Yeah, I SAY that I wanted a whole chapter with Mihara on Earth, yet, all I could accomplish was HALF a chapter... Oh, well. Better than nothing. It made me sad to write it...

Chef Colette: Yay! You're welcome and thanks for reviewing! I'm glad that you liked the part with father and son. I was afraid I made it go a bit too fast... Next chapter, VOILA!

Knowlee: It's okay. You're reviewing now! ;-) Yay! You liked the father-son part too! I is happy! Haha, yeah Ranulf and docks. "What a feline. Doesn't wanna get wet."

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Fire Emblem, especially all the well-known and loved characters. Like Ranulf! (hugs a Ranulf plushy)

XxXxXxX

Chapter 14

XxXxXxX On Earth... XxXxXxX

Mihara opened her eyes, her lids heavy. However, she grew wide awake when she saw the ceiling. That ceiling...it was familiar. Not something of Altiaire...

She then realized she was not laying out on her bed. She was on a sofa – a sofa from her house! She went bugeyed as she stood up quickly. It was early in the morning and the birds outside were just beginning to sing. This can't be happening! What's going on?! Mihara cried in her mind. She turned her head and saw that she still had her wings. She felt her ears. Still pointed. She examined her clothes. Still those from Altiaire.

What was going on?!

Mihara nearly jumped ten feet in the air when she heard the television in the kitchen turn on. There were uneven steps taken against the wooden floor and the feet dragged lazily. Mihara wanted to run to the kitchen to see who it was, but she couldn't move. There was a pause as the feet descended slowly down the stairs from the kitchen. Mihara saw the shadow of the person and nearly felt like crying. She knew that shadow – it was her mother. Her Earthen mother. The blonde-haired woman stopped at the bottom of the stairs, having caught sight of Mihara. "What the-?! Who are you?!" she snapped.

Mihara almost began sobbing. The woman she still considered her mother didn't even recognize her. Mihara choked out, "Mom...it's me... Mihara."

As the silence stretched on, Mihara heard a report in the kitchen:

"Well, it has been a week since it happened. No new details have been found in the search for fourteen-year-old Mihara Sitona. The teen was reported as missing when her family called 911, saying she had never returned from school. Police searched everywhere but found no solid leads to follow on. The community is standing strong and supporting the Sitona family in this difficult time. Police have even suggested that the teen may have simply run away. Several of Mihara's friends have spoken out against this, saying that Mihara was happy with her family and that there was no reason for her to run away. Here is a picture of young Mihara, taken with her friends at a high school band event. Mihara is the one on the far left of your screen. If anyone sees her, you are asked to call the police."

Mihara's heart skipped more than one beat. She was reported missing?! She had been in Altiaire a month or so and only a week had passed in the all-beorc world?! Her mother examined her, her eyes ignoring the wings on her back. Instead, they fell on her face. "...Mihara...?"

"It's really me, Mom. I swear." Mihara took a step forward. "I mean...I know I...look different...but that's a long story."

"Mihara...?" her mom repeated, her eyes welling up.

She nodded. Her mother, Serena, ran forward, engulfing Mihara in a hug. "Oh, my baby! It is you! It is! Oh! You're home now!!"

Mihara hugged her back, slowly taking in what she had just said. You're home now.

Had Stasik actually succeeded in killing her, causing her to fade away from Altiaire? She remembered being found by Ike and that otter woman. She had then blacked out, but she remembered hearing her father's frightened voice. She remembered hearing Ranulf's harsh demands, asking if she was okay. She even remembered hearing Reyson's soft singing.

What happened...to me...? I didn't even...get to say...goodbye...to the others...

XxXxXxX

Mihara sat alone in the chair in the living room. Her mother sat beside her father, Steven, on the loveseat, and her sisters, Harmony and Kayla, sat on the couch. They all stared at Mihara, now wanting answers since their relief had faded enough for them to speak. Mihara found this difficult. Her parents wouldn't understand, that was for sure. The only person who would know what she was even talking about was Harmony, her nineteen-year-old sister who had the same birthday as Mihara. Harmony was the only one who played video games with Mihara. So, she turned to her.

"Harmony...do you remember how, in our Fire Emblem games, their continent was called Tellius?"

She seemed slightly confused as to why she was asking this. "Well, yeah..."

"And you remember that in the end, it said that the bird tribes combined and Tibarn was elected king?"

"Yeah..."

"Well...that world...is real."

"What? Are you feeling okay? Mihara, Tellius is a world in a video game!" Harmony gave her younger sister a look that obviously said she was insane.

"Why else do you think I look like this?!" Mihara jumped up, stretching her wings. "Why else do you think my eyes are golden?! You can't see the contacts, so you can't say color contacts! Look at my ears – they're pointed!"

Silence settled in the room. Harmony stuttered, "Bu-but...how can it be real? It's just not posible."

"It is! I've traveled there, and I was changed! If I transform, will that make you believe?"

"Transform?" Kayla echoed.

"You can...shift? Into a hawk?" Harmony muttered.

Mihara nodded furiously.

Steven crossed his arms. "So you're saying that you went to a video game world?"

"That's another thing..." Mihara turned to her parents, her expression filled with grief. "You adopted me, didn't you?"

Serena gasped with horror and a hand flew to her mouth as Steven's face hardened. Harmony and Kayla turned their gaze elsewhere. Steven demanded, "When did you find out? Is that why you ran away?"

"I didn't run away," Mihara insisted harshly. "And it doesn't matter. You guys are my family. Besides...when I went to Tellius, I found my biological father."

The four all exclaimed at the same time: "What?!"

"Who?!" Harmony added.

"Tibarn."

Harmony gaped like a fish. "Say...what...?"

"He was married. To a woman named Zelena. But she was killed. So was my younger brother, Shoen."

Silence once again.

"You...you're really not making this up...?" Serena whispered. "I mean, yes, we adopted you. You were found in the woods, crying hysterically. They searched for your family, but you had no records. The only reason we knew your name was because of a necklace you had on."

"A...necklace?" Mihara sat once again. "What did you do with it?"

"I think...I might still have it. Wait here." Serena stood shakily and walked towards the stairs. Steven got up to follow her, leaving Mihara alone with her sisters.

Kayla, obviously trying too hard to act natural, inquired, "So...you can do...what, exactly? Trans...form?"

Harmony, appearing a bit more relaxed than their eldest sister, smirked deviously. "Yeah...so can you really do it?"

Mihara glanced up at the ceiling, guesstimating the height. She shrugged. "I think I have room. I'll move back, just in case, though."

She stood and walked a few feet back from Harmony and Kayla. She took a deep breath, and without hardly thinking about it, the maroon light engulfed Mihara. Not two seconds later, she was in her full laguz form, her head nearly touching the ceiling. Her two sisters looked at her with wide eyes and gaping mouths. Kayla stood up and cautiously walked towards Mihara. She reached out her hand and gently touched Mihara's feathers.

"...How can you do this?" Kayla whispered.

"Is that really you?" added Harmony, standing up also.

"Yeah. It's me." Mihara looked at them with her golden eyes.

With a short, sour bark of laughter, Harmony put a hand to her head. "This is nuts," she concluded, sitting back down quickly. "So...you're saying that you actually went to Tellius – to the bird laguz country – and that Tibarn is your father?"

Mihara shifted back to her half form. "Yeah. He is."

Kayla crossed her arms. "Who is this Tibarn?"

"In the game, he's the king of the hawk laguz. You remember when I explained laguz to you? Neat. Well, a laguz is what I am. He fought in both wars in the games and went through many life-threatening things with his people," explained Mihara.

Just then, Serena and Steven returned, Serena carefully cupping something in her hands. She looked at Mihara again with slight hesitation. "Here. We've kept it safe for all these years for when we finally would've told you." She offered the necklace.

Slowly, Mihara's fingers grasped the necklace. Well, it wasn't really a necklace – more of a choker, but it hung a little loose when Mihara hooked it around her neck. Dangling from a silver chain was Mihara's name – made out of pure amethyst, to represent that she was born in February. It hung just below her collarbone and right above the necklace that Ranulf had presented with her. At last, she croaked out, "Thank you."

The air grew tense as Kayla inquired, "What will you do?"

"I...don't know. I don't even know if I can get back. But...I can't go on in this world looking like this." Mihara's gaze turned away from her family.

Serena gave her a weak smile. "Take your time to think it out, honey. Actually...why don't you go up to the barn? The animals have missed you. They'll still recognize your scent."

"Yeah...I'll do that..."

Without another word, Mihara stalked over to the front door and opened it. As usual, their black lab was laying down by the front door, but due to the noise the front door made, he quickly got up. At first, the dog looked up at Mihara with a confused look. However, when Mihara opened the glass door and the dog sniffed her, he yipped happily and jumped up on Mihara. Instantly, Mihara felt better. Even though her dog was trying to drown her in licks, she still felt happy. She forced him off of her. "Now, now, I missed you too, Rex! But get off me!"

Mihara, with Rex happily jogging at her side, ran up towards the barn before a car drove by her house and someone spotted her. Swiftly, she arrived at the top of the hill and entered the barn. It was early in the morning, so no one had gone up to the barn to let the two horses out into the pasture. She spotted them laying in the sand, their heads turned towards her with their ears flickering in her direction. Mihara smiled at them as their brown eyes watched her with caution. "Hey, my beautiful girls," she cooed.

Mihara loved watched the horses get up from laying down next to each other. Once they got up, they shook the dirt from their coats which were slightly matted from not having been brushed in a few days. The paint horse – Gypsy – approached her first, being the more curious of the two. Mihara slowly approached her, too, then gently blew into the horse's nostrils. Once Gypsy had realized the scent, her eyes seemed to widen slightly. She nudged Mihara on her shoulder with her head, greeting her. Mihara chuckled and rubbed Gypsy's blaze. "Well, at least you don't jump up like Rex."

Suddenly, Gypsy's ears pinned back and she quickly moved behind behind Mihara. The other horse – Rose – had walked up behind Gypsy. Mihara still didn't understand the two. At times, they were the best of friends, yet they always seemed to be disagreeing on small things. Mihara also blew to Rose. Once Rose had nickered warmly and also nudged Mihara, she ran her hand along the horse's beautiful coat. Never had Mihara seen another horse with the same shade of brown that Rose had. When she ran in the sun, her coat appeared to be a dazzling red color. "Rosey, my little girl," she whispered, "are you still being a little bully to poor Gypsy?"

Rose snorted, as though she were offended by the question. Mihara grinned lightly at her response. Then, she felt movement behind her. She turned to face Gypsy, only to see that her ears were pinned again and she was chasing Rex out of the barn...again. When she returned to Mihara's side, satisfied, Mihara sat on the edge of the water trough and began talking to her friends. The two cats weren't anywhere to be seen – they were more than likely already hunting in the woods.

Mihara relayed her entire tale to the two horses, who constantly nibbled at her wings ("Ow! Stop that, Gypsy! My feathers aren't food for you!") and demanded to be the center of attention. At last, Mihara said, "And...I'm not sure of what I should do. I don't know if I can get back to Tellius, but if I could...that would mean leaving you all..." A lump formed in Mihara's throat.

Rose nickered and nudged Mihara's head. Mihara looked up at her horse. "What is it, girl?"

"You need to hurry up, Mihara. Your time is almost up."

Mihara's eyes widened. What was that?! Was it...Rose?! No, it couldn't have been...it was a male voice. Was it Ranulf?

Either way, Mihara didn't have time to ponder. She had no time left to decide. She needed to hurry. She gave large hugs to her horses as well as quick kisses on their noses before she turned and ran. She fled down the hill, not even checking to make sure her neighbors didn't see her. She ran into the house and went instantly for her room. She looked along her shelves, searching for her scrapbook. As soon as she found it, she tore it from the shelf. Kayla appeared in her doorway first. "Mihara? What's wrong?"

"No time to explain," Mihara swiftly answered. She flipped through her scrapbook, and as soon as she saw familiar pictures, she tore them from the book, setting the pictures she removed in a pile. She had at least one of each of her animals, her sisters, her mother, her father, and her friends. Once she had enough pictures, she grabbed them and stood up.

"You only have enough time for a quick goodbye, Mihara. I'm sorry."

"What's going on, Mihara?" Kayla repeated, raising her voice slightly. "What's up?"

"I don't have a choice. I have to go back," Mihara told her, standing up.

Kayla choked slightly, tears forming in her eyes. "So...that's your decision...?"

Mihara could feel her own tears welling up and a knot forming in her throat. "I'm sorry, Kayla... I will try tofind a way for me to come back and visit you all for a longer period of time. However...there's a strong possibility that by time I do find a way...none of you may still be here."

Before Kayla could begin to say anything, Mihara added, "I don't have a lot of time. Where's everyone else?"

As if she had called them all to her room, Harmony, Serena, and Steven appeared in her doorway, too. Harmony echoed Kayla's words: "What's going on?"

Mihara flew over to her sisters, first, wrapping her one arm around each of them, tears spilling from her eyes. She made sure to keep a tight grip on the pictures as she sobbed. "I'm sorry...!"

Her sisters hesitantly returned her hug, sobbing softly. Then, Mihara moved on to her parents, giving each an individual hug. "I'm so sorry...! I wish...that I had more time...! But...I don't have a choice... I have to go back...!!"

"My baby..." Serena whispered into her hair. "My little baby... I don't know...I don't know how-!"

Mihara, regretfully...never got to hear the rest of her mother's sentence.

XxXxXxX

Shoen nodded slowly. "Okay...I think I get it. So...before I was born...Mihara was stolen...and taken to a different...world? Hnn...strange. Anyway, and then, she was brought back here, years later? Okay... And then, Ranulf and the goddess, Yune, somehow allowed her...consciousness to go back home for closure?"

Tibarn nodded, confirming it.

"So...that thing she threw in the ocean was from the other world she grew up in?"

"Yes. But by throwing it into the ocean, she had accepted her life here."

"Well, that makes me both happy and sad – sad for her. I bet that was a hard decision for her to make."

"...Yes...I'm sure it was. But let's not make her worry. She's been hanging out with Ranulf and Ginia for the day." Tibarn smiled softly. "How about you and I do something together?"

Tibarn's son beamed. "That would be awesome."

XxXxXxX

"You really have to leave tomorrow?" Mihara inquired.

"Yeah. I've been away from Gallia long enough. No doubt I've got lots of stuff I'm going to have to make up when I get back..." Ranulf murmured.

"When will you visit next, Sir Ranulf?" Ginia asked, hoping that his answer would cheer up Mihara.

"As soon as I can. I'll have to get all of my stuff done, first."

"I see..."

The cat warrior sighed as the three walked slowly towards the edge of the cliffs, where they had been yesterday. He looked out towards the setting sun, the colors dancing in the sky, displaying a show. "I can tell you one thing, though: I like Altiaire's sunsets."

Ginia smirked at Mihara, who looked a little confused by her action. Then, the raven said, "The view is almost even better from Lady Mihara's room."

Said hawk flushed bright red, hoping that Ranulf wouldn't see it due to the light from the sun. But Ranulf just chuckled. "Is it really."

XxXxXxX The next morning... XxXxXxX

"So you're going to leave before even saying goodbye to Mihara?" Tibarn crossed his arms, ignoring Lord Keenan, standing in the corner, waiting to speak to the Hawk King.

"Yes. I've got something to do – something major – in Gallia. Skrimir has forbidden me to speak of it with you. It would only enrage you." Ranulf turned his back towards the Hawk King.

This, however, only caught Tibarn's attention. "It would, would it?"

"Yes. But, if I deal with it now, we wouldn't need to worry about it, would we? I mean no disrespect, Tibarn, but..." Ranulf's tail twitched. "I need to leave immediately."

"...Very well, then. Besides, at the moment," Tibarn grinned at Ranulf's back, "I think that you should be more worried about Mihara being mad at you than me."

Ranulf scoffed lightheartedly. "Probably. Well, see ya later, Tibarn."

The cat warrior walked from the castle silently. Tibarn then turned to Keenan. "Can I help you, Horse Lord?"

"I've asked around my people."

"Oh?"

"If would not burden you, we would like to remain in the plains of your country."

Tibarn thought on this for a moment. "I see no problem with it."

Keenan nodded his head. "Thank you, Hawk King."

"Will you require any buildings or anything of the sort?"

"No, Hawk King. I only ask that when one of my people fall ill that we may bring them here to be treated."

"Of course."

"Thank you."

Without another word, Keenan then, too, left the hallways of the castle. Tibarn then sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Why do I have the feeling that something's going to happen today...?"

Upstairs, in Mihara's room, Shoen stood quietly, waiting on the right opportunity to wake his sister up. He had discovered a pile of pictures laying on her dresser and looked at them with curiosity. He saw many people, all dressed strangely. Most were smiling or making funny faces – Shoen noticed that his sister was in a few of them, her arms wrapped around her friends. However, when Shoen heard Mihara mumble something and shift, he yelped softly and put the pictures back. He wasn't sure if they were private or not. When Mihara settled back down, he glanced at the picture that he'd last been looking at.

There was a very large group of people – all holding strange-looking instruments. They were all dressed in the same funny-looking green and gold clothing. They seemed to be some type of uniform. Their hats were weird, too. He picked the picture up and glanced at the back. On some of the pictures, she had written strange things on there, but most were dates. He saw that this one said: Whole marching band after first football game. 8-28-09.

Huh... Shoen thought. They don't look anything like the musicians here...

He looked through all the people and found where his sister was. She was holding the same instrument in her hand as an older girl beside her. He blinked. That looks a little familiar...but not quite, at the same time...

Just as he set the picture down, he heard Mihara mumble, "Shoen? What are you doing in here?"

"Oh, I, uhh...I came in here to wake you up. D...Dad said that you were going to miss Ranulf, since he was going back to Gallia today."

"Oh." Mihara sat up and stretched. "Okay. I'll be right there."

Shoen quickly left the room, his message delivered. He wandered down the hallways, going to see where his father was. He had mentioned something about training with someone named Vlas...

Mihara got dressed quickly, not wanting to miss Ranulf when he left. She ran downstairs, to the throne room – to where Ranulf said he'd meet with her before he left. Only, when she arrived, she passed by Keenan. She accidentally rammed into the Horse Lord's shoulder. Flustered, she stuttered, "I'm sorry, Lord Keenan."

"It is fine, young filly," Keenan said, brushing it off, and continuing on his way.

Mihara continued into the room, seeing that only Tibarn and Shoen were in there. The young laguz looked around. "Where's Ranulf?"

"He left already," Tibarn replied.

Mihara frowned with confusion. "He...told me that he would meet with me before he left."

"He said there was urgent business in Gallia that he had to take care of. It actually rather worried me, for he said it would enrage me." Tibarn's feathers rustled and he crossed his arms, thinking about what it could be. However, he shrugged. "Either way, you'll see him again before long and you can chew him out then, okay?"

Mihara pouted slightly, but at Tibarn's words, she smiled. "Yeah, that's true."

It seems like things are really beginning to become normal around here. His comments and teasing, having Shoen around...

I hope it stays like this.

XxXxXxX

Screams...

A red flame...

What did they mean?

Fire...

A red cape...

Blue hair...

Two medallions...

Chaos...

Order...

Opposites...

Sisters...

What was it? She looked around her surroundings: a burning forest and winged laguz. They were running, looking back, and screaming. Was it her people? Was it the hawks? The ravens? ...All of them?

Wait...wolves...the wolves joined them. They all bared their fangs at whatever they were running from. She turned, to see who it was-

XxXxXxX

Leanne awoke with a quiet gasp. She had been so exhausted from keeping the medallion under control that she had passed out as she and Rafiel had switched shifts. Reyson was at Leanne's side in an instant. "What's wrong, my sister?! Are you okay?"

Leanne sat up, sweat on her pale face. She stood and walked towards the altar, where the medallion, Rafiel, and Lorazieh were. She stared at the medallion, Reyson staring at her with wonder. "I think that I know...what's inside the medallion."

"What, my daughter? How do you know?" Lorazieh turned to Leanne, faltering in his singing. Reyson quickly began singing in his place so that Lorazieh could speak with the youngest sibling.

"I have just had a dream. And...I think that I know what's going to happen."

"What, Leanne?"

Leanne looked at her father. Then, to Rafiel and Reyson. Her eyes locked with her brothers'. In the common speech, she said, "I think that...Ashera is in there."

XxXxXxX

(Has a completely innocent look) What? Me? Plotting something evil that could possibly make this story go on to, like, thirty chapters? NEVER!

Please review! Mwahahaha...!

I must apologize in advance, but updates will be much slower than they have been. Why? Because I spoil you all! No, haha, kidding. Because I haven't had any time to type ahead. Life equals hectic. I'm sorry! I'm almost done with chapter 15, but I plan to write chapter 16 before I post again! Until then, I SO SORRY!

---A very terrified, rabid-fan frightened authoress.