Whee! This story just goes on and on and on and on! Thank you so much for reviewing. It makes me so happy to see the words that you write! I got a few interesting ones this time…

Vortex the Pangolin: I sent you a PM. I think that you are the only one who smells incest…what does it smell like?

Celialover25: That's what I thought. A girl. Thank you for reading my story! -huggles-

Moonlit Dreaming: Curse all of you smart people. Er…your instincts are good. Kate is indeed the product of Lillia and Zack…while Rod's away, Lillia will play! I'll explain it in MTM 4--Threshold.

Awesome Rapidash: Aack! Another right answer! Good job. Thank you for your comment. I'm glad you liked Kate. I love me my crazy genius girls.

HMAngel: Yeah, yeah, yeah. The infamous DS topic. So you're still hanging on, are you? I'm glad to see your face around here. You think Jack will "score" with Nami? What exactly do you mean by that? Heh heh.

AshRB: Actually, flamingos can indeed fly. I had to look it up in the encyclopedia myself. Thanks for reading!

CHAPTER NINE: Er…what?

Nami was surprised by the Villa's unkempt appearance when she skipped up the front steps. Now that the days were getting warmer, the grass was growing at a rapid pace. Usually Sebastian kept the plants at a uniform inch high, but now even six dandelions had the nerve to show their fluffy faces. The house itself was silent; No musical strands chased each other through the air, no voices rose or fell…but every once in a while you could discern a plaintive 'meow'. "Lumina?" Nami called curiously. When nothing answered, she opened the door and shivered as a different sort of air rushed out and swirled around her body. It was cold…and heavy…filled with a grip of something that could only be described as age. Something was wrong in this house. Something was very wrong.

Suddenly something brushed against Nami's ankles, making her start and release the breath she'd been holding. She looked down and saw the source of the previous meows--a very fuzzy, furry Persian cat with a mushed-up face and bright blue eyes. It eyed the redhead's hands, looking for food. Why is the cat looking at me like that? Hasn't Romana been feeding it? Where is Romana or Lumina anyway? She wondered. Surely they wouldn't just leave their cats here. She closed the door behind herself and ventured into the hallway beside the stairs to Lumina's room.

An investigation of the kitchen unearthed some interesting evidence. The counters were full of cut vegetables that looked like they'd been laying out for a day or so. An empty pot stood on a red-hot eye; all of the water had boiled away. Nami switched it off and examined the sliced meat on the cutting board. Somebody--Sebastian, no doubt, had been in the middle of making stew when he was disturbed by…what? It must have been violent to have interrupted him to the point that he couldn't turn the stove off. But what in the world was it?

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After leaving Samantha's house, Chris dropped by Van's stall to pick up a few groceries, since this was the corpulent man's business day. Unfortunately, Van informed her that Jack hadn't sold his farm's produce that week yet. Just as Chris was getting ready to head towards Vesta's to buy some broccoli, two girls grabbed her hands.

"Chris! We need you to look into our futures real quick!" Muffy sounded out of breath. On the secretary's other side was a wide-eyed Celia.

"Yeah! Please? You're off work today and all…" Celia pleaded. Secretly delighted that the girls had sought her help, Chris agreed and motioned for them to follow her. She led them into her house, closing the door behind them with a BANG.

She searched the cabinets in the kitchen until she found a dark-colored, wide, shallow dish which she filled with water at the sink. "I learned this little trick from The Lord of The Rings. Galadriel really knows her stuff!" She led her followers into a bathroom adjoining her bedroom. She placed the bowl on the floor and turned off the lights before pulling a flashlight out from behind the toilet. The flashlight was pointed at the bowl, illuminating the water. "So…let's have Muffy first. I assume you want to see past, present and future?"

Muffy shrugged. "That sounds about right. I want to know where my life is headed, who I'll marry and anything else important."

Chris nodded slowly and closed her eyes. "Look into the bowl, Muffy."

Muffy did as she was told. The water began to shine brighter…then suddenly scenes began to appear. "Oh, look! It's me modeling dresses in front of my mirror when I was nine…wait…now I'm older and…I'm on a real runway! I look like a professional model! Wow--my face is the front cover of Hawt Stylez 4 Hawt Girlz magazine!"

"Ah, your future definitely holds modeling. Look again." Chris muttered.

"A shape is forming…ohhh…no…it's Rock. He's twirling a rose in his hand."

"Yes. A match perhaps. Anything else?"

"Er…there's some redheaded guy and a tan one with curly black hair. They're cute."

"More matches, you lucky thing!"

Muffy gasped. "I'm hugging Griffin and saying goodbye. Celia's there, Jack's there, even Nami is there with me. Why am I sad? Where am I going?"

"I couldn't tell you for sure. Anything else? Your window into the future is closing…"

One more image blazed into view. It was a blonde boy with bright green eyes, crazy hair and a peace medallion hanging on his neck. He wore a red flannel shirt and jeans. It was…"It's my child…" Tears gently prickled Muffy's eyes. She wiped them away with her blue sweater. "That medallion he's wearing is familiar. Who have I seen with a peace medallion? Show me more, bowl!"

But the water went dark.

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Kate was so close to capturing the Harvest Sprites…she could feel it rippling across her skin in seductive waves. The only thing she had seen around the tree, however, were a couple of mushrooms and a skittish squirrel. The girl sighed angrily. At least she didn't have to look far for a snack. Finding mystical elves to enslave was a hungry business. She uprooted a mushroom and took a bite out of it. Instantly her vision blurred and the world seemed to dance around her eyes as she sank down to the ground and the swirling gray welcomed her into it's arms.

She awoke in the middle of the Sprite's Tree. No, seriously! It was decorated with tiny elfin details in colorful elfin fashion. Mushrooms, pale as the glow of a firefly, were growing in clumps around the edges of the room. Three cheerful, wide-eyed, dull-looking sprites were staring at her.

"Hi! I'm Nic!" The medium-sized elf dressed in red said.

"I'm Nak!" Cheered the tiny one in blue.

"I'm Flak! Did you come to play?" The sprite in yellow was fat.

Kate grinned and stood up, gripping her whip tightly. "I'm Katrina. It's such a pleasure to make your acquaintances. Yes, I am here to play. I'm going to choose what game we're going to play. How about the game where you three bow down and do whatever I tell you to do?"

Nic raised an eyebrow. "Who made you boss? Why should you get to…is…is that a whip?" Kate nodded sweetly. "Oh dear." Nic began inching his way towards the door. Kate cracked her whip loudly and he stopped. Suddenly Nak flew towards her and bit her ankle, distracting her long enough for the sprites to sprint out through the door.

Kate was not to be put down. She soon followed, cracking her whip threateningly and making grabs for her prey. "You little beasts! I'm going to catch you and force you to do my every wish!"

"OH HARVEST GODDESS!" The sprites shrieked while being chased in circles around the Goddess Pond. "SPARE US!"

The genius girl gradually caught the fat one. "DON'T KILL MEEEEEEE!" He squeaked, quivering. But something was moving behind his captor.

"Put my sprite slave DOWN this instant!" The Harvest Goddess had risen from her pond and was scowling at Kate.

Kate stuck her tongue out. "Make me!" The Harvest Goddess giggled, shrugged, pointed her finger at Kate and smiled. The girl collapsed, releasing Flak.

He whimpered and ran into the Goddess's arms. "I think I wet my pants, Goddess."

She wrinkled her beautiful face and chucked him into the pond. "Gross! Get back in your tree, slaves! I'll deal with Miss Simons-Brandy."

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Nami noticed that the cat was still following her. "Scat!" She yelled at it. The loud noise did not seem to agree with the weighty atmosphere in the mansion. The feline didn't leave her side, but arched it's back huffily. "Sorry." Whispered Nami. Did I just apologize to a cat? What is happening to me? I hate cats! I ate breakfast with that farmer boy--which I would never do in three lifetimes and now I'm apologizing to stupid animals. She scowled and pushed open the door to Romana's bedroom. The feel of this room was…horrible…like something was sucking the breath from her lungs. The cat dived under the bed and began to meow like it's heart was broken. Nami pushed up the bed skirt and found Lumina's other cat--and orange and black tabby--dead under the bed. The Persian was pawing it's companion. Nami suddenly felt something--someone touch her mind. One thought, spoken in low, agonized tones filled her head.

Get out.

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"Celia, it's your turn, honey." Chris said, flipping the flashlight back on.

The farmhand peered into the water in the dish. It lit up brilliantly, making the walls swim with muffled light and shadows. "Something's appearing. It's…er…some lady with green hair." Celia knew that it was the Harvest Goddess, but Muffy would surely claim that she had lost her mind if she voiced the identity of the deity. "Now I see Muffy and a brown-haired girl in light yellow dresses. That's funny, they look almost like bridesmaids or something. There's a blonde pastor…it is a wedding! Is it mine? Muffy's a bridesmaid, so it isn't hers."

Chris closed her eyes. "I can't tell."

The scene faded and was replaced by another. "There's that old butt Marlin. What is he doing in my room? No! He's found my diary! Put that down! It's zooming in on the diary page…oops…he's reading some not-so-nice words I wrote about him. Wait…is he crying? That can't be Marlin…"

"Maybe it's allergies!" Muffy contributed.

Celia made a face. "Shut up, Muff. Whoa…I see Jack's house. It's nighttime and he's asleep. The door is opening and…that's Nami! What is she doing in my brother's house at night? She's smiling. I've never seen Nami smile."

"That's the past." Chris breathed deeply. "Look further; your time is waning."

"I see Muffy dragging Rock by the ear. Hee hee! Now he's stopped her. They're talking…WHOA! Hel-lo! That's a classic."

Muffy squealed and pushed for a chance to see the watery image. "What? What happened? Tell me!"

"Hush, Muffy. The scenes are fading…but I see a child--like Muffy's…but it's a girl. She's holding packages of seeds. Her hair is black, so maybe she isn't mine. My hair is brown. No, she's running towards someone…it's me! She is mine." The bowl went dark again.

"Time's up!" Chris announced cheerfully. All the way out the door. Muffy badgered her friend to tell her what happened between she and Rock.

She twirled her curls hopefully. "Did I slap him?"

Celia set off at a run toward Jack's farm. "Quit asking me. You'll find out one day…after all…it is your future."

"Modeling and a peace medallion. Where do I find those?" Muffy remembered that Daryl owned a computer. She could look up modeling agencies perhaps. "I just hope that Daryl has forgotten that crush he had on me last year."

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Celia was out of breath when she skidded into her brother's farm. She peeked into the barn, but found no one. Shrugging, she hurried to the farmhouse and knocked on the door. "Jack? It's Celia. Are you there?" The curtains were drawn, so she couldn't tell if he was at home or not.

Jack was indeed at home, but he was counseling a deeply disturbed Marlin in the living room. The suave-haired boy had knocked on Jack's door, red-eyed and upset. Once inside, he had poured out his long tale of woe concerning a certain diary entry from a certain woman. "She said that I was 'heartless' and 'robotic'. I checked a lot of past entries--she's referred to me as Mr. Grouchybutt for two years! She's hated me for two years! I've tried to be kind and gentle and all of those things but why isn't it working?!" Jack was about to make a VERY unhelpful reply when his door was knocked upon. He looked out the peephole in the door and froze.

"It's her! But don't worry. She won't come in uninvited." He whispered.

Celia heard a voice coming from inside. "Jack? So you are home. I'm coming in."

Marlin squeaked as the doorknob began to turn. At a frantic sign from his friend, they both dashed into the kitched right as the girl entered the house. "Er…hi, Cissy!" Jack called out.

"Hey. Do you think we could talk for a moment? Where are you?"

"I'm in the kitchen--but don't come in right now!"

"Why ever not?"
"Ah! Um. It's…um…it's a…um…surprise. Yeah, that's it."

Celia smiled. "I love surprises! I'll wait until you're ready."

"Alright. Th-thanks." Jack turned to Marlin and dragged him to a door. "This is my supply closet." He shoved Marlin in and had to body-slam the door to close it. His pal was a bit too big for the area in which he was crammed. "Come on in, Cissy."

His sister walked in and hugged him. "Good. I really need to talk to you about two things. By the way, your house is hideous! It's like some kind of wooden coffin! Why don't you decorate it or something? And I don't mean like a fish head stuck on a plaque either!"

"Thanks, Celia." Jack deflated slightly.

"You're welcome." She sat at his table. "First off, I just went to have my future seen by Chris. Did you know that she was psychic? Anyway, while I was there I saw a scene of Nami in your house last night. Explain that."

Jack fidgeted. "Well, you see, she kind of spent the night last night…"

There was a yelp from the closet, but Celia's screech drown it out. "WHAT?"

"No, no, no! Not like that! She came here while I was sleeping and slept on the rug because the Inn was closed and it was kind of cold last night and…I'm telling the truth, I swear!"

Celia eyed him suspiciously. "I'm not sure I trust you."

"Who else could you trust if not your own flesh and blood?"

"Fine. I'll take your word. Secondly, I wanted to talk to you about Marlin."

Jack had an impulse to tell his sister about the small detail that Marlin was hiding in the closet, but he resisted. "Marlin? …What about him?"

"I also saw him in the water at Chris' house. He…er…read some nasty things I wrote about him in my diary. Of course, he shouldn't have been reading my diary in the first place, but you know. In the water-vision, he was really upset about it. That got me thinking." Celia looked guiltily at Jack and waited for him to comment. When he motioned for her to continue, she cleared her throat. "So I was thinking about the past five years that he's been working at Vesta's farm. He's really changed a lot. I mean, he used to never say anything nice, but I caught him taking some fish stew down to old Galen who never leaves his house since his wife died. I've never thought about helping galen. I guess I really didn't mean what I wrote in my diary. It's just out of habit that I continue to hold a grudge. Plus he's gotten loads cuter! It must be the country air. But I don't know how to tell him all of this…how do you tell someone who must hate your guts that you forgive them?"

"I'm positive that he doesn't hate you." Jack was working strenuously to stop the laughter he felt inside at the thought of Marlin's face when he heard what Celia was saying.

The girl's eyes narrowed. "How would you know? I bet he does; five years is a long time for someone to be a hateful little worm to you."

"You seem like you're getting a tad fond of the chap. Am I right?"

"……Maybe." She admitted.

Marlin's eyes couldn't have been wider inside the closet. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Was it possible? Was Celia forgiving him after all of these years? In his extreme excitement, he accidentally leaned against the door. It swung open and he landed in a heap on the floor. He looked up at Celia; she looked down at them. He screamed and she screamed back. Then she ran out of the house like a scared cat. Marlin stood up on shaking legs. "I'd better go. I hope you don't mind that I snacked on some of that baked corn you keep in the closet. Thanks for all your help, Jack!" He then dashed after his runaway maiden.

Jack grinned. Baked corn? He looked in the closet. "That was chicken feed, Marlin!" He yelled. Oh well. He sure ate a lot of it. Out of curiosity, he popped a few kernels in his mouth. Not bad.

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ZOMG. So yeah. I finally put one of the couples together! Who's proud of me? Whee! Who's next…? Reviews make me want to double my writing speed. Squee!