at random, you stupid little boy!"

"Chu'Nyan!" He spun on her. "Who are you calling stupid?"

The girl stood up, putting a hand up to shield her eyes and mimed looking around. "I don't see anybody stupider than you."

"You little . . . " He clenched his fists. "You insult me? I am the only son of the Ryanban-sama, the master of the country of Koryo, including the town of Ryonfi!"

I couldn't follow some of what he said, but if he was furious over a little girl and throwing his title around, then I knew the type of man this was. He was nothing I needed to worry about.

"You may call him Ryanban," the girl said, "but less than a year ago, he was just a wandering shinban magician."

"You dare put down my father?" the man howled. "Do you know the punishment for opposing the Ryanban, Chu'Nyan?"

The girl opened and shut her mouth as her face crumpled, and she grit her teeth.

"I claim the right of retribution for these insults!" the man said as he and the hostile members of the mob retreated. "Just be prepared!"

We'd kept quiet during the altercation, but as soon as the man disappeared behind the crowd, Syaoran turned to Sakura. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Sakura said with a smile. "Thank you."

Syaoran returned the smile, but sorrow crept along the edges of it. Kurogane and Fai pulled themselves out of the mess of crates and fruit, and we all stood to form a circle once they were free. "Well," Fai said, watching the retreating mob over his shoulder, "it looks like we created trouble immediately after our arrival."

"Syaoran was great!" Mokona cried excitedly as he copied Syaoran's flying kick.

Syaoran smiled, but his gaze fell to the crates we landed in. He started. "Ah!" He looked around and spotted a man picking up some of the fruit. "I'm sorry." He started picking up persimmons and righted one of the crates we'd knocked over. "You meant to sell these right?"

"It's all right. It doesn't seem like you meant to," the man said, waving away Syaoran's apology. Sakura followed Syaoran, picking up the fruit. Fai quickly joined her.

"Mokona will help too!" Mokona cried as he skipped over to retrieve a persimmon.

"Come on Kuro-pin, Alice-san, you pick them up too." Fai waved Kurogane and I over.

"Ugh! What a pain! And why does she get a proper name?" he asked, stomping over.

I hesitated, but started collecting the scattered persimmons and returning them to the functional crates. I threw a glance over my shoulder and spotted the girl from the roof a few feet away, folding crumpled blankets from one of the stalls we'd damaged. I turned back to our group as I returned another armful of persimmons and spotted Sakura slumped against a crate, blinking sleep from her eyes.

"Those are weird clothes!" a yell made me jump, and I spun to see Chu'Nyan staring at Syaoran, who stared back with a baffled expression.

Fai burst out laughing and pointed to Kurogane. "She called them weird. She must've been talking about your clothes, Kuro-rin."

Mokona jumped onto Fai's head. "Kurogane's weird!"

"If I'm weird, then so are you!" Kurogane snapped.

Chu'Nyan took a few steps closer, regaining my attention. "You people . . . are you guys . . . " She stared at us for a second. Then she darted over to Sakura, grabbed her wrist, and started towing her away from us at a run. "Come with me!"

Syaoran jumped. "Wait a moment!" He dumped his armful of fruit into a crate as he scrambled to sprint after them.

"Are you kidding me?" I said and ran after him, along with Kurogane and Fai.

"We're busy all ready," Fai said.

"This is such a pain!" Kurogane growled.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The girl led us down several streets before darting into a simple wooden building with a tile roof. We followed and found ourselves in a sparsely furnished room with wooden floors, sliding paper doors, and spacious windows.

Chu'Nyan sat Sakura down across from her, and when Syaoran entered, she commanded him to do the same. Now she just sat staring at them. Fai inspected a small mirror on a shelf, a hand on his chin as he angled it around the room. Kurogane stood by the door, testing how far he could stretch Mokona's face as the creature refused to drop the subject of his 'weird clothes.'

I waited by the door, watching all of them in confusion before Syaoran spoke. "Um . . . Where are—?"

"My house," the girl said, staring at him intently.

"Why did you suddenly—"

"Don't you have something to say?"

"Okay, kid. What do you want?" I said, crossing my arms and glaring at the girl.

She leaned forward and glanced between me, Syaoran, and Sakura. "You don't have anything to say?"

"Besides 'Would you get to your point?' No."

She glanced between me and Syaoran once again before she sighed and sat back. "Now that I think about it, children like you couldn't be Amen'osa could you?"

Sakura rubbed her eye. "Amen'osa?"

"The Amen'osa are a group of agents that the government sends around the country. They know that some of the Ryanban are acting only in their own self-interest in the regions they control. They know some people are oppressed. So they travel about the country with a mission to right those wrongs."

Mokona leapt from Syaoran's head with a yell. "It's Mito-Komon!"

The girl eyed Mokona and leaned away as the creature babbled to Syaoran. "I've been wondering this for a while, but . . . what is that thing?" she asked.

"Mokona is Mokona!" Mokona sang as he sprung toward the girl. She fell back in surprise, gasping as Mokona fell on her with a laugh.

Fai sat down next to her. "Just think of Mokona as a mascot. So you think we're this Amen'osa of yours . . . um . . . "

"Chu'Nyan," the girl supplied as Mokona jumped off her.

Fai smiled and pointed to himself. "My name's Fai. This is Syaoran-kun, Sakura-chan over here, over there is Alice-san . . . "

Kurogane glared at Fai, guessing what was coming. "And finally," Fai continued, "This is Kuro-puu!"

"That's Kurogane!" he barked.

Fai ignored him and returned his attention to Chu'Nyan. "So you wish that these Amen'Osa would come here. And if you want that, you must think this leader of yours is a bad man."

"He's the worst," she growled, gritting her teeth. "He took my Omoni . . . my mother, and . . . "

Took her mother? As in killed or kidnapped her? If it was the latter, then it would be odd for Chu'Nyan to be defying them so boldly. Her actions made more sense if her mother had been murdered. Her behavior in the market was rash if the man and his father had the power they claimed. Which would make sense if she was a grieving child with no parents to hold her back. Rage and grief could be difficult to control at that age.

My jacket collar fluttered, and slapped my cheek, distracting me. I frowned and folded it back down, but felt a breeze tugging against it and my hair. I turned to look outside and saw a ring of dust dancing up around the house as the windows and doors of the home began to rattle.

"Is that the wind?" Fai asked as the window panes shivered in their frames.

"Everybody stay inside!" Chu'Nyan yelled as the house began shuddering and groaning.

The front door stood open, shaking as the gale tried to rip it from its track. I lunged to pull it shut, slamming it into place as a clay pot, hurled by the wind, shattered against it. I dropped low, keeping a hand against the door as the house shuddered around us and the wind rose to a scream.

I looked over at the others to see Fai snatch Mokona out of the air and Syaoran pull Sakura to the floor, shielding them from the flying debris and slivers of wood. After a solid minute of bits of the house flying off around us and tiles being snatched from the roof, the wind vanished, leaving a ringing silence.

I stood slowly. The window frames bared jagged shards around the sills like teeth. The sections of paper on the sliding doors had either vanished or had gashes torn through them. A hole gaped through the roof as a single tile fell through and shattered on the floor.

Fai rose, his smile gone. "That was no natural wind just now."

"It was the damn Ryanban! He's the one who did it all!" Chu'Nyan yelled, clenching her fists.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

After we helped Chu'Nyan sweep out her home and hang blankets across the bigger gaps in the walls and windows, she invited us to spend the night. We accepted. Sakura and Chu'Nyan sat in the corner, chatting away despite Sakura periodically starting awake after nodding off. I sat with the others by the door. They'd been talking about fixing the roof in the morning when I broke in on the conversation.

"Mokona, is my brother here?"

Mokona leapt from Syaoran's shoulder to mine and closed his eyes. "Sorry." His ears drooped and he shook his head. "He's not here."

That hollow feeling in my chest twisted, but I clamped down on it, refusing to let it grow. "All right."

"Hey," Kurogane said, and I looked over to him. "That thing I mentioned in Hanshin Republic, about you watching people. We're all here now, so do you want to explain?"

"I have to admit, I'm also curious," Fai said. Syaoran eyed me with raised eyebrows, but waited for me to explain.

What to tell them? It was a difficult question. How did I explain? I reminded myself they didn't need the full story. I needed to tell them the truth, but only the core of what they should know about Adrian. That simplified things.

"I'm looking for a man named Adrian. If he finds me or Nathaniel, it's very likely he'll try to kill us, and he's not the sort of person who will let go of something once he decides to do it." I said.

"What?" Syaoran gasped. "Why? How could he find you?"

"And what did you do to piss him off?" Kurogane asked. Fai frowned but said nothing.

I looked at Syaoran. "Adrian was the man who found magic in my world. He's also the one who created the explosion. I saw him get thrown by the blast before it reached Nathaniel and me. He must have been sent to another world, as well. I won't tell you why he wants to kill us."

Kurogane narrowed his eyes. "You seem to be hiding a lot, brat."

I leveled my gaze with his, letting some ice creep into my eyes. "Yes." I turned to Mokona. "Would you be able to tell me if Adrian is in this world, like you can with Nathaniel?"

"Do you know Adrian's full name?"

"No. And I doubt Adrian is his real one."

Mokona shook his head. "I'm sorry, I can't do it without that."

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. "Okay. Thank you."

"Well," Fai said, "if you tell us what he looks like, maybe we can help keep a lookout for him."

"Yes," Syaoran said. "It'll be safer with more eyes watching."

I frowned. Why would they offer to look for him? Maybe they didn't want to get caught between Adrian and I. That could be part of it, but after Syaoran made so many friends in two days, and Fai's patient kindness despite the risk to himself during our time in the Hanshin Republic, that attitude didn't seem to fit them. At least for Syaoran and Fai, they might genuinely want to help me. And if I had them looking with me, I couldn't think of a downside. We were stuck traveling as a group, so more eyes watching for Adrian would make everyone safer.

"All right," I said. "He's about Fai's height, maybe a bit taller. He has short blond hair, green eyes and a scar above his right eyebrow. He's charismatic, and can paste on the perfect smile at any point. He's in his fifties, but due to my world's medical progress he looks more like he's in his late twenties. He was wearing something that resembled Sorata's suit when I last saw him, with a longer, black coat and spiraling white patterns on the sleeves and neckline, but he could have changed into something else by now."

"And what should we do if we see him?" Fai asked.

"Just point him out to me. If it is Adrian, I'll take care of it." I didn't want them getting in the way or letting Adrian know they had any connection to me.

"It's like eye-spy!" Mokona exclaimed as he launched off my shoulder and back onto Syaoran's.

"The last thing you should know is important," I said. "It'll help you spot him, and let you know why you should avoid him."

The others perked up at this. I ran a basic scan of the house, blue lines and angles spreading across my vision. I wanted to remind them what this looked like. "If you see him, a sure way to know it's him is to look into his eyes. You'll be able to see a red light. Like me, with the System showing up in my eyes as blue lights."

Syaoran's brow furrowed. "Does that mean he also has the System?"

"Not exactly. Adrian does have a version of the System, but his was created before mine. The System I have is designed to be inferior to his. My System is called the ALICE System, like I told you in the Hanshin Republic; Advanced Limb Interface Control Engine."

Kurogane's eyebrows shot up, and Syaoran blinked, but Fai nodded like he'd expected it.

"So it was named after you?" Syaoran asked.

"No. Alice isn't my real name. My world named me after the ALICE System, so it's the alias I took."

"Let's back up a second," Kurogane said. "You said your ALICE System was inferior to his. That means your System is weaker on purpose?"

"Correct."

"Why would you get a weaker version?" Kurogane asked. "If this Adrian guy is so dangerous, why would you want a weaker System than his?"

"I didn't."

Kurogane glared, irritated with my terseness, but I stood before he could ask any more questions. I fully intended to tell them the truth, but only the truths I wanted to disclose, so yes or no questions would make things difficult. Besides this conversation had already gone further than I'd have preferred. "I'm going for a walk." I opened sliding door of the house, stepping out into the dark streets.

"W-wait!" Syaoran called. "What if you get lost or another magic attack hits?"

I glanced over my shoulder. "I'll be fine. The System will remember the layout of the city. And I don't think I'm a target at the moment." I let my eyes linger on Chu'Nyan for a moment, then walked out into the night.