Two hands clasped each other in a silent prayer.

Princess Ana was different from the other Princesses and Prince Pu. They had inherited their powers from their parents, who had inherited theirs from their parents, and so on. But Princess Ana was different. Her parents didn't have Magic, and neither did their parents, and so on. Princess Ana's capabilities with Magic had been a genetic fluke, and she knew that it had been. She was just some pretender, playing Princess until the true heir to King George and Queen Maria's throne arrived to claim it. She was meant as some protector. Protecting the throne until it was time.

Her father was as kind a man as could be possible, putting so much faith and trust into her the moment he knew she would keep her word. When he said that he wanted her to be careful, she devised a plan to ensure her safety. She didn't want to end up like Pu, Kumatora and Paula, her old playmates. Prince Pu had been gone for three years now, one of the first to disappear when Giygas began his kidnappings.

Three years. It was hard to believe that was all. It felt much longer to Princess Ana. She was terrified.

Word of Princess Paula's disappearance had spred quick, and she knew, now was the time. Princess Ana breathed a short prayer for the safety of her hero, and closed her eyes, bowing her head to look down at the floor through her eyelids. With her mind, she called out to the world outside her castle walls, called out for someone to come and sweep her off her feet and take her out of the place before Giygas' forces did. Someone to come save her from the terrors she was sure awaited her in the walls of Giygas' hold. Someone to just come save her.

Please. Please come save me.
Please come save me before he comes.
Please, I await you.

It had been a day now. Ness wasn't sure how his mom had reacted to his sudden disappearance, but he was sure she would understand after she had heard about Princess Paula. She knew all about their friendship, so to speak, and he was sure that she would understand his motives behind his leaving. He wasn't the type to just run away, after all.

The two walked down the dirt paths that made up the road. They had reached Phoenix at around the call of evening, and had made good time due to leaving early. Lucas waddled behind Ness with a smile, glad for some company even if there wasn't much conversation going on between them. The sun beat down, but it didn't bother them, due to Ness' bottles of waters, which had reduced in number slightly since they left.

They stopped for a quick meal of some bread and cookies, waving at a traveling salesman that passed by. Lucas kept getting excited each time they got close to another traveler, hoping, just hoping, that the next person that they would see would be Duster. He longed to give him his mother's letter, with the neat writing sprawling his name across the envelope, and the small, hastily wrapped box from Wess. He wondered what was inside. Duster would probably say a bomb. Lucas laughed slightly. If it had been, it would have gone by now, that was for sure.

Eventually it grew very dark and Ness took hold of Lucas' hands, pointing off at a nearby barn. "Let's sleep there, I'm sure there's probably hay inside we can use as beds."

"Are you sure?" Lucas asked as they walked toward it, noticing the house close by with some lights on. "They might get mad."

"They probably get travelers sleeping in here all the time," Ness supposed, opening the door slightly. "They're probably used to it by now. There's lots of hobos in Phoenix, didn't you know?"

"... I thought that was just a myth."

"Well, it might be, but the point is that I'm tired. Let's just go to sleep."

The two stepped inside, Lucas somewhat timidly. Huddling up on some clumps of hay, the two closed their eyes and began to sleep. Outside, an owl hooted. At the house nearby, the lights turned off.

In Eagleland, Tracy and her mom sighed out of sadness, realizing that Ness was gone, and why after seeing the newspaper. The two resigned to their misfortune, hugging each other for support. The King and Queen gave each other their support as they prayed for their daughter, hoping for Princess Paula's safe return. The towns weeped for the loss of their princess, the gangs even retreated to their bases, giving the world a break to mourn the loss.

In Osohe, the Magypsies circled each other and used their Magic powers, praying that the Chosen Three would meet, and soon. Wess stepped around his home without direction, looking out at the night sky. He wondered to himself if his son was looking up at the same one. In their home, Flint and Hinawa were keeping themselves busy, Flint spinning wool and Hinawa making so many blankets and children's clothes, she didn't know what to do with them. It was their attempt at keeping their minds distracted.

And in her castle, Princess Ana prayed for her safety, calling out to the one destined to save her.

And in the farmhouse nearby the barn, a light on the second floor turned on.

A splash of water suddenly impacted Lucas and Ness' faces, waking them up instantly, sputtering to get the water out of their mouths.

"What the!" exclaimed Ness, wiping his eyes. He opened them and looked up to see a boy looking a little like him, a farmboy perhaps, with a bandanna tied lightly around his neck. He was flanked by two identical twin girls. "What? Who are you?"

"The children of the people who own this place," the boy announced. "You're trespassing. Get out."

"Yeeeeeaaaaaah!" exclaimed the girls. "Get out! Get out!"

"We're sorry," stuttered Lucas. "We were looking for shelter. It was cold last night... We'll get out. I promise."

"I'd much rather it be before my mother discovers you're here," the boy stated quickly. "I'm not sure what'd she do, this is a first."

"We just came to help brother milk the cow!" stated one twin girl. "We didn't expect people sleeping in our cow's hay!"

"Yeah, this is new!" stated the other. "It's best you leave! We don't know what the punishment is!"

A nearby cow mooed. Lucas figured it was the one they were talking about. "(Oh, hush, hush,)" said the cow. "(You know your mother is a sweet hen, Ninten.)"

"What do you know, Bessie?" 'Ninten' snapped back. "You're just a cow."

"(I've known your family for quite some time,)" mooed Bessie. "(Your mother will be sweet to them.)"

"What's she saying? What's she saying?"

'Ninten' was quiet for a moment, staring blankly as he always had straight at the intruders, bucket still in hand. "... She said that she thinks mom would be okay with them. What do you two think?"

"It's mom, it's mom!" the two chorused, instead of replying. The twins rushed to the door as the boy merely turned his head to the direction.

Lucas took a good look at him and slightly grimaced. He didn't look well at all, almost as if he had just recovered from an illness or an injury. He was thin and appeared breakable, like a porcelain doll. His skin was awfully pale. Lucas looked over at Ness, who, if his facial expression was saying anything, had come to the same conclusions as he had.

A tall blonde woman stepped into the barn, being dragged over by the twins. She gasped at the sight of the two boys and immediately turned to the boy.

"Ninten! Why are they wet?" The tone that she used was accusing, and she placed her hands at her hips, leaning forward down at him with a frown. "Was this your doing, Ninten? You should know better."

The boy merely lowered his head. "Yes, mother."

"Just because you recovered from your pneumonia doesn't mean I'm letting you off the hook," his mother chided. "You help these boys inside, and mind your breathing! Don't stress yourself, remember what that does to you. I'll milk the cow." She took the bucket from her son and shooed him away. "Don't forget to introduce yourself and be a good boy and tell your Grandpa Jake that I'll be awhile."

"... Yes, mother."

"Late breakfast today, Ninten, is that okay?" she continued on, setting a stool by the cow.

"It's fine, mother." The boy was quiet after that and turned to Lucas and Ness. "Come on, then. Best not disobey my mother. Come inside, we'll get you cleaned up."

Introductions that occurred while walking the path to the door confirmed the boy's name was Ninten. He explained that his sisters' names were Mimmie and Minnie, but he didn't specify which one was which. Lucas suspected that he may have actually not really known. He explained a little bit about his family in short, curt sentences, clearly saving his breathing for the walking.

His mother had come from Eagleland. His father was from Phoenix, and his father's father lived with them. His twin sisters were younger by roughly two years and Ninten was seen as the black sheep in the family. He grew quiet at that before finally admitting why when they reached the door.

"... You see, I have asthma, and a weak immune system," he said softly. "There's not much I can help with on the farm, now is there?"

"I'm sure you'll find something," Ness offered, until his stomach growled rather hungrily.

Ninten raised an eyebrow. "... If you're planning on staying for something to eat, I'm sure my mother won't mind, but it's going to be a bit late today, as she said."

"Why's that?" Lucas asked, his own stomach grumbling.

"Well, I didn't get to milk the cow," Ninten offered. "But I think it's because we're shifting back into regular routine. For awhile there, the family was focused on me. I fell into the ice cold lake nearby and contracted pneumonia."

The two boys were silent.

"... That's awful," Ness admitted. It was beginning to get cooler as the world cooled down. Before long, they would be camping out in the snow. "At least you're okay."

Ninten nodded, agreeing instantly. "I'm sure there were... other factors in my getting better."

The three of them were standing in the kitchen now, as Ninten prepared hot drinks for them all. An old gentleman then stepped into the room, clearly having heard the conversation, as he started with:

"Well, of course there were other factors, Ninten! Why, I once survived a hoe to the head once, did I ever tell you about that?"

"Plenty of times, Grandpa Jake," Ninten said offhandedly, serving the tea. "Oh, and these are our guests, Ness and Lucas."

"Pleasure!" piped the grandfather.

"Oh - and mother said she'd be awhile, Bessie was being mean," Ninten quickly said. Lucas caught sound of what sounded like his stomach. Guess he and Ness weren't the only ones looking forward to breakfast.

"Oh, darn," the grandfather lamented, sitting down at the kitchen table. "I was hoping breakfast would be on time. I do love your mother's oatmeal. And, you need to eat, too, boy." He poked Ninten in the rib with the cane that he was holding. "You barely ate a thing while you were sick in bed, you must be starving, you poor thing!"

"I'm fine, grandpa."

"That's what you said last year, too. And what happened then? You walk down the simple path to the barn and suffer an attack of your asthma. Boy, I know your Magic is strong, but it's not enough to save you all the time. Sometimes you need to listen to what the doctors have to say."

Ness and Lucas immediately closed their mouths at the old man's words. Magic? Ninten could use Magic? It wasn't exactly something that they had expected to learn while staying here. Lucas watched as Ninten's face fell, his lips forming into a small frown before he abruptly turned to the fridge nearby and opened it.

"Grandpa, you need to learn to keep your trap shut. We have visitors," Ninten scolded, taking out a milk bottle. "Ness, Lucas, don't mind my Grandpa Jake. He's a little crazy."

Grandpa Jake laughed outright, his fist pounding against the kitchen table. "A little crazy? Ninten, you make me sound better than I really am. I laugh at that." He straightened his back and turned to the two visitors at the table, a stern look in his eye. "Now, listen here, the two of you. One thing you need to know about this family is Magic runs through our veins. We're not about to let you go around telling those Giygas follower folk about us because we'll kill you and feed you to the dogs, you hear me?"

Lucas gulped. Ness' eyes widened to the size of cup saucers. Ninten turned to his grandfather in alarm.

"Grandpa Jake! Mother told you to behave when we have guests!"

"She may have told me that, but last I checked she doesn't scare me," Grandpa Jake laughed, pounding his fist against the table again. "And another thing, she's not exactly my daughter, either. Last I checked I was your paternal grandparent, not maternal. And yet that woman always believed that she could control me in some way or form and I never understood who put that idea in her head. Now that I think about it, it might have been your father."

Needless to say, an argument broke out between Ninten and his grandfather, one that lasted up until Ninten's mother stepped through the door with the new milk, followed by Mimmie and Minnie. She frowned and placed the bucket on the table, and stepped up to the two squabbling boys, and pulled on one ear each.

"That's enough from you two," she stated coldly. "Ninten, I believe I asked you to try to be a little more mature."

Ninten sighed and nodded.

"I see you offered our two guests something hot to drink," Ninten's mother stated, softening her look and releasing her hold on her son and father-in-law. "So, you two, what are you doing all the way out here, if you decided to sleep in our barn?"

"We're um... looking for our friends. They were taken," Lucas admitted, peering down at his tea. He could see his reflection in the liquid.

Grandpa Jake hummed a little. "I suspect they're Magical, Helena. Just like me, and your children and your husband. Probably why their friends were taken in the first place."

"The Royals have been getting targeted and Princess Kumatora and Princess Paula have been taken," Ness brought up sternly. "We suspect that your Princess is next."

The entire family grew quiet.

Ninten's mother looked up from her tea. "You mean, Princess Ana? That's awful."

A scraping of a chair alerted Ninten sitting down next to her. "I've been having odd dreams lately - I hear a voice, calling out asking for help. Do you think it might have been her?"

"If you think, even for a second, young man, that you are going out there and saving her, you think again," Ninten's mother scolded. "You just recovered from pneumonia. You are not charging headfirst into the castle grounds, do you hear me?"

Lucas watched as Ninten's face formed a bit of a frown, and he looked away with clearly some anger. For a moment, he wondered if Ninten was possibly the third of the Chosen Three... But why would the legends pick a boy that clearly had some health issues? Asthma, and falling ill, recovering from pneumonia... Why would whoever wrote the legends or the roads and paths that the people of Nowhere Islands took pick such a sickly boy to help save the world from Giygas? It made no sense...

... and neither did what happened that evening.

Ninten's mother had insisted that the two boys clean up and stay the night before they started on their journey again. She took the boys' clothes, gave them some of Ninten's, and began to wash their dirty outfits for the night. The two of them had also been forced to take a bath and get the grime and dirt rubbed right off of them, though Lucas had appreciated being able to look cleaner and nicer. Lucas and Ness sat on the couch wearing Ninten's old clothes, and chatted with him and his sisters for a bit while Ninten's mother prepared supper. Grandpa Jake had fallen asleep in his chair.

Knocking on the door resulted in Ninten excusing himself from the conversation, leaving Lucas and Ness along with Mimmie and Minnie, who started hounding the two over what spells they knew. The twins revealed that Mimmie knew Fire, while Minnie could use Ice.

Ninten, meanwhile, opened up the front door to find a very angered neighbour.

"Oh. Kent. What's wrong?" he asked, a concerned look coming to him.

"Have you seen any shady characters around here? My food storage has been pilfered! I'm missing a loaf of bread, and a bottle of milk!" Kent immediately hollered. "There's a thief in town, boy. Warn your mother."

Lucas' ears immediately left the conversation with the twins and Ness, turning to Ninten's. A thief? Could it be...?

"When did the thief come by?" Ninten asked.

"I'd suppose last night. But it could have been any time since last night to right now. I didn't check until about fifteen minutes ago - the door was closed and everything was still in its place except for one loaf of bread and one milk bottle."

Lucas had to smile. It was Duster. He always made sure he only touched what he was taking. If what the man said was true, than he was around somewhere and Lucas could go find him. Sad thing was, Ninten's mother was very adamant that he and Ness stay indoors until their clothes were dry, so he'd probably miss him. Another thing to keep in mind, Lucas realized, was that Duster almost never stole food. He always stole money or bartering items. It caused a frown instead of his smile. If Duster was stealing food... then he was desperate.

The realization caused Lucas to stand up, startling Ness and the twins.

"Lucas?" Ness asked instantly.

"That neighbour of Ninten's. He said he had thief," Lucas reported. His fists clenched. "My friend, Duster. He's a thief. He stole food, and he almost never does that. He must be starving. Ness, we have to find him."

Ness' look earned him a confused one.

"Ness?"

"So wait, that was your friend that stole eighty bucks from Frank?"

"... Duster stole money from a friend of yours?"

"Yeah. Frank was mad."

Lucas shook his head, a small smile on his face. "I'd apologize on his behalf, but the idea that he's nearby... I have to go out and look for him."

"Mom's almost done supper, though," Mimmie pointed out.

"You're not leaving are you?" Minnie added, gaining a sad look.

Once again, Lucas shook his head. "No, I'll be right back. It's just... a friend of mine is in trouble. I want to see if I can find him."

Ness stood up then as Ninten closed the front door, having managed to calm Kent down. "Well, you're not going alone. I'll come with you." He pounded his chest with a fist proudly. "Let's try and be quick about it. If we're lucky, it happened recently and not last night."

"What are you two plotting?" Ninten suddenly asked, having showed up beside Lucas. "I see you overheard what Kent had told me about his little food storage thief."

"Lucas thinks that the thief was a friend of his - a young man named Duster. He only steals food if he's desperate though, so Lucas is worried," explained Ness, even gesturing to Lucas as he said his name. "I'm going to help Lucas go out and look for him for a little bit before supper."

Ninten was quiet for a moment, as he looked down in thought. "Well, it wouldn't be right to just leave him out there, if he's going hungry. Mother doesn't like it when people have to go through that, either. Let's go see if we can find him."

The three boys went and told Ninten's mother that they were heading out to enjoy the rest of the sun. Instead, they bolted nearby to Kent's house to investigate the scene of the crime, after stopping for a moment to let Ninten recollect his breath. They scouted the nearby area around the food storage, with Ness discovering boot prints in the mud.

"He went this way!" he called out, gathering the attention of the blonde and the other ravenette. "Come on!"

Together the boys followed the trail that Duster had left behind, Lucas beginning to panic out of worry, wondering what kind of state that his friend was in. He always tended to worry about Duster regardless, especially back at home where he was only mostly out at night pickpocketing visitors to the castle that he knew Princess Kumatora didn't like. He and Wess were known as the night owls of Tazmilly, and for good reason.

Eventually the group stopped at a curled up form by a tree. Lucas approached slowly and knelt down before the form, giving a light nudge. A groan came from the figure as it moved, and Ness and Ninten watched as Lucas exclaimed in delight. They watched as he completely tackled the man that had decided to take a nap by Ninten's neighbour's home almost to the ground.

"Duster!" exclaimed Lucas. "Oh, Duster, I found you, I found you!"

Lucas was so happy to finally hug the man before him. Finally, after three days on his own out here, there was a man, an adult, just somebody that he knew, loved and cared about. He felt his heart swell when finally, Duster wrapped his arms around him in return. He'd been gone for how long now? Lucas had lost count. He left the day that he had learned that he had Magic. Two days later, Claus had the accident with Fuel. The very next day, he had been snatched. Lucas left the day after, but it felt like he had waited weeks due to being so upset. Point was, though, Lucas hadn't seen Duster for a week.

"... What the hey are you doing out here...?" Duster muttered, loosening his hold on Lucas.

Lucas looked up into Duster's tired eyes, his own already tearing up. "... Claus... Claus got snatched. It was Fassad, he had tattled on my brother."

The three boys all watched as Duster groaned and rubbed his eyes. "... Are you kidding? I told you two to..."

"I know, I know! It was an accident! Claus got in a fight with Fuel and set his hair on fire!"

He got an odd look from Duster that lasted a moment. "... What? I wish I was there to see that."

"Oh!" Lucas straightened and sat down beside him, gesturing to his new friends. "These are my new friends, Duster. This is Ness, on the left, and Ninten, on the right! They're both Magic Users, too! Ness is helping me find Claus, and I'm helping him find Princess Paula. Speaking of that... How goes the search for Princess Kumatora?"

They all watched as his face fell. Lucas' heart sank. "... Not good. I had a good trail for a while, but I lost it a short while back. I got tired and hungry, so I decided to sleep around here."

"... And steal from my neighbour," Ninten pointed out.

"I'm not proud of it. I don't usually steal food," Duster replied to it, rubbing his eyes again. Lucas whimpered slightly. "But, the journey's been hard on me, and I haven't been taking care of myself as well as I should be."

The words caused Lucas worry. He let go of Duster completely and backed away, taking a good look at his older friend. Once again, the young man had lost weight in the time that they haven't seen each other. He looked even more exhausted, like he hadn't slept at all since he had left, and had gained bags under his eyes.

"... How's your leg?" he asked.

Duster looked up at Lucas with a weak smile. "... It's been alright, don't worry. I've been using your mother's medicine."

"And your brace?"

In response, Duster tapped his bad leg, the sound occurring being unnatural. He was wearing it.

"Duster," started Ninten. "Would you like to come over to my place? My mother will be more than glad to accommodate for you for supper."

Duster looked over at the other boy with a slightly pained look, and for a moment, Lucas feared that he would said "No" to the boy's offer. Ninten also looked a little worried when the young thief didn't reply right away.

"Duster?" asked Lucas, prompting a reply.

A sigh and more rubbing at the eyes occurred. Finally, Duster gave his answer. "... I suppose it wouldn't hurt. I could use something to eat."

"It's wonderful that you agree with me," Ninten stated calmly with a small smile. He then held out a hand to the thief. "Come on, let's head back to my home. I'm sure mother won't mind at all and will be pleased to meet you."

Ninten couldn't have been more right. His mother had taken to Duster immediately, rushing him inside and sitting him down at the kitchen table almost immediately, placing food in front of him and even offering to fix the holes and rips in his cloak. She gave him, Lucas and Ness a tad more food than she gave everyone else, and even struck a few conversations with Duster that he seemed to appreciate. Grandpa Jake spent most of the time conversing with the boys, telling Lucas about Magic and even teaching him a stronger form of Healing. Ninten stayed quiet through most of it, but it was clear that he appreciated the company.

Soon, it was nighttime and Ninten's mother stepped down the stairs with a few blankets in her arms. "Everyone, time for bed, come on."

The twins groaned by slouched away to their rooms.

Ninten's mother, meanwhile, approached the boys sitting around Duster. "Ninten, if you want, you can bunk with them. I wouldn't blame you - they're a nice bunch. Ness, Lucas, Duster, I'm afraid I only have one spare room, but with Ninten's room right next to it, I guess one of you can sleep in his room. I have an extra mattress."

"What type of bed's in the spare room?" Ness asked curiously. He was considering the mattress.

"It's a double," Ninten explained, turning to him. "It's usually meant for when my mother's mother is over."

"That's right," Ninten's mother said happily. "Come on then, I'll show you the way."

She led them up the stairs and down the hall, showing them Ninten's room, which already had a mattress placed on the floor, and the spare room, a bedroom with the colour scheme consisting of baby pink and lilac, clearly meant for a woman. Eventually it was decided that Lucas would get the double, Duster would bunk with him, and Ness would take the mattress. After she left to head to her own bed, Ness and Ninten invaded the guest room.

"I want to come with you when you leave," Ninten announced. "I know that, somehow, the Princess is trying to get my attention, or at least anyone's. She needs help and I want to give that somehow. I've never met her... but if she needs help, I need to give it."

"Your mom kind of made it obvious that she didn't want you going," Ness pointed out as he climbed onto the bed in front of Duster. They were all crowding around on it. "You'd be kind of going against her wishes, wouldn't you? It's never really good to do that, I mean... I don't even know how my mom is handling me leaving to find Princess Paula."

Lucas looked down at his bag as they spoke, taking out his stuffed rabbit. He was thinking of home - of his mother, his father, his dog Boney, of his mother's omelettes and how much he missed them. How long would it be before he got to return to her arms?

A hand was placed on his shoulder and he looked up to see Duster and the others looking at him in worry.

"You brought Rabbity?" Duster even asked.

"Mom wouldn't let me take Boney, so she said I could take Rabbity," Lucas explained, hugging the rabbit. "I miss her so much, Duster."

"I'm sure you do, it must have been hard to leave her like you did," Duster replied, placing a hand on his back. "Keep in mind - when all this is over and we get Claus and Kuma back, you can go right back to her. We'll all go home."

Ness smiled at the idea. "I can't wait for it."

"I wonder how long that will take... Will it be snowing, or will the snow be gone...?" Lucas wondered, mostly out of fear. He wasn't looking forward to camping out in the snow. Both he and Duster didn't really like winter. Far too cold.

"I guess we're just going to have to see," Duster offered with a sigh. "It's hard to tell at this moment. I lost the trail, can't find Kuma... You can't find Claus. We're basically walking straight now."

"Our next plan of action has to be Phoenix Castle," Ninten pointed out, fiddling with his pajama sleeve. "Princess Ana was calling for someone to save her before 'he' came. I have a feeling she's going to do it again, tonight."

"If she does, then we'll definitely check it out," Ness decided with a stern nod. "And I guess there's no point in telling you that you can't go."

Ninten's reply was shaking his head. "I don't care what mother says, I feel compelled to do this."

Duster gave another sigh and rubbed at his eyes again as the two of them continued chatting. Lucas looked up at him with worry, but before long, Ness and Ninten were stalking away back to Ninten's room and Lucas was getting comfy underneath the bed's quilt, being tucked in by Duster, who joined him by his side. Lucas yawned tiredly.

"... Good night, Duster," he said tiredly.

"Good night, Lucas."