The kingdom of Dalaam had only one Prince.

Puu was the pride and joy of the entire kingdom, and for the moment, he was undergoing training of the highest degree to perfect the Magic that he had inherited from his mother. See, his mother had been the royal of the family, and his father had been selected out of hundreds of fighters who stood to challenge for her hand. According to the scholars that taught Puu all that he knew, it had been a spectacle to behold. To be honest, Puu would only dwell upon the past to learn from it, and today was an important day.

Before him, the scholar held four containers.

"Prince Puu, the dirt in this container is from our own land," he told him, and opened up the container, allowing Puu to stare inside.

"Yes," Puu stated. "It feels familiar."

"That is because you step on this soil everyday," the scholar explained. "These three other soils, however, are much different and will feel odd to you." The scholar then opened up the three other containers, and pushed them toward Puu.

The Prince took one of his hands and dipped his fingers into the first container. "This soil... It feels..."

"Odd? That soil is from the distant Kingdom of Osohe. The Princess Kumatora, one of your friends, is going to rule there come her eighteenth birthday." The scholar blinked at Puu's startled face and gave a smile. "That kingdom is so backwards that even the soil is backwards in feeling, wouldn't you say? Feel the next container, Prince Puu."

Puu did as he was asked, and curled his fingers around the dirt in the second container. "This soil feels... sure of itself."

"Yes, it is from Eagleland," the scholar explained. "Your dear friend, Princess Paula, resides there. Eaglaland is a place of sureness and confidence that even the soil itself feels that way. Thus is the reason for today's lesson. How about you try the last container?"

The Prince nodded and removed his fingers from the soil of Eagleland and into the last group. He gave a quiet gasp as he felt it, confused. "This soil feels slightly damp and unsure of itself."

"A wise remark," the scholar offered. "The soil of Phoenix is most confused. Do you recall from our history lessons that Phoenix was once a place called America? The royal family there is not really the royal family. The true royal family disappeared a few generations ago. The soil is confused and is not sure who to follow."

Puu removed his fingers from the confused soil to look up at the scholar, a determined look on his face. "What is the point of this lesson, Master Kai?"

Master Kai gave the Prince a kind smile. "The kingdom of Dalaam rests on the mountains of Chommo, in between Phoenix and Eagleland. Each of the four Kingdoms has a different soil, and it is important to familiarize yourself with them. The Magic inside of you, Princess Paula, Princess Ana, and Princess Kumatora, and many other Magic users there may be in our world, stems from the Earth that we stand on. The soil is proud, confident, yet shifting, or confused, and depending on the type of soil that you stand on, your power can grow in strange ways. Every country's sense of Magic is different."

Three other scholars stepped up and grabbed a container, and everyone present stood up. Master Kai turned to the first scholar and gave him a nod.

This Master, one Kato by name, picked up the soil of Dalaam. "Prince Puu, as your power stems from the soil of our own Kingdom, your power is strongest when you are at home. It means your power is disciplined, assured, powerful, and humble in terms of use."

The next Master, Master Omar, held the soil of Osohe. "The soil from Osohe stems from oddness of oneself, accepting what is different about you. Those from Osohe with magical capabilities have power that is less focused on one style of Magic and more rounded out capabilities, stemming for all purposes."

Master Ramin was next, bearing in his hands the soil of Eagleland. "Sure and confident, the Magic of Eagleland is focused on communication between others and protection and offense. They are a sturdy, well-designed Magic that is focused on brutal force."

Puu watched as Master Aziz now stepped up toward the Prince, holding in his hands the soil of Phoenix. "Those from Phoenix with Magical capabilities are few in number. They are unsure of their abilities and some cannot even learn certain types of Magic - but they are not to be trifled with as theirs have strength effects."

"Remember what you've learned here, today, Prince Puu," Master Kai told the Prince. "It may be important one day."

Puu gave the Masters all a bow. "I shall forever remember this day." And he did.

Puu played with the dirt in the courtyard when he was allowed to step out into the sun. It happened often enough that his skin hadn't gone to pale. Not to say in the least that the place was awful, because the hallways are well-kept and the courtyard is beautiful, but he much prefers the gardens at his own castle over this lame attempt at nice floral arrangements and flower beds. The soil is damp. It was unsure of itself, confused about his presence.

... Phoenix. This soil was Phoenix soil. That means he was in Phoenix.

"Hahahahahaha!" exclaimed Kumatora. "That's a hilarious story!"

The royal children were all gathered around a tea party table, each holding a teacup in their hands and a plate with fancy pastries placed before them. The royal families had gathered for another meeting and that meant that the four of them could gather together once again to have some fun at their parents' expense. It was always interesting get-togethers and Puu always enjoyed them. It meant he could be free to be himself instead of putting up that disciplined front for the sake of the Dalaam inhabitants.

"One time," Paula began as she placed her teacup carefully before her. She was always so proper. "One time, my father was enjoying some music in the recreation room. Now, not many of the servants know this, but my father listens to this band from my country called the Runaway 5..."

"... Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat," yelled the other three, surprised.

Paula gave an excited nod. "Yes, yes! Anyway, so he was listening to the Runaway 5, and a poor servant walks in on him..."

Ana hid her face. "Oh, I'm terrified of the ending..."

"Long story short?" Kumatora urged.

Puu glared at them. "But, you can't tell half a story."

"Puu's right!" Paula laughed. "My father was so embarrassed, and the two of them just stood there, staring at each other, and I'm just sitting there in my chair trying to appear invisible reading a book. Ugh, it was so awful and so awkward. She quit that day, I think."

"Awwww," Ana sighed. "Poor dear."

"I'm not sure what happened to her after that," Paula said with a shrug. "I think the fact that king listens to the Runaway 5 was a shock."

"Are they that good?" Puu asked. "I've never heard them before."

"Let's just say DCMC is better in my opinion and leave it at that..." Paula sighed. Kumatora pumped a fist.

The people of this base were listening to music that was unfamiliar. It wasn't that catchy and he wasn't sure what to think of it. Asking a guard curiously confirms they are listening to the Runaway 5. Puu remembers that name, Paula had mentioned it at one of their tea parties. Her father listens to it when he is in the recreation room.

He has to agree with her and Kumatora. DCMC is better.

When Puu was captured, he went willingly. Giygas has threatened to destroy the kingdom of Dalaam entirely if he did not go, and had even threatened the life of his beloved mother. The Queen, he considered, was a quiet and soft-spoken queen who did not wish any harm to anyone, and to know that someone desired to hurt his mother purely for his allegiance in a cause he had no interest in, well it showed the being's honor. Giygas had none entirely. This angered Puu greatly, and when he had decided to go, it was not with good intent.

The accommodations of the base he was left at were not quite to his standards, but it was reasonable. He was gifted with a comfortable room with a comfortable bed and a comfortable chair. He had a dresser, and was allowed to wear his princely garb, as long as he didn't wear his crown. He had taken to experimenting with the clothing that they provided when his own clothes were in need of wash, which the workers of Giygas did for him whenever he asked. He would tear them up and ask for sewing needles and thread, and with these items, he designed new robes for himself every once in a while.

Three years of sitting in a comfortable room awaiting moving to Tanetane Island apparently equal a whole new wardrobe of over sixteen new sets of robes.

Puu had also taken to speaking with the various people of the base. There were some interesting characters working here. He lied to them every once in a while about the basics of Magic and took great pleasure when the new ones took his word for the truth. In reality, trolling Giygas' army was the best entertainment the entire base had to offer. There were strange people, and Fassad is one that frequented the place.

Let's just say Puu didn't like Fassad.

Fassad is a man that operated on his own wavelength. He walked around the base smelling of monkey poo and bananas, and Puu decided very quickly that Fassad's scent is the worst scent and he didn't like him. One day, one year in on Puu's stay, the man arrived with two children in stow. He had been hoping that they were of Magical sort, but as it turned out, whoever reported the two children were anything but right and the lack of Magic running through the children's veins had disrupted Fassad's schedule. To make matters worse, the man had decided to not do the decent thing and return them to their parents, he had decided to make use of them and assigned them to the base.

The weak figures of children was not necessarily desired for the hard work of a Tanetane-level base and Puu watched as the two struggled with physical work, something that they were clearly not used to. Eventually the leader of the area, one Aloysius Minch by name, decided that they were useless and assigned them to instead servitude to Puu.

"This boy here is the Prince of Dalaam!" Aloysius stated, and the two, panicked and fear-stricken, stayed quiet. "Since you're so useless to me, anyway, you can serve him instead of making fools of yourself and keeping back our work two months!"

Aloysius was an awful man. Verbal, and physical, the man was abusive on many fronts, and to know that he had a wife and two children made Puu wonder about his house state, and just how functional of a family man he was. He would hit and snap at all the workers of the base and everyone but Puu was terrified of the man. Aloysius, however, never laid a hand on Puu, and the reason for that was entirely reasonable - everyone knew that if they laid a hand on Puu in any sort of physically abusive manner, they faced the wrath of Giygas.

Puu had never seen Giygas, but the mystery of the creature was a fear that he had.

The two boys that had been sworn to servitude to Puu one year in were rather pitiable, but he liked both of them.

Jeff was from Eagleland, adept with knowledge vast and knowledge strong. He was more of a brains rather than brawn and claimed to have been in the highest considered school of Winters, the town that he was from. He explained - with a tilt of his glasses that covered his face - that it was always cold there and was never warm, so the warmer weather of the base location in Phoenix was rough on him and hard on his body. He was always desiring cold, and his quarters for the base was basically a refrigerator with how cold he kept the barometer.

The other boy, Lloyd of Phoenix, however, was another matter altogether. His pale skin and his strange, exotic white hair clued in to a medical condition that Puu recalled called albinism, and one couldn't see what colour his eyes were underneath those reflective frames that allowed him to see. Lloyd explained that his eyesight was pretty bad, but although it was as bad as he claimed, if one were to hand him any type of mechanical device, the albino could figure out how to work it, or even mess with it so it operated differently. Puu had tested this himself, handing him a communicator that he had taken off the guards.

Lloyd had given it back a week later, and instead of a walkie talkie, it was now a radio. Puu used it often. DCMC was still better than the Runaway 5.

The two followed him around and did all that he asked, as ordered to them by Aloysius. One day, Puu asked Jeff his personal opinion of Magic and its uses.

"Personally, Magic is a roulette term," Jeff had explained. "Magic is a general term to describe all sorts of things. Sleight of hand, the ability to turn one thing into another, the critical cracking of an egg and done so in a way that makes no eggshells in the batter - or perhaps, the ability to control fire with one's mind? If one were to ask Giygas of his opinion, it's the ability to mentally communicate with other Magic users, and do all sorts of unexplained things. It's undefined and an unknown. I think there are a few people able to use it for Healing and putting others to sleep. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I find it fascinating and wish to define it down to a critical matter because at the rate it's evolving, we can't at this moment. It's still evolving and who knows? Maybe I am Magical in my own way. Giygas' search is pointless. It's what brought me here in the first place."

And what, Puu had asked, had brought Jeff to be captured?

"My knowledge is immense and undefined. I was getting straight A+'s in all my classes - aside from gym class, that is - at Snow Wood Boarding School," Jeff had answered. "Someone had considered me too smart for my age and called me in. A foolish decision, if I do say so myself."

Lloyd was more quiet and was just content with following Puu around and frantically jumping whenever he referred to him by name. He was flinching all the time and had taken to hiding in garbage cans when things got too intense. Puu had discovered him in one by accident when he had dismissed Jeff for the day to focus on studying the books in the library, which the boy had been dying to do for weeks as there had been a new shipment.

"Lloyd, may I ask what you are doing in the trash bin?" Puu had asked.

"Mr. Aloysius was just around the corner..." Lloyd had muttered, as Puu lifted him out. The boy was only of nine years old then, a drastic age difference between him and Puu, who was sixteen. "... I hid..."

Puu had decided then that he would protect Lloyd had all costs.

Jeff had come rushing toward him one day, about two years in to Puu's long stay at the base, and had showed him a book. The book's binding needed to be redone and it seemed the Eagleland boy had attempted to do so on his own (with apparent help from Lloyd, if the wires were any indication), but what mattered was the page that was being shown. A drawing of a strange, exotic machine was displayed, and schematics of Tanetane Island.

"I think they are trying to condition you before they place you on Tanetane," Jeff explained. "Apparently you are not yet ready because you still snap back and give them snark."

"And here I thought they liked my comments," Puu remarked. "What is that machine for?"

"I'm not sure," Jeff said, uneasy. "And that's odd for me to say. I was thinking of showing it to Lloyd, because he might be able to figure something out based on the comments on the page and the blueprints. Something tells me that's what they're collecting Magic users for, though. I don't think you're the only royalty they have their eyes on. I've been hearing chat about taking Princess Kumatora next."

Puu was quiet for a moment. "... Well, that would go over very well. She'd kick them all in the crotch."

As a side note, it is worth mentioning that yes, Kumatora did kick all the male soldiers that attempted to take her right in the crotch.

Jeff nodded in response. Puu had spoken enough about Kumatora that he was well aware of the girl's eccentricities. "I think we need to stage an escape. Get out of here, get you returned to Dalaam."

"Are you speaking of somehow breaking out of here? I've been trying to conduct an escape for the two years I've been here," Puu spoke.

Once again, a nod was a response from Jeff. "Now you have me and Lloyd, and I'm starting to think the two of us are the smartest people on base."

Puu didn't doubt that, and that was sad. For the soldiers and Aloysius, anyway.

Jeff displayed another set of blueprints, this one of what appeared to be a sewage system that the base appeared to be a part of. It certainly explained why the soil of the courtyard was more damp than the soil that Master Kai had shown him back home in Dalaam some time ago that felt like fifty years. The sewage system ran through only a small fraction of Phoenix, stemming from the castle which apparently sat in the center of the country. Jeff pointed to a section of it that opened up to a small town called Merrysville.

"See that place there?" Jeff had asked, and once Puu had given a nod, the boy continued. "I've shown this map to Lloyd, and he said that's where he's from. He explained a bit about this system to me - when King George and Queen Maria ruled over Phoenix back when it was America, the kingdom was actually quite small. In fact, Princess Ana's great-grandfather, when he started the kingdom up again, expanded its borders."

"So this sewage system?"

"It was never expanded on, it only runs as far as America once did. That's why some places further out had to build their own or depend on wells since then," Jeff sighed as he finished. "Sometimes I wish every country was as advanced as my own Eagleland. I love cars. Anyway, so, Lloyd explained that his town has been there since before the fall of America, so he said that's our best bet. He had a pen pal once in grade school that lived in Podunk nearby and said that if we head that way, he thinks his friend could help us get you back home."

"You explained your idea to Lloyd about breaking out?" Puu asked, surprised.

Jeff appeared sheepish as he fixed his glasses. "Please understand, Puu..." - And at this point in the three's relationship, Puu had very politely asked them to drop the Prince from his title - "I had to cover all our bases before I even thought of bringing it up to you. Lloyd even said that we might have to do some further informational digging. I don't know a lot about Phoenix - Eagleland is more my territory, for obvious reasons - and Lloyd is smart, but he's ten."

Puu gave an understanding nod. "Very well, we shall work out an escape plan. I don't wish to visit Tanetane any time soon."

"Some of the chat around here about that place... Tanetane gives me the creeps."

Puu agreed.

Sometime after their discussion, Lloyd sneaked his way into Puu's room late at night. The boy, soon to turn eleven years old, woke him up and showed him a device he had been working on, amazing Puu once again with his technical prowess, despite his bad eyesight. The prince had looked up to see the boy's white hair uncombed and frazzled in all sorts of directions, and the glasses were slightly askew, but he still couldn't see his eyes. They had known each other for almost two years, and though Puu could say that Jeff had blue eyes to match his blonde hair, he still didn't know what colour eyes Lloyd's were.

"What did this use to be?" Puu asked, and he found himself thinking about Jeff's opinion on Magic. Yes, if Puu had to decide, Jeff's knowledge and impressive memory was a Magic, and Lloyd's mechanical know-how and ability with machines was a Magic as well. He was glad Giygas and Fassad had different opinions.

"... It used to be the recreation room radio," Lloyd had explained. "I took it and changed it around. I was wondering if there was a way to enhance once's Magic and make it stronger."

"And?" Puu urged.

"Well," Lloyd hesitated, and fixed his glasses for a moment. They were big, and bulky, and covered nearly half of his face. Over the time he had stayed there, they had earned quite a few scratches, much like Jeff's, but far more. "I haven't tested it yet."

Puu held a hand out and Lloyd placed the object in his hands. "I shall see."

They sat there, on Puu's double-sized bed, as Lloyd turned the device on. Puu then held out a hand, and used a minor form of the Ice spell, which seemingly intensified and froze half of the wall they were sitting in front of. Puu blinked in surprise, and looked down at the device, looking at it more closely, as Lloyd nearly gave a shout of excitement.

"Yes, my friend Lloyd," Puu had voiced in glee. "I would say that this device works."

He was going on his third year not too long after, Lloyd's eleventh birthday just around the corner. Jeff had just turned fourteen, and Puu himself was now seventeen. Late at night, he sat in his bed, wondering about their escape plan and whether it was going to work or not. They had decided to create a sleeping draught and feed it to the soldiers and Aloysius, and sneak out the waterways and into Merrysville. It was in this action they would then head to Lloyd's pen pal's in hopes he would know a way to Dalaam.

The idea that Lloyd trusted a pen pal he had never met face to face more than his own family was rather startling, but the boy's behaviour spoke many truths that Puu decided not to think too hard on.

But then...

Was that...

... Ana.

Jeff looked at him in disbelief. Puu had nearly stormed into his modest quarters the instant he had recognized the Magical signature approaching. "So, what you are trying to say is that Princess Ana is on her way here?"

Puu was pacing back and forth. In the span of a minute as Puu had been panicking, Jeff had gathered Lloyd into the room from next door, and the young albino was now sitting in a wooden chair, watching the two of them quietly. "I can't guarantee she is on her own, for all we know, she was captured as well."

"Does this change our plans?" Jeff pressed lightly.

"I can't abandon Ana if the opportunity to leave arises," Puu explained. "She has been my friend since the day she was born. I was even there for her Christening, at her father's invitation."

"Oh, that's right..." Lloyd had tiredly muttered, then. "They're Catholic..."

"Then we take her along, I suppose," Jeff wondered. "I wonder how much of a damper that will put on quickly leaving. Is she a fast walker?"

Puu shrugged. "I seem to recall her never being much of a runner in our youth."

Lloyd had then piped up. "The acting King always has her on the castle grounds if there's no royal meeting. Everyone in Phoenix knows that. The princess never comes out for parades or anything, she's always where someone can see her. I've only seen her in pictures."

"So, basically a calmer version of what happens with Princess Paula," Jeff decided. "Except I don't even know what Princess Paula looks like."

Lloyd shrugged. "... Basically."

"She's blonde," Puu pointed out, and Jeff looked at him surprised. "Princess Paula. She's blonde, blue eyed. A lot like Ana, actually."

Jeff smirked. "I keep forgetting you used to play with her all the time."

It was the very next day that Ana arrived, and Jeff had prepared the sleeping draught with Puu and Lloyd's help. Jeff then pushed his way into the kitchen when the chef demanded a certain spice. Telling him that the spice was far better than the one he demanded, the chef urged to use it and took it rather forcibly. It was only a matter of time before that night's dinner would end with the entire base asleep.

If you recall a chapter where Lucas had a vision concerning Prince Puu, you will recall that he saw him a cell block, a sea of fire surrounding him and Duster. Please understand that not all visions take the form of what is truly to happen. Instead, most visions take the form of representation. Puu was in a cage in Lucas' vision. Here, he most certainly is not, but he is kept on the base, closely watched.

The fire came at about one minute into supper when people started feeling drowsy. Lloyd had set it off, and in the ensuing chaos of drowsy soldiers attempting to do safety procedures of a fire emergency, Puu, Jeff and Lloyd gathered up what belongings they had (including Puu's collection of robes he had made over the course of his stay), and approached the entrance into the waterways from the base. The building had not caught fire, but it was nearing close to that, and they had to be sure they were safe. It was here, that the entrance opened up to reveal a tall man in raggedy clothing, and Puu's first impression was that the man required tending to for his pants, for there was a patch that was falling off. It was bugging him.

"Puu!" came a voice, and from behind the man appeared Ana herself.

"Ana!" Puu rushed forward, and the two clasped hands in reunion, both more than glad to see each other. "I thought it was you."

"You sensed me, then?" Ana asked. Her voice showed concern. "I was praying to God every night that you would be safe."

"Perhaps your prayers protected me, because I wasn't due to arrive at Tanetane for awhile," Puu said with a smile. "I sensed you very recently. I wasn't attempting to reach out to anyone for fear it would get me in further trouble."

"Princess... we should probably get going!" and from behind the man once again, came up three boys, two looking somewhat identical and another with flashy blonde hair.

"Who are...?" Puu asked, before he was cut off by Ana.

"Excuse me, Puu, but who are these two boys with you?"

Both looked at each other before Puu chuckled. "Let's get out of here first and get to safety before doing any kind of introductions. We set the building on fire."

"What?!" piped up one of the black haired boys. His choice of dress made Puu figure he was from Eagleland.

"So that's why I can't really breathe..." muttered the other one practically clinging to a big white and grey dog.

Ana nodded in agreement. "We were coming this way because I sensed you. I am so glad that you were already in the process of leaving." Jeff piped an agreement that sounded like 'Indubitably', and Puu simply nodded. "Come, the waterways are our best bet of escape."

"That is what we were thinking, Ana," agreed Puu, as he, Jeff and Lloyd wandered into the waterways after Ana and her entourage. "We were going to head to Merrysville before making our way to Podunk."

"Now that I think about it," Jeff voiced, turning to Lloyd. "Is there a waterway passage that leads straight to Podunk?"

Lloyd shook his head. "It was founded after America fell."

"Can't go to Podunk," came the wheezing voice of the boy with the dog. "Kinda just left there and Mom would just drag me back into the house and I'd be out of the group."

"Ninten left without permission," chimed the other black haired boy, like it was something to be proud of.

"Ninten?" Lloyd asked, startled. Puu watched as he glanced back at the wheezing boy before approaching him and looking at him with a critical look. "Do you have twin sisters? Do you live on a farm? Are you Magical? Is your dog's name Mick? Do you have asthma? Did you have a pen pal from Merrysville about two years ago until it abruptly stopped?"

"One thing at a time, please," 'Ninten' wheezed, as he dug through the bags that were hanging off the dog. They had all stopped as soon as they were in the waterways, the smoke in the air gone since the tall man had closed the door to the base. After the boy had taken a few breaths from what appeared to be a medical inhaler, he looked at Lloyd carefully. "I have twin sisters. They're names are Minnie and Mimmie. My and my sisters are Magical. This is Mick. Clearly. And yes. Let me guess, you're Lloyd?"

Lloyd nodded furiously. "Yes, yes! I was reported because of the machines I was building."

"That's got nothing to do with Magic."

"Tell that to the orphanage curator..." Lloyd muttered. Suddenly everything about the boy made sense. "Anyway, I'm glad you're here, it's one thing less to do."

"You were going to come to my house?" Ninten asked.

Jeff fixed his glasses. "Yes, you see, you were the closest personal being we knew and in terms of what we were trying to do, you were the fastest contact. We were going to try and get to Dalaam to return Puu here to his kingdom."

Ana started at that. "Puu, maybe you should stay with us? Paula and Kumatora... they were..."

Puu closed his eyes. "We figured."

Jeff nodded. "Yes, there were chatter around the base about the mess Princess Kumatora caused during her capture. Many of the soldiers were institutionalized in a medical facility somewhere off of Osohe because she damaged the space between their legs." For some reason, the tall man scoffed at that and gave a smirk while the blonde boy next to him giggled. "Furthermore, Princess Paula was reported to be placed in a different facility similar to this one for apparent further testing."

"Further testing?" asked the one black haired boy whose name Puu didn't know.

Ana placed her hands together. "What does that mean?"

"I'm not sure, and for me, that's an odd thing to say," Jeff voiced. "Puu was apparently under the same criteria if the words around the base were any indication, but he was not subject to any kind of experimental procedures."

"I was treated fairly well, actually," Puu admitted. "They made sure I was comfortable."

"What counts as fairly to a prince?" the black haired boy asked. "... Just out of curiosity, you see, your highness."

"Just call me Puu, please," Puu proceeded to ask, and then elaborated. "You see, I was kept only on the grounds of the base and if I stepped out of line, I was locked into my room for some time, similar to a grounding sort of procedure. One year in, I was handed Jeff and Lloyd here when they proved unnecessary for what they needed them for. It was a bad move on their part, seeing as Lloyd just burned down their kitchen."

"'Handed'?" Ana asked.

"We were placed as his servants to keep him company and as his attendants," Jeff expanded on. "It gave him access to information and points of view that he wouldn't have been able to get on his own. Lloyd here is small and fits into trash bins and can turn walkie talkies into radio clocks and I was able to gain information via their computer and bookkeeping systems. By the way... my name is Jeff Andonuts."

"Jeff... that is a very pleasant name," Ana smiled. "I am Princess Ana of Phoenix."

"Name's Ninten," greeted Lloyd's pen pal.

The other black haired boy held a hand out, which Jeff took. "My name's Ness, I'm from Eagleland. That's a Winters accent, isn't it?"

"So it is," Jeff confirmed. "You have quite the ear. Onett?"

"Yep!"

"I'm Lucas," greeted the blond.

"Name's Duster," spoke the tall man, finally.

"He's our legal adult," Lucas explained.

"I would count as one, too, in about four months," Puu chuckled. "I am Prince Puu of Dalaam, as you may have guessed, but you can just call me Puu."

"I'm Lloyd, and yes, my hair is white," muttered Lloyd, running a hand through his hair.

"Now that we're all formally introduced," Ness spoke up with a smile. "Let's get going out of here before they ransack the waterways in search of us!"

The small town of Snowman was their resting stop. The entire group were huddled around a table at a restaurant patio outside, where they were eating and getting to know one another a bit more. Puu was dressed in one of his simpler robes that he had designed at the base during his three year tenure, and everyone else had cleaned up as well so they didn't appear as conspicuous. Altogether, they just looked like a bunch of friends from many places just gathered around a table at a fast food joint, having their lunch. Nothing odd about them.

Jeff had pulled out the book he had stolen from the base and had placed it down on the page of the machine. "This is what I believe Giygas is working on. For some reason he needs powerful Magic in order to make it work. This why he is gathering the royal Princesses and Puu - because for some reason, you guys have more powerful Magic than the average genetic fluke Magic user."

"It is worth mentioning that dragging me into that machine is useless," Ana pointed out, wringing a hand through her hat. "I mean... I'm not royal at all, I'm a pretender to the throne until King George and Queen Maria's descendant steps up."

Lloyd, who had been busy playing with his straw, looked up. "Maybe that's why Giygas is kidnapping all the Magic users who aren't royalty. He's trying to find their descendant."

Everyone grew silent.

Duster sighed. "It makes sense. Anyone who shows promise in Magic is a possible descendant of those two, and that would be the final key to the machine that he needs. Well, aside from Puu because now he's with us and he has to track him down again."

"How do we know he doesn't already have the descendant of King George and Queen Maria, though?" Ness asked, his voice showing his concern. "That's a pretty scary idea when you think about it."

Lucas hesitated. "Well, Claus is out, neither of our parents are Magic. So, I know Claus is safe at least."

Ness nodded. "I doubt my classmates that got taken are it, too. So that's like, at least five more that are just random captures."

Jeff fixed his glasses. "We all know that me and Lloyd were considered Magic but we really aren't. We're just prodigies in a different kind of sense, good with memory and knowledge, and mechanical know-how. Also, we have to consider for a moment that if he is looking for King George and Queen Maria's descendant, he'd have to look for a line of Magic running through the family line."

Lloyd looked up at Jeff. As the youngest member of the group so far, everyone couldn't help but look at his baby-face and feel the innocence raging off of him. "But how do we look for something like that? How do we know what King George and Queen Maria's descendant is going to look like?"

"True, we're putting into consideration that at least four generations have passed since then..."

Everyone paused, Ana still fiddling with her hat. Finally she opened her mouth. "It's something we have to look into. We have to keep to the idea that King George and Queen Maria's descendant is still at large. Otherwise, he would be taking people like Lucas' brother. He's still looking for the missing link. He's desperate enough that he attempted to capture me, despite that my Magic is a genetic fluke. We have to try and find this descendant. It's our only chance at messing up his plans."

Ninten looked away, growing quieter and quieter as the conversation grew on. Mick looked up at him, sitting down by his seat at the table. They exchanged looks, and Ninten looked down at his hand.

"Giygas needs the Magic of the Royal families to run his machine, right...?" he suddenly voiced, gaining everyone's attention. "That's what you said. Right, Jeff?"

"That's almost what I said," Jeff pointed out. "It was more along the lines that Giygas requires powerful Magic users to make it work, and the strongest Magic runs through the Royal Families' veins and is passed on with each generation. Forgive me for this example, but that is why Puu is stronger than Ana in terms of what he can do. Puu is a Royal prince, whereas Ana is the daughter of a Steward technically, and her Magic is a genetic fluke."

Ninten nodded, still avoiding eye contact. "How would you tell the difference between Inherited and Fluke?"

Jeff was quiet for a moment as he fixed his glasses, noticing a scratch that obscured his vision. "Well, Inherited would display powerful use of Spells that most others won't be able to use, either in normal cases or even after years of training. For example, Puu can summon meteors, the Star-storm Spell. I believe he also said that Princess Kumatora can use that spell, and only the two of them so far can."

"That's true," Duster immediately pointed out. "Kuma can use that spell. She was trained to use it in case of an attack on Osohe castle."

"A Fluke, however, is horribly limited," Jeff continued. "They can learn a variety of spells, but they can only learn stronger versions of them if they are taken under the care of a stronger user or Royalty."

"I learned a good number of Spells through transfer from the Magypsies..." Lucas realized. "But I don't really know how to use them, but I know they're there."

Jeff gestured to Lucas. "That means your Magic is a Fluke."

Lucas nodded. "It is, my brother has it, too."

"Are you, perhaps, twins?"

Everyone silenced. Finally, Lloyd asked, "What does them being twins have to do with anything?"

"Multiple Fluke Magic in one family is incredibly rare and only happens around three times every one hundred years or so," Jeff pointed out. "It is, however, more common to have Magic spout among twins. Twins have an increased rate of twelve percent chance from an already five percent change of having Magic through one birth."

Lucas nodded. "We are twins."

Jeff nodded, pleased with himself. "Anyway, Inherited have a stronger burst of controllable Magic when they use it. Flukes are weaker when they use it and most of the time when they begin to use it, have difficulty with controlling it and have to learn either the hard way or from a teacher."

"Claus set Fuel's hair on fire..." Lucas pointed out. "And that one time I had that vision, I couldn't wake up from it. Ness had to help me."

The know-it-all blinked, but nodded. "Exactly."

Ness, however, had been sitting there with his arms crossed ever since Jeff had explained Multiple Fluke Magic percentage rates. He suddenly straightened and turned to look at Ninten head on, slamming his hands against the table and startling everyone to look at him. Ninten only looked at him with a blank look, as if he already knew what Ness was about to say, and everyone waited. Finally, Ness spoke.

"What Jeff just said. About Multiple Fluke Magic in a single family being really rare."

Ninten blinked. "What about it?"

"Minnie and Mimmie, Ninten. Minnie and Mimmie," stressed the Eaglelander. "Your sisters? I doubt Jeff can explain how all three of you have Magic running through your veins, and don't tell me they have magic because they're twins!"

Ninten stayed quiet. Jeff nearly gagged on his words, about to say something, but Ness cut him off.

"And now that I think about it, your Grandpa Jake has Magic in his veins, too, and I think he said something about your dad having it as well! Magic is only Inheritable within the royal families, and that's too much of a coincidence!" Ness continued. He was so into his confrontation that he began to stand up, jabbing an accusing finger at Ninten the whole time. "And you even said to Princess Ana that one time earlier today - that King George and Queen Maria must have been happy where they were, and that was why they didn't return to the Castle! You know where they were, don't you? You know where they stayed, don't you? In fact, I think they're your great grandparents."

"Wait, so you mean to tell me..." Duster began, but silenced when he saw Ninten close his eyes.

"... They felt responsible. They knew what they caused and they wanted to fix it by healing the land." Ninten sighed and leaned back. "Grandpa Jake would tell me stories about how they built the house from the ground up, and how they sowed the seeds into the ground and the earth began to turn green again. Giegue, he wasn't anything like the stories told that he was, back then he was just the odd little thing still learning about the world, and when great-Grandma had Jake, he felt... betrayed. He wanted them for himself, he didn't want to share."

"So he destroyed America," Ana voiced, and Ninten nodded.

"Grandpa Jake would tell me that the earth had turned brown, that his dad and mom had looked at what was once their country and their retreated. They didn't think that your great-grandparents would try to rebuild it. When they did, they thought they did a pretty good job taking care of the country themselves, and so they made a new life without Giegue and lived a happy one," Ninten explained. "Grandpa Jake got married, and began to have a family of his own, and my great-grandmother just vanished one night and I don't know what happened to her. Dad thinks she drowned in the lake."

"The same one you almost did?" Lucas blurted out. "Where you got your pneumonia?"

Ninten smirked. "The irony, huh?"

"They didn't once think that maybe the country needed them to rule?" Jeff wondered. "They... they liked the quiet life?"

"It was nice and simple," Ninten confirmed. "They were happy where they were. They preferred the quiet life."

"... Perhaps." Ana sighed, remembering the conversation they had had earlier. "Still... It's one thing to prepare myself for passing on the torch to the true heir. I didn't expect the heir to answer my call to free me from the clutches of Giygas early on... Or to not even really desire the torch at all."

"We're pretty happy where we are," Ninten explained. "Just like George and Maria."

"So why were you bringing up all that stuff about Inheritance and Flukes with Jeff?" Ness asked.

It was Lloyd that figured it out. He suddenly gasped, fearful and worried. "... Minnie and Mimmie! You're worried they'll go after Minnie and Mimmie! They have just as much claim to your family's Magic as they do!"

"Exactly," Ninten pointed out. "If they can't have me, the technical heir to Phoenix, they can easily take my sisters... and get the same effect."