Higon surveyed the mess that used to be the hyperdrive
motivator chamber. The fires have largely been put out. A
few remaining sparks and embers were the only remaining
evidence of the inferno that had claimed the lives of no
less than 50 Ramarians who had the misfortune of being right
here when the explosion happen.

  The hyperdrive motivator was largely intact, which was
not really that surprising. Higon knew that housing that
protected the motivator was truly built to withstand high
temperatures and pressure. It was not entirely spared
though. Here and there, several cracks could be seen
throughout the huge shaft. Although most of the cracks have
since been patched, those that were still unattended to were
leaking plasma gel, the substance that powered the
motivator. Plasma gel was highly combustible and extremely
volatile and unstable when not contained properly.

  Higon shook his head slightly. It was very clear that
this motivator was damaged beyond repair. And since they no
longer had any replacement parts, that meant that this
battleship will no longer be able to enter into hyperspace.
Higon glanced at the bridge engineer who later followed him
to the motivator chamber.

  "The regular thrusters, I trust, are still operational,
yes?" Higon asked.

  "Yes they are," was the monotonous reply that came back.
  
  Higon merely nodded. At this rate, it would take well
over 40 iatas before they reached Earth. There was no use in
prolonging the inevitable. He hated being the messenger of
bad news. The preeminent scientist approached a nearby
functional terminal and waited for Drak's face to appear on
the view screen. Presently, Drak's scowling face did appear.
"The motivator is no longer operational." Higon waited for
what he knew was going to an argument about being able to
repair anything. Just as before, the Supreme Commander
surprised the scientist by simply nodding and signing off.

  Once again, he turned to the bridge engineer. "Our work
here is finished. Let's go back up to the control center."
Higon turned and walked towards the lift.

                          * * * * *
  
  Two hours later, Hikaru, Fuu and an elegantly dressed Kuu
were walking along an expansive corridor heading towards the
Grand Hall. Kuu was looking about in awe. The palace was
very grandiose. It very easily dwarfed any hotel she'd seen
in her life. Its splendor rivaled any structure Kuu was
familiar with on Earth.

  Before long, the trio, led by two male escorts, found
themselves in front of the massive doors that led to the
Grand Hall. The doors opened by themselves as they usually
do revealing a crowd inside. Scarcely had the doors parted
when Hikaru bounded inside excitedly like the fourteen-year-
old that she was, past life and death experiences
notwithstanding.

  "Tatra! Tarta! Aska! Sanyung! Geo!" Hikaru greeted them
all enthusiastically. Everyone surrounded her, talking at
the same time. Umi and Clef were already in the Grand Hall
talking with Tatra and Tarta, the two princesses of the
planet Chizeta.

  Fuu and Kuu also entered the large hall albeit in a more
subdued manner. Aska, First Princess of the planet Fahren,
upon seeing her favorite Knight, rushed to her. "Fuu!"

  Fuu dropped to one knee in order to catch the child
princess in her arms. "Hello dear Princess Aska," the blonde
Knight hugged her friend tightly. After a few moments of
this, they drew back to assess each other. "Oh my, you've
grown since I was last here," Fuu declared.

  Aska beamed. "Yep, I'm already 10 years old!" Time on
Cephiro ran much faster than on Earth. The last time Fuu was
here on Cephiro was barely a month ago and Aska had already
aged three years.

  "That's very good Miss Aska!" Fuu stood and pivoted to
face Kuu, holding out a hand towards her. "Princess Aska of
Fahren, may I present to you my elder sister, Kuu." Kuu drew
near and bowed.

  "It is a great pleasure to meet you, Princess Aska," Kuu
said formally.

  Aska smiled up at the lovely girl. "I'm glad to meet you
too!"

  Hikaru glanced at the threesome and felt extremely happy
to be back among friends. It was amazing to think that Aska
and Fuu were once enemies. Now it was hard to look at them
and not think they were long-time friends.

  "Hello Princess Hikaru," a voice said from behind the
redhead.

  *It couldn't be*, Hikaru thought. "Zazu?" When she turned
around, she was looking slightly down since the last time
she was here, although Zazu Torque was older than her, he
was actually shorter. What she was expecting to see was the
face of a wide-eyed teenager she once met aboard an
Autozamian battleship; what she saw instead was the chest of
a taller boy. She slowly lifted her eyes and got the
surprise of her life when she saw the face of an *older*
teenager.

  "Yes, it's me, Zazu," the boy grinned. "I told you I'd
grow taller. And you're still as cute as ever."

  "What did you say?" Hikaru didn't trust her ears very
well at that moment.

  "Oh nothing," Zazu laughed, his hand behind his head in
embarrassment.

  "I see that you and Zazu Torque are getting
reacquainted," Lantis said as he walked up to the two,
clearly surprising them both.

  "Hello Lantis," Hikaru said as she lifted her eyes
towards the tall magic swordsman only to lower them quickly
when she felt his dark eyes burn into her. All of sudden she
felt strangely flushed.

  "Oh, hi there Lantis," Zazu said as began backing away
slowly. "I-it's good to see you again, Hikaru!" With one
final wave, he turned and sprinted away.

  Hikaru frowned when she saw the chief mechanic of the NSX
hurry off. "Oh, look Lantis, you scared the kid away."

  "He's hardly a kid anymore, Princess."
  
  "Well, that's true. But I needed to talk to him and Geo
for that matter."

  "You can talk to them later," Lantis declared
confidently. Hikaru felt his warm touch on her elbow as he
gently guided her towards the other guests. And there by her
side Lantis stayed all through dinner and the rest of the
evening.

  On the whole, Hikaru enjoyed herself immensely. She
particularly enjoyed the attention the magic swordsman was
paying her. In the beginning she was concerned that Kuu
would feel terribly uncomfortable in the new surroundings.
It proved to be for nothing since Kuu seemed to have enjoyed
herself as well, thanks in no small part to the buoyant
cheerfulness of both her sister and Princess Aska.

  As the evening drew to a close, Hikaru found herself once
again in front of the massive doors that led to her new
quarters. Lantis had escorted her. She couldn't help but
fidget. She had never really gone out on a date but she knew
from second hand accounts what it was like. And this sure
felt like a date to her.

  Lantis' hand was still on her elbow but she felt it slide
down her forearm in a caressing fashion that brought tingles
up and down her spine. Finally, his hand found hers and
lifted it to his waiting lips. Hikaru gasped as she felt his
kiss on her hand. She lifted her eyes to his and shivered at
the intensity she saw there.

  "Lantis..."
  
  "Yes, Princess?"
  
  "I-I'm going to bed now," the Fire Knight stammered as
she held out her hand to the doors causing them to open.

  "Oh," was all Lantis could say.
  
  "Good night." The Pillar of Cephiro gave Lantis one final
glance before disappearing into her chambers.

  "Good night, Princess," Lantis whispered to the doors
that had already closed.
                              
                          * * * * *
  
  The next morning, the Magic Knights were already inside
the War Room of the palace meeting with the delegation from
Autozam headed by Geo Metro and Zazu Torque. Fuu had just
drawn on a floating easel the image had downloaded from the
Internet while she was on Earth. The Wind Knight would
merely draw a sketch the alien objects and then by force of
will, the sketch would magically morph into a three-
dimensional image of the capsules that blasted into Earth's
atmosphere a few weeks ago.

  Geo Metro, now the commander of the NSX, the most
powerful battleship of Autozam, was looking at the images
closely. After a few moments of contemplation, he shook his
head. "I'm sorry, I can't make them out."

  "So you don't recognize them at all?" It was Umi who
asked.

  "No, not at all."
  
  Zazu, who was also intently examining the images, began
nodding his head. "Those are transport vehicles."

  Geo looked at his chief mechanic skeptically. "And how
can you be so sure of that?"

  In response, Zazu stood and approached the images. He
pointed to a line that seemed to cut through one of the
capsule lengthwise. "This one suggests that these capsules
can be opened. Also notice that the bottom portion of the
capsule is more flat than round while the top portion is
truly round." The chief mechanic nodded some as he spent a
few more seconds in contemplation. "I'm positive. These
capsules were used to transport something. Or someone." He
faced the conference table and watched his audience, gauging
their reaction.

  "It seems to be the most logical theory we have," Fuu
agreed. "Why else would they have gone to the trouble of
coming to Earth?"

  "This something that I will still speak to Clef about
but," Hikaru said as she glanced at the other two Magic
Knights, "Malor was certain that these aliens are after us.
They want to kidnap us." The Fire Knight glanced at the
delegation from Autozam. "Do any of you have any ideas why
they would want to do that?"

  Geo and Zazu exchanged glances, warily. Finally Geo
looked squarely at the Pillar. "We have a theory. It was an
idea we at Autozam have been playing around for quite some
time now. Even when your Princess Emeraude was alive.

  "Even before we thought to invade Cephiro, we were
actually considering an alternate plan which involved
requesting the previous Pillar to see if she could help us
locate another world, other than the four in our solar
system, that will be able to sustain the people of Autozam.
We knew that the Pillar possessed great power and would
probably be able to open a portal to this other world.

  "That idea was quickly debunked," Geo continued, "because
it was going to be a time consuming process. And time was
not something we had in abundance." Geo took a deep breath.
"So, anyway, it is confirmed that you, Princess," Geo said
as he glanced at Hikaru who, from the expression on her
face, was clearly realizing the implication of what he was
saying, "have the power to open portals. It is possible that
these aliens have discovered that and would want to use that
power to maybe transport more of their kind to Earth."
Having finished his explanation, Geo leaned back on his
chair and waited. For several seconds nobody spoke.

  Hikaru looked at Umi and Fuu in turn and stood. Everyone
else at the conference table also stood. "Thank you for your
time Geo, Zazu. I think you have given us the single biggest
clue to this entire puzzle." She faced her Knights. "But now
we have some additional thinking to do."

  Zazu watched as the Knights took their leave and left the
room. He wanted to approach Hikaru, to talk to her but as
soon as she left the table Lantis was already there guiding
her out. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and found
it was Geo.

  "She's way out of your league, kid," Geo said gently.
  
  "I know," was Zazu's terse reply.
  
  "C'mon then," Geo said as he tapped his chief mechanic's
shoulder lightly, "it's time to go."

  With one longing look towards the retreating form of the
Pillar, Zazu followed Geo out.
                              
                          * * * * *
  
  With Fuu busy with serious stuff, Aska cheerfully
volunteered to take Kuu around the kingdom of Cephiro.
Sanyung, Aska's personal aide, was the official tour guide.
They were riding atop a huge bird with white plumage, flying
low towards one of the larger towns Cephiro. To Kuu, the
bird actually looked like a chicken.

  Presently the bird landed in the center of the town. They
were surprised to see that a crowd was already waiting for
them. When they dismounted, a burly man with a friendly
smile approached them, accompanied by two women carrying two
garlands.

  "Welcome to Shidou city. My name is Brody, I'm the mayor
of this fine city," Brody said enthusiastically. The two
women on either side of the mayor approached Aska and Kuu,
placing the garlands over their shoulders.

  "Excuse me, Mayor Brody, but did you say that the name of
this city is Shidou?" Kuu asked, clearly puzzled.

  "Why of course, in honor of the Pillar of this beautiful
world," Brody declared with pride. "Please come with me and
let me show you around. Aska, Sanyung and Kuu dutifully
followed.

  "This is a newly completed city and the first one of its
kind," the mayor was gesturing with both hands. "It combines
the magic of Cephiro and the technology of Autozam." True
enough, the visitors noticed that the city's inhabitants
were a mix of native Cephireans and immigrant Autozamians.
The Autozamians were easily distinguishable from the clothes
that they wear and the technological attachments they had on
their arms and heads.

  The entire tour took the better part of the day. The
mayor eventually excused himself to attend to some pressing
matters. The visitors thanked the mayor profusely as they
continued exploring on their own. The trio found a
restaurant made entirely out of glass, or some sort of
transparent material. Out of curiosity and the need to
settle down for a while and rest, they headed straight for
it.

  Aska and Sanyung headed right inside. Kuu, on the other
hand, remained outside examining the "glass" that made up
the walls of the establishment. It was surprisingly like
glass but the texture was smoother and more slippery. It
seemed a lot stronger than glass too. "Amazing," whispered
Kuu.

  "Hey Kuu," Aska called out, "c'mon inside already!"
  
  Kuu started and then smiled at the child princess. "Of
course, Princess." She abandoned her examination and joined
the two who were already inside and seated around a table
also made of "glass." Aska was watching Kuu closely as she
made herself comfortable on the transparent cushion chair.
Food and refreshment had already been served.

  "It's amazing, isn't it?" Aska asked, pleased that her
guest was having fun.

  "Yes, very!" Kuu said breathily. "This world is
wonderful! And you know another thing that's amazing? We've
been walking and traveling all day and I should feel very
tired right now but I still feel so...so energetic."

  "That's because Cephiro is the land of the will," Sanyung
spoke for the first time.

  "What does that mean?"
  
  "It means that if you wish it so and your heart is strong
enough, that wish will come true," Sanyung concluded.

  "And Hikaru is the Pillar because she has the strongest
heart?"

  "Yes, that is correct."
  
  "Wow," was Kuu's only response. She turned to Aska. "How
did you and my little sister meet?"

  A shadow fell on Aska's pretty face. This alarmed Kuu.
"I'm sorry did I say something wrong?"

  "No, you didn't say anything wrong, Kuu," Aska said,
looking down on her hands. "A long, long time ago, I had
this crazy idea that I wanted to become the Pillar of
Cephiro."

  Kuu's eyes widened at that. "But why?"
  
  "I wanted the power that came with being the Pillar. I
was willing to take it by force if needed. Fuu, Umi and
Hikaru were there defending Cephiro," Aska glanced at
Sanyung, bit embarrassed by her past actions. "In one of our
battles I was able to capture Fuu." Kuu gasped but otherwise
said nothing. Aska looked at the Wind Knight's older sister.
"Don't worry, I didn't hurt Fuu or anything," the child
princess managed a small smile. "At least I wouldn't be able
to no matter how hard I tried. She's a truly powerful
Knight."

  This time, Aska's held wonderment in her eyes as she
recalled their confrontation. "I had almost a hundred
warriors surrounding her. She was able to hold all of them
back, even managing not to seriously harm any of them."

  "So how did you become such good friends afterwards?"
  
  "Just before Prince Ferio rescued her, the tables had
actually turned and she held me captive using one of her
spells. And she spoke to me in a way that no one else did,"
Aska said in soft tones. "You know I hardly listen to
anyone," she chuckled. "But for some reason, I listened to
Fuu. And from that moment on, I really wanted to become her
friend."

  "That's truly wonderful, Princess." Kuu reached over and
hugged the child. "So, I'm hungry. Let's go eat this food
before it gets cold."

                          * * * * *
  
  The Magic Knights, Lantis, Ferio, La Farga, Ascot,
Caldina, Presea and Clef had just concluded their meeting.
Hikaru now knew much more about Malor. It turned out that he
was also a Fire Knight. No wonder he lived at the foot of a
volcano. Clef was very surprised that he was still alive. He
would have to be more than 500 years old even considering
the fact that time passed at a much slower rate on Earth.
Exactly how Malor fit into the whole situation, however, was
still a mystery.

  After the meeting, Hikaru found herself alone once again
with Lantis. They were walking along the lush and well-
maintained garden inside the palace. She felt increasingly
uncomfortable in his presence. It was true that on her first
return to Earth after becoming the Pillar she had declared
her love for Lantis out loud. But everything seemed to be
going fast and she discovered that she was thoroughly
unprepared to handle the new feelings and sensations that
went with love. Further, she felt that there were more
important things to think about.

  Fortunately, it seemed that Lantis had other things on
his mind. "Hikaru," he began, "I've been giving this a lot
of thought."

  Hikaru stopped walking and faced the magic swordsman.
"What is it, Lantis?"

  "When Princess Emeraude was still the Pillar, before I
left for my travels, I was her designated protector. When I
left, La Farga took my place as her protector." Lantis faced
Hikaru. "Are you following where I'm going with this?"

  Hikaru's brows furrowed in thought. "You're saying that
the Pillar needs protection."

  "That's correct."
  
  "And you're saying that I need protection as well."
  
  "Again, correct."
  
  Hikaru tilted her head and looked at Lantis teasingly.
"And you are volunteering to be my protector."

  "That pretty much sums it up, Princess," Lantis replied
smugly.

  Hikaru sighed. "Well, that's what you've already been
doing, Lantis. You've been always there by my side *wherever*
I go. It's not like I could stop you."

  "Are you saying you don't like my company?"
  
  "Oh no! It's not that at all!" Hikaru shook her head
vigorously. "It just takes getting used to, that's all."

  "Then it's settled. I'll be going back with you to
Earth."

  "What!?" Hikaru's eyes widened at the suggestion. "You
can't do that!"

  "Why not?"
  
  "Well, it's a totally different world where I come from,"
the redhead protested.

  "I'm a well traveled man. I can adapt pretty fast."
  
  "We do things differently on Earth," Hikaru was
desperately running out of excuses. "And our technology is
different."

  "In case you've forgotten, I've lived in Autozam for
years. I'm used to technology." Lantis had his arms crossed
over his chest challenging the Pillar to come up with more
reasons.

  "But...but where will you live?"
  
  "I can stay with you--"
  
  "Absolutely not!" Hikaru jumped to her feet. "My brothers
will not stand for that at all!"

  "They will when they find out the truth," insisted the
tall swordsman, "you already said you would tell them
everything."

  "But...but..."
  
  "But what?" Lantis narrowed his eyes at the diminutive
Princess.

  Hikaru stomped off a few meters away and began pacing. To
Lantis it was a pathetic attempt to come up with more lame
excuses. Finally, the Princess stomped back and stop just in
front of him.

  "Listen to me Lantis. I do *not* need your protection."
Hikaru's fists were clenched at her sides, her expression
hard.

  "You and the rest of the Knights are in danger."
  
  Hikaru sighed deeply and turned so she wouldn't have to
face him. "I don't want to have to say this to you, Lantis.
But remember that final battle I had with Nova?" She heard
Lantis' sharp intake of breath. "I almost got myself killed
when she had you hostage and I couldn't...wouldn't attack
her." Hikaru looked down. "I know it's painful to remember.
I know..." She trailed off when she felt Lantis stand and
turned to walk away. She whirled to face him but it was his
back that she now saw. "Lantis..."

  The magic swordsman squared his shoulders. "I understand
what you're saying completely, Princess. I'm a liability to
you." Lantis began to walk away.

  "Lantis, wait!" Hikaru held out a hand to him, pleading
for him to stay so that she could explain. Except Lantis
kept on walking and the truth was there was nothing else she
could say. "Oh, Lantis..."
                              
                          * * * * *
  
  It was time for the Magic Knights to return to Earth.
Once again they were in the Grand Hall and everyone was
there, except Lantis. He was conspicuously absent for the
send off. The Knights and Kuu were mysteriously dressed in
their nightgowns but with robes over them for their trip
back.

  Kuu knelt down to hug the young princess of Fahren. "I'm
so glad to have met you, Princess Aska."

  "The pleasure was all mine, Kuu," replied a misty-eyed
Aska.

  Kuu turned to face the equally young personal aide of
Aska, Sanyung and shook hands with him. "It was a pleasure
to meet with you as well, Sanyung."

  Sanyung, always the shy type, began to blush slightly.
"The pleasure was also all mine, Lady Kuu. We hope to see
you again soon."

  "Oh, I do hope so!" Kuu stood to allow her little sister
to also say her goodbyes to both Aska and her aide.

  After everyone had said his or her goodbyes, it was
finally time to leave. Once again, but this time with
minimal effort, Hikaru stretched out her hand and
immediately a shimmering oval portal appeared. Hikaru looked
back at the crowd that had gathered. "Well, goodbye
everyone."

  "Take good care of yourself, Hikaru," Clef said, "and
remember that you have the power to call on us and even
summon us to Earth if need be."

  Hikaru nodded. "I will Clef, don't worry." She turned to
her companions. "Let's go." First Hikaru, then Umi went
through the portal. Fuu, with her arm around Kuu, was about
to walk through as well but Kuu held back.

  Fuu looked at her sister. "Kuu, we have to go now."
  
  "Is it safe?" Kuu reached out to touch the iridescent
light that was the center of the portal. She felt the cold
energy touch her finger which caused her to instinctively
draw back.

  "Of course it's safe, Kuu. We've done this several times
already."

  "Go ahead, Kuu," Aska said, smiling encouragingly, "it'll
be okay."

  Kuu glanced back at Aska and then at her little sister
and then took a deep breath. "Okay. Well, here goes..." Kuu
stepped into the portal and disappeared.

  Fuu glanced back at the others and smiled cheerfully.
"Goodbye everyone!" Everyone waved at the friendly Wind
Knight until she finally disappeared into the portal as
well.

  Clef grew pensive as he watched the portal slowly
dissipate. He couldn't shake the feeling that he might not
see the Knights again.

--------------------
NEXT:
Chapter 7 - The Stuff of Legends

--------------------
DISCLAIMER:
Magic Knight Rayearth and all the characters in that
anime/manga are properties of CLAMP.  These are used here
without permission.


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