Illycya
Original fiction in comic book format
and translated into story format by 
Nikholas "Pinball" F. Toledo

Note from Pinball
So sorry.  This is our first fic EVER.  Excuse us for all the mistakes 
that might have been overlooked.  Thanks for your time.  Oh, and Camera 
Shy wants you all to write in!  Well, I sorta got an idea from Switch, 
he's our big bro, ya know!!  Here's an excerpt from "Shoebox"!


				"I can offer you lies,
				 I can tell you good-byes,
				 I can tell you I'm sorry,
				 But I can't tell the truth.
				 And what if I could?
				 Would it do any good?"

One:  2nd Chances

	Lucas was bored.  It was a bad kind of bored.  He was not only 
bored, but he was disappointed.
	"Feh."  Not a good disappointment, either.
	He jumped from off the branch of the tree, and almost ruined a pair 
of pants in the process.  The rip wasn't very obvious from the front;  
his black shirt was long enough to cover the ripped breeches.  Not too 
well though;  he felt a draft from the seat of his pants, where some 
embarrassing things were showing.
	This bites, he thought.  The only girl who actually sets a date 
with me, and she's late.
	Lucas set upon the slacker's path, putting his hands in his pockets 
(removing them only after realizing that the hole dipped lower than his 
hemline at that), he started kicking rocks in his path.  
	"I knew it was too good to be true" would have summarized what he 
was feeling, and he mumbled exactly that under his breath.  She could 
have at least returned the stupid rock.
	"Well..." said a voice.  He turned.
	A redhead in her teens pouted at him, "... I'd say the same.  It IS 
me, after all."
	He held his breath, and totally missed the tell-tale swoop of 
artificial flight.
	She had looked much more cute two years ago, when they had first 
met in this self-same forest.  Lucas noticed that she had traded the 
amorphous brown tunic she had had on then with a loose, off-shoulder 
ensemble, complete with cape.  She also had her twin ponytails loosened, 
which made her light brown hair hang well past her shoulders tied with a 
pair of red ribbons, which draped on the monochromatically paired cloak.  
It revealed a tiara which constituted of a red jewel set in a gold brace, 
on her forehead.
	She was much, much less cute;  she looked more mature, and much 
more pretty.
	It was well worth the wait of two years.
	She smiled at him, "been a while, bubble-head.  Here I am."  She 
extended a hand in his direction.
	The world was suddenly so wonderfully red.  He took her hand in 
his, and pulled her close to him.
	"... uhmmm..." she hummed to him.
	"Yes...?"  Bliss came in so little words.
	"... thanks..." 
	He knew it was the time.  He looked into her eyes.
	"... for the gem."  She thrust it at him.
	Lucas couldn't be sure whether she had meant to hit him in the 
nose;  it didn't hurt, but it started to itch.  He just covered his nose 
and took the proffered gem.  "'ure.  No mrob."
	She looked surprised, then stopped to laugh.  "You're funny," she 
said.
	He stared agape at her laughing, managing a smile himself.  Moments 
passed.  Before he knew it, he sneezed.  They shared another laugh.
	She started walking down the path out of the forest.  Lucas wasn't 
really sure if he was going to follow, but, at the edge, she turned back, 
waved a hand at him, and walked further.
	He caught up with her in a while, as they went to the base of a 
hill.
	"Oh, yeah," she said.  "My name's Laika."
	Laika.  Pretty name.  "Mine's Lucas."  He settled to her pace.
	There was an awkward silence.  Lucas started to pinch himself.  He 
still couldn't believe that she was there.  On the road.  With HIM.  He 
started to smile like a complete idiot.
	"So... what's up?"  Laika asked.
	"Um... well... um... nothing much, I guess.  You?"  he replied, 
hoping he didn't sound too hopeful.  Still, he was smiling.
	"None of your business!"  she replied in a haughty tone.
	Lucas felt a rush of disappointing reality.  He looked away.  The 
smile disappeared, replaced by a pathetic puppy-dog look. 
	"I knew it was too good to be true," he mumbled under his breath.  
Laika smiled, showing a row of perfect little pearls.  She patted his 
back. 
	"I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," she said.  She 
changed her tone.  "C'mon!  Let's go somewhere and have a bite to eat!"  
She put her hands on her hips.  "You wouldn't want me to die of 
starvation, would you?"
	"Oh, sorry.  How 'bout we go to my house for some snacks, then we 
can do some catching up?" he said.
	Laika pushed him forward.  "Then lead the way!!" she yelled.  They 
laughed good-naturedly.
	Lucas wondered if she saw the rip.  He smiled.  She probably 
didn't.
	Behind him, Laika looked over her shoulder.  She frowned.  "They 
couldn't find me here!"  she mumbled.
	A particularly out of place object glinted in the sky.  But they 
were both to preoccupied to notice.

				*		*		*

	The aforesaid object was a spaceship from a far-off planet called 
Rishamon.  Inside it were a motley crew of totally frazzled Rishamans.
	"WHERE IS SHE???!!!"  a person yelled.  This person was seated in a 
chair in the middle of the bridge.  The captain's chair.  Everyone in the 
ship lived in fear of this person's wrath, like they would fear a 
captain.  This person demanded everyone to follow orders, like a captain 
would demand of his crew.  Based on the aforementioned facts, one can 
conjecture that this person is the captain of the ship.  Or someone more 
powerful and/or more psychotic than the real captain.
	The real captain was cowering behind the chair.
	"W-w-w-we don't know!"  he stuttered.  The person looked at him.  
The person's blue eyes could have killed him on the spot.
	"Captain Quentin, you are USELESS!"  the person said coldly.  The 
person's name was Alex.  Alex was the heir to the throne of Rishamon.  
This explained why everyone feared Alex.
	Aegis, the cook, rolled his eyes.
	"Dinner's ready," he mumbled.  He brushed off the breadcrumbs from 
his apron.
	A bystander would have thought that Aegis was a girl.  Short and 
slim, he had long pink hair that he kept in a ponytail and bright gray 
eyes framed with long lashes.  Very long lashes.
	Alex glared at him.
	"We can't eat NOW.  We are in search of a criminal!"
	Everyone groaned silently.  They were all pretty hungry.
	Alex pulled on Quentin's blue hair.
	"Give me the name of that planet."
	Quentin frowned at Alex, grabbed his hair and said, "Illycya."
	"She must be there.  Prepare to attack."

				*		*		*

	"Do you like it?"  Lucas inquired.  Laika smiled.
	"Mmm, graphet," she said.  Her mouth was full of the tiny biscuits 
Lucas gave her.  Lucas fought back a fit of laughter.  Laika swallowed 
and smiled again.
	"I said it's perfect.  Excuse me for pigging out," she said.  She 
wiped her mouth with a little white hankie.  Lucas stared at her.  She 
had taken off her cape.  Underneath it, she was wearing a loose white 
sweater with "love" written in red print with a ton of little red hearts 
sprinkled on it, to match.  She wore it on top of a similarly red 
sleeveless dress that ended well above the knees. Lucas blushed and 
looked at his toes.
	"S-s-so, umm, well, umm, where are you from?" he stuttered.
	"Here and there," she said vaguely, resting her chin on her hand.  
She looked out the window.  There was another moment of awkward silence.
	"The sunset's nice isn't it?"  he asked.  Laika nodded silently.
	If a spaceship fell on my house and killed me now, I'd die a happy 
man.
	Laika frowned.  She jumped up.
	"We have to go!"  she yelled.  Lucas gawked at her.
	"NOW!"	
	They scrambled out of the house, just in time, too.  A second 
later, a huge blue spaceship fell on it.  Lucas was stupefied.
	"How can you have found me?"  Laika yelled.  Her sweater was badly 
torn by the explosion.  It allowed Lucas to see her bare arms.  He 
blushed.
	"You couldn't have escaped me," Alex said.  The rest of the crew 
was either conked out by the crash or by trying to get out of the debris.
	"Um, Miss, you are under arrest for destroying Rishamon property 
and stealing a Rishamon cruise ship.  Please don't give us any trouble 
and surrender peacefully," Quentin said, pointing a gun at her.  Laika 
stared at it.
	"Laika!"  Lucas yelled.  He wanted to help her, but he couldn't do 
anything but stare.
	"Laika?"  Alex whispered.
	"Yes, that's me," Laika said with the air of smugness.  Alex 
smirked.
	"How dare you PRETEND to be the Princess Laika?"
	"What do you mean PRETEND?"  Laika brushed up her bangs and showed 
Alex the gem on her forehead.  "Then, sir, how could I have gotten this?"
	Alex frowned.
	Lucas stood beside Quentin, who was busily nibbling on some 
pretzels.
	"What's going on with Laika and that guy?"  he asked.
	"That girl over there is pretending to be THE Princess Laika."
	"Just who IS this Princess?"
	Quentin looked at him with a face that said "You don't know?!"
	"The Princess is the ruler of the planet Vera and an unknown 
planet.  A war on the planet that happened 20 years ago was the cause for 
the king of Vera to meet the princess of that planet.  The King fell in 
love with her and married her.  She has the royal power of two lineages, 
thus making her extremely powerful," he said with a sigh.
	"And what does that gem on her forehead mean?"  Lucas asked.  
Quentin gave him an exasperated sigh.
	"The gem is called a regulator.  It was designed to control the 
princess's power."
	Alex was annoyed.
	"That regulator can be a fake."
	"How dare you say that?"  Laika said.  She balled her hands into 
fists.  An alarming spark from her regulator appeared.
	Alex laughed.  "So you intend to prove that you ARE Laika."
	Alex was suddenly enveloped by a swirling mass of water.
	"You'll regret this," Laika said.  Then, she was surrounded by 
fire.
	Lucas was freaked out.  He started to pinch himself.
	"This can't be happening to me," he whimpered.  Quentin was 
nonchalantly eating his pretzels. 
	Alex and Laika both prepared to aim.  Elements swirled in each of 
their hands.
	"This can't be happening to me," Lucas said again.  Quentin was 
nibbling his last pretzel.
	The elements were getting larger.
	"This is NOT my life," he said.  Quentin finished his pretzels, he 
was still hungry.
	"You'll be sorry you insulted me," Laika said.
	Lucas started to cry.  Quentin looked for some food.
	"Water spout!!!"  Alex yelled.
	"Fireball!!!"  Laika screamed.
	Lucas and Quentin looked up just in time to gape at the explosion.

				*		*		*

	Back at the forest, a hooded figure looked at the explosion.  She 
frowned.
	"Outsiders," she whispered.  She ran towards the site, followed by 
a small black pig.

				*		*		*

	"My house!" Lucas groaned.
	Laika was standing in the middle of a crater that was Lucas' house.  
There wasn't a scratch on her.
	"Hah!  Showed you!"  she said.  She laughed.  For a moment, 
everyone else thought she was insane.
	"Alex!"  Quentin cried.  If the Rishaman elders found out that the 
heir was hurt under his care, he would be killed!  Why else would he 
care?
	Lucas picked Alex up.  He unbuttoned Alex's shirt to let the 
injured breathe better, or so he thinks it will.  Alex was coming to.
	"What are you doing???!!!"
	As the last button came off, Alex slapped him.  Lucas was stunned 
at what he saw.
	"A-a-a-are those b-b-b-b--"
	"That's my chest, you insane pervert!"  Alex yelled, still pounding 
on his head.
	"Tsk, tsk, tsk.  People always think Princess Alexandra is male," 
Quentin said, shaking his blue-haired head.  Laika wiped the amazed 
expression off her face.  She marched towards Lucas, socked him and then 
helped Alex up.
	"Let's go, Alex.  Far away from these perverts."
	Lucas gawked.  Quentin found another bag of pretzels.
	"Want one?"  he asked.

				*		*		*

	"I'm so sorry, Alex," Laika said.  "I was just ticked off that you 
thought that I would stoop so low as to pretend that I'm somebody else."
	"It's OK.  I was just excited by the fact that I was chasing a 
wanted criminal," Alex replied.  They were in the ship that Laika 
supposedly stole and were picking out something for the newly-bathed Alex 
to wear.  Laika frowned.
	"I am NOT a criminal."
	"Easy on that."
	Laika was wringing the red jumper in her hand.  She looked at it 
then laughed.
	"Sorry about that.  I didn't mean to sound so defensive.  Okay, so 
I DID crash on the palace--"
	"On my room, to be exact."
	Laika grinned sheepishly.
	"Sorry about that.  Anyway, I guess you've heard by now exactly why 
I was in such a rush."
	Alex was suddenly serious.
	"I know.  This might be a rebellion on our hands.  You are the 
ruler of Vera now.  What do you intend to do?"
	"I don't know.  I can't stop them.  I haven't learned to control my 
power yet."
	"Rishamon will always be ready to create an alliance."
	Laika smiled.  She threw Alex the jumper.
	"Here.  Put this on.  We have to get back, they might be worrying."
	"Laika..."
	"Yes?"
	"I know this is irrelevant, but I have this feeling that I've been 
here before.  On Illycya."
	"It's probably just déjà vu."

				*		*		*

	Meanwhile, back in Lucas's house, or what was left of it, Quentin 
was busy reviving the rest of his crew.
	The aforesaid crew consisted of the following:  Aegis, Agamemnon, 
Candice and Turner.
	Aegis, as said before, is the "beautiful" cook.  Hmmm, what can we 
say about him.  Oh, he has an annoying habit of throwing forks at other 
people with annoying habits.
	Agamemnon is the pilot.  Quiet on the whole, but can really freak 
out at times.  He can be called the pillar of the crew, without him, 
everything will crash.
	Candice is the second in command and also the foster sister of the 
princess.
	Turner is the manager of security and artillery.
	"Where are they?"  Lucas muttered.  Quentin was busy trying to haul 
Turner up.  The rest of the crew were eating pretzels.
	"Aww, don't worry.  They're safe," he answered.  He finally managed 
to heave Turner up.
	"I hate this," Candice complained.  "Now, we can't go home."
	"Stop whining, will you?"  Agamemnon, Mem, said.  He was in a bad 
mood.  As you may or may not recall, they haven't eaten since they left 
their planet.
	"Whose fault was it that the ship crashed, anyway?"
	"If you hadn't tried to steal my pretzels, I wouldn't have 
forgotten to land properly!"
	"Sure, blame everything on me!  Is it all my fault?  Turner tried 
to steal it, too!"
	"I did not!!"
	"You did, too!!!"
	"Stop it, guys!"  Aegis said.
	"Oh, put a sock in it.  You can't complain.  You've eaten."
	Candice gave Aegis a good hit on the head with a piece of lumber 
that was Lucas's dinner table.  Aegis was out cold.
	"Geez, that was stupid.  Now, no one will cook for us!"  Mem 
yelled.
	"Don't call her stupid, or else!"  Turner threatened.
	Mem hit him on the head with a chair leg.
	"What did you do that for?"  he yelled.
	"Because you're a moron," Candice told him.  There was a 
particularly disturbing glow of aura surrounding the three.  Lucas was 
going to ask Quentin for help, but he was mysteriously missing.
	"Guys, don't fight," he said lamely.  The three glared at him.  
"Now, don't lose your heads..."
	Then, there was a scream.  Followed by three others. 

				*		*		*

	"What was that?" Laika asked.  She and Alex looked at each other, 
then they ran.

				*		*		*

	"Don't you DARE touch MY Lucas!!!"
	 Candice, Mem and Turner looked at her.  The stranger in question 
was a gray-haired female with a look in her eyes that could kill an army.
	"Umm, excuse me, but WHO THE HELL ARE YOU???"  Candice asked.  She 
raised her eyebrows at her.  The finger that she pointed with shook.
	The girl's lower lip began to tremble.
	"Y-y-you y-y-yelled at me!!!" the girl said.  Her eyes began to 
water.  Candice lowered her eyebrows.
	"Now, don't cry," Turner said, trying to soothe the girl's 
apparently hurt feelings.  He reached out to pat her on the back.
	"Don't TOUCH me!!"
	The girl stepped back in an attempt to get away, but she tripped on 
Aegis and fell flat on her back.  Lucas was awake now.  He rubbed his 
badly bruised head.  Then he spoke.
	"What's going o--"
	He was rudely stopped by Aegis' foot.  He was, again, out cold.
	Aegis turned in his sleep.  Now, he was on top of the shocked girl.  
His hand did something that his head would regret.
	"YYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
PERVERT!!!"  the girl yelled.  There was a sudden hurricane that tossed 
everyone in the scene around.  When they fell, no one moved.  Quentin 
came out from his hiding place.
	"Tsk, tsk, tsk," he said as he nibbled a pretzel that had fallen 
nearby.
	"WHAT HAPPENED?"
	Quentin looked up to see the two princesses that were breathlessly 
heading toward him.
	"Where's Lucas?"
	"You're stepping on him."
	Laika looked at the ground she was standing on to see that it was 
not ground, but Lucas' back.  She jumped from on top of him and helped 
him up.
	Lucas was groggy.  He looked at her and said:  "Huh?"
	He lazily stared at Laika.
	He laughed a little, then he kissed her.
	Everyone stared.
	Laika was stunned.  Then, she was sort of ticked off;  nope, make 
that furious.
	"PERVERT!!!"  she yelled.  There was another forest fire.
	
				*		*		*

	Kendra looked up.  She found it hard to track the source of the 
explosion.  She thought that she was extremely lucky that the site of the 
incident kept on emitting strange lights and noises.  She looked down at 
her familiar, a black piglet named Marcus.  She picked him up.  She 
sighed.
	"It's so difficult to be the village protectress.  You have to 
chase Outsiders most of the day and nobody gives you anything in return.  
This is SO not good."
	Marcus twitched his nose up at her.  She grinned.
	"Well, let's take a nap now, shall we?"
	Marcus blushed.  Kendra stretched out under a large tree and 
snuggled Marcus close to her ample bosom.  After a while, Marcus pried 
himself from her grasp then ran off.

				*		*		*

	"Pervert!"
	Four female fists crashed into his face.  The four then marched off 
and sat down on the far side of the explosion site (a.k.a. Lucas's 
house).  The three other guys went up to him and started patting his back 
with exclamations of "Way to go!" and "Good going!"
	"Did I just do that?"  he asked, stunned.
	Quentin grinned at him slyly.  "It's nothing to be shy about."
	"Yup!  You might even be her first kiss!!"  Mem said, while he was 
wrestling with Turner for the last pretzel.
	"It's a GOOD thing, man!"  Turner said, succeeding in grabbing the 
pretzel and swallowing it in one bite.  Lucas was not listening.  He 
looked longingly at the girls.  He sighed.  So much for second chances, 
he thought.
	"'scuse me, but I'm kinda hungry," Mem complained.  He rubbed the 
sore spots Turner placed in his body.  Turner groaned at him.
	"Somebody conked out Aegis.  Now, nobody will cook."
	"Cook?"  Laika said.  She was suddenly beside Turner, who was too 
busy stealing Candice's pretzels to listen to her question.  Laika was 
not to be ignored.
	"What does this word mean?"  she pressed.  All of them were 
suddenly around her.
	"Are you joking?"  Alex demanded.
	"NO!  What does 'cook' mean?"
	Alex was annoyed.
	"You don't know what 'cook' means?"
	"NO!  Should I?"
	They all big-sweated.  Alex sneered.
	"I can't believe you don't know."
	"Well, do you?"
	"OF COURSE!"
	"Then WHAT DOES IT MEAN???"
	There was a moment of silence.
	"You don't know either."
	"Yes."
	They all face-faulted.  After the impending question was answered, 
Laika suddenly had a silly idea that everybody else will probably regret.
	The idea is as follows:  since Aegis was temporarily out of 
commission, she and Alex would like to give this 'cooking' a try.  
Knowing better than to stop the two everybody else had a silent agreement 
that they would all stay away.  Far, far away.
	"Well, we better get started," Laika said.  The two of them were 
all decked out in, well, let's just say a more than adequate attire.  
People who looked at them probably thought that they were out to do 
battle or some other warrior-like brouhaha.  They were wearing 
battlesuits of sorts.
	"What do we cook?"  Alex asked.  The two of them were stumped.
	"Don't people cook fish?"
	"Oh, yeah!  They do, don't they?  I'll get the fish, you get the 
fire."
	A semi-troubling scene was viewed by a spying Quentin.  Alex was 
making whirlpools in a nearby lake.  The reason for this was that dizzy 
fish were easier to catch.  Laika was looking for something to burn.  Not 
succeeding in this, she decided that she'll just hang the fish on a cord 
then shoot fireballs at it.  When they finally finished 'cooking', 
Quentin went back to the rest of the cast.

				*		*		*

	Back at the supposed 'far, far away', it was pretty much quiet.  
There was still the problem of pretzel theft among the crew of Quentin's 
ship.  Aegis was still out cold and Lucas was sitting beside him.  The 
conversation of the crew was as follows:
	"Where did you get that pretzel, I ate the last one, didn't I?"
	"I saw it in one of the bags."
	"Who's going to eat it?"
	"I should.  I found it, after all."
	"But the pretzel was from a bag I bought."
	"I should eat it because I haven't eaten a single one."
	"Yeah, right, I saw you eating one before the ship crashed."
	"You saw that?  I guess THAT'S why we crashed in the first place."
	"But it was MY pretzel!  You stole it!"
	"But Turner stole one, too!"
	"I wouldn't call it stealing..."
	"I still think I should eat it."
	And so on...
	
	Lucas's thoughts during the wait for 'food' that the two princesses 
'cooked':
	This person beside me looks like a girl.  I wouldn't be so sure of 
myself, I mean Alex was a girl and she LOOKED like a guy.  No, I wouldn't 
make up my mind on that just yet.  You can NEVER be so sure about aliens.  
Geez, they're making so much noise over there.  I wonder what's the 
problem.  Maybe I'll ask them.  NO!  I know what happened the last time I 
got in their way.  WOW!  They're getting a little physical over there.  I 
better not say anything.  Hmm... I kissed her.  I shouldn't feel THAT bad 
about it.  I mean, it's good for ME.  NO!  I shouldn't think like that.  
Hmm... I think she's angry.  OWW!  What hit me?  Oh, a shoe.  Anyway, I 
guess I'll have to say sorry.  I'll have to say sorry to Alissa.  (Looks 
toward the direction of his savior, who was stroking a small, black pig.)  
Oh, and to Alex, too.  Why is my life like this?  The only girls I've 
ever met that are worth second-glances are angry at me.  NO!  I shouldn't 
think like that.  I'm thinking like a pervert.  Wouldn't want that.  Come 
to think of it, Alex is kinda cute, but Laika's cuter.  Laika.  Hmm... I 
gotta tell her.  Oww!  Hey!  A pretzel!  Yum!
	
	The crew pounced on him.
	
				*		*		*

	After a good pouncing (after which, everyone was tired, even 
Alissa, who came to Lucas's rescue) Laika and Candice appeared to 
announce that the food was ready.  With a chorus of silent groans, the 
'meal' began.
	The thoughts of the cast:
	Hmm... what's this?
	I'm so hungry I could eat pig slop.
	Oh, GOD, this looks bad.
	I wonder if I'll die if I ate this.
	Yuck, the fish guts are STILL in here.  I think I'm gonna throw up.
	Hmm... I guess the fire was too hot.
	This tastes odd.  Maybe dizzy fish isn't as tasty...
	Here piggy, eat this.
	ME???  EAT THAT???  (snort, snort)
	(MORAL:  Don't make people who don't know what 'cook' means do the 
said action.)
	There was a sudden noise not so very far that disturbed the cast's 
'meal', much to the thanks of a greater portion of them, including the 
little black pig.  They all stood up (with sneaked efforts of discarding 
their respective dishes) and tried to track where the noise was coming 
from.  They were saved the trouble by a girl with long black hair 
suddenly making an entrance.
	"Marcus!!" she yelled.  The little black pig gave little grunts of 
joy and ran to her.  The girl hugged the pig.
	"You made mommy worried," she said, snuggling the black pig.  The 
rest of them were quiet, showing respect for this touching moment.  After 
a few more seconds of overwhelming mushy-ness, the girl remembered what 
she was supposed to be doing.  She stood up straight.
	"My name is Kendra.  I'm the protectress of a nearby village and I-
- ALISSA?!  WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE???"
	"Sis, I'm sorry!  I was just, well, umm..."
	"You should be at home!!"
	"I KNOW, but I was walking by and there was these guys and they 
were and this was and, um, well..."
	Alissa was shut up by her sister's glowering stare.
	"Umm, excuse us, but who are you?"  Alex asked.  Kendra looked at 
her as if she had forgotten there were other people there to begin with.  
She big-sweated then said sorry.
	"I'm Alissa's elder sister.  My name is Kendra," she said.  There 
was a short introduction of everybody else.
	"Oh, before I forget, have any of you seen the Outsiders?  They 
attacked another village earlier this day."
	"Outsiders?  Who are those?"  Laika asked.  Kendra thought hard for 
a while.
	"They have symbols on their forehead and they usually carry lots of 
weapons."
	"Oh, like them?"
	"Yeah like them-- WHAT???"
	There were well, lots of 'Outsiders' surrounding them.  They all 
poised themselves for battle.  Quentin was still there.  He wasn't able 
to get away THIS time.
	I wish I had a pretzel...

				END OF PART ONE



				"I just have to say:
				 I never really loved you anyway
				 No, I never loved you anyway
				 I'm so happy you're moving away
				 Yeah, I'm DELIGHTED you're moving away!"

						-from "I Never Loved You Anyway" 
						by The Corrs in their album "Talk
								On Corners"

Two: A Chapter Of Earth

	They were all around us. We were greatly outnumbered and helpless.  
Well... not exactly.  You see, my name is Lucas.  I'm just your ordinary 
guy.  Well, up until two years ago.  Let me tell you what really 
happened.
	"LUCAS!!!  We really should be going!" Alissa cried.  I looked up.  
I scratched my head and smiled. Alissa had just invited me over to her 
village to show me around. Alissa's been my friend for AGES.
	"Well?"
	Alissa's hands were on her hips and she flipped her steel-gray hair 
over her shoulder. 
	"We are not going to get ANYWHERE if you don't move it," she said. 
I looked at her and tried to smile.
	"I really don't feel like it today," I replied. Alissa's eyes 
watered. She sniffled.
	"Aw, come on now. You know what happened last night. I'm still 
pretty messed up."
	Alissa forced a smile. Then she turned away and ran.
	"Alissa!"
	I slumped back and sighed. I felt bad that I made Alissa cry, but I 
couldn't run after her. I knew that she understood. I sighed and got up 
from the grass.
	"Excuse me."
	I jumped back, startled.
	"Sorry I startled you," the voice continued. The voice belonged to 
a girl. I cautiously turned around. There she was, just standing there, 
probably the most gorgeous girl I had ever met.
	"Do you have a gem on you?" she asked. I looked at her, then I 
stuttered my reply.
	"Y-y-yes."
	"Could I borrow it?"
	"S-s-sure."
	I handed her a rich black gem, shaped like a six-pointed star, with 
a gold chain. It was the last thing my mother left me. She snatched it 
and smiled.
	"Thanks."
	Then, she ran away.
	"Wait!"
	She stopped in her tracks and looked at me.
	"Don't worry, I'll bring it back! In two years!" she yelled. Then, 
she winked at me. She disappeared into the forest. She was gone.
	Well, I guess if I hadn't let her borrow my gem, she wouldn't be 
here. If she wasn't here, my house will still be in one piece. But, if I 
didn't lend her my gem, I wouldn't have seen her again. I wouldn't have 
known her name. Laika.
	End of Lucas's narration.

				*		*		*

	The Outsiders were closing in on them. Everyone prepared for 
battle. Even Aegis was awake and looked particularly menacing with a 
bunch of forks between his fingers.
	Kendra was smiling.
	"What?" Candice demanded. "You're HAPPY that they're here?"
	Kendra smirked. The Outsiders commenced their attack.
	"Source of light, source of life, source of wisdom. I call upon 
thee, spirits of fire," Kendra chanted.
	Everybody was too busy fighting to give her notice. In the middle 
of the chaos, Kendra was floating a few inches above the ground.
	"Come to us and finish our foes!"
	There was a big glowing light. There were a few screams, one 
mingling with the other. Then, there was silence.
	"See?" Kendra said haughtily. "There's nothing to worry about."
	"WOW," Quentin said. He retracted his light sword.
	"Is everyone okay?" Candice asked. Laika was slumped on the ground.
	"I don't feel so swell."
	"Oh my! Can you control fire?" Kendra asked. She flipped her mane 
of black hair and helped Laika up.
	"Yes."
	"Ooopsie. My spell exhausts all fire sources in a mile's radius. 
That includes you. C'mon, let's get you to bed."
	There was a sudden ray of light. They all stared at it for a few 
minutes. Then, a young man wearing an elaborate cape and an impressive 
suit materialized within the ray of light. He looked at them. He frowned.
	"What have you done to her?"
	Laika looked at the stranger. She groaned.
	"Darius," she said. Then, she fainted.
	"You know what, I think Alissa's missing," Turner said to no one in 
particular.

				*		*		*

	"Shane!"
	A petite, sixteen-year-old girl wearing a red and white school 
uniform stopped in her tracks. She groaned and then turned around.
	"Hi, Mick," she said with a plastered smile on her face. Maick ran 
up to her and scraped his hands through his black hair.
	"Um, can I walk home with you?" he asked. Shane nodded. They 
started walking down the road.
	Mick looked at Shane's profile and smiled. Mick knew that Shane 
knew exactly how he thinks of her. He was just happy that she was angry 
with him. He was thinking of how incredibly lucky he was. Probably the 
luckiest guy on Earth.
	Shane looked straight ahead. She didn't know how to react. She just 
stayed quiet. Right then, she thought she was the unluckiest girl on 
Earth.
	"Um, Shane..."
	Shane gulped.
	"Yes?"
	"Well, about the thing I asked you about, um well, you know. Well, 
what do you think? Have you, umm, decided yet?"
	Shane sighed and fiddled with her long, dark-brown hair. She stared 
into his black eyes and swallowed hard.
	"No. I can't yet. I don't know what to think."
	"Oh..."
	"YAAAAAAAAAA*umph*! Owww."
	"What was that?" they both said. They rushed towards the source of 
the noise. Mick blocked Shane's way.
	"Let me look first. I can't have anything happening to you."
	Shane rolled her eyes.
	"Puh-lease! You are such a chauvinist pig."
	She giggled as she shooed him away. They rushed towards the bushes. 
She peeked behind it.
	"Mick! There's a girl over here!" she said.
	"Yeah, right."
	"I'm not joking, stupid."
	Mick joined her and peered through the branches. Sure enough, there 
was a girl there. One with queer gray hair and a birthmark of some sort 
on her forehead, one that looked like a flower of sorts.
	"Is she hurt?" Shane asked. She broke off some branches and turned 
her deep-blue eyes at him.
	"I guess we better haul her over to your house," Mick said. He 
gathered the girl in his arms and the two started walking again. Shane 
looked at them. She can't help but be jealous.

				*		*		*

	"I asked a question. What did you do to her?" Darius asked. He 
walked towards Laika.
	"Um, 'scuse me, but who are you?" Lucas asked. Darius sneered at 
him.
	"Who am I? I am Darius III. The crown prince of the planet Urah."
	Lucas, after being with two princesses, was unimpressed.
	"SO???"
	"AND Princess Laika's fiancé."

				*		*		*

	Where am I?
	What is this light?
	Who are you?
	Why are you doing this?
	The prophecy... the sayings... what have I got to do with them?
	What is this power I feel?
	It's going through me. No, tearing through me.
	What's going on? What are you doing?
	Who ARE you?
	Who am I?
	STOP!

				*		*		*

	Shane sighed. She stared off into space. She sighed once more.
	"Is she all right?" Mick asked. He sat beside Shane.
	"I don't know."
	Mick sat in silence. He stared at her.
	"HELP!!!"
	The two of them stood up and rushed into Shane's room. The girl 
they had found was lying on the bed. The pillows were wet with tears and 
sweat.
	"Help me!!!" Alissa yelled. She clutched at the sheets. Tears were 
streaming down her face.
	"What's wrong with her?" Shane asked. She wrung her hands and  
tried to wake Alissa up.
	"HELP!!! Emma, DON'T!!! STOP IT!!!"
	Alissa was writhing in pain. Shane put a wet towel on her forehead. 
As soon as she did that, Alissa's birthmark shone underneath it. There 
was a burst of wind from it. The towel came off and Shane toppled over. 
Mick rushed to her side.
	"WHAT is GOING ON???"
	Suddenly, Alissa was covered with a strange light. She floated over 
the bed. Her birthmark glowed. Her lids flipped open to show dark-blue 
eyes that were dull and lifeless. She opened her mouth, but nothing came 
out. A huge light enveloped her.
	Mick and Shane found themselves in each others arms. For fear of 
their lives, that is.

				*		*		*

	"What did you say?" Lucas demanded. Darius smirked.
	"You HEARD it, did you not?" he said. He pushed Lucas aside and 
carried Laika.
	"What are you doing?" Candice asked. She put her hands on her hips.
	"I'm going to take her somewhere to lie her down."
	"Let's take her to my house," Kendra said.
	The walk home was unusually quiet.

				*		*		*

	"What was that?" Shane asked. They got up from the floor and stood 
beside the bed. Alissa was lying on it. Mick stood beside her and 
snickered.
	"What are you laughing at?" Shane asked. She bopped him good.
	"Well, just 'cause there's more to her than we thought!"

				*		*		*

	"Do you have any problems?" Kendra asked. Lucas was sitting beside 
the bed Laika laid upon. Lucas looked up drowsily. It was the middle of 
the night and Lucas hasn't left her bedside since they came.
	"No. I'm fine," he said shortly. Kendra can't help but grin. She 
placed a small tray on the table beside him.
	"Well, here's something to eat. You missed dinner and all, we can't 
let you starve."
	"Thanks," Lucas said as he pushed the tray aside. "I'm not hungry."
	"Well, I'll just leave it there in case you change your mind. Just 
holler if you need me."
	With that, Kendra left the room.
	Lucas slumped back in his seat. He stared into the dark corners of 
the room.
	Engaged? he thought. I knew it was too good to be true. I have to 
do something. Far be it from me to leave the race before it even started. 
I'll have to tell her. Or at least I'll try...
	Lucas dozed off. He wasn't disturbed by the creaky opening of the 
door. Nor was he disturbed when Candice entered the room. She sighed. She 
went out, thankful that nobody noticed the telltale tear in her eye.

				*		*		*

	A day had already passed since Mick and Shane found the mysterious 
girl in the forest, but the aforesaid girl was still sleeping peacefully. 
At this very moment, Shane was sitting beside Alissa's bed.
	"So, how's it going?" Mick asked as he entered the room. He handed 
Shane a glass of iced tea.
	"I'm not sure. Doc Martin said that she's fine, but she hasn't even 
snored since the 'incident'," Shane replied. She sipped her tea and 
placed the glass on the dresser.
	"Oh. Umm, about that thing I asked you..."
	"Not now. Maybe later, Mick."
	"But..."
	"Unnhh. Mmmrhnerr."
	The two of them stopped. They stared at the moaning figure on the 
bed. The girl opened her eyes and rubbed it.
	"Where am I?" she asked. She sat on the bed and stared at Mick and 
Shane.
	"Who are you two?" she asked. Shane smiled.
	"I'm glad you're awake. I'm Shanine Walters. You can call me Shane. 
And this here's Mickey Jones. You can call him Mick. We're the ones that 
found you."
	"Found me?"
	"Yup," Mick said. "Now, if you'll tell us your name, we can't bring 
you home. Your folks must be worried about you. it's been a day."
	"Me? you want to know my name?"
	"Well, yes. So we can help you get back," Shane said. Alissa just 
stared at them.
	"So, what IS your name?"
	"I don't know."

				*		*		*

	Laika woke up groggily. She stared up at the ceiling and wondered 
where she was.(No, she did NOT think that this was 'another unfamiliar 
ceiling') She looked around and saw Lucas napping on the chair beside 
her. There was a trail of wetness from his mouth to his neck. She thought 
it was gross, but strangely enough, she thought it was cute. She reached 
for a towel and dried it off. She brushed his hair aside and grinned 
slightly. It was so nice of him to stay with her. then, she remembered 
the incident that happened earlier. Darius. She groaned out loud. Lucas 
stirred. Laika fell flat on the bed and pretended to sleep.
	Lucas opened his eyes. Laika was asleep on the bed. He noticed the 
towel in her hands and the dryness of his face. he smiled. There may be a 
chance after all.

				*		*		*

	"Kendra?"
	Kendra looked up from the book she was reading.
	"Yes?"
	"What are you doing there?" Candice asked. Kendra closed the book 
and placed it on the table. She grinned.
	"I'm reading on the Illycyan prophecies. It might help us get 
Alissa back."
	"Oh. I was wondering if you'd like to go to the bath with me."
	Kendra stretched her arms and nodded.
	"It just might be what I need."

				*		*		*

	"What do you mean?"
	Alissa looked at her.
	"I don't know who I am."
	"WHAT???"
	"Looks like a case of amnesia to me," Mick said.
	Shane got up and rushed out. When she came back, she was with a 
lady that looked like an older version of herself.
	"Are you sure, Nine? (pronounced 'Neen')" the woman said. Shane 
nodded.
	"Yup, Mom. She said so herself! She has amnesia!"
	The woman sat beside Alissa on the bed. She stroked Alissa's hair.
	"Are you sure, dear?" she asked. Alissa nodded.
	"I can't remember anything."
	Mrs. Walters got up from the bed.
	"I guess she'll just have to stay here for a while until we find 
her parents. She can sleep in your room and go to your school until we 
can figure something out."
	Shane agreed.
	"But what are we going to call her?"
	"We can just call her Mae. Is that okay with you?"
	'Mae' grinned.
	"It's fine with me."
	And so, Mae Walters was born.

				*		*		*

	Quentin was on the rooftop, watching the moon. He was thinking of 
the strange situation they were in. It was funny how the world works. He 
got up and started to walk. He seemingly forgot where he was and crashed 
into the terrace. It was REALLY funny how the world worked.

				*		*		*

	Kendra sat in the bath and sighed.
	"This is exactly what I need," she said. "Don't you think so, 
Candice?"
	Candice was quiet. She just nodded and grinned.
	Anybody could have easily said that Candice was a looker, given 
that she was dressed up. She had the longest ash-blonde hair and the 
deepest aquamarine eyes. She wasn't bad-looking, just too tomboyish to be 
noticed.
	"Anything wrong?" Kendra asked.
	"No. Nothing's wrong."
	"Don't you kid me. I know if something's wrong, now spill it."
	Candice looked at her. Two big tears rolled down her cheeks.
	"I... I... I'm the princess of Rishamon."
	"What?" Kendra demanded. "I thought that you were Alex's foster 
sister."
	"I am. She's not the princess. I am. She's... she's your princess."
	"WHAT?"
	"I'm sorry. It's just that I wish he'll give me some attention. I 
just think that just because I'm not a princess he doesn't notice me."
	"Woah, woah. I'm kinda lost here. Can you PLEASE explain some 
things to me? Who is this 'he'?" Kendra asked.
	"Lucas."

				*		*		*

	"So, class, we have a new student. Please give a warm welcome to 
Miss Mae Walker."
	Mae stood in front of the class. She grinned.
	"Hi."
	"There's a seat beside Mickey Jones. You can sit there."
	"Thank you, Mr. Job!"
	Mae walked towards her desk. She tapped her pencil n Mick's desk 
and smiled.
	"Fancy meeting you here."
	Mick grinned. Mae felt an odd feeling of déjà vu. Something about 
him was familiar.
	"Class, let's go on with our lecture," Mr. Job said. "It's 
important for us to maximize the time we have."
	"Yes sir!" the class responded.
	Mae opened her notes and took out a ballpen. Mick passed her a 
note.
	It said: "Our teach's always on AWOL, we only get to meet him once 
a week. That's why we need to 'maximize' our time."
	Mae giggled. Shane looked at Mick and Mae behind her. She really 
can't help but be jealous.

				*		*		*

	"LUCAS???!!!"
	Candice was startled.
	"Yes, why?"
	Kendra big-sweated and tried to smile.
	"It's just that he seems like such a dork."
	Candice laughed.
	"Yeah. He is, isn't he? It's just so sweet of him to care so much 
about Laika. I was just wondering if he'll like me, too if I were a 
princess."
	"No, I think he's not like that. I think that Laika and him go way 
back. From what I heard from 'Lissa, he's been waiting for her his whole 
life."
	"That so?" Candice said. She smiled. "Maybe it's just a passing 
fancy."
	The door was suddenly opened by a small black pig.
	"Marcus!" Kendra said. She reached for him and snuggled him to her 
chest.
	"Isn't he cute?" she asked. Candice nodded. She reached for the pig 
and held him up.
	"You know what?"
	"What?" Kendra asked.
	"My  dad always said that I can release an animal's true form."
	"Really?" Kendra replied. She laughed.
	"Let's try it with Marcus."
	"Sure. Hmmm, let's see, how did it go?" Candice said. Marcus was 
squirming.
	"Marcus! Be a good little piggie and let us play with you!" Kendra 
said. She held Marcus tight.
	"Go on."
	"Hmm, let's see. Oh, I remember. Beast of fancy, beast of flight, 
release your true form to our sight."
	There was an odd pink glow around the small black piglet. The spell 
worked, but they all wished that it didn't.

				*		*		*

	Darius entered Laika's room. Lucas greeted him with a more or less 
cool, if not nasty, hello.
	"How is she?" Darius asked.
	"She's fine."
	Darius pulled up a chair beside him.
	"You do know that we're engaged, don't you?" he asked. Lucas 
nodded.
	"Yet, you still feel for her. Yet you wouldn't tell her. At least 
she knows how I feel."
	Lucas clutched the towel he was holding.
	"I'm going to tell her, okay?"
	Darius sneered at him.
	"Do you think it will matter?"
	"It will!"
	Laika was awake the whole time. She sat up in the bed.
	"Stop it! Nobody has to tell me anything."
	"I do," Lucas said. "Laika, I love you."
	"Well, I love her more!"
	"No, I love her more!!!"
	Darius and Lucas were suddenly at each other's necks.
	"STOP IT!!!"
	Laika was at the door.
	"Both of you GET OUT!!!"
	And they did.

				*		*		*

	Mae was walking down the halls.
	"Yo, Mae!"
	Mae turned around. It was Mick.
	"Hi!"
	"Where to?"
	"I was going to the auditions for the new school band."
	"Really? Mind if I join you?"
	"No."
	They started walking together. They were too wrapped up in their 
own thoughts to hear the scampering of feet behind them.

	"Are you sure?"
	"I'm positive, Shane. They were there. In the halls. Together."
	Shane was chatting with Audrey, one of her best friends, and 
probably the person with the most malicious mind in Water high.
	"Umm, they're probably just being, ummm, friendly."
	"Sure, go kid yourself some more."

				*		*		*

	The smoke was clearing. Marcus was no longer there. There was a 
tall, lean young man in front of them. He wasn't wearing anything. They 
weren't wearing anything, too.
	"YYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" 
they yelled in a chorus.

				*		*		*

	"That sounds like trouble!" Quentin yelled. He ran. I guess he 
forgot he was in the terrace. He crashed down in the garden below.

				*		*		*
	
	"What was that?" Alex asked. She looked up from her cards. Mem, 
Turner and Aegis looked up.
	"Guess we better go."
	"Guess so."
	"Darn, this Pokey thing was so much fun!" Alex said. The rest 
groaned.
	"Poker, 'Lex."
	"Oh, yeah."
	"We shouldn't have taught her how to play," Mem whispered to Aegis 
as they got up.
	"Who thought we were gonna extort some cash out of her, anyway?" 
Aegis shot back. They left the room with their pockets a little lighter 
than before.
				
				*		*		*

	"What was that?" Laika yelled. She rushed out of the room. Darius 
and Lucas were right behind her.

				*		*		*

	When everybody got to the bath, Kendra, Candice and who used to be 
Marcus were all toweled up, with the latter sporting twin black eyes.
	"Who is that?" Alex asked.
	"We'd like to find out ourselves, you know."
	"Well, you three better dress up. We'll be in the den when you're 
all ready," Laika said. They all marched out, leaving Kendra, Candice and 
'Marcus' a little more befuddled than they already were.

				*		*		*

	"So, I'm glad you're all ready."
	Marcus, Kendra and Candice were sitting on the couch. Marcus was 
quiet, Candice had this nonchalant look on her face, Kendra was just 
rolling her eyes.
	"What was that all about?" Alex demanded. "We were all having so 
much fun playing Pokey."
	"Poker."
	"Whatever."
	"Honestly, if one wanted to indulge in voyeurism, I would suggest 
if that person would stay farther away," Quentin commented.
	"I WASN"T peeping!!!" Marcus said.
	"Tsk, tsk, tsk... denial."
	"Quit it with your lousy two cents!"
	"Stop it, will you," Kendra said. "It's as simple as this. Candice 
turned Marcus into a person. He still has a little piggie mind in his 
head and he shouldn't be minded."
	"That's not true! I was a man all along!"
	"YOU WERE A MAN ALL ALONG???"
	"Ooopsie..."
	Kendra hit Marcus with a disturbingly large dimensional hammer she 
just summoned.
	"Pervert."
	When Marcus regained consciousness, he explained everything.
	"The Outsiders' leader turned me into a little black pig because I 
was looking for my mother. I heard that they turned her into one of them, 
you see. So, I still wanted to find her, so I went to the village 
protectress and became her familiar. I'm sorry. I guess I got carried 
away. I'm sorry. Oh, by the way, my name is Mark."
	"What do you mean they got your mother?"
	"They did. The only clue I got was this."
	He took out a small dagger with an insignia on its handle. Laika 
suddenly got pale. She stood up and ran out of the door.
	"Laika!" Darius yelled. He got up and ran after her.
	Candice hit Lucas on the head.
	"What are you waiting for, you idiot? You've got to run after her!"
	Lucas smiled at her.
	"Thanks, I will."
	He got up and ran after them.

				*		*		*

	Three weeks have already passed back on Earth. Mae got her part in 
the band as the lead vocalist for the school band. They were at their 
first gig at one of the band member's family restaurant.
	"Ready guys?" Mae asked as they got on stage.
	"Sure, Mae, go for it!" Jeane, the drummer, said. Mae smiled. She 
turned to her audience.
	"Hi there, folks!!!" Mae yelled. There were some cheers from the 
familiar people in the audience.
	"Thank you for coming to our debut performance! Our first song for 
all of you is Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind!"
	There was another loud applause. The all-girl band swung into the 
tune. The couples started dancing. A lot of guys in the audience started 
commenting.
	"Hey, the new girl's kinda cute, right?"
	"Yeah. They say she's not from around here."
	"Semi-charmed kind of life!"
	"Woah, look at those stems!"
	"Stop it, you perv!"
	"Audrey says she lives with Shane."
	"Wow, two babes under one roof."
	"Mick has all the luck."
	"I hate you!"
	"Akane!"
	"Woah, look who's having another marital quarrel."
	"How many months has it been since they got married?"
	"Where am I?"
	"Help! A mailbox is after me!"
	"Ucchan dear!"
	"Semi-charmed kind of life!"
	"Who's the vocalist?"
	"Someone named Mae."
	"What's the band name?"	
	"Who cares? Just as long as the girls are cute."
	"Perverts!"
	*bash*crash*umph*
	And so on.
	Shane was sitting in a far corner. Mick was beside her.
	"They're good."
	Shane nodded. She has to be happy for Mae, since she was adjusting 
so well, but she can't help but be annoyed. Mick looked at her. Shane 
swallowed hard.
	"Shane?"
	"Yes?" she answered nervously.
	"Want a drink?"
	Shane face-faulted. She smiled and big-sweated.
	"Sure, get me a diet Popsi."
	"You don't want a Choke?"
	"Nah."
	Mick stood up and went to the refreshments table. the band had 
finished their song and Mae weht for a drink.
	"Hi there," she said. Mick looked up.
	"Oh, hi."
	"Ummm, I, well, GOODBYE!!!" Mae said. She rushed off suddenly. Mick 
was left at the table, with a Popsi and a Choke in each hand.
	Mae ran to Jeane.
	"I can't do it."
	"Idiot," Jeane said, bopping her.
	"Jeane, don't be so hard on her," Anne, the keyboardist said. She 
turned to Mae.
	"You can do it."
	Mae swallowed hard and smiled.
	"Uh huh."
	Jeane, Anne and Rilla, the guitarist, pushed her to the refreshment 
table then beat a hasty retreat.
	"Um, hi."
	Mick grinned.
	"Nice to have you back."
	"Can I talk to you?" Mae asked.
	"Sure. Fire away."
	"Somewhere else."
	"Oh, OK."
	Mick and Mae went out of the restaurant. The guys from before were 
tending to their bruises by the door.
	"Some people have all the luck," they said.
	Once outside, Mae breathed in deeply.
	"So, what's up?"
	"Mick, umm, I really like you."
	Mick big-sweated and smiled.
	"That's nice, but--"
	He was rudely cut off by Mae's lips on his. It was too late when 
Mick noticed their audience.
	"Shane!"
	Shane said nothing. She turned around and ran. Not a more than a 
second passed when Mick followed her. Mae was left alone outside the 
restaurant. Tears ran down her cheeks. Her birthmark started to glow. She 
knew now why Mick was so familiar.
	"Idiot," she said. "You do belong to Laika."
	She started walking down the road.

				*		*		*

	"Laika!" Darius yelled. Laika stopped in her tracks.
	"C'mon, now. Don't be like that."
	Laika turned around. Darius walked up to her.
	"Does it hurt?"
	Laika raised her eyes and looked into his.
	"Yeah."
	She has the deepest blue eyes, Darius thought. He reached for her 
dark brown hair. He raised her face to his and kissed her.

				*		*		*

	"Laika!" Lucas yelled. He ran as fast as he could. when he got 
there, he wished he hadn't. He stood there for a while. Then he turned 
around and ran.
	"Lucas!" Laika yelled. She broke free from Darius's grasp.
	"It's not what you think!"
	"Leave me alone!"
	"Don't be so stubborn! I told you, it's not what you think! Lucas! 
I--I--I--!"
	Laika huffed. She didn't know that Lucas was such a fast runner. 
When she raised her head, Lucas was gone.

				*		*		*

	Kendra sat down on her favorite chair. She faced the rest of the 
people in the room.
	"I'm sure that it was no ones fault that Lucas went away, but we 
still have the problem of finding my sister."
	"Why are you so selfish? You can only think about your sister, 
can't you? Why is that so all-important?" Laika demanded.
	Kendra inhaled.
	"Let me think, how can I explain. Oh, okay. Here goes. There is an 
ancient prophecy in Illycya. It told about the war of twenty years ago. 
And it also said that the four princesses of Illycya was lost. It said 
that each of these four princesses will bear one daughter. These four 
women and only these four together can use the ultimate weapon that can 
bring the peace back to Illycya."
	"What has that got to do with my question?"
	"Alissa is not my sister. She's adopted. She is one of the lost 
princesses of the prophecy."
	"WHAT?"
	"That's true. The Outsiders plan on taking over Illycya. What 
better way of succeeding than by taking away one of the only people who 
can stop them."
	"What do we do now?"
	"It's too late in the night to do anything. Tomorrow, we can go to 
the supreme court of the elders to ask their assistance. Let's all turn 
in for the night."
	With that, Kendra stood up and went out of the room.

				*		*		*

	Candice sat up in her futon. Kendra was on the bed beside her. Alex 
was snoring on the other futon on the floor. Laika slept in the guest 
room so she can sleep in peace, she was still feeling spent, after all.
	Candice got up and tiptoed out of the room. She had to talk to 
Laika and ask her what happened. She went to Laika's room and knocked at 
the door. she opened it and entered.
	"Laika, I have to ask you something."
 	She turned around. She stared at the bed. Laika wasn't there.
	"Laika?"
	She rumaged the bed, the closet. She even looked underneath the 
chairs, but Laika was nowhere to be found. She rushed back into their 
room.
	"Wake up!" she yelled. Kendra got up groggily.
	"WHAT?" she asked with a cranky tone.
	"Laika's missing!"
	"WHAT?" Alex and Kendra yelled. They got up and called the guys who 
were in the spare room. They all rushed into Laika's room. Darius 
rummaged the bed. He found a small pendant with the insignia of the 
Outsiders on it. She showed it to Kendra.
	"Oh my," she said. "I thought so."
	"What do you mean?" Alex said.
	"We're in deep shit."

				END OF PART TWO



				"Swallow it down (what a jagged little pill)
				 It feels so good (swimming in your stomach)
				 Wait until the dust settles"

						-from the song "You Learn" by 
						 Alanis Morisette from her album
						 "Jagged Little Pill"

Three: Homeward Bound

	"What did you say?"
	"I told you. She just disappeared. I didn't even hear anything. I 
just went in her room, then she wasn't there."
	Turner turned to Kendra, who was staring intently at the pendant 
that was left on Laika's bed.
	"What are you thinking?" he asked.
	"Is there any reason for the Outsiders to go after Laika aside for 
the fact that she IS Laika?"
	Darius, who was sitting on the bed and mumbling, spoke up suddenly.
	"There was an incident a few weeks ago. It was the reason why Laika 
came here."
	"What happened?" Kendra asked.
	"A group similar to those you call Outsiders attacked her home 
planet. They killed her parents and left a pendant just like that one. 
That's why she got so upset when Mark showed us his dagger. She has too 
many problems on her mind, so she just decided to go here for a while," 
he said. "I guess I should've stopped her."
	"It's too late now," Alex said.
	"Right, we just have to find her before they do anything to her,' 
Mark said. "Right, Ken?"
	Kendra shot him a 'look'.
	"Laika's uncontrolled power is what we should look out for. They 
can easily use that to their advantage."
	"What are we going to do?" Mem asked.
	"Everybody dress up. We have to go to the Elders now."

				*		*		*

	"Have you found her yet?" Shane asked her mother. Mrs. Walters 
shook her head.
	"Whatever happened on that party you were to last night, dear?"
	Shane was suddenly at the door.
	"Have to go, Mom."
	Mrs. Walters stared at the closed back door.
	"Strange," she said.

	"Shane! Shane!"
	She looked behind her. Mick was running towards her. She turned 
back to her original procedure and started walking again.
	"Hey, there! What's bugging you?"
	Shane continued to walk in silence.
	"Hey, have you found Mae?" he asked. Shane whipped her head and 
looked at him.
	"You would sure like to know that, wouldn't you?" she quipped. She 
looked away and ran.
	Mick was left in the middle of the road, not quite sure of what he 
should do next.

	It was again their History class. Mr. Job was missing again, so 
that left Shane a lot of time to think about the events last night.
	He said he was going to get us some drinks, then when I go out for 
some fresh air, I find myself staring at a scene. He's such a jerk, 
stringing us both along like that. Mae being sick and confused and all. 
He's so shameless.
	Shane sighed. She stared at Mick's broad back. She thought of how 
cute he had looked last night. She thought of how jealous she had been 
feeling. It was the first time ever that Shane realized what she was 
feeling all along.

				*		*		*

	It was a dark room. A cave of sorts. There were two small candles, 
one on either side of a throne-like seat in the middle of the room. On 
that chair sat a black-robed figure. A person was bowing in front of her.
	"My lady, we have brought for you the one you have asked for," the 
woman said.
	"Perfect. Bring her here," the leader said. Four outsiders entered 
the room carrying a slab of rock with a person on it. They placed her on 
the floor in front of the leader. The woman knelt beside the girl and 
smiled.
	"Laia's daughter. What a pretty little thing."

				*		*		*

	"Aren't we there yet?" Alex whined.
	"Stop complaining, will you?" Kendra snapped. They were passing 
through the village and have been walking for several hours now.
	"Just what are we going to do there?" Aegis asked.
	"Oh, shut up," Mem spat at him. Aegis stuffed his mouth with pork 
buns.
	"Stop that!" Candice said. "We have a long way to go."

				*		*		*

	Alissa was walking around somewhere. She wasn't sure of where she 
was going. She wasn't sure why she was there. She just knew where she was 
from and that she had to get back there. Somehow.
	She closed her eyes. Her birthmark glowed. With a gust of wind, she 
was raised well above the city. She knew now what she had to do.

				*		*		*

	Shane was walking home.
	"Shane!"
	She turned around. Mick was running towards her. She waited for 
him. When he caught up with her, he grinned.
	"You're not angry anymore?" he asked.
	"No."
	"What?"
	"I'm still mad at you."
	"Why?"
	"Oh, stop trying to act all innocent 'cause you're NOT."
	Mick was silenced. It was true, he had let Mae kiss him. He had to 
be true to his feelings.
	"Shane I--"
	"STOP!"
	The two of them froze in their tracks. They turned around at the 
same time. They missed the few brief seconds of Alissa's flight.
	"Mae," Shane said. Alissa smiled.
	"I'm not Mae. I'm Alissa," she said. Shane hugged her.
	"That's great! You have your memory back! So where were you from?"
	"You may not believe me, but I am from an alternate dimension and 
my world is called Illycya. I'm needed there so I have to go back. I just 
wanted to tell you both something. I know both your counterparts in my 
world."
	She put her hands on Shane's shoulders.
	"You are Laika, the most powerful being in my universe. You are 
also the kindest friend I've ever had."
	She hugged her and went in front of Mick.
	"And you are Lucas. I've been in love with you all of my life."
	And she hugged him. She stepped back.
	"But you two were meant to be. You two are in love with each other 
in my dimension, and you are in love here, too. I have to accept that."
	She was suddenly swept into the air. A swirling wind was 
surrounding her.
	"I love you both..."
	There was a burst of light.
	"Forever..."
	There was a loud noise. Then, there was just silence. They opened 
their eyes and saw nothing in Alissa's place but a small pearl ring on 
the grass.
	"Shane--"
	Mick wasn't able to say anything more, but Shane's kiss had said it 
all and more.

				*		*		*

	"Halt! Who goes there?" a guard yelled as Kendra and the others 
were about to enter the sacred temple of the supreme elders.
	"It is I, Kendra, the protectress of this village."
	"You and your friends may pass."
	They entered through the big stone doors. As soon as they were 
inside, the doors were slammed shut. It was pitch black inside.
	"Oh, supreme court of the elders! It is I, Kendra, I have news of 
the Outsiders!"
	A small fire grew into existence in the middle of the room. Three 
hooded figures appeared before them.
	"Speak!" one figure said. Turner tapped Candice's shoulder and 
whispered.
	"She sounds young. I wonder if she's a babe!"
	"Sssh!" Candice scolded.
	"The Outsiders have obtained the princess Alissa who was entrusted 
to my care."
	"WHAT?" the hooded man demanded.
	"Sir, they were too many!"
	"Yes, yes," a woman said.
	"And, more bad news."	
	"What else?" the younger woman asked.
	"They have taken the princess Laika of Vera."
	"The Veran princess? That IS bad. The government will be tormented 
by this. Go to the house of the blacksmith named Drei, you will be told 
what needs to be done," the younger one said. With that, the fire was 
extinguished and the doors were opened. They trudged out of the temple 
and prepared for another long hike.

				*		*		*

	Laika opened her eyes. She wasn't so sure of where she was. One 
moment, she was in the guestroom of Kendra's house, the next moment, she 
was in a musty-smelling cave with a seemingly deranged woman beside her.
	"Who are you?" she asked, her expression making her seem a little 
cross-eyed. The woman beside her laughed. It wasn't really laughing, it 
was more of cackling.
	"What do you want?" Laika demanded. She tried to raise her arms, 
but she realized that her body from the neck down was paralyzed.
	"Well, well, well, I see that my little guest is awake," the woman 
said. "Let me introduce myself. I am Emma. Your mother and I go way back 
together."
	"What do you want with me?"
	Emma just smiled. She turned around, causing her thick, black cape 
to 'swish' as she moved.
	"You will serve me well, just as your mother before you," she said. 
She raised her hand in front of her and clenched her fist. Laika felt 
herself raising above the ground, as if a gigantic hand had picked her 
up.
	"Stop it!"
	The hand grasped tighter around her body. She felt an amazingly 
strong force surround her, trying to get in. Laika writhed around in mid 
air.
	"Don't make this any more difficult that it already is!" Emma 
yelled, facing her. She closed her eyes and concentrated, letting an aura 
of blackish color surround her. Then, it surrounded Laika.
	"What are you DOING to me???!!!"
	Emma laughed. Laika finally felt her last bit of strength slipping 
away. She lost her consciousness and closed her eyes.
	There was nothing to be heard after this, aside from the horrible 
laughter and the hollow sound of Laika's regulator falling to the ground.

				*		*		*

	"How many times do I have to tell you that this is not a 
blacksmith's shop and I am not DREI!!!" an angry barmaid yelled.
	"But, miss it said so outside, this is the blacksmith's shop!" 
Quentin countered. The barmaid felt her temperature rising.
	"This is the BLACK & SMITH'S SHOP you dundering idiot, now GET 
OUT!"
	Beer mugs and bottles were suddenly thrown at them, and they had 
not other choice but to go out.
	"Looks like we're back to square one," Darius muttered. A much 
lonesomer group made it back into the village.
	They were well into the village now, but there was still no sign of 
the blacksmith's shop or of anyone named Drei.
	"I'm tired," Turner said. Everybody groaned out their agreement. 
Kendra herself was just as exhausted.
	"Okay," she said as she led them to an inn, "let's just get some 
rest and start out again tomorrow. No one of us has had a decent bit of 
sleep the past night."
	They filed into the inn. They went to the innkeeper and asked for 
two a room.
	"We can only afford one room," Kendra said, "so no one even TRY to 
do something funny."
	"Don't worry, I'll protect you, my dear," Mark said, putting his 
arm around her. Kendra looked at his hand on her shoulder, grabbed his 
collar, and threw him down on the floor over her shoulder.
	"I think that I don't need your protection."
	Kendra marched up ahead of them.
	"Guys, you know what, I'm hungry. You go on ahead of me and I'll 
just go buy us some snacks," Candice said.
	Quentin put his hands on her shoulders and looked straight into her 
eyes.
	"No more pretzels. PLEASE!"
	They all laughed in unison. Candice separated from the group, and 
the rest of them headed up to their room.
	Candice went up to the bar.
	"Bartender!"
	A mustachioed man with big, round, dark sunglasses on went to her.
	"How may I help you?" he asked.
	Candice stared at him for a while. She thought that he was a little 
peculiar, but she didn't say anything.
	"Ehrm, can I have some drinks and some chips?" she asked in a small 
voice.
	"Yes, ma'm," he said. He immediately busied himself with his work.
	"I heard that you and your friends have been looking for a certain 
blacksmith's shop."
	"Yes, what about it?"
	"I just happen to know where it is."
	Candice jumped over the counter and was grasping the collar of the 
man and pulling him down to see her eye to eye.
	"YOU DO???" she demanded.
	"Yes."
	"TELL ME!!!" she said, shaking his head back and forth. "Tell me 
NOW!!!"
	"But, miss, I have to take care of your order."
	"I don't CARE!" she announced. The bartender shoved his glasses up 
the bridge of his nose.
	"Since you are SOOO persistent," he said, "I'll tell you. Just go 
straight on Light Street and take a left on Sesame."
	Candice stared at the bartender. She let go of his collar and 
clamped her hands. She gave him an oh-so adorable look and smiled.
	"THANK YOU!!!"
	She jumped over the counter and ran up the stairs. The bartender 
was polishing a wine glass.
	"Nice to be of service," he said.

				*		*		*

	They had already set out for Drei's. Since Candice left the 
bartender in such a rush, they hadn't eaten anything. Only Mem was smart 
enough to take some cookies with him.
	"C'mon, Mem, give me one!" Turner nagged. Mem outstretched his hand 
in the opposite direction. He didn't notice that, in doing this, he had 
unwittingly shoved some of the prized cookies into Quentin's mouth.
	"Quit that!" he yelled. He clutched his cookies tightly, causing 
most of them to break into crumb. Kendra, who was leading the group, 
rolled her eyes. She looked up at the cross-road sign. She smiled.
	"Here it is! Sesame Street!"
	There was a group of little kids who walked sideways who passed 
them. They were singing.
	"Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street? How to 
get to Sesame Street?"
	They all big-sweated. They stared at the kids, as if in a trance. 
Kendra was the first one to snap out of it.
	"C'mon you guys!"
	"Can you tell me how to get," Candice sang to herself.
	"How to get to SESAME STREET? How to get to SESAME STREET?" 
everybody sang out loud. Everybody, that is, but Kendra.
	"Will everybody please CUT IT OUT!!!"
	The group lowered there heads and followed her like faithful 
soldiers.
	"C'mon, Mem, just a teeny-tiny, teensy weensy bite?"
	"No."
	"But--"
	The conversation was cut short by a furry little blue beast.
	"COOKIES!!!" it yelled. It snatched Mem's cookies and ran.
	"Hey, those are my cookies!!!"
	"Yeah, those are Mem's cookies!!!"
	Soon enough, everyone was after the little blue monster. Kendra was 
standing by herself.
	"GUYS!!!" she yelled, running after them.

	It was quite a while before Kendra caught up with them.
	"Do I have to drag you all by your hair?" she demanded.
	"No!!! Kendra, cut it out, my roots hurt!" Aegis said.
	Kendra tightened her grasp at their locks.
	"No way, buster. We don't have time for your shenanigans."
	It wasn't much longer to go, to the thanks of the cookie-chasing 
group. Kendra released their tresses from their iron-grip prison. She 
rang the doorbell. A pretty, petite, young blonde opened the door.
	"Hi there! What can I do for you?"
	Kendra smiled and offered her a handshake.
	"We're here on the order of the supreme court of the elders."
	"Oh, my! The elders? It must be something big! Come on in."
	They were all hustled in and made to sit in the living room.
	"Now," the girl said, "how may I help you?"
	"Um, we're here to talk to someone named Drei," Quentin explained. 
She shot Turner a look. All of the five guys were on the couch, and he 
was being badly jostled.
	"That's me."
	Everybody stared at her.
	"You?" Kendra said with a tone of disbelief.
	"Yup! I'm Andrei, the best blacksmith in this part of Illycya!"
	Their jaws all fell to the floor. Andrei big-sweated. It was quite 
a few minutes before they regained their composure.
	"Oh, is that so?" Kendra asked. She smiled lopsidedly.
	"Yes it is. Oh ho ho ho ho ho!" Andrei replied. It was everybody 
else's turn to big-sweat.
	"We're here about the Outsiders," Candice said, out of mood.
	"Oh, that's why the elders sent you here."
	"Yes. They say that you can help us. tell us what to do."
	Andrei held up one finger and winked one of her emerald green eyes.
	"That I COULD do!!!"
	Andrei asked them to put all of their weapons on the table. Candice 
put two small daggers on the table, Quentin his light sword, Darius his 
bow, Mem his guns, Turner his laser sword, Mark his dagger, Alex's little 
knives and Aegis his forks. Andrei put her hands on top of the weapons 
and started mumbling some words that no one understood, or would even 
care to understand. There was a golden light that surrounded each weapon. 
They all stared agape at the table as they say the items on it morph into 
cooler-looking versions of the original. Andrei closed her eyes and 
mumbled some more. Each of the things on the table was marked by a small 
flower.
	Turner was thinking hard. He suddenly jumped up.
	"I KNEW IT!!!" he exclaimed. Andrei's eyes flipped open and the 
light disappeared.
	"What?"
	"I KNEW IT!!!" he said again.
	"What do you know?" Candice asked.
	"I KN---"
	Mark had hit him on the head with a dimensional mallet that Kendra 
handed him.
	"Will you just tell us already?"
	Turner rubbed his newest bruise.
	"Sorry. I was just carried away by the dramatic feel."
	He grinned sheepishly.
	"Well...?"
	"Well what?"
	"What is it that you know???" Mem said, clutching his collar.
	"Oh, that."
	Turner pried his collar from Mem's hands and straightened his 
shirt. He outstretched his hand and poited a finger at Andrei.
	"You!"
	"It's not polite to point," Candice whispered. Turner big-sweated.
	"He, he. Sorry. Anyway, you, Miss Andrei, are the babe from that 
place we were to before!!!" he announced triumphantly. Everyone looked at 
him with expressions that said: 'I don't get you.'
	"You know, the babe with the hooded thingy on her."
	Kendra snapped her fingers.
	"You mean the younger elder!"
	"Yeah, yeah! That one!"
	They all laughed. I don't know why.
	"No way," Kendra said abruptly.
	"Yes she is. I'll know that voice anywhere!"
	"She's not!"
	"She is!"
	"She's not!"
	"She is!"
	Everybody was into the fight now, except Andrei, who was too 
stunned to say anything. When the fight actually landed on her, Andrei 
had no choice.
	"HE'S RIGHT!!! NOW, GET THE HELL OFF OF ME!!!"
	She pushed them all off of her and tried to straighten the cute 
little red jumper she was wearing, with one long-sleeved arm and 
sleeveless one on the other side, and also with one short pant leg and 
one long one. She pulled on the red sock that was on the leg with the 
short pant leg and tugged at the glove on the arm with no sleeves.
	"He's right," she said, with much more composure than before.
	Kendra gaped at her.
	"Are you SURE?"
	"No."
	"See, you were wrong."
	"I was being sarcastic!"
	"Oh."
	"Anyway, will all off you get off the floor and sit over there?"
	Everyone doggedly resumed their old places. Andrei stood behind the 
table.
	"I'll just tell you what I've done with your weapons."
	"Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute. YOU'RE one of the elders?" Kendra 
asked. Andrei let out an exasperated sigh.
	"Yes."
	"Why?"
	"Because they think I'm a goddess."
	"WHAT? How did they think that?"
	"Because of my heavenly good looks."
	They all face faulted. Kendra shot up beside her.
	"Will you PLEASE be serious."
	Andrei laughed.
	"Okay, okay. Don't get yourself all wrung up over nothing!"
	She went towards the table and got one of the daggers.
	"See this?"
	Kendra peered at it closely.
	"Yeah."
	"That insignia there is an aster. I put it there."
	"And?"
	"It is the insignia of the goddess Aster!"
	"Uh huh."
	"UH HUH??? Is 'uh huh' all that you can say?"
	"So you can forge a stupid insignia, that doesn't make you a 
goddess."
	"But, oh, my dear, it does. Oh ho ho ho ho ho!"
	Kendra decided that knowing all the details wasn't worth all the 
trouble. She slumped back on her seat and nodded.
	"Okay, go on."
	"Thank you." Andrei turned to the rest of the people in the room. 
"As I was saying, I improved all your weapons sharpness, durability and 
all the other things that I forget. Whatever. I can only say that it is 
now WAY much better than it used to be."
	Everyone nod-nodded and grabbed their own respective weapons. aegis 
bit into the tines.
	"I wouldn't do that if I were you, the tines are lined with a 
paralysis drug."
	It was too late. Aegis was already as stiff as a board.
	"Help... me," he said with a squished tone.
	"MISTRESS!!!"
	They all looked at the maid, who just exploded into the room.
	"Yes?" Andrei replied coolly.
	"The Outsiders are attacking the village! You have to go out 
there!"
	Everyone was at their feet, except Aegis, that is. Mark picked him 
up and tucked him underneath his arm.
	"Poor chap. He's going to miss all the fun."

	They all rushed out. The scene they saw was terrifying. All the 
other houses have burned down to the ground, and the Outsiders were 
scaring the daylights out of everyone.
	"How dare they do this? Filthy rebels," Andrei spat. She clenched 
her fists and rose above their heads.
	"Woah, COOL!"
	They all got out their newly-improved weapons. They started to take 
on the Outsiders wear they stood.
	Andrei seemed to have saved them a lot of trouble and strength. She 
just closed her eyes and swept her hands through the air. A golden light 
shined around the Outsiders. They writhed a little, then they disappeared 
into thin air. All the Outsiders in the village disappeared.
	"Way far out," Kendra mumbled under her breath.
	"You are a goddess," she yelled to Andrei out loud. Andrei gave her 
a thumbs-up sign and winked.
	They all gave each other high-fives for a job so easily done.
	"A little too early to be rejoicing."
	They all looked above them. They were shocked at what they saw. A 
girl was there, a birthmark on her forehead identical to Alissa's, aside 
from the fact that hers was colored black, instead of blue.
	None of them said anything. Only Candice said something.
	"Laika."
	"Precisely, my dear. It's been a while hasn't it?"
	Laika cackled. Kendra gaped at her.
	"This is just as I feared! They have taken control of her!"
	"Enough of that foolish prattle! Prepare to DIE!!!"
	She swooped down at them, her body enveloped in flames. Andrei 
blocked her way.
	"Don't be insane! You can't defeat us!"
	The princess pummeled through her, laughing like an insane maniac.
	"Laika! Listen to me! You are being controlled by the Outsiders! 
You don't want to do this!"
	"Don't waste your breath! She can't hear us!"
	"What are we going to do! We're all going to die out here!"
	"The Eye of Gods," Andrei wheezed out.
	"What did you say?" Alex asked.
	"From the ashes of one who loves shall come the Eye of Gods, the 
only thing that can successfully activate the ultimate weapon within the 
princesses. We have to find it if we are to defeat her."
	"What?" they yelled out in unison.
	"We don't have time to look for it!"
	"If... if we hit her with all that we have, we can injure her and 
then take off," Andrei told them. She forced herself to stand up.
	"Hit her?" Darius queried. Andrei nodded.
	"Is that clear?" she asked out loud. "Or is it too much for your 
brains to process?" she mumbled to herself.
	"Did you say something?"
	"Nothing."
	Kendra placed her hand on Darius's shoulder.
	"It's for her own good," she said. Darius thought it over for a few 
moments. Then, he nodded.
	"I'll do it."
	They all marched up in front of Laika. She prepared to attack, 
accumulating a particularly destructive fireball with her hands. They all 
closed their eyes and prepared to attack. They didn't seem to notice that 
the bartender was there.
	"NO!!!" he said. He placed himself between the two parties. Candice 
ran up to him.
	"Go away!"
	"You can't hurt her!!!"	
	"Don't be stupid! Lucas!"
	It was too late. Their side have already commenced their attack. 
There was a large explosion. When it was over, Laika was gone.

				*		*		*

	"What happened?" Candice asked. Lucas was there. He was holding 
her.
	"Why did you do it?"
	"I... I knew it was y... you."
	"B-but I was the one who was stupid. Why did you block their 
attack? Why?"
	"Because.. I... can't let them... hurt you."
	Candice reached up and placed her hand on Lucas's cheek.
	"I... I..."
	The hand fell to the cold ground.

				*		*		*

	"She-she blocked our attack," Kendra said, stupefied. They all ran 
towards Candice. Lucas was holding her.
	"She's dead," he said. Kendra knelt beside them. She hugged 
Candice's body.
	Turner was silent. He turned away and started back to the shop. 
Quentin got up and raced after him.
	"Why did she do it?"
	"She cared for you."
	"Why?"
	There was a solemn silence. A cool breeze passed. Kendra clutched 
the cold corpse in her arms. Suddenly, her body turned into feathers that 
sprayed with the wind.
	"What happened?"
	A small, gold pendant with a closed eye engraved in it was on the 
ground where Candice had lain.
	"The prophecy. From the ashes of one who loves shall come the Eye 
of Gods. It has started," Andrei said.

				END OF PART THREE



				"And I live in the numbness now.
				 In the background.
				 I do the things we did before. 
				 I walk Haight street to the store.
				 And they say where's that crazy girl.
				 You don't get drunk on red wine. 
				 And fight anymore.
				 'Cause I don't see you anymore."

						-from the song "The Background" by 
						Third Eye Blind from their album 
						"Third Eye Blind"

Four: Narcolepsy Slides

	"The prophecy has begun. This is it. The final battle."
	"Can you speak a little louder, I can't hear you," Mark said. He 
was playing a game of golf, using Aegis as a club and the Eye for the 
ball. They all big-sweated.
	"You! You totally RUINED the drama!"
	Mark scratched the back of his head with Aegis.
	"I'm sorry. I couldn't resist the temptation."
	"Shoot," Andrei said, pouting, "now my lines are all ruined."
	"'Scuse me, but what's going on?" Kendra and Lucas asked.
	"Oops. We kinda got carried away."
	Andrei bent down and picked up the Eye. She examined the engravings 
on it. She frowned.
	"What's wrong," Alex asked, brushing away a few stray tears.
	"We have to find someone."
	"Who?"
	"The one who can activate the Eye."
	"What?"
	"The Eye! It's still closed. We can't use it."
	Lucas stood up. Candice would have wanted them to finish what they 
had started.
	"We'll find him!!!" he said, raising his fist to the sky with a 
sudden burst of bravado. Everyone big sweated.
	"Now, brave sir, where do we FIND him?"
	There was a silence.
	"Geez, I was hoping YOU would know that!" he said, scratching the 
back of his head. They all face faulted.
	"Idiot," Andrei mumbled underneath he breath.
	They all got up.
	"We better go back to the shop and try planning our attack," Kendra 
said, sniffling a little. They started walking away. Only Lucas was left 
standing there.
	"Thank you," he said, clutching a small, white feather in his hand.

				*		*		*

	"Turner!" Quentin yelled, trying to catch up with him. "Turner!"
	He stopped running for a while.
	"Where the hell did he learn to run so fast?"
	He started to run again. He stopped in front of the shop. Turner 
was sitting on the doormat.
	"Hey, what are you doing there?" Quentin asked.
	Turner had his head bowed, so Quentin couldn't see his eyes.
	"Go away," he mumbled, running his hand through his dark green 
hair. Quentin slumped down beside him.
	"C'mon, tell me what's wrong."
	Turner was quiet. Quentin inhaled.
	"You cared, didn't you."
	Turner faced him and glared.
	"Did not!"
	Quentin punched his arm playfully.
	"Aww, don't be like that. Why else would you be here?"
	Turner looked at his shoes.
	"She was a... good friend. That's it."
	"I'm sure it is."
	Quentin put his hand on his shoulder.
	"I'm sure," he said; Turner looked at him; "that wherever she is, 
she knows how you feel."
	Turner looked at him. His bright, hazel eyes clouded. He smiled.

				*		*		*

	They were all assembled at the living room, a few bowls of various 
snacks were in front of them.
	"So, you're telling us that there is a person out there that can 
activate the Eye, which then activates the Ultimate Weapon," Alex asked, 
stuffing a handful of potato chips into her mouth. Quentin, who was 
behind her, tugged her boy-cut light-blue hair.
	"Hey," she said, hitting him, "what gives?"
	Quentin grinned at her, his red eyes twinkling mischievously.
	"You're such a pig."
	"What did you say???!!!"
	Alex started pounding on his head.
	"Hey *OW!* I was *OW!* just *OW!* joking!!!"
	Andrei big sweated. She swept her hand at their direction. A gold 
light surrounded the two, then the gold light became a thick length of 
rope. The two of them were bound together.
	"Hey! What gives?!"
	"Yeah, what gives?!"
	"Will you get your stupid elbow out of the way?!"
	"I could say the same thing about your knee!"
	"How dare you talk to me like that!"
	"You saucy, stuck-up little princess!"
	Andrei sighed and waved her hand once more, some duct tape stuck to 
their yappers.
	"That's MUCH better," Aegis said, giving Andrei a thumbs up sign 
and a wink. Andrei smiled.
	"We leave for the Illycyan Historic Tombs in the morning. We all 
better get to bed."
	Everyone else got up and went to their assigned rooms. Andrei 
stayed around to clean up a little. She noticed that Turner was still by 
the window, his hand tucked underneath his chin, where he had been since 
what happened. Andrei walked up to him. She stroked his hair a little and 
smiled.
	"If ever you need help, just come to me. I'll always be ready to 
listen."
	Turner gazed into her eyes.
	"Thanks."
	"We better go to sleep now."
	Turner rose from his seat and they both went out the room, closing 
the door behind them.

				*		*		*

	Alex and Quentin found themselves in the middle of the room, still 
bound by the rope. I guess they forgot that they were still there. Alex 
bit off the tape on Quentin's mouth with a loud *RIP*.
	"Oww, what did you do that for?"
	"Grmph urmphrr drr ghrfmph mphmp!"
	"Oh, sorry."
	Quentin bit hers off with the same crunchy-sounding *RIP*.
	"What did you do that for!"
	"Just getting even," he said with a goony smile.
	They were silent. They looked around the room. It was empty.
	"They forgot all about us!"
	"How nice."
	"How do we get out of here?"
	"Maybe we could just yell for help."
	"Okay, on the count of three. One, two, HHHEEEELLLLLPPPPP!!!"
	Alex stopped.
	"Hey, dingbat, why didn't you yell?"
	"I thought it was one, two, three, then yell help."
	"IDIOT! I said ON the count of three, not AFTER the count of three! 
Can't you get that through your thick skull?"
	"What did you say?"
	"I said you were thick-skulled."
	"Really?"
	"REALLY! Now shut up. Okay, now AFTER the count of three. One, two 
--"
	"HHHHHHEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!"
	Alex bit his ear.
	"What did you do THAT for?"
	"I said after the count of three, you BOOB!"
	"I thought it was ON the count of three."
	"AFTER!!!"
	Alex let out a sigh of resignation.	
	"Okay, okay, YOU choose when."
	Quentin grinned.
	"Ok, on the count of three."
	"One, two, HEEEEEEELLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!! GET US OUT OF 
HERE!!!" they both yelled. After a few minutes of straining their vocal 
chords, Alex bit him again.
	"WHAT?"
	"Shut up, it's not working."
	"You're right. What do we do now?"
	Alex thought for a moment.
	"How about trying to roll to the door and pushing it open."
	"That's a good idea."
	"Okay, on the count of three, we turn to our left, Okay?"
	Quentin nodded obediently.
	"One, two, three, ROLL!"
	They both rolled to their left, but seeing as they were tied facing 
each other, they achieved nothing by this act.
	"What did you do NOW?"
	"NOTHING!!! I just turned to my left!"
	"No!!! You're supposed to turn to MY left!"
	"But you said--"
	"I don't care what I SAID, just do what I'm SAYING now!"
	Quentin found no use in fighting, so he just did as what she said. 
When they finally got to the door, they both let out a sigh of relief.
	"What do we now?"
	"Kick the door!"
	Quentin kicked it, but it was tightly shut.
	"Alex..."
	"Yes?"
	"I think they locked it."
	"WHAT? No! No! NOOOOO!!! This can't BE! This isn't happening to 
me!"
	Alex sniffled. Quentin smiled at her.
	"C'mon, how bad can it be to sleep with me?"
	Alex didn't answer his question. He was glad she didn't.
	"I guess we have no choice. Don't do anything funny."
	"As if I could!"
	Alex closed her eyes. A few seconds passed. Alex opened them again.
	"What are you doing?"
	"Counting sheep."
	"Shut up and go to sleep. And don't snore!"
	She closed her eyes again. A few minutes passed. Quentin stared at 
her sleeping face.
	"She's so cute when she's asleep, but when she's AWAKE!"
	He smiled to himself. He closed his eyes and went to sleep.
	"GRONGHSHHHK!"
	He opened his eyes. What was that, he thought.
	"GRONGHSHHHK!"
	He looked around again. He finally saw the source of the horrific 
sounds.
	"Don't snore, she said. Look who's talking."
	He had a feeling it would be a long night.

				*		*		*

	It was early in the morning. The ten of them were walking down 
Sesame Street. Quentin was sporting fine pieces of luggage underneath his 
eyes.
	"Must have been a wild night, huh?" Mem said, elbowing him.
	"That's not funny. I hardly got any sleep last night."
	"Exactly his point," Lucas intervened.
	"But I--"
	"Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street? How to 
get to Sesame Street?"
	The group of self same kids danced past them.
	They all big-sweated.
	"That joke's getting kinda stale," Mark commented.
	"Do they always do that?" Kendra asked. Andrei, with her hand 
covering her face, nodded.
	"Condolences," Alex said.

				*		*		*

	"Here we are!!!"
	"Finally!"
	A chorus of cheers were heard.
	"C'mon, let's go in and find this person!!!"
	They all raced up the stairs and into the big, stone, cylindrical 
building.

				*		*		*

	"Andrei!" Lucas called. They were all in the library, looking for 
something that may lead them to the 'Chosen One' who can open the Eye.
	Andrei looked up from her stack of musty books.
	"Yes?"
	Lucas wiped his palms on his jeans (Which were now rip-free, in 
case you were wondering. He HAS changed his clothes) and showed Andrei 
the book he was holding.
	"Uh huh. You might have something there."
	She called the others to her.
	"Listen to this: 'From the house of evil shall rise the Chosen One 
who will open the Eye of Gods to the evils and end it all.'"
	"Great. Another stupid riddle."
	"How is that going to help us?"
	"I don't know. I guess we'll just have to attack them and look for 
the Chosen One in their hideout," Andrei said. They all nodded.
	"Just where is this hideout of theirs?"
	"To be frank..."
	"Yes?" Kendra asked.
	"I don't know.'
	The all made perfect face faults.
	"I know where it is," a voice said.
	"Who are you?"
	"Yeah, what she said!"
	A hooded figure came out from behind the bookshelves.
	"I'm a friend."
	"Oh, really?"
	"Yes, really! Oh, I mean, you are correct. I know where you can 
find the Outsiders' lair."
	They all waited patiently for the answer. Nobody happened to notice 
that Quentin was sneaking behind the hooded stranger.
	"Over th-- Hey what did you do that for?!"
	Quentin had pushed the stranger forward. He smiled.
	"I knew it. You and Lucas are cut out of the same cloth."
	He pulled the hood of the cape off her head. It revealed a gray-
haired a head.
	"ALISSA!!!" Kendra exclaimed. She jumped up from her seat and 
hugged her sister.
	"Hi there, sis."
	"Oh, I'm so happy to see you again!"
	"I am, too!"
	Kendra released her sibling and looked straight into her eyes.
	"I have to tell you something. Alissa, you aren't my sister, 
you're--"
	Alissa waved her hand at her.
	"I know everything, Ken. You don't have to tell me anything."
	"Do you also know what happened to Laika? And to Candice?"
	Alissa nodded solemnly. Andrei went up to them.
	"As much as I would REALLY like to watch this totally sweet little 
reunion, I'm sorry to say that we have no time."
	She turned to Alissa.
	"Can you lead us to their fortress?"
	Alissa nodded.
	"Follow me."
	As they were running out, Lucas tapped on her shoulder.
	"Where did you get that outfit?"
	Alissa looked down at her Water High uniform. She smiled at him.
	"It's my little secret."

				*		*		*

	They were in front of a large mountain range.
	"Here we are," Alissa said. Kendra was about to take a step 
forward, but Alissa stopped her. She picked up a small pebble and threw 
it. It stopped in mid air and disintegrated.
	"It has a magical force field surrounding it," she explained. Mem 
came up to them.
	"Leave it to me."
	He got out one of his guns. He shot it once, making the whole 
barrier turned red. He got out another gun and fired it, creating a small 
doorway in the force field.
	"Bravo," Darius said, clapping his hands. they all filed through 
the door.
	"What do we do now?" Alex asked.
	"There's a door over there!"
	They all ran towards it, but a large group of Outsiders blocked the 
way.
	"All right! Time for some action!" Mark yelled. He got out his 
dagger and plunged into the group.
	"WOOHOO!!!" he yelled, plunging his dagger into one of the 
Outsiders.
	Kendra big-sweated.
	"I actually think that he's having fun."
	Everybody plunged into the group. There was a whole mess of 
daggers, sword and the like. Soon enough, without much of a struggle, 
they won.
	"This is what I live for!" Mark declared.
	The girls just rolled their eyes as they got in.

				*		*		*

	Emma gazed into the oval screen floating in front of her.
	"They're good. Can you take them on, Laika?" she asked. She craned 
her neck to look at her.
	"It'll be a thousand years before they can stop me," she sneered. 
She jumped up and disappeared into thin air. Emma smiled and turned back 
to what she was watching.

				*		*		*

	"Where are we?"
	"Personally, I don't know."
	They were walking in a small, dark passage. In front of them, Laika 
suddenly materialized.
	"Laika!"
	She smiled at them. He floated above the ground. A bright fire 
surrounded her. She swooped down on them.
	"Duck!"
	And they did, causing Laika to totally miss her target and fly 
smack dab into a wall.
	"You..." she said.
	"Uh oh!" Mem said. He started to run. He stopped in his tracks.
	"Look! It's Barbra Streisand!!!"
	"Huh? Where?" Laika asked looking around. Mem ran back to the rest 
of them beneath her. Laika big-sweated.
	"What do we do?" Alissa wailed, her eyes filling up with tears.
	"I have a good idea!" Quentin announced.
	"What?"
	"RUN!!!"
	They ran, Laika hot on their tracks. Really hot.
	Unfortunately enough, just as when they were about to ditch her, 
Lucas tripped.
	"LUCAS!!!" Alissa yelped.
	Laika had stood beside him. She picked him up and held him around 
his neck. Her gripped tightened.
	"Go!" Lucas managed to say.
	"NO!" Alissa said. "I'm not leaving you!"
	"Go!"
	Laika was squeezing his neck really hard now. He managed to look 
her in the eyes.
	"Laika."
	Laika blinked. her birthmark turned from blue to black. She 
loosened he grip, letting Lucas to fall to the ground.
	"Lucas," she said. She suddenly gripped her head. her birthmark was 
glowing.
	"What are you doing?" she yelled. She took a few steps back, then, 
she disappeared.

				*		*		*

	"Over here! The throne room!" Alissa said excitedly.
	"All right! We finally got there!"
	"Will everyone please pipe down!"
	They sneaked into the room. The person on the throne laughed.
	"It's about time you got here," Emma said. "Laika, finish these 
nuisances now."
	Laika appeared before them. She threw fireballs at them.
	"Lucas!" Turner yelled.
	"What?"
	"Look her in the eye again!"
	Lucas nodded. He ran up to Laika.
	"Laika!"
	Laika stared into his eyes. Her birthmark changed color once again. 
She landed on the floor.
	"Lucas..."
	"No! Laika!" Emma yelled. "Don't you remember? He's the one who 
killed your parents! All of them! They're murderers!"
	Laika nodded her head.
	"Yes. I remember."
	She picked a sword nearby and it burst into flames. She closed her 
eyes and ran straight for Lucas.
	"Lucas!" Darius yelled. He ran towards him.
	"Darius!"
	Darius pushed Lucas out of the way, but he was hit by the sword in 
the process. He was fatally wounded. He fell to the ground. Laika 
extracted the sword. She held it in front of her. she saw the blood. Her 
eyes widened. Her birthmark disappeared. She let the sword fall to the 
ground.
	"Darius!"
	She knelt beside him and took him to her arms.
	"What have I done?"
	Darius looked up to her.
	"You love him don't you?"
	"Who?"
	"Lucas."
	Laika was silenced. She nodded. Darius smiled.
	"You know I would have loved to be your husband. Your king."
	Laika hugged him.
	"Don't talk like that, you'll be okay. I promise."
	Darius shook his head. He whispered to her ear.
	"I love you."
	Laika hugged him close.
	"I love you, too. I always have."	
	Darius smiled wanly. He closed his eyes. Laika felt his last breath 
leave his body. Laika laid Darius on the floor. She stood up. She faced 
the back of the throne.
	"YOU!!! How dare you use me for this!" She walked towards the 
throne, but she was suddenly thrown aback by a a force field.
	"What the!"
	All eleven of them were trapped in the force field. Emma laughed.
	"You would think that I would let you prattle on like that without 
doing anything?"
	"Why are you DOING this?" Kendra yelled. Emma laughed. She was 
still on the throne, her back to her enemies.
	"Let me tell you a story. My name is Emma, I'm the first princess 
of Illycyan royal lineage."
	"What?"
	"Of course I'm not a real princess, I was only adopted. Mother and 
Father did not think that they could conceive. One day, a strange woman 
came to the palace. She is the prophetess of Illycya. It was she who told 
of the King's four daughters and the war. It was true, my Father did have 
four daughters, Laia being the eldest of them. I was pushed back into the 
background. Neglected. Well, I showed them, didn't I? I sent assassins to 
Rishamon and Vera, Illycya's allies, and made them kill prominent people. 
That was the cause of the war. The prophecy was fulfilled. The four 
princesses of Illycya were out of the picture, and the King and Queen 
were dead. I am the only one who can claim the throne. The honor that was 
meant to be mine finally was! I cut myself from the world, planning the 
day that I can fully conquer Illycya. But it was never to be successful 
until I get all the heirs. Until I can control the Ultimate Weapon. And 
now, you have done all the work for me. Thank you."
	"You! You psycho!!!" Lucas yelled. Emma got up from her seat and 
faced them.
	"Is that a way to talk to your mother?"
	"MOTHER???" they all said in shocked unison.
	"Mom..." Lucas whispered.
	"From the house of evil the Chosen One shall rise..." Andrei 
mumbled. She fished out the Eye from her pocket.
	"Lucas! Catch!"
	Lucas caught the Eye.
	"What am I going to do with this?"
	"Put it on! QUICK!"
	Lucas put it on. Emma's eyes widened.
	"NO! Not after all the years! You CAN'T!"
	Lucas glowed. He lifted from the ground. Alissa, Kendra, Laika and 
Alex lifted from the ground. On their foreheads appeared blue birthmarks, 
the imperial mark of the royals.
	"I won't let you ruin my plans!"
	Emma chanted to herself, a mass of swirling black aura was formed 
in front of her.
	Laika was surrounded by fire, Alex by water, Alissa by wind and 
Kendra by the spirits.
	"There it is. I can't believe it. The four elements of Illycya," 
Andrei breathed. They all stared up in awe.
	The swirling mass was getting bigger. 
	Fire, spirit, wind and water joined together and surrounded Lucas's 
body.
	"It's almost time."
	The swirling mass has reached it's limit.
	The four elements concentrated on the Eye. Lucas opened his eyes.
	"I never knew my mother was insane."
	Emma glared at him.
	"You wouldn't hit your own mother, will you?"
	Lucas held up the Eye and pointed it at her direction.
	"Think again."
	The Eye opened, emitting a bright light.
	"NOOOO!!!!!"
	The black aura was dispersed and she was enveloped in a shining 
light. She lost her form and body. She was a swirling light, getting 
smaller and smaller until it was extinguished.
	"It's over. The prophecy of Illycya has come true," Andrei said.

				*		*		*

	Emma woke up in the forest. She didn't know where she was. Why she 
was there. Who she was. She only knew one thing. She got up and raced to 
the palace.

	"Good king, I've come bearing news. I have seen into the future. I 
see that four women of Illycyan royal lineage will come and will be lost 
in a war. Their daughters will come to end the war, using the Eye of 
Gods, which will come from the ashes of one who loves, which will be 
activated by the son of evil!"
	The prophecy of Illycya was started.
	
				*		*		*

	Andrei smiled at them.
	They were all high-fiving, except Laika. She was kneeling beside 
Darius.
	"So, Laika, you're the ruler of Illycya, daughter of Laia, 
firstborn to the king."
	Laika looked up at her.
	"I can't stay."
	"What?" Kendra demanded.
	"I have other obligations. I have to go."
	They all piped down.
	"Why?" Alissa asked.
	"I belong to Vera. I wasn't meant to be here. I'm sorry."
	"We understand. You have to go," Lucas said. Laika smiled. She 
walked up to him and kissed him.
	"Maybe we'll meet again someday."
	She touched Darius's body. It, in turn, disappeared.
	"Goodbye."
	Then, she was gone.
	Lucas saw something on the ground. It was a gold brace with a red 
gem. He picked it up and smiled.

				*		*		*

	Four women.
	One prophecy.
	Destiny brought them together.
	Fate keeps them apart.
	The sands of Time still fall.

						END

Note from Pinball:
	Argghh!! It's so crappy, we can cry. Sorry about this. we hoped you 
liked it anyway. Maybe we'll spruce it up sometimes. If you can't get 
enough of Illycya, then catch the sequel. Out soon. Be sure to write in 
and give us your comments! Bye!