It was an early morning in the Forest of Silence. Our heroes had enjoyed a quick and simple breakfast in order to try and make it out of the forest before nightfall. Despite the busy and rough start to the adventure yesterday, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu were feeling well rested and ready to start the day. The only one who seemed to have woken up on the wrong foot, was Hotaru, who had a massive headache. This caused an air of awkwardness among the group, since Hotaru didn't remember what had caused it, and the girls didn't want to remind him.

Once everyone was all dressed up and ready to heat out, the group gathered around the front gate of the mansion, with Hikaru carrying Mokona.

"Does everyone have all of their belongings with them? It will be awkward if we forget something here," Hotaru asked the group.

"Yeah, it is not like we had much to carry to begin with," Umi answered after checking her pockets. "What way should we be heading next?"

"Mokona knows the way to Eterna Spring," Presea answered. "And Mokona has everything you need for your journey. Make sure you come back with Escude in your hand. I'll make you wonderful weapons. Oh, and Hotaru."

"Yes, what is it?"

Presea dug through her pockets and pulled out a black object, "I managed to get them fixed last night. Strange material but the construction was simple enough."

Hotaru held out his hand and received back his sunglasses, which he had asked Presea to fix last night. The black sunglasses now had a metal bridge connecting the lenses, and the frame had been reinforced.

"Thanks, not sure if I will be needing these in the forest, but it is appreciated," Hotaru thanked and placed them into his breast pocket underneath his chest plate.

"Take care Presea, we will be back as soon as possible with the Escudo!" Hikaru promised and headed towards the forest.

"Hey, wait for me!"

"Thank you for your hospitality, Ms. Presea!"

"So long."

As the group headed towards the journey, wondering what the Escudo looked like, Presea couldn't help but worry. While she had the duty to help the Magic Knights on their quest to save the world; that quest was placed upon the shoulders of children new to this world. With Master Mage Clef nowhere to be seen and her not being permitted to leave the mansion, she could only pray for them.

I somehow hope that Princess Emeraude is looking over them. And I hope Captain Hotaru can keep them safe.

About an hour later, the party had gotten pretty deep into the dark woods already. The canopy of the forest was so thick that light barely got through the leaves, and the ground was almost covered in roots. It was quiet and a deep hum echoed from the depths of the woods. Hotaru's compass was still as useless as it was yesterday, with its needle going around in circles. Despite the difficult to navigate and hard to traverse forest, Mokona was happily jumping through its many paths. The Magic Knights had to run in order to keep up with the rabbit-like fay, so as not to lose sight of it.

Eventually Mokona came to a halt, turning towards the humans chasing it. It sat on the ground and seemed like it was panting, wanting to take a break.

"Puu, puu!" it chirped.

As the group of newbie adventurers knelt down exhausted, Umi yelled out, "This isn't a track meet!"

"Maybe it likes to take morning jogs," Hotaru snarked as he rubbed the back of his head.

After resting up for a minute, they all got back up, only to realize there were multiple directions for them to head to.

"Which way should we go?" Umi asked Mokona.

Mokona wiggled its ears and answered, "Pupu pu puu!"

Just as Umi was about to lose her temper with the little furball, a large red eye opened above them. As they took a closer look, they realized they were standing next to a giant one-eyed monster that had been lurking in the shadows. Its body looked like a cross between a man, a lion, and an eagle. It had three talons in each hand and foot, two wings on its back, short brown fur covering its entire body, and horns on its head.

Umi and Fuu ran away from it as fast as they could, but Hikaru and Hotaru held their ground.

"Hikaru! Hotaru! Get away from there!" Umi yelled at them.

Instead of backing away, they summoned their weapons, Hikaru a broadsword, and Hotaru a two-handed axe. As soon as they pulled out their weapons, the beast swung at the two of them. Hikaru deftly jumped out of the way, whereas Hotaru blocked the attack with his axe.

However, the force of the giant creature's blow was too much for Hotaru without his magic. While he wasn't injured, he was flung back by the monster's strike. Using this opportunity, Hikaru jumped into the air with a battle cry and swung her sword down, cleaving the monster in half, starting from its eye.

The one-eyed monster roared and sparked as its body was split, eventually disappearing in an explosion of light.

"I did it!" Hikaru rejoiced.

"Good for you," Hotaru congratulated as he got up.

Note to self; dodge, don't block.

Fuu and Umi rushed over and hugged Hikaru.

"I am glad you are safe!"

"You're so amazing!"

Mokona also jumped over to Hikaru and into her arms, chirping happily.

"Why are you heading towards the monsters?" Umi yelled at Mokona angrily.

With Mokona only able to chirp as its defense, Hikaru tried to mediate, "I think it is a coincidence, Umi."

"I'll be upset if it isn't!" Umi said and glared at Mokona threateningly. "If it gives us weird directions again…"

While the girls were doing their own thing, Hotaru was inspecting the remains of the monster. Or rather, the lack thereof.

"These things really are monsters," he spoke out loud. "They try to eat you up but once they die, they don't leave behind any trace of themselves."

"Yes, it's strange," Fuu commented. "Normally monsters would leave behind some kind of drops upon death. I am not expecting gold, treasure and items, but the monsters here do not even drop a proof of their defeat."

"Is that really that big a deal?" Umi asked.

"Well think of it this way. If a tiger eats your family members and you kill the tiger, at least you have a tiger carcass to do as you wish with. If one of these things does it, you get nothing from killing it," Hotaru tried to explain, but judging from the blue-in-the-face expressions of the girls, he decided to try again. "Point is, these monsters spit in the face of the circle of life."

After a short bit of walking through the woods, following Mokona, the group came across another monster. This one a cross between a bat and a vulture, that was hanging upside down from some branches.

"Another monster!" Umi yelled, as the flying creature charged at them with its fangs bared.

This time as Umi and Fuu ran away, Hotaru threw his axe at the monster with both hands. The heavy axe spun around a few times, before cleaving through the bird monster. As it dissipated in thin air, Hotaru picked up his axe which was laying next to a tree.

"You really have no sense of fear, do you?" Umi asked Hotaru, hiding behind a bush.

"It's not that I am not afraid," Hotaru admitted, rubbing the back of his head again. "I was once in a car accident and ever since then my fight or flight response has been stuck on fight."

"Really? I had no idea such a thing could happen," Hikaru admitted while following Mokona again.

"Well too bad for you that thing keeps leading us into monster encounters," Umi glared at Mokona.

"It may not be intentional," Fuu pointed out. "The monsters may be situated on the path to Eterna."

"Don't say ominous things like that!"

After a bit of walking, Hikaru came to a halt and started looking around nervously.

"What is it?" Umi asked

"It may just be me, but I feel like someone's watching."

"Don't scare me like that."

"Eh, whatever it is, I doubt it is dangerous," Hotaru assured Umi, making sure to raise his voice.

"In any case, it might be wiser for us to have our weapons in hand as well," Fuu pointed out. "We do not know when the next monster will show up."

"I guess so…"

While the two of them were talking, Hikaru could feel the ground underneath her start rising quickly. She hurriedly got off of what turned out to be a monster in the shape of a humanoid mantis with a red dot on its forehead.

"Umi and Fuu, your weapons! Hurry!"

As the two of them were about to summon their weapons, they could feel something poking them from behind. As they turned around, they saw a huge red flower with a yellow eye in the center of it. It was a monster with a body made out of dozens of sickly yellowish-brown vines with short thorns. They tried escaping from it, but its tentacles were long reaching.

As Hotaru and Hikaru finished off the mantis with their teamwork, they could hear Umi and Fuu screaming behind them, "Help us!"

The plant monster was much larger than the monsters they had fought previously. Its numerous tentacles were spread out wide and defensively, ready to counter from all directions. And it was holding Fuu and Umi in front of its head as human shields. As the two of them struggled against the monster's constrictive grip, Hotaru and Hikaru tried to find an opening to launch their attack.

But before the situation could escalate, there was a blue flash across the body of the monster, and the sound of cutting. The plant monster was sliced in half vertically, causing it to drop Umi and Fuu, before its body exploded in dark remnants.

The girls scurried away from the monster, not wanting to find out what had killed it, as Hotaru calmly looked at its direction.

So, he finally decided to show up. My old favorite.

As the girls finally turned around, they could see a young man standing at a distance from them. The man had green hair with a short ponytail, golden amber eyes, a lightly tan skin, a small scar on his left cheek and a large scar going over his nose. He wore a light-yellow tunic, black shirt with long sleeves, white gloves, light-green pants, black ankle guards, and grey shoes. The man also had a single armored pauldron on his shoulder, golden earrings, and held a large saber that was two thirds of his height. He was slightly taller than Fuu and around two heads shorter than Hotaru.

"Thanks for helping us," Hikaru said as the young man walked over to them in a relaxed manner.

"Who are you guys?" the man asked.

"I'm Hikaru Shidou."

"I am Fuu Hououji."

"I'm Umi Ryuuzaki."

"Hotaru. Just Hotaru."

"Pupupupuu!" Mokona introduced itself as it jumped back into Hikaru's arms.

"I'm Ferio," the young man introduced himself smugly. "In any case, you guys are pretty careless."

His tone of voice turned more serious as he stuck his sword into the ground. "Walking around in the Forest of Silence without weapons; that's like asking to be killed."

As the young man leaned up against a tree, Hikaru asked skeptically, "Why is it careless to walk without weapons?"

"The Forest of Silence is home to many monsters. There are hundreds of thousands of monsters roaming about."

The girls' jaws were agape hearing the number of monsters around the area. Hotaru could see them shivering slightly, hoping that they now understood that Mokona had taken the path of least monsters.

"Anyway, want to hire me as an escort?" Ferio offered. "It's impossible for you guys to get out of this place by yourself."

The girls looked at each other, considering the offer.

"I work in this forest as a hunter. You've seen how well I work. I think I'd come in handy."

"Sorry, but we can't hire you," Hikaru turned him down. "We don't have any of this country's money."

"Oh, food will do. I haven't eaten anything sensible in a while."

"If you're okay with food…" Hikaru thought about it and looked at Mokona in her arms.

"Pupu pu pupu pu", Mokona chirped and wiggled its ears.

A pink ray shot out of Mokona's forehead gem at Ferio, causing him to flinch. Before he could react, Ferio found himself buried in a mountain of fruits, meats, vegetables, breads, and dairy.

"I guess Sir Mokona really does count as a magical item," Fuu speculated as all three of them gave it head pats.

As Ferio crawled out from underneath the mountain of food, Hotaru sat next to him, "Mind if I join you? It's well past lunch time now."

"Help yourself," Ferio offered, still in a slight shock.

About an hour later, the mountain of food was reduced to leftovers. While Hotaru was larger than Ferio, the hungry hunter had managed to eat almost twice as much as him. Even the girls and Mokona had chipped in, enjoying a lunch break in this relatively peaceful spot in the woods. After all six of them had eaten their fill, Ferio leaned against a tree and burped.

"I guess we have a deal."

Just as Hikaru was about to accept Ferio into the team, Fuu and Umi pulled her away.

"What are you thinking trusting him so easily?" Umi whispered.

"What if he is somehow related to Zagato?" Fuu pointed out.

"But he saved us and we even shared a meal together."

"It might be a trick to catch us off guard."

While the girls were whispering a little while away, Hotaru stood up and stretched before turning towards Ferio.

"So, do you know the way out of the forest then? I do not doubt your abilities as a swordsman, but for a hunter you seem poorly equipped. And this place seems to be lousy in prey, as I can tell by your appetite."

"Furthermore, Mr. Ferio" Fuu spoke up, hearing Hotaru's questions, "you claim to be a hunter, but if you truly were, is it not strange to be hunting in the monster-infested Forest of Silence?"

Ferio stared at Fuu quietly as she kept looking at him with her emerald-colored eyes. There was not a single shred of doubt or hostility in them, only sheer outspokenness and purity. It almost hurt Ferio to look at her eyes, and he eventually gave up.

"You found me out," he sighed. "Right, I'm no hunter. I'm a swordsman. I tried to give Cephiro's current ruler, Zagato, a piece of my mind. I almost got caught instead and escaped into these woods. But I don't know the way out."

Without letting it show, Hotaru sighed calmingly hearing this. He already knew all about Ferio's true nature, more than he himself knew in fact. Back when he had been a kid in his previous life, Ferio had been his favorite character of Magic Knight Rayearth. The cool sword, the lone wolf attitude, the green hair, the mysterious backstory, the romance with his favorite Magic Knight, and many other surface-level details had factored into this.

Since he remembered Ferio's story so well, it was hardest for him to not blurt out anything when he was around. Even a single slip up, and his cover would be blown immediately. He could have called him out on his lies earlier, but he had always wanted to share the mountain of food Mokona had conjured up.

"An interesting story," Fuu spoke up, while fixing her glasses. "The previous tale is a lie and this one is the truth. But is that really the case?"

Ferio sighed, "You got me beat. I give up."

"That is a wise decision."

"Oh, come now," Hotaru spoke out with his axe on his shoulder. "We're in a forest with hundreds of thousands of monsters and none of us know the way out. Having an extra pair of eyes is just going to increase our chances of survival."

"But what if one of those pairs of eyes tries to stab us in the back?" Umi asked, grabbing hold of Hotaru's shirt collar.

"None of us can use magic here. Well, except for Mokona. So, we are all on equal ground. Sure, he might be a more skilled fighter, but not to a point where he can take on all four of us."

Hearing the confidence in the voice of the group's oldest member, the girls thought about it for a while. Hikaru did not like the idea of leaving Ferio alone in the woods. Umi didn't mind having another person to fight monsters in her stead. Fuu did not like the fact that Ferio had lied, but felt more at ease knowing where he was.

"Also, if he does try to betray us," Hotaru said and pointed his axe towards Ferio menacingly, "I call dibs on his sword."

Ferio held out his hand in front of him nervously, "I will not let you down, boss."

After running around the forest chasing Mokona another few hours, the dark Forest of Silence started getting darker. The group had fought about a dozen monsters throughout the day, and they were all exhausted. By the time the sun had completely set, the group found themselves in a forest clearing. Or more specifically, surrounded by dead trees without a canopy.

"We need to sleep until tomorrow," Hikaru whimpered tiredly.

"Sleep? How can we in the middle of the wilderness?" Umi complained.

"We must camp out. Maybe Hotaru can make us a shelter with his axe?" Hikaru suggested.

"Do I look like a carpenter? Lumberjack maybe, but I am too tired to start—."

Before Hotaru could continue, Mokona's forehead gem started glowing once more, this time with a white light. A large pillar of light appeared in front of them and quickly formed into an egg-shape. Once the light faded, a large egg-shaped structure stood in front of them with six supporting legs. Between the legs there were five round windows and a single door with stairs in front of it.

"You're amazing, Mokona!" Hikaru celebrated.

"Pu pu puu!"

Umi's eyes shrunk from the amazement, "Like Presea said; everything you need for a journey…"

Taking the lead, Fuu opened the door to the egg-shaped structure. The inside was a single round room that was brightly lid and homely. The room had a large queen-sized bed with pink sheets and three pink pillows, a plush purple couch and an armchair, with a coffee table between them. There was a small kitchenette with three gilded chairs, a door to a toilet, and a dresser with a mirror.

"My…"

"Wow!"

"Pajamas too… Anything we can think of…"

"Is this a hotel?!" Umi screamed out, almost offended at how luxurious everything was.

As Hotaru and Ferio looked around the room, they could not help but notice that it was clearly meant for three people. Knowing Mokona could conjure items free of cost, they walked over the couch where the bunny fay was sitting.

"Hay Mokona, could you prepare us something to sleep on as well?" Hotaru asked politely.

Mokona nodded and the gem on its forehead shone brightly. With a puff of smoke, a red, heart-shaped double bed appeared in the middle of the room.

All five of them looked at the bed, each with their own expressions of awkwardness, shock, and cringe.

"I'm sleeping on the couch," Hotaru announced.

"I'm sleeping outside," Ferio said and left the room.

"Pu?"

Once everyone had settled down, Hotaru and the girls started having supper. The menu consisted mainly of fruits and bread that was laying around the room.

"Fuu, can I take some food to Ferio?" Hikaru asked. "He doesn't seem like such a bad guy that we should leave him out in the cold with no food."

"You are kind, Ms. Hikaru. All right."

"Really?"

"However, I will take it to him. It is because you are too kind. I fear you will invite him inside to share a bed with us instead of just taking the food to him."

"I hate that I can actually see that happening," Umi admitted.

Hotaru chuckled, "Agreed, it is for the best that Fuu takes the food to him."

Outside in the Forest of Silence, a slight wind was rustling the leaves of the trees, and the familiar low hum carried across the forest. Ferio had found himself a relatively comfortable nook against one of the trees, which hid him from passing monsters. The air was chilly but not cold, and his equipment kept him warm.

It was only at the last minute that he heard gentle footsteps approaching him. Without opening his eyes, he heard something being placed on the ground.

"I have brought some food," he heard Fuu's voice. "I will leave it here, so please eat."

As he heard Fuu leaving, Ferio spoke up, "Please wait."

"Is there anything else?" Fuu asked without turning around.

"Can you… keep me company for a while?"

"What nonsense is that?!"

Fuu's guard was up from the question. She hadn't gotten along with Ferio well earlier and now he was asking her to stay with her. While she already had her reservations about Hotaru, at least he was honest with them. Ferio, who had lied before, could be trying to do anything once her guard was down. If this was Japan, she might take that risk, but in Cephiro, who knows what could happen.

"I don't want to eat alone," Ferio answered with his arms crossed.

Hearing Ferio's reason, Fuu had to hide her gasp and blush behind her hands. She hadn't realized how lonely of a person Ferio was and having him open up to her, made her heart skip a beat.

"Just until I'm done eating. I just want some company for a while."

"Ferio…"

"It was nice having some company when we had lunch earlier," Ferio smiled, not remembering when he last had people around him. "It would be nice to be able to get to know you better."

For a moment, the nook among the tree roots next to Ferio felt very inviting to Fuu. She wanted to get to know him better, to understand why he was here all alone. His handsome features and his trust in her were drawing her in. However, she could not let herself be tempted, not after everything she had said.

Without a word of warning, she took off running back towards the egg, unable to find the words to turn down Ferio's offer.

As Ferio heard the running steps, his mood sank like a stone and the forest felt a little bit colder now.

Women are so hard to figure out. Then again, we only met today. I guess I was coming on a bit too strong.

Back at chateau Mokona, Umi, Hikaru and Hotaru were surprised as Fuu barged in running. The girl was slightly panting, but quickly collected herself, realizing she wasn't alone.

"Did something happen with Ferio, Fuu-chan?" Hikaru asked worriedly.

"No, nothing major," Fuu answered, fixing her glasses. "The wind was just picking up so I figured I would get in fast."

"Fuu, if that bastard did anything to you, feel free to tell us!" Umi jumped to conclusions. "If he did, we will have Hotaru teach him a lesson!"

"Why is your first instinct having me solve it? I am not any of yours dad," Hotaru asked, trying to navigate foreign waters.

He had never seen this side of the story before, so he didn't know what he should do or say.

"You were the one who wanted his sword, remember?" Umi reminded him.

"It is a nice sword…" Hotaru thought about it, before shaking his head. "Look, if Fuu-kun tells us nothing major happened, then that is that. She isn't one to keep secrets."

"I just…" Fuu started, clenching her fists, "I just can't trust him. I hate liars, and having him lie to us from the get go, makes it so hard for me to…"

Seeing the tallest of the girls trembling and hearing Fuu express her dislike of liars, left Hotaru in a tight spot. On one hand he wanted to comfort her, but on the other hand he wanted to get away from her. It felt like these two desires were crushing him in between.

"Look Fuu," Hotaru forced himself to talk, trying to sound mature, "one of the things that you need to get used to when growing up, is people lying to you."

Fuu looked at him with a shocked expression, her lip trembling, "That can't be…"

"Now, I'm not saying you need to accept it or not get upset about it. But you will have to understand that whether or not a person lied to you, means a lot less than what the intent behind that lie was. Sure, Ferio lied, but if you met a group of strangers in the woods who outnumbered you, would you be totally honest from the get go?"

Hotaru felt a bit guilty about saying all this, because he was also defending his own lies and secrets. However, this was not an adventure where all the information he held was beneficial.

Fuu took a deep breath, internalizing what Hotaru had said, "So, you're telling me to wait till we find out why he lied, before casting judgement?"

"That's right," Hotaru nodded, though a bit wary of her choice of words.

Umi giggled, joking, "And who said you weren't our dad?"

The next day the journey across Forest of Silence continued, with what could only be described as increased difficulty. Not only was Mokona moving around faster than yesterday, but the number of monsters they came across had increased exponentially. Time after time they found themselves surrounded by monsters from each direction. However, with Ferio on their side and Fuu and Umi having their weapons ready, their combat capabilities had increased manifold.

"It's a shame Cephiro doesn't have an experience point system," Fuu quipped, finishing another cycloptic monster with an arrow to the eye.

"At least you are getting real-life combat experience," Hotaru quipped back, being now defter at handling his axe's momentum.

By noon, they had defeated their fifth group of monsters, this one larger than the previous ones. With the enemies turned into particles of darkness, everyone took a moment of breather, but they didn't drop their guard.

"Pupupu puu, puu puu, pup pu puu!" Monoka chirped victoriously.

"Mokona, what is going on here?" Umi asked furiously. "The further we go, the more monsters we bump into!"

Instead of answering, Mokona just continued bouncing down the trail, apparently telling them to follow it.

"Make it a path with no monsters this time!" Umi yelled after it.

"With hundreds of thousands of monsters in this forest, I don't think that will be possible," Hotaru sighed, taking a sip out of a bottle of tea that Mokona had conjured earlier.

"I wonder what is causing this abnormal frequency of monsters?" Fuu pondered.

About ten minutes later, Fuu received her answer. Mokona had led them to a massive forest clearing, that was a perfect circle and had no grass or vegetation anywhere near it. The ground was barren and sunken in, and in the middle of the clearing was a massive horde of monsters. These monsters were standing around a floating black stone that gave off an eerie aura. The hum they had earlier was now louder and clearly coming from the stone.

"What is that thing?" Hikaru asked, her hands trembling slightly.

"It looks like a crater caused by a meteor," Hotaru pondered, trying not to give away too much.

Unperturbed by the number of monsters or the appearance of the rock, Mokona continued happily bouncing forward.

"No way… W-Wait! Stop!" Umi screamed and ran ahead of Mokona. "You don't want us to go through that, do you?"

"Pu-puu, pu-puu!" Mokona nodded.

Umi grabbed Mokona by its ear and lifted it up to her eye level, "That's crazy! We may have weapons but there's no way we can defeat that many monsters!"

After retrieving Mokona, the group decided to have a strategy meeting. They chose a concealed area away from the crater, where they wouldn't be surprised by monsters.

"What now?" Hikaru asked.

"We'll have to go back. Maybe we can find another way out of the woods," Umi suggested.

"I don't think that will be happening," Hotaru said skeptically.

"Why not?"

He pulled out his compass and showed it to everyone else in the group. The needle was now moving more sporadically than ever before.

"Whatever that rock is, it is probably the cause of all the strange things happening in this forest. Mokona might be able to lead us out of the Forest of Silence, but that rock is messing up with its sense of direction as well."

"Ferio, what do you think?" Hikaru asked, wanting the opinion of the one with the most experience in the area. "Clef told us that Cephiro became a land where monsters roam once Zagato took over. But this place, it's more than that, isn't it?"

"That's right," Ferio nodded. "Zagato's reign hasn't changed this place from what it was before. Magic never worked and monsters always roamed about. That's why even Zagato couldn't do anything about this place. I do agree with the boss that that rock is the reason for all this. It attracts evil and makes it even more hideous."

"So, the monsters might go away if we break the rock!" Hikaru said determinedly.

"You've got to be kidding! We'd have to plunge into those monsters!" Umi rejected the idea. "They'd kill us in no time!"

"So we'll split into two groups. One will divert the monsters' attention and the other will destroy the rock."

"That means we will have to fight monsters again. It will be impossible if we split up!"

"Let me divert the monsters' attention," Ferio offered, feeling confident in his speed.

"No," Hikaru rejected the offer. "If we can't even do this, we probably won't be able to save Cephiro either."

Hearing this, something clicked for Ferio, "You mentioned Clef earlier… Did you mean Master Mage Clef?"

No, we meant Dr. Alto Clef, the scientist, Hotaru held back a joke no one would get.

"That's right," Hikaru confirmed. "Master Mage Clef, in order to save us…"

Hikaru was interrupted with Fuu elbowing her on the side, "You should not trust him just yet."

"I see. You're thinking about rescuing Princess Emeraude and saving Cephiro?" Ferio deduced. "I'm doing the same."

The girls gasped at this revelation, but they were still hesitant about believing if this was the truth.

"I want to rescue Princess Emeraude," Ferio said with conviction.

"What?!" the girls all shouted.

I was a traveling bard. I don't have any parents. My first memory is of my master teaching me to perform tricks. And one day, I was invited to the royal castle. I walked around the castle on my own, but not to steal anything. Everything was just so unusual.

I had never before seen such a luxurious and beautiful place, filled with furniture, treasure, and works of art of the highest standard. Whether it was the glamour of it all or just my own curiosity, I started admiring the items up close. I knew I wasn't supposed to touch them, but I figured that if I was really careful, no one would mind.

I was in the process of examining a jewelry box with two magical baubles inside it. As I took one out for a closer look, I heard steps from behind just before I was grabbed by two guards. They accused me of stealing royal treasures and didn't believe me when I said I was just having a look.

I was escorted to the throne room to be judged by Princess Emeraude. Usually, the punishment for trying to rob royal treasures would either be forty years in the dungeon or a death sentence. After the guards told the princess of my actions, I was sure I would be done for, as I was given no chance to speak for myself. To my surprise, it was the princess who spoke on my behalf.

"That is something that I gave to him as a gift. It was not stolen," she told the guards.

"Princess Emeraude saved my life," Ferio concluded his story. "I'll do anything to defeat Zagato and save her! …Just kidding. Did you believe me?"

"You're horrible! You lied to—"

"Yup! Every word of it," Hotaru interrupted Umi.

All four of them looked at Hotaru amazed, "HUH!?"

"But why Mr. Hotaru?" Fuu asked, confused.

"Look, as a fellow individual who has lived their entire life without knowing their family, I can recognize my own ilk," Hotaru said confidently and strutted over to Ferio. "You and I, we've walked the same path in life. There's no need to be making up stories."

Seeing the taller man's confident smile, Ferio was taken back a bit. For the longest time, he thought that only someone as benevolent as Princess Emeraude could trust in someone like him. As Hotaru extended his hand out in a fist and pointed it at him, Ferio carefully did the same. With a single firm nudge of his arm, Hotaru bumped his fist against his.

"Do boys always make connections like this so fast?" Umi whispered to the other two.

Hikaru nodded, "Yes, my brothers are pretty much the same."

Ferio put down his hand, and then smirked, "I want to get out of this forest. But I doubt I can get out without all of your help, so I have to tag along with you guys."

"Alright, then that's settled," Hotaru declared, before summoning his axe. "Alright everyone, listen up! Me, Umi, and Hikaru will distract the monsters. We'll go in, draw their attention, and clear a path to the rock. Fuu and Ferio, you two destroy the stone."

"But why us?" Fuu asked, surprised by the choice of teams.

"The distraction team must be loud and capable of fighting for an extended amount of time. The group that destroys the stone on the other hand needs to keep quiet. Ferio is the stealthiest of us and you Fuu can fight from afar. Plus, you two could use a trust building exercise," Hotaru winked.

"Alright, boss," Ferio nodded.

"Let's go, Umi, Hotaru!" Hikaru charged in, pumped up and ready to go.

"Y-Yeah!"

As Hikaru, Umi and Hotaru ran over towards the monsters, Ferio did a few practice swings. He imagined himself cleaving the sword in half first horizontally and then vertically.

Fuu cleared her throat and asked, "So, is the story you just told actually the truth?"

"Well you got plenty of stories to choose from. Pick the one you like," Ferio winked at her.

Fuu wasn't amused by this, but she had no time to argue. Hikaru, Umi, and Hotaru had already started their fight against the monsters. Hikaru had jumped right in the middle of the horde of monsters and was slashing them down left and right. Umi was fighting more cautiously, letting the monsters come to her before striking at their vitals. Hotaru was charging head first in a straight line, cleaving those in front of him and out running those behind him.

While they managed to make up for each other's weaknesses in technique and tactics, the number of monsters was starting to tire them down. As more and more monsters started surrounding them, it came clear that they should make a run for it. Even Hotaru managed to pull himself away from the battle, as his shoulders started aching from swinging his axe around.

Seeing the monsters leaving the stone unguarded, Ferio started running, "Now. Let's go!"

"R-Right!"

It didn't take long for both of them to get to the halfway point between the stone and the edge of the crater.

"I'll take care of this myself. You stand back and give cover fire if need be!"

"I cannot do that," Fuu refused to abandon her team mate.

As Ferio got closer to the black stone, his movements started to slow down. The ominous and dark presence of the stone made it feel like he was running through molasses. By the time he was less than a hundred meters away from the rock, he could barely move his legs.

He gasped in pain and struggled to hold onto his weapon.

"What is this force?" he gritted his teeth, before his weapon flew from his hand.

The magnetic pull of the rock ripped his weapon from his hands, causing it to land between him and the rock. As Ferio tried to reach for his sword, he fell to the ground, unable to get back up.

Seeing Ferio lying on the ground, Fuu yelled, "What is wrong?"

"Stay back! Don't come near me!"

Fuu instinctively took a step back, but before she could ask more questions, she was terrified by what she saw next.

Ferio's body floated up off the ground, immobile and straight as a plank. He then slowly hovered towards the stone, while his body began to turn to stone, starting from his feet. The closer to the stone he got, the further the petrification spread.

"This is one crazy rock…" Ferio struggled to speak.

As he got closer to his sword, he grabbed hold of its handle, managing to halt his movement.

"That rock doesn't only attract monsters," Ferio grunted as he held onto his dear life. "It turns creatures into monsters! That's why this forest…"

Fuu tried to get closer to help Ferio, but before she could take another step, Ferio swung around his sword. His feet were now pointing towards the stone, and the stone was pulling Ferio and his sword to it.

"Ferio!"

"Stay back! You have to break the rock with an arrow!" Ferio yelled as his wrists were starting to turn to stone.

"Impossible! It's a rock! I cannot break it with an arrow!" Fuu yelled hysterically.

"Listen! Cephiro is a land of will! If you believe, the arrow will fly, and the rock will break!

With no other choice, Fuu concentrated. She repeated Ferio's words in her head, trying to make herself believe. But the longer she stood there, the more imposing and unsurmountable the rock appeared to become. She tried knocking back an arrow, but it was like she was being bathed in doubt by the hum of the floating boulder.

"I cannot…"

"Don't doubt! Believe in yourself!" Ferio yelled, his fingers having already turned to stone.

Meanwhile Hikaru and the others were cutting down monsters that had driven them into a corner near the edge of the woods. While they were getting surrounded, none of them were losing faith in Fuu.

If I believe, it will come true…

"Hurry and shoot!"

Fuu knocked back her arrow and took a longbow firing pose, letting loose her arrow. It swished through the air at a great speed, as if surrounded by the wind. It struck the black rock, piercing its obsidian surface like a rock through a window.

A bright light shone from inside the rock and it started sparking like crazy. Dozens of arcs of electricity shot out from it, scorching the ground underneath it. Having released all of its energy, the rock slowly fell to the ground with a thud.

Further away, Hikaru Umi and Hotaru were exhausted, yet they had only taken down a fraction of the monsters.

"We can't do this anymore!"

"Do your best Umi!"

"Just a little bit more!"

As the constant hum of the boulder dissipated, the sound of animals could be heard coming from deeper in the woods. A calm breeze blew over the woods, signaling the return of Cephiro's magic.

The monsters around them began to turn into animals, fey, and mystical creatures.

"W-What's going on?" Umi asked.

"I don't know."

"I think Ferio and Fuu succeeded."

Being now surrounded by adorable, majestic, and goofy looking creatures, Hikaru threw her hands into the air victoriously. But back at the stone, things weren't as cheerful.

"Ferio! Ferio!" Fuu tried to wake him up.

The young swordsman had been turned to stone up to his neck, meaning his heart had been petrified for a while. While his expression looked peaceful while lying on the ground, Fuu couldn't hear him breathing. Holding back tears, she picked him up into her arms to listen more closely.

Ferio's body was still warm and he let out a short gasp of air. As he opened up one of his eyes, Fuu felt a great weight leaving her heart.

"Looks like you have a long way to go, if you can't break a rock," Ferio winked.

"I assume you are all right from that remark," Fuu smiled.

Little while away, Hikaru was playing with the forest creatures, while Umi and Hotaru were panting tiredly.

"I feel like my arms are going to fall off…" Hotaru groaned.

"If we ever see another monster, it will be too soon," Umi panted.

"At least any monster we face from now on will be easy compared to this," Hotaru said, purposefully fooling himself.

After the battle, the group took an afternoon nap in Mokona's domicile (Ferio slept on the carpet). They were all exhausted, and despite the Forest of Silence now being peaceful and easy to navigate, none of them felt like traveling. After the nap they ate a hearty dinner and the group officially introduced themselves at the Magic Knights to Ferio. It was due to all this, that by the time they reached the edge of the Forest of Silence, it was already dusk.

Once out of the forest, Ferio told the others that he would be going his own way.

"I thought that Ferio was going to come with us to Eterna…" Hikaru said disappointedly.

"I was only looking for a way out of the Forest of Silence. It should be obvious that we part here."

"Eh, it's a small world, we will bump into each other eventually," Hotaru shrugged.

Before taking his leave, Ferio walked over to Fuu. Fuu felt slightly nervous as Ferio approached, unable to judge the look in his amber eyes. But as he came to a stop, both of them smiled at one another warmly, having come to respect each other.

Fuu jolted back a little as Ferio grabbed hold of her arm, but stopped as she saw him pull something out of his pocket.

"I want you to have this," Ferio said as he placed an ornate bauble in Fuu's hand.

It was red, with golden details and with several pink gems, and fit comfortably into her hand.

I forgot that they swapped the rings for those toy walkie-talkies, Hotaru sighed. At least Fuu looks happy with it.

"Make a wish. I'm sure this will grant it."

"Why is there only a gift for Fuu?" Umi asked jealously.

Ferio turned around, trying to hide his blush, "It's a difference in how much I love someone, obviously!"

As Fuu blushed fiercely, Ferio had already grabbed his sword and ran into the sunset. The others looked after him for a while, before turning towards Fuu.

As Umi and Hikaru stared at Fuu, she seemed to almost shrink in embarrassment. Hotaru proceeded to pat Fuu on the head, while congratulating her.

Far away from the borders of the Forest of Silence resided Zagato's crystal fortress. The day had been a peaceful one, in terms of tyrannizing the world. However, a sudden development had stirred up quite the commotion to a point where Inouva was running over to his master. Reaching Zagato's private sanctum, Inouva straightened himself up and spoke clearly.

"My lord, the Forest of Silence has appeared in the Water Mirror," Inouva reported. "Do you know how this happened?"

Curious about this himself, Zagato summoned the Water Mirror and zoomed in on the forest. The Forest of Silence was indeed clearly visible on the mirror, which should not be possible. Eventually he spotted four familiar figures at the edge of it.

Keeping a calm demeanor, he spoke with a deep voice, "They are still alive…"

Zagato turned around towards Inouva and gave him a command, "Tell Alcyone go and finish her mission. I will not allow those kids to reach the Spring of Eterna."

"My lord, Alcyone has not reported-in for a few days. The scouts to the south have not received a word of her arrival yet."

"That little…" Zagato grimaced before turning towards the mirror once more, scrying Alcyone's whereabouts, "…So, it seems she is lying in ambush for them already. I hope she knows what she is doing, for her sake."

Author's Afterword: Alright, this episode saw a bit more chances to the script than usual, and it is only going veer off course more from here on out. I am also excited to finally get to work on the chapters beyond this one. To me, the first three episodes of the MKR anime have always felt like a tutorial, so the training wheels are off now!

I've noticed that TheMotivatedOne and SwanGirl24 have their own ongoing MKR fourth member fanfictions going on. It is interesting to compare our works and chapters from time to time.

As always, reviews are welcome.