I skipped back up to my tower to sit with my back to the stone and my feet dangling into space. The breeze was warm and carried occasional tufts of dandelion fluff. Poor Umi. She'd never guess who it was that I loved. She'd probably try to fix me up with Ascot now. At least someone else would be teased along with me, now.

Of course, it would be easier if I loved Ascot instead of Innova. Ascot was as human as I was. Or was he? He was able to change his age and such, but surely he was more like me than Innova. I could actually have and hold Ascot...If it was him that I loved. But it wasn't. I wondered how close I ever could be with Innova.

Then, a mindcall from Fuu and Hikaru interrupted my thoughts. They were in trouble in the far desert. I got to my feet just as a distant shout from Umi came from the courtyard below. She had received it too. I used an early spell to turn my body to energy and zipped down to the courtyard as a small bolt of lightning. It was fast but made me feel so strange I didn't do it often. As it was, my hair and clothing clung to me with tingly static.

Selece was already there and ready to go, so I called up Innova and we were off to the Sandy Reaches. Umi was annoyed to have her pursuit of Mokona interrupted, but in the perfect mood to take on a monster. I almost laughed at her bad temper, but realized that wouldn't help at all. Soon, the rolling green gave way to rolling sand as the fields became dunes.

"There!" shouted Umi, Selece's arm pointing to a whirl of sand and commotion in the distance. "That must be them!" As we neared I could see Rayearth's flaming crest through the haze. I tried to make out the monster, but couldn't see much through the sandstorm. Unless...the sand storm was the monster...

"Hikaru!" called Umi. Rayearth half-turned and we heard Hikaru's voice sounding frustrated.

"It's made of shifting sand!" she screamed. "My fire only blackens it and Fuu's winds just fling it faster."

"Where is Fuu?" I couldn't see her anywhere. "Is she alright?"

" She's buried!" Hikaru made a stab at the spinning sand, with no affect we could see.

"I've got this thing," Umi snapped. She unleashed a water spell that was like turning a fire hose on a sandcastle. The spinning sand was reduced to wet lumps that flung around for a little bit, then melted.

"Again!" I said, pointing at the ground. "Use it to uncover Fuu!"

With Umi blasting at the sand, it wasn't long until the scoured green armor of Windam became visible. Hikaru and I knelt and began to dig around it. Slowly the Wind Machin began to move and struggle to get upright. The sand was packed so tight around her it was almost solid rock. I began to chip at it with my weapon and Hikaru followed my example with her sword. Soon, Windam was able to stand and I winced at the sight of the damaged 'skin'. The sand had scraped and scoured deep scratches into it's surface. Knowing that Knights take their armor's damage as well, I had a nasty vision of what poor Fuu must look like with most of her hide taken off.

Hikaru was scratched up, too, but not as badly. She called out to Fuu until a shaken answer came back. I relaxed a little when I heard her chant her healing spell. The great wet spot in the middle of the desert was drying quickly around us. I was glad I couldn't feel the heat.

"I'm ready," Fuu sighed. "Let's get home." We took off again, and returned to the palace. There was a crowd waiting for us. Ferio ran forward to put his arms around Fuu as soon as she emerged. She leaned weakly on him. Umi looked around at the crowd.

"What's going on?" she asked. Clef looked worried, but it was Ferio who answered.

"This isn't the pillar's doing," he said. "These monsters come from an outside power." That was confusing enough to quiet us down again. I had thought that the Pillar was pretty much in control of things like that. How could this happen by itself? Ferio led Fuu inside with the promise of a backrub. I noticed Ascot looking off to the side and followed his gaze to where Umi and Clef had also drawn to one side. I felt a moment of smugness at my ability to predict their relationship, but Ascot's expression puzzled me.

As soon as he noticed that I had noticed, he blushed and walked off quickly. I stared after him a moment,puzzled, then walked over to Presea's workshop. She was dozing at her desk, occasionally ordering Mokona's execution in her sleep. In front of her was the sword of Arieon. She had made a replacement blade for it, but it wasn't joined to the broken place yet. Making it must've taken a lot out of her, I thought, do I carefully crept back to the door to leave her in peace.

In the next instant, the floor went crazy and the whole world vibrated. I squealed in fright as things began to fall off Presea's shelves. Was it an earthquake??I had never been in one and felt close to panic. Presea jerked awake with a gasp and leapt out off her chair to avoid her cannon as it rolled by. She snatched the two pieces of sword and bolted towards me. I was clinging to the door like it would save me. She caught one of my arms as she went by and dragged me outside before I had time to squeal again.

It passed in only a moment. A few stones fell fom the castle walls and water was gushing from a large crack in the side of the courtyard fountain. Soon the gathered crowd had reassembled. There was some confusion and much concern.

"It's just like when Emeraude was taken," I heard Lafarga saying. "Earthquakes and monsters."

"But it can't be," another voice said. "The Pillar is safe and untroubled."

"Well, I am sick of this!" Umi's voice rose above everyone's and we all turned to look at her. She was an angry shade of red. I noticed that Clef, standing beside her, also looked a bit pink. Had the earthquake interrupted a tender moment? It would explain Umi's temper. "I say we find what is causing this and put a stop to it right now!"

"Yeah!" cheered Hikaru. "But...is Fuu well enough?"

"It's a bit soon," Ferio almost growled protectively. "I'm going to go ask the Pillar what we should do. The rest of you can work on repairs inthe castle until we know for sure what to do."

"Who died and made him king?" muttered Ascot. "Oh well. I'll go check the south walls." We divided in to groups to scout out damage and I ended up following Ascot around to the south side of the palace. We found some cracks and an overturned tree, but nothing worse. Ascot was quiet for most of the time. I questioned him for a little while, but it was obvious he was uncomfortable, so I let it drop and changed the subject.

The rest of the day was spent moving the fallen rocks, helping the stonesmiths repair cracks, and putting things back on Presea's shelves. By nightfall, I was exhausted and so was everyone else. Even Mokona seemed to be worn out as he hopped along behind Hikaru. After a halfhearted dinner, we all staggered off to bed with weary goodnights all around. I considered a nice, hot bath, but then decided that I'd fall asleep in it and probably drown. So, I lurched into bed and collapsed.

I found myself in a world of clouds and mist. Taking a step forward, I realized the foot I had put out was really a paw. I stared at it. It was a large, dog-like paw, with inky-black fur. I lifted it experimentally, not really sure if it was mine. It moved when I tried to move my arms, so I quickly spun trying to get a look at the rest of myself.

I was a creature like Innova, I realized, stunned. Only black. I had a long tail, four legs, and when I rubbed a paw over my head, I could feel long pointed ears and a horn on my forehead. There was only a moment of panic and then I bagan to enjoy it. I ran a short ways, and jumped around, getting the feel of this new body. I must look ridiculous prancing around like this, I thought, but didn't care too much. Who would see me here?

I ran on through the mist, thoroughly enjoying myself now. Would Innova appear? Could we finally play together this way? Just for fun, I threw back my head and howled. The sound summoned lightning from the clouds over me, half-startling me, half delighting. From somewhere in the mist,an answer came back. It could only be Innova, right? I froze, ears perked to tell the direction it was coming from. For a long moment there was no other sound, so I called again. This time a howl came back and I raced for it. A shape moved in the mist ahead of me. Was it him? I ran towards it, but then there wasn't any ground under my feet. I gasped, then felt something hit me on the head where my horn was supposed to be. I blinked and found myself on the floor of my room, tangled in a bed sheet.

"Ow," I said, rubbing the bump on my forehead. Disappointment sank in like teeth. It had just been a dream. Heaving a sigh, I pulled myself free from the sheet and crawled onto the bed. It had been a beautiful dream, though, I thought with a smile. And, like all my dreams of Innova, I had woken up feeling completely energized. There was no way I could get back to sleep, now.

My barefeet made little slapping sounds as I went down the hall out into the courtyard again. It was a good night for a walk, I reasoned happily. But as I skipped past the fountain, I caught a glimpse of a green spark of light from the shadows. I slid to a halt for a better look. It took a moment for me to recognise Ascot in the darkness. One of the green gems on his collar had caught the moonlight and winked at me. He hadn't seen me yet.

He looked into the fountain with a quiet despair I could all too well sympathize with. I had a short arguement with myself on whether or not I should leave him alone, but then sighed, and called out to him softly. He jumped, looked startled, then guilty, then a little annoyed. I asked him if he was alright and he snapped at me that he was fine before stalking off into the shadows again. I watched him go, then went on my way. It wouldn't help if I tried to talk to him now.

I walked under the moon until my first weariness returned and then went back to bed to sleep dreamlessly until the eye-opening thump of Mokona on my back snapped me out of it. I sat up groggily, looking around.

"Puu!" cheered Mokona, bouncing happily on my lap. "Puupupuu!"

"What?" I grouched, glaring at him with the one eye I'd managed to open. His look of total glee and good cheer should have been contagious, but sore muscles from the work sent my growling back under the covers.

"Puu!" said Mokona, sounding admonishing. He bounced again, this time on my butt, where he thumped one leg like the rabbit he resembled, sending me out of the blankets with a squeal. I chased him around the room once on principle, then let him land safely on my pillow to grin at me. He remained smiling through my lecture on how to treat a lady's posterior and seemed not to care in the least.

"You should be ashamed," I told him, not meaning it. His cheer had finally rubbed off on me. He knew it as well as I did and smirked as I pulled on some clothes, beat my hair down enough to use a barette on it, and hopped out after me.

I went through the kitchen. My late start had caused me to miss breakfast, so I took a pear and a roll on my way outside. The courtyard was empty and the last of the morning's dew sparkled in the sunshine. I was feeling sparkly myself. Since the coast was clear, I swung up into a tree to eat my breakfast. I hadn't done this since I was very young and was enjoying it thoroughly when a shuffle of feet down the tiled path got my attention. I peeked down through the leaves. It was Ascot.

He still looked depressed and I was debating whether or not to speak to him when he sat down with a sigh on the bench in the tree's shade. I wondered how wet it was from the dew. Shyness at having to explain what I was doing in the tree kept me quiet for a few moments longer. I couldn't just sit up there without moving all day though. I'd have to say something. I felt like a spy watching him when he thought he was alone. Then, his name was called and he looked up.

Caldina's little bells chimed as she walked over. I couldn't see her yet, but those bells announced her presence whereever she went. Now I was really stuck. It would've been embarrassing enough to have to climb down with Ascot watching, but Caldina too? There was no denying that she was beautiful. Silly as it was to compare myself to a grown woman, I always felt twice as scruffy and unkempt when she was nearby. There was no way I could come down from a tree with leaves and bark and breadcrumbs all over me. So, I held still and hoped they'd leave quickly.

"Ascot," she was saying softly. "What is it? Why have you been avoiding us all? Did you catch the melancholy bug from the Magic Knight?" That last was meant teasingly, but it didn't seem to cheer him. He just shook his head an looked at his feet.

"Tell me," she urged, sitting beside him on the bench. That dew had to be cold on her skin with as little as she always wore. He sighed again. I felt more and more like an eavesdropper, but didn't know what to do. Should I just announce my presence and hurry off before they said anything I wasn't meant to hear? But, if they really needed to talk, my interruption might spoil the moment and give Ascot a chance to change the subject and leave like he had with me. Besides, if I knew what was wrong too, maybe I could help Ascot, to repay him somehow for his kindness to me when I was upset.

"Is it Umi?" Caldina suddenly asked, her voice dropping lower. Ascot hung his head and then nodded slowly.

"I thought that if I grew up she might think more of me," he mumbled, scratching his shoulder self-consciously. "But I should've just stayed small since she likes Clef so much." This new information would've left me speechless even if I hadn't been trying to be quiet. Poor Ascot! But Caldina put her arms around him and tried to be encouraging. I felt bad for him too. His problem was just as bad as mine had been. Worse maybe. At least I knew there wasn't someone I had to compete with where Innova was concerned. Eventually, they walked away together and I was able to climb down unobserved.

The rest of the day was spent trying to figure out what to do with this information. I couldn't just run tell Umi. It was bad enough I'd overheard a private conversation without me running around telling people about it. By dinner, I had decided that the best thing to do was try to cheer up Ascot without letting him know how much I knew. After all the advice on heartache I'd received, I had plenty of material to use on him. Of course, it hadn't helped me that much either.

All the tension had brought out the best in the palace chefs. Dinner was an event. It was seafood, one of my favorites, and everything was tangy-sweet. Even Ascot grinned a little over his piled-high plate. Afterwards, too full to eat much of the eight layer pudding cake that had been wheeled out, I staggered out into the garden to catch my breath. Luck was on my side, because soon, Ascot came out too. He greeted me and waddled over to admire the sunset with me. We were both too full to move. As the golden-red in the west began to fade, I turned to talk to him. We were both so full and relaxed I figured the timing couldn't be better.

"I'm glad to see you cheerful again," I told him. "You don't look like yourself without your grin. I 've been afraid my mopeyness had attatched to you when I got rid of it." I hoped that was an innocent enough statement to bring up the subject. I saw a change in his eyes and his smile became more wistful. "I know it's none of my business," I went on, not wanting him to make any excuses. "But I thought I'd tell you what everyone has been telling me.." He looked at me, a little surprised and expectant so I drew myself up and with my best Clef impersonation said:"Cefiro is the world of will. If you believe in it and wish for it with all your heart, your wish will come true!" He grinned a bit at my act and I went on. "So, don't give up, but be sure you know what it is you want so you can wish for it clearly. I owe you a lap to cry on should you ever need it, so if I can help you let me know, Okay?"

Finally, he chuckled. Then without warning, he grabbed me in a headlock and gave me a noogie until I shrieked. That hadn't been done to me for ages. I punched him in the arm when he let me go and he grinned, pulling me over into a hug.

"Thanks," he said, giving me a squeeze that made me gasp. He put me down again and we grinned at each other. I felt loads better, knowing he was happier. A rustle in the bushes made us both turn in time to see the end of a golden ponytail disappearing. Presea had seen us then? I wondered why she'd run off, but then remembered, I would've done the same thing if I hadn't been up a tree. Little did I realize what was in store. She had seen us alright, but apparently she hadn't heard the conversation.

By the next morning, the word was out. Ascot and I had been spotted in a cuddly state in the sunset's glow. It was so romantic. I was mortified. Ascot was worse. He denied all runors of course, but that didn't help. If anything it made things worse. Only Caldina had no part in it because she knew, as well as I did, where his affections really were. I was glad to have a partner in being teased for once and had to admit to some satisfaction at seeing him get what he'd given me so well. On the plus side, though, it got him more attention from Umi because she wanted details, and failing, to get them from me, she moved on to him. This lasted several days. I had finally gotten used to it, but Ascot still went pink when it was mentioned. I think he realized that the less he actually said the more Umi would hang around, so he let a few things slip, which were, of course his feeling for her, but she didn't know that and gave him no peace. Which I think he rather enjoyed. Then, one morning, a rumble started again. Thinking it was another earthquake, we all took cover. The ground did tremble and the sound grew steadily louder, but nothing really shook. Finally, someone on the wall shouted and we all crowded around to look.

A mountain range was traveling steadily toward the palace. At least that's what it looked like. A great cloud of dust whipped out behind it. I could see trees and stone fling up around it like they were nothing. It was very weird, but then, the front part arched up like a caterpillar to leap something. I quessed that it was the river it was crossing.

"It's a monster," Ascot said. Well, duh... I thought. Umi, Hikaru, and Fuu joined me at a sprint out the front gate. We called up our Machins as soon as we were clear of the walls and flew out to meet it. It was going fast enough that it was almost upon the palace when we hit it. It reared up again, and I thought I saw an eye gleam in the underpart of it. Fuu saw it, too.

"It's eyes are on the bottom," she shouted. "It has to raise up to see!"

"Stay clear!" I called and unleashed my Electric Storm on it. It shattered, but in only a moment the pieces had reqrouped. It had picked up debris on the way, I noticed, adding to it's size as it traveled.

"Do it again," Fuu told me. "We'll keep it apart this time." So I unloaded another one down on the roaring creature. I was glad of the chance for the euphoric rush I got off using that spell. Once again, the rock broke under my lightning, This time Fuu called up a whirlwind to scatter them further. Umi washed some away in a blue torrent and Hikaru used her power like a flame thrower to blast any nearby. The pieces stayed where they fell this time.

"I think we've done it," Hikaru said, poking at a piece with her sword. The ground vibrated, throwing us all off balance.

"I'm not so sure!" I answered, looking around for the next attack. The ground opened under Selece and the Machin fell. Innova took off in the air to avoid falling, but Hikaru sent Rayearth diving to catch Selece. She was too late. We heard a cry of shock from Umi and then the blue Machin was gone down into the pit. Fuu had to grab Rayearth to keep him from falling in too. We all screamed for Umi, but she didn't answer. The rumbling stopped and we were left with a huge, black hole.

Clef teleported in out of nowhere to call down the hole, too. Ascot was running fromthe gate, with a few others behind him. I felt numb with panic. My fingers were cold on the pulse in my throat. Fuu took over.

"It's alright!" she was saying, usung Windam to herd people back from the hole. "We're going to go get her. No Clef, they need you here in case something else happens. We're going." Hikaru didn't need to hear anymore. With a cry, she jumped Rayearth into the pit. With a shakey sigh, I followed her in. I heard the whish of Windam's wings as Fuu came after me. It was dark, of course, I could only see Rayearth's flaming crest down below, and I didn't care for the sensation of the freefall at all. Innova was calm though, and sent me reassuring thoughts. We landed at the bottom in a cavern. No light could be seen from the surface. Another rumble sent stones falling down around us and we hurried further in. No sooner had we gotten inside than the tunnel collapsed behind us. Trapped! my brain sang hysterically. Suffocation! Claustrophobia! But Innova kept following Rayearth deeper in, so my panic didn't slow us down any. I couldn't help but wander how the other Knights were coping.

Soon, Rayearth stopped. The tunnel was too small now for the Machins. Hikaru suddenly shouted that she could see Selece. She left Rayearth and ran further into the dark. I left Innova to follow her. Fuu came with me and I was glad to see she was pale as I felt. Where did Hikaru find such courage all the time?? We came to where Selece was trapped under fallen rocks. Hikaru was pounding on it yelling for Umi. After a moment, Umi was beamed out, dazed and hurt.

Hikaru lit a quick fire to lay her down beside and Fuu knelt to heal her. I wished there was something I could do for her.

"How are we going to get Selece out?" I asked.

"Umi can call him into her wrist gem," offered Hikaru. I shook my head. Selece's body was all that was holding the rocks up. If he just dematerialized, they'd fall and crush us. Hikaru's face fell as I explained.

"It's alright," Fuu said with a smile."I'll take her into Windam with me. Then she can call Selece away. We'll be safe inside our Machins." That was the plan then. We helped Umi back through the cave and she disappeared into the bird Machin with Fuu. Hikaru and I got inside out armor, and a second later Selece blinked out from under the rocks to vanish. Sure enough, the rocks came pouring down.

"We'll just have to find a new way out." said Fuu, sounding calm.

"We could blast our way out,"Hikaru pointed to the ceiling.

"We're too close to the palace," I yelped. "Who know where we'll come up? We could crush the Pillar or something!"

That was agreed to, to my relief and we all went looking for a new exit. Hikaru found one but it was too small for the Machins, so we left them again and went on by foot. At the very least, we reasoned, this tunnel could lead us far enough away that we could blast up. We could hear a faint sound like rocks moving, but no more earthquakes came. Soon, a light could be seen and we hurried toward it, hoping to see the sun coming in from an opening. Instead, we stumbled out into a huge cavern. Golden light shone all around, but not from any source we could see. Two huge doors were in the far wall, large enough for a Machin. Over the door in bright gold was the motif of a giant ram's head, it's huge, spiraling horns framing the doorway. Hikaru's face lit up.

"We've found it!" she cheered. "We've found the Earth Shrine!"