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doorway, posing dramatically. She had long blonde hair in a ponytail and
wore a short burnt orange dress and an off-white apron, with various small
bits of armor stuck here and there. A gold circlet graced her brow, and her
light brown eyes were full of mischief. "You ARE a foolish one, aren't you?
To try to break into MY armory! Imagine! Now, whatever shall I--"

"Look, I didn't mean to, I was lost! I--"

"A likely story! Now, shall I stretch your neck until it pops? Or maybe I
should poke splinters under your fingernails, or..." She paused, tilting her
head. "Or maybe we can try something really--"

A cough interrupted her. "Presea, cut our guest down, if you please."

The woman (who in Ryouga's opinion had to be deranged) turned to face a
young man standing behind her. "Ferio-sama!"

"There's no need for that," the boy--for he had to be the same age as Ryouga
himself, if that--waved a hand dismissively. "Just...before he passes out or
something, okay?"

Presea pouted. "You're no fun." With a sigh, she pulled a lever on the wall,
and the rope trapping Ryouga snapped, dropping him roughly to the floor.

"My apologies," Ferio, a green-haired, tanned, scarred youth with golden
eyes and clad in an ornate white uniform, extended a hand to Ryouga to help
him stand. "You arrived with the Magic Knights, did you not?"

"That's right," Ryouga replied.

Presea gasped. "The...the Magic Knights? They have returned?"

Ferio nodded. "They arrived just two hours ago, along with several guests
from their world."

"But..." Presea looked perturbed. "How...? Why are they...?"

"Nobody seems to be able to figure that one out," Ryouga said. "We're all as
confused as everyone else." He frowned. "By the way, I hate to be rude, but
I do have a question for the two of you."

"Yes?" Ferio asked, arms folded.

Ryouga scratched the back of his head. "Can someone help me find a
bathroom?"

* * * * * * *

"Hey, y'heard? Them Magic Knight gals're back."

"The Magic Knights? But..."

"Yeah, it's a shock t'me too."

"I don't suppose they'll be terribly happy to see us again, will they?"

"Now now, you don't know for sure...oh, Ferio! Heya!"

Ferio, Ryouga, and Presea greeted a duo walking from the opposite direction;
a tall, dark-skinned woman with long, bouncy pink hair and entirely too
little clothing for Ryouga's comfort, and a small boy in ornate robes, whose
shaggy brown hair obscured his eyes from view. The latter was hovering on a
jagged chunk of rock which had numerous small pebbles rotating around it.

Ferio waved to the two. "Caldina, Ascot. I gather you've heard?"

"'Bout them Magic Knights? Yeah. Say, who's this guy?"

Ryouga bowed. "Hibiki Ryouga. I'm from the same world as the Magic Knights."

"Really? Nice t'meetcha."

"So, any idea why they came back?" Ascot asked.

Ryouga shrugged. "Nobody can figure out what's going on, or how to get us
home." He sighed. "We heard about the trouble this world is in. I'm sorry."

The others became solemn. "Yeah...things ain't lookin' too good right now."
Caldina looked up, then smiled. "Say, we was just thinkin' 'bout goin' to
say hi to them gals."

"As were we," Ferio replied. "Plus, we need to escort Ryouga back to the
others. He...isn't terribly familiar with the layout of the palace."

Ryouga scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously.

* * * * * * *

Some time had passed, and more to have anything better to do than sit around
brooding, the Magic Knights and the group from Nerima had gathered together,
and were sharing stories of past adventures. For their parts, the Magic
Knights were growing increasingly incredulous at some of the tales of the
older teens.

"Sumo...pig!?" Umi exclaimed. "You've got to be kidding!"

"Big as a bus, I'm tellin' ya," Ukyou said, shaking her head. "Damnedest
thing you ever saw."

As they talked, a small white creature bounced into the room. Akane was the
first one to notice it: a fat, rabbit-like creature with a silly, happy face
and a large red jewel on its forehead.

"Aww, how cute!" Akane cooed, motioning the creature over. "Look, everyone!"

The others glanced around, and the Magic Knights gasped. "Mokona!"

"PUU!" Mokona cried, bouncing happily over to the group. "Pupupupupuu
pupuu!"

"Mokona..." Hikaru repeated, eyes misting over.

Mokona glanced at her, tilting its head. "...puu?"

"It's me! Hikaru!"

The rabbit-creature hopped backwards, seemingly startled. "PupuPUU?!"

"I know, you're surprised to see me. It's a long story."

"Puuuuu..." Mokona seemed to recover from its shock, and leaped for Hikaru,
who caught it easily, nuzzling its face with her cheek.

"So what the heck IS that thing?" Ranma asked.

Mokona glanced up at the source of the voice. "Pupuu?" Hopping out of
Hikaru's arms, Mokona examined Ranma's floating projection, then turned its
head back and forth between the unmoving Ranma and Hikaru. "Pu?
Pupuu...puu?"

"I believe Mokona-san can somehow sense the connection between Hikaru-san
and Saotome-san," Fuu said.

"That weird little fluffball always did seem precocious," Umi commented.

Mokona bounced high into the air, landing right on Umi's head. Hikaru
giggled.

Akane laughed. "I think he likes you, Umi."

"Mokona-san enjoys teasing Umi-san," Fuu replied.

Voices drifted in from the doorway. "--sorry about before."

"It's alright. Now, I believe your friends were right in here--ah! Here they
are."

"Hey, P-chan!" Ranma called. "We were wonderin' where you wandered off to."

"Oh, stuff it, Ranma," Ryouga growled halfheartedly. "Found some guys who
say they know Hikaru and the others."

The Magic Knights' eyes widened as the group with Ryouga entered the room,
one at a time. "Ferio-kun!" Hikaru cried joyfully.

"Ascot! Caldina!" Umi called, recognizing the next two who entered. To their
relief, she didn't seem angry to see them.

Then, the last member of the party walked in, and the Knights gasped, eyes
wide in disbelief.

"PRESEA?!"

-3-

An array of beakers, tubes, and flaming devices lined a large table, smoke
and steam spewing in various directions. Above it all, Clef stood on a pile
of books, directing the devices with magic while perusing a tome, frowning.

After over an hour of study, he'd finally completed his analysis of the
poison the traitor had used, and it was not pleasant.

With a deep sigh, he snapped the book closed and set off to deliver some
unpleasant news.

* * * * * * *

"Presea..." Hikaru said softly, eyes full of tears. "You..."

"Hikaru? Is...is that truly you?" Presea asked, tilting her head. "You seem
different somehow."

"More importantly, we saw you die! I mean--" Umi paused, glancing at Hikaru.

"Looks like there's a lot of that goin' around," Ukyou quipped.

"Ukyou!"

"Sorry."

"No, it's not the same," Fuu said, shaking her head. "We saw..."

"Presea, I'm so sorry! I couldn't..." Hikaru cried, launching herself at the
blonde woman. "I tried so hard to protect you! I...failed...everyone..."

Presea enfolded the redhead in a hug. "No, Hikaru. You need not feel that
way. You did not ask to be in the situation you were in, and you did
everything you could. You tried your hardest, and that..."

"Are you truly Presea-san?" Fuu asked, tilting her head. "The circumstances
do not seem to merit this outcome."

Presea smiled. "I'm not an illusion or a ghost, Fuu," she replied. "I am
truly here."

"I'm here too, you know," Ferio commented idly, leaning against a wall.

Fuu suddenly found the tips of her boots very interesting. "Y--yes, that is
true. It is...good to see you again, Ferio-san."

Before anyone could call attention to Fuu's discomfort, Caldina addressed
the unfamiliar teens. "So, who're you guys? An' what's with ghost-boy here?"

"We're also from the same world as these three," Akane replied. She made a
round of introductions. "We have a...problem, which has led us to meet these
girls, and..." She shrugged. "Somehow, we ended up here with them."

"Ne, Ferio," Umi asked suddenly. "What's up with those clothes?"

"Oh, you like?" Ferio asked. "I was fine with my old clothes, but everyone
decided that the brother of the Pillar should at least dress like it, so..."

"EH?!" The Magic Knights chorused, shocked. "You're...?"

"Emeraude's younger brother, yeah." Ferio sighed. "I remembered some time
back. My memory had been sealed away when I was younger."

"So...you, without knowing why, were fighting so hard to save
Emeraude-hime-san..."

Ferio looked down. "I...know things did not end well for you here.
Especially..." He swallowed. "But it is good to see you again."

"Ferio-kun..." Hikaru said softly. "Your sister...is it as bad as Clef
said?"

"Yeah. I...it's really hard." The swordsman sighed. "I just wish I knew...I
wish I knew why this was happening..."

"That question," Clef's voice called from the doorway, "I regret to say I
finally have an answer to."

* * * * * * *

Zagato sat in what had become his accustomed seat, looking down at the
frail, still form of the Pillar. Her childlike face was marred by large
healing plasters, her golden hair was limp and lank; only her head and
shoulders were uncovered, and even under the thick bandages wrapped around
her neck, he could see the gradual spread of the black, pitted, crusting
lesions that now marred her once beautiful body.

His eyes traced the parchment taken from the subversive terrorist once
again, then tightened in anger.

A war. Someone wanted a war with Cephiro. And they were using subversive
lies and deception to turn Emeraude's own people against her.

"This cannot be allowed," Zagato said softly, standing from Emeraude's
bedside. As he rose, his appearance shifted and blurred; the thin, worn
appearance he had projected since the Pillar's collapse fell away like a
shroud, and a flare of black light heralded the reappearance of his imposing
black armor.

Dark eyes alight with anger and the promise of vengeance, High Priest Zagato
strode purposefully down the corridor, ready to begin an entirely new war
for his beloved.

* * * * * * *

"POISONED?"

The assembled group stared at Clef with varying degrees of shock, horror,
and disbelief.

The master mage bowed his head, scowling. "An unknown enemy is attempting to
start a war by turning the people of Cephiro against the land itself. A
simple peasant was found pouring a vial of poison into the river that waters
the crops, animals, and people of one of the outlying villages. If he had
not been stopped..."

"That's just dirty," Ryouga spat, disgusted.

"Never in our history has such a thing happened," Clef continued. "It makes
no sense."

"But...who would do such a thing?" Presea asked.

"I believe I have an answer," Zagato called from the doorway.

His appearance drew a number of gasps. "Zagato...you're..."

The priest surveyed the assembled crowd, frowning darkly. "If I have read
the situation correctly, the poisons their agents are using are specifically
designed to kill the Pillar."

"To kill--?!"

"The traitor we interrogated earlier," Zagato explained, "carried a piece of
parchment we could not immediately identify. In the process of examining it,
I learned that the seal inscribed upon the parchment is some sort of
summoning circle. My deduction is that this circle is the means by which the
poison, and possibly other tools to assist in this insurrection, are
transported to this land."

Clef rubbed his chin, thoughtfully. "So anyone who has received one of these
letters, bearing this seal..."

"Can potentially cause extreme damage to this land, and to the Pillar,"
Zagato finished, clenching a gauntleted fist. "Whoever this Marquis is, he
has made it possible for the weaker-willed citizens of Cephiro to unbalance
and distort our world, regardless of their magic or ability. They need only
use what he has provided."

"Death by dumbass," Ranma paraphrased. "Wonderful."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Akane asked.

Zagato shook his head. "I'm afraid the responsibility for ending this lies
with our army. We must search the whole of Cephiro, and destroy every
document bearing the Marquis' seal. And, if necessary, arrest those
possessing them."

Ferio sighed. "I hate the thought of giving that kind of an order."

"It must be done," Clef said tiredly. "Have Lafarga see to it immediately."

Zagato strode from the room. Clef turned to the guests from Tokyo and bowed.
"Now that we know what we are facing, it may be possible to end this war,
and if we can restore Princess Emeraude's health, we can send you home.
Please rest comfortably until then." With that, he withdrew, the other
residents of Cephiro behind him.

The teenagers shifted uncomfortably, looking at one another anxiously.

"So...they just expect us to sit here and twiddle our thumbs?" Ukyou asked.

"It does seem that we would only be in their way," Fuu reasoned, adjusting
her glasses. "Although..."

"It just doesn't feel right, sitting around doing nothing," Akane said,
frowning.

Ranma summed up the others' thoughts succinctly:

"Man, this blows."

* * * * * * *

Thick clouds of smog roiled over the grimy, densely industrial city. A crowd
gathered in the central plaza, voices raised in varying cries of excitement
or protest. Banners and signs waved across the square; at the center of
everything, a group of soldiers stood at attention at the front of a raised
dais. A podium towered above them, draped in crimson tapestries bearing the
sigil of the country's ruler.

The cheering and jeering rose in intensity as said ruler strode from the
doors of the government headquarters, through an honor guard, and stood
behind the podium. A man with short dark hair, dark, sharp eyes, and
roguish, handsome features, he did not dress overly differently from his
soldiers: a severely tailored and pressed deep crimson uniform with onyx
buttons and piping, highly polished black boots, and white gloves. The only
significant difference to his attire was a black armored bracer on his left
wrist, adorned with a deep blood-red gemstone.

He gestured for silence, then spoke into the array of microphones before
him. "My people! Today is a glorious day in the new regime. I know that many
of you have yet to embrace the changes which I have brought to this land. I
know that there are those of you who would see me deposed. I assure you, I
understand. I will not condone it, but I do understand. I did, after all,
conquer this country with swift, brutal force. You have not had time to
adjust to me yet.

"But those among you who support my rule, who see the glory beyond the
horizon, your support is appreciated, and your faith will be rewarded.

"The dawn of a new age is upon us. I have a dream and a plan. It is my
intention to unite our country with its neighbors. It is my goal to spread
our glorious culture to the more backward lands around us, that they may
come to know the wonders we enjoy in our daily lives.

"This will not be an easy road, my people. There will be much bloodshed and
many sacrifices along the way. Our neighbors will not be as welcoming of my
rule as you have been. However, this I promise you: all who follow my path,
all who march along the road to supreme victory, all who uphold the
superiority of our way of life--you shall know glory under my reign. This is
a time of change, a time when men who were as nothing can become as kings,
even as gods! Follow me, and the path to Heaven itself will lie before you!"

The man behind the podium swept the crowd with a penetrating gaze, then
raised his left hand. With a loud, grinding sound, a row of three tall stone
torches ascended from the rear of the platform.

"Three neighboring lands. Three great battles. Three fires of hope to ignite
our spirits."

He snapped his fingers, and the first of the three torches burst aflame.

"One of my comrades has already taken Chizeta."

* * * * * * *

"Who are you? How dare you intrude upon our privacy? And assaulting our
subjects...unforgivable!"

A figure wreathed in shadow faced off against two irate, armed princesses. A
hand emerged from the darkness, gripping a massive sword. The blue gem
embedded in the black steel gauntlet the invader wore gleamed darkly.

"Blauer Schlag," the dark figure intoned.

Before they had a chance to react, Tatra and Tarta, rulers of Chizeta, were
encased in a thick wall of ice, faces frozen in twin masks of horror.

* * * * * * *

Another snap of the uniformed man's fingers, and the second torch lit.

"Another is presently completing the capture of Fahren."

* * * * * * *

Winds heavy with the stench of blood stirred at hair, clothes, and grass in
the courtyard of a grand, elegant palace. The usually beautiful, pristine
garden was strewn with the corpses of masked shinobi guards.

Backed against the lacquered, gilded doors of the palace, the diminuitive
princess of Fahren stared in shock and terror at the intruder who had slain
her servants. "Why..why are you doing this?"

The winds whipping the tattered cloak of the invader were thick with black
motes of power. A head bowed solemnly. "Please know that I derive no
pleasure from needless bloodshed. If you surrender, you will be spared."

"NEVER! This land will never bow to an outsider such as you!"

The intruder sighed deeply. "If that is your choice." The jet black katana
that had spilled the blood of many loyal Fahren citizens lowered, and the
intruder raised his left arm. The emerald jewel on his gauntlet flashed
brilliantly.

"Grünes Vakuum."

* * * * * * *

He snapped his fingers one last time, igniting the final torch.

"The groundwork has already been laid for the third and final step on our
path to glory. Within the week, we will launch a full-scale invasion of the
country that poses the greatest threat to our superiority.

"Our final objective, my great and noble people: Cephiro."

Stunned murmurs spread through the crowd. Slowly, scattered applause broke
out, eventually raising into a great cheer.

Far above the plaza, standing on the tallest rooftop in the capitol city,
four figures exchanged weary glances.

"We have to warn them."

=FIRE=IN=THE=WATER==============================ACT=TWO=END.=