Subject: [FFML] [FF] [TCP] Fourth Test, part D
From: "Jorge A. Pratt" <al709382@campus.ccm.itesm.mx>
Date: 10/10/1996, 5:37 PM
To: Fanfic ML

al709382@campus.ccm.itesm.mx


		The Caller's Plight, by Jorge Pratt

			Fourth Test, part D


Cast away the fears

	"Heart of Weakness... In Esper language, it would be 
'Dysithal'...
	"A demon that acquires its might from others' fears, from 
the despair of the people..."
	"Everyone has to face this demon... and the way they deal 
with such fear and despair marks their inner strength..."
	"But as one loses fear, as despair makes way for hope, the 
demon is sure to vanish... "

			*	*	*


	Ukyou, Konatsu and Mog suddenly awakened, blinking as they 
found themselves back in Ucchan's.
	Dysithal felt a bit of his strength diappear.

			*	*	*

	A gleaming vehicle flew high over Canadian skies, skimming 
the clouds as it swooped down a few meters. With the sun 
casting a strong light upon Epoch, the time-travelling ship 
resembled a shooting star in the middle of the day.
	At the helm, Phaeron sighed and turned to the back seat 
for a brief instant. Sighing, he said to his twin, "Raphael, could 
you take over for a while?" Then he turned to Akane, "I need to 
have a talk with her. You think you could come to the front for 
a minute?"
	Both blinked at him, but silently nodded. Phaeron crawled to 
the back while his brother slid over to the pilot's seat, then 
Akane crawled to the front and sat at Raphael's right. Sitting 
next to her, Phaeron turned silently to Ranko, but she slowly 
turned away.
	"Could you..." he began, addressing his twin again. He didn't 
need to say more, Raphael simply snapped his fingers and a 
barrier of Shadow magic separated the front and back seats, 
then Akane reinforced the wall with a Silver shield of her own.
	The pair remained silent for a few minutes, not knowing who 
should start nor how. Finally, they both dropped their pride and 
took a deep breath.
	"I'm sorry," they said simultaneously. Blushing as deep blue 
met blazing red, they turned away from each other and fiddled, 
then slowly turned their heads to face each other again.
	"I should've told you," Ranko was the first, now that the 
apology had been sent. "I shouldn't have waited until now."
	He shook his head, "Don't worry, Ranko-chan." He sighed, "I'm 
the idiot here. I should have understood how much it hurt for 
you to know it for so long."
	"But you're the one who's gonna die. I should have told you 
the minute you came back."
	Phaeron smiled at her, "Ranko-chan, it's okay." He looked 
downwards, "I mean, what difference would it have made? I would 
still be dying anyway." He took her hand, turning to face her 
again, "But I'm still grateful, you know? I had the chance to see 
you again. Besides..." he gently squeezed her hand, making her 
turn mild reddish, "...I might have killed myself back then, but 
you... You brought me back. Thank you."
	Ranko swallowed hard, seeing his eyes scanning into her 
own, "N-no prob, Phaeron-kun." She slipped her hand out of his 
hold, "I'd do to again if I had to."
	"You don't mean that, do you?" he asked, worried.
	She smiled amusedly, "It's an expression, Phaeron-kun." This 
time it was she who took his hand, "But I still meant to use the 
Caller back then. Because I... I never got the chance to thank 
you."

			*	*	*

	Shampoo suddenly turned human, to the surprise of the 
medical staff that was trying to use a defibrillator to revive 
Cologne. Yelping, the old ghoul came to life and leapt out of the 
way before the paramedic fried her with the electrical jolt.
	"I-It's alive!!" the nurses gasped.
	"Who're you calling 'it'!?!" she bonked them with her staff.
	Dysithal's  might was shattered.

			*	*	*

	"Ranko-chan...?"
	She closed her eyes, smiling. "Phaeron-kun, I really want to 
thank you for all you've done for us. Thank you for waking me up 
and letting me come back to normal. Thank you for saving my life 
all those times." She sighed, a slight hint of sadness in her 
voice, "Thank you for being around when I needed you. Thank 
you..." she looked up at him, "for being my friend."
	Phaeron didn't know what shade of red to turn. The most 
tomboyish girl in all of Japan, speaking like that? Where had her 
bloated pride gone to?
	
			*	*	*

	The black-eyed dove suddenly shrieked and disappeared in a 
puff of feathers, its gaze no longer paralized Mink and Mousse. 
Shaking off the dizziness, they flew over to the counter and 
looked for some hot water.
	A shard of the demon's power fell. And another.

			*	*	*

	"There, I said it," Ranko snickered, turning away and 
crossing her arms, returning to her usual mood. "But that's why I 
brought you back," she said, "You've done it for me so many 
times... I... I'm sorry for yelling at you when you were trying to 
protect me," she smirked childishly, "I think I'm beginning to miss 
those shields of yours." Her voice had been so low in volume he 
hardly heard her words, as if she were trying to hide them. "But 
I still wish there was a way to keep you from dying."
	Phaeron put his hand on her shoulder, "Thank you, Ranko-
chan. But like He said, I will have to face my destiny as it is. 
I'm grateful you brought me back. Thanks to you I've experienced 
many things. And..." he sighed, "no matter what happens, I'll 
always think about that." He smiled at her again, "Even if I have 
to die, I'm ready, and it's not so bad. I mean, I've lived 1501 
years already, I did  a lot of things, it's time I pay the check." 
He smirked, looking away, "Even when I still got a lot of things 
to do."

			*	*	*

	Herb and Yuannyan suddenly woke up, finding themselves 
inside the gymnasium in a rather.... compromising position.
	"H-Herb-chan..." in Herb's arms, Yuannyan tried to cover 
herself, aware of the prince's reaction to bare female bodies.
	Herb _did not move_. He was completely frozen... even when 
he fainted, a big grin on his face. Yuannyan giggled at him.
	Another shard fell.

			*	*	*

	"Ranko-chan, it was my own decision to do that at the 
Gates," Phaeron said, "You shouldn't blame it on yourself. If 
anything, you gave me four more months of life." He moved the 
hand he had placed on her shoulder, slowly bringing it down her 
arm to finally hold her wrist. "And you're still trying to help 
me," he took her hand in his, "Thank you so much, Ranko-chan."
	"Pha... Phaeron-kun," Ranko gulped, already as red as her 
hair. She had rarely heard anyone speaking with such sincerity, 
she could hardly believe this was the same man who bellowed in 
battle cries as he faced the World Devourer. But then again, she 
hadn't been faced with this ever before either. The girl who 
wouldn't flinch nor hesitate while fighting a mad sorceror was 
now trapped in a corner as it was her turn to speak. But no 
matter how hard she tried, only three words appeared on her 
mind, two pronouns and a verb. Words that Phaeron's actions were 
forcing out of her.

			*	*	*

	"Please, not again!" Ryouga bellowed as he burst through 
the door. He successfully entered the hallway... then got lost 
and ended up in the garden.
	The final shard of Dysithal's power fell.

			*	*	*

	Ranko swallowed hard, and spoke. But before the words left 
her mouth, she reversed Phaeron's hold and once more took his 
hands in her own. "Phaeron-kun, I... I want you to know that... no 
matter what happens..." she looked downwards, "I'll never forget 
you."
	"Ranko-chan..." he began to melt. But suddenly she released 
him, sliding across the seat to reach the far end. With a deep 
sigh, she rested her chin on her fist and looked out the cockpit, 
staring into lake Ontario. Far away, she caught a glimpse of 
Niagara Falls and smiled. Holding that smile, she turned back to 
Phaeron and snickered at the position he was in.
	"What do you say?" he asked, taking each of her hands in 
his own. "I think we both need it."
	She nodded eagerly. Very slowly, they put their arms 
around each other in a tight hug. It was comforting, more to 
release their pain than anything else. For once, neither even 
hinted a blush. They just rested against each other, showing 
broad, absent smiles. For one brief eternity they held each 
other innocently, neither wanting to let go. But eventually they 
had to, already missing each other's proximity. Their arms slipped 
over the other's, finally meeting the hands and holding them, 
then they just spread their fingers and intertwined them with 
the other's.
	"Should we...?" Phaeron asked, "At least one last time?"
	Ranko giggled, and nodded.

			*	*	*

	The yashas cried as they vanished back into the Shadows. 
Gasping, Nodoka hurried for Ranma and was relieved to see he 
was all right. She could hear Ryouga's famous quote come from 
the garden, she sighed in relief as everyone else was safe.
	All of Dyisthal's power had come from Fear. From things 
that make people be afraid, things that weaken one's will. 
Everyone has their own demon, just as everyone has a guardian 
angel. Sometimes, these demons are too powerful to be overcome 
head-on. However, when the fears are confronted and cast away, 
the demons lose their strength. Souls become stronger. People 
regain their spiritual might.
	It is then that one can defeat the personal demons. By 
courage and strength of spirit, through will power and 
determination. No demon, regardless of its might, can oppose a 
person's strong will.
	And now, the demon that plagued them had been defeated. 
Not by physical means, nor through combat. The answer was so 
much easier to come by.
	Faith, pure and simple.

			*	*	*	

	Akane and Raphael nodded. The people in the back should 
have settled everything by now. In coordination, they both 
retrieved their magic barriers and turned to the back seat. They 
stared agape as it was... empty?
	"Where..." Akane was about to say when a large red blur 
zipped past Epoch. Blinking in surprise, she looked at it closely.
	Ranko laughed good-heartedly as the Phoenix she was riding 
swooped down, then climbed back up and twisted its trajectory to 
fly around Epoch. Narrowing his wings, Phoenix darted straight 
for the Horseshoe Falls , entering the moist winds and coming 
out drenched. Ranko just flung her arms upwards while closing 
her eyes, gleefully receiving the cold water from the cascade. 
The poncho-wearing passengers of the "Lady of the Mist" boat 
stared widely at the redhead and her fiery condor-sized mount.
	"Ranko-chan..." Phoenix thought. looking back at her while 
climbing up to head for the American side of the Falls, "Thank 
you for all of this. I'll never forget it. But now, I promise you 
to live to the fullest."
	Ranko calmed down a little, stroking the moist feathers on 
the Esper's neck. "Phaeron-kun... I'll always remember you."
	The demons were indeed defeated.
	And when it comes down to accepting one's destiny, what 
better way to greet death than with a smile of joy?


Changes
	
	"We're ho-- aagh!"
	"You're safe!" relieved, Nodoka crushed her daughter in a 
hug.
	"Not... anymore..." Ranko gasped.
	"Auntie? What...?" Akane started. This wasn't Nodoka's usual 
"squishing relief" hug.
	"What happened?" Phaeron asked, seeing a dizzy Ranma rub 
the back of his head.
	"Never mind..." Nodoka said, not releasing the redhead, "It's 
all right now... Everything is all right..."
	"I don't think so," Raphael snickered. Blinking, Nodoka 
released the purple, redhaired mass she was holding.

			*	*	*

	"This is the best day of my life!" Happosai bounced towards 
the Tendos with his four meter-wide sack, "Well, maybe the 
second best..."
	And it was. It was still morning and he now carried the 
second largest bounty he had ever acquired. In fact, considering 
all the houses he had yet to pillage, he would probably break 
his own record by the time he reached the Tendos'. Just a small 
"pit-stop" by that apartment house and it would all be over.
	"Hi, Akemi-chan!" Happy sang out as he landed on the 
balcony, staring happily (yes, I know. That's a bad pun ^_^) 
through the redhead's neglig�.
	"Ak! You again!" she hurriedly collected the undergarments 
left out to dry and tossed the hanger at his head, "Get outta 
here!" He idly swerved to avoid it, his eyes fixed on her chest. 
"Hey, Kyoko! The old perv's here again!"
	"Kyoko?" Happosai's eyes became even _larger_. He hadn't 
yet been presented to this "Kyoko." He grinned evilly as he 
began to imagine a young woman with dark, long hair, clad in a 
tennis outfit...
	"Here!" Akemi flung the daydreaming pervert towards a 
tennis uniform-clad Kyoko, who let go with a mighty backhand 
that sent him way, WAY up into the air.
	"Hey, you've been practicing!" Akemi beamed while Kyoko just 
brushed her hair.
	The midget and his sack sailed through the skies, the grin 
still locked on his face as he now started to drool. Ending up 
all the way back to the Tendos, he peeled off his face from the 
roof tiles and looked around...
	"So, I hear you've been to Ikkoku..." said the Fire Phoenix 
as he loomed over Happosai. "I've waited a long time for this..."
	"That's my line!" Happy drew out an unlit grenade, "Now I'll 
get even for those aura shields!"
	"You can--"
	"Happodaikarin!!"
	"GoldBird!"
	"Hm?" Nabiki looked up from her wads of money, then saw a 
young man and a small freak fly off into the distance, the 
latter's sack dropping underwear everywhere.
	The Blue Thunder of Furinkan High strode mightily upon his 
path, "What a heavenly vision of the Sun Goddess' ascention..." he 
gazed towards the golden disk, then saw bright spots as he was 
blinded by it. "Ah, tell me, heavens," he spoke, waiting for his 
eyesight to return, "what path should I, the noble Tatewaki of 
the house of Kuno, follow so I can enter the heart of my 
beloved..."Clearing his head, he looked up...
	Just as a bra fell on his face. Tearing away the item from 
his face, he looked akwardly at it, "The heavens' answer..." he 
whispered in awe. But then he caught a glimpse of the 
personalized tag on the strap. "AAAAH!" he gasped at recognizing 
the name of one of his loves on the tag.
	"Hey, gimme that!" a pervert shrieked, lunging for the bra.
	"Fiend! I shall smite you!" the kendoist prepared to slice 
with his bokuto. Too bad Phaeron landed head-first on top of 
Kuno's head.
	"Hah! It is the miscreant bird-man, in an alliance with the 
garment-snatching scoundrel!" having nothing in his skull, Kuno 
recovered immediately, forgetting how Happosai was rubbing the 
bra against his cheek. He aimed his weapon to a spiral-eyed 
Phoenix.
	"Oh, ho ho..." Happy grinned, "I didn't know I had taken 
this..." his eyes were glazing over at the marvel.
	"Cad! Release my love's garment!" Kuno suddenly turned back 
to the pervert.
	"The what!?" Phaeron stared in anger at the pervert.
	"Aaahh... To think that I hold the brassiere of--"
	"Stop that!" Phaeron booted him away, unconsciously 
grabbing the bra.
	"You... boor..." Phaeron sweated visibly when Kuno suddenly 
became dark, lightning crackling all around.
	"Huh?" a pigtailed redhead happened to be passing by. She 
blinked quizzically at the lightning, considering there wasn't a 
cloud in the sky and since winter had started long ago, the rain 
season was over.
	"Now... you will pay..." Kuno scowled menacingly at Phaeron, 
who hadn't even looked at the bra's tag yet.
	"Hey!" Ranko called, seeing the two about to fight, 
"Phaeron-kun, what're you..."
	He suddenly relaxed, dropping his arms and smirking. "Guess 
there's a first time for everything," he said, putting a blindfold 
over his eyes. "I'm gonna die, anyway," he thought, "I could cut 
the guy some slack."
	Ranko cocked an eyebrow, blinking at his odd behavior.
	"C'mon. Attack me. I'll let you win," Phaeron said. Ranko 
facefaulted.
	"Fool!" Kuno rushed in...

			*	*	*

	"'There's a first time for everything,' you say. Stupid 
baka," Ranko muttered as she nursed the bruised and beaten 
Esper on the floor of the Tendos' living room.
	"I understand that 'live to the max' thing," Akane said," But 
letting Kuno win?"
	"Next time he'll try eat your cooking," Ranko said before 
ducking a swing of a nearby bokken, "Heh. Getting slow, 
oneechan?" she grinned.
	"Slow!?" Akane swiped at her again.
	"Oh, right. You're a lightning," Ranko mocked as she ducked 
again. "You-- urk." She found it hard to speak when Akane 
slashed down and straight into the snickering face. "Then I guess 
I better don't tell you what made them fight," Ranko rubbed her 
nose.
	"What?"
	"Here," Ranko handed Akane a bra.
	"This is mine..." she took it. Then glowed blue, "You 
pervert!" Akane punched the redhead across the room.
	Ranko just asked, "Why?" before crumbling.
	"Oh, right, you're a girl too," Akane stopped herself, "Force 
of habit, I guess."
	"Yeah, habit..." came a weak voice from the floor. "Besides... 
Phaeron-kun found it."
	"He..." Akane looked down at the unconscious face. "You 
pervert!" she added another bruise to Phaeron's head, bringing 
him back to the conscious world.
	"Oww..." he sat up, feeling his head, "I don't remember being 
hit here..."
	"What were you doing with this!?" Akane bonked him again.
	"And what were you thinking, letting Kuno win?" Ranko  
followed.
	"Try to be kind to others before dying..."
	"Then next time you'll let Gosunkugi beat you up?" Ranko 
snickered, "Hey, there's an idea..."
	"Gosun... Hey, that's right," Phaeron looked up as if 
recalling something.
	"You _are_ going to let him beat you up?" Ranko blinked.
	"I just remembered why I wanted to come here," he replied, 
rubbing his bruised head. "Akane, you think your father could let 
me use the dojo for a day or two?"
	"Huh? What for?" Akane blinked.
	"Well, if I'm gonna die I don't want to carry any secrets to 
the grave," he smirked, "I'm offering to train people and teach 
them my techniques. But if I ask Mrs. Otonashi to let me use 
Ikkoku's back yard to teach how to shoot ki blasts, she'll give 
me the eye, so..."
	"I'll tell him," Akane nodded. "When do you want to give 
these lessons?"
	"In about a week, maybe," he said. "I've still got a lot of 
things to do before going," he added with a smirk.
	"Oh? Like what?" Ranko asked. "Will you finally tell me 
about China?"
	"You don't give up, do you?" he snickered, "By the way, got 
this for you," Phaeron handed her a video tape.
	"Very funny," she glared at him, receiving the RayEarth 
video. "Why do you people keep giving me these?"
	"Well, you like that show a lot, don't you?" Akane giggled.
	"How could she not like it?"Phaeron added, "The show's main 
star looks just like her."
	"Yeah, right. Like I've got a meter-long pigtail," Ranko 
replied sarcastically. "And how can you guys say I like this? It's 
sissy stuff and has way too much sugar."
	"...she says as she puts the tape in the VCR," Phaeron 
pointed at her, while Akane nodded in agreement. "Anyway..." he 
continued, "I want to make use of these days. I want to go to a 
few cities around the world, see the other Espers, you know, the 
usual 'moribund activities.'"
	Akane smiled at him. He had taken this death business quite 
well since they went to the End of Time, two days ago. Now he 
not only accepted his situation, but actually made fun of it. But 
she knew that deep down, he was probably suffering. It was the 
same deal with Ranko. Although she had also resigned to his 
future parting, and had taken it in stride, Akane knew that when 
the moment came, Ranko would be terribly hurt. And the fact that 
the two had become closer since the trip to the End of Time 
only made matters worse.
	But still, Akane couldn't suppress a snicker when she saw 
them sitting next to each other, with the TV singing out the 
tape's opening score.
	"Okay, I guess I _do_ like it. A bit," Ranko smirked.
	"Then that explains why you want me to teach you Fire 
magic," Phaeron replied. She snickered.
	"Hmm..." Akane looked at them, "I was right. You two _have_ 
grown closer."
	"W-what?" they were both hued deep red, sweating nervously 
as they turned to each other.
	"Oneechan! Will you cut it out!?" Ranko glared at her, "I 
told you it's NOTHING like that! Can't we be best friends without 
getting weird looks!?"
	"Besides, you promised you wouldn't say anything," Phaeron 
glared also, but only mildly.
	"Say anything about what?" Ranko asked.
	"About..." he was about to say, "N-Nothing! Nothing at all!" 
he defended.
	"Didn't you say you didn't want to take secrets to the 
grave?" Akane giggled.
	"What secrets?" Ranko cocked an eyebrow.
	"Nothing, really! Nothing!"
	"You don't want her to know?" Akane went on.
	"Wha... What don't you want me to know?!" Ranko grabbed him 
by the collar.
	"No-- Uh-oh..." he caught a glimpse of Ranko's brand new 
Hammerspace Membership card. "Please have pity on a dying man..."
	"Or maybe you don't want her to know because it's a 
surprise?" Akane switched the course of events.
	"A... surprise?" Ranko blinked, then smiled in curiosity, 
"What surprise?"
	"A... A..."
	"And maybe you will tell her soon?" Akane smirked 
mischievously.
	"T-Tell me what?" Ranko blushed.
	"I..." Phaeron loosened his shirt's collar, feeling very hot 
suddenly despite the winter weather.
	"Maybe that 'something' has to do with a certain emerald 
necklace...?"
	"Ph-Phaeron-kun, you...?"
	"Somebody help..." he thought.
	"But maybe you should wait until Ranko-chan tells you 
something..." Akane switched again.
	"O-Oneechan...!"
	"Tell me... something?"
	"But then again, she wants it to be a surprise, right?"
	"R-Ranko-chan...?"
	"Oneechan!!"
	"So who am I, revealing the surprises you have for each 
other?"
	"ONEECHAN!!"
	"Akane, could you please be quiet!?"
	"Oh?" she blinked innocently, showing a tiny smile. "Then you 
_won't_ say it, then?"
	"S-say what?" they both blinked.
	"You know," Akane smirked as she scored a hit.
	"Wh-what do you mean?" they stammered, turning very, very 
red.
	"Then you don't really mean it?" Akane blinked again.
	"What are you talking about!?" Ranko was completely scarlet 
by now.
	"Akane, be quiet...!" Phaeron fiddled with his medallion 
beneath his clothes, using this motion to remind her of the 
promise.
	"Hm?" she saw him play with the medallion, "Why are you 
pulling your shirt, Phaeron-kun?" He blinked in surprise. "Oh, 
that's right! You want me to keep quiet about the present you 
bought for her!"
	"Present?" Ranko blinked at him. "Phaeron-kun..."
	"Akane...!"
	"Yes, I remember! You bought her a dress!"
	"Wha..." Phaeron could only feel Ranko's gaze crush him.
	"Phaeron-kun! You mean you..." Ranko smiled widely.
	"B-but I haven't bought anything!"
	"You mean you didn't get her a Christmas present?" Akane 
blinked.
	"Oh..." Ranko slumped down. "It's okay, Phaeron-kun..."
	"That's not what I meant, I..."
	"Then you mean you wouldn't buy her anything? Isn't she 
your friend?"
	"Eh?" he sweated visibly.
	"Phaeron-kun, is this true?" Ranko glared at him.
	"Friends always get presents for each other," Akane 
insisted, giggling.
	"Phaeron-kun..." Ranko called a mallet from Hammerspace.
	"AAARGH. Akane, could you stop it!?"
	"But then again, you and Ranko-chan are _more_ than simply 
friends, right?"
	"Urk." They both turned a very powerful reddish hue.
	"Oneechan, we're just BEST friends!"
	"Akane, you promised!"
	"If you're more than friends, then you should get very 
special presents!"
	"Wh-wha..." Ranko blinked.
	"Ranko-chan, please punt me into the air before I go mad," 
Phaeron pleaded.
	"How can you ask her to do that? After all you two--"
	BOOM.
	"There, you see that!?!" Ranko turned back to Akane, puffing 
after fulfilling Phaeron's wish. "Since we're best friends, I can 
get away with that and he doesn't get angry!" She blinked at 
Akane, who was busy trying hard not to laugh. She didn't have 
much success.
	"S-sorry. Can't help it," Akane snickered. "Hey, creating 
misunderstandings is fun!"
	"Oneechan..." Ranko glared at her, "You did that on 
purpose...?"
	"I... I'm sorry...!" Akane laughed, holding her belly.
	"ONEECHAN..." Ranko took a bokken. Akane had done this to 
her many times in the past, so...
	"Hm?" Akane, still snickering, stared wide-eyed at the 
bokken held by Ranko.
	"Akane no baka!" the fuming redhead chased her out to the 
street, Akane laughing all the way.

			*	*	*

	"Okay, all set," Phaeron fastened the straps of his 
backpack.
	"Be careful, okay?" Ranko said, walking him to the door of 
the Tendo house.
	"Thanks for letting me use the dojo, Mr. Tendo," he said.
	"Oh, it's no problem," Soun replied, gazing upon the treasure 
he had been given as guarantee.
	"Sure you want to go by yourself?" Akane nudged Phaeron, 
who glared despite turning red.
	"Did you forget what happened yesterday, oneechan?" Ranko 
calmly retrieved her bokken.
	"I'll be back in about five days," Phaeron said, coming out 
of the house and flaring his aura. "Yes, I'll bring souvenirs."
	"You don't have to as long as you don't die there," Ranko 
said, worried that his time might run out unexpectedly.
	"Don't worry," he smiled, "See you!" he waved as he ran down 
the street, then leapt up and shot like a bullet towards Europe.
	The others waved back, then turned away and began to walk 
towards the house. Akane blinked as the redhead remained looking 
up to the sky, smiling.
	"Hm..." the redhead sighed, then turned around. Akane giggled 
at her. "What?" Ranko asked, still smiling.
	"Nothing, nothing..."

			*	*	*

	"Phaeron-kun!" Kyoko called, putting down the phone.
	"What's up?" the Esper came to the hallway.
	Before giving him the message, Kyoko couldn't help but smile 
at the teenager. Just yesterday, he had returned from a trip 
around the world, and the minute he arrived he was hounded by 
the other tenants, who savagely assaulted his backpack in 
search of souvenirs. But then there was that _other_ message 
she had to give him...
	"Your friend Akane just called," Kyoko said, "She said 
everything is ready at the dojo. You can go to those lessons 
whenever you like."
	"Thanks," he replied, then began to walk back to his room 
to search for his martial-arts garb and staff.
	"By the way..." Kyoko called again, "You know that girl with 
the pigtail?"
	"Yes, what about her?"
	Kyoko smiled, "She was coming here every day since you 
left, asking if you had called or something. She seemed to be 
worried about you."
	He blinked, "Uh, th-thanks. I'll go to her house first 
anyway." Nervously turning red, he began to walk back once more.
	"Phaeron-kun," Kyoko called yet again. But when he turned 
around, she said nothing. She was simply smiling at him. Slowly, 
as he understood that smile, he blushed mightily and smiled back.
	"It's just a hunch," Kyoko said, "But maybe it's true."
	"I hope you're right," he replied, clutching the medallion 
beneath his clothes.
	Later in the day, two people walked past the gates of the 
Tendo residence, wearing Chinese martial-arts uniforms. All the 
way from the Saotomes' they saw the posters put up by Phaeron, 
advertisements he had placed to let people know about the 
lessons he would give today. Confident, the pair was sure that 
there would be a large gathering at the dojo, considering how 
many people would be interested in learing powerful techniques.
	"I bet there'll be at least fifty people in there," Ranko 
said as they went around the house to reach the dojo.
	"Thanks for the vote of confidence, but if there are three 
people in there I'll be satisfied."
	"Then let's find out," Ranko said, then opened the door to 
the dojo.
	They both stared forward in shocked surprise.
	_Nobody_ had come.

			*	*	*

	A depressed Esper and a redhead leaned against a wall, at 
mid-afternoon, finally admitting that no one else would come to 
the classes. Feeling quite unappreciated, Phaeron just slumped 
down, crossing his arms as Ranko rolled her eyes.
	"C'mon, it's not so bad," she said, "I mean, a student 
eventually showed up."
	"Yeah, but it was Gosunkugi and he only wanted to learn 
magic. Voodoo magic, at that." He sighed, "Oh, well, at least we 
trained for a while."
	"It was a good workout, but you didn't even teach me 
anything," she replied, slight annoyance in her voice.
	"Don't worry, I'll teach you tomorrow. But I want to go get 
a few things from my house on Esper World first."
	"You're going back there?" she blinked, "Could I come too?"
	He looked oddly at her, "What for?"
	She glared, "Did you forget? According to what Seraphim-
chan said, these are the last days you've got! What if you die 
as soon as you come back? I'm coming with you just to make sure 
you're okay, got it?"
	"Ranko-chan..." he smiled, "Thanks."
	She smiled back, "Hey, I have to look after my friends, 
right? Besides, you already went around the world all by 
yourself. And I still want to know how it is in Esper World 
without having to fight somebody."
	"Are you sure? Remember that its magic was beginning to 
affect you permanently by the time we left."
	"So I'll turn into Tinkerbell. So what?" She snickered. 
"Anyway, this could be your chance to stay there."
	"Stay... What are you talking about?"
	"Mirei-chan told me that Esper World's magic could keep you 
alive without having to use Seraphim-chan's energy. Is that 
right?" Phaeron nodded. "So why not go back to Esper World and 
live there?"
	"Ranko-chan, we've already been through this. I'm gonna die 
in a few days and that's it. Believe me, I'd stay in Esper World, 
but that would mean I'd have to lose all the new friends I made 
here," he sighed, "It would mean I wouldn't talk to you again."
	"What?"
	"Because I don't think any of you would like to return to a 
place that can turn you into magic creatures or even monsters."
	Ranko turned red before saying, "I could go too, y'know..." 
Her voice was barely audible, a whisper almost. But he still 
heard it, and her words made him turn another shade of red. 
Sighing, he shook his head, "Ranko-chan, you don't know how much 
I appreciate what you said, but it just isn't right. Remember 
what we were told at the End of Time. I can't escape this 
destiny. If it's my time, so be it. But I won't run away from it."
	Ranko slumped down, although she knew he would say that. 
"Can't blame me for trying, right?" she smirked. "And I'm still 
going with you when you go back to Esper World."
	"Okay, okay. I was planning on going today anyway," he 
replied, snickering, then realized that sunset would soon come. 
"Well, nobody else will come and that's a fact. Wanna train once 
more?"
	"Will you teach me something this time?" she cocked an 
eyebrow.
	"Sure, c'mon," he motioned for her to follow. "But first..." 
he took out his topaz Brindstone and focused on it. The gem 
suddenly began to glow as he channelled his magic into it, he 
grimaced slightly as tendrils of light were pulled from his body 
and into the jewel.
	"You okay?" Ranko asked.
	"S-sure. Just a minute..." with a great effort he managed to 
infuse the gem with all his magic power, in a flash of light he 
suddenly transferred his four Elemental Forces into it.
	"What did you do?" she blinked.
	"Okay, now we're on equal footing," he smirked, "I just put 
my magic power into this stone. For a few minutes, at least, I'll 
be a human again, until the stone overloads and is forced to 
return my powers."
	"And why did you do that?"
	He smirked, "I didn't want to have an advantage over you. 
It would be too easy."
	"Easy, eh?" she smirked, "I can take you on anytime!"
	"Then let's go!" Phaeron dashed for her, "I can still use my 
ki, though! That was never a magic power!"
	"Let's see you try to use it!" Ranko smirked, also dashing 
towards him. "Moko Takabishya!"
	"BlueBird!"
	A few minutes passed, with several strong lights coming 
from the dojo's windows. But as the lesson went on, new shouts 
and odd names came out of the redhead's mouth as Phaeron, in 
the middle of the fight, taught her his techniques. But after a 
while, the training was over, even though there was still a 
strange glow coming from the recint.
	"Phew..." Ranko put her hands on her knees, dispersing her 
aura, "That was some workout... Thanks."
	"Thank _you_," Phaeron replied, "Now, even if I die, you 
could teach those techniques to other people." He put his staff 
aside, "But you're really a fast learner."
	"Hm?"
	"I mean, I already taught you most of the Birds, your aura 
shields are steadier and stronger, and you can shoot regular 
blasts more easily." He paused, "But why couldn't you use the 
RedBird, anyway?"
	"I dunno," she replied, "Okay, BlueBird is based on 
friendship, WhiteBird on hope and GoldBird on confidence. What's 
RedBird based on?"
	"I... uh, better ask Akane about that. She knows about it 
too."
	"Ask her? But _you_ developed that technique!"
	"Yeah, but..." he turned deep red, "Okay, I'll tell you. Come 
closer." She came near him, listening carefully as he whispered 
RedBird's source to her ear. She blushed rapidly and stepped 
away, glancing oddly at him.
	"Then that's why Akane used it to save oniisan?" she asked. 
"And... how did you...?" she started, with a timidness that came 
unexpected from her.
	"D-don't get me wrong," Phaeron stammered, "but that's one 
of the things you've got to remember about China." He then said 
under his breath, "Even if you helped me create the Four Birds."
	"What was that?"
	"Nothing, nothing!" he defended. "Well, guess we're through 
with the training anyway." He turned away, taking his staff 
again, "Or maybe..." with a sudden twist, he shot off a large 
fireball towards her.
	"Hah!" Ranko pulled down an aura shield, dispersing the 
fireball into mere hot wind, "What'd you do that for!?"
	"Yep, we're through all right," he smirked at her. "Guess I 
can get my power back now." He took out his Brindstone, which 
was beginning to glow.
	"Hmm..." the redhead flashed a feline smirk at the sight of 
the topaz...
	"Now stay back," Phaeron warned, "This'll start casting off 
energy in a second and if you get hit you'll--"
	"Got it!" she cheered childishly as she grasped the jewel 
and ran off.
	"WAH!! Hey, gimme that!" he dashed in pursuit.
	"Not until you tell me about China!" she stuck her tongue 
out at him. "Besides, if Mink could use Shampoo's magic, I wanna 
see if I can get YOUR magic too!"
	"Are you crazy!? Give that back! You could get hurt for 
playing with a Lunbrindel stone!"
	The redhead ignored him, "Now let's see... You've got Fire, 
Wind, Light and Silver, right?" Making a sharp left turn around 
the house, she headed for the pond, and looked at the gem.
	"Huh?" Phaeron suddenly felt himself recalling the magic 
from the stone, "Ak! Ranko-chan, drop that stone!"
	"Eh?" she sweated visibly when the topaz cast a dozen of 
beams in all directions. "Wak!" she managed to get out as a one 
beam hit her and engulfed her body in a white sphere.
	"Ranko-chan!" Phaeron hurriedly stretched his hand. The 
Brindstone suddenly flew to his hand, all of its beams spiraled 
around his body as he was once more filled with his Esper magic. 
"You okay!?" he reached into the sphere, HOPING to hold on to a 
hand or a wrist rather than... something else.
	"Uuhhhh..." the girl's eyes were spirals as he pulled her 
out, with a small whirlwind around her head and silvery glimmers 
flashing over her. "Wha happene..." she asked in absent voice.
	"I told you to--" he started, but suddenly blinked and 
snickered, finally bursting out in laughter.
	"Huh?" she came to. "Hey, what's so funny!? Quit it!"
	"Look," he pointed at her hair.
	"Huh? Waah!" she noticed her pigtail had caught on fire. 
Screaming, she dunked her head into the pond and unbraided her 
hair, shaking off the sparks that wouldn't drown. Sitting back up, 
she fumed at the snickering Esper.
	"It's NOT funny, you jerk!" she yelled as she punched him 
into the air.
	"Pack lightly, okay? I'll drop by your house in an hour..." 
his voice trailed off into the distance...

			*	*	*

	"Agh!"
	"Are you okay?" Raphael kneeled by Seraphim, worried to 
see her double over in pain.
	"It... It's okay..." she whispered. "But I'm losing my 
strength..."
	"Phaeron left for Esper World a few minutes ago. You 
should be okay by now..."
	"It's just that... I'm afraid..." she turned to Raphael.
	"Fiducia..." he held her.
	"I... I don't have any strength to keep him alive... Esper 
World should keep him alive longer, but..."
	She suddenly turned to him, sheer worry in her face, "I'm 
afraid that... when he comes back, I'll only have enough strength 
to  keep him alive for one more day..."

			*	*	*

	The wormhole caused by the Barrier Penetrator closed 
behind them, releasing the pair into the skies of Esper World. 
Although it was sunset when they left Earth, it was already 
past nightfall upon arrival at the mystic planet. Combined with 
the world's inherent magic, the stars above glowed brightly in 
welcome.
	"Yaa!" Ranko suddenly noticed they were suspended over two 
miles over the peak of Seraphim's Beacon. As with all animated 
characters, she didn't start falling until she realized there was 
no ground beneath her.
	"Calm down and use your aura," Phaeron reminded, pressing 
down with his palms to create an ascending current of Wind. 
Slowing down, he looked up and aimed a hand at the redhead, 
catching her in another field of Wind. "I'll turn into a phoenix as 
soon as we land on the Beacon's roof," he said, "Try to enjoy 
the scenery in the meantime."
	Calming down as she felt the warm currents decelerating 
her drop, Ranko spread her arms and looked around. Despite the 
fall, all the world beneath seemed to pause for her to admire it. 
To the West, she could see the faint lights of the cities of 
Eliann and Artanis, which had been brought out of the oceanic 
depths. To the East, Sapphire Giants gleamed in the double 
moonlight, honoring their name. To the South and Southeast there 
were Kassir Canyon and the dreaded Cat's Eye. And finally, to 
the Northwest, Silvermoon Lake shimmered to greet the arrivals, 
the dark forest encasing it like a mirror's frame.
	"You should see most of the world from here," Phaeron said, 
strengthening the currents as they touched down softly on top 
of the Beacon. "Look over there," he pointed, seeing she had 
landed next to him, "Valran's in that direction. And Jurtahs is 
over there," he pointed towards the North. Spreading his arms, 
he morphed into the phoenix and turned back to her, "So?"
	Shifting the weight of her small shoulder-bag, she nodded 
and sat down on his back. Since they would only be staying for a 
day, at most, there was no need for backpacks or luggage. With a 
heave, Phoenix leapt away from the Beacon and rode the air 
currents towards his house, in the entrance of Crisande Woods.

			*	*	*

	The light of dawn entered widely through the bedroom's 
windows, illuminating the room with its golden light. Many avian 
creatures from Esper World, like white cats with wings and beak, 
chirped cheerfully as they greeted the sunrise. A few tiny 
dryads stretched their arms in the powerful light, yawning, 
before crawling back into their homes in the trees.
	A low crackling sound came from one of the rooms of the 
house, as the kitchen came to life by itself and began to 
prepare breakfast. A warm scent floated away through the door, 
filling all the habitations with its essence. A few of the small 
winged cats came near, waiting for the owner of the house to 
awake and perhaps share the meal with them.
	Esper World had always been a peaceful land, yet today it 
seemed to grow in natural joy. Already most of the planet was 
busy with activity, commerce and other occupations were 
beginning to take place between the many cities. However, it was 
in Crisande Woods where most of the action was. The crystalline 
trees reflected and filtered a great deal of light from the sun, 
giving the valley a pale white glow with a very faint touch of 
red, nearly pink. With the trees shedding their leaves, even the 
ground itself was pinkish white, the winged cats were nearly 
ghostlike in this environment.
	With a light yawn, Ranko slowly opened her eyes, cuddled 
beneath the covers on the bed. Rolling to her left, towards the 
large window, she vaguely saw the bright glow that came from 
outside. She smiled faintly at seeing the winged creatures 
resting their paws against the glass, all of them setting their 
squinted eyes on her. Fortunately, the differences between the 
creatures and normal cats were more than enough for her to 
remain calm.
	Rubbing her eyes, she slowly spun to sit up on the edge of 
the bed. Phaeron was still asleep on a couch in the living room 
but, given how little time he had left, she decided to let him 
sleep. Snickering, she saw one of the smaller creatures press 
against the glass. She got up, then headed for the window and 
opened it. She was nearly buried as all the creatures 
affectionately rubbed their heads against her, some of them 
passing beneath her hands to make her pet them. Giggling, she 
stood up again and petted a few, gently pushing them out before 
they wrecked the place.
	But suddenly she was stopped by an odd sensation. All of 
the creatures became surrounded by a mild, dark blue glow. A 
wavy tendril of bluish light slowly detached from them, then 
joined with her chest. Gasping in surprise, she quickly stepped 
away. The glow ceased. On the nightstand, her emerald necklace 
stopped shimmering.
	"What the..." she started, noticing a strange tickling all 
along her back and on her forehead. Shrugging as the tickling 
faded, she yawned and sat on the edge of the bed again. Smiling, 
she took her necklace and put it around her neck, looking 
absently into the gold-framed jewel. Mixture of sadness and 
hope, a sigh escaped her mouth as she lay back against the 
bed's wooden headpiece. Casually looking to the side, she caught 
a glimpse of the picture on the nightstand. Like a few others in 
the house, it had been put down, as if trying to hide the image.
	Curious, she took the picture, looking towards the open 
door and into the corridor beyond, making sure Phaeron hadn't 
awakened. As she slowly flipped the object, she wondered why he 
would hide the picture, considering where she had found it.
	"Huh...?"
	The puzzled voice left her mouth without her even noticing. 
With a few crystalline reflections being cast off, the frame's 
glass surface shimmered in the abundant light. But it was her 
eyes which sent off many reflections, as she stared silently 
into the picture. A picture of herself.
	The emerald on her chest hummed mildly, then slowly became 
filled with light. An undescribable warmth began to spread in her 
chest, the feeling slowly shaped a smile on her face. Awakened 
by the constant pecking of beaks against glass, Ranko blinked 
several times and looked around, realizing the winged creatures 
were still hungry. With a mild red hue accompanying her absent 
smile, she quickly changed out of her pajamas and leapt into her 
normal clothes, as though nothing at all happened.

	"Hey..."
	Phaeron rolled on his side, groggily dismissing with his 
hand.
	"Hey, wake up," the female voice came again, joined by a 
gentle prodding on his shoulder.
	"Just five more minutes..." he replied, half asleep.
	"C'mon, get up!" Ranko pushed him, "We've got to train!" She 
paused for an instant. Although she almost asked him about the 
photo, she decided to keep quiet when he began to open his 
eyes.
	"Okay, okay, I'm up," he groggily sat up, shaking off the 
drowsiness. "Train, huh?"
	"Sure, c'mon!" she eagerly pulled him to his feet and tossed 
him a set of clothing from his own wardrobe, like a large auburn 
coat with a black shirt and light brown trousers. No wonder he 
had picked a "Rocketeer" outfit upon arriving on Earth, most of 
his clothes were basically the same in color.
	Blinking at her behavior, Phaeron took the clothing and 
went to the bedroom. She was acting odd today, even for her. Oh, 
well, he thought, as long as the death business didn't depress 
her again...
	Ranko could do nothing to remove that smile from her face, 
even as she waited for him to come out of the room. Smirking 
evilly, she quickly went all around the living room, searching for 
more pictures. She was surprised to find many images of ordinary 
Earth cities, from all different ages, and a few more of Esper 
friends and the like. But then another picture caught her 
attention: it was the largest, and was placed face-down on the 
chimney's mantelpiece. She hurriedly walked over to it, with an 
almost-childlike expectation to find an image like what she found 
in the bedroom. Reaching out, she felt the carved wooden frame 
that encased the photo. It was a bit heavy, but she slowly 
lifted it...
	"Hey," Phaeron suddenly came back, startling her. Puffing 
slightly, she rapidly put the picture back without looking at it, 
nearly being caught by his gaze. "Breakfast is ready, y'know," he 
said, "C'mon!"
	They were quiet as they disposed of the meal, with only 
occasional comments about fighting styles and good-hearted jokes 
about the demon that could no longer harm them. As they ended, 
though, Ranko asked him about the winged creatures that awoke 
her previously.
	"Oh, they're just a few of the beings born in Esper World," 
he explained, "They live right here, in Crisande Woods, and I 
guess they were hidden during the war." He snickered, "Those 
guys you saw were the pets I had during the centuries I spent 
here. They know that I'll go out and feed them in a little while, 
but they were probably excited at seeing someone new here."
	"I'll say. They practically buried me," she smiled.
	Phaeron couldn't help but sigh sadly, "Guess I'll have to 
ask Crystallus or Nadir to come over and take care of them in 
the future." Understanding, Ranko silently looked down. "By the 
way..." he suddenly said, "Did you feel anything unusual when you 
saw those guys?"
	"Huh?" she blinked, "Oh, right. Well, they started glowing 
blue and I felt tingling all over."
	He nodded in realization, "Just as I thought. Remember that 
you were becoming affected by this place's magic?" She nodded. 
"Since you've come back, Esper World tried to change you again, 
but now you have magic of your own, so..."
	"It's trying to change me again, but it's harder for this 
world to do it," she finished.
	"Right. Since those were creatures native from this planet, 
they also have inherent magic," he turned to her, "Next time you 
see another Esper animal here, stay away for a little while or 
else Esper World will make a bridge between their magic and 
yours."
	"So in other words, if I come near one of those little guys 
I'll be turned into an Esper?" she guessed.
	"Roughly, yes," he replied, standing up and taking the 
dishes to the sink. "But you should be okay as long as you 
_don't_ have your Brindstone with you while you're in contact 
with another Esper. It would act as a magnet for Esper World's 
magic."
	"Too bad..." she said, holding the gold chain in her fingers 
while looking at the emerald that hung from it. Setting it down 
again, she crossed her arms on the table and rested her head on 
them, looking absently at Phaeron.
	To think he was going to die soon... But at least they 
spent great times. She hoped this could all be avoided, even 
though she had to accept his near demise as a fact. Maybe if 
they spent a little while longer on Esper World, despite the 
magical threat that loomed over her...
	"Phaeron-kun..." she thought, blinking slowly. "What did that 
picture mean?" She smiled again, almost timidly although his back 
was turned to her. "Could you... Do you..."
	Blushing, she rapidly shook her head, negating her own 
thoughts. "No, no, forget it, girl. You know it's not like that. 
Besides..." she thought with a sigh, "even if you did, he sees you 
as friend." She closed her eyes, turning away, "We're friends. 
That's it. We're just friends."
	Steeling herself, she turned back to him and stood up, 
silently walking towards him to help with the dishes. He was 
surprised, but readily moved aside to let her help. Smirking, she 
lapped a bit of water and threw it in his face.
	"Hey!" he countered the same way.
	"Sorry," she stuck her tongue out at him. Pausing for a 
second, she spoke, "You mind if I ask you something?"
	"What?"
	"Well, uh, you said you spent about five hundred years 
here," she said, slightly hesitant.
	"Yeah, what about it?"
	"Wasn't it kind of lonely?" she asked. She sound of the 
faucet kept her from hearing a heart hit the floor. "I mean..." 
she continued, even more hesitant, "Didn't you find... someone?"
	Phaeron of Fenix turned to ice.
	"Uh, sorry," she apologized, noticing the look on his face. "I 
didn't mean to..."
	"That's okay," he dismissed, sighing. "It _was_ lonely. But 
you shouldn't feel sorry for me," he turned to her. She felt his 
gaze as if he had put a hand on her shoulder, and had the same 
effect. "You were the one who spent a millenium and a half in 
that spring."
	"That's not what I meant. It hurt to be there, but, well, 
it's not like I could _get out_. But you were already here..." she 
didn't know how to follow, but then smirked, "I'm surprised you 
didn't go off and marry somebody from this world."
	He snickered, thinking, "Why do you think my Brindstone is a  
topaz? And how do you think I got the nickname 'Phaeron'?" 
Smiling, he joked, "What, you mean you wanted me to accept 
Mireillia's offer?"
	Ranko gagged, "That's not what I meant either!"
	"Then what _do_ you mean?" he leaned a bit towards her.
	"Eh..." she blinked, trapped by the question. "Hmph," she 
turned away, miffled, "I was just curious, that's all. Besides, how 
could I think a teenager would have the guts to get married, 
anyway?"
	"You forget, mentally I'm five hundred and seventeen years 
old, chronologically I'm 1517," he snickered, "Just try and call me 
immature."
	"You _are_, but if you think you're not..." she lifted her 
hands, walking away towards the cabinet.
	"Looking for something?"
	"Yeah, what do you feed those guys?" she pointed at the 
winged cats that were peeking in from the glass door.
	"Oh, right. Here, I'll show you," he walked over to her and 
put his hands on her waist. Her eyes widened, "What're you... 
Hey!" she was suddenly lifted towards one of the higher shelves, 
which she couldn't previously reach. "Grab that brown bag and the 
yellow vase," Phaeron said, waiting for her to do so. With the 
nourishment in her hands, she looked down as he lowered her to 
the floor again. He then turned away, opening the door.
	The creatures chirped excitedly, all six of them walking 
eagerly around the wooden plates where Phaeron usually served 
their food. "Okay, first fill half of each plate with the stuff 
from the bag," he said, turning to Ranko and taking the vase 
from her hands, then waited until she filled the plates with an 
odd reddish powder. Then he doused the clear white liquid into 
the plates, turning the powder into an edible dough that the 
creatures promptly crowded.
	"What's this?" Ranko asked, poking the dough with a finger 
and taking a small bit on the tip.
	"What, you wanna try it?" he smirked. "Huh? You crazy!?" she 
stared at him.
	"It's not half bad, actually. Food's food, after all."
	"No thanks," she pointed the finger at the smaller creature 
from before, letting it lick away the substance. "So, let's go 
train," she stood up.
	"Okay, we just have to go that way," he pointed into 
Crisande, then stood up and lead her out.
	"Huh?" she felt a slight push in her calf. Looking down, she 
giggled. The small creature was standing on its hind legs, 
resting its paws on her leg and emitting a loud chirp.
	"Looks like you made a friend," Phaeron snickered.
	"Too bad I can't take you back," she took the creature in 
her hands, letting it rub its head against her chin. Giggling 
again, she put it down and walked away. Chirping, the creature 
scurried back to the plates, pushing its way between the others.

			*	*	*

	"Haaaah..."
	They both reared back to defensive stances, inside the 
crystalline chamber made by the trees' foliage. Relaxing their 
postures, they slowly returned to a stand-up position and bowed, 
letting the last remains of battle aura fizzle in the atmosphere.
	"I really like this place," Ranko said, looking at how the 
trees were so closely huddle together that they formed walls. 
"No wonder you built your house here."
	"Yes, Crisande is one of the most beautiful places in this 
world," Phaeron also looked around, then turned upwards to see 
the overhead of white, nearly pink crystal leaves. "Too bad 
there were clouds covering the moons last night. You see how 
the sunlight fills this place with white light?" Ranko nodded. 
"During the night it's even better, because the forest seems 
made out of silver and diamond."
	"...and you keep insisting on going back to Earth," Ranko 
mocked.
	"Well, if you like this place so much I could give you my 
house," he said sincerely. She blinked, not expecting that retort. 
"I mean, I won't need it, right?" he snickered.
	"Yeah, right..." she tried to join him in that snicker, but 
somehow couldn't anymore. "So..." she noticed how the sun was 
beginning to set, "You know what time it is back home?"
	"Hmm..." he looked up, "About seven pm, why?"
	"Maybe we should go back," she said, "Mom could be getting 
worried."
	"You're right. Let's go pack, then."

			*	*	*

	"Okay, I'm ready," Phaeron said, waiting in the living room.
	"Wait a sec... Alright, let's go," Ranko followed him to the 
door.
	For a moment, both stopped to look back at the interior of 
the house. One, with the feeling that he would never see it 
again. The other, thinking about all the things that had taken 
place there, thinking about the picture she couldn't see but knew 
what its image was. Both, sadly realizing that this house, this 
_home_, would be deserted from now on.
	"C'mon," Ranko pulled his arm before he became sad once 
more. "Uh-oh..."
	"Gaah! Quick, get away!" Phaeron stood back, noticing that 
Esper World's magic was trying to influence Ranko again, through 
him, especially now that she had her necklace on. For a few 
instants, the dark blue glow that covered the pair hummed and 
flashed, but then sputtered and faded. The emerald ceased 
glowing again.
	"That was close," Ranko said, still feeling a tingling 
sensation on her back and forehead.
	"Let's just visit Silvermoon and we'll leave," Phaeron said. 
She wouldn't contest him, knowing that this would be the last 
time he could see the shimmering waters of the magic lake.
	They silently walked away from the house, passing through 
Crisande again and headed for the pass between the two large 
mountains that separated the forest from the lake. It was 
narrow, almost like a cave, but the pass lead them to the shore 
of Silvermoon lake. Once more, they both stood on the edge of 
the lake, letting the breeze brush against them as they gazed 
upon the calm waters.
	"Huh?" Phaeron suddenly felt something was missing. He 
quickly searched into his pack and snapped his fingers, "Great." 
He turned to the redhead, "Ranko-chan, please wait here for a 
minute. I forgot something very important back home."
	She just nodded, seeing him turn into a phoenix and fly 
back to his house. Sighing, she sat down on the grass and held 
her legs in her arms, resting her chin on her knees. The wind 
picked up slightly, she could feel both her braid and necklace 
waving in the air.
	"How much time does he have left?" she thought, worried. 
"It's been two weeks since I told him... What if Seraphim-chan's 
not strong enough to keep him alive when we get back?" Her gaze 
aimed to the ground just as her shoulders slumped down. It had 
been so painful to admit what was going to happen, but now that 
it was so close she still wished it could be a mistake.
	She couldn't let him die, even if it was his fate. Even 
though she had promised Seraphim to never use the Caller again, 
the Ageless One _had_ said that prayers always help. Then again, 
she spent _three years_ praying for a way to bring him back, 
and even then the Caller backfired.
	But why hadn't it worked? She had asked herself that exact 
question ever since she arrived at the Gates for the second 
time. Cologne had said that techniques along those lines were 
powerful enough, even if the user couldn't withstand the energy. 
What was wrong with the Caller?
	She sighed again, looking into the lake. Many images 
appeared on the surface, images revived by her memories. The 
moment when she saw Phaeron again, on the street, after having 
a fight with her brother the previous night. How she felt when 
she saw him in the Tendos' living room, once Seraphim had 
brought him back. All those times during the Esper War, 
especially after being brought back to life by Chaos and the 
moment when she gave him back the medallion. Why, she could even 
remember the moments from her "second childhood," and how easily 
she could show her emotions back then.
	The tiniest of tears formed in the corner of her eye. She 
couldn't help it, there had to be a way to vent out what she 
felt. How much she would miss him.
	She was brought out of her thoughts as her emerald began 
to shimmer wildly. She gasped when she recognized a navy-blue 
glow around her, only this time it would not fade. Looking 
around, she realized what had happened.
	The small winged creature, which she had held, had followed 
them. And it was rubbing its head against her.
	Slowly, the tendril of light detached from the animal and 
hit her chest, connecting with her necklace. Almost immediately, 
bridges of bright blue light began to join her and the creature. 
White glimmers spread from it, they all circled Ranko and encased 
her. Four large bolts of energy appeared from thin air, 
connecting with her emerald.
	"Agh!" she felt a searing pain on her forehead, like a 
branding iron. Almost immediately, she felt long, thin needles 
sprouting from the base of her back, just where the sacrum was 
located, one inch above the beginning of the buttocks. Likewise, 
her shoulders suddenly felt disproportionately heavy. All of a 
sudden, she felt too light, the wind almost pushed her away.

			*	*	*

	Phaeron sighed as he placed the picture in his pack, a 
picture with a carved wooden frame. Suddenly sensing something, 
he closed his pack and dashed out of the house, morphing into a 
phoenix before launching towards the column of light at the edge 
of Silvermoon lake.

			*	*	*

	With a powerful leap, Ranko tried to get away. Her spring 
had been so rash, she didn't notice she had leapt right towards 
the lake. But it was too late anyway. The animal blinked as it 
saw her change. She never touched the water.

			*	*	*

	The phoenix landed on the shore, wildly looking around in 
all directions. No other being was there aside from the winged 
creature and a few dragonflies. The lake was deserted.
	"Ranko-chan! Where are you? Are you okay?" he called out, 
turning back to human.
	"I.. I'm here," came a voice, directly in front of him. 
Phaeron's eyes widened as the space before him rippled, then 
slowly, very slowly, a trasluscent creature appeared, hovering a 
few feet over the water yet creating small ripples on its 
surface. Then the creature materialized. The last thing Phaeron 
saw before fainting was a white "V."
	"Phaeron-kun...!" Ranko called, seeing him drop on the grass.

			*	*	*

	After fainting a few dozen times, Phaeron was finally 
slapped back to consciousness by a half-Esper redhead. Fixing 
his eyes on the being in front of him, he nearly passed out 
again until he noticed the look in her eyes. She was very 
confused. And she needed help.
	"What... happened?" he asked.
	"Ask him," she pointed at the winged cat, who chirped 
happily. "I was sitting over there when I felt weird, then the 
next thing I know that little guy is glowing."
	"And how do you feel?"
	"How do you think? I feel strange. Like I was turned inside 
out or something like that. I mean, those are okay," she pointed 
at a new part of her anatomy, "but _that_ just looks weird," she 
pointed at another new part. "And this!" she tugged at her 
clothes, which had changed in relation to her new body, "What's 
this supposed to be!?"
	"Actually, with that new... tail... those clothes fit you..." 
Phaeron's face reddened.
	"Sure they do," she fumed, puffing up her new tail and the 
various other parts she had acquired.
	"Do your shoulders hurt?" he asked.
	"That's the funny part. I thought I'd be like Rouge, and 
that I'd have to use pain-relievers, but it doesn't even hurt. I 
can move those things just as if they were arms."
	"And about your forehead?"
	"Oh, I think I just got this for looks," she pointed at her 
forehead, then saw her reflection on the lake, "It's kinda cool, 
though."
	"Okay, then stand up," Phaeron said, pulling her to her 
feet. He almost felt like he had pulled too hard, she floated 
upwards slightly before touching down with her toes. Phaeron 
stood back to analize exactly what had changed.
	The first --and obvious-- thing he noticed was that she 
had become half bird. There was a pair of  half meter-long wings 
growing from her shoulders, although the main feathers reached 
down to her knees. The wings were mostly white, but turned faint 
pink as they reached the ends and there were blue streaks 
between the feathers. Her peacock-like tail was the same way. It 
grew from the base of her spine, reaching to her ankles. 
Although it followed the same color pattern as the wings, it was 
flanked by a pair of long, steel-blue feathers, which were thumb-
thick and reached beyond her heels, trailing a bit behind her. 
Also, there were several antennae-like feathers growing from the 
top of her forehead, white and roughly shaping a "V" that 
reached about half a meter over her head. Like the two long 
feathers on her tail, these were thick as a thumb and pointed.
	Next were less evident changes. Her skin was paler, her 
hair's color had become faint, almost pink. Her eyes were 
completely white, with an almost imperceptible glow. She had 
become slightly taller, but only about an inch or so. But despite 
her size and anatomy, her bones had become full of air sacs, 
like a bird's, making her weight diminish.
	Her clothes had also changed radically. She now wore a 
beige suit. It began with a ring of cloth that engulfed her neck, 
then came down her torso and completely hid her chest. The cloth 
also went to the sides to shape two wide horizontal straps that 
held on to her arms, just beneath the shoulders, then these 
straps descended to leave all of her back bare. The dress was 
also covering all the front of her torso, then the cloth joined 
the straps and circled her hips, to cover everything necessary 
without hindering her tail's movement. The skirt of the dress 
reached down to her knees, its edge was finished in braided 
threads. Then her calves were covered by what resembled leg-
warmers, like large wool socks that lacked heel and toes. 
Matching with these were the beige fingerless gloves that 
reached up to her elbows.
	"But... a bird?" Phaeron still wondered.
	"Maybe it was because this little guy was the one who 
changed me?" now Ranko could safely pet the winged cat, whose 
wings were patterned in the exact same colors than hers, and 
had "armlets" and "anklets" of beige fur.
	"You're right..." he absently analized the creature, noticing 
similarities between it and Ranko's new physique. "But you know, 
you're very lucky. At least you remain human when you change."
	"Human?" she fumed, nearly yelling, "I turn into a freak!"
	"Freak...?" he blinked at her. "Then you think of Espers as 
freaks?"
	She quieted down, "No, I didn't mean it that way..."
	"Maduin and Ifrit are humanoid. Shiva is human. Titan is 
mostly human. Starlet is... well, she's semi-angelic. But Palidor 
and Andellia were born with wings. They don't look too freakish." 
He smirked, "Besides, this way you'll get to show off before 
Seraphim and Cordis. They don't have tails."
	"Very funny," she toasted him with a glare.
	"But look," he took her by the shoulders, realizing she 
wasn't so short anymore, and made her look at her reflection. 
"Who's that?" he asked. "Do you see something freakish in her? Is 
there anything ugly? Esper World makes sure that even if you 
become an Esper, your new body is in perfect harmony with 
itself, both organically and aestethically. What would you say if 
you had been turned completely into a bird? Don't you think you 
were lucky?"
	Ranko just nodded in acceptance, looking at herself in the 
water. It wasn't so bad, even if she would rip all her clothes if 
she were to use them as an Esper. Besides, she still didn't know 
what sort of magic she had gained.
	"Don't you feel like there's some sort of power you gotta 
get out?" Phaeron asked.
	"Sort of. It's like I got to say something, but I don't know 
what."
	"Well, can you use your magic?"
	"I'll try..." she aimed her hand upwards, easily creating a 
Light sphere. But suddenly her arm was surrounded by Wind and a 
small glimmer of Silver that spiraled around her hand. "Huh?" she 
blinked, "I didn't have those before..." Concentrating as she tried 
something she aimed her hands forward, "Luminaire!"
	Nothing happened. Only a small globe of Light fizzled out in 
front of her. She tried to use her Lightning again, but with the 
same results.
	"Looks like you got new magic," Phaeron said, "But try to 
use it with your Brindstone," he pointed at the necklace, which 
had been blown away onto the grass by her transformation. She 
took it in her hands, looking away as it suddenly flashed. A ring 
of fire surrounded the emerald, but she wasn't hurt by it. In 
fact, as soon as she put the necklace on, the ring was 
transferred to her left wrist. Her eyes were opened widely, the 
Brindstone had absorbed the bit of Esper magic that she 
received from Phaeron's topaz. "I get it," he said, "No wonder 
your change was so quick. When you got hit by my magic you 
probably received a fraction of my Esper essence." He eyed her 
with an "I told you so" look on his face.
	"Okay, okay, I get the message," she defended. With her 
Brindstone's help, she could summon Lightning again, as well as 
Fire. But all of a sudden her hands and white eyes began to 
glow. "What..." she started, but quickly fell silent as a pair of 
words came up to her mouth.
	Phaeron saw a faint golden ring shape exactly in front of 
her. Detached from the world, Ranko let her body move freely as 
her hands moved beneath the ring, finally shaping fists as if she 
were gripping a staff. Then a pair of triangular, silvery glows 
formed beneath the ring, above her hands.
	"I see..." she thought, "This is what I got..."
	The triangles moved to the sides, still very close to the 
ring. She tightened her fists. With a thin flashing shaft of 
energy, a long, smooth staff materialized in her hands. It 
connected with the ring, the two triangles joined to the staff 
just below.
	"Hah!" Ranko swiped the staff sideways, releasing a potent 
arc of light. The artifact materialized completely, shedding its 
blinding glow. The perfect-white staff's length was almost one 
and a half times Ranko's height, and there was a gold hoop on 
its top. This end of the staff was actually a carved figurine of 
a winged female, the hoop emulated a halo as it connected with 
the figurine's head. The two triangles had become a pair of 
silver wings, pointed and open to the sides. On the waist of the 
figurine was a red thread that fell down, each end joined with a 
ball of string that became a cylindrical brush. And finally, on 
the other end of the staff was a sharp spike, made of a bluish 
crystal.
	"Now I know!" she said, her mind being filled about 
instructions about using Esper magic. Seeing a white glow 
covering her, Phaeron gulped and stepped back. Way back.
	"Aurora Dream!" Ranko thrust the spiked end of the staff 
into the ground. Suddenly a large sphere of bright light detached 
from her until it became eleven feet wide. Phaeron could only 
see her dark silhouette and her glowing eyes inside the sphere 
as the skies became roseated. Her wings and tail flared widely, 
creating a powerful blue wind that engulfed Phaeron and the 
winged creature. The wind had the same effect as Andellia's 
technique, Orpheus' Song, in that it was a healing spell.
	But without warning the staff morphed. It became a 
broadsword, the angelic figurine was reshaped into a lavish blue 
hilt, the halo stretched to become a golden blade. The odd color 
pulled away from the sky, revealing a star-filled canopy. Ranko's 
sphere glowed even brighter.
	"Uh-oh..." Phaeron gulped when he realized she was 
discovering an Esper's full power.
	"Borealis Trace!" she slashed diagonally upwards with the 
sword, then straight down. The force caused the heavens to 
change color again, but this time only an aurora borealis 
appeared. The drapes of light gleamed, then a few of them 
extended to the ground.
	"Gak!" Phaeron quickly mounted a massive aura shield to 
withhold the pink and purple beams. He struggled against them, 
feeling the earth crumble beneath his feet as he was pushed 
down. His own body was glowing as he had to use his maximum 
strength to resist the attack, but finally he blasted the shield 
upwards and fired off a Lightbird-Phoenix to disperse the glowing 
courtains on the sky.
	He turned back to the sphere. Ranko was still unmoving, 
locked in the end of her slash. Her eyes were glowing, her tail 
was fanned out to its maximum. Small sparks of electricity ran 
along the V-shaped feathers on her forehead.
	Seeing there was no more danger, the winged creature 
scampered out from beneath Phaeron and walked towards her, 
hesitating before rubbing its head against her calf.
	All of a sudden the sphere vanished, she blinked several 
times as her mind returned to normal. The sword turned back into 
a staff, then glowed and vanished in a puff of glimmers which 
surrounded Ranko's right wrist. Still confused about what had 
happened, she kneeled and held the winged animal in her arms.
	"What... was that!?" she asked, looking at the glimmers 
around her wrist.
	"I was gonna ask you the same thing!" Phaeron stared at 
her. "Did you do those yourself?"
	She shook her head, "It's like something came over me. I 
just sorta _needed_ to do that." She paused for a moment, "Were 
those... my..."
	"I'd say so," Phaeron replied, still impressed, "Seems like 
that 'Aurora Dream' is your Esper technique, like my Rebirth, and 
the 'Borealis Trace' is your max attack." He kneeled by her, 
taking her shoulders, "But listen to me. Never _ever_ use that 
again. Remember what a full-power Esper attack can do."
	"Yeah, I remember," she shuddered, recalling the Espers' 
ultimate techniques from the battle with Kefka. "But how do I 
control this?"
	"It'll take you some time," he replied, "But it looked like 
you needed that staff to summon your magic." He analized the 
ring of glimmers around her wrist. "So far, the only Espers I 
know that use staves are Ramuh and Andellia. Maybe that's 
because they have to use a staff to channel their power."
	"Well, whatever," she stood up, "But can I still change 
back?"
	"Hmm, you _could_, I guess," he also stood. "For the time 
being, while you learn how to change back and forth, let's just 
go to Valran and have Maduin use his magic to change you back. 
I'll teach you how to morph later."
	"And all because of this little guy," she petted the winged 
cat's head, making it chirp happily. Spreading her arms, she 
released the creature to the wind, letting it fly back to its 
home. "Okay, let's go," she eagerly spread her wings, hinting for 
him that she wanted to learn how to fly. 
	"Sure, I'll show you," he said, standing in front of her and 
turning away. He morphed into a phoenix. "Now, try to follow my 
wings' movements," he said, spreading his wings. Slowly, he moved 
them upwards, then pushed down and forward, all while moving the 
feathery limbs on ovals. "Remember, you don't just flap up and 
down like you did with fairy wings. Think of yourself as swimming 
and you got it." After a few moments, he morphed back and saw 
her practice, "No, no. This way," he stood behind her and grabbed 
the wrists of her wings, then moved them up and down in ovals. 
She swallowed hard, but shook her head and let him continue to 
coach her.
	"Okay, now to get off the ground," he said, morphing again. 
"Just push down hard, opening your quill feathers as much as 
you can as if you were spreading fingers." He turned back to 
see her. She flung her wings downwards, but the air current was 
too strong and she couldn't ride it, sending herself into a face-
first fall instead.
	"You okay?" Phaeron kneeled by her, carefully pulling her 
to her feet. He once more took her wings, although he was now 
in front of her. "Like this," he said, slowly flapping her wings 
again. But suddenly, they both noticed the minimum distance 
between them and turned bright red, stepping away.
	"I think I got it," she said, still blushing. "How's this?" she 
pushed down, sending herself upwards. She flapped again, gaining 
a higher altitude. "Hey, this is great!" she flew upwards, the 
complete freedom of movement shaped a smile on her face.
	"Wait up!" he morphed and flew upwards.
	"Race ya!" she called cheerfully, gliding away. He smirked, 
and followed.

			*	*	*

	It was already dark when they arrived at Nerima. The moon 
gleamed brightly in the navy-blue field, its light shining off the 
few snowflakes that dropped from above. The glow was 
interrupted briefly by the winged silhouette that glided through 
the air, headed for the Saotome house.
	"So, you think you can do it yourself?" Phoenix asked.
	"I think so..." riding on his back, Ranko looked at her hands, 
recalling the instructions he had given her for morphing to 
Esper shape. "Okay, so first I gotta be standing on somethng 
solid, then I must concentrate on growing from the inside out, 
getting some kind of warm chill. Right?" The bird nodded. "Then , 
for changing back, I must concentrate on sending out every bit 
of magic and ki from my body."
	"And remember to wear clothes with open backs whenever 
you want to change, or else you'll tear them up," he snickered.
	"I'll remember, alright," she glowered at him, then opened 
her shoulder-bag and looked at the Esper clothes she had been 
given during her transformation.
	The mystic bird landed right outside the house, which still 
had the porch's light on. Ranko blinked in surprise at seeing a 
panda's silhouette against the window, as if waiting.
	"Well, see you tomorrow," Phaeron morphed back.
	"I had a great time, Phaeron-kun," she smiled at him, "I 
can't wait to show off to oniisan and Akane."
	"Yeah, I know," he messed up her hair, once again noticing 
how different her height was in comparison to her new body. 
"G'night!" he called, walking away, but still waiting for her to go 
indoors before leaving. Waving as she closed the door, Ranko 
returned the farewell.
	But just as she took off her shoes, a sad memory came to 
her. He was still in risk of dying any moment. She couldn't leave 
him alone just like that...
	After a few more minutes, a pigtailed figure came out of 
the Saotome house. Headed straight for Ikkoku-kan, Ranko crossed 
her arms and grunted slightly, flaring her ki. Since she wore her 
Esper clothes, her new limbs and tail tore nothing as she 
morphed. With a strong kick, she leapt upwards and took to the 
air, gliding towards the apartment house.
	On the roof, a dark figure nodded as his plans proceeded 
perfectly. Smiling, Raphael sighed sadly at his twin and took off, 
headed for a motel, wishing something could be worked out by the 
couple.

			*	*	*

	Silence reigned upon the building, both outside and indoors. 
It was only midnight, but for some unfathomable reason the 
tenants were all asleep. Even Mr. Soichiro slept like a rock.
	Quietly touching down on the entryway, Ranko looked around 
to make sure nobody was eavesdropping. Smirking in victory, she 
clenched her muscles again and suddenly her Esper body phased 
out of sight, becoming a faint suggestion of an image. In this 
ghostly appearance, which she had been turned into at first, she 
easily walked right through the front door and scanned the 
corridors. Vigilant, she floated towards the door to room 3 and 
phased her head into it.
	She was relieved to find Phaeron sleeping soundly in his 
futon, a smile locked in his face. Seeing she didn't have any 
immediate worries, she phased her whole body into the room, 
lifting her tail to sit down next to him. She rested her face on 
her hand, smiling absently at his sleeping face. With only a light 
grunt, she solidified her body and changed back to her original 
shape.
	So she had decided to look over him during the night. Her 
family already knew, anyway, except for her brother. He wouldn't 
understand anyway. But somehow, she felt that the dreaded day 
was close, _too_ close... And she _had_ to be there when it 
happened. Maybe it was a little paranoid to stand guard all the 
time, but one can never be too careful.
	Reaching into a small bag, she took out her normal clothes 
and a nightshirt. Blushing for an instant, she quickly made a 
break for a shadowed corner of the room. She then took off the 
Esper dress and pulled the blue cotton nightshirt over her head. 
It was about four sizes too large for her, but right now it 
would have to do. After combing her hair with her hand, she 
tucked the dress and the Chinese clothes back into her bag. She 
was about to come out of the shadows when she heard a low 
noise coming from a hole in the wall.
	"No... not him..." she thought of Yotsuya immediately, then 
quickly tiptoed towards the opening and waited next to it. First, 
the widening beam of a flashlight came out from it. Being next to 
the hole, she remained hidden, but her bag was very visible in 
the middle of the room.
	Yotsuya had already made an inventory of most of 
Phaeron's and Raphael's belongings. And that bag wasn't part of 
them. With ninja-like stealth, he peeked his head through the 
hole.
	Ranko eeked silently, standing on one leg to Yotsuya's 
right. He turned to that side. She quickly changed legs to stand 
on the other side. He turned to the left. She changed legs again. 
Then Yotsuya began to switch back and forth between right and 
left, making Ranko hop from leg to leg. Then he stopped, and 
looked straight up.
	Trying to hold her breath, Ranko was flat on the floor to 
his right. Crawling as quickly as she could, she hid behind the 
lump of Phaeron in his futon. Yotsuya scanned the entire room 
again, feeling another presence inside it.
	Ranko didn't even think of moving. Pressing herself against 
the floor, she held her breath... until Phaeron began to roll in 
his sleep and put an arm on her shoulder, reflexively bringing in 
his hand and pulling her. She screamed inwards, then concentrated 
on her Wind magic. First she used it to lift Phaeron's arm all 
the way and flip him to the other side. Seeing she had aroused 
Yotsuya's attention, she then aimed at a book that was on a 
shelf right next to the hole. With only a brief gust the book 
fell, landing next to Yotsuya with a barely-audible thud that 
still made him jump slightly. Swiftly, before he could turn around 
again, Ranko made a break for Yotsuya, mallet at the ready. Like 
in cricket, she smashed the mallet on his face, sending him back 
through the hole and onto his futon, knocked out. He never knew 
what hit him.
	Sighing in relief, Ranko swung the mallet back towards the 
hole, covering it with the weapon's mass. Finally, after locking 
the door, she dropped on the floor next to him, resting her head 
on her arm. Exhausted from all that happened during the day, she 
closed her eyes to rest, inadvertedly drifting away to sleep...

			*	*	*

	Nerima, Tokyo, five am.
	The winter breeze wailed as it filled the snow-covered 
streets with its chill. The sun was lazily showing its very first 
ray, although the skies were still dark. It seemed like the 
beginning of another peaceful day, a kind very scarce in the 
Nerima ward.
	Phaeron opened his eyes almost in synch with the change on 
his clock from 4:59 to 5:00. Rubbing his eyes, he yawned widely, 
turning to the side...
	And his open jaw dropped all the way to the floor when he 
saw a pigtailed redhead sleeping on the floor next to him. How 
did _she_ get here? And _what_ was she doing!?
	He quickly looked all around, blinking at the mallet that 
was stuck in Yotsuya's hole. He then turned to the redhead 
again, blushing mightily at the sight. Nervously gawking at her, 
he quickly pulled himself out of the futon and opened it. With 
immense care he picked her up in his arms, depositing her inside 
the futon and closing it over her shoulders. She sighed deeply 
in her sleep, the freezing cold being replaced by a soothing 
warmth.
	Phaeron just watched her silently. What was she doing 
here? Was she actually worried?
	The thought brought an unexpected smile from his face. She 
must have come to look over him, given how little time he had 
left. But she was so tired from that Esper transformation she 
probably fell asleep the minute she got there. Smiling again, he 
put a hand on her shoulder, accidentally making her pigtail fall 
right onto her face.
	Still asleep, Ranko sneezed when the wispy end of her 
pigtail tickled her nose. Snickering, Phaeron gently lifted her 
pigtail, but due to the nightshirt's size the braid's end brushed 
part of her shoulder, causing her to shrug and release a light 
sleepy whimper.
	Phaeron could sense a familiar warmth spread within him, 
the topaz on his bookshelf flashed a couple of times in 
agreement. To see her in his room, so worried over his health... 
"Does she..." he began to wonder, sighing, "Maybe she's 
remembered..."
	He shook his head, keeping from fooling himself, "No, she 
probably hasn't remembered. She still sees me as a friend..." he 
lied down on his side, resting on an elbow. "It's actually better 
that way, or this would hurt even more."
	Standing up again, he sneaked a peek between his window's 
curtains. Daylight was almost here. Okay, he'd let her sleep 
longer. Nothing would make him disturb her.
	Another hour passed slowly, each minute seemed to last 
ages. But suddenly he heard another whimper come from the 
futon, he smiled at noticing Ranko was waking up. Surprising her, 
he opened the curtains and let a broad beam of light enter the 
room.
	"Hi," he whispered, kneeling by her side. Ranko suddenly 
realized where she was, turning mild red when she noticed he had 
put her in the futon. But she blushed even more when he took 
her hand, "Thanks."
	She understood his message perfectly. "Don't mention it," 
she smiled back. "It's just that I'm worried about you, that's all."
	He felt an incredible lightness in his chest, but decided to 
say nothing. He only squeezed her hand gently and stood up, 
turning away as she slowly changed into her clothes.
	"Come over here," he then said, beckoning for her. Rubbing 
her arms for warmth, she joined him as he looked out the window. 
"Isn't that beautiful?" he said. The entire landscape was white, 
the pale blue sky enhanced the feeling of tranquility. Turning to 
each other, they smiled and walked away from the window. Ranko 
grabbed her bag, Phaeron lent her a winter coat. Snickering, they 
hurried out of Maison Ikkoku before anyone saw them. With 
Phaeron morphing to a phoenix, they took off towards the West, 
hoping to have breakfast somewhere on Kyoto.

			*	*	*

	With a soft sigh, Kasumi Tendo fluttered her eyes open. 
That dream... she had that dream again. Curious, she turned to 
the calendar on the wall.
	"Oh, but today _is_ Christmas Eve!" she said to herself, a 
smile forming on her face.

			*	*	*

	Seraphim could take it no more. Her strength was fading. 
She wasn't as powerful anymore.
	She had dreaded this moment ever since she brought him 
back. During four months she tried to forget it, to put it aside, 
but she couldn't resist this any longer. And now it would happen, 
with Seraphim unable to do anything about it.
	She was being drained. Feeling tears gather in her eyes, 
she knew this would be the day she had foreseen.
	"Brother Phaeron... Sister Ranko... I'm... I'm so sorry..."
	And an angel cried.


WARNING:
Get your hankerchiefs ready.

The TerBril
(who might have gon a bit too far with the events of the next section.)