Grat held his hand up. The two Ramarians following him
stopped on their tracks. Just beyond the corner Grat could
sense the presence of two humans from the sound they made
and the vibrations they exuded. He began walking backwards
away from the corner. When he was a sufficient distance
away, he tapped the comlink on his wrist. "Dasma."

  "Still here," came the reply. The voice sounded a tad
hoarse to his ear.

  "There are two humans in the hall very close to you."

  "Yes."

  "We are going to throw them a thermal bomb. Move as far
away from the wall as you can."

  "Yes."

  Grat reached into his utility belt and retrieved a small
silver sphere. This he handed to one of the Ramarians with
him. The Ramarian took it from him and gave a nod. Grat
switched places with him so that the other was closest to
the corner.

  Without speaking a word, they understood what needed to
be done. Once the bomb exploded, all three would jump into
the hall and simultaneously fire their weapons at the
humans. To Grat, it seemed excessive but they had already
lost five men to the humans. They weren't going to lose
more.

  The three edged closer to the corner. The lead Ramarian
glanced over his shoulder at Grat. The latter gave a nod.
The leader crouched, thumbed the activation switch on the
sphere and rolled it into the hallway. He immediately stood.
The bomb would explode in five seconds. They waited.
                              
                          * * * * *
  
  "What was that?" Ramirez froze, straining his ears to the
new sound.

  "Sounds like something rolling on the floor," Nomuri
offered. And then they both saw it. A silver ball the size
of a marble was rolling towards them. It stopped a good
number of meters away as it lost its momentum having
encountered debris on the floor. "I have a bad feeling about
this..."

  "Fall back!" Ramirez stood and practically bowled over
Nomuri, effectively pushing her backwards, her feet dragging
on the floor. Ramirez had no time for niceties. He spied the
pile of rubble he encountered earlier. It would make a good
cover. Just a few more steps--

  The bomb exploded with a deafening crash. Blue thermal
energy streaked out in all directions incinerating
everything in its path. The incredible pressure from the
bomb caused the debris from the resulting destruction to
shoot out at speeds exceeding that of a bullet.

  Ramirez gave a yelp of pain as dozens of the high-speed
irregularly shaped shrapnel pierced his back. The force
carried both him and Nomuri several feet over the rubble.
They both tumbled head over heals past the pile that was to
be their cover with Nomuri ending on top. She immediately
lifted herself up from Ramirez.

  Ramirez was writhing in pain. Blood was slowly oozing
from his mouth. "Hiroshi!" Nomuri screamed.

  "T-the p-pain," Ramirez's voice sounded as if he was
talking under water. "G-give me your gun and...and a...grenade."

  "No! I won't leave you!"

  Just then, more explosions rocked the hall as three
aliens suddenly appeared and fired at them. Nomuri pushed
Ramirez further to the side finally putting the pile of
rubble to good use as their cover.

  "T-this will not hold them for long. N-now give me the
grenade...and go!"

  Nomuri was sobbing and shaking her head, copious tears
streaming down her face. "No! No! I won't leave you. I won't
let you do this!"

  "T-there's no time, M-Machiko! Give me the grenade!"

  Very reluctantly, Nomuri reached for a concussion grenade
from her belt and placed it on Ramirez's shaking, bloody
hand.

  "Now go, Machiko!" Ramirez pulled the pin from the
grenade. He raised his eyes at his partner. "Go, you bitch!
Just go!"

  Nomuri let out one more loud cry of anguish before
hastily crawling away. She took one more glance back and saw
her partner rise from the rubble, firing his MP5 repeatedly
at the aliens. It was not clear whether he was hitting any
of them. But when she saw several burst of blue energy rip
through his body, he may not have gotten any one of them at
all. With a final battle cry, he threw the grenade before he
was totally cut down. The grenade exploded just as she
reached the corner that led to the stairs.

  "Hiroshi..."
                              
                          * * * * *
  
  The double explosion disintegrated the wall that
protected the room Dasma hid in. Several large pieces of
concrete from the wall and plaster from the ceiling
partially buried her. One particularly large portion of the
wall pinned her legs down. For several moments, she just lay
there, desolate and in pain.

  When she finally opened her eyes she could see right into
the hallway or at least what was left of it. It was only
after she cast her eyes about her that she realized her
predicament. With what remaining strength she had she pushed
her way out of the pieces of debris that was pinning her
down. When at last she was free she began to crawl towards
the hall. At first she was afraid that there still might be
humans lurking just waiting for her to emerge but after
stretching her senses and detecting no one, she gained the
confidence to crawl. She made her way towards the last known
position she knew Grat to be.

  There was debris everywhere. She also saw several body
parts. It was not clear whether they were from humans or
Ramarians as the latter were also disguised as humans. One
could only tell from the blood. Ramarian blood was blue. But
because of the sprinkler systems, what blood there was, was
washed away.

  Dasma tensed when suddenly she heard the sound of feet
running up the stairs. If the humans had come back, there
would be no escaping them.

  "Dasma!" She heard her name being called. It was Rogo's
voice.

  "I'm here!" She called out.

  In a matter of seconds, Rogo, together with other members
of the Ramarian team appeared in what used to be the
hallway. He rushed towards her with concern etched on his
human face. "You weren't answering our call through the
comlink."

  Both sets of eyes fell on Dasma's wrist where the comlink
was, battered and utterly damaged. "I guess I would have if
it was still working. Did you try calling Grat?" She asked,
hoping against hope that he might have survived and was not
among those that were obviously buried here.

  "Yes, we did," answered Rogo watching Dasma's reaction
carefully. "There was also no answer."

  Dasma cast her eyes away from Rogo and diverted it
towards the heavy rubble that totally covered the floor.
Somewhere under there was Grat. For several seconds she
allowed her eyes to linger over the wreckage...

  "...your wounds..." The sound of Rogo's voice brought her
back from her thoughts.

  "Excuse me?"

  "I said we need to treat your wounds."

  "Oh," was all she could say.

  Rogo lifted Dasma in his arms and carried her towards one
of the rooms they occupied, which he knew contained a
Ramarian first-aid kit.
                              
                          * * * * *
  
  By the time Jenkins and Hirota arrived at the scene,
there were hundreds of people on the street outside the
condominium building. To the dismay of both agents, those
hundreds included the Press. How they could get wind of
something like this so fast was beyond the agents'
comprehension.

  "I can't believe the Press are already here," Hirota gave
voice to what the other was already thinking.

  "They're this fast also back in the United States.
Perhaps, even faster," Jenkins replied sourly.

  Hirota brought the car to a screeching halt a safe
distance away from the building. He and Jenkins got out of
the car and the first thing both did was look up, just like
the other people were doing. Several small fires could be
seen on the topmost floors of the building. That the fire
had not spread was a testament to the reliability of the
sprinkler system.

  Hirota, having had enough of the sight, went out and
looked for whoever was in charge so that he could rip that
authority out for himself. It was obvious that the Fire
Department was the first to respond to the scene. Already he
could see several of the injured among those being treated
in the several ambulances also on the scene.

  Two black vans arrived with the letters SWAT printed on
big bold white paint on the sides of each. Black clad
officers armed with automatic weapons poured out of each van
and stood at attention waiting for someone to direct them.
Hirota strode back and headed towards the head of the
Special Weapons and Tactics team.

  "What's your name?" Hirota asked the SWAT leader.

  "Sergeant Kuzuo Kirana, Sir."

  "All right, I want all exits covered. Nobody gets in or
out of that building, got it?"

  "Yes, Sir."

  "Also, I want snipers on this building here," Hirota
pointed to the building to his right, "and the building on
the other side," he said, gesturing to the building behind
the condominium.
   
   "Got it, Sir," the SWAT team leader responded. He turned
around to address his men briskly. After a few moments, they
dispersed, moving in their own designated direction. Kirana
stayed behind awaiting further instructions.

  "Will someone get me a map of this area and a blueprint
of this condominium," Hirota barked at no one in particular.
Like magic, another detective appeared bearing the items he
needed. The chief investigator grabbed the map and made his
way to the hood of his car. Jenkins and Kirana followed him.
There he spread the map of the surrounding vicinity. He
turned to the man who gave him the map and blueprint. "I
want this, this and this street blocked off," he said
pointing to various locations.

  "Yes, Sir," the younger detective said.

  "And for kami's sake, get those reporters out of here!"
Hirota said irritably.

  "Yes, Sir," the other responded again before hurrying off
to obey the senior investigator's bidding.

  Hirota then spread the blueprint of the building on top
of the map. There were several pages of blueprints so he
thumbed through the pages until the found the ones that he
needed. Jenkins moved closer and peered into the plans.

  "It looks like your typical condominium layout," Jenkins
commented. "It's pretty fancy though."

  "Yeah, it is," Hirota said. "It's reputed to be one of
the best ones we have." He took his eyes of the plans
momentarily and spared the building a glance as if verifying
for himself whether there was truth in that statement.
   
   "Whoever those people are that caused those explosions,
they're still up there in the thirteenth and fourteenth
floors. There's no way out except through us."

  "Or up on the roof if they have a ride. I suggest you
order a chopper in," Jenkins offered.

  "You're right." The investigator took out his radio.
"Hirota to base."

  "Come in, this is base. Hashimoto speaking."

  "Oh good, it's you. We need a chopper here immediately."

  "Consider it done. Out."

  Hirota tucked his radio back into his coat. He turned to
the SWAT leader. "I hope you're men are well trained and
disciplined. No one is to open fire until I give the order."

  "Don't worry, Investigator. They are well trained. So
what now?"

  "Now, we wait."
                              
                          * * * * *
  
  Biggs silently watched the flurry of activity below from
his window and cursed his bad luck. Of the forty Marines he
deployed to take out the aliens, only eleven survived; four
of them injured. The feeling of oppression threatened to
engulf him but he was able to force it down. There would be
time for mourning later. Now, he had to think of a way to
salvage the situation. Under no circumstances should he
allow himself or any member of his team to be caught.

  His was a black bag operation. If they were caught, the
U.S. government would disavow any knowledge of their
existence and they would be abandoned to their fate. Looking
down, he recognized one of them to be an American. He had
to be that FBI agent, Jenkins. It was comforting to see a
fellow American handling the investigation. But that was as
far as it got. There was also no way he could allow his
operation to be exposed by the FBI.

  He glanced over his shoulder towards Evans. "Are all of
the surviving men accounted for?"

  "Well, Sir, there is still one more in the building."

  Biggs frowned. That could prove a problem. "Who is it?"

  "Lt. Machiko Nomuri, Sir. She says she sustained some
injuries."

  That figures. No wonder she wasn't able to evacuate in
time. "Tell her to stay in the building and pretend to be a
resident. Instruct her carefully, Lieutenant. There should
be no evidence of her being a U.S. Marine on her person when
she is rescued by the Japanese."

  "Roger that, Colonel."

  At least that problem's solved, for now, Biggs thought to
himself. He raised his eyes to the window across the street
from his own. The aliens were still in there. But now the
Japanese police surrounded them. *I wonder what they're gonna
do.*

                          * * * * *
  
  "Interesting predicament," Lam commented dryly to
himself, looking down at the swarm of police officers,
rescue workers and firemen skittering around like ants
around a piece of discarded candy.

  "It is, isn't it?" Rogo said, walking into the room and
joining Lam by the window. He took a glance out and
immediately understood what the other meant. He caught
movement in the roof of the building across the street.
"There are snipers on the roof. Standing right here won't be
very healthy in a few minutes."

  "How is Dasma?" Lam said by way of changing the subject.
He could afford to not move too quickly. He knew that the
sniper they've posted on the roof would still need time to
set up.

  Rogo paused and exhaled a bit of air in what almost
passed as a sigh. "Dasma has sustained superficial injuries.
Nothing she wouldn't be able to recover from completely in a
few hours."

  "So tell me what's *really* wrong with her."

  "She is grieving the death of Grat. She is angry and
vengeful. It would be very difficult to control her when she
recovers." Rogo cast a glance at the other. Lam took the
news silently. Rogo diverted his eyes to the scene below
once more. "I suppose we can just blast our way through
them," Rogo offered in a bid to return the discussion to
something more important.

  "That we can do except it won't get us very far. What we
need is fast transportation."

  "To where?"

  "Where else? Our mission is still to capture the girls."

  "Don't you just love complications like these?" Rogo said
without much humor. As they both moved away from the window,
Lam lifted his wrist to activate his comlink.

  "Mr. Tanaka, this is Lam."
                              
                          * * * * *
                          
  "You are asking too much of me," Tanaka said over the
comlink.

  "You will be sufficiently rewarded, of course," Lam
countered coolly.

  "Really. How big a reward are we talking about anyway?"

  "Five million, American. Just for you, Mr. Tanaka."

  "Plus expenses?"

  "Plus expenses."

  Five million U.S. dollars. The Yakuza converted the
amount to yen in his head. His brain had trouble counting
all the zeroes. It was enough money to get away from all
this illegal madness. It did not occur to him to doubt the
ability of Lam to pay. He'd seen for himself the kind of
resources they had. But was it worth the risk? He might
never be able to show his face again in Japan afterwards.

  "What will it be, Mr. Tanaka?" Lam broke into his
thoughts.

  "Make it seven million and we have a deal." Tanaka held
his breath. He didn't have to hold it very long.

  "Very well. The money will be transferred as per the
usual procedure. You can verify it later. Right now I need
you to act quickly."

  "Right. Tanaka out." For seven million dollars he
wouldn't mind being Lam's lapdog--just for today. For the
umpteenth time this morning, Tanaka lifted the phone. He
glanced at his watch. It wasn't even four in the morning.
This was going to be a very long day.

                          * * * * *
  
  Fuu sat down in front of her computer and turned it on.
She had just ended a phone conversation with everyone in the
Shidou residence. When she placed the call earlier, she
wasn't really expecting anyone to be up. As it turned out,
Malor *was* up. He also had a premonition of sorts and it was
more than vivid than what she had.

  Malor had a vision of the aliens attacking and
successfully capturing Hikaru. Fuu was right in not
dismissing the uneasiness she had been feeling. The old
Magic Knight turned recluse decided that the issue could no
longer wait until a decent time and so he roused everybody
in the Shidou residence much to everyone's chagrin.

  When they discovered that Umi, too, had the same weird
feeling, everyone began to see, albeit not wholeheartedly,
that this particular meeting was indeed necessary. The
discussion that Fuu heard over the phone went on for around
forty-five minutes. It would have gone on longer if Satoru
hadn't put his foot down and decisively took charge. It was
then decided that none of the [current] Magic Knights were
going to school that day. Malor was to escort Umi back to
her parents and remain there until evening. Masaru and
Kakeru would head over to her house as added protection. And
finally, Lantis, Satoru and Hikaru would just stay at home.
They would all keep in close contact through phone and
through telepathy, for those who could manage it.

  After all the decisions have been made, Malor began to
briefly describe his vision. Although more vivid than the
premonitions she and Umi had by several orders of magnitude,
it was far from clear. The only thing that was really clear
was that Hikaru was somehow captured by the aliens.

  "I can only hope I'm wrong," Fuu remembered Malor saying,
"except...my premonitions are never wrong."

  The Wind Knight could very well feel the silence that
descended on the group after Malor made that declaration.
She could sense the anxiety everyone was feeling even from
the phone. She was feeling it too actually.

  It was not until her computer beeped indicating that the
boot up process was complete that she realized how deep in
thought she was. For a while Fuu forgot exactly why she
turned on her computer. And then it hit her. She was going
to find out if there were any recent alien activities that
she should know about. She opened three Internet browser
windows and logged onto CNN Online, The Japan Times Online
and The Early Bird. She wasn't expecting to see anything new
on CNN and Japan Times since she had just checked on those
two sites before she went to bed the previous night. The
third one, however, was a different story. This site
contained breaking information that would not make it into
the news dailies until several hours after. The downside to
this site was that a whole lot of the news items were as yet
still unsubstantiated and unverified, which means Fuu had to
carefully wade through them and try to discern the ones that
had some accuracy in them.

  She jumped right into The Early Bird site, ignoring the
other two for the moment. There was quite a bit of items
there. She scrolled down the list slowly, scanning the
subject lines. It didn't take her long to stop at one
entitled "Alien Rampage At Shibuya". She clicked on the link
and waited two seconds for the page to load. Fuu's green
eyes widened gradually as she scanned the page.

  The Wind Knight swiveled her chair so that it faced the
night table beside her bed. There she grabbed the TV remote
and used it to turn on her television. It was already set on
a news channel. And there it was. A field reporter was right
on the scene, describing what little she knew of the details
in a clipped and hurried manner. Behind her was a building
with black smoke billowing out of its two topmost floors.

  "...as you can see behind me," the reporter was saying,
"black smoke is coming out of thirteenth and fourteenth
floors. These are the floors believed to be where the aliens
have been hiding. It is still unclear exactly what caused
the fires or the explosions that were allegedly heard
earlier this morning." The reporter put a finger up on her
ear as she bent her head a little. It was clear that someone
was feeding her more information. She nodded once and then
looked back at the camera. "If you will all recall, when the
aliens invaded four days ago, their landing site was
suspected to be at Yoyogi Park which is not very far from
here..."

  Fuu muted the TV.  Picking up the phone, she once again
placed a call to the Shidou residence.

                          * * * * *
  
  "I can't believe I let you talk me into this!" Bill
Winters complained loudly. "I can't believe I let you talk
me into anything and everything!"

  "Quiet!" Joan Rumsen hissed. "You're gonna wake up the
entire neighborhood."

  Bill glared at the back of Joan's head. It wasn't even
five in the morning and here they were in an unknown
neighborhood of an unknown town. Well, maybe, not really
unknown. Unless the cab driver didn't know jackshit about
his own city, they were exactly where the address written on
a piece of paper said they were.

  "So what are you waiting for?" Bill asked, clearly
exasperated.

  "I'm gathering up my nerve," Joan said simply.

  "Gathering up your nerve!? Just ring the goddamn bell!"

  Joan whirled to face the other. Although she was a good
head shorter than Bill, the menace she radiated made him
quail. "Do you realize what time it is? I have to make sure
that what I say after they open the door won't make them
think we're some kind of *gaijin* weirdos or something. Can
you appreciate that? Huh?" She said, stabbing a finger at
his chest before turning around to once more face the large
wooden gate.

  Bill smirked silently. "No matter what you say they'll
think we are weirdos anyway," he muttered under his breath.

  "I heard that," Joan said. "Now just shut up, will you?"
She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She raised
her hand and gingerly pressed the doorbell.

  Bill took one step forward so that he was standing right
beside Joan. He glanced sideways at her and saw that she was
mumbling something. *Probably practicing her lines*, he
thought, shaking his head slightly.

  Shortly after, the gate swung open revealing a tall man
wearing what looked like black armor and a flowing black
cape. In his right hand was a glowing sword that was
pointing downwards. Both Joan and Bill gaped at the sight in
front of them.

  "Well, what do you know," Bill said, slack-jawed, "if it
isn't Darth Vader." He turned to Joan who was still gaping.
"At least now we know we're not the only weirdos in this
neighborhood."
                              
                          * * * * *
  
   Umi's bags were already in the living room ready to be
brought out as soon as the taxi arrived. Hikaru was also
there helping her friend pack some minor things when both
the phone and the doorbell rang. Hikaru and Umi exchanged
glances.

  "Who could be coming to visit at this hour?" Hikaru asked
rhetorically, casting her eyes towards the gate. "Could it
be the taxi already?"

  "Couldn't be," Umi replied, "they aren't due until
another half hour."

  "Well, anyway, you get the phone and I'll get the door,"
the Fire Knight said already on her way out.

  "Right." Umi said but Hikaru was already out of hearing
distance.

  The redheaded teenager was just a few meters from the
gate when she heard a familiar voice calling out her name.
She stopped and turned to see Lantis purposely walking
towards her. To her surprise, he was wearing his battle
armor and his magic sword was already out.

  "You shouldn't just open the gate, Hikaru," the magic
swordsman said, "what if they were the aliens?"

  Hikaru furrowed her brows. It didn't occur to her that
the aliens would bother to ring the doorbell. Whatever. You
can't be too careful, the Fire Knight decided. Lantis
stepped in front of her, effectively shielding her from
whatever it was standing just outside the gate. He reached
out with his left hand and opened one side of the gate
slowly.

  Because the magic swordsman was so much taller than her,
Hikaru couldn't see who it was he discovered. She took one
step to the side and glanced at their guest. She looked up
at Lantis who seemed to be rooted in place. "They don't look
like aliens to me," she said mischievously.

  There was a ghost of a smile on Lantis' lips as he looked
down and regarded the Pillar. "Very funny. They seem quite
safe so I guess you can take over." He took a step to the
side and back, allowing Hikaru to step forward. He watched
as she bowed gracefully and said something in that strange
language of theirs.

  Hikaru saw that they were foreigners so she opted to use
what little English that she learned at school. "*Ohayo!*
Hello. How help you?"

  The two foreigners exchanged nervous glances. The woman
stepped forward and bowed awkwardly. "Good morning. I'm
sorry to have bothered you so early in the morning. My name
is Joan Rumsen. I work for the organization called Search
for Extraterrestrial Intelligence in the United States," the
woman paused as she stared at her intently. "You wouldn't be
Hikaru Shidou, would you?"

  Hikaru's eyes widened at the sound of her name. The woman
had made the obvious effort to speak more slowly but most of
her words flew right over her head nevertheless. "Yes, my
name is Hikaru Shidou. What you want?"

  The woman named Joan sighed deeply as if realizing for
the first time how difficult it would be to hurdle the
language barrier. She steeled herself and began to speak
even more slowly this time. "My name is Joan Rumsen. I study
aliens. You know," she began gesturing with a hand in the
air, waving it around.

  Hikaru's eyes widened and she smiled as she recognized
the hand gesture. "Oh, I know! Airplane!"

  "No, no," Joan said hastily. "Eeeyleeeyeens. Aliens."

  "Maybe you should try 'iteki'," the man behind Joan said.
He seemed to be thumbing through a small book.

  "*Iteki*? What does that mean?"

  Upon hearing the word, Hikaru glanced at Lantis and then
realized that he didn't understand the meaning of the word.
She looked back at the odd couple in front of her. What did
they know about the aliens? She was already certain that
they were not the aliens themselves.

  "*Iteki* means aliens, Joan," the man said.

  "Oh," Joan said. She then turned to Hikaru. "We," she
said pointing to both herself and the man beside her, "study
*iteki*."

  "I see," Hikaru said, her expression turning somber.
"Please," she said, gesturing with both hands waving inward,
"please come in." When she saw that they understood her, she
turned and walked towards the house.

  Lantis closed the gate after the two visitors stepped
through the threshold. After that, he walked briskly until
he was beside Hikaru. "Are you sure that's wise, inviting
them in?"

  "I don't think we're in any danger from them. If I
understood what they were saying earlier, they are
scientists studying aliens."

  "Hmmm," was all Lantis said.

  Just as they were nearing the house, Umi appeared
obviously excited about something. "Hikaru! Lantis! You've
got to see this!"

  "What is it, Umi?" Hikaru said, quickening her pace.

  "Just come and see," Umi said as she escorted her friend
and Lantis inside. She ignored the two visitors. The
television was on and tuned to the news. The image showed a
building whose top floors seemed to be burning.

  "What's this all about?" Lantis asked, watching the image
play out on the box.

  "The aliens are supposedly in that building," Umi said,
switching smoothly to Cephirean.

  "There seems to be a lot of activity there. What
happened?" It was Hikaru's turn to ask, also in Cephirean
just so Lantis could keep up with the conversation.

  "It was Fuu on the phone telling me to turn on the TV.
Apparently, there were multiple explosions in the top
floors. There were witnesses who saw several armed men go
inside the building early this morning."

  "Anybody die or something?" Hikaru asked, her fists
clenched at her side.

  "Um, no details have been mentioned about that. The
police have not yet entered the building," Umi replied,
her eyes glued to the news.

  Joan and her companion were already inside the living
room, their eyes likewise glued to the TV set. Hikaru heard
them exchanged words in rapid English that she didn't
understand. She turned to them and smiled amiably. "Please
sit down," she gestured towards a pillow on the floor. She
noted with relief that the two knew enough about their
culture to remove their shoes before entering. "This is best
friend, Umi," she gestured to Umi.

  Umi smiled and bowed at the two in response, having just
noticed them. "I'm pleased to meet you," she said in perfect
English, much to the delight of the visitors.

  Hikaru gave her blue-haired friend a quizzical look. "I
didn't know you could speak English very well."

  "Well, I might just decided to be an international model
someday," The Water Knight said airily. "It would be a great
advantage if I can speak in English very well," she finished
with a grin.

  "I'm very pleased to meet you as well, Umi," the woman
named Joan said. There was obvious relief on her face at
having met someone who can speak passable English. "My name
is Joan Rumsen and this is my colleague, Bill Winters."

  Umi smiled and bowed once more.

  "And this is Lantis," Hikaru said, gesturing towards the
magic swordsman beside her. Lantis, having heard his name,
also bowed. "He not speak English at all."

  "That's okay, Hikaru," Joan said amicably. "I'm sure you,
or your friend Umi, can handle the translations."

  Hikaru smiled in response. She edged closer to Umi and
nudged her. "I think it would be better if you handled the
conversation with them."

  "But Hikaru, the taxi will be here soon."

  "Listen, they came here for a reason and I want to know
what it is. They said something about studying aliens. If
the taxi comes, let's just make him wait, okay?"

  "Oh all right," Umi said a little grumpily. The truth was
she always welcomed any opportunity to practice her English.
However, she was beginning to miss her parents and was
anxious to get home. Especially after knowing that an alien
attack was becoming more and more imminent. "So," she began
as she sat on a cushion near Joan and Bill, "what can we do
for you?"

--------------------
NEXT:
Chapter 11 - The Ramarian Gambit

--------------------
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
It took me the longest to come up with this chapter. I have
only real life to blame for that. If only we could just sit
back and do nothing but write. Alas!

Anyway, all C&C are welcome. Like I mentioned before, I
am accumulating all C&C and make one final revision for
the entire story before finally posting it in my upcoming
web page.

Part of the next chapter has already been written which
means there should be less waiting time for that one.

Ciao!

--------------------
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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