DarkHorse
12th December 2002, 03:26 PM
The Ramarian Crisis
By DarkHorse
Chapter 5: An Assault on the Pillar
*Yoyogi Park, Tokyo, Japan*
Umi and Fuu were standing behind Hikaru in the middle of
Yoyogi Park. Neither of them knew why. All they knew was
that Hikaru had decided to transport them here. When they
stepped out of the portal, they were shocked to find several
people lying on the ground motionless. Didn't the government
tell these people to not go out? They immediately rushed to
the nearest of them to determine whether they were still
alive. Each Knight breathed a sigh of relief when they found
them to be merely unconscious. There were almost a hundred
of them, all over the park. People who had decided to go out
and picnic, ignoring the broadcasts that told them to stay
in their homes. The sounds of ambulances in the distance
told them that it was probably the same story all over Tokyo
and who knows where else.
"What are we doing here, Hikaru?" Umi asked, still
stunned by the sight of all the prostrate people.
"I don't know," Hikaru replied, looking down, thinking.
"I somehow willed us to come here." She raised her head and
looked at Umi and Fuu in turn. "I didn't will myself to go
to Yoyogi Park, just 'here'." She turned to look at her
surroundings. "Somehow I think this is where they landed."
"If that were true, Miss Hikaru," Fuu said, stepping
closer to Hikaru. "Then shouldn't there be some sort of
evidence of a landing? I would imagine that when objects
enter our atmosphere like that, they would be extremely hot.
In which case, there should be massive scorching in this
area."
"I can't explain it, Fuu, but I know deep down, that this
is where they landed."
Fuu knew better than to doubt the First Knight. She
looked up towards the general direction that the alien
objects entered into Earth. "If these are truly enemies,
then they are formidable indeed."
"How can they not be enemies, Fuu," Umi protested,
walking up to the blonde. "They have brought death and
injury with them!"
"That is true, Miss Umi," Fuu insisted. "But it could
have been unintentional." Umi frowned at her fellow Knight.
Intentional or not, to Umi it was extremely rude to enter a
planet in this way.
"We need to go back to Cephiro."
Both Umi and Fuu whirled to look at the Fire Knight.
"Now?" It was Umi who asked, a mask of incredulity on her
face.
"No," said Hikaru, finally turning to face her
companions. "Tomorrow. Fuu, I need for you to find out
exactly what happened here today." Fuu nodded. Hikaru
focused on Fuu. "Also, is it alright if both Umi and I stay
at your place tonight?" Umi's eyes widened as she heard
this.
Fuu, on the other hand, smiled brightly. "I would be
delighted and honored for you both to stay at my place
tonight!"
Before Umi could voice out her question, Hikaru turned to
face her. "I have a feeling that man who visited me last
night, will visit me again. Tonight."
"In that case, why don't we stay at your place?" Umi
queried. "After all, that's where he appeared to you."
"He'll appear wherever I am," declare Hikaru confidently.
She took one more gaze around the park. There was nothing
she could do for the people lying seemingly peaceful on the
ground. She could, instead, make sure that this does not
happen again. With that, she turned and led the others from
the park.
* * * * *
"Are you trying to tell me that after traveling billions
of miles to get here, after killing off some of our best
pilots, they simply exploded over Tokyo?" the President of
the United States fumed.
"Is there any possibility, General, that these objects
offloaded something before exploding?" it was the Chief of
Staff asking this time.
"There is no evidence that they did. There are no
witnesses at all," General Masterson lamented. "However, it
is highly illogical for these objects to come here only to
vanish. It is for this reason, a thorough investigation
should be mounted." The General glanced meaningfully at the
Director of Central Intelligence.
The President, having seen the eye contact between the
General and the DCI, decided to speak up. "Can we do this,
Tim? Do we even have assets in Japan?"
The DCI turned towards the President. "Mr. President, we
only have one agent who is of Japanese descent that we can
set up in Japan. With all due respect," the DCI paused,
obviously trying to find the right words. "I believe that
the Japanese government will cooperate with us fully in
getting to the bottom of this."
The President considered this thoughtfully, his unseeing
eyes centered on the stack of paper in front of him on the
conference table. Finally, he looked up, shaking his head.
"Those alien spaceships just outside of our solar system
worry me, gentlemen. I do not think they mean to just sit
there. I want more information about them." He said
forcefully, looking at the two astrophysicists that were
still present in the room. "Finally, I need to talk to the
Japanese Prime Minister again to make sure that they allow
us to help them in the investigation. Are we clear on this?"
He looked at every face around the table. Satisfied that he
got everyone's assent, he stood. "Let's get to work then."
* * * * *
Rogo and Lam arrived at a busy warehouse filled with
boxes upon boxes of electronic appliances that Japan was
known all over the world for. They were led to the back
portion of the warehouse where they waited. This meeting was
surprisingly Lam's idea.
As soon as Rogo sped them away from the park where they
landed, Lam insisted they be briefed on all information
gathered by Rogo's team thus far, as well as necessary
information that would allow them to adapt to the local
culture. This, of course, included the language and customs
of the Japanese. Because a Ramarian could easily plug
himself into a computer terminal and merely download the
information directly into his cerebrum, this task was
completed within an hour.
Immediately thereafter, Lam took Rogo alone in a room and
engaged him in a discussion on how best to capture the
girls. And here again, Lam surprised Rogo.
"In your report to Higon," Lam began, speaking in
Japanese, almost idly. "You mentioned that every major
country in this planet has a criminal network." Rogo nodded
cautiously. He was still unsure as to where Lam was taking
the conversation. "You said that a criminal network also
exists here in Japan, called the Yakuza. Am I correct?"
Lam's eyes bore into Rogo's, his face inscrutable.
"That is correct," Rogo replied, also in Japanese. "What
of it?"
"Well, from what I've read of your report, these girls we
are supposed to capture possess energy at uncharted levels.
If this were true, then I would rather see with my eyes
first exactly what these girls are capable of before
committing my men to engaging them directly. My men will
disagree, of course. But these are some of the very best we
have. I'm not about to gamble their lives and skills so
carelessly."
It was difficult for Rogo to hide his pleasant surprise
at his counterpart's insight and.maturity. Finally, unable
to hide his astonishment, he shook his head, smiling. "You
surprise me, Lam."
Lam gave a half-smile back to Rogo. "You think I don't
know what you and many others think of me." It was a
statement. "Who do you think selected me for this mission?"
Rogo's eyes narrowed. All this time, he and his team
assumed it was his father. "Are you trying to tell me Higon
selected you?"
Lam leaned back, crossed his arms on his chest and smiled
smugly. "A lot has changed since you left us, my friend."
Lam looked away, his face, a mask of deep contemplation. "I
grew tired of the constant war games. Restless from being
cooped up in battle ship, no matter its size." Lam turned to
eye Rogo. "I decided to spend a considerable amount of time
with our old friend, Higon." Lam suddenly slapped his thigh
and laughed. "You know what's funny, Rogo? I was already
good at war games but after learning from Higon, I became
even better, virtually unbeatable!"
Rogo had to laugh with him. "Well, using your head,
instead of just your muscles, can be pretty useful in
battle." He decided that he liked this new Lam.
Lam turned serious again all of a sudden. He leaned
forward, resting his forearms on the table between them.
"Our race is dying. Unless we do something about it, we will
disappear. Already the ships we have in our fleet are
breaking down. Do you know that we hardly go into hyperspace
anymore?"
Rogo could only shake his head. Enraptured was he by
Lam's passion.
"If those girls are truly able to create a wormhole, it
will save us almost 50 years of travel time. A wormhole
could bring our entire fleet just outside of this planet in
a second, and we can beat these puny humans into submission
easily."
"You don't have to convince me, Lam," Rogo said, leaning
forward as well. "That's why I reported them in the first
place. What do you want me to do?"
"Let's talk to the Yakuza."
Rogo made the necessary calls and was able to arrange the
meeting. He also made arrangements for the three girls to be
watched by Grat and Crata. For the meeting with the Yakuza,
Lam decided to bring one of his lieutenants while he brought
Dasma.
Rogo was now looking at the face of the warrior Lam
decided to bring along. He was relatively young and yet his
face was devoid of nervousness or even the eagerness that
characteristically marked a young Ramarian warrior's face.
Rogo wondered if it was just the synthetic dermis that they
had to put over their real skin to blend with the humans.
But then he looked at Dasma. Her face was the exact
opposite. Now there was a typical warrior. He said time and
time again that her anxiousness for battle would be her
undoing.
The sound of footsteps interrupted Rogo's thoughts,
causing him to turn. Approaching them were four Japanese men
wearing expensive business suits. They seemed a bit burly to
be merely businessmen. The four stopped in front of Rogo.
"Good evening," the lead Japanese said, bowing his head
ever so slightly. It was of course a breach of etiquette to
not perform a complete bow but then Rogo was a gaijin, and
these were criminals, after all. "You may call me Tanaka.
How can we be of service?" The man got right to the point
quickly.
In response, Rogo reached inside of his jacket and
retrieved a fairly large brown envelope, which he gave to
the man in front of him. The man received the envelope and
took out three enlarged photographs, a sheet of paper and
another, smaller, envelope obviously containing cash. This
last item, he merely passed to the one on his right. The
photos he examined. Rogo saw his eyebrows rise slightly.
"These are mere girls."
"Yes. The instructions are on the sheet of paper. The
remainder of your fee will be paid after we have custody of
the girls."
The right side of Tanaka's mouth curled upwards. "These
girls are extremely pretty. But," he said, glancing at the
man on his right before looking back at Rogo. "We already
have girls like these who are as pretty, and some even
younger. At a lower price." Tanaka winked.
The thought of sexually violating three human females did
not even occur in the Ramarian's mind. It was for this
reason the meaning of Tanaka's wink did not register. "We do
not want your girls. The one's in the photos are the ones we
want."
Lam smoothly stepped forward. "These girls are, shall we
say, very special," Lam said in very literate Japanese.
Tanaka looked back blankly at the newcomer and then
smiled. "Very well. May I just say that you gentlemen have
excellent tastes." He passed the photos and the sheet of
paper to the man on the left. "It will all be taken care
of."
"Tonight," Rogo said.
"Tonight?" Tanaka clearly did not expect this.
"Yes. We already have their location." Rogo told them the
address.
"Indeed." The Japanese nodded contemplatively. He then
turned to the man on his right and whispered on his ear.
This one began nodding in earnest and then walked briskly
away. Finally, he faced them. "Very well. It will be as you
wish. We will be able to deliver the girls tonight. Please
wait for our call."
"Thank you, Mr. Tanaka." Rogo said, duplicating the
slight bow he received from the Yakuza earlier. Without
another word, their four hosts turned and left. Rogo glanced
at Lam.
"Well done, Rogo," Lam smiled and slapped Rogo's shoulder
good-naturedly.
Rogo smiled inwardly and then caught himself. *I'm
behaving like a schoolboy receiving commendation from a
teacher.* "I guess it's our turn to go." With that, Lam and
Rogo, together with their two lieutenants walked to their
van.
Upon entering the van on the driver's side, Rogo took out
his cell phone and punched a number.
"Grat here."
"We're on our way there." Rogo said and promptly hung up.
"The girls are all in one house?" Lam asked. Rogo nodded,
smiling as he started the engine. "Well, if I was an
earthling, I'd say this was Luck smiling down on us."
"Earthlings believe in the silliest things," was Rogo's
amused reply as he drove the van to rendezvous with his
surveillance team.
* * * * *
Fuu was already busy on her computer when the doorbell
rang. She heard her elder sister, Kuu get the door. In a
minute she heard two sets of heavy footsteps running towards
her room. Fuu took one glance at her monitor before standing
and walking to her door. She opened it just as Hikaru was
about to knock.
"Hey Fuu!" Hikaru rushed forward and embraced Fuu. Even
though Fuu wasn't normally demonstrative, she welcomed the
hug from her petite friend.
"Fuu!" Umi said enthusiastically before joining in the
group hug.
"Miss Hikaru! Miss Umi!" Fuu eagerly hugged her best
friends back. She felt her heart swell. She truly cherished
any time they spend together.
"So, find anything useful?" Hikaru asked as they
disengaged.
"I found something," Fuu replied walking back to the
computer on her desk. "I don't know if it's useful." She
gestured to her bed. "Make yourselves comfortable and I'll
tell you what I've found."
Like the schoolgirls they really were, past adventures
notwithstanding, they bounded to the bed, dropping their
bags in the process. Umi and Hikaru were wearing denim
shorts and white sneakers. The former had a blue top tucked
into her shorts while the latter had a white halter-top that
only barely hid her navel. Fuu, on the other hand, was
already in her pajamas.
"I'm simply amazed at how neat your room is Fuu!" Umi
enthused, looking around Fuu's room. "And I didn't realize
green could be a good color for a room."
Fuu grinned at her azure-haired friend. "Well, your room
has a blue motif. It's only fitting that mine has a green
motif."
Hikaru smiled at her friends. She flopped on the soft
bed, on her stomach, facing forward. "So tell me Fuu,
whatcha got?"
"Oh c'mon, Hikaru," wailed Umi. "Can't we just relax for
a while and stop being Magic Knights for once?"
"Well, what do you want to talk about, Miss Umi?" Fuu
grinned, turning her swivel chair away from her computer to
face her friends.
"Oh I don't know," Umi said coyly. "How about boys?"
Hikaru rolled her eyes and turned on her back. Umi caught
her expression and threw a pillow at her redheaded friend.
"What's so wrong about talking about boys?"
"Nothing," Hikaru said, her voice full of mirth. "Except
that you talk about boys all the time!"
"I do not!" Umi cried indignantly. "Just because both you
and Fuu already have boyfriends." Umi turned to look at Fuu
just as she said the word "boyfriends". As expected, Fuu's
face was turning pink, causing Umi to grin. She turned to
Hikaru who was covering her face with the pillow she threw
at her. Umi reached out to Hikaru and yanked the pillow from
the latter's grasp.
"Hey!" Hikaru bellowed, giving Umi a mock glare.
Umi was grinning defiantly at the Fire Knight. "Have
there been any guys trying to pick you up lately?"
"Oh you mean besides that totally gorgeous Mr. Simmons?"
Hikaru teased.
"Oh puleeease! He's not my type at all," the Water Knight
huffed causing both Hikaru and Fuu to chuckle. "Seriously,
though, nothing?" Umi pleaded for Hikaru to reveal
something, anything.
Hikaru flopped back on the bed. "Well, there's this guy."
"Alright!"
Even the usually reserved Fuu leaned forward, eagerly
waiting for Hikaru to provide more details. Hikaru paused to
look at the eager faces of her friends and then giggled.
"Oh you guys, you should see your faces!"
Umi's response was to throw another pillow at Hikaru,
which the latter easily caught. "Hikaru!" Umi cried,
threatening to throw another pillow at her.
"Okay! Okay!" Hikaru giggled, her hands blocking her face
preparing to block another pillow throw by Umi. "It's really
no big deal. He goes to school at a nearby all-boy's
school."
"So how did you meet him, Miss Hikaru?"
Hikaru's face fell and her shoulders slumped. She
expected a discussion about many things tonight, but not
this! One look at her friends' faces told her that she was
not going to escape at all. "I had a feeling he was watching
me for quite some time now. Then one day," Hikaru explained,
shrugging her shoulders, "He just came up to me and asked
for my name, although I think he already knew it."
"And.?" Umi was totally engrossed.
Hikaru shot her a look of disdain but continued. "And
then he asked me out."
Fuu was nodding vigorously, urging her to continue.
"And.and I said I was busy," Hikaru shrugged yet again,
helplessly, a sheepish smile on her face.
"Aarrrgh!" Umi hollered in frustration.
"What was I supposed to do? It's not like I have time for
boys, you know?" Hikaru insisted.
"Was the boy handsome?" Fuu persisted.
"Well, he was tall." Hikaru said tentatively.
"Hikaru, everyone's taller than you," Umi said, rolling
her eyes and sinking back against the soft headboard of
Fuu's bed. Hikaru shot her a withering look this time.
"Hey c'mon guys. Let's just talk about what happened
today," pleaded Hikaru impatiently.
"Oh alright!" Umi conceded.
With a sigh, Fuu turned to face her desk again to collect
the reports she printed off the Internet. She turned once
again and passed the reports to her friends. "These are all
the information I was able to gather. Apparently, not much
is known. The extremely bright light and the very loud
thunderous sound rendered unconscious anyone who would've
been a witness to the event."
"That figures," Umi noticed. Hikaru, on the other hand,
was busy reading the reports Fuu handed to her. After a
while, she looked up and stared blankly at Fuu.
"What is it, Miss Hikaru?"
"They couldn't have just exploded," Hikaru stated after
a few more moments of thought. "I'm sure they left something
behind."
"I do not doubt that, Miss Hikaru," Fuu said, nodding in
agreement. "Except that there are no witnesses nor evidence
to support that."
* * * * *
"Well, it's not like we're a court of law," the voice of
the tallest one insisted. "All we need to do is just look at
the logic of the situation."
Both Grat and Crata had been listening to the endless
chatter of the girls in the room across the street for over
an hour. They were using a special hi-powered microphone
mounted on the edge of the roof facing the house to
eavesdrop on the unsuspecting teenagers. Both looked up when
they heard footsteps coming towards them. It did not alarm
them in the least for they recognized the sound signature of
the footfalls. After a few seconds, both Grat and Crata saw
Lam and Rogo as they crested the apex of the roof.
"There're still all in there?" Lam asked as he reached
the two members from Rogo's team.
Grat merely nodded in response. He had not gotten the
opportunity to know Lam and therefore was still wary of him.
For his part, Lam did not seem to notice anything but just
peered over the roof at the window to the room that held the
three targets.
"I'm curious as to how the Yakuza is going to manage
this." Lam said out loud to no one in particular.
"Me too," this was from Rogo.
"Well, I guess we'll have to just wait and see."
"How long before they try anything?" It was Crata who
asked.
"No telling," Grat opined. "I'd wait till the girls were
actually asleep before I try anything."
Nobody had a rejoinder to that. As one, they settled down
and decided to listen to the ongoing conversation across the
street.
* * * * *
Tanaka was nothing if not careful. In the privacy of his
office, he was examining the photographs of the three girls
he was supposed to abduct. The guy that was with this "Roger
Simmons" character did say these girls were "special." He
decided to do a background check.
It turned out the girls were all from well-to-do
families, especially the Ryuuzaki girl. Could this be a
kidnap-for-ransom thing? It didn't fit. This Roger Simmons
seemed not to want for money. He could tell. He prided
himself in being able to identify the really rich types. And
this guy seems to have access to a substantial amount
already. So therefore, this couldn't be about money.
Could it be about sex? Tanaka shook his head. No, because
again, the Simmons guy was totally clueless. Besides, why go
to the trouble of kidnapping girls, when nubile and pretty
girls for hire were readily available. Although, these girls
do seem to be extraordinarily well endowed. Nah, it's not
for sex at all either.
Then what? With a grunt, Tanaka set down the pictures and
picked up once more the three sheets of paper that contained
background information about the girls. Each of them seems
to be skilled in one form of martial arts. The Shidou girl
is a Kendo champion; Ryuuzaki just won a fencing
championship for herself and her school; and finally,
Hououji is a member of her school's distinguished archery
team. He should remember to caution his men about these
girls. He had gotten to where he is now by making sure to
never underestimate anyone, outward appearances
notwithstanding.
Tanaka picked up the phone. "It's me. Assemble the men."
* * * * *
Hikaru fought to stay awake. On either side of her lay
Umi and Fuu. Umi's arm was draped over Hikaru. She looked at
her Water Knight with affection. Umi was the demonstrative
one, always quick to provide comfort through her touch. She
turned to look at Fuu. Although in very close proximity to
her, she kept to herself. Both of them were sleeping
peacefully. Hikaru longed to be in that state also. But she
couldn't. She had to wait for the cloaked stranger who
appeared to her the other night.
Hikaru raised her head a bit and strained to see the
digital face of Fuu's clock on the desk. It read 1:45am. She
allowed her head to drop back down and yawned mightily.
Maybe if she just closed her eyes for a while--
--with a start Hikaru sat up and flung open her eyes again
only to be greeted by the bright blueness of the sky. She
had to quickly avert her gaze and blocked the brightness
with an arm. After blinking a few times, Hikaru lowered her
arm and looked around her.
She was in Cephiro again! Turning her head from side to
side, she examined the meadow she was sitting down on. It
was the same meadow, or at least it looked like it. Finally,
Hikaru realized that she was dreaming again. Slowly, she
stood. Just like in the previous dream, she was in her
flannel nightgown and she was barefooted.
*Now where was that village?* Hikaru turned towards the
direction where she thought the village was. Suddenly, she
heard a rustle behind her. Whirling around, she
instinctively adopted a defense stance only to be surprised
by what she saw just a few meters in front of her. It was
the cloaked stranger!
The stranger pulled back his hood to reveal the face of a
wizened old man. He was smiling gently at her. Slowly, he
dropped to one knee and bowed his head. "Princess."
"Please." Hikaru said tentatively, causing the man to
look up at her. Slowly, with much effort, the man pulled
himself up using his gnarled staff and faced her. "W-who are
you?"
"My name is Malor. I know you have many questions,
Princess. I will endeavor to answer all your questions. But
first, please know that even now as we speak you are in
danger."
"What kind of danger?" Hikaru asked, suddenly tensing.
"There are beings who have access to awesome
technological powers," Malor answered, his mien taking on a
deathly seriousness. "They are here on Earth with the
intention of abducting the Magic Knights."
"What!?"
"Yes, Princess," Malor said, nodding slowly, confirming
her worst nightmare.
"But why?" Hikaru's fist were clenched at her side.
Malor shook his head slowly. "I am not sure, Princess.
But you have to be careful. I cannot help you for I am now
at the foot of Mount Asama."
"Is that where you live?"
"Yes, Princess. Even if I were close by, I'm afraid I am
not of much use to you."
Hikaru nodded slowly at this, her eyes directed at the
space between them. She certainly didn't want to endanger
this old man. She looked up at Malor. "Malor, how is it you
know about the Magic Knights?"
At this Malor smiled. "I was once a Magic Knight myself."
Hikaru smiled brightly, pleasantly surprised. "You were?
Wow!" For a while, the redhead was speechless. "How is it
you can do magic? Were you the Pillar?"
Malor laughed heartily. "No, young Princess. I was not
the Pillar. As for magic, well, there is magic here on Earth
too, you know. You become sensitive to it over time and then
learn to harness it. Nevertheless, my powers are nowhere
near yours, Princess. Or, for that matter, the other two
Knights."
Hikaru blushed at the compliment. She was about to make a
comment when she suddenly noticed Malor looking over her
head, his brows furrowed. "What is it Malor?"
"Princess," Malor said with some urgency. "You must wake
now!"
"Malor--"
"Now, Princess. Now!" Malor jumped to his feet and
without ceremony, grabbed Hikaru's arm and pulled her up as
well. Malor glared at the Princess who seemed to still be
dazed. "You and your friends are in--
--*danger*!" Hikaru bolted upright. For a second, she was
disoriented and wondered why it was dark. Then she
remembered she was in Fuu's room.
"Hikaru." Umi mumbled, very reluctantly opening her eyes.
The arm she had draped over Hikaru was so suddenly flung
aside that it woke her. Hikaru noticing that her blue-haired
friend was already awake began nudging her blonde friend
this time.
"Fuu!" Hikaru fought to keep her voice down without
removing the urgency. "Fuu, wake up!"
Umi, sensing the tension in her petite friend, began to
come to complete wakefulness. Fuu also woke and sat up,
rubbing the sleep from eyes. "What is it Miss Hikaru?"
"Get your gloves, quickly!" Hikaru said as she eased out
of the bed and walked on tiptoes. Her whole being alert and
attuned to her environment. She turned to look back at her
friends to make sure that they were getting their gloves. In
two seconds, both Umi and Fuu were on either side of their
leader, their gauntlets already over their left hands. They
were crouched down facing the door.
"What's going on?" Umi whispered without taking her eyes
off the door.
"There are men in the house." Hikaru whispered back.
"Oh no! My sister, Kuu!" Fuu was about to rise in an
attempt to head out the door towards her elder sister but
Hikaru's hand on her forearm stayed her.
"Just stay calm, Fuu," the redhead said firmly.
Fuu's eyes were wide as saucers. "But--"
"--I won't let anything happen to Kuu." Hikaru looked
hard into Fuu's green eyes, trying to project her confidence
to the Wind Knight. "Trust me."
Fuu blinked and began nodding her head vigorously,
anxious to trust her leader. Hikaru turned back to face the
door and took a deep breath. *Think, Shidou, think!*
* * * * *
There were in fact, ten men in the Hououji residence. All
of them wore completely black clothing. Each of them wore a
black ski hood over his head, with holes for the eyes and
mouth. Three of them, including the leader, were armed with
Glocks while the rest had katanas and tantos. In spite of
what they were wearing that night, none of them were ninjas.
However, each one of them was a martial artist in his own
right, able to wield both katana and tanto with deadly
skill.
After one of them defeated the lock on the front door,
they moved stealthily into the living room, fanning out into
strategic areas throughout the house. All the lights were of
course out not only because they were really switched off
for the night, but also because they had already cut out the
power leading to the house.
The leader, together with two others, already had their
guns out and cocked. Using his left hand, he gestured to the
other seven to break up and head in two different
directions. Because the mission had been hastily put
together, they had no idea as to the layout of the house.
Therefore, they had to play everything by ear. That was
okay, the leader thought, since they were all professionals.
Despite Tanaka's warning to not underestimate the three
fourteen-year-old girls they were supposed to kidnap, the
leader couldn't stop himself from being confident about the
mission.
Within a minute, the two groups returned to the leader
and silently communicated the fact that there were no
bedrooms in the ground floor. The leader nodded slowly at
this and then looked up. Using his left hand again, he
gestured to the rest of the team that they should head up
the stairs into the second floor. With him in the lead, they
moved cautiously up to the second floor. Upon reaching the
top, he gestured to the left and then again to the right.
Immediately, the group broke into two once more, one
searching the left side and the other the right. The leader
himself headed straight. He could already glimpse a bedroom
door up ahead.
* * * * *
"Kuu!"
Kuu stirred and waved a hand in front of her face as if
warding away an annoying insect.
"Kuu! Wake up!"
Kuu bolted upright, suddenly awake but not clearly
knowing why.
"Kuu! Can you hear me?"
Her eyes widened with fright. "W-who's there?" She
instinctively brought up the sheets up to her neck. "Hikaru?
Is that you?"
"Yes, it's me Hikaru--"
"Where are you? I don't see--"
"There's no time for that Kuu. There are men in the
house!"
"Men in the house?" Kuu's brows furrowed, unable to
comprehend the situation at all.
"Is your door locked?"
Kuu shook her head, still not realizing that the voice
she was hearing was in her head.
"Kuu. Is. Your. Door. Locked?"
The older girl looked around her, starting to realize
that there was no one in the room with her. *How is Hikaru
talking to me?*
"It's called telepathy. KUU! Answer my question!"
"No, I don't keep my door--"
"Then lock it! Do it quietly but quickly."
"Okay," Kuu whispered back. She slowly peeled off the
covers and planted her feet silently on the floor.
*Telepathy? Hikaru can do telepathy?* As she crept to her
door, several thoughts were churning around in her confused
mind. *What in Kami is going*--
Suddenly, to Kuu's absolute horror, the doorknob began to
twist. Like a deer caught in the headlights of an onrushing
car, she found herself rooted right where she was and could
only stare as the door slowly opened. The first thing she
saw was a small, dark, rectangular object followed by a
fist. When she realized it was the barrel of a gun, she
gasped.
The person holding the gun must have heard the sound
because the door was suddenly flung open. Before Kuu could
do anything, the person was upon her. As she opened her
mouth to scream, she felt a vise-like grip on her neck that
stifled whatever sound she would have made.
With wide, frightened eyes, she looked up at her
assailant. It was a man.
"Shhhhh," the man whispered and then leered. While
keeping his tight grip on her neck, he positioned himself
behind her. She then felt the cold barrel of the gun touch
the right side of her head. Finally, the man whispered hotly
into her ear. "Move."
* * * * *
The three Knights were poised to go outside and meet the
threat head on. All three had their armors on and their
swords out. Hikaru's sword, though, was on her left hand.
Both Umi and Fuu were surprised to note that Fire Knight's
armor was different from what they were used to. It was
so.matured.
"On my count," Hikaru projected her voice to the minds of
the two other Knights. "One.two.three! Flame arrow!" A huge
gout of fire exploded from the Fire Knight's outstretched
right hand and rushed towards the door. In less than a
second, there was an enormous hole where Fuu's bedroom door
used to be. There appeared to be men just outside the
entrance. These were thrown all the way back and down to the
living room, already unconscious before they even hit the
floor one story below.
The three Magic Knights rushed out of the bedroom through
the impromptu orifice only to be met with five men all clad
in black with equally black katanas drawn. Both sets of
combatants immediately engaged and a raging sword battled
ensued. Hikaru engaged two of the assailants; Fuu had two
while Umi took on one.
Fuu could not fully concentrate on her battle. So
desperate was she to locate her sister. In an effort to be
rid of them quickly, she attempted to parry two lethal
slices aimed at her with one block. One of them, however,
was too quick, changed direction and connected, cutting a
gash on the Wind Knight's left arm.
"Aaaaaah!" Fuu screamed in pain and distress.
"Fuu!" Umi cried her friend's name in the split second
she turned to see Fuu's plight. She turned back to her
opponent and narrowed her eyes. "You bastard!" She locked
swords with the man, holding both their swords above their
heads. Umi could see from the eyes of the assailant that he
was surprised by Umi's strength. Here he was, a full-grown
man easily weighing almost twice more, and he couldn't bring
his sword to bear. With a sweet smile, Umi brought her knee
up hard, hitting him on the groin. With a loud groan
followed by a shudder, the man's eyes went into his sockets
and keeled over.
Umi spun towards Fuu who was up against the wall,
desperately parrying and blocking the strikes of her two
attackers. She could see that the blonde girl was cut in two
more places. As she rushed forward to aid her friend, a blur
of red swept past her.
"Hiiiiyaaa!" Hikaru leapt high up in the air, surprising
Fuu's attackers. The two made the mistake of looking up.
This gave Fuu the opportunity to stab her sword in the right
arm of one of her attackers. As the man screamed and dropped
his sword, Fuu turned to see whether Hikaru had gotten the
other one. True enough, the other attacker was already
without his sword and down on his knee. A well-placed kick
by Hikaru on the chin threw the man over the railing,
crashing down on the living room to join his other
companions.
Fuu was about to smile at the Fire Knight when a shot
rang out. Fuu's head snapped towards the origin of the
sound. There, another black clad man held a gun aimed at
Hikaru. *Oh no!* She immediately realized two things: the
first was that Hikaru would not have enough time to dodge
the bullet, and second she was the closest to Hikaru.
With one more look at the projectile, Fuu dismissed her
sword, which immediately disappeared into the gem of her
gauntlet, and dove towards the Fire Knight in a race against
death. *Why is everything moving in slow motion!?* She saw
Hikaru whirl and her shocked expression as she realized that
a silver death was rushing towards her. In that split
second, Hikaru turned to face another object rushing towards
her in the form of her best friend.
It was Fuu who collided with Hikaru first, effectively
tackling the latter to the floor. The bullet whizzed past
the former, just a millimeter away from the nape of her
neck. Everything was still moving so slow. Fuu had time to
look past her to see the bullet continue on its
course.towards Umi! "Umi!"
Time had also slowed from Umi's perception and she had no
trouble seeing the bullet move towards her at what should be
indiscernible speed. She gracefully twisted to the side,
pushing her left shoulder back to allow the bullet to
harmlessly pass by. She was amazed at the fact that she
could track the movement of the bullet with her eyes. She
didn't bother to watch the bullet once it past her, knowing
that the only thing it will hit was the far wall behind her.
At that point, time seemed to restore itself. Just as she
heard the bullet that barely missed her ricochet off the
wall, Umi turned to face the shooter. Even though hooded,
she could clearly see the shocked expression on his face.
She knew that if she didn't act quickly, the shock would be
replaced with a determination to shoot again. She raised her
hand up and cried out her spell. "Sapphire whirlwind!" She
stretched her arm out, pointing her hand towards the
shooter. Immediately, a surge of wind and water sprang out
of her hand and began buffeting the man senseless and
eventually pushing him over the railing as well.
"Don't move!"
Umi spun to face the new threat only to be taken aback by
what she saw. There were two more gunmen. One held Kuu while
the other had his gun alternately aimed at Umi, and Fuu and
Hikaru who were on the floor. Kuu's eyes were bulging in
fear of her predicament and shock by what she just
witnessed.
"Well, well," said the man holding Kuu hostage. "That was
very impressive. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see
it with my own eyes." The man smiled and then all of a
sudden turned deadly serious. He turned to Umi. "Drop your
sword," the man said, and then cocked his head towards his
hostage. "Or she dies." Umi glanced at Fuu and Hikaru who
were slowly disentangling themselves but otherwise remained
on the floor.
"Do it, Umi," Hikaru said aloud. Umi lowered her sword
and then distinctly heard her leader's voice in her mind.
"You take the man holding Kuu. Fuu, protect your sister.
I'll take the other shooter. We attack on my count.
One.two.three!"
"Winds of protection!"
"Water dragon!"
"Flame arrow!"
Translucent power spiralled out from Fuu's hand towards
her sister, effectively encasing her in a dome that seemed
to be made out of swirling air. At that very moment, the man
holding Kuu was pushed away. This sufficiently surprised him
but out of reflex, was still able to fire his gun. The man
would never know what happened to the bullet aimed at his
hostage's head because a force of water crashed into him and
pushed him back, lifting him off the ground like he was
nothing more than paper, ultimately slamming him against the
wall.
His other gun-wielding companion fared worse. He, too,
had fired his gun. The bullet that had just escaped the
barrel was immediately engulfed by a wall of white-hot flame
that rushed to meet it, instantly disintegrating it. The man
attempted to dodge but it was too late.
Hikaru rushed to his side and dropped to one knee. He was
twitching from the pain. His body was blackened in several
areas from severe burns. The man seemed to be trying to say
something until, with one last heave, his chest rose, fell
and with no more than a gasp, he died. "Oh no," Hikaru
whispered silently. "What have I done?" Her eyes were still
locked at the dead man's wide open ones, frozen with shock.
For a second, both Fuu and Umi were rooted were they
stood until the latter nudged the former. "Fuu, take care of
your sister. I'll take care of Hikaru."
Fuu nodded mutely and walked towards her sister who had
long since fainted from the excitement. She checked her to
make sure that she was not injured. Apparently, her shield
protected her from the bullet that would have surely killed
her. She picked her up, cradling her sister's head in her
arms. Fuu looked up to see how Umi was doing. She knew that
Hikaru was devastated by what happened.
Umi had gathered Hikaru in her arms. Hikaru's eyes were
still wide open as she allowed herself to be embraced. With
one hand, Umi reached out and gently closed the eyes of the
man who would no longer harm another. Having accomplished
the grisly task, she brought her arm around her friend once
more to fully embrace her.
"Hikaru," Umi said gently. "It was either him or us. You
had no choice."
"I know Umi," Hikaru replied, as she wiped away the tears
in her eyes with her hand. Slowly she pulled back and looked
at Umi squarely. "I'm okay, really. It's just that you never
get used to taking someone's life." She turned to Fuu. "Hey
Fuu. Are you okay?"
"I'm okay, Miss Hikaru," Fuu said cheerily. "Nothing that
my 'Winds of healing' can't cure." She looked down her
sister. "I'm worried about Kuu though."
"She's not hurt is she?" Umi asked.
"Not that I can see, Miss Umi. Although I think she's in
shock. What do we tell her?" The last question was addressed
to Hikaru.
The Fire Knight gazed into Fuu's eyes. "We'll have to
tell her the truth."
"Is that wise?"
Hikaru nodded slowly. "Yes. Eventually, we will have to
tell everyone. Kuu, my brothers," she looked at Umi. "Your
parents."
Umi's eyes widened at that but then slowly nodded. "I
guess you're right. Their lives are all in danger now
because of us."
In the distance the wailing of police sirens could be
heard. The three perked and then looked at each other. "Oh
no, what do we tell them?" Umi asked referring to the
police.
Hikaru's brows furrowed in deep thought. She sighed. "I'm
not prepared to answer their questions." She looked at her
friends in turn. "Let's go to Cephiro." The two looked at
each other before turning back to their leader, slowly
nodding their agreement.
"What about--" Fuu began.
"We're taking her Fuu." With that, Hikaru stood and
stretched her hand in front of her. In a second a bright
light appeared, momentarily blinding them. When the light
subsided, a simmering oval portal appeared, its sides
crackling with energy. Hikaru turned around, walked towards
Fuu and promptly picked up Kuu in her arms.
"Miss Hikaru! I can carry her," insisted Fuu.
"You're wounded. I can carry her," the redhead said
simply. She turned once more and then headed straight into
the portal, disappearing into the vortex that would take
them to Cephiro. Umi followed shortly after. Fuu took one
more look around her home and sighed. She faced the portal
and stepped through it.
At that moment, the erstwhile leader of the failed
kidnapping opened his eyes. His eyes widened as he saw the
back of one of the girls he was supposed to kidnap disappear
through a doorway that seemed to be crackling with
electrical energy, and whose center was filled with an
iridescent liquid-like substance. Finally, the doorway
itself disappeared, collapsing into itself. His last
thought, just before entering oblivion again, was how he was
going to explain this to Tanaka.
* * * * *
Lam lowered the special "binoculars" he was using to
watch the battle. All four of them were equipped with them.
The device, which Lam smuggled into Earth, was able to "see"
through walls by instantaneously creating images in real-
time based on infrared and motion signatures.
"A very impressive display of fighting skill and power,"
Lam said stoically. He glanced at the person beside him who
apparently could not summon the will to show the same kind
of detachment. "Don't you think Rogo?"
For his part, Rogo was totally unsuccessful in hiding his
amazement. "Those three girls were magnificent!" He said
breathlessly, lowering his binoculars as well. The two
others with them were simply nodding. The display they had
just witness had rendered them speechless.
After a minute, the four saw a bright flash in the house.
Within another minute, it disappeared. Lam once again turned
to look at Rogo. "I suppose that was the wormhole you were
talking about." It was a statement. Rogo could only nod
mutely.
"It seems they are quite formidable. From my studies of
humans, I don't believe it's normal for them to possess the
kind of speed and power we saw just now. Being able to dodge
a projectile traveling that fast." Lam trailed off, the
meaning already clear to his companions. "And yet," he
continued. "I already know what their weakness is."
Rogo looked at Lam, frowning. "What weakness? I did not
see anything that we can effectively counter."
Lam was careful not to sound condescending to Rogo. He
needed his support. "They value the lives of their fellow
humans." Lam watched for Rogo's expression. He saw his
companion's eyes widen with realization. Finally, Rogo
smiled.
All four looked down as the police finally arrived.
"Well, we've seen everything that needs to be seen." With
that, the four moved stealthily away from the edge of the
roof and disappeared into the night.
* * * * *
Lantis was atop his magical black steed trotting towards
a village called Thespa located south of the palace as part
of his scheduled rounds. He slowed down when he discerned a
soft but steady beeping. He reined in his black steed and
reached behind him to retrieve his magic sword. True enough,
the gem on the sword's hilt was blinking steadily. Lantis
looked up towards the castle and smiled. He felt butterflies
in his stomach as he realized the significance of the
blinking gem. The Pillar has returned.
Turning his steed around, he galloped towards the palace.
* * * * *
The gem on Clef's magic staff began blinking as well.
Although not as exuberant as Lantis', Clef smiled
nevertheless in anticipation of seeing the Pillar once
again. He turned towards his companion.
"What is it Master Mage?" Presea, the Master Smith of
Cephiro, asked, noting the mage's expression.
"The Pillar has returned."
"Really?" Obvious pleasure registered on the armorer's
face.
"Come," the mage said. "Let us meet them."
--------------------
NEXT:
Chapter 6 - Return to Cephiro
--------------------
DISCLAIMER:
Magic Knight Rayearth and all the characters in that
anime/manga are properties of CLAMP. These are used here
without permission.
By DarkHorse
Chapter 5: An Assault on the Pillar
*Yoyogi Park, Tokyo, Japan*
Umi and Fuu were standing behind Hikaru in the middle of
Yoyogi Park. Neither of them knew why. All they knew was
that Hikaru had decided to transport them here. When they
stepped out of the portal, they were shocked to find several
people lying on the ground motionless. Didn't the government
tell these people to not go out? They immediately rushed to
the nearest of them to determine whether they were still
alive. Each Knight breathed a sigh of relief when they found
them to be merely unconscious. There were almost a hundred
of them, all over the park. People who had decided to go out
and picnic, ignoring the broadcasts that told them to stay
in their homes. The sounds of ambulances in the distance
told them that it was probably the same story all over Tokyo
and who knows where else.
"What are we doing here, Hikaru?" Umi asked, still
stunned by the sight of all the prostrate people.
"I don't know," Hikaru replied, looking down, thinking.
"I somehow willed us to come here." She raised her head and
looked at Umi and Fuu in turn. "I didn't will myself to go
to Yoyogi Park, just 'here'." She turned to look at her
surroundings. "Somehow I think this is where they landed."
"If that were true, Miss Hikaru," Fuu said, stepping
closer to Hikaru. "Then shouldn't there be some sort of
evidence of a landing? I would imagine that when objects
enter our atmosphere like that, they would be extremely hot.
In which case, there should be massive scorching in this
area."
"I can't explain it, Fuu, but I know deep down, that this
is where they landed."
Fuu knew better than to doubt the First Knight. She
looked up towards the general direction that the alien
objects entered into Earth. "If these are truly enemies,
then they are formidable indeed."
"How can they not be enemies, Fuu," Umi protested,
walking up to the blonde. "They have brought death and
injury with them!"
"That is true, Miss Umi," Fuu insisted. "But it could
have been unintentional." Umi frowned at her fellow Knight.
Intentional or not, to Umi it was extremely rude to enter a
planet in this way.
"We need to go back to Cephiro."
Both Umi and Fuu whirled to look at the Fire Knight.
"Now?" It was Umi who asked, a mask of incredulity on her
face.
"No," said Hikaru, finally turning to face her
companions. "Tomorrow. Fuu, I need for you to find out
exactly what happened here today." Fuu nodded. Hikaru
focused on Fuu. "Also, is it alright if both Umi and I stay
at your place tonight?" Umi's eyes widened as she heard
this.
Fuu, on the other hand, smiled brightly. "I would be
delighted and honored for you both to stay at my place
tonight!"
Before Umi could voice out her question, Hikaru turned to
face her. "I have a feeling that man who visited me last
night, will visit me again. Tonight."
"In that case, why don't we stay at your place?" Umi
queried. "After all, that's where he appeared to you."
"He'll appear wherever I am," declare Hikaru confidently.
She took one more gaze around the park. There was nothing
she could do for the people lying seemingly peaceful on the
ground. She could, instead, make sure that this does not
happen again. With that, she turned and led the others from
the park.
* * * * *
"Are you trying to tell me that after traveling billions
of miles to get here, after killing off some of our best
pilots, they simply exploded over Tokyo?" the President of
the United States fumed.
"Is there any possibility, General, that these objects
offloaded something before exploding?" it was the Chief of
Staff asking this time.
"There is no evidence that they did. There are no
witnesses at all," General Masterson lamented. "However, it
is highly illogical for these objects to come here only to
vanish. It is for this reason, a thorough investigation
should be mounted." The General glanced meaningfully at the
Director of Central Intelligence.
The President, having seen the eye contact between the
General and the DCI, decided to speak up. "Can we do this,
Tim? Do we even have assets in Japan?"
The DCI turned towards the President. "Mr. President, we
only have one agent who is of Japanese descent that we can
set up in Japan. With all due respect," the DCI paused,
obviously trying to find the right words. "I believe that
the Japanese government will cooperate with us fully in
getting to the bottom of this."
The President considered this thoughtfully, his unseeing
eyes centered on the stack of paper in front of him on the
conference table. Finally, he looked up, shaking his head.
"Those alien spaceships just outside of our solar system
worry me, gentlemen. I do not think they mean to just sit
there. I want more information about them." He said
forcefully, looking at the two astrophysicists that were
still present in the room. "Finally, I need to talk to the
Japanese Prime Minister again to make sure that they allow
us to help them in the investigation. Are we clear on this?"
He looked at every face around the table. Satisfied that he
got everyone's assent, he stood. "Let's get to work then."
* * * * *
Rogo and Lam arrived at a busy warehouse filled with
boxes upon boxes of electronic appliances that Japan was
known all over the world for. They were led to the back
portion of the warehouse where they waited. This meeting was
surprisingly Lam's idea.
As soon as Rogo sped them away from the park where they
landed, Lam insisted they be briefed on all information
gathered by Rogo's team thus far, as well as necessary
information that would allow them to adapt to the local
culture. This, of course, included the language and customs
of the Japanese. Because a Ramarian could easily plug
himself into a computer terminal and merely download the
information directly into his cerebrum, this task was
completed within an hour.
Immediately thereafter, Lam took Rogo alone in a room and
engaged him in a discussion on how best to capture the
girls. And here again, Lam surprised Rogo.
"In your report to Higon," Lam began, speaking in
Japanese, almost idly. "You mentioned that every major
country in this planet has a criminal network." Rogo nodded
cautiously. He was still unsure as to where Lam was taking
the conversation. "You said that a criminal network also
exists here in Japan, called the Yakuza. Am I correct?"
Lam's eyes bore into Rogo's, his face inscrutable.
"That is correct," Rogo replied, also in Japanese. "What
of it?"
"Well, from what I've read of your report, these girls we
are supposed to capture possess energy at uncharted levels.
If this were true, then I would rather see with my eyes
first exactly what these girls are capable of before
committing my men to engaging them directly. My men will
disagree, of course. But these are some of the very best we
have. I'm not about to gamble their lives and skills so
carelessly."
It was difficult for Rogo to hide his pleasant surprise
at his counterpart's insight and.maturity. Finally, unable
to hide his astonishment, he shook his head, smiling. "You
surprise me, Lam."
Lam gave a half-smile back to Rogo. "You think I don't
know what you and many others think of me." It was a
statement. "Who do you think selected me for this mission?"
Rogo's eyes narrowed. All this time, he and his team
assumed it was his father. "Are you trying to tell me Higon
selected you?"
Lam leaned back, crossed his arms on his chest and smiled
smugly. "A lot has changed since you left us, my friend."
Lam looked away, his face, a mask of deep contemplation. "I
grew tired of the constant war games. Restless from being
cooped up in battle ship, no matter its size." Lam turned to
eye Rogo. "I decided to spend a considerable amount of time
with our old friend, Higon." Lam suddenly slapped his thigh
and laughed. "You know what's funny, Rogo? I was already
good at war games but after learning from Higon, I became
even better, virtually unbeatable!"
Rogo had to laugh with him. "Well, using your head,
instead of just your muscles, can be pretty useful in
battle." He decided that he liked this new Lam.
Lam turned serious again all of a sudden. He leaned
forward, resting his forearms on the table between them.
"Our race is dying. Unless we do something about it, we will
disappear. Already the ships we have in our fleet are
breaking down. Do you know that we hardly go into hyperspace
anymore?"
Rogo could only shake his head. Enraptured was he by
Lam's passion.
"If those girls are truly able to create a wormhole, it
will save us almost 50 years of travel time. A wormhole
could bring our entire fleet just outside of this planet in
a second, and we can beat these puny humans into submission
easily."
"You don't have to convince me, Lam," Rogo said, leaning
forward as well. "That's why I reported them in the first
place. What do you want me to do?"
"Let's talk to the Yakuza."
Rogo made the necessary calls and was able to arrange the
meeting. He also made arrangements for the three girls to be
watched by Grat and Crata. For the meeting with the Yakuza,
Lam decided to bring one of his lieutenants while he brought
Dasma.
Rogo was now looking at the face of the warrior Lam
decided to bring along. He was relatively young and yet his
face was devoid of nervousness or even the eagerness that
characteristically marked a young Ramarian warrior's face.
Rogo wondered if it was just the synthetic dermis that they
had to put over their real skin to blend with the humans.
But then he looked at Dasma. Her face was the exact
opposite. Now there was a typical warrior. He said time and
time again that her anxiousness for battle would be her
undoing.
The sound of footsteps interrupted Rogo's thoughts,
causing him to turn. Approaching them were four Japanese men
wearing expensive business suits. They seemed a bit burly to
be merely businessmen. The four stopped in front of Rogo.
"Good evening," the lead Japanese said, bowing his head
ever so slightly. It was of course a breach of etiquette to
not perform a complete bow but then Rogo was a gaijin, and
these were criminals, after all. "You may call me Tanaka.
How can we be of service?" The man got right to the point
quickly.
In response, Rogo reached inside of his jacket and
retrieved a fairly large brown envelope, which he gave to
the man in front of him. The man received the envelope and
took out three enlarged photographs, a sheet of paper and
another, smaller, envelope obviously containing cash. This
last item, he merely passed to the one on his right. The
photos he examined. Rogo saw his eyebrows rise slightly.
"These are mere girls."
"Yes. The instructions are on the sheet of paper. The
remainder of your fee will be paid after we have custody of
the girls."
The right side of Tanaka's mouth curled upwards. "These
girls are extremely pretty. But," he said, glancing at the
man on his right before looking back at Rogo. "We already
have girls like these who are as pretty, and some even
younger. At a lower price." Tanaka winked.
The thought of sexually violating three human females did
not even occur in the Ramarian's mind. It was for this
reason the meaning of Tanaka's wink did not register. "We do
not want your girls. The one's in the photos are the ones we
want."
Lam smoothly stepped forward. "These girls are, shall we
say, very special," Lam said in very literate Japanese.
Tanaka looked back blankly at the newcomer and then
smiled. "Very well. May I just say that you gentlemen have
excellent tastes." He passed the photos and the sheet of
paper to the man on the left. "It will all be taken care
of."
"Tonight," Rogo said.
"Tonight?" Tanaka clearly did not expect this.
"Yes. We already have their location." Rogo told them the
address.
"Indeed." The Japanese nodded contemplatively. He then
turned to the man on his right and whispered on his ear.
This one began nodding in earnest and then walked briskly
away. Finally, he faced them. "Very well. It will be as you
wish. We will be able to deliver the girls tonight. Please
wait for our call."
"Thank you, Mr. Tanaka." Rogo said, duplicating the
slight bow he received from the Yakuza earlier. Without
another word, their four hosts turned and left. Rogo glanced
at Lam.
"Well done, Rogo," Lam smiled and slapped Rogo's shoulder
good-naturedly.
Rogo smiled inwardly and then caught himself. *I'm
behaving like a schoolboy receiving commendation from a
teacher.* "I guess it's our turn to go." With that, Lam and
Rogo, together with their two lieutenants walked to their
van.
Upon entering the van on the driver's side, Rogo took out
his cell phone and punched a number.
"Grat here."
"We're on our way there." Rogo said and promptly hung up.
"The girls are all in one house?" Lam asked. Rogo nodded,
smiling as he started the engine. "Well, if I was an
earthling, I'd say this was Luck smiling down on us."
"Earthlings believe in the silliest things," was Rogo's
amused reply as he drove the van to rendezvous with his
surveillance team.
* * * * *
Fuu was already busy on her computer when the doorbell
rang. She heard her elder sister, Kuu get the door. In a
minute she heard two sets of heavy footsteps running towards
her room. Fuu took one glance at her monitor before standing
and walking to her door. She opened it just as Hikaru was
about to knock.
"Hey Fuu!" Hikaru rushed forward and embraced Fuu. Even
though Fuu wasn't normally demonstrative, she welcomed the
hug from her petite friend.
"Fuu!" Umi said enthusiastically before joining in the
group hug.
"Miss Hikaru! Miss Umi!" Fuu eagerly hugged her best
friends back. She felt her heart swell. She truly cherished
any time they spend together.
"So, find anything useful?" Hikaru asked as they
disengaged.
"I found something," Fuu replied walking back to the
computer on her desk. "I don't know if it's useful." She
gestured to her bed. "Make yourselves comfortable and I'll
tell you what I've found."
Like the schoolgirls they really were, past adventures
notwithstanding, they bounded to the bed, dropping their
bags in the process. Umi and Hikaru were wearing denim
shorts and white sneakers. The former had a blue top tucked
into her shorts while the latter had a white halter-top that
only barely hid her navel. Fuu, on the other hand, was
already in her pajamas.
"I'm simply amazed at how neat your room is Fuu!" Umi
enthused, looking around Fuu's room. "And I didn't realize
green could be a good color for a room."
Fuu grinned at her azure-haired friend. "Well, your room
has a blue motif. It's only fitting that mine has a green
motif."
Hikaru smiled at her friends. She flopped on the soft
bed, on her stomach, facing forward. "So tell me Fuu,
whatcha got?"
"Oh c'mon, Hikaru," wailed Umi. "Can't we just relax for
a while and stop being Magic Knights for once?"
"Well, what do you want to talk about, Miss Umi?" Fuu
grinned, turning her swivel chair away from her computer to
face her friends.
"Oh I don't know," Umi said coyly. "How about boys?"
Hikaru rolled her eyes and turned on her back. Umi caught
her expression and threw a pillow at her redheaded friend.
"What's so wrong about talking about boys?"
"Nothing," Hikaru said, her voice full of mirth. "Except
that you talk about boys all the time!"
"I do not!" Umi cried indignantly. "Just because both you
and Fuu already have boyfriends." Umi turned to look at Fuu
just as she said the word "boyfriends". As expected, Fuu's
face was turning pink, causing Umi to grin. She turned to
Hikaru who was covering her face with the pillow she threw
at her. Umi reached out to Hikaru and yanked the pillow from
the latter's grasp.
"Hey!" Hikaru bellowed, giving Umi a mock glare.
Umi was grinning defiantly at the Fire Knight. "Have
there been any guys trying to pick you up lately?"
"Oh you mean besides that totally gorgeous Mr. Simmons?"
Hikaru teased.
"Oh puleeease! He's not my type at all," the Water Knight
huffed causing both Hikaru and Fuu to chuckle. "Seriously,
though, nothing?" Umi pleaded for Hikaru to reveal
something, anything.
Hikaru flopped back on the bed. "Well, there's this guy."
"Alright!"
Even the usually reserved Fuu leaned forward, eagerly
waiting for Hikaru to provide more details. Hikaru paused to
look at the eager faces of her friends and then giggled.
"Oh you guys, you should see your faces!"
Umi's response was to throw another pillow at Hikaru,
which the latter easily caught. "Hikaru!" Umi cried,
threatening to throw another pillow at her.
"Okay! Okay!" Hikaru giggled, her hands blocking her face
preparing to block another pillow throw by Umi. "It's really
no big deal. He goes to school at a nearby all-boy's
school."
"So how did you meet him, Miss Hikaru?"
Hikaru's face fell and her shoulders slumped. She
expected a discussion about many things tonight, but not
this! One look at her friends' faces told her that she was
not going to escape at all. "I had a feeling he was watching
me for quite some time now. Then one day," Hikaru explained,
shrugging her shoulders, "He just came up to me and asked
for my name, although I think he already knew it."
"And.?" Umi was totally engrossed.
Hikaru shot her a look of disdain but continued. "And
then he asked me out."
Fuu was nodding vigorously, urging her to continue.
"And.and I said I was busy," Hikaru shrugged yet again,
helplessly, a sheepish smile on her face.
"Aarrrgh!" Umi hollered in frustration.
"What was I supposed to do? It's not like I have time for
boys, you know?" Hikaru insisted.
"Was the boy handsome?" Fuu persisted.
"Well, he was tall." Hikaru said tentatively.
"Hikaru, everyone's taller than you," Umi said, rolling
her eyes and sinking back against the soft headboard of
Fuu's bed. Hikaru shot her a withering look this time.
"Hey c'mon guys. Let's just talk about what happened
today," pleaded Hikaru impatiently.
"Oh alright!" Umi conceded.
With a sigh, Fuu turned to face her desk again to collect
the reports she printed off the Internet. She turned once
again and passed the reports to her friends. "These are all
the information I was able to gather. Apparently, not much
is known. The extremely bright light and the very loud
thunderous sound rendered unconscious anyone who would've
been a witness to the event."
"That figures," Umi noticed. Hikaru, on the other hand,
was busy reading the reports Fuu handed to her. After a
while, she looked up and stared blankly at Fuu.
"What is it, Miss Hikaru?"
"They couldn't have just exploded," Hikaru stated after
a few more moments of thought. "I'm sure they left something
behind."
"I do not doubt that, Miss Hikaru," Fuu said, nodding in
agreement. "Except that there are no witnesses nor evidence
to support that."
* * * * *
"Well, it's not like we're a court of law," the voice of
the tallest one insisted. "All we need to do is just look at
the logic of the situation."
Both Grat and Crata had been listening to the endless
chatter of the girls in the room across the street for over
an hour. They were using a special hi-powered microphone
mounted on the edge of the roof facing the house to
eavesdrop on the unsuspecting teenagers. Both looked up when
they heard footsteps coming towards them. It did not alarm
them in the least for they recognized the sound signature of
the footfalls. After a few seconds, both Grat and Crata saw
Lam and Rogo as they crested the apex of the roof.
"There're still all in there?" Lam asked as he reached
the two members from Rogo's team.
Grat merely nodded in response. He had not gotten the
opportunity to know Lam and therefore was still wary of him.
For his part, Lam did not seem to notice anything but just
peered over the roof at the window to the room that held the
three targets.
"I'm curious as to how the Yakuza is going to manage
this." Lam said out loud to no one in particular.
"Me too," this was from Rogo.
"Well, I guess we'll have to just wait and see."
"How long before they try anything?" It was Crata who
asked.
"No telling," Grat opined. "I'd wait till the girls were
actually asleep before I try anything."
Nobody had a rejoinder to that. As one, they settled down
and decided to listen to the ongoing conversation across the
street.
* * * * *
Tanaka was nothing if not careful. In the privacy of his
office, he was examining the photographs of the three girls
he was supposed to abduct. The guy that was with this "Roger
Simmons" character did say these girls were "special." He
decided to do a background check.
It turned out the girls were all from well-to-do
families, especially the Ryuuzaki girl. Could this be a
kidnap-for-ransom thing? It didn't fit. This Roger Simmons
seemed not to want for money. He could tell. He prided
himself in being able to identify the really rich types. And
this guy seems to have access to a substantial amount
already. So therefore, this couldn't be about money.
Could it be about sex? Tanaka shook his head. No, because
again, the Simmons guy was totally clueless. Besides, why go
to the trouble of kidnapping girls, when nubile and pretty
girls for hire were readily available. Although, these girls
do seem to be extraordinarily well endowed. Nah, it's not
for sex at all either.
Then what? With a grunt, Tanaka set down the pictures and
picked up once more the three sheets of paper that contained
background information about the girls. Each of them seems
to be skilled in one form of martial arts. The Shidou girl
is a Kendo champion; Ryuuzaki just won a fencing
championship for herself and her school; and finally,
Hououji is a member of her school's distinguished archery
team. He should remember to caution his men about these
girls. He had gotten to where he is now by making sure to
never underestimate anyone, outward appearances
notwithstanding.
Tanaka picked up the phone. "It's me. Assemble the men."
* * * * *
Hikaru fought to stay awake. On either side of her lay
Umi and Fuu. Umi's arm was draped over Hikaru. She looked at
her Water Knight with affection. Umi was the demonstrative
one, always quick to provide comfort through her touch. She
turned to look at Fuu. Although in very close proximity to
her, she kept to herself. Both of them were sleeping
peacefully. Hikaru longed to be in that state also. But she
couldn't. She had to wait for the cloaked stranger who
appeared to her the other night.
Hikaru raised her head a bit and strained to see the
digital face of Fuu's clock on the desk. It read 1:45am. She
allowed her head to drop back down and yawned mightily.
Maybe if she just closed her eyes for a while--
--with a start Hikaru sat up and flung open her eyes again
only to be greeted by the bright blueness of the sky. She
had to quickly avert her gaze and blocked the brightness
with an arm. After blinking a few times, Hikaru lowered her
arm and looked around her.
She was in Cephiro again! Turning her head from side to
side, she examined the meadow she was sitting down on. It
was the same meadow, or at least it looked like it. Finally,
Hikaru realized that she was dreaming again. Slowly, she
stood. Just like in the previous dream, she was in her
flannel nightgown and she was barefooted.
*Now where was that village?* Hikaru turned towards the
direction where she thought the village was. Suddenly, she
heard a rustle behind her. Whirling around, she
instinctively adopted a defense stance only to be surprised
by what she saw just a few meters in front of her. It was
the cloaked stranger!
The stranger pulled back his hood to reveal the face of a
wizened old man. He was smiling gently at her. Slowly, he
dropped to one knee and bowed his head. "Princess."
"Please." Hikaru said tentatively, causing the man to
look up at her. Slowly, with much effort, the man pulled
himself up using his gnarled staff and faced her. "W-who are
you?"
"My name is Malor. I know you have many questions,
Princess. I will endeavor to answer all your questions. But
first, please know that even now as we speak you are in
danger."
"What kind of danger?" Hikaru asked, suddenly tensing.
"There are beings who have access to awesome
technological powers," Malor answered, his mien taking on a
deathly seriousness. "They are here on Earth with the
intention of abducting the Magic Knights."
"What!?"
"Yes, Princess," Malor said, nodding slowly, confirming
her worst nightmare.
"But why?" Hikaru's fist were clenched at her side.
Malor shook his head slowly. "I am not sure, Princess.
But you have to be careful. I cannot help you for I am now
at the foot of Mount Asama."
"Is that where you live?"
"Yes, Princess. Even if I were close by, I'm afraid I am
not of much use to you."
Hikaru nodded slowly at this, her eyes directed at the
space between them. She certainly didn't want to endanger
this old man. She looked up at Malor. "Malor, how is it you
know about the Magic Knights?"
At this Malor smiled. "I was once a Magic Knight myself."
Hikaru smiled brightly, pleasantly surprised. "You were?
Wow!" For a while, the redhead was speechless. "How is it
you can do magic? Were you the Pillar?"
Malor laughed heartily. "No, young Princess. I was not
the Pillar. As for magic, well, there is magic here on Earth
too, you know. You become sensitive to it over time and then
learn to harness it. Nevertheless, my powers are nowhere
near yours, Princess. Or, for that matter, the other two
Knights."
Hikaru blushed at the compliment. She was about to make a
comment when she suddenly noticed Malor looking over her
head, his brows furrowed. "What is it Malor?"
"Princess," Malor said with some urgency. "You must wake
now!"
"Malor--"
"Now, Princess. Now!" Malor jumped to his feet and
without ceremony, grabbed Hikaru's arm and pulled her up as
well. Malor glared at the Princess who seemed to still be
dazed. "You and your friends are in--
--*danger*!" Hikaru bolted upright. For a second, she was
disoriented and wondered why it was dark. Then she
remembered she was in Fuu's room.
"Hikaru." Umi mumbled, very reluctantly opening her eyes.
The arm she had draped over Hikaru was so suddenly flung
aside that it woke her. Hikaru noticing that her blue-haired
friend was already awake began nudging her blonde friend
this time.
"Fuu!" Hikaru fought to keep her voice down without
removing the urgency. "Fuu, wake up!"
Umi, sensing the tension in her petite friend, began to
come to complete wakefulness. Fuu also woke and sat up,
rubbing the sleep from eyes. "What is it Miss Hikaru?"
"Get your gloves, quickly!" Hikaru said as she eased out
of the bed and walked on tiptoes. Her whole being alert and
attuned to her environment. She turned to look back at her
friends to make sure that they were getting their gloves. In
two seconds, both Umi and Fuu were on either side of their
leader, their gauntlets already over their left hands. They
were crouched down facing the door.
"What's going on?" Umi whispered without taking her eyes
off the door.
"There are men in the house." Hikaru whispered back.
"Oh no! My sister, Kuu!" Fuu was about to rise in an
attempt to head out the door towards her elder sister but
Hikaru's hand on her forearm stayed her.
"Just stay calm, Fuu," the redhead said firmly.
Fuu's eyes were wide as saucers. "But--"
"--I won't let anything happen to Kuu." Hikaru looked
hard into Fuu's green eyes, trying to project her confidence
to the Wind Knight. "Trust me."
Fuu blinked and began nodding her head vigorously,
anxious to trust her leader. Hikaru turned back to face the
door and took a deep breath. *Think, Shidou, think!*
* * * * *
There were in fact, ten men in the Hououji residence. All
of them wore completely black clothing. Each of them wore a
black ski hood over his head, with holes for the eyes and
mouth. Three of them, including the leader, were armed with
Glocks while the rest had katanas and tantos. In spite of
what they were wearing that night, none of them were ninjas.
However, each one of them was a martial artist in his own
right, able to wield both katana and tanto with deadly
skill.
After one of them defeated the lock on the front door,
they moved stealthily into the living room, fanning out into
strategic areas throughout the house. All the lights were of
course out not only because they were really switched off
for the night, but also because they had already cut out the
power leading to the house.
The leader, together with two others, already had their
guns out and cocked. Using his left hand, he gestured to the
other seven to break up and head in two different
directions. Because the mission had been hastily put
together, they had no idea as to the layout of the house.
Therefore, they had to play everything by ear. That was
okay, the leader thought, since they were all professionals.
Despite Tanaka's warning to not underestimate the three
fourteen-year-old girls they were supposed to kidnap, the
leader couldn't stop himself from being confident about the
mission.
Within a minute, the two groups returned to the leader
and silently communicated the fact that there were no
bedrooms in the ground floor. The leader nodded slowly at
this and then looked up. Using his left hand again, he
gestured to the rest of the team that they should head up
the stairs into the second floor. With him in the lead, they
moved cautiously up to the second floor. Upon reaching the
top, he gestured to the left and then again to the right.
Immediately, the group broke into two once more, one
searching the left side and the other the right. The leader
himself headed straight. He could already glimpse a bedroom
door up ahead.
* * * * *
"Kuu!"
Kuu stirred and waved a hand in front of her face as if
warding away an annoying insect.
"Kuu! Wake up!"
Kuu bolted upright, suddenly awake but not clearly
knowing why.
"Kuu! Can you hear me?"
Her eyes widened with fright. "W-who's there?" She
instinctively brought up the sheets up to her neck. "Hikaru?
Is that you?"
"Yes, it's me Hikaru--"
"Where are you? I don't see--"
"There's no time for that Kuu. There are men in the
house!"
"Men in the house?" Kuu's brows furrowed, unable to
comprehend the situation at all.
"Is your door locked?"
Kuu shook her head, still not realizing that the voice
she was hearing was in her head.
"Kuu. Is. Your. Door. Locked?"
The older girl looked around her, starting to realize
that there was no one in the room with her. *How is Hikaru
talking to me?*
"It's called telepathy. KUU! Answer my question!"
"No, I don't keep my door--"
"Then lock it! Do it quietly but quickly."
"Okay," Kuu whispered back. She slowly peeled off the
covers and planted her feet silently on the floor.
*Telepathy? Hikaru can do telepathy?* As she crept to her
door, several thoughts were churning around in her confused
mind. *What in Kami is going*--
Suddenly, to Kuu's absolute horror, the doorknob began to
twist. Like a deer caught in the headlights of an onrushing
car, she found herself rooted right where she was and could
only stare as the door slowly opened. The first thing she
saw was a small, dark, rectangular object followed by a
fist. When she realized it was the barrel of a gun, she
gasped.
The person holding the gun must have heard the sound
because the door was suddenly flung open. Before Kuu could
do anything, the person was upon her. As she opened her
mouth to scream, she felt a vise-like grip on her neck that
stifled whatever sound she would have made.
With wide, frightened eyes, she looked up at her
assailant. It was a man.
"Shhhhh," the man whispered and then leered. While
keeping his tight grip on her neck, he positioned himself
behind her. She then felt the cold barrel of the gun touch
the right side of her head. Finally, the man whispered hotly
into her ear. "Move."
* * * * *
The three Knights were poised to go outside and meet the
threat head on. All three had their armors on and their
swords out. Hikaru's sword, though, was on her left hand.
Both Umi and Fuu were surprised to note that Fire Knight's
armor was different from what they were used to. It was
so.matured.
"On my count," Hikaru projected her voice to the minds of
the two other Knights. "One.two.three! Flame arrow!" A huge
gout of fire exploded from the Fire Knight's outstretched
right hand and rushed towards the door. In less than a
second, there was an enormous hole where Fuu's bedroom door
used to be. There appeared to be men just outside the
entrance. These were thrown all the way back and down to the
living room, already unconscious before they even hit the
floor one story below.
The three Magic Knights rushed out of the bedroom through
the impromptu orifice only to be met with five men all clad
in black with equally black katanas drawn. Both sets of
combatants immediately engaged and a raging sword battled
ensued. Hikaru engaged two of the assailants; Fuu had two
while Umi took on one.
Fuu could not fully concentrate on her battle. So
desperate was she to locate her sister. In an effort to be
rid of them quickly, she attempted to parry two lethal
slices aimed at her with one block. One of them, however,
was too quick, changed direction and connected, cutting a
gash on the Wind Knight's left arm.
"Aaaaaah!" Fuu screamed in pain and distress.
"Fuu!" Umi cried her friend's name in the split second
she turned to see Fuu's plight. She turned back to her
opponent and narrowed her eyes. "You bastard!" She locked
swords with the man, holding both their swords above their
heads. Umi could see from the eyes of the assailant that he
was surprised by Umi's strength. Here he was, a full-grown
man easily weighing almost twice more, and he couldn't bring
his sword to bear. With a sweet smile, Umi brought her knee
up hard, hitting him on the groin. With a loud groan
followed by a shudder, the man's eyes went into his sockets
and keeled over.
Umi spun towards Fuu who was up against the wall,
desperately parrying and blocking the strikes of her two
attackers. She could see that the blonde girl was cut in two
more places. As she rushed forward to aid her friend, a blur
of red swept past her.
"Hiiiiyaaa!" Hikaru leapt high up in the air, surprising
Fuu's attackers. The two made the mistake of looking up.
This gave Fuu the opportunity to stab her sword in the right
arm of one of her attackers. As the man screamed and dropped
his sword, Fuu turned to see whether Hikaru had gotten the
other one. True enough, the other attacker was already
without his sword and down on his knee. A well-placed kick
by Hikaru on the chin threw the man over the railing,
crashing down on the living room to join his other
companions.
Fuu was about to smile at the Fire Knight when a shot
rang out. Fuu's head snapped towards the origin of the
sound. There, another black clad man held a gun aimed at
Hikaru. *Oh no!* She immediately realized two things: the
first was that Hikaru would not have enough time to dodge
the bullet, and second she was the closest to Hikaru.
With one more look at the projectile, Fuu dismissed her
sword, which immediately disappeared into the gem of her
gauntlet, and dove towards the Fire Knight in a race against
death. *Why is everything moving in slow motion!?* She saw
Hikaru whirl and her shocked expression as she realized that
a silver death was rushing towards her. In that split
second, Hikaru turned to face another object rushing towards
her in the form of her best friend.
It was Fuu who collided with Hikaru first, effectively
tackling the latter to the floor. The bullet whizzed past
the former, just a millimeter away from the nape of her
neck. Everything was still moving so slow. Fuu had time to
look past her to see the bullet continue on its
course.towards Umi! "Umi!"
Time had also slowed from Umi's perception and she had no
trouble seeing the bullet move towards her at what should be
indiscernible speed. She gracefully twisted to the side,
pushing her left shoulder back to allow the bullet to
harmlessly pass by. She was amazed at the fact that she
could track the movement of the bullet with her eyes. She
didn't bother to watch the bullet once it past her, knowing
that the only thing it will hit was the far wall behind her.
At that point, time seemed to restore itself. Just as she
heard the bullet that barely missed her ricochet off the
wall, Umi turned to face the shooter. Even though hooded,
she could clearly see the shocked expression on his face.
She knew that if she didn't act quickly, the shock would be
replaced with a determination to shoot again. She raised her
hand up and cried out her spell. "Sapphire whirlwind!" She
stretched her arm out, pointing her hand towards the
shooter. Immediately, a surge of wind and water sprang out
of her hand and began buffeting the man senseless and
eventually pushing him over the railing as well.
"Don't move!"
Umi spun to face the new threat only to be taken aback by
what she saw. There were two more gunmen. One held Kuu while
the other had his gun alternately aimed at Umi, and Fuu and
Hikaru who were on the floor. Kuu's eyes were bulging in
fear of her predicament and shock by what she just
witnessed.
"Well, well," said the man holding Kuu hostage. "That was
very impressive. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see
it with my own eyes." The man smiled and then all of a
sudden turned deadly serious. He turned to Umi. "Drop your
sword," the man said, and then cocked his head towards his
hostage. "Or she dies." Umi glanced at Fuu and Hikaru who
were slowly disentangling themselves but otherwise remained
on the floor.
"Do it, Umi," Hikaru said aloud. Umi lowered her sword
and then distinctly heard her leader's voice in her mind.
"You take the man holding Kuu. Fuu, protect your sister.
I'll take the other shooter. We attack on my count.
One.two.three!"
"Winds of protection!"
"Water dragon!"
"Flame arrow!"
Translucent power spiralled out from Fuu's hand towards
her sister, effectively encasing her in a dome that seemed
to be made out of swirling air. At that very moment, the man
holding Kuu was pushed away. This sufficiently surprised him
but out of reflex, was still able to fire his gun. The man
would never know what happened to the bullet aimed at his
hostage's head because a force of water crashed into him and
pushed him back, lifting him off the ground like he was
nothing more than paper, ultimately slamming him against the
wall.
His other gun-wielding companion fared worse. He, too,
had fired his gun. The bullet that had just escaped the
barrel was immediately engulfed by a wall of white-hot flame
that rushed to meet it, instantly disintegrating it. The man
attempted to dodge but it was too late.
Hikaru rushed to his side and dropped to one knee. He was
twitching from the pain. His body was blackened in several
areas from severe burns. The man seemed to be trying to say
something until, with one last heave, his chest rose, fell
and with no more than a gasp, he died. "Oh no," Hikaru
whispered silently. "What have I done?" Her eyes were still
locked at the dead man's wide open ones, frozen with shock.
For a second, both Fuu and Umi were rooted were they
stood until the latter nudged the former. "Fuu, take care of
your sister. I'll take care of Hikaru."
Fuu nodded mutely and walked towards her sister who had
long since fainted from the excitement. She checked her to
make sure that she was not injured. Apparently, her shield
protected her from the bullet that would have surely killed
her. She picked her up, cradling her sister's head in her
arms. Fuu looked up to see how Umi was doing. She knew that
Hikaru was devastated by what happened.
Umi had gathered Hikaru in her arms. Hikaru's eyes were
still wide open as she allowed herself to be embraced. With
one hand, Umi reached out and gently closed the eyes of the
man who would no longer harm another. Having accomplished
the grisly task, she brought her arm around her friend once
more to fully embrace her.
"Hikaru," Umi said gently. "It was either him or us. You
had no choice."
"I know Umi," Hikaru replied, as she wiped away the tears
in her eyes with her hand. Slowly she pulled back and looked
at Umi squarely. "I'm okay, really. It's just that you never
get used to taking someone's life." She turned to Fuu. "Hey
Fuu. Are you okay?"
"I'm okay, Miss Hikaru," Fuu said cheerily. "Nothing that
my 'Winds of healing' can't cure." She looked down her
sister. "I'm worried about Kuu though."
"She's not hurt is she?" Umi asked.
"Not that I can see, Miss Umi. Although I think she's in
shock. What do we tell her?" The last question was addressed
to Hikaru.
The Fire Knight gazed into Fuu's eyes. "We'll have to
tell her the truth."
"Is that wise?"
Hikaru nodded slowly. "Yes. Eventually, we will have to
tell everyone. Kuu, my brothers," she looked at Umi. "Your
parents."
Umi's eyes widened at that but then slowly nodded. "I
guess you're right. Their lives are all in danger now
because of us."
In the distance the wailing of police sirens could be
heard. The three perked and then looked at each other. "Oh
no, what do we tell them?" Umi asked referring to the
police.
Hikaru's brows furrowed in deep thought. She sighed. "I'm
not prepared to answer their questions." She looked at her
friends in turn. "Let's go to Cephiro." The two looked at
each other before turning back to their leader, slowly
nodding their agreement.
"What about--" Fuu began.
"We're taking her Fuu." With that, Hikaru stood and
stretched her hand in front of her. In a second a bright
light appeared, momentarily blinding them. When the light
subsided, a simmering oval portal appeared, its sides
crackling with energy. Hikaru turned around, walked towards
Fuu and promptly picked up Kuu in her arms.
"Miss Hikaru! I can carry her," insisted Fuu.
"You're wounded. I can carry her," the redhead said
simply. She turned once more and then headed straight into
the portal, disappearing into the vortex that would take
them to Cephiro. Umi followed shortly after. Fuu took one
more look around her home and sighed. She faced the portal
and stepped through it.
At that moment, the erstwhile leader of the failed
kidnapping opened his eyes. His eyes widened as he saw the
back of one of the girls he was supposed to kidnap disappear
through a doorway that seemed to be crackling with
electrical energy, and whose center was filled with an
iridescent liquid-like substance. Finally, the doorway
itself disappeared, collapsing into itself. His last
thought, just before entering oblivion again, was how he was
going to explain this to Tanaka.
* * * * *
Lam lowered the special "binoculars" he was using to
watch the battle. All four of them were equipped with them.
The device, which Lam smuggled into Earth, was able to "see"
through walls by instantaneously creating images in real-
time based on infrared and motion signatures.
"A very impressive display of fighting skill and power,"
Lam said stoically. He glanced at the person beside him who
apparently could not summon the will to show the same kind
of detachment. "Don't you think Rogo?"
For his part, Rogo was totally unsuccessful in hiding his
amazement. "Those three girls were magnificent!" He said
breathlessly, lowering his binoculars as well. The two
others with them were simply nodding. The display they had
just witness had rendered them speechless.
After a minute, the four saw a bright flash in the house.
Within another minute, it disappeared. Lam once again turned
to look at Rogo. "I suppose that was the wormhole you were
talking about." It was a statement. Rogo could only nod
mutely.
"It seems they are quite formidable. From my studies of
humans, I don't believe it's normal for them to possess the
kind of speed and power we saw just now. Being able to dodge
a projectile traveling that fast." Lam trailed off, the
meaning already clear to his companions. "And yet," he
continued. "I already know what their weakness is."
Rogo looked at Lam, frowning. "What weakness? I did not
see anything that we can effectively counter."
Lam was careful not to sound condescending to Rogo. He
needed his support. "They value the lives of their fellow
humans." Lam watched for Rogo's expression. He saw his
companion's eyes widen with realization. Finally, Rogo
smiled.
All four looked down as the police finally arrived.
"Well, we've seen everything that needs to be seen." With
that, the four moved stealthily away from the edge of the
roof and disappeared into the night.
* * * * *
Lantis was atop his magical black steed trotting towards
a village called Thespa located south of the palace as part
of his scheduled rounds. He slowed down when he discerned a
soft but steady beeping. He reined in his black steed and
reached behind him to retrieve his magic sword. True enough,
the gem on the sword's hilt was blinking steadily. Lantis
looked up towards the castle and smiled. He felt butterflies
in his stomach as he realized the significance of the
blinking gem. The Pillar has returned.
Turning his steed around, he galloped towards the palace.
* * * * *
The gem on Clef's magic staff began blinking as well.
Although not as exuberant as Lantis', Clef smiled
nevertheless in anticipation of seeing the Pillar once
again. He turned towards his companion.
"What is it Master Mage?" Presea, the Master Smith of
Cephiro, asked, noting the mage's expression.
"The Pillar has returned."
"Really?" Obvious pleasure registered on the armorer's
face.
"Come," the mage said. "Let us meet them."
--------------------
NEXT:
Chapter 6 - Return to Cephiro
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DISCLAIMER:
Magic Knight Rayearth and all the characters in that
anime/manga are properties of CLAMP. These are used here
without permission.