Here's chapter 3! Remember what I said about the magic knight's armors in chapter 1? Well, they'll be wearing that now.

Disclaimer: I forgot to put this before. I do not own MKR in any way at all. D:

Chapter 3: First Attack

The castle was shaking furiously. Everyone in 'The Room' are panicking.

"What's happening?" Umi asked as she clutched on to Clef for dear life. Clef responded by putting his arm around Umi's waist and bringing her closer. The shaking subsided and Fuu asked if anyone was hurt. She blushed when she saw Umi's hand on Clef's chest clutching his robes there. Her head was buried in his chest. Clef's arm was pinned around Umi's waist while his other hand was resting on Umi's head. Hikaru saw Fuu blushing and turned to see what Fuu saw. The two looked absolutely adorable.

When Clef felt eyes on him, he looked up and saw the Magic Knights of Fire and Wind blushing at him. He looked down again and saw his arms around Umi and their close proximity. Clef slightly blushed. He withdrew his arm around Umi and looked away. "Um…Umi?"

Umi looked up and saw Clef's face. She just realized how close they are. "Oh! Sorry! I didn't notice at all!" Umi pulled away. "It's okay, I didn't notice as well." he smiled.

Wanting to change the subject Umi asked, "What was that shaking?"

The answer that she got was a scream. A soldier then burst in the rom. "Captain Lafarga, there are monsters attacking the palace!"

"What!" Lafarga hissed. He then turned to Lantis who nodded. They both went out of the room. "Caldina, we should go too!" Ascot said. Caldina nodded and they went out of the room. Ferio soon followed after kissing Fuu's forehead and saying 'I love you.' Fuu's heart ached a bit.

All that were left were the magic knights, Clef and Presea. "We should also go, Umi-chan, Fuu-chan!" Hikaru said to the two who nodded.

"But first, we need to have our armor." Fuu said mainly to Clef who nodded. He summoned his staff and raised it. The gem on it glowed. He said a few words that the girls didn't catch. The light grew brighter and Hikaru, Umi and Fuu were soon glowing their respective colors. Red, blue and green respectively.

As soon as the light disappeared, their armor took its place.

"What the? This isn't our…"Umi started.

"It's armor that your deities created and blessed. That's why it's different. Now, go! Everyone is waiting!" Clef ordered.

The girls were still confused but decided not to ask any more questions and left.

They went out the castle and stood on the entrance. What met them was a losing battle. The Cephrans were being pushed back and most of them were already deeply wounded. The monsters however, are increasing.

The monsters were huge and black in color. They looked like wolves and they were standing on their hind legs. Their teeth were showing and saliva was dripping from their mouths. Their howl pierced through the walls of the castle. Their eyes were red like the blood that surrounded their hands.

And to Umi, there was something in their eyes that made her shiver. It wasn't fear, no, she was sure of that. It was something else. Something…She was put out of her trance as Hikaru summoned her sword and went off to battle. Fuu did the same. And Umi soon followed.

Umi jumped and sliced a monster in half. As soon as she did the monster turned into a black light and vanished. Umi didn't have time to think about it as another monster approached her from the back. She turned and cutted off its head. The same thing happened with the monster as with the last one. She decided to ask Clef about it later and just fight now.

When she noticed that there were too many monsters, an idea struck her. She went nearer and nearer to the gates and soon enveloped herself within the monsters.

Cutting them one by one will take too much time. So, what if I use…She raised her hand and water shaped like a dragon went from her fingertips to the monsters around her. It seemed like the dragon was eating the monsters. The dragon defeated most of the monsters around her and Umi smiled seeing that the monsters decreased enormously. But, I thought that I can only use my magic by saying its name and that it was a straight attack. So how did it swirl around me and how did I do it without saying the spell?

Fuu, after defeating her 1st monster also wondered what happened to it. She had expected to see a body falling to the ground but, she saw a black light envelope the body and disappear. But that didn't distract her, she just kept on fighting. When she caught sight of Umi defeating most of the monsters with magic, she also thought the same thing as Umi. How did she do that? She then remembered what Clef said.

'It's armor that your deities created and blessed.'

Hmmm…So that's how it is….Then, she had an idea. She raised her hand and it glowed a pale green. The injured soldiers' wounds glowed a pale green just like Fuu's hand. It then healed their wounds. The soldiers' energy was also recovered. It was like they haven't been to battle at all. They stood up and fought again grateful for the wind knight's magic. Fuu just like the soldiers wasn't tired at all. She raised her sword and defeated another monster. I love this armor! Fuu smiled.

As Hikaru was a born swordsman, she didn't care what happened to the monsters. Although a part of her wanted to know how they disappeared like that. But whenever she tried to think, a new monster tries to attack her. I'll just ask Clef later.

As she was about to take on a new monster, she was beaten to it by what seems like Umi's water dragon. She turned to where the water came from, but Umi was not there. She found her in front of her at some distance. Eh? I thought Water Dragon only attacks what's in front of you.

She then, noticed the scratch on her shoulder glowing a pale green. Hikaru turned to see everyone's wounds healing. She searched for Fuu and found her hand raised glowing the same color as her wound. Her wound then healed itself and Fuu resumed fighting. That's impossible! Fuu-chan should not be able to heal so many people! And if she did, she would probably collapse in exhaustion!

Hikaru thought of how Umi and Fuu's magic drastically increased and decided to see if hers did. Here goes nothing! She pointed her sword to the ground and buried it so that the gem on the tip of the blade was not seen. She closed her eyes focusing her magic on the gem underground. When she felt it was strong enough, she gripped the sword tightly and every monster on the palace grounds suddenly burst into flames. Umi, Fuu, Lantis, Lafarga, Ascot, Caldina, Presea, Ferio and Clef were startled. When they turned to Hikaru, they saw that strips of fire were surrounding her as if protecting her. They have never seen Hikaru's magic so strongly used before.

Hikaru opened her eyes causing the fires to cease. When she opened them, she saw that all the monsters have been defeated. She took her sword from the ground and summoned it back. Instead of it returning to her glove, it returned to her sun pendant. Again, ask Clef. Hikaru sighed. She was caught off guard as someone tightly hugged her from behind. She turned and saw Presea smiling widely at her.

"Hikaru, that was amazing! You defeated every monster out there!"

"Thanks, Presea. But I only did half of the work." She turned to Umi "If Umi-chan hadn't defeated half of the monsters" she then turned to Fuu "And if Fuu-chan hadn't healed everyone, I wouldn't have been able to do it." She smiled to her two best friends who smiled back. "And also, for Clef" she turned to Clef who looked surprised "If you hadn't given us this cool, new armor, I wouldn't have had enough magic."

"You're wrong, Magic Knight. That is not my armor." Clef smiled. Hikaru and Umi looked at each other who looked confused. "It is…" Clef started.

"Armor given to us by our deities, yes?" Fuu completed. Clef nodded, telling her that she was correct and asking her to continue. Fuu nodded.

She began, "When Clef-san gave us our armor, it was not his. This armor that we are wearing is given to Clef-san by our Rune Gods to give to us. It is also created by them. I think that the reason why we can use our magic whichever way we want without saying a spell is because of this. Plus the fact that it has been blessed, gives us an increase in our magic. Is that right, Clef-san?" Clef once again nodded.

"Eh? So, that's why…." Hikaru and Umi said at the same time.

"But, I'm amazed that you figured it all out, Fuu. Your wit always amazes me." Clef smiled softly at the said girl who blushed slightly at the compliment. Ferio scowled when he saw Fuu blushing.

"Go and tell everyone in the ball room to go home immediately. Even though Hikaru defeated the monsters, there may be some still left outside." Lafarga ordered a soldier. After he said this, the soldier quickly ran off to relay the message.

They were about to return to the castle to get some well earned rest when Umi spoke up. "Clef, I forgot to ask. But, how come the monsters disappear every time we defeat them?"

Everyone looked at Clef who sighed.

"Those monsters we fought are not really monsters. They are merely shadows of the heart." Seeing that no one understood him, he continued. "Those 'Monsters' are creatures created by using black magic by harnessing the hatred and anger from the summoner's heart."

"Wait, so you are saying that someone created those things to come and attack us?" Presea asked. Clef nodded. "I knew that there was a new enemy with a very powerful aura but to have that much hate in your heart to be able to summon that much monsters is beyond me!"

"Powerful aura? What are you talking about?" Umi asked. Everyone seemed to be quiet for a while. Ferio sighed. Guess it's time to tell them.

Ferio explained, "For some time now, there has been a very powerful aura surrounding Cephiro." He smirked "It is so dark and powerful that even children can sense it!" he joked.

"Wait, 'for some time now'?" Fuu said. Her voice was almost rising. Everyone just simply nodded.

"Let me get this straight. There is a VERY powerful and VERY dark aura around Cephiro for who know how long…" Umi said trying to control her temper. "1 month." Caldina pointed out. Everyone glared at her. Caldina just shrugged.

"1…1 MONTH? And you didn't tell us anything about this?" Umi shouted.

"And you even had a ball when Cephiro might be under attack?" Hikaru said looking at Lantis angrily. "Is that the reason you summoned us, Lantis?"

Lantis just looked away. Hikaru immediately knew what Lantis's answer was.

"How could you hide something like this from us?" Fuu said biting her lip. She was trying very hard not to scream.

"Fuu, I can explain." Ferio said putting his hands on her shoulders. "I admit that we did summon you because of this strange aura that seemed to be getting stronger every day. But, after you arrived, the aura has gotten so weak that anyone could hardly feel it. So, I thought that in due time, it will just disappear."

Fuu looked up at Ferio. She could his sincerity in his amber eyes. "But, you should still had told us." Fuu said, her eyes getting a little misty. Ferio knew that she was about to cry. He embraced her and buried her head in his chest. "I'm sorry. I should have told you." He whispered. Everyone left leaving the lovers to themselves.

"Hikaru, wait." Lantis said following Hikaru closely. Hikari was right behind them.

"Stop following me, Lantis. I want to be alone." Hikaru said still walking, not even looking back.

"Please, Hikaru. Listen to me." He took hold of her arm and made her face him. What he saw made his heart break.

Hikaru was crying. She tried away her tears but, they just kept on coming. "Hikaru…" Lantis said, his hand still gripping Hikaru's arm.

"Just shut up, Lantis! Leave me alone!" She tried to pull away from Lantis's grip but, he was too strong for her. "I'm sorry, Hikaru."

Hikaru looked up at Lantis, confusion written in her eyes. "I didn't know that you would be taking it this hard."

Her confusion was replaced by rage and anger. "What did you expect? You hid the fact that Cephiro might be in danger from me!" Hikaru shouted.

"Hikaru, like Ferio said, the aura had gotten weaker and…" he never got to finish as Hikaru shouted at him once more. "You should have still told me!"

Her voice got lower, "Cephiro is like my second home. If I had a choice, I would like to stay here with everyone. That just shows how much I love it. The same goes to Umi-chan and Fuu-chan. And the fact that our 2nd home might be in danger and that you hid it from us….." she sobbed quietly.

Lantis didn't know that Hikaru loved Cephiro that much. He knew that she loved it but, never this much. He wiped away some of her tears with his thumb and gently kissed her.

Hikaru was surprised at first but slowly got kissed him back. When they parted, Lantis put his forehead against her and said, "I'm sorry. I should have never hidden it from you. Will you forgive me?"

Hikaru just nodded. He kissed her once more and gently picked her up. Hikaru was sobbing quietly in his chest as he slowly went towards her room.

Hikari was just watching quietly and followed them without making a sound.

"HOW COULD YOU HIDE SOMETHING LIKE THIS FROM US?" Umi screamed from the top of her lungs in Clef's study. Clef just simply put his hands over his ears to avoid being deaf.

"Hadn't Ferio already explained why we hid it?" Clef said while taking a book from one of the bookshelves.

"Yes, I know that and I can understand that from Ferio. But, you? You would send an entire army just to kill one monster attacking a village! You care too much about Cephiro to let this aura slide!"Umi said lowering her voice but, it was still loud enough to be considered a shout.

Clef glared at Umi and Umi glared at him. After a long glaring contest, Clef sighed. He put the book down on his desk and opened it, "Even if I explained it to you, you wouldn't understand. You are still a child. Now, if you don't mind, there is something I have to see concerning the monsters."

Clef was too busy looking over the pages to see Umi's pained expression. A child… Umi clenched her fists and turned her back on him. She opened the door and left.

Hearing the door close, Clef looked up to the spot where Umi disappeared. That's odd. I was expecting her to scream at me again. Oh well, at least now I have peace and quiet. He thought. He put all of his attention to the book he was reading but, his mind kept on going back to Umi's odd behavior. I'll just check up on her, later.

A gentle rain started pouring out side of Clef's window. Rain? It was just a clear night some moments ago. As he was thinking of this, the rain suddenly turned rather stronger. It seemed like a tsunami was hitting Cephiro. Lightning clashed outside. Thunder roared. Clef decided not to think of it and went back to his book.

Umi never went to her room. She was just sitting beside Clef's study door. Her legs were pulled up to her chest. Her arms were crossed at her knees and her head buried in her arms.

Her tears were slowly covering her entire face. She couldn't stop them at all. A child… So that's what he thinks of me? Then, the kiss in the garden… that was just him pitying me? And here I thought he actually felt the same way… I was so wrong…

She felt another wave of tears coming as the rain got stronger and another lightning bolt thundered. Clef got up and decided to go to bed. The lightning and thunder were too loud for him to concentrate As he opened the door and turned to his hallway, what he saw wasn't what he was expecting. Umi?

Upon hearing the door open, she saw Clef standing and looking at her.

Clef couldn't believe it. Umi's face was drenched in tears. How long has she been crying? Clef Looked back at his window. Another lightning bolt clashed. He quickly turned his head back to Umi who was still crying and looking at him with her misty, red eyes. Could it be…? A storm was raining above Cephiro because Umi had been crying? To conjure up such a strong storm, she must have been crying pretty badly. What happened to her when she left my study?

The thought that he was what the one that made her cry never crossed his mind. He slowly reached out his hand to touch her when Umi bolted up. She turned her back on him and started running away from him. "Wait, Umi!" Clef shouted. What's wrong with her?

Umi never looked back at him. All that was in her mind was the fact that he saw her cry. How am I supposed to see him now? He knows that I've been crying!

She ran and ran till she reached her room. She closed the door hard and throwed herself to her bed. She cried all the tears that were inside of her. After hours of crying, her eyes had turned red. She was still sobbing a little when she fell into a deep sleep. Her final thoughts were towards the lavender haired mage. How could you, Clef? I hate you…

"I can feel it! Power is urging inside of me!" a dark blue haired, almost the color black, girl laughed. A blue light was all around her. Her long pony tail swaying above her as if there was no gravity. Her hair was so long that even thought it was in a high pony, it still reached her ankles. She was the tallest of the 3. She was wearing a black bodysuit. And her eyes were the color of the sea.

"This is so unfair. We only got a small power up and Aqua's still getting stronger!" a bright blonde haired girl with a bob with hair that was short on the back and slightly longer on the front. Her bangs were slightly triangular on the front. Her emerald eyes gleamed as she stared at her blue haired friend. She was also wearing a black bodysuit. She was slightly shorter than Aqua.

"That just means that her counterpart is being filled with negative emotions. This is something to celebrate. Don't you agree, Aira?" a long and unruly pink haired girl said. She eyes the color of blood. She was slim and she had golden pins on her head. She was also wearing a black bodysuit. She was the same height of Aira.

"I suppose. But, how come our counterparts aren't being filled with so much negative emotions like Aqua's?" she turned to the pink haired girl.

"Patience, Aira." She turned towards the castle. "We just need to push it a little farther. We just need to make them confused, that's all. And I know just how to do it." She smirked. Her red eyes filled with excitement as she stared towards the castle.

"Good. I want another power up." Aqua said. The blue light surrounding her was gone.

"You are too greedy, Aqua. But, I do want to get this plan started already." Aira turned towards the castle. "Nova…"

That's it for chapter 3! Some dead characters' coming back to life next chapter. Can you guess who? I'll not give any spoilers to who it is, but one of the characters will have a drastic effect on the girls especially Fuu. And another one well, if I tell you, you'll immediately guess who it is. Remember, review please and Flames are also appreciated!