The Adventures of the SOL

"Friendly Enemies"

 Mina looked from each face to the next of her comrades.  They were all looking at Rei expectantly.

 "Tell us everything you know," Twiggy said, slowly.

 Rei opened her mouth but suddenly gave out a small groan, clutching her arm.  Amy put a hand on her shoulder and turned with eyes slitted at Twiggy.

"Can’t you see she’s hurt?  Think of someone besides yourself for once!" she burst out unexpectedly.  Everyone turned wide eyes to them.

 "Amy, that’s not--" Lita started, putting a hand to her arm.

 "No, maybe she’s right," Twiggy stopped her by holding up her own hand.  She looked Amy in the eye, ever calm, "Do you have a problem with me Amy?"

 "Maybe it’s your attitude," Amy suggested bitterly, "Would it kill you to consider someone else for once?  The world wasn’t made for you to look down on it."

 "And I wasn’t made for you to look down on me!" Twiggy lost her temper and began gripping her wand tightly, "I just want to know what’s going on!  Is that okay?"

 Mina swallowed.  "Guys, I really don’t think--"

 "Stay out of it!" Twiggy snapped, pointing the wand at Mina, "It’s not as if you contribute much to this group anyway.  We all have to cover you in fights!"

 Mina looked at her shocked, a hand on her heart, then looked away.  Amy growled at Twiggy.  "She contributes more than you, even if it’s not in the fights!"

 "Well, I--"

"Everyone shut up for a second, okay?!" Rei shouted, and stood up shakily.  The two of them scowled at each other, then turned away.

 How does she do that? Mina thought.  When I try to get their attention they just ignore me.  What makes her so special?

 "Let’s forget what I know for a second and make sure no one is hurt," Rei looked at all of them, "Make sure no one is trapped under any of those rocks."

 Amy nodded and passed Twiggy a dirty look, then went to make sure no one in the ballroom had been hurt.  The rest of them spread out, searching through where the large pieces of the wall had landed.  A cold midnight breeze flitted through the hole in the wall and Mina shivered, staying with Rei.

 Rei sat down on a pile of rubble slowly with her eyes closed.  "Are you okay?" Mina asked her, kneeling down next to her.

 "Yeah, I’m fine," Rei said bitterly, "I just remembered fifty thousand things that I could have never thought about again and been happy, but other than that..."  Mina looked away and Rei sighed.  "Sorry, Mina, but when you figure out why I’m so worried, you’ll understand why I’d say that."

 Mina nodded, but didn’t seem to feel any better.

 "Everyone seems to have gotten away okay," Lita told Rei, sprinting back over, "That is, except for you.  Are you sure you're okay?"

 "I’m fine," Rei said hastily.  "Get everyone over here for a minute."

 Lita nodded and ran to find everyone else.  Mina looked around.  This room was going to be ruined for some time.  She looked down and saw spider web cracks working their way through the once beautiful tiles.

 She replayed the scene in which Creton stepped into the room.  She had never felt such an evil in her entire life.  Who was he?  What did he want with Rei or Lizerton?  Why did he wear a mask?  There were so many questions but one look at Rei said that she wouldn't answer any just yet.

 Hotaru ran up next to Mina and Mina smiled feebly at her.  "So, Hotaru, what do you think of the job so far?"

 Hotaru just gave her a look that said she wasn’t even sure anymore and waited for everyone else to come.

 Mina sighed and looked around at the destroyed ballroom.  What if they were right?  What business did she have to be a protector of any kind of kingdom if she couldn’t even defend herself most of the time?

 Mina blinked as she saw a man with white hair run into the room and look around.  "Rei?" he asked, and saw her resting on the wreckage.  "Hey, are you okay?"  He ran towards her but suddenly Mina was standing between the two, holding her arms out.  She glared at the man (or was he a boy?) who stopped and took a startled step back.

 "Who are you?" Mina asked, her body becoming tense.  The boy was tall with smooth blue eyes.  He was unlike anything Mina had seen.  His hair was pure white, except for two black streaks in the front.  Still, he seemed normal enough as he glared at Mina.

 "I’m her friend, now get out of the way," the man said impatiently.

 "It's okay Mina," Rei gave a little tug on Mina's pant leg, "He’s a friend.  You sort of know him.  Perhaps you’ll remember Charlie?"

 "He’s Charlie?" Mina asked, looking at the tall man, who couldn’t have been much older than twenty.  He was well dressed in a white tuxedo, his arms folded across his chest.  Charlie stared at Mina with contempt.

 "Yes, I’m Charlie," Charlie told her, "Now if you’ll excuse me." He pushed past her and to Rei, Mina having to take a couple of steps back to avoid being pushed down. "Are you sure you're okay?"  He kneeled down next to her.

 "I’m fine," Rei said, rubbing her forehead, "A little sore though.  Creton underestimated me with that so called ‘devastating’ blow."

 "Creton?" Charlie's face paled, "How could it be Creton, no one has heard from him since... Well, since your dad..."

 "No," Rei said, "It’s really him.  He said I’d pay for my father, and I think that’s a sign.  Besides, I remember that voice."  As Rei said it her voice gave the slightest tremble and her eyes took on a faraway look.

 "But you were so young--" Charlie said, his fear more on his sleeve than Rei's, "How can you be sure?"

 "I may have been young," Rei told him with certainty in her voice, "but that’s a voice that’s hard to forget.  But why’d he choose now to come after me?"

 Mina simply stared.  Who was Charlie?  She remembered that he was the one who had originally recruited she and the others to save Rei, but that was all she knew.

 But how could you forget that Rei knew who we were talking about when we told her about him?  You should have asked her.

 The other girls made their way towards them and were speechless at the sight of this stranger talking to Rei.  "Who’s that?" Serena asked Mina as Mina watched the two.

 "Charlie," Mina said shortly and everyone stared at her for a moment.

 "The Charlie?" Even Twiggy was taken aback by this bit of information.  She looked at him, eyes narrowed.

 "Wait, who’s Charlie?" Hotaru looked confused, "And who was that guy that attacked?  As a matter of fact, what’s going on here?"

 "I wish I knew," Lita said, folding her arms across her chest.  "I’ve never heard of a Charlie before in the year that I’ve known Rei."

 "I think Rei has some explaining to do," Twiggy said, folding her arms also.  "For starters, I want to know who this new guy is."

 "There you go again!" Amy said so loudly that she caught even Charlie and Rei's attention, "Give people a break and shut up for a little while okay?"

 "Give me a break and you," Twiggy countered.

 "I asked you first," Amy snapped, "If Rei wants to tell us, she'll do it, okay?  Why don't you just give up and realize maybe there are more important things right now!"

 "You know what?  I don’t care anymore.  I’m leaving," Twiggy said and picked up her wand. Before Amy could say anything she disappeared.

 "I still don’t know what’s going on," Hotaru said, looking at each of them.

 "Charlie was the guy who got all of us together to save Lizerton when Reptopia took over," Mina explained to Hotaru, "He was suppose to remain anonymous even though Rei knew him.  None of us bothered to ask her about it though.  That one girl was Queen Brashear.  I have no idea who that other man was."

 "Oh," Hotaru nodded, looking down in thought, "So we know who Charlie is but not personally, and we have no clue about that one guy.  So what about Alfalfa?"

 "His name was Valerie," Mina said, "I don’t know about him either, only that the dark one was his father."

 "You don’t miss much do you?" Lita asked her with a small smile.

 Mina just shrugged, continuing to look at Rei and Charlie as they talked.  Amy frowned, already put in a bad disposition and walked over to the two.  "I hate to seem like Twiggy, but what the heck is going on around here?" she asked, then looked at Rei suspiciously, "You didn’t know about that guy before this did you?"

 "No!" Rei said, "That’s the last thing I ever thought would happen.  Come on, you saw how shocked I was."

 Amy sighed.  "That’s true."

 "Look, it’s nice to know you care," Charlie said sarcastically, "but this no longer concerns you.  As far as I’m concerned you're dismissed."

 "Charlie!" Rei looked at him in surprise.

 "Hey, let me tell you something, Pretty Boy!" Amy growled into his face, her finger an inch away from his nose, "If you really cared maybe you would have been there while we risked our own lives to save Rei, instead of sending your crony to gather us up and do the work for you."

 Charlie just glared at her, then looked at Rei for support.  Rei just shook her head.   "She has to do with this as much as you do," Rei told him, "Either deal with it or I may ask you to leave."

 His eyes widened.  "Rei, I--"

 Rei tightened her scowl.

 "Fine," he sighed, "She’s part of it.  What about everyone else? I don’t remember recruiting two of these girls."

 Lita and Hotaru looked at each other, then back at him.  He sighed again and nodded.  "I see.  If that’s what you want, Rei."

 "That’s exactly what I want," Rei said, but her voice seemed to fade away.  "Ugh, I'm so dizzy."  She put a hand to her head.

 "Rei?"

 "I should explain this stuff to you guys."  She was looking straight ahead for a moment, when suddenly her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell backwards.  Charlie reached out and grabbed her back before it hit the ground.

 "Rei?!" he asked, panicked, "Rei, answer me!"

  "Wow, she got hit hard," Amy said gravely, "I think she’ll be fine though.  The way she attacked back she has to be okay.  Calm down."

 "Calm down?!" Charlie spat, "Aren’t you guys suppose to protect her?  Where were you?"

 "Lay the blame on us?!" Mina couldn’t help it anymore, "You sit there and say we aren’t doing our jobs?  We didn’t even have a warning before that guy came in and attacked!  And where were you?  Shouldn’t you be here with us if she’s such a good friend?  I think we’ve done a better job than you have!"

 Charlie stared up at her for one helpless moment, then closed his eyes.  Without a word he picked up Rei and walked out of the broken ballroom.

 They all looked at each other and followed, each one with a tense and apprehensive look on their face.  Serena kept looking over her shoulder at the gaping black hole, almost like a cavern into the night.  They made it out into the hall and went to where Rei's room was.

 Rei's body dangled limply from Charlie's arms and he sat her on the bed gently.  Everyone stared at him through the open door as he just stood there, thinking.  He gave a sigh and turned to them.

 "I suppose you guys do deserve an explanation," he admitted.  "Okay, but not in here."  He shut the door behind him and looked up and down the hall as though nervous.  He beckoned them forward to a room farther away from the other bedrooms.  Serena recognized it as the room Rei had come out from the day of her "mysterious meeting."  Inside it was dark, but Charlie turned on the lights.

 The inside had a bed, a desk with several papers strewn about, and a large book case.  There was a large velvet chair next to a fireplace.  An inn table sat next to it, with a few books resting there.

 "This is where I stay," he explained, "When I’m here at least.  I came in yesterday to talk to Rei and stayed here.  I was supposed to leave tomorrow, but I’ll probably stay now."

 "Who are you?" Lita asked.

 "My name is Charles von Reese," he said, sticking his hands in his pockets, "I’m a Lizerton native, though I haven’t been here in quite awhile. I've known Rei for a long time, since before she was heir to the Lizerton throne..." He saw them look at him strangely for a second and realized they, aside from Lita, knew very little about Rei.  "Okay, maybe I should start from the beginning.  Rei is the daughter of Lawrence the Good."

 Mouths fell open at that point.  "The Lawrence the Good?  But how is that possible?" Serena said, incredulous, "She... Wouldn't we have..."

 "Rei is pretty well known, that may have been why some of you knew her name before you came here, but her father, her father was a legend.  The man you saw was Creton, Lawrence’s arch-enemy.  But as the stories go, you would know him as King of Darkness."

The entire group blanched.  They had heard the awful stories back in their home kingdoms of the gruesome and terrible things that the King of Darkness did.  Stories of murder, torture,  massacres and fear.  The kind of stories that left a small child's eyes wide open and the strongest hearts pounding.

"I'm sure you've all heard the legends.  Of how the King of Darkness set out to rule the continent with an iron fist and a cold heart.  How Lawrence the Good stood up and faced him when no other man was brave enough to fight.  Parts of the legends are true, but it was a battle waged for a much longer time than you can imagine, and despite most people's beliefs, the King is not dead, nor has he ever been.  He has been in a kind of retirement until now.

"Lawrence took his home in Lizerton, with already three children.  He had taken a great amount of Creton's power and the threat the King posed was greatly lessened.  But Creton wanted revenge against Lawrence for destroying his plans.  And for other reasons.  Still, all Lawrence wanted to do was live in peace, but Creton haunted him till the day he died.  Once Rei was caught in a battle between them, having been captured during a terrible plan of Creton's.  She was five years old.  It's one of the few things she can remember before her father died.

 "Rei was well known in Lizerton by then.  She had amazing powers for her age and was recognized by the former Queen and King.  In fact, they liked her so much they adopted her after her father died, because they had never had any children of their own.  They were old and needed someone to inherit the throne anyway, and Rei came into it."

 "Maybe that explains why she’s so not Princess-like," Hotaru nodded, making sense of it now, "She wasn’t brought up as one."

 "Exactly," Charlie continued, "Well, the King and Queen both passed on and that left Rei to inherit the throne at age thirteen.  Ever wonder why she’s a Princess instead of a Queen even though the throne belongs to her?  You can’t have the title of Queen or King before age eighteen."

 "So this Creton guy is her father’s old arch-enemy.  Why’s he after Rei?" Mina shrugged, "She’s not her father or anything.  And why’s a powerful guy like that joining up with Queen Brashear?"

 Charlie actually laughed a little.   "I’ll take it that Rei didn’t tell you about her and Queen Brashear’s past?"

 Everyone looked at each other except for Lita who raised her hand with a broad grin on her face.  "She told me once, but I had forgotten about it till now."

 "What past?’ Amy asked, looking from Lita to Charlie, "I just thought the Kingdoms just didn’t like each other."

 "Oh, Retopia has never liked Lizerton," Charlie smirked a little, "but they were tolerate of them for awhile until Brashear took over.  You see, Brashear is actually a Lizerton native."

 "WHAT?!" they all looked at him in shock.

 "Yep," Charlie laughed, "She has hated Rei ever since they were in school together.  All because Rei was nice to her."

 "Because she was nice to her?" Mina didn't understand.

 "Yes, you see, Brashear was an outcast here in Lizerton," Charlie explained, "Rei felt sorry for her, and was always nice to Brashear.  Brashear is not the pity type and got insulted by Rei.  Somehow she made her way to Queen of Retopia."

 "Brashear a Lizertonian?" Amy asked, "that’s really hard to believe."

 Charlie shrugged.  "But true."

 "So how do you and Rei know each other?" Serena asked, folding her arms.

 "I was, ah," Charlie looked away, "I was a stable boy."

 "A stable boy?" Mina laughed, "You don't strike me as the animal type."

 "You're the animist right?  Well, no I’m really not, but it was the only thing I could do for money at the time," he shrugged, "I worked there when Rei took the throne.  We met and we became good friends.  Suddenly, I was her advisor, then I moved on.  I make money here and there since I'm pretty good with magic."

 "Wait, Charles von Reese?" Serena thought for a moment, "You're the guy who wrote all those text books right?"

 "Yes," Charlie seemed surprised, "I wouldn’t expect a girl your age to know of them.  How did you know?"

 "I’m a Scout," Serena said, "They made us read your books in Scout school.  They were about the best way to use magic and modern magic techniques."

 "That’s right," Charlie said.

 "Exactly how strong is Creton?"

 They looked up at the beam in the ceiling and saw Twiggy sitting up there.  "Have you been up there the whole time?" Mina asked.

 Twiggy nodded.  "What are we dealing with here?  How strong is Creton?"

 "You saw how strong he was," Charlie said, "If he can hurt a powerful psychic like Rei, and though you may not have seen her at full power, she is powerful, than pretty strong.  Not to mention you've heard the stories and they aren't very exaggerated."

 "So why the secrecy?" Twiggy asked, curious despite herself, "Why be anonymous?  Especially if we were gonna figure out soon anyway?"

 "I’m--" Charlie looked at them, "I can’t say."

 "Can’t or won’t?" Amy mused.

 "Won’t," Charlie said, "I’m afraid that if I told you it would have to be under extreme circumstances.  Just hear this:  It’s important that my identity remain a secret.  No one knows I’m here except for you guys and Rei.  Keep it secret, k?"

 "I’m not keeping a secret unless I know why," Serena looked at everyone who seemed to be in agreement.

 "Please," Mina thought she saw a moment of fear pass over Charlie’s eyes, "My life depends on your secrecy.  Why else do you think that Rei didn’t tell you?  I knew she didn’t like keeping it from you, but she did anyway."

 "Okay," Mina said.

 They looked at her in surprised.  Amy sighed and raised a hand to indicate she would do it.  "Mina seems to be right about most things," Amy said, "I’ll keep your secret.  Just don’t treat us like such outsiders."

 "Who would I tell?" Twiggy said dryly.

 "Yeah I really don't know anyone who would care anyway," Lita said, "I’ll keep your secret, Charlie."

 "I don't see why anyone has to know," Hotaru said, shrugging.

 "Okay, but I wish I knew why I’m keeping it a secret," Serena agreed reluctantly.

 "Thank you," Charlie said, relieved, "I’m going to check on Rei now."

"Some battle Creton," Queen Brashear spat, climbing onto her throne, "You were suppose to destroy Rei, but instead she almost got the better of you."

 "Hmm," Creton ignored the Queen, "I can’t believe...  She is quite powerful at her age.  Her father was quite the prodigy too, but still, she shouldn't be this strong.  Does she enhance it somehow or do something to increase her attack levels?"

 "Will you quite muttering and listen to me?!" Brashear cried at him, her tone sounding whiny.  "Explain why you were defeated!"

 Creton’s glare shifted to the girl on the oversized throne, and she shrank back.  He walked forward and seemed to grow larger, a towering shadow with glowing red eyes.  "Perhaps you forget who is the stronger of the two of us.  I could simply use your forces by taking over the throne."

 She nodded quickly, not trusting herself to speak.  She slouched away from him in the throne and Creton glared down at her.

 "Yeah, Father doesn’t have to answer himself to the likes of you," Valerie said, turning his nose in the air, "It’s not as if you did very much back there, besides made a few empty threats, that is."

 "And you did?" Brashear rolled her eyes.

 "I did too!" Valerie protested.

 "Did not!"

 "Did too!!"

 "Did not, did not, did not!!!"

 "Enough!" Creton yelled, and both of them jumped at the booming of his voice across the stone walls.  He turned to one of the guards at the door, "Send a message to Evilopolis for a Mercenary.  His name is Rais.  Go now!"

 "Y-y-yes, sir!" the guard said and ran out of the door quickly.  Even the soldiers were afraid of the dark man.

 "What can a mere Mercenary do," Brashear asked, and he stared at her again, slitting his eyes, "Oh powerful Dark Lord Creton?"

 "Rais is, shall we say, a different breed of Mercenary," Creton said, "I raised him myself and he is one of my finest soldiers.  All he will need his sword and Rei will never see him coming, psychic or not.  Don't worry about Rais."

 He let out a low evil laugh and Brashear joined him with her high pitched one.  He glared at her and she stopped.  "Sorry," she squeaked.  Creton continued to laugh.

Mina sat in a tree somewhere in the forests of Lizerton.  She was about ten feet off the ground, her back against the tree's wide gray trunk.  The leaves flitted around her face.  She was looking straight ahead, watching the patterns shining through the leaves move across the ground in deep thought.

 So what purpose do I serve if I can’t fight?  I’ve never really been able to use magic very well, and being an Animist alone can’t help.  So why am I here?

 "Something buggin’ ya?" a voice said.  Mina jumped and looked up.  A squirrel was leaning down, staring at her from the branch above her head.  He was blinking curiously at her.  He was a gentle tan and his fur was course.  Before Mina could answer he ran down to sit next to her in the tree.

 "Do you think I'm useless?" she asked him and he gave her  puzzled squirrel look.  He grasped an acorn in his front paws and nibbled on it in thought.

 "Don’t know ya," the squirrel finally replied, then continued to stare, "Why would ya be useless?  If your human and ya can climb a tree like this, how could you be useless?  Most humans wouldn't care for climbin' a tree."

 "I mean, since I’m an Animist, does that make me useless in fighting?" Mina asked him, and he took a pensive bite out of his acorn.

 "No, not necessarily," he told her, "I’s got a friend who might be able to help you out on dat one.  He's real smart and he's been lookin' for someone to talk to, anyhow.  Don't ya move from this spot, I'll be right back."

 The squirrel shoved the acorn into his mouth and ran down the tree in a wide spiral.  Mina watched as he darted off into the forest, disappearing inside of a bush.  She briefly wondered just how long it would take him to come back.

 After a few minutes he came bounding back to the tree that she sat in with her knees pulled to her chest.  "I’d like you to meet my friend Tekerant Krishna.  I just call him TK."

 "TK?" Mina asked, "Where is he?"

 "I’m right here."

 A white big cat stepped forward and sat at the foot of the tree, curling his tail around himself.  He blinked up at her with large golden eyes and flicked his tail to the right.  She stared in disbelief.

 "A... An Albino Panther?" Mina asked, disbelieving, "I thought that they were all gone.  Where did you come from?"

 "I moved here because the Lizerton humans don’t hunt us," TK explained matter of factly.  His voice was quiet and smooth.  He was pure white, like most Albino creatures, with large feet that could bat a person down in a matter of seconds.  He licked his chops and Mina saw a set of needle like teeth.  On his forehead there were three jewels, the middle one red and the outside two green.

 "I heard that Albinos were very powerful creatures," the squirrel said, "And if ya needed help in the fightin’ area, maybe TK could help."

 "I most certainly could," TK said, "Come down here, child."

 Mina hesitated.  Just because animals talked to you and seemed nice, that didn’t mean they didn’t want you for a filling lunch.  It wasn't a good idea to just step down and talk to a panther face to face.

 "I give you my word I will not harm you," TK told her and she climbed cautiously down the tree, landing in a crouch in from of him.  She stood back up and put a hand on the trunk of the tree, staring at him.  "Do you see the necklace around my neck?" Mina saw it dangling in front of him.  It was linked onto a white gold chain and had a long oval jewel in it.  The jewel alternated from red to green in beautiful patterns.  "Take it.  It now belongs to you.  Any time you need my help, I can come to you where ever you are."

 Mina held up the necklace and looked into its center.  It slowly occurred to her that the color of the one jewel matched the ones across his bold forehead.  She slipped it over her neck and looked at it for  moment.  She smiled at the panther.

 "Thanks," Mina said, "Thanks a lot, but I'm not sure I can accept this.  We've only just met and I..."

 "My pleasure," TK said, as though he didn't hear her, "I’ll be going now."

 Mina watched as the panther stood up and slinked away into the trees.  She sighed and supposed that someday she might have needed it.  "Friendly fella ain’t he?" the squirrel asked from the branch she had been sitting on, "Told ya he could help.  An’ he will too.  Me an' him go way back."

 "What’s your name?" Mina asked the squirrel, curious.

 "Cerilius Materonis Bratus Cornelio," the squirrel puffed out his chest proudly, "Eh, but my buddies call me Cere.  Pleasure ta meet the likes of ya.  Mind if I walk home with ya?"

 "Knowing squirrels, you just want to see what there is to eat in the castle," Mina said as he jumped onto her shoulder.

 "You live in a castle?" Cere asked, "What is ya, a Princess or something?"

 "More like a friend to the Princess," Mina told him, "Well, I suppose if I took you there, it wouldn’t hurt.  At least the others would probably think you were cute, am I right?  How much harm can a squirrel do to a castle?"

 "A castle," Cere said dreamily, "With rump roasts an’ chicken an’ all the nuts I can handle, which mind ya is a lot of nuts."

 "So where are you from?" Mina asked, walking back towards Lizerton.

 "The Hollow Tree of Church Clearing," Cere said, "Beautiful place, I’ll tell ya.  And my Momma was the best when it came  to gettin’ Acorns for her Dumplin’s.  That’s what she called us.  Cerilius Dumplin’, she would say, Have ya had your acorn yet?  No Momma, I’d tell her and she’d laugh.  Yes ya have."

 Mina laughed.  "You sure do like to talk."

 "An’ you don’t say much," Cere said, still riding on her shoulder.  "Where is you from?  Think I might have remembered meeting an Animist if ya come by often."

 "Atchoo."

 "Bless ya," Cere said.

 "No, Atchoo is the name of my village," Mina giggled, "I live in the village of Atchoo.  Like you live, wherever it was you said you lived."

 "Atchoo’s a funny name for a village if you ask me," Cere said, "We there yet?  I’m starved."

"You called, Creton?"

 "Yes, Rais,"  Creton told the bowed boy in front of him, "I have a new mission for you.  Stand up, boy."

 Rais the Mercenary stood up.  His hair hung into his eyes, reaching the bridge of his nose.  His face was stony and his eyes were locked hard into place.  He stood up completely straight and tall.  A sword hung by his side and he wore red armor across his chest.

 "I want you to observe Princess Rei at the Lizertonian Castle," Creton informed him, "I want you to wait and figure out whatever you can about her.  Her and the rest of those other girls that are with her.  And when you catch her by herself, or even with just one other person, I want you to kill her."

 Rais paused a moment then said.  "Yes, Creton."

 "Remember, Rais," Creton said carefully.  Rais, already knowing what he was going to say turned his face away with a small frown. "You are within my debt.  Do this and your debt will be released.  Fail and it shall deepen."

 Rais’s face looked like he was about to say something else, but in the end he just said, "Yes, Creton."

 "Then go," Creton waved him away, "And for your sake I hope you don’t screw up." Rais nodded and walked out of the Reptopia Throne Room.  He paused in the hall and looked over his shoulder.  His face softened as soon as he was out of sight and he shoved the hair away from his eyes.  He was actually very young and handsome.  His brown hair was longer than most boys' but he liked it that way.  There were two blonde pieces, which were almost right in his face.  He walked away looking to the ground as he walked.

 "He doesn’t seem very trustworthy," Queen Brashear said, still in the throne room.  She was sitting on the stairs up to the platform where the throne sat.  Creton relaxed on her throne and she sighed.

 "He is when you pay him, like most Mercenaries, but in this case he’s paying me," Creton said, "Remember Valerie, it pays to do people favors"

 "Yes, father," Valerie confirmed.  Brashear jumped, not knowing that Valerie had been in the room with them.

 "He should do just fine if he values his freedom," Creton told her, "He is also very thorough so we won't have to worry much about Rei getting away.  She will die."

 He smiled at the thought.

"MINA!!! WHAT THE HECK IS THIS!!???"

 Mina had been sitting in her room, reading a book, when she heard Rei’s voice carrying down the hall.  Her eyes immediately went wide and the book slipped from her hands.  Apparently Rei was awake and apparently Rei was mad about something.  Something to do with Mina.

 Mina’s bedroom door slammed open before Mina could get up and Rei was standing there, furious at something or another.  The effect was actually very comical with spaghetti running through her hair and down her shirt.  It wasn't so funny when she held forward a small furry object.  Mina swallowed.  In her hand was Cere, being held by the nape of the neck.  Mina glared at him and he shrugged innocently.

 "Why are there rabid animals scaring the cooks in the kitchen?" Rei asked trying to stay calm but her voice sounding a little on the shaky side.  Cere dangled there helplessly.

 Mina didn't know how to answer.  "He was hungry?"

 "Hungry? HUNGRY?!" Rei yelled, "Have you seen that mess in the kitchen?  And he ran up the skirt of one of our cooks!"

 Mina looked at the squirrel with an eyebrow quirked and he shook his head.  "Was as scary for me as it was for her, trust me."

 "What is a squirrel doing in my castle?  Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions but I bet it has something to do with the Animist." Rei asked, not able to understand Cere's comment.  Mina cringed as the level of her voice increased.

 "He came home with me," Mina shrugged, "I knew he was hungry, but I didn’t think--"

 "Do ya think Mina?  No more squirrels in my castle!  No more pets of any kind!  A castle is just too big of a place for any pets.  They get lost or they cause mischief."

 "Wait!" Mina protested, "That’s not fair!  Amy gets to keep Sady!"

 "She has her trained," Rei pointed out, "And it’s her ability.  She needs her to help protect this kingdom."

 "Well," Mina stood up, taking Cere away from Rei.  Not having expecting this reaction from her, Rei blinked. "Talking to animals is my ability!  And he and I are good friends.  "

 "That’s nice!  So why don’t you two be good friends OUTSIDE!!" Rei yelled, pointing out the door, her temper gone, "I can’t afford some squirrel scaring all my staff and guests, understand me?!  It's not happening!"

 Mina didn’t know what to say.  She stared into Rei's eyes and saw nothing but anger.  Finally she shoved past Rei yelling, "His name isn’t squirrel, it’s Cere!" She ran past her, almost making the princess fall over.  On her way she shoved past Amy and Serena who had come down the hall to see what was going on.

 Rei stood there, blinking.

 Amy and Serena reached Mina’s room and saw Rei standing there with spaghetti on her head looking very confused.

 "What did--No, better yet," Amy smiled just a little, thinking better of her question, "Why do you have food on your head?"

 "AHHH!" Rei screamed, "This place is driving me crazy!"

 Serena snickered.

 "Mina looks really upset," Amy pointed out, her face becoming more serious.  She jerked her thumb in the direction Mina had run in. "What did you say to her?"

 "She had this new pet squirrel she had found and it sieged the castle kitchen, so I told her no pets," Rei said using large hand gestures.  She was obviously just a little frustrated at the situation. "What did you want me to do?  Let an evil squirrel eat the entire kitchen?"

 "No pets?" Amy said, "Then I guess that means Sady?"  Sady popped her head around the corner with a yap.  "You let me keep Sady, then why can’t she have a small squirrel?"

 "Gah!" Rei slapped her forehead with her palm.  She took two deep breaths. "Okay, I’ll go talk to her.  I guess a small squirrel couldn’t do worse than what it’s already done."

 "Yes, you do that," Amy nodded.

 "Going, going," Rei said, wiping the sauce out of her hair.

Mina stormed out of the castle and ran back towards the forest.  She ran down the path with Cere in her arms, stumbling on a small rock.

 How could she?  I’m not allowed to have animals, the one thing I’m good at?  If she wanted a pet she would take it and keep it and no one would tell her otherwise!  She really is just a spoiled Princess!

 She was so angry that she ran right into something, bouncing back.  She felt someone's hands grab her shoulders.  "Whoa!" a voice cried,  "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

 "Leave me alone!" Mina said, not quite meaning to yell, and pushed past the person who stood in front of her.  She got about two steps away.

 "Is that a squirrel?" he asked and Mina stopped.

 "Yeah," Mina said and loosened her grip on Cere.  She sighed and turned around slowly.  She met eyes with a brown haired boy with a quirky smile.  She stared at his eyes a moment.  They were dark blue.

 "Agh!  Don’t hold me so tight!" Cere panted, "That really hurt."  He looked at the boy.  "He looks like bad news."

 The boy was wearing red armor and had a long sword by his side.  Though his appearance was threatening his expression wasn’t.  His expression was sort of a confused curiosity.  He walked forward and blinked at Mina.

 "Hey, miss, are you okay?" he asked hesitantly, "You look a little upset about something or another."

 "I’m fine," Mina said, thinking he must have been very nice if he was asking about a stranger, "I should go now." She walked down the path but he caught up with her. "What is it?  I told you I was fine."

 "How’d you get that squirrel to be so tame?" he asked, pointing at Cere. "I’ve never seen anything like it."  He tried to touch him, but Cere snapped at him. "Wah! Feisty little thing, isn’t he?"

 "Behave Cere," she told him sternly and looked back up at the boy curiously.  "What brings you down here?  Are you from here?"

 "My name’s Rais the Mercenary," he smiled, "And I’m, er, on business.  I’m not a liberty to say what it is.  That must sound really suspicious."

 "I’m Mina the Animist," Mina said and shook hands with him.  He seemed intrigued as he released her hand.

 "An Animist?" Rais asked, "Wow, so that’s why he listens to you but not me.  So what’s the matter with you?"

 "Nothing," Mina said, not about to tell her problems to a complete stranger, "It's really not anything at all."

 "Nothing is quite a bit if you can’t even tell where your going," Rais smirked, then looked around suspiciously, "Your not being chased are you?"

 "Oh no, nothing like that," Mina said, then muttered, "Unless Rei decided to hunt me down and yell at me more."

 "What was that?" Rais asked her, but she just shook her head.  "Are you from Lizerton or are you just visiting?"

 "Sort of, yeah," Mina nodded, "I just came from there.  What business could you possibly have in Lizerton unless it was with the Princess?"

 "I wish I could tell you, but you might not like me much if I did.  Are you sure no one’s chasing you?  As a gentlemen, it would be my duty to protect a damsel in distress."

 Mina took a step back.  "Are you flirting with me?!"

 Rais scratched the back of his head with a sheepish grin.  "No, why would you say that?"

 "You seem like the type that would flirt with a tree if you thought it would flirt back," Mina retorted.  He blinked twice and blushed.

 His grin faded.  "Hey, I really just wanted--" he started to protest.

 "Mina!  Hey, Mina!  I’m sorry I yelled at you!  You can keep the squirrel!  Mina?"  Mina looked over her shoulder.

 "Oh, that’s Rei!" Mina said.  Out of the corner of he eye she saw Rais step back in surprise.  "Hey, what’s wrong?"

 "The Rei?  Princess Rei?" he asked, and she nodded.  He looked in the direction of her voice and took another step back.  "I have to go."

 "Go?" Mina looked at him, "But--"

 It was too late, he was already gone.  "What a weird fella," Cere said, "You’d think he’d stick around for a Princess the way he flirts."

 "Mina?" Mina turned and saw Rei come up the path, "Oh hey, there you are.  I’ve been all over for you.  I’m really sorry I yelled at you."

 "Can I keep Cere?" Mina asked, hopefully.

 "Ah..."  She scowled.  "I guess, just keep a tighter leash, okay?" Rei reached towards him timidly. "He is kinda cute.."

 "That’s what all the ladies say," Cere told Mina.

 "Can I hold him?" Rei asked, reaching out for Cere.  He ducked out of her grasp and climbed up Mina’s shoulder.  He frowned to Rei and she sighed.

 "It’s okay Cere," Mina told him, "She won’t hurt you. Unless you attack the kitchen again."  He looked at Mina then at Rei.  Rei put her hand out again and he sniffed it.  Satisfied he let her run her hand down his back.

 "He really is cute," Rei smiled, then cleared her throat, withdrawing her hand, "Come on.  It probably isn’t wise for us to be out here alone."

 "K," Mina said, and looked around to see if she could see Rais.  She thought about telling Rei about him but decided it wasn't that important.

 Rais watched as they walked away.  Even if she’s with just with one other person.  That’s what Creton said, but--

 But what?! he argued back with himself, This is your chance to get away from Creton.  Your going to sacrifice it over a couple of girls?!

 Cute girls, the more boyish side reminded him.

 It doesn’t matter.  This is your chance.  Kill Rei, then you get to be a real Mercenary.  Instead of Creton’s little puppet.

 It was too late anyway.  The girls were gone and probably in Lizerton again.  He couldn’t attack them in broad daylight in the Kingdom streets.  He would be struck down almost immediately.  He sat down pensively next to a tree.

 Was Mina one of those girls?  But what could an Animist do to protect the kingdom?  Rei... She had some power, I could feel it, but an Animist?

 He sighed and realized his hand was on the hilt of his sword.  He removed it and took a deep breath.  What had to be done, would be done.  He stepped onto the path and continued to go to Lizerton.

 He just couldn't help but feel just a little guilty about it.  They both had seemed nice and they...

 It had to be done.

Lita the Amazon peaked from behind a pillar in the throne room.  She had been completely silent the entire time.  She had heard the commotion over the kitchen, but at the moment she had something more important to worry about.  That thing was a CUTE GUY.  Charlie was a CUTE GUY and that need attending to.

 Charlie was standing, thinking, alone in Rei’s throne room, except for Lita who was hiding behind the pillar, studying him.

 "Agh," he rolled his eyes, "I know your back there, already."  He looked right at the pillar and Lita tensed up.

 "Oh!" Lita stepped out and laughed.  "How could you tell?"

"You’ve been stalking me since Rei woke up," he waved his hand as though he didn't really care, "Following a boy around isn’t the way to get his attention.  At least not in the way you want.  Sorry, but I’m too old for you."

 Lita folded her arms.  "Too old or too cranky?"

 "Both," he said shortly and she squinted at him.

 "Why are you always so depressing?" she asked, "I've known you for like, half a day and I'm already depressed.  Besides, a beautiful girl like me should set your heart thumping and make you want me more than anything in the world."  As she said this she stared at the ceiling with stars in her eyes.  Charlie made a disgusted sound.

 "Who lied to you?" he said, not even looking at her.  He continued to stare out over the empty throne room.

 "Uh!  How rude!" Lita growled, "I don’t need you to tell me I’m beautiful.  I already know it."  She folded her arms and seemed very sure of herself.

 "Your Amazon is showing," he smiled wryly at her reaction.

 "What’s that suppose to mean?!  Are you insulting my tribe?!  What’s wrong with being Amazon!"

 "Your too--happy--to be an Amazon," he said, "Now if you’ll excuse me.."  He walked past her with his hands in his pockets and out the door of the throne room.

 "What a weird guy," Lita muttered to herself after he left, "I’ve never seen anyone so, I can’t tell, depressed?  No not depressed."

 Lonely.

 "But why would he be lonely?" she asked herself, "Him and Rei seem to be pretty good friends.  Lonely is such an unlikely term."

 She sighed and flopped down in Rei’s throne, feeling confused.

Rei entered her room with a sigh.  She and Mina had spoken and it was decided, that as long as they didn’t get out of hand, Mina could have pets.

 She shut the door and walked in feeling a little sleepy.  Getting hit in the head with a giant sphere could do that to you.

 "Princess Rei, I presume?"

 She snapped her head up and barely had time to move it before a sword crashed into the door where it had been a second ago.  She watched as a lock of her own hair floated to the ground.  Too close for comfort.  Not to mention the door was ruined.

 "Hmm, your reflexes are quicker than I would have thought for a Princess."

 The boy pulled the sword from the door and held it ready again.  "Who are you?" Rei asked, tensing up herself.  She had her back to the door but that didn't bother her too much.

 "My name is Rais," the room was dark and the shadows played over his eyes so that all she could see was a small reflection of light in them, "And I’m here to kill you."

 "You and fifty other people," Rei said and he swung the sword at her again.  She barely managed to dodge.  "You’d attack a girl unarmed?"

 "You bet," Rais snarled, "If it gets the job done."

 "Hmm, then I’ll have to fight unfairly too."  He thrust the sword at her, but it stopped before it had even hit anything, about two inches from her stomach.  He tried to move it back but he couldn’t move it at all.

 "What idiot told you to tango with a psychic with only a sword?" she asked, more curious than angry, and he stared at her.  When he stood back she saw more of his face.  Intrigued she walked closer.

 "A psychic--?!" he let go of the sword, seeing it was useless in this fight and made a red ball of energy in his hand.  His face glowed red and Rei saw what he looked like.  There was something about him...

 "What’s going?  I heard something hit the door," Mina came in and started to ask, but saw Rais standing there with the orb in his hand.  "Rais?"

 "Mina?" he said and stared for a moment.  He looked torn for a moment but shot the red energy ball at Rei.  She just shook her head and shot out her own blast, both of them canceling each other out.

 He seemed to make some sort of decision and held his hand towards Mina.  "I suggest you stand down, Princess, unless you want your non-magic friend here to get hurt."

 Rei stood down, glaring at the Mercenary.  "Fine," she said, "What is it you want?"

 "Creton might like it better if you were alive," Rais said, sounding like he didn't really know what to do.  Rei picked this up. "All I want is for you to come quietly."

 "Can we make an exception on the quietly part?" Rei asked, sarcastically, but he didn’t seem to think it was funny, because another red energy ball formed in his hand, still aimed at Mina.

 "Quietly," he confirmed.

 She folded her arms and took a step forward.  "Rei, no!" Mina said.  She closed her eyes.  What was happening?  Rei was going to go with this guy and probably be killed just because of Mina?  Mina suddenly felt sorry for calling her a spoiled Princess.

 We need help, she thought desperately.

 All at once, a strong blast of wind filled the room.  The necklace around Mina's neck lifted into the air and lit up in a dazzling green light.

 Taken off guard, Rais instinctively released the sphere.  "No, Mina!" Rei cried, but the orb stopped at her necklace and broke apart.

 "What?!" Rais took a step backward as it broke and watched Mina as the necklace glowed a bright green.  Then she saw TK standing in front of her.  He looked back at her then growled at Rais, lowering himself onto his haunches.

 "What is this?" he cried, "Creton never said--"

 TK pounced and tackled Rais.  He was thrown back and banged his head against the wall.  He saw little sunbursts in front of his eyes and felt the world go dim.  The panther made a blow across his face and he fell unconscious.

 "Mina?!" Rei looked at Mina.  At first, Mina thought she was surprised because of TK, but realized what she really meant.

 "TK stand down!" Mina cried, "Don’t kill him!"

 TK let out a small growl and got off of Rais.  He approached Mina and nuzzled her hand.  "As you say, Mina."

 "Did I ever even tell you my name?" Mina asked him.

 "No," he said, "I suspected that you may have been the one worthy of the necklace.  It seems I was proven correct."

 "Mina, what is it?" Rei asked, staring at the albino panther with some fear.

 "He’s a friend," Mina reassured her, "He’s sort of my protector, I think."  She looked at TK and he nodded.  "He comes whenever I’m in trouble."

 "Is this girl a friend?" TK asked her, casting Rei a wary glance.  Somewhat sensing what he was thinking, Rei took a step back.

 "Rei’s my friend," Mina nodded firmly, "Try not to attack just anyone, okay?"  The panther nodded and sat next to her.

 Rei sighed.  "What just happened here?"  She looked a little tired after the adrenaline rush had ended.

 Mina shrugged. Rei sighed again.  "What would have happened if this panther hadn’t come?"  She rubbed her forehead.

 Mina shook her head.  She didn’t even want to think of what Creton would have done to Rei, had Rais managed to capture her.

 Suddenly, the door was thrown open and Amy, Serena, Hotaru, and Lita all came in.  "What happened--?" Serena started to ask, then saw TK, "AH! What is that?!"

 TK licked his paw and stared at Serena with disinterest. "Another friend?" he asked Mina, casting her a quick glance.

 "All of them are," Mina told him, and they stared at her.

 "First a squirrel, now a panther?" Amy asked, "Wow, you really took advantage of Rei on this one, Mina."  Amy stared at the white creature and made as if to pet him.

 "Who’s that guy?" Lita pointed and the girls directed their attention to the unconscious boy on the floor.  Hotaru's eyebrow went up.

 "A Mercenary," Rei said, looking at him with some uncertainty, "He was after me and Mina saved me."

 "Mina did?" Twiggy asked, suddenly in the corner of the room.  She gave Rei a skeptical look and Rei just smirked at her.

 "Quit doing that!" Serena yelled, but Twiggy just shrugged.  "Why is it so hard to believe that Mina saved Rei?"

 "Nothing," Twiggy said, "I just didn’t think she could even protect herself, protecting someone like Rei is a big deal."  Though she meant it as a compliment no one, except Rei, took it that way.

 "How rude," Hotaru commented, staring at Twiggy.  Twiggy walked forward and stared down at TK.

 TK growled at Twiggy and she jumped back startled.  "Nice white panther," she said, and backed into the wall.

 Amy laughed.  "I think I like the panther," she reached forward and patted the big cat on the head.

 Twiggy frowned at Amy and lifted her wand, making herself disappear again.  Amy shrugged and put a hand on Mina’s shoulder.  "Good going, Mina!  Looks like you don’t need protection any more."

 "She never did anyway," Rei looked at them and nodded her head at the corner Twiggy had been in, "No matter what Twiggy says.  Now me on the other hand," Rei frowned, "I’m not enjoying being the one whose always attacked."

 "It’s not that bad," Mina told her wryly, and Rei grinned at her.  "You’ll get used to everyone following you wherever you go, even to the bathroom, and--"

 "Stop talking right now," Rei said, holding up a finger.  She looked over at Rais and sighed. "I guess we need some guards in here."  She whistled and after a few moments and couple of guards appeared in the doorway.

 "Yes, ma’am?"

 "Take him to the dungeon," Rei gestured to Rais.  The guards stared for a moment.  "I have no other place for him, okay?  For everyone’s safety, he’s going to have to stay in the dungeon."

 "But no one’s ever been in the dungeon for as long as anyone can remember," one of the guards said, looking uncertain.

 "You heard me," Rei strictly replied, "I have no choice.  Just in the dungeon though, don't use the chains or anything like that."

 They lifted the unconscious boy and took him away.  The girls watched and Hotaru shook her head.  "How sad."

 "Yeah," Rei said, "Sad."

 Hotaru looked at her.  "What else could you have done?"

 "Nothing," Rei said, "but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel bad about it."  She kicked at the ground.  That was almost stupid.  He had tried to kill her. All the same...

 "What are we going to do with him afterwards?" Lita asked Rei, but she just shook her head.  "We can’t just keep him here forever!"

 "I don’t intend to," Rei rubbed her chin in thought, "But I’ll have to figure something out.  We can't have him coming back to haunt us."

Mina looked down at TK who smiled up at her.  She was concerned for Rais but she was also a bit more interested in this new companion.

 Somehow she suspected a long friendship to come with Tekerant Krishna.

Awww... Gotta love oversized kitty cats. Chapter 4