~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Journey Begins

 

"Rise and shine, you two! I made you breakfast!" Hikaru entered the room without bothering to knock, carrying a tray with two covered plates. Of course, Hikaru would have to be a morning person.

"How thoughtful of you," Fuu said, trying to be cheerful over her yawn. "What did you make?"

"Scrambled eggs!" Hikaru lifted the cover off of one of the plates to show off her concoction. Fuu coughed.

"Um, Hikaru...the eggs look kind of...green." she said, as politely as she could.

"What's wrong with that?" Ferio wondered, taking a plate from Hikaru and digging in.

Hikaru smiled as she made her way over to give Fuu the other plate. "What, haven't you ever heard of Green Eggs and Ham?"

Fuu shrugged. "I guess so. Though the ham's not green, it's more of a purple tone."

"Ham? What's that?" Ferio asked around a mouthful.

"It's a kind of meat back home," Fuu explained. She tried a tiny bite of the eggs, then sighed in relief. "Not bad at all. You're a good cook, Hikaru."

Hikaru grinned. "I knew you'd like it if you give it a chance. Would you eat them in a house? Would you eat them with a mouse?"

"I will not eat them in a house. I will not eat them with a mouse. I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam I am."

Ferio looked at the girls with a bewildered expression on his face. "What the heck are you talking about?"

Fuu laughed. "Nothing, don't worry about it."

"Weirdos." Ferio turned his attention back to eating.

 

"Umi, it's time to wake up." Aerith was shaking her.

"No thank you," Umi replied, burying her head in her pillow. "I think I'll just sleep forever."

"Rise and shine, silly. Don't worry, there's hope for you. Some Shinji guy came and rescued Rei last night."

"Rei...?"

"Rei Ayanami. She was even weirder than you, if that's possible." Aerith smiled.

"I don't care if I'm rescued. I don't want to live." Umi didn't come out from the protection her pillow.

"That's where you're wrong. There's always a reason to live. Is this problem over some guy?" Umi didn't answer. "My first boyfriend left to join SOLDIER. I never saw him again. For a while I was pretty upset. But then, I met Cloud..."

"I'm not getting over this one," Umi replied.

"You'll think that for a while, but please, don't give up hope. Two wrongs don't make a right."

Umi sat up. "You're right--I'm being foolish," she said. "I forgot all about Fuu and Hikaru. There have to be three Magic Knights. Aerith, round up the other girls. I think we can find a way out of here."

 

"What makes you so sure north is the way to go?" Clef wondered.

"I just--I had a dream, that's all. It made it clear. What else do we have to go on?" Ferio replied. He didn't really feel like discussing the specifics of the dream--especially not in front of Fuu.

"Those mountains have never fully been explored. I guess it only makes sense that something is up there." Clef sighed. "This could have been so much easier. Oh well, there's no point lying around here any longer. We should make preparations for our journey."

"We? You're coming along this time?" Hikaru blurted out. "I mean, not that there's anything wrong with that--"

"Of course I'm coming along. Especially with Umi gone, you'll need all the help you can get. Those mountains are dangerous."

"I think we should concentrate our efforts on finding Umi," Ascot said, frowning. "We need her help."

"But that's probably what they wanted us to do!" interrupted Ferio. "Just when I'm figuring things out, a distractor. Someone doesn't want us getting to that Cathedral."

"Ferio--"

"Who knows that they're not keeping her there?"

Ascot considered for a moment. "I'm coming with you," he said.

"Presea?" Fuu asked.

"Someone's got to hold the castle together, with Caldina and Lafarga running about and--"

"Puu puu puu!" Mokona hopped out of nowhere into Hikaru's arms.

"Mokona!" she exclaimed. "Where have you been? I was looking for you!" Mokona puued something only Hikaru could understand. "Umi? No, Umi's not here... Of course we wouldn't leave without you!"

"So, Hayase, when can you be ready to go?" Clef turned to the young man from Japan.

Hayase jumped. "Me? That could be dangerous! I just want to go home!"

"The only way one summoned from another world can go home is if they help save our world," Clef said. "If you want to go home, this is the only way to do it. Presea, do you have some kind of weapon that will suit him?"

Presea nodded and closed her eyes. A double-handed blade with a curved edge appeared in front of her. She took it out of the air and offered it to Hayase.

"Hey, neat," he said, trying a few swings with it.

"Watch where you point that thing!" Hikaru squeaked, jumping out of the sword's way. "Can't you put that somewhere harmless?"

"That's right! You need armor." Clef lifted his staff and there was a flash.

"What kind of armor is this?" Hayase was wearing an outfit rather similar to Umi's over the clothes he had borrowed from Ferio.

"Oops. Forgot I was working with a male this time." Clef lifted his staff again, and this time Hayase wore more masculine armor. His sword disappeared into the jewel in his glove, much to his disappointment--and Hikaru's relief.

"What about us, Presea?" Fuu asked.

"Yes, of course!" Presea summoned Fuu and Hikaru's swords, and Clef gave them their armor.

"Wow, that sword's huge! Can you actually swing that thing?" Hayase asked Fuu.

"Let me demonstrate," Fuu replied, coming after him.

"Never mind, I trust you, I trust you!" Hayase screamed, running away--a rather ridiculous sight in his shining armor.

"What a coward," Hikaru commented, rolling her eyes. "If he didn't have to get home--"

"But he does, so we better make him a help rather than a hindrance," Clef replied. "Come back, Hayase! You still haven't received your magic!"

"Magic! That's so cool! I get to use magic!" He stuck his tongue out at Hikaru. "Try to make fun of me now, and I'll fry you with a spell! Woo hoo!"

"Spare me," Hikaru muttered.

"Your magic won't just work whenever, you know. Just when you really need it," Clef told him.

"Damn. Where's the fun in that?"

The Guru sighed and extended his staff towards Hayase. "Accept," he yawned.

Hayase was encircled by bolts of lighting that snaked around him in a twisting circle.

"It figures, that since his name has to do with water, he'd have lightning magic," groaned Hikaru. "I thought names were supposed to reflect these things!"

"You read too many mangas," Fuu replied. Meanwhile, Hayase was looking at himself in a mirror.

"All right! Raise the roof! I'm really da bomb now!" Hayase shouted. All of a sudden, Hikaru was at his throat.

"If I ever, ever, ever hear those words out of your mouth again, you will no longer be the bomb, you will be the shrapnel!" she said. Hayase gulped.

"Can we please talk about something that's not explosive?" Ascot asked meekly.

 

"Yeah, Umi, it's a great plan, but there's just one little problem--" Akane said. "The Stratus is in the air. There's no way we can get out unless it lands."

"Damn," Umi replied.

"It's still a good plan--they can't keep it in the air forever," Aeka reassured her. "We'll be on the ground in no time!"

"And out of here!" Usagi amended. "But then--how do we get home?"

The door swung open, and Camry came in. The girls hushed up immediately. "Your lunch is ready," he told them.

Camaro stormed in the door behind him. "Damn you, Camry, why are you never where I want you to be? I've been looking for you!"

"I'm sorry, Camaro, but I can't read minds--"

"Don't be impertinent with me, young man. The sensors on the Energy Meter are going off the charts! There's something powerful on this planet."

"That's great, Camaro! And to think the planet will soon be ours."

"Mine, and don't you forget it," Camaro snapped. "Mother will be so proud of me."

"If you don't let me have some, I'll tell mom on you," Camry taunted.

"Tattletale," Camaro muttered. "Fine, I'll give you some, if it'll shut you up."

"Thanks so much, really! Camaro, you're the best brother a guy ever had."

"You disgust me," the younger brother muttered in way of reply. He slunk out of the room in true villainous fashion.

 

"The Forest of Song," Clef said, pointing to a line of trees on the horizon. "No one has been inside it in all human memory. There's some sort of force, they say, that keeps everyone out but those who were meant to go there."

"Like us, so we needn't worry," Ferio replied.

"Not so fast. Just because we're supposed to go north doesn't mean--"

"Look at that, Clef," Ferio said. He followed the line of trees with his finger. "It extends as far as you can see in either direction. There's no way around. We have to go through it. I had that dream, therefore, we're the ones."

"Are you sure about that? Dreams are funny sometimes..." Ascot said nervously.

"There's no other choice," Ferio replied. He strode forward.

Fuu followed close behind. "Ferio-san--"

"What, are you worried too?" he asked her, as the others followed them.

"No, I'm not, actually. The Magic Knights are so tangled in most destinies that I'm sure we're a part of this one, too. I was just wondering how you're feeling. There's quite a bit of pressure on you."

Ferio rolled his eyes. "Tell me something I don't know. Everyone expects me to know everything until I actually say something, and then they doubt me. It's not fair."

"You're of Pillar blood. They expect you to be more than human."

"You said 'they'. So you don't expect that of me?"

"I expect you to be yourself. The Ferio I knew in the Forest of Silence, for all that now he's a prince and a pillar and who knows what else."

"I haven't changed, really," he replied with a relieved smile. "The situation has changed, but I haven't."

They were coming up on the first few trees now. "That's good to hear," Fuu replied. "I--"

"What is your business here?" a voice asked out of the treetops. They looked for the speaker, but couldn't find her.

"Who are you to ask?" Ferio called back.

"Who am I to ask, you say?" the voice laughed. It was female, and rather--coquettish, in a way.

"That voice is so familiar..." Clef was muttering to himself.

"I'm the Byrde of this forest. The protector, one might say. Tell me what business you have here."

"Show yourself!" Clef shouted.

"As you wish." A figure jumped down in front of them, her red hair flopping in front of one of her eyes. She wore a blouse that fell over her shoulders and a short, black skirt. Her eyes went wide with shock for a moment, but she regained her composure with frightening speed. "Well...Guru Clef. Fancy meeting you...here."

"You know this person?" Hikaru whispered.

Clef was having a much harder time recovering from his shock. "I...well, um..."

"Don't be shy, Clef. Never knew you to be tongue-tied before."

"This is...Miss Mazda was a student of mine, a long time ago..." Clef stuttered.

"Oh please, quit pretending you don't know me. You could at least call me Miata. You can't have forgotten everything."

"Yes...Miata," Clef replied, nodding. "It's been a long time since you...studied with me."

"Studied? You say that as if it were all we did!" Miata laughed again. "But you still cannot remember. It is not yet time--" She cut off, and shook her head vehemently. "Well, I see you're the ones I can let pass through here, so I'd best be going. But rest assured we will meet again. Ta-ta!" Miata leapt back into the treetops.

"Well, she was quite a character," commented Ascot. "I think she's scarier than any monster we could have faced!"

"Miata hasn't changed a bit," Clef murmured, shaking his head. "I'd give anything to know what she has to do with all this--but I don't remember."

"Hey Clef, what's this about your relationship with her?" Hikaru inquired slyly.

"Well, I...we..."

"Come on! We want all the juicy details!"

"I don't think that's any of your business, Hikaru!" Clef said, his face turning a brilliant pink.

Ferio clapped Clef's back. "I didn't know you had it in you, old man."

"Cut it out already!" the magician shouted. "It was all a long time ago, okay? Leave me alone!"

"If you insist," Ferio said, pulling away. The conviction in Clef's voice surprised him--there was more to this than an old relationship gone bad. "Sorry."

"It's all right." Clef looked up at the trees, his expression thoughtful. Just on the edge of my memory...why can't I grasp it?

"Are you going to tell us, Mr. Clef?" Hikaru wondered softly.

"Just...the whole place feels like her. It's like an extension of Miata. I have a feeling I should know why, but..." He trailed off. "Never mind. It's not important."

 

They made camp soon after (thanks, Mokona!), but were awakened by Hayase's screams.

"If something's captured him, let them have him," Hikaru muttered, barely awake.

"That'd be unfair to whoever captured him," Fuu replied.

"I heard that!" Hayase shouted.

"Damn, he's alive." Hikaru rolled over and went back to sleep.

Fuu was the one who got up and made her way over to find out why he was screaming. "What is it?" she asked irritably.

"I hear something," Hayase replied. "Music."

"It's just your imagination, or birds or something. Go back to sleep."

Ferio, whose bedroll was next to Hayase's, looked up. "I hate to admit it, but now I hear it too," he said. "Be quiet for a moment."

A weird, haunting melody was just barely audible. Fuu made a mental note that if--er, when they found Umi, she would tell her how loudly Ascot snored.

"I think I should go check it out," Hayase said, getting up and beginning to pull on his armor--a very awkward attempt.

"You do that. Don't come back," Hikaru muttered.

"Very funny, Hikaru!" Hayase shouted back, losing his balance and falling in a clatter of metal.

"No! The cheesecake! Don't shave the cheesecake!" Ascot cried, coming awake with a start. He looked around and blushed. "Uh...never mind," he said sheepishly, turning over to go back to sleep.

"Uh-huh." Ferio rolled his eyes.

"Well, I guess I don't really need that armor." Hayase stood again, trying to regain some dignity. "Have no fear, I will go see what is afoot." He looked just about as ridiculous as he sounded as he strode out.

"Strange boy," Ferio muttered.

Hikaru noticed that Clef's eyes were still open, and knelt down beside him. "Are you okay, Mr. Clef?"

"I'm fine," he replied. "It's just that I have the feeling I've been here before. Everything feels so familiar here..."

"You're imagining things," Hikaru replied. "No one's ever been here before."

"But I have!" Clef shook his head. "And I can't remember. There are years of my life that I don't remember at all, Hikaru. And Ruby..."

"Who's Ruby?" Hikaru interrupted.

Clef rubbed his face with his hands. He looked as if he were in agony. "It's a nickname for Miata. I don't remember anyone calling her that, but it belongs to her."

"Well, I think you just need some sleep." She patted his shoulder, smiling sympathetically. "Things will look brighter in the morning."

"I hope so..." Clef replied, his voice so soft it was barely audible. "I sure hope so."

 

"Eh?" Miata looked up from her guitar-like instrument. "Oh, it's you," she sighed.

"And just who were you expecting?" Hayase replied saucily.

"Not expecting, precisely. I know better than that," Miata sighed, looking up at the stars.

"Just who are you, anyway?" Hayase wondered, wishing he had his armor. He looked so much more impressive with it.

"Didn't I tell you? I am the Byrde, the guardian of the Forest of Song. The last of my line. I am Miata."

"What makes you so sure?"

"That I am Miata?"

"No, that you are the last."

"Well, there's no point in me guarding the forest once you see what is on the other side, right?" Miata replied with a wink.

"So, just what are you hiding over there? More importantly, what's the quickest way to it? I want to go back to Tokyo!"

Miata smiled. "Wouldn't you like to know!" She laughed and bounded into the treetops.

"Damn her!" Hayase muttered. He turned around to return--

And saw that he was in a place completely unfamiliar to him. And utterly, completely lost.

 

Part 5: Searching coming soon!

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