It was an absolutely glorious and wonderful day for Alcyone. The sun was shining, the sky was purple, the birds were singing and all in Cephiro was in order. The people were hard at work, the servants were taking care of the royal palace, and the guards were doing their job at keeping the riffraff at bay. The Magic Knights had been defeated, Princess Emeraude was nothing but a tool at her disposal, and Alcyone had taken over as the Master Mage. She was relaxing on the rooftop garden in the shade of a tree, leaning against the chest of her beloved.

She wore the most elegant of dark dresses, and the most luxurious tiara ever made by Cephiro's master artisans. The palace suited her taste perfectly as well, consisting of multiple spires, buttresses, towers, large keeps, and walls, all in gothic and baroque styles. The rooftop garden was filled with flower bushes, vines, trees, fountains, statues, and mosaics, all modeled after figures of mythology, magical creatures, and celestial bodies.

Despite her extravagant tastes, Alcyone also appreciated the simple things in life. Warm sunlight, gentle breeze, the sound of running water, the singing of birds, and the smell of flowers. But most of all, she loved being near the one who had made all this possible. The one who her heart belonged to, the one person she was willing to lay down her life and future to.

Feeling her beloved's arm around her back and shoulders, Alcyone huddled closer against him, "King Zagato, every moment that we spend together, brings me unbridled joy."

"I am glad you feel that way, Queen Alcyone," her king spoke in a deep voice. "After everything you have done for me, your happiness is the least I can give you."

She turned towards her beloved king, leaning her chest against his dark suit of armor and wrapping her arms around his neck. Alcyone smiled blissfully and gazed at her beloved passionately, taking in his magnificent features.

His long black hair, amber skin, strong jaw, majestic facial features, and lime-green… eyes?

"Huh?" Alcyone gasped.

"Is something wrong Alcyone? You feeling alright?" the voice of her beloved became less deep. "You should take better care of yourself."

Before her very eyes, the features of her beloved Zagato turned younger. His black hair turned brown, his facial features became less pronounced, and his armor and skin became lighter in color. Despite this, she held onto him tighter, her body clenching from the shock and fury.

"No, no, no, no, no, NO! Why do you always get in my way, Hotaru!" she yelled, before screaming in frustration.

As she finished yelling, she snapped awake. Gone was the sunny and luxurious garden, and in its place was a dark and damp dungeon. All she heard around her was the rushing water of several waterfalls that made up the walls of her prison. Instead of a soft and cozy lawn that she could splay her body out on, she was curled up inside a sphere of light. She barely had enough room to sleep in a fetal position, and when she sat, she had to hug her knees.

Alcyone cried out in anger and slammed her fist against the sphere of light. It hurt her more than her prison, but it helped her keep her emotions in check.

"Even in my dreams you are always ruining everything!" she bemoaned, kicking her feet against the sphere. "I swear I will get you, Hotaru!"

Alcyone was not the only one having a bad dream that night.

Surrounded by a large crowd, Umi was giving it her all on a fencing piste. She had scored seven points out of the ten that she needed. She was dodging and thrusting better than ever in life, evading the strikes of her opponent before landing a blow straight to their abdomen.

"I did it!" she celebrated.

However, her scoreboard did not light up.

Why? They didn't count that point?

As she was distracted, her opponent came charging in, trying to get her by surprise. With a few swift motions, Umi managed to block the attack, preventing her opponent from scoring any strikes.

"That was a cheap coup de grâce," Umi chuckled, a bit out of breath.

But just as she said that, the scoreboard lit up for her opponent. Before she knew what had happened, Umi's fencing mask blew apart, as if it had been cut to ribbons.

That can't be…

Two points for her opponent. Umi counter attacked over and over again, scoring several clear hits on her opponent.

A lie! A lie! A lie! This has to be a lie!

Eventually she had struck her opponent so many times that they collapsed on the piste, unable to move. Despite this, her scoreboard was completely dark, even her previously gained points were gone.

"Why?"

Instead of an answer, her opponent's scoreboard lit up again. And again, and again, as if every strike she landed was given to her opponent as a point. Eventually the scoreboard of her opponent fully lit up, signaling her defeat.

"A lie!" Umi screamed, waking up next to Hikaru and Fuu.

It was a bright sunny morning, and she was sitting on top of the pink bed in Mokona's shelter, Despite this, Umi was breathing heavily, her pulse still sky high from her nightmare. She held her hand close to her chest, her fist still clenched as if wrapped around the handle of a foil. Once her mind finally caught up with reality, she felt a weight being lifted off her chest.

"A dream, huh," she sighed quietly, not wanting to wake anybody up.

She got up from the bed, straightened up her pajamas, and took in the cozy ambiance of her surroundings. Everything around her was neat, orderly, and pretty, as if she was living in a dollhouse. The only thing that seemed out of place was Hotaru, who was quietly snoring on his back on the couch. He wore his regular clothes even when asleep, with his right arm and leg hanging off the side of the couch, pressed against the floor.

Umi opened the door of the shelter to get some fresh air and was greeted by the sweeping grasslands of the fantasy world of Cephiro. At a distance she could see lush forests and tall, thin mountains dotted in every direction. She could see strange fantasy creatures flying in the air at a distance, highlighted by the rising sun.

She leaned against the door frame, keeping her arms crossed so as not to let the draft too high up her pajama. Though the dream about the fencing match had been a nightmare, it had given her a much-needed feeling of normalcy.

"I only wish this was the dream," Umi sighed wistfully. "I want to be in the tournament…"

Almost tearing up, she sat down on the floor at the doorway, her legs curled up, thinking of her friends back in Tokyo. This was interrupted by Hotaru rolling off the couch onto the floor, underneath the coffee table.

"Huh? What? I'm awake!" Hotaru babbled half asleep, slamming his head against the underside of the coffee table as he got up. "OW! Son of a—!"

"You really should get a sleeping bag or something," Umi suggested, a bit worried over him.

Back at the crystal fortress, Alcyone was up to her usual routine. She had groomed her ankle-length black hair to the best of her ability, used basic magic to cleanse her teeth, and straightened her outfit. After that, she curled up into a sitting position, holding her posture as straight as possible, and started plotting.

With all the free time she had, Alcyone had gone through hundreds of different plans to kill the Magic Knights. However, most of these plans had failed due to three reasons. One, she did not have her escudo staff or magical armor anymore, having lost those at the Spring of Eterna. This meant that her magical abilities were heavily limited. Two, it was hard to come up with a plan to defeat both the Magic Knights and their bodyguard Hotaru. Whatever strategy she could come up with, one of the group's members could counter it. And three, from what she had heard from others through the walls of her prison, her enemies had become even more powerful since she last fought them.

Despite all these setbacks, she had developed a few fool proof plans for taking her enemies out. If only she could get out…

"If only I had the chance, I would pummel them to the ground this time for sure," she muttered, her heart feeling trapped. "That way… Even Lord Zagato…"

As she was partaking in her daily lament, she was rudely interrupted by the footsteps of her inferior coworkers. The fact that those who weren't even half as loyal as her were allowed to roam the crystal fortress free, aggravated her. As she looked over in the direction of the sounds, she could see the silhouettes of a street urchin and a sellsword through the wall of water.

"Don't ya worry about a thing," the bubbly and carefree voice of a woman echoed through the water. "I'll make sure to put in a good word, so don't ya fret none."

Caldina that uncouth bimbo! Does she really think she has any sway in this organization? Her feminine charms don't hold a candle to mine and there is no way she could seduce Zagato. Maybe she has something on Inouva? Doubt it, she hasn't been around anywhere near as long as I have.

"I'm headin' back to my post. All right? You just worry about defeatin' them," Caldina talked down on the shorter silhouette. "Got that? Now go on. Later."

A nerve throbbed in her forehead as Alcyone was close to losing her calm. Did that outsider truly think that defeating the legendary Magic Knights was all about proper motivation?

As the taller of the two shadows walked away, the shorter one seemed to bow its head.

"Easy for her to say," the young boy sighed. "Caldina doesn't get it 'cause she hasn't fought them."

Seeing her chance, Alcyone grinned cruelly, her red lips parting to show her teeth and her eyes locking in on her prey.

As Ascot yawned and sat down on the ground to think, he could hear a charming female voice behind him.

"You're right. Only those who've fought the Magic Knights know how strong they are," Alcyone spoke understandingly.

"Hmph!" Ascot tried to ignore her.

"I can be of assistance to you," Alcyone hinted. "Unlike Caldina."

Ascot got up, not allowing his friend to be insulted, "Liar! You screwed up so many times!"

Our win loss records are the same, you know…

"I can do it," Alcyone smiled, trying to sound helpful and kind. "I have a wonderful medicine."

"Shut up!"

"Are you sure you want to say that?" Alcyone spoke temptingly. "My medicine can make your beasts many times… No, tens of times more powerful."

Ascot was taken aback by this, knowing that Alcyone was a skilled medicine maker. Could she really have something like that up her sleeve?

"Your beasts will be invincible after having this medicine. You'll defeat the Magic Knights easily."

"Really?" Ascot asked innocently. "Even that Hotaru guy?"

"Especially him!" Alcyone snarled, before calming herself down. "If you let me out of here, I can give you this medicine."

"I can't!" Ascot yelled, walking away from the waterfall. "If I did that, Zagato would kill me."

"We're going to defeat the Magic Knights. He'll probably praise us. He definitely won't punish us," Alcyone promised, already sure of her victory.

"…You think so?"

"Of course. After all, all is fair in love and defeating the Magic Knights," Alcyone chuckled.

Ascot thought about the suggestion, knowing he did not have many options. He had already failed three times and lost four of his beasts. Maybe if they worked together instead of fighting the Magic Knights one at a time, they could have higher chances of winning. It was better to go for the overkill than to give his enemies the chance of defending themselves.

"All right!" Ascot agreed.

He extended out his hand and drew a small gold hexagram magic circle in the air. From it, Ascot summoned several golden insects that flew into the waterfall, disabling its imprisonment enchantments.

As Alcyone was free from her sphere of light, she started getting prepared. From a crevice of her cell, she pulled out her spare circlet that had three forehead gems. They were smaller than her previous one and the circlet was from her time before becoming a sorceress. It did not hold as much power, but it did contain her spare cape, some armor, and her old longsword.

As the final bug entered the waterfall, the water turned golden and parted, revealing Alcyone in her rejuvenated glory.

Embracing her freedom, Alcyone chuckled and smiled, "Let's go."

In hopes of making a good amount of progress towards reaching the shrine of the Mashin, our heroes had left as soon as possible. The grasslands around them were vast and barren of anything resembling structures, so they knew they had ways to go. Thus, they all followed their all-knowing guide, who was leading them down a path where the grass was shorter and trodden.

"Pup-pu puu, pup-pu puu, pup-pu pup-pu puu!" Mokona chirped happily as it bounced forward.

Just as Mokona had finished a little song it had been chirping, the earth shook violently for a short while, scaring the small creature.

"Pu-puuuuuuu!" Mokona cowered in fear.

"The earthquakes seem to be getting worse," Fuu noted worriedly.

As Hikaru looked in the distance, she could see another tree falling over, "Yeah…"

Following at the tail end of the group, Umi was not in the mood for caring for the who knows how manyeth earthquake they had seen. She had tried being patient and thinking positively about their mission, but every day that passed her enthusiasm was taking a sharper and sharper dip.

"When in the world will we be able to go back to Tokyo?" she muttered frustratedly. "Especially with our guide acting like this."

For reasons she could not understand, Mokona was hopping circles around her, chirping happily.

"I think she is trying to cheer you up," Hotaru suggested.

Let's see, Umi is complaining about wanting to get back to Tokyo, that means the winter is coming. Wonder if my hair looks alright?

After walking a bit further along the path, they came across a fork in the road. Both roads seemed to be leading towards a similar destination, a mountain surrounded by forests. These obstructions made it impossible to tell the right way at a glance.

"Mokona, which way?" Hikaru asked politely from their guide.

Mokona cheerfully bounced over to the fork and chirped, before leaning towards both directions. It seemed to give a long hard look, or perhaps trying to smell the right direction. Eventually its ears pointed straight up before bending over, and picking up a small orange flower.

The four humans looked awkwardly, as Mokona started sniffing the flower. For a moment they thought that Mokona was trying to deduce the direction from the flower, but from its happy chirps it seemed to have just found it pretty. This lack of urgency discombobulated the entire group.

"Mokona! Which path are we supposed to take?" Umi asked irritably, having completely lost her patience. "That way? This way? We don't have time to fool—"

Before Umi could finish, Mokona jumped directly onto and off of her face, "Puuuuu!"

This sudden dropkick knocked Umi over onto her back, enraging the blue-haired girl even further. Using the gem on her left-hand glove, Umi summoned a large yellow mallet she had picked up during the journey.

"MOKONA!" Umi yelled before charging after the ball of mochi.

An improvised game of whac-a-mole was initiated as Mokona hid in the tall grass. As the white creature quickly hopped around in the grass, Umi tried her best to hit Mokona with her mallet. This continued for a while and it was clear that Umi wasn't just playing around.

"U-Umi…" Hikaru smiled awkwardly, trying to stop her.

"I believe it would be better if you calmed down…" Fuu suggested.

"Let her get it out of her system, she will feel better later," Hotaru advised. "Seriously though, where did she get that mallet?"

About five minutes later, the chase came to a stop, with Umi feeling tired and exhausted. Not just physically, but mentally as well. She sat down on the grass, leaning against her arms as she looked at the ground. While she was no longer angry, her feelings of inadequacy were even greater than before. Her chasing Mokona was very much similar to her journey through Cephiro; exhausting and bore no results. No matter how much effort she put into it, her goal seemed to never get any closer.

"When in the world will we be able to go back to Tokyo? At this rate, I'll never be able to enter the fencing tournament…" Umi grieved, grasping the grass in her hand.

With heartfelt sincerity, Hikaru tried to support her, "Cheer up, Umi. I'm sure you'll be able to enter the tournament. Cephiro is a land of will after all. If you strongly wish for it, I'm sure it'll come true!"

"I agree," Fuu concurred.

"So far our track record on that has been a bit iffy…" Hotaru reminded them, his 'training' still having borne no fruit.

"Then I'll wish for it too!" Hikaru said confidently. "That I hope you'll be able to enter the tournament!"

"I as well!"

"…Thanks," Umi smiled weakly.

A good distance away from our heroes, about half a mile or so, Alcyone stood on top of a rocky hill, with Ascot standing next to her on his floating rock. They gazed down upon their enemies, ready to take them down and avenge their previous humiliations and loss of comrades. It was almost amusing how painfully unaware they were of their presence.

Alcyone chortled cruelly before turning to her accomplice, "Now, Ascot, the beast."

"Beast Summon!" Ascot yelled out excitedly.

He spread his arms and created a magic circle on the ground. A golden pillar of light erupted from it briefly, before a monster appeared in its place.

The monster was by all means, a giant snail. Its body was greyish brown, it had two eyestalks with round fully red eyes at their tips. Its shell was dark green in color and looked like a spiky seashell. On top of its shell, the monster had a massive blue crystal, which was almost the size of the snail's body. The snail let out gurgling sounds that sounded mechanical.

"This is Deucy", Ascot introduced his friend, petting its side.

While Deucy wasn't his strongest beast, it was a kindhearted one with strange powers. Ascot figured that if Deucy's powers could be increased, it would be guaranteed to defeat the Magic Knights.

Despite Ascot petting the snail like a puppy, Alcyone was repulsed by the creature. Although its body was not as slimy looking as actual snails, it still had that alien-like look to it. Not wanting to ruin their partnership just yet, Alcyone hid her disgust by crossing her arms around her chest.

"It's just like you, Ascot, to summon such a wonderful beast," Alcyone complimented.

Ascot blushed a bit and giggled, as it was rare anyone complimented him and his beasts.

With all the pieces of her plan in place, Alcyone held out her hand and concentrated her remaining magical powers and medicinal knowledge into it.

"Winter Elixir!"

Purple light concentrated into a single spot and a perfectly round, shiny, purple sphere appeared above Alcyone's hand. The ball glowed an eerie light and hovered over to Ascot. The small summoner grabbed it with both hands and happily flew up to bring it to Deucy's face.

"Here, Deucy," Ascot offered the medicine.

Deucy looked at the orb suspiciously, before leaning back its long neck. It let out a beeping sound, refusing to eat the medicine.

"Come on, you won't be strong if you don't eat it," Ascot scolded his beast.

Deucy's antennae drooped upon hearing this, knowing it wasn't too good at fighting.

Ascot offered the purple medicine once again, "Now, be a good boy."

This time Deucy ate the medicine obediently, swallowing the orb into the folds of its face with a gurgling sound.

They fell for it, Alcyone giggled to herself.

Soon after swallowing the medicine, Deucy threw back its head and neck and let out a loud gargling sound. Its body convulsed in pain and its subtle sounds became louder and louder.

"What's wrong Deucy?" Ascot gasped, horrified by its reaction.

Realizing what was going on, Ascot floated back down angrily to face Alcyone.

"You lied to me, didn't you?" Ascot yelled at her angrily. "What did you make me give to Deucy!"

Alcyone let out a short cruel laugh before explaining, "I didn't lie to you. That medicine will make Deucy tens of times stronger. However, it uses Deucy's body as the source of its power, and gives that power to me."

Knowing what was coming next, Alcyone leapt high into the air and used her levitation spell to stay above the situation.

"ALCYONE!" Ascot yelled after her, but was distracted by something else.

Deucy's body was quickly turning darker in color, before it became fully pitch-black. It let out one last pained gargle, before the dark layer around its body started cracking up. From the cracks, a bright yet cold light shone in every direction. Ascot only had time to yell, before his body was frozen solid in a block of ice.

The grassland around Deucy started quickly turning into a frozen wasteland. A thick layer of smooth ice spread in all directions like a wintery mirror. Alcyone laughed loudly and deep, gasping for breath before laughing some more, letting herself revel in the success of her plan.

"Fufufufuahahahaha!"

The ice spread faster and faster every passing second, her cape billowing in the air from the wind caused by the shift in temperature. The ground crackled and popped from the sudden drop in temperature, as the ice soon covered everything within sight.

Soon even the Magic Knights and Hotaru could hear this sound. As they turned around, they could see a bright light approaching them rapidly and overtaking them in an instant.

The girls all screamed as they embraced for the impact, with Umi's entire life flashing before her eyes.

To be defeated in a place like this… She despaired as everything turned white. I… I have to get back to Tokyo!

As Umi woke up, she found herself laying on something hard. As she opened her eyes, she was staring at the bottom of a staircase. Her body ached, but she still forced herself to get up.

"Owowowowow…" she grunted, grabbing hold of a metal railing for support. "What is this?"

She rubbed her face, still dizzy and confused from what happened earlier. As she opened her eyes fully, she was shocked by what she saw. Modern architecture, people wearing regular clothes, and a familiar looking observation platform.

"It can't be…" her jaw dropped.

She was back in Tokyo Tower.

Back at Cephiro, Hikaru, Fuu, and Hotaru were all surrounded by a frozen wasteland. The grasslands they had been standing on as well as the mountains around them, had been covered in a thick layer of ice. There was snow falling from the sky that was quickly covering the ground beneath it. The snowfall seemed to be getting stronger. However, the dropping temperature wasn't their main worry at the moment.

"Umi! Mokona!" Hikaru yelled for her missing friends.

"Ms. Umi! Sir Mokona!" Fuu called for them as well.

"Fencing Queen! Deus Ex Mokona!" Hotaru yelled in English, knowing neither of them would actually hear him. "Well, if that doesn't get their attention, nothing will."

Feeling the cold getting to her, Hikaru wrapped her arms around her and shivered, "What's going on? Has Cephiro crumbled so much that it's affecting the weather?"

"It is all too sudden," Fuu said skeptically. "I would assert that it is magic, not bizarre weather."

Got to love how she still likes to sign her own work, Hotaru smirked, preparing himself for his date.

As Fuu and Hikaru realized they could be attacked at any given moment, they both summoned their swords. Hotaru activated Tungsten Defense, summoning his shield and spear afterwards. The three of them stood back-to-back, trying to keep an eye on all of their surroundings.

However, whoever was behind this was not showing up. And as forecasted, the snowfall started ramping up until it was a full-blown blizzard.

"If we stay still, we'll freeze," Hikaru shivered while gritting her teeth.

"If this is all caused by magic, would we not be able to fight back with your magic, Ms. Hikaru?" Fuu suggested

Hikaru nodded before bringing her hands together. Red lightning began to crackle between her fingers as she formed a red ball of energy.

"Ruby Lightning!"

The ball of electrical energy flew across the frozen wasteland, heating up the surrounding area blisteringly hot. While it was able to cancel out the blizzard momentarily, it soon continued, as the cold air swallowed up the hot air.

"The magic didn't work," Hikaru fretted. "I wonder if it's just weird weather after all."

"Or magic powerful enough to affect the weather," Hotaru suggested, using his shield to give him shelter from the wind.

"In any case, we should look for Ms. Umi and Sir. Mokona."

"Yeah," Hikaru and Hotaru nodded.

As they started walking forward, Hikaru almost immediately tripped on something. Since the land beneath them was frozen and slippery, she slipped a few times before falling over. The fall looked painful, but luckily her small frame minimized the impact.

As Hikaru groaned in pain, Fuu leaned over to check up on her, "Are you alright?"

Hikaru slowly got up and looked at her feet, to see what she had tripped on, "Mokona!"

The small rabbit fay was frozen solid inside a block of see-through ice. Despite its situation, Mokona's expression and pose were very relaxed.

"Sir Mokona…" Fuu gasped.

"What do we do? If we use magic, we'll be burning not only the ice but Mokona too!"

"Stand aside," Hotaru interrupted. "Steel Strength!"

After swapping his buff spells, Hotaru pulled out his giant sword from Double Armor's left shoulder orb. With it in hand, he twisted the handle, causing the edge of the golden blade to split and reveal black rotating blades. As he slowly brought his chainsaw sword closer to the block of ice, he felt the girls grab onto his shoulders, causing him to stop.

"I think that might be a bit too severe of a solution," Fuu urged him to reconsider.

"Yeah, what if you accidentally cut Mokona?"

Honestly, I'd be more worried about my sword than that ball of playdough. Oh well, Mokona will be sitting pretty here till were done.

Knowing there was no point in arguing, he put away his weapon, "Alright, let's go and try to find some help."

"Very well."

"Mokona, wait here. We will come back," Hikaru promised.

As the three of them started walking across the frozen wasteland, they had no idea that they were being spied upon. Using the frozen body of Deucy as a crystal ball, Alcyone was scrying on their location. The sight of her enemies trekking through the winter wonderland her spell had created, amused her greatly.

"Fufufufu," she laughed. "Why are you acting like you're so cold? It's such a lovely weather. Right, Ascot?"

She turned to look at the little summoner, who was no longer encased in ice and was laying atop the grassy plateau. While the spell had started from Deucy's location, she had shifted the effects of the spell, letting the plateau be a nice balmy temperature. All she needed to do was to wait for her enemies to fall victim to her winter.

Soon I'll have defeated the Magic Knights and gotten rid of that pesky bodyguard! Maybe then my dreams will be free of him as well…

Back at the Tokyo Tower, Umi was still getting to grips as to what was happening. The area around her truly looked like the tourist destination her school had been on a field trip to, but something was wrong. All the windows were blank white and she could not see outside. And all the people around her were frozen in place like statues, not moving even a millimeter.

"What's going on?" she asked herself, trying to make sense of it all.

Realizing this could be a trap, Umi summoned her sword from her glove and armed herself.

"To recreate Tokyo Tower this faithfully… Zagato is pretty good at this!"

Despite her declaration and her standing out in the public wearing fantasy armor and brandishing an actual sword, there was no reaction. Everyone and everything was quiet, only her voice echoing in the frozen moment.

Can this be… real?

Umi's mind flashed back to the moments before she arrived here. The white flash that had overtaken her before all this happened, it reminded her of the time she had been brought to Cephiro. But this time, she was alone, and no one had jumped in to save her.

Because I wished so hard, I came back?

But if that were the case, why was everyone frozen in place? Umi kept looking around, desperately trying to spot any form of motion or movement. She started running around the observation platform, not caring if she were to draw attention.

"Someone! Please! Someone move!" she yelled desperately. "Please someone speak to me!"

She continued running around the place, until she saw a group of students with familiar school uniforms. Among them she saw a face she could recognize anywhere.

A taller female student with short brown hair, turquoise eyes, and athletic build.

"Captain…"

The snowstorm was only getting worse as our heroes braved through the frozen wastes that had become of Cephiro. They tried their best to shield themselves from the wind, with Hotaru using his body to cover the girls and his shield to shelter himself. No matter how far they walked, they could not find any signs of life or civilization. Their journey only came to an end as Hikaru tripped over again.

"Ms. Hikaru…" Fuu sighed disappointedly, before gasping sharply.

As Hikaru shook herself free of the snow, she noticed Fuu's horrid expression, "What's wrong, Fuu?"

Soon she noticed a familiar frozen figure that had now been almost completely buried in snow.

"Mokona!" Hikaru gasped as well, before stuttering. "How… We walked so much…"

Fuu thought about it for a moment, before giving her best explanation, "It seems that we have somehow wandered into an enclosed world."

"Then it is magic after all?" Hikaru asked. "What you think, Hotaru?"

Instead of an answer, they heard a loud thud. As they turned towards the group's largest member, they saw him lying face first in the snow. Despite being the group's hardiest member, he did not get back up.

"Hotaru!"

"He sheltered us this whole time, but the cold must have been too much for him!" Fuu said worryingly.

"What do we do? We can't just leave him here!"

With heavy hearts, the two girls summoned their swords and took guard around Hotaru. They tried shielding him with their bodies, as he had done to them. At the same time, they tried baiting the person who had cast this spell out from hiding.

However, as minutes went by, it became harder and harder for them to hold onto their weapons. Snow started piling atop their heads and they started feeling sleepy. Having bare thighs due to wearing skirts wasn't helping either. Hikaru was just about to fall asleep, as she heard a thud from behind her.

"Fuu… You can't…" Hikaru murmured, seeing the blonde girl laying in the snow too. "You have to hold…"

Before Hikaru could finish her sentence, she too fell onto her knees, as she propped herself against her sword. As the handle of her sword and her fingers became covered in snow, Hikaru finally could not take it anymore.

"Umi-chan…" Hikaru gasped as her final words.

After a few minutes, their weapons returned to their gloves as their bodies were getting covered in snow. Soon after, the blizzard stopped, as the queen of the winter herself teleported in.

Alcyone looked at her handywork proudly, however, there was also an underlying sensation of guilt and shame.

"To let such children have their way with me…" Alcyone sighed, disappointed in herself. "And as a result, Lord Zagato has neglected me."

But as she was admiring her catch, she noticed something was off, "Three? There's one missing, that's impossible! I don't—"

"Your math is a bit off, Alcyone," she heard a voice from behind her. "It's just the two of us."

As she turned around, she could see Hotaru behind her, sitting atop his shield. While there was some snow on top of him and his cheeks were rosy, he seemed to be in good health.

"H-How?!" Alcyone gasped, taking a few steps back. "I saw it! You were the first to fall!"

"It's called playing dead," Hotaru shrugged before standing up.

"You can't play dead against the cold!"

"Maybe you can if you're wearing pants," he joked before showing off his hands and pulling back his shirt, "And gloves, as well as woolen underwear."

Hotaru showed off his thick winter gloves as well as the woolen shirt he had underneath his regular clothes. He had had Mokona make these for him in anticipation of this day. He had justified the request as him getting cold during the nights, as he slept on the couch.

"To top it all off, laying on top of your shield is a good way to insulate yourself from the snowy ground," he added while smiling smugly.

"You bastard…" Alcyone trembled with anger. "How did you have all this planned out!"

"Luck mostly," Hotaru lied with a straight face. "But you already tried this before. You can't use the same trick on me twice."

Enraged by Hotaru's audacity, Alcyone picked up her sword and charged at him. She went straight for his neck, but Hotaru managed to block her blade with his armguard. The sword almost fell out of Alcyone's hands, as the reverberations of striking Hotaru with Tungsten Defense active followed through.

"Ack!" she flinched, pulling back once more. "Why! Why are you always getting in my way! Don't you know how much humiliation and punishment I have received, because of you!"

Acting calmly, Hotaru picked up his shield and positioned it on its side in the snow, before sitting on top of it. He then picked up his spear and used it to support himself, as he took a relaxed position.

"You want to talk about it, or you want to fight it out?" Hotaru asked, looking at her earnestly. "You might as well spend a few more moments with me before your next punishment."

Alcyone gripped the handle of her sword tightly, but she knew attacking Hotaru recklessly while overcome with emotions would not work. She needed to be calm and figure out a plan.

As Alcyone was considering her options, Hotaru could not help but let his eyes wander. Alcyone's new outfit wasn't nearly as extravagant as before, but it was even more revealing. Her boots went up higher, but there appeared to be a missing layer to her cape, which had covered her hips and butt. She no longer had armored pauldrons and her shoulders were bare. In addition, while her leotard now reached all the way up to her neck, it had a long opening in the front. Everything from her cleavage to her midriff was visible, showing off her ample chest and well-toned abdomen.

"Nice outfit," Hotaru blurted out, before clearing his throat. "You look a lot more respectable without those giant pauldrons."

"Yes, they were getting in the way at doorways and hallways," Alcyone admitted, still deep in thought, but snapped out of it. "I mean, no! Because of you all, I lost my evolving gear! Now I am forced to wear old hand-me-downs from my past self!"

The gem in his back pocket felt like it was burning a hole through his pants, but those words also got Hotaru thinking.

"You mind telling me what your past self was like?" Hotaru asked, showing genuine curiosity. "By the clothes and sword, I would assume a bandit queen or something?"

"Hah! Granted I wanted to be one, but no," Alcyone chuckled, before relenting. "No, I belonged to a noble family. Very dull and tedious all things considered, so I trained my sword to become a swordswoman. But then it turned out that I had a powerful natural affinity for magic."

Hotaru nodded along as he listened intently, "I see, so that's how you met Clef then."

"Yes, and through my studies with him, I met my dear Zagato," Alcyone smiled, remembering those days fondly. "I had never been keen on authority figures, aside from myself, but he made me feel like following orders was a gift, not a burden."

"Doubt I will ever find such a person myself," Hotaru chuckled, before sighing deeply. "But still, I honestly cannot see why you still think of him so highly after the way he treats you."

Alcyone gritted her teeth and glared at Hotaru angrily, her teeth showing through her red lips, "The only reason he treats me that way is because you keep getting in my way! You foil all my plans, you counter all my attacks, and make me look bad in front of people I care about the most! For Cephiro's sake, you even keep showing up in my dreams!"

While Hotaru thought that Alcyone's angry expression was amusing and somewhat cute; he could not help but latch onto the last part of her rant.

"You… You see dreams of me too?" Hotaru asked, wanting to know more.

"Yes! Every time I am having the most wonderful dreams you keep showing up!" Alcyone spat out her words, before calming down. "Why? Do you dream of me as well? What sort of sick, twisted fantasies does your mind cook up?"

When asked about his dreams, Hotaru was finally silenced. He did not know how he should answer her, or at least how honest he should be. In the end, he thought it was for the best to reveal as much as he could.

With heavy words, he started recounting his dream, "I see you huddled up in some dark ruins, broken, betrayed, crying. It saddens me to see you like that, but I am unable to help you. My words cannot reach you; my hands cannot grasp you. Despite having lost everything, you still keep clinging to life, whether through anger, bitterness, or hope."

As Alcyone listened to Hotaru's words, she could feel the sadness and admiration behind them. Her heart throbbed slightly and she instinctively covered her breast with her cape. Listening to Hotaru speak did not make her roll her eyes or want to dismiss him like with Inouva, Clef, or Caldina. As she looked at him, the familiar déjà vu feeling took her over once more, but there was something else to it as well.

After recounting his dream, Hotaru stood up off of his shield and walked over to Alcyone. The sorceress stared at him anxiously, but did not move back. As they stood face to face, Hotaru pulled the purple gem out from his pocket, showing it to Alcyone.

"I don't want you to end up like that," Hotaru shook his head, referring to his dream.

"Lower your chin. Elbows like this!"

These words echoed throughout the gymnasium of a high class private junior high school. The fencing team was training for the upcoming tournament and all the girls were doing their best to improve themselves. Among them was Umi, who was training alongside her upperclassman.

"That's it. It's looking better," her friend praised her.

"Thank you, Captain."

"Stop calling me captain. You're the captain of the team now."

Umi giggled, smiling widely, "But to me, you're still my captain, Captain."

"Such a troublemaker," she chuckled. "Well, good luck in the next tournament. I want you to win this year and bring the championship flag back."

"Right!"

These memories, gilded by time, flooded Umi's memory as she saw the frozen-in-time figure of her captain before her. All those promises made to the person she looked up to the most, and she could keep none of them.

"So cruel…" Umi whispered, tears in her eyes. "I was finally able to come back to Tokyo… I can finally enter the fencing tournament…"

She stepped closer to the Captain, leaning her head against her chest. A few tears rolled down her cheek.

"Why? Why won't anyone move?" she sobbed, before falling onto her knees. "Captain…"

"I'll wish for it too! That I hope you'll be able to enter the tournament! I as well, Ms. Umi!"

These words echoed in the frozen world, snapping her out of her self-pity, "Hikaru! Fuu!"

I wonder what happened to Hikaru, Fuu and Hotaru. They're not here… Could that light have… That can't be. Hikaru and Fuu can use such amazing Magic, and Hotaru is too stubborn to die. They must be… They must be alive somewhere in Cephiro.

"Umi-chan!" an echo of Hikaru's voice rang in her mind.

"Hikaru!" she gasped, turning around.

Instead of Hikaru, Umi saw how a mother of a child glowed and then turned into a dark tree. The child then in turn became a pile of dark gnarled branches. This happening all of a sudden scared her, but it also made her realize something.

"This place…"

As she stood still, the people, the view outside, even Tokyo Tower itself, transformed into a dark forest. The forest was saturated in a dark purple hue, and despite it being dark, she could tell she was alone.

"No, this isn't Tokyo," Umi faced the facts. "It's a world that my heart created… A world of indecision!"

Knowing she could not stay here, she started walking forward, slowly but surely increasing her pace.

I'm going back. Back to where Hikaru and the others are. To… To…

Umi began running forward, knowing what her goal was.

To the place where I'm supposed to go!

As she kept running, she could see a white glowing opening in the forest, and she charged right for it.

"Why… why do you have this?" Alcyone asked Hotaru.

She was mesmerized by the sight of her forehead gem. Her most prized possession, which she thought she had lost forever. All that progress and power that she thought she had lost, had been scavenged by the one who she considered her mortal enemy. What was he planning?

Does he think he can barter with me? Does he want me to betray Zagato? Does he believe I will owe him a debt of gratitude after returning it to me?

Alcyone gritted her teeth, grabbing hold of Hotaru's pauldrons, before looking at him with misty eyes, "What is it that you want from me!"

A myriad of ideas flooded Hotaru's mind, but emotionally overwhelmed as he was, he was only able to say the truth.

"I just want you to be happy."

Alcyone's mind went blank. She could not believe the words she heard and her knees felt weak. It must have been a mistake. She must have misheard. Or maybe, she could use this to her advantage. With the power boost from Deucy and her staff, she would be invincible.

"Then… Then please, give it back to me," Alcyone requested, sounding as seductive as she could. "I promise I will pay back your kindness in full."

She pressed her body against his armor, feeling its cold metal against her exposed cleavage. She had caught him staring on a few occasions and even with those four girls around all the time, he never seemed to have eyes for them. She could see Hotaru blushing and the bulge on his throat twitched as he swallowed.

Hotaru held the gem out for a moment, before putting it back into his pocket, "Sorry, but I am only giving this back to you, once I know I can trust you."

Alcyone furrowed her brow and clicked her tongue, "I see you are no longer the fool you once were."

"I said I wouldn't fall for the same trick twice," he winked. "But if you join us and help us in our mission to find the Mashin, I will be glad to give it back to you."

Alcyone thought about the proposal. Maybe she could be a double agent and stab the Magic Knights in the back right as they got to the shrine. Maybe she could kill them all in their sleep? Or maybe she could act even faster, waiting till Hotaru lowered his guard down, and steal the gem from him. But, as hard as she tried, she could not see her doing any of that.

"Sorry, but I cannot forsake the side of the one who I love."

Hotaru smiled, feeling confident in his choice now. He placed his hands on Alcyone's arms, holding her close and looking deep into her eyes. As he did, he could see Alcyone blushing slightly, but her expression already turned sour.

"That is a shame, it would have been nice having you around," Hotaru smiled at her expression. "But I still require you to lift the spell you cast. Steel Strength!"

With Hotaru's tone of voice turning more serious and his grip on her getting stronger, Alcyone felt a shiver run down her spine. However, it also reminded her that she had the upper hand. Her original goal was to kill the Magic Knights. Even with one of them missing, two out of three would already be an accomplishment.

Alcyone smiled widely and grinned menacingly, "I cannot do that unfortunately! These little eggs who would hatch into Magic Knights are still my main target! However, if you give me back my gem, I might reconsider."

Seeing the situation he was in, Hotaru thought twice about his course of actions. If he waited any longer, then Hikaru and Fuu could suffer major damage from frostbite. But he could not hand over the gem either. He needed to be creative.

"Would you truly betray Zagato just to get your gem back?" Hotaru asked her, judging her reaction.

Alcyone stared at him for a moment, before smiling, "You think you know me so well, don't you? You may be right this time, but trust me, you know nothing about me."

Hotaru smiled back, chuckling to himself, "Maybe, but I will always want to know more about you. Anyway, I guess I need to get rid of this spell myself!"

Using his enhanced strength, Hotaru threw Alcyone away from himself, before pulling out his giant sword. Instead of charging at Alcyone, he drove his sword into the frozen ground as hard as he could. The ice cracked and the ground shook slightly.

"What do you think you are doing?" Alcyone yelled, thinking her adversary had gone mad.

"Fuu said that this was an enclosed world created by magic," Hotaru answered before swinging at the ground again. "If that is the case, then I will break this world to break your spell!"

"Such a stupid plan will never work!" Alcyone yelled, flabbergasted by the young man's simplistic train of thought.

"The heart that believes!" Hotaru yelled, lifting his sword back up into the air.

I know this is the last time she is let out of Zagato's fortress, but I am sure she will be alright. I will save her when the time is right. For now, I must say goodbye to you, Alcyone, and save Hikaru and Fuu!

Sensing his determination, Alcyone rushed towards Hotaru with her sword. She was so close to at least a partial victory; she was not willing to leave anything to chance. With his strength boosting spell active, Alcyone knew his body was vulnerable.

She took the bait.

With Alcyone coming in hot, Hotaru wasn't slowing down to defend. Instead, right as the sorceress was about to strike, Hotaru redirected his attack towards her. As he swung his sword down, Alcyone instinctively blocked the giant golden blade with her longsword. As the two swords collided, the smaller one was shattered to pieces and Alcyone was sent flying by the force of the attack.

"AAAAAAAAH!" Alcyone screamed, before teleporting away mid-flight.

With the sword that had acted as the catalyst for the spell shattered, the damage carried over to the spell's power source. Deucy, the snail-like monster, let out one last gargle, before its body, shell, and crystal shattered to fragments of blue light.

Soon after, the snow and ice around them faded away, as if it had never been there in the first place. As Hotaru put away his sword, a bright light shone behind him. He saw Umi come running out of it, having escaped from the world of her own making.

"Hotaru!" she greeted him cheerfully. "I am so glad to see you!"

"Finally decided to show up," Hotaru chuckled smugly. "I just managed to save the day while you were gone."

"Awww! I missed all the fun," Umi sighed disappointedly.

"Yeah, but at least your…" Hotaru started, but quickly went pale.

Why hasn't her sword evolved?

"…What?" Umi asked, confused by the pause.

"…You're alright!" Hotaru quickly changed his tone to be more cheerful. "We were all worried when you went missing."

"Oh, I am sorry I made you all worry because of my selfishness," Umi apologized, realizing her detour was her own fault. "Where are Hikaru and Fuu?"

"They and Mokona were frozen for quite some time, so we better go and make sure they get some warmth."

"Frozen? ...Was that old hag around again?" Umi asked.

"She's not that old."

As they hurried over to the others, Hotaru was a bundle of nerves. He had to walk behind Umi so as not to let his shock show.

Why didn't her sword evolve!? She managed to get out of that fake world, didn't she! Her sword was supposed to evolve, she was supposed to defeat Alcyone with it, break the spell, and… Wait, did her sword evolve after the dream world? What have I done…

It took about fifteen minutes for Hotaru and Umi to warm up Hikaru, Fuu, and Mokona to a point where they woke up.

As soon as Hikaru opened her eyes, she wrapped her arms around Umi, "Umi! Where were you?"

"Really, we were worried," Fuu smiled, with Mokona standing on her shoulder, greeting Umi back as well.

"I'm sorry," Umi apologized, smiling gently. "I was dreaming. It was Hotaru that saved you all."

"Yeah, don't mention it," Hotaru struggled to smile, still coming to grips with the full implications of his actions.

"Hikaru, Fuu," Umi spoke out confidently. "We'll go back to Tokyo after the three of us save Cephiro! Hotaru, I will make sure to make this world a place you can call home."

"Yeah!"

"Y-Yes…"

"Thank you…"

Confident about her promises, Umi looked towards the bright blue sky.

Until then… Please wait for me, Captain.

"Shit!" Ascot punched the dark crystal floor.

After being freed from the effects of Alcyone's spell, he had been teleported back to Zagato's crystal fortress. Moments before that, he had seen the familiar patterns of monster blood on the hill he had been on. This had told him everything he needed to know. The Magic Knights had been victorious, another one of his friends was dead, and he was one step closer to losing his place in Zagato's castle.

Right now, Ascot was sitting on the ground, near the center of the waterfall room. Inouva and Zagato stood little ways away from him, with Inouva looking disappointed, and Zagato facing away from him.

"How dare she do that my Deucy…" Ascot cursed Alcyone's betrayal,

"This was a result of your foolishness," Inouva scolded him. "Aside from that, don't you have something to tell to Lord Zagato?"

Ashamed, Ascot turned his head towards him, "I'm sorry, Zagato."

"Is that it?" Inouva asked disappointedly.

Just as he was about to confess to helping Alcyone break out from her imprisonment; a female voice spoke out.

"Ascot was fooled by Alcyone, nothin' more," the voice defended him. "Ya don't have to blame just him."

Zagato chuckled hearing this, and said mercifully, "I'll let it go today for Caldina's sake."

With this said, Zagato walked back into the depths of his castle. However, despite him being lenient, his second in command was not so merciful.

"The next mistake will not be forgiven," Inouva said sternly.

"I know… Next time," Ascot swore, done playing nice, "Definitely."

As Zagato walked down the steps of his fortress, he could still hear Ascot's words. He had always had a soft spot for little kids and was glad that Inouva was there to show a stern face in his stead. As much as it pained him, if Ascot could not deliver on their agreement, he would be forced to cast the little summoner out.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he opened a pair of large crystal doors that slid open to the sides. As they pulled aside, they revealed a sealed room with a pool of water instead of a floor. On top of the water hovered a sphere of light, with a singular prisoner inside it. While this prisoner usually was ecstatic to see him, at the moment they couldn't even look him in the eye.

"I hope your little excursion was worth it, Alcyone," Zagato spoke to her with a deeply disappointed voice.

"I am sorry, Lord Zagato," Alcyone whimpered, peeking from behind her knees.

"Your constant failures and violations ought to earn a much stricter punishment. But I suppose your loyalty should be rewarded in some way."

"Thank you, Lord Zagato."

Zagato stared at her for a moment, finding her usual lack of enthusiasm strange to say the least. Usually, she would be begging to be let out, or to prove her worth one more time. But today, she seemed more obedient than normal. Since showing concern for her wellbeing would give her the wrong idea, he decided to just ignore it.

"You will stay here until the Magic Knights have been defeated," Zagato announced before taking his leave.

As the man who held her captive in more ways than one walked away, Alcyone could only look at his back longingly. It wasn't that she didn't want to be of use to her lord, or take her revenge on the Magic Knights. She simply couldn't.

All of my equipment is gone, all of my weapons are destroyed, all of my plans have failed, and I have tried all of my spells. If Lord Zagato knew, he would not keep me around anymore. I am a complete and utter failure as a sorceress…

She started weeping quietly, tears rolling down her cheeks as her eyes ached. She wrapped her arms around herself tighter, trying to make herself as small as possible to make the sting of failure lesser.

"It's all… It's all…" she sniffed. "It's all his… huh?"

As she held her arms, she could feel a strange bump on her right arm. As she turned around, she noticed there was something inside her dark maroon, arm-length glove. She slid the glove off of her smooth and slender arm, at which point something fell out of it. Her eyes widened as she saw the familiar round, flat, purple gem.

Her lip trembled as she held it in her hand, "How… what… why?"

As she thought back to her encounter with Hotaru, she remembered how he had held her arms tightly. Maybe the young man had slipped it inside her glove during their embrace. As she tried thinking of an answer as to why, his words echoed in her mind.

I am only giving this back to you, once I know I can trust you.

"Trust me," she laughed while crying. "What do you mean you can trust me? What is there to prevent me from using this to take my revenge? Why not just leave me here without any shred of hope of defeating you!"

I don't want you to end up like that

Those words caused a lump to form in her throat, as she was choking on her tears. She held the purple gem against her chest, sobbing freely now. It was like every one of Hotaru's words was stabbing at her heart directly. While his actions were that of a fool, his intent was clear as day.

You might as well spend a few more moments with me before your next punishment.

"You knew I would be punished if you won, so you didn't want to leave me defenseless…" Alcyone sniffed, "Why are you so kind and considerate towards someone like myself…"

Exhausted from all the crying and emotional turbulence she was being put through; Alcyone leaned back against the sphere of light. She spread out her arms and legs, getting as close to a lying down position she could. Having had time to clear her mind and calm down, she looked up at the dark crystal ceiling, swearing she could see Hotaru's reflection.

"I just want you to be happy," Alcyone repeated alongside the echo in her mind. "Why… Why must the first person to have ever said that to me, make me so sad…"

Eventually she curled up on her side and closed her eyes. She kept the gem close to her heart and used her long hair as a makeshift blanket. She tried thinking of her happy future with Zagato to brighten up her mood, but her mind was constantly flooded with thoughts of Hotaru. For the first time, she wasn't angry about it.

Author's Afterword: Phew… when you imagine scenes like this, they never feel as heavy as they do when you actually write them down. Not that I am not happy with the end result, but I do sometimes wonder if I should change the genre tags from Fantasy Humor to Fantasy Romance. Really wish you could choose three.

Now I will be the first to admit that I have no clue as to how Alcyone's spell works in the anime. It feels like a simple weather changing spell at first, but then you might think it is an illusion, and then there is talk of spatial manipulation. Not to mention the way they solve the situation with a single sword slash. It's a mess and they really should have explained it better, but I think I made as much sense of it as possible.

Also, yeah, Umi's sword didn't evolve. I needed the conflict of the chapter to be between Alcyone and Hotaru, so I had to leave Umi without her big finisher. I think you can all tell what this leads to in the next chapter. I was thinking if I should give Hotaru an evolution in this chapter. But the thing about being a total of 54 years old, is that it is that much harder to grow in terms of mental strength.

As always, reviews are welcomed and appreciated. Thank you to merendinoemiliano, James Birdsong, and TheMotivatedOne for your reviews!