Ryuuzaki slammed his hand down on the desk. "My daughter
has been in there for two hours already!"

  "Please, Mr. Ryuuzaki," pleaded the desk clerk, "we
haven't finished gathering information from your daughter.
Understand that we need this information to be able to
ensure that this will not happen again."

  "Well, how much longer will this take?" He asked as his
hands curled into fists in an attempt to rein in his temper.

  "I cannot say for sure, Mr. Ryuuzaki," the clerk said,
his hands palm up, trying the assuage the anger of the other
man, "but these things do take time."

  Ryuuzaki felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see
that it was his lovely wife. "Dear, our Umi will be
alright," Mrs. Ryuuzaki said soothingly. She turned to look
down at the clerk. "We will be at the lounge. You will tell
us when our daughter is ready to leave, won't you?"

  The clerk nodded his head eagerly. "Of course, Ma'am."
  
  With a hand on either shoulder, Mrs. Ryuuzaki steered her
husband away from the desk and towards the visitors lounge.
Upon reaching it, Ryuuzaki slumped down on the chair and
buried his face in his hand. After a moment, he looked up
and turned to his wife.

  "Who would want to harm our little girl?"
  
  "The police are trying to find out, Dear."
  
  "I don't want anything to happen to our only girl. I'm
sure this has been tremendously traumatic for her. She's
never had to endure such a thing before."

  Mrs. Ryuuzaki looked away. "I'm not very sure about that,
Dear. Something tells me our little girl is a lot tougher
than that."

  Ryuuzaki looked at his wife, puzzled by what she said.
Finally he just shrugged. He had to admit that in a way, his
wife knew their daughter more.
                              
                          * * * * *
  
   Investigator Hashimoto glanced down at his watch. It was
already 5:34 in the morning. He looked up at the door of the
room holding Umi Ryuuzaki. The girl was extremely
temperamental. More so now, he guessed, since she was sleep-
deprived. Who wasn't anyway?

  He had just completed cross-interrogating the Hououji
sisters and the Shidou girl. Both were calm in comparison.
Their stories were surprisingly consistent. It seemed like a
night...make that, day of consistent stories. He just had to
do one more round of questioning. Taking a deep breath, he
opened the door.

  As to be expected, Umi Ryuuzaki had a deep scowl on her
face. Her arms were crossed tightly across her chest. It
amazed Hashimoto that for someone who was only fourteen
years old, she was good at intimidating people, including
himself except this was something he would never admit to
anyone.

  As soon as he seated himself opposite her, she
harrumphed, turning her pretty little face upwards and away
from him. He already pitied the guy who would end up
marrying this girl. She definitely had a bad temper.

  "Now, Miss Ryuuzaki, this will just take a few more
minutes," Hashimoto said as he laid down his notes in front
of him.

  "You said that more than two hours ago!"
  
  "Please understand," he said looking at the girl in front
of him who wouldn't even glance at him, "this is a sensitive
case. Even the United States of America is interested in
this."

  That seemed to perk up her interest. She glared at him.
That's when he realized that he shouldn't have told her
that. "Why would the United States of America be interested
in such a trivial matter?"

  Hashimoto sighed and rubbed his face with a hand. "Well,
it seemed that your story directly contradicts those of the
men who tried to abduct you."

  "So who are you gonna believe?" Ryuuzaki demanded. "Are
you implying that we're lying?"

  Hashimoto decided it was time to put his foot down with
this girl and be tough. "Listen Miss Ryuuzaki, the longer
you remain uncooperative, the longer we will have to hold
you here for questioning."

  Umi Ryuuzaki snapped her head towards him and narrowed
her eyes dangerously. "Are you threatening me?"

  For some inexplicable reason he became quite afraid.
There was something about this girl...

  "Now, Investigator," Ryuuzaki began in a tone that was
surprisingly calm, "why is the US interested in this little
case?"

  "B-because there seem to be aliens interested in
capturing a wormhole," Hoshimoto stammered. *What the hell is
happening to me?*

  "I see," the girl said, suddenly less threatening. "Since
you've been very good, I'll tell you my story once again.

  "At around half past one this morning we heard some
noises. My best friend's older sister Kuu peeked downstairs
and saw men dressed in black entering the house. So she
hurriedly entered our room and woke us all up. We then
climbed down the window to the ground and escaped. We
returned only when we saw the police arrived.

  "So, can I go now?" Ryuuzaki batted her blue eyes at him.
  
  Hashimoto, who was held in a trance-like daze, suddenly
shook his head briefly as if trying to clear his head. He
nodded, his expression one of confusion. The girl gracefully
rose from her seat and turned towards the door. Just before
leaving the room, she turned back at the immobile detective
and smiled.

  It was several seconds before Hashimoto fully recovered.
He realized belatedly that he was now alone in the room.
*Damn that girl! What did she do to me?*
                              
                          * * * * *
  
  Rogo entered the large apartment that was their base of
operations in downtown Tokyo. The apartment had four rooms
to accommodate himself, Crata, Logo and his lieutenant,
Alpa. They rented several such apartments in the same area
to accommodate every other member of the team. Each group
was never more than 15 minutes away from the base.

  Lam looked up as Rogo made his way into the center of the
room, which was, as usual, cluttered with various electronic
equipments. "So how did it go?" Lam asked, gently laying the
tools he was using on the table and turning his chair to
face the leader of the exploration team.

  Rogo seated himself on another chair facing the leader of
the assault team. "It looks like Tanaka will play ball."

  Logo was about to say something when Crata chose that
moment to exit her room clad only with a towel wrapped
around her body. She had apparently just finished showering.
Rogo was used to this as he shared the apartment with her
after all. As a human being, Crata would have been an
excellent specimen. Her face was beautiful. She had long
black hair and her figure and complexion were flawless. Rogo
did not pay any additional attention to her though. He
couldn't find anything attractive about humans.

  Lam, on the other hand, was tracking Crata with his eyes
as she crossed the room towards the kitchen. When she came
out carrying a glass of water, Lam was still tracking her
until she disappeared into her room once more. For her part,
Crata did not seem to have even noticed the attention that
was accorded her. Rogo turned to stare at Lam.

  Lam, noticing Rogo's stare, turned to stare back at him.
"What?"

  "You were looking at Crata."
  
  "So?"
  
  "You were looking at her as if you found her attractive."
  
  "And what is so wrong with that?"
  
  Rogo scowled not expecting to have to explain the oddity
to Lam. "She was in her human form."

  "As a human being, Crata is attractive."
  
  "Really?" Rogo turned to look at Crata's room as if he
could still see her. He finally shook his head and looked at
Lam. "I don't find anything attractive about humans. I hate
the color and texture of their skin. Their hair looks so
strange. And they don't exude any pheromones at all."

  Lam merely smiled. "It's a pity that in all the time
you've spent on this planet, you've never learned to
appreciate their unique beauty. Anyway," he reached over to
pick up the device he had been working on when Rogo entered,
"take a look at this." He handed the device to Rogo.

  Rogo took the device and began turning it over, examining
it. The device had what seemed like a bulb on one end. On
the whole, it looked like a flashlight but flat and
rectangular. There were three unmarked buttons on one of its
sides. Finally he looked up at Logo. "So what is it?"

  "It's supposed to be a hypnotic device," he took the
device from Rogo and aimed it him. "If you flash the bulb at
a human, it's supposed to temporarily blind him and open his
primitive brain to hypnotic suggestions within the first
five seconds of activation."

  Upon hearing that, Rogo looked back warily at the device
aimed at him. Lam laughed as he lowered the device. "Don't
worry. It doesn't work on us. Our brains are easily able to
counter any such suggestion. Also, our eyes are protected
against the glare that this bulb is supposed to emit."

  Feeling foolish, Rogo merely nodded. "So does it work?"
  
  "I don't know yet. Although, theoretically, based on my
research on humans, it should work. Some humans though, may
be strong-willed enough to counter the effects of the
hypnotic suggestion." Lam began prying a panel open to make
some minor adjustments. "What I still don't know for sure,"
he said while picking up a thin instrument and applying it
to the miniscule instrumentation of the device, "is how long
the suggestion lasts."

  "We should probably test it then."
  
  "Of course, we'll test it," he said, briefly glancing at
Rogo. "Let me just make some final adjustments here and you
can ask Crata to fish for a man outside. It shouldn't be too
difficult for her to do."

  "Right."
  
  Crata chose that moment to exit her room, dressed in
tight jeans and a white cutoff that showcased her narrow
waist. She walked purposely towards the two men, taking a
swivel chair, turning it around with the intention of
straddling it. She planted her hands on the backrest and
faced Lam squarely.

  "I've heard my name mentioned a number of times," Crata
said nonchalantly as she gazed into Lam's eyes.

  Unaffected by the technology expert's frank appraisal,
Lam turned back to the device he was tinkering around with.
"I always knew there were disadvantages to having hearing
implants."

  "I distinctly heard that Commander Lam here finds me
attractive in my current form," Crata went on as if she
didn't hear Lam's previous comment.

  Lam glanced up at Rogo without lifting his head before
bringing it back down to the device in his hands. "What of
it?" He heard a quiet sniffing sound and turned to look at
the source. Crata was sniffing the air that separated
herself from him. "What are you doing?" Lam asked, this time
fully facing the woman.

  "Are you sure you're attracted to me, Commander," she
asked, clearly puzzled.

  Unable to contain his bemusement, Rogo chuckled. "You are
undoubtedly wondering why Lam is not excreting pheromones,"
he said to Crata. She glanced briefly at him before
directing her attention back to Lam.

  "I have deliberately stopped excreting pheromones," Lam
said simply, once more turning his attention to the device.

  "Why would you do that?"
  
  "Because," Lam said, "although I may be attracted to you
in your current form, I have not intention of pursuing you."
Lam held his gaze.

  "Oh," Crata said neutrally. She wasn't expecting that
response. "Pity," was all she said as she rose from the
chair.

  Rogo cleared his throat and turned to address his
technology expert. "I have a task for you."

  "I already know about it," she said as she pulled the
swivel chair and returned it to where she found it. "You
want me to get a random human so you can test the device."

  Rogo's mouth curled upwards. "Would you know how to do
that?"

  "I'll use what humans call 'charm'," Crata said with a
flourish. "Besides, these primitive humans can't detect
pheromones anyway." With that, she pivoted gracefully on a
foot and walked outside the apartment, her focus already on
the task at hand.

  Both Rogo and Lam watched her leave. Slowly Lam turned to
look at Rogo. "How long do you wager it will take her to
snag a victim?"

  Rogo smiled and looked down at his watch. "I'd say one
hour."

  "Care to put money where your mouth is?"
  
  Rogo chuckled.
                              
                          * * * * *
  
  Umi found her parents, along with her friends, waiting
for her in the lounge. As soon as they glimpsed her through
the glass partition, her Dad and Mom rushed towards her,
roughly barging through the glass door, and pulled her into
a tight embrace.

  "Mother, Daddy, I'm okay really!" Umi was getting a bit
embarrassed by the attention. It felt that every policeman
in the precinct was watching them.

  "We were so worried about you," her mother cried, tears
threatening to brim over and spill.

  Mr. Ryuuzaki pulled back to examine his daughter and was
a little surprised to see her so spry. "Well, you seem
okay," he declared, quite pleased actually that there were
no physical harm whatsoever on his little Umi. He led his
daughter to the lounge where her two friends were.

  Umi was surprised that Fuu's parents were there as well.
As to be expected, they were fawning over their daughters.
Hikaru was smiling brightly at her. Umi excused and
disengaged herself from her parents and rushed to the
redhead, eager to hug her friend.

  "Hikaru!"
  
  "Umi!"
  
  They both hugged tightly. Shortly, a third joined in.
"Fuu!" both Hikaru and Umi chorused.

  "Hikaru, Fuu, I think I may have discovered something,"
Umi said, pulling her two friends away from hearing distance
of their family.

  "What is it?" Hikaru asked.
  
  "It seems that the United States government also know of
the aliens' desire to get a hold of your ability to create
portals."

  "I wonder how that will affect us," Fuu wondered out
loud, a finger touching her lips in a pensive pose.

  "I don't know either," the Fire Knight admitted, "but one
thing is certain." Both Umi and Fuu looked at their leader.
"We cannot keep this a secret from our family any longer."
The two other girls nodded in agreement.

  Realizing that their respective families were getting
impatient, they separated. Hikaru joined her brothers, Fuu,
her sister and parents and Umi, her mother and father.
Finally, as a group they left the precinct.
                              
                          * * * * *
                              
  Special Agent Jenkins and Investigator Hirota watched the
group leave. Jenkins turned to the man beside him. "Hirota-
san, we need to have them watched."

  Investigator Hirota merely nodded. They were severely
undermanned but somehow he would have to find the resources
needed for the stakeout. Both men turned to see a third
reluctantly join them. Hirota turned to look at his fellow
investigator with a disappointed expression. "What the hell
happened in there?"

  Hashimoto couldn't lift his eyes to meet those of the
senior officer's. "I don't know," he whined. "I honestly
don't know."

  Jenkins, puzzled at the exchange, turned to Hirota. "What
happened?"

  "You should watch the tape," Hirota replied not taking
his eyes off the younger detective, "it was truly a sight to
see."

  Jenkins could see that coaxing additional information
from the senior investigator would just further embarrass
the junior. He decided to let it slide but made a mental
note to watch the tape. It could be interesting.

                          * * * * *
  
  The President of the United States rubbed the bridge of
his nose under his glasses. It has been a long day. He
glanced briefly at his watch. It was almost 9 in the
evening. He looked up once again and glanced at the people
seated around the conference table of the Situation Room.

  "Let me see if I got this straight," the President began
wearily, ticking off fingers as he went, "first, there was a
kidnap attempt made on three junior high school girls by ten
armed men, presumably members of the Yakuza. Second, the
girls were able to detect the presence of these men and were
able to escape. Third, an unknown force was able to
neutralize the ten armed men. Finally, one of the men
testified to seeing what may have been a wormhole and a girl
entering into it before passing out.

  "On top of that, our two astrophysicists have made an
impromptu trip to Japan because our agent there asked,
what's her name? Rumsen? Yes, Rumsen, what a wormhole would
look like. Have I got everything correct?" The President
clasped his hands together and rested them on the table and
directed his focus on the man who delivered this latest
news. The FBI Director, Jack Palmer, nodded slowly.

  "That pretty much sums it up, Mr. President," Palmer said
calmly.

  "So where are the girls now?" It was the Chief of Staff
who asked this time.

  "The Japanese police could not hold them so they allowed
them to go home," Palmer looked down to consult his notes.
"Nevertheless, we are assigning each girl a five-man team to
watch over them closely."

  The Director of Central Intelligence smirked. "It's
refreshing to see the Japanese being so cooperative."

  "They have reason to, Tim," Palmer replied, "they know
what we know about the aliens."

  "So what about the girls?" The President asked to keep
the discussion on track. "Do they possess the ability to
create a wormhole?"

  The advisors gathered around the table looked at one
another, trying to gauge whether any one of them believed in
that possibility. Finally, the Chief of Staff faced the
President. "Sir, we all feel that it is highly improbable
that three fourteen-year-old girls would have that kind of
ability."

  "Then how the hell can you explain what the Japanese
gangster said about seeing a..." the Chief Executive looked
down at another report right in front of him, "...a bright
oval filled with something that looked like churning water."

  "Sir," the FBI Director leaned forward, "we cannot
totally rely on this man's testimony since he is in fact a
criminal."

  "Your agent reported that the other gangsters testified
to witnessing amazing feats of..." again the President looked
down at the report, "...of 'magic, speed and power'."

  Jack Palmer had no response to that so he fell silent.
The Chief Executive looked at him still waiting for him to
respond. Finally, Palmer glanced up and moistened his lips
before speaking. "Mr. President, it is too early to conclude
that any statement these men made as true." Palmer laid his
hands palm up on the table. "I recommend, Sir, that we
continue to investigate this matter."

  The President took a deep breath and then slowly nodded.
"How long will you stake out the girls?"

  "As long as it takes, Mr. President."
  
  "Very well," the President rose bringing the rest of them
up on their feet as well. "Keep me posted." He walked out of
the door already held open for him by his personal detail.
His Chief of Staff followed briskly after him towards the
Oval Office. The Chief Executive looked at his Chief of
Staff without slowing down. "What about Rumsen and Winters?"

  "If they get lucky, they might be able to see the
wormhole with their very own eyes and then report back to
us. At any rate, I have already assigned an agent in Japan
to meet them."

  "If those girls do have the power, what do we do?"
  
  "Mr. President," Caster glanced once at his President
before turning his eyes back to the corridor they were
walking in, "we make damn sure that we protect them from
those aliens."

--------------------
NEXT:
Chapter 8 - Confessions

--------------------
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
All C&C are welcome and desired! Please send your
feedback to darkhrse@edsamail.com.ph.

I have decided that this story will undergo one
revision, taking into consideration all C&C received,
before finalizing.

To those who have given me feedback, thank you
very much!

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

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