"Gika!"

Kit Kat struggled from his perch in Yumi's arms, and ran out in 
front the group. For the last fifteen minutes, the dense forest that 
they had been wading through had started to thin out. Now, the sun 
glinted through the trees more warmly, and more of the natural wildlife 
chirped and skittered around them. The group, though silent after 
passing Wintergreen's guards, walked more easily now. After that 
encounter, they hadn't run into anything dangerous, and now they were 
out and in the clear.

	"Finally, we're out of those damn trees," Tsugiko said as she 
emerged. "Just once, I'd like to go a week without having to wander 
through one of those."

	Yumi laughed, and brushed a couple of twigs off her skirt as she 
came out. Winis followed behind her, trying to look everywhere except 
at Yumi at the same time and failing. His face was slightly red. Kyouji 
exited last, his body relaxed but his face wary. 

	"It's not really that bad, Tsugiko-chan. The woods, the animals, 
the air... you can't find places like this near where we used to live. 
It's the outdoors, it's great! I always wanted to be in places like 
this more often, and now I can. It's fun, really!" Yumi said.

	Tsugiko shot her a sideways look. "Right, Yumi," she said, and 
then made her way over to Kit Kat. "So, where are we? How close are we 
to the ruins?"

	She stopped at the far edge of the clearing, and followed Kit 
Kat's gaze. She swore softly under her breath, and stared out over the 
landscape as the others moved to join her.

	The land of Ferrero Rocher lay beneath them. The forest they had 
walked through laid on a plateau, and at the base of the gentle slope 
at their feet, the armies of Clorets milled around. The men walked from 
tent to tent, and chatted with the guards positioned outside a small, 
well-built house. A very brief keening could be heard from the army's 
animal pen. A mile beyond the camp, the ruins of a grand fortress 
stood, with no activity visible within. Farther to the east of Clorets' 
camp, a couple skirmishes marked the front lines. Beyond that, the 
palace of the King of Ferrero rose up behind the rest of the town they 
had come from.

	"Great," Kyouji groaned. "We've got to get past that to get to 
the crystal?"

	"Ka!" Kit Kat concurred.

	Winis shrugged, his twin spears clinking together as he did. 
"I've run into Wintergreen's forces before. It's not too hard to get 
past them. If we avoid the main camp by a good distance, there won't be 
many sentries. The ones that are around don't change position more than 
once a day or so. If we find out where they are, we can get through the 
area tonight with little difficulty."

	Kyouji stared at the younger boy. "How do you know all this?"

	Winis's face grew noticeably sadder for a second, then moved back 
to a placid expression. "I've been traveling through territory that 
Wintergreen holds for a long time now. I escaped my land when she 
conquered it, and I've been journeying ever since. I learned how the 
armies work. If I didn't, I wouldn't have survived this long. And I'll 
help you survive, too. I helped you get this far, didn't I?"

	Kyouji rolled his eyes. "All right, then, what do you think we 
should do?"

	"I'll go scout ahead for the route between the sentries. I can 
move the most stealthily, between my size and my charms. It looks like 
about two miles walk out to the ruins from here. I'll get you a road 
through to it, come back, and then we'll go back down into the ruins. 
Between the time there and back, we should be there by dusk. There 
should be enough time to get through the ruins and get the crystal 
before the guard changes over. That's my plan."

	The Crystal Warriors thought it over silently, then Kyouji 
replied, "All right. It sounds pretty safe. But I think one of us 
should go with you. Just to make sure you're safe, too, you know?" He 
gave Winis a hard smile.

	Winis nodded. "Fine. You don't trust me, and you want to make 
sure I'm not going to betray you. It makes sense, I haven't really 
proven myself yet. So..." Winis straightened his shoulders, and turned 
to Yumi with a tentative smile, hands clenched at his side. "Yumi? 
Would you please go with me?"

	Yumi smiled amiably back at him. "Sure. I'd like a chance to get 
to know you a bit better, anyway."

	Kyouji hesitated. He didn't feel anything bad coming from Winis, 
but he didn't feel completely safe with the idea. But then, he 
reasoned, Yumi can take care of herself. And he looks so much younger 
than the rest of us like that, all flat-footed and nervous. I don't 
think she would be interested in him. Well, as a friend only, maybe. 
That's all. Really it is.

	"OK," Kyouji said aloud. "Go ahead and scout with Yumi, and take 
the furball with you. Tsugiko and I will stay up in the clearing. If 
you're in danger, and you need help, send him back." He smiled at the 
boy again, this time a bit more warmly. "Good luck."

>o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< 

Starburst Crystal
Created by Ardweden
Legend Twenty-six: From Charms
Written by Capfox

>o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o<

	After Yumi and Winis left, the clearing was quiet. Tsugiko and 
Kyouji sat side by side on the edge of the clearing, looking down on 
the camp below. Kyouji looked pensive, Tsugiko noted. After all the 
time she spent thinking and worrying about him over the past few days, 
she really wanted to talk to him. But it was so hard to start. She 
clenched her hand around an orange flower she'd been twirling. She had 
to say something.

	Kyouji turned to her slightly, still looking down the slope. 
"Isn't it nice?"

	Tsugiko stopped her deliberations, startled. "What? What's nice?"

	Kyouji gestured down the slope to the fields below. "All of this. 
The nature, the land, the buildings, even the people. Yeah, they may be 
our enemies, but from up here, they're landscape. And Mars is a pretty 
place." He leaned back, smiling and relaxed.

	 Tsugiko blinked, and looked around her, trying to take it in. 
She glanced over at Kyouji, and forced herself to relax a bit more. 
"You know, you're right. From up here, it all looks so peaceful." She 
smiled softly.

	Kyouji lay himself out on the ground, his cape a blue puddle 
underneath him. He turned his face to Tsugiko. "You know what else is 
nice?"

	"What?"

	"We're back out on our mission again. We spent all that time at 
Wonka's, and all that time travelling, and we didn't find any more 
shards. Now, we're back on track, and we don't have to waste our time 
anymore."

	Tsugiko scowled. "What, so getting my crystal fixed was a waste 
of time for you?" she said, a faint growl in her voice.

	A look of surprise swept across Kyouji's face. "No, no! That was 
really important!" he exclaimed, as he waved his hands above him. "If 
we didn't fix what Wintergreen did to your crystal, there's no way we 
ever could have made it out of there when Krackel attacked. And we 
definitely needed to do it to take her down in the end. You're 
important, Tsugiko. You know that."

	Tsugiko blushed slightly, and looked back at the landscape. "So 
what did you mean, it was a waste of time?"

	"Well, we weren't really getting the crystal together. We weren't 
training to make the battle easier. We were just playing defensive, 
fixing the damage they'd already done. It was necessary, sure, but we 
didn't get much farther," Kyouji explained. Then he laughed. "Plus, 
Wonka was getting a bit on my nerves. I've never had that much sweet 
stuff shoved at me in my life."

	Tsugiko chuckled. "Yeah, playing guinea pig for a pastry chef was 
starting to grate." She rummaged through the rations bag. "We still 
have a couple cookies, though. They're a bit stale, but they're 
probably still OK. Here."

	Kyouji took the proffered cookie, and munched. "Mmm! Well, he 
wasn't bad. He was a pretty good cook. It just feels better to be off 
chasing Wintergreen again, that's all."

	Tsugiko frowned, and bit her lip. "You think we'll be able to? 
Last time we went against her, she nearly broke my crystal. And that 
was only a duplicate."

	"Yeah, that's true. But we've gotten a lot better since then. 
We've trained, we've fought, we've unlocked more of our powers. And 
we'll have all the crystals by then. We know how to fight now. Then, we 
were just starting. When we face her down again, we'll be completely 
different people. She won't stand a chance."

	Tsugiko nodded, but she kept frowning. "I guess. I just..." she 
trailed off. "I just don't want to let you down again."

	Kyouji pushed himself up to his elbows. "You? Let us down? 
Tsugiko, come on! You've done so much of the fighting, and you're 
really good! You haven't let anyone down. Getting hurt, it happens. To 
all of us, right? And you got your crystal cracked by a powerful enemy. 
That's just bad luck. You didn't do anything wrong."

	Tsugiko started to smile, until Kyouji continued, "If anyone's 
let us down, it's me."

	Tsugiko blinked. "Huh?"

	Kyouji fixed her with a serious look. "I'm supposed to be the 
Knight Protector. My job here is to protect you and Yumi. And you all 
get so hurt, so often. I train, but I'm still no match for the people 
here by myself."

	"But you don't fight by yourself, you fight with us. We can 
protect ourselves, too," Tsugiko answered fiercely.

	"Right, I know. You both keep up your end. But I let you fall 
into situations where you're in danger so many times. And I can't even 
pick them all up! Like that apple. That was poisoned. Why didn't I 
know? I should've stopped you from even touching it. My sense of 
protection should've sent an alert. But nothing happened. What if you'd 
really been hurt by it? That'd have been all my fault."

	Tsugiko looked down towards her knees, stunned. "Kyouji, it's not 
really your fault, it's --"

	"No, whoever gave it to you, I should've known better. But I'm 
not going to let it happen again. I'm going to do what I'm here for. 
I'll train, I'll hone my skills," he said. He grinned ruefully. "I'll 
toss my poppies with great flair."

	Tsugiko laughed, and looked back over to him as he finished, "But 
I won't let you down again." His smile changed from mocking to warm. 
"Trust me."

	She smiled back. "Sure, Kyouji."

	As the boy moved to look over her shoulder at the landscape, she 
kept her eyes on his face. His whole manner was just like it was back 
at Tokyo Tower: warm, kind, sweet, self-confident, and very cute. She 
hadn't seen him that way in a while, she mused. All that time with 
Twizzler pushed that under. She scowled, and looked around at the 
absence of any of the others. Then she gazed at him again. Should she 
ask now, she wondered? It wasn't often they were alone, and it seemed 
like a good time. Right now, he reminded her so much of the beginning 
that she couldn't help. Besides, she had to know, in the end, didn't 
she?

	Tsugiko cleared her throat, and steeled herself. "Kyouji?"

	"Yeah?"

	"Tell me, how do you feel about Twizzler?"

	Kyouji's arms fell out from under him, and he thumped onto his 
back. "Uh...well." He looked desperately around, and started talking 
quickly. "You know, that Winis seems like a better guy than I thought 
to begin with. Yeah, he's a bit smug, and he's certainly a bit 
annoying, but there's not much to worry about. Maybe Yumi can let him 
down from his crush while they're off? I mean, he's a couple years 
younger than we are and there's no way that she'd be interested and 
she's way too nice to lead him on, but maybe she wouldn't tell him, 
just let her actions show how she felt, just friendly, you know? He'd 
still be good to have around otherwise, though, he looks pretty strong 
and anyone else who'll help in a fight on our side is --"

	Tsugiko frowned, and interrupted abruptly. "Kyouji! Don't dodge 
the subject. Do you like her, or not? I need you to tell me, so I can 
figure out whether I should..." She trailed off and blushed. "Whether I 
should keep prying her off you or not. I mean, if you like her, I 
won't," she finished.

	Kyouji looked at her askance. "You really want to know?"

	Tsugiko sat up straight, and looked at him. She readied herself 
for a crushing blow, head high, back straight, chin set and firm. 
"Yeah, I want you to tell me. Please?" she said, trying to keep the 
pleading note out of her voice.

	"And you won't hit me, or anything?"

	Tsugiko rolled her eyes. "No, I won't hit you," she agreed 
flatly.

	Kyouji gave her another look, then fixed his eyes firmly on a 
spot beyond her shoulder. "Well, Twizzler. She's pretty cute. She's got 
a nice face, a sweet smile, good hair, pretty eyes, a good fashion 
sense, a better than average grace, an. Ow!" he exclaimed as Tsugiko 
punched him in the arm. "You said no hitting!"

	"Yeah, I know, but I got the point. You think she's beautiful, 
and you like her," Tsugiko growled, her eyes smoldering with hurt. She 
hadn't readied herself enough, she decided.

	Kyouji rubbed his arm, and sat up to look at her. "No, let me 
finish. OK? Look at me. Please?"

	Tsugiko looked at him, trying to keep her pride and anger as a 
shield. "What more is there? Go on, enlighten me," she growled.

	Kyouji recoiled a bit, then composed himself. "Yes, I think she's 
pretty. And she's fun, too, in her way. She does care about me, and 
that's not something I don't value. But, but," he said as Tsugiko 
started to turn away again, "she's overly clingy. She doesn't know when 
to stop playing around and be serious. She picks fights with you all 
the time. Not that you're blameless, but she does her share. Hell, she 
made Yumi mad enough to smack her one! And worst, she doesn't seem to 
care what I think about her, or us, or anything. It's her vision, her 
world. If she gets past that, we could be friends, I think." He smiled 
at Tsugiko, letting the self-confidence and warmth flow in again. "But 
just friends, Tsugiko, nothing more. I don't want anything more from 
Twizzler than that, beauty or not. All right? That's the truth, just 
like you asked for."

	Tsugiko blinked, then blinked again. The anger just wasn't coming 
anymore. She looked back down to the landscape, the camp milling below. 
"Thanks, Kyouji, I needed to hear that. Really." The fierceness and 
pride still played through her voice, but the rage was gone. 
Internally, she steeled herself once more, and made a quick decision. 
"Really. And I want to tell you that I really-"

	Her voice faltered as rustling sounds grew louder from the woods 
on the slope. She and Kyouji both rose to their feet, exchanging a look 
to show battle readiness. Then Yumi and Winis burst from the foliage.

	Winis's face was red, but not from exertion. He didn't even look 
very sweaty. He glanced back at Yumi, and then to the other Crystal 
Warriors. "I've got you your path to the ruins. It's about an hour's 
walk, so if we hurry, we can get there before dusk. And, again, I've 
proven my worth. Yes? Trust me now?"

	Kyouji nodded tersely, then motioned to Tsugiko. "Let's go. We 
have to get through and out before the posts change."

	Winis led the other two back into the woods as Tsugiko picked up 
the rations bag. She looked at the Mars sky, clenched a fist, and 
plunged in behind them.

>o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o<

	The tent that Clorets gave her to work from wasn't the biggest in 
camp, but Twizzler didn't care. It had nicer furniture than most of the 
other ones, and that included a mirror she had taken from the house 
Clorets worked from. Since the soldiers she'd been promised hadn't 
shown up yet, she didn't have much else to do than preen.

	She hummed happily to herself as she admired the reflection in 
the mirror. Her new dress was much, much more alluring than her old 
cloak and dress setup, she decided. Not as practical, but much better 
for trapping her Kyouji. Thin straps held up the soft red material over 
her shoulders. The neckline was much lower than her previous garb. Not 
so far as to expose flesh, she noted with approval, but tantalizingly 
close. Then it hugged her body down to her hips, and expanded out a 
bit. The dress extended to her knees, but was cut halfway up the thigh. 
She twirled around again, loving the effect. Briefly, she wondered 
about why Clorets, a much taller woman than herself, would have 
something that fit her so well.

	Twizzler shrugged. Clorets probably just took it from some noble 
she'd conquered, or something. It wasn't really a dress for Clorets 
herself, just something too nice for the Princess to give away. She 
giggled, and stared in the mirror.

	"Hi Kyouji! Miss me?" She paused expectantly for the empty room 
to reply. "What, speechless? Is it the dress? I got it just for you. 
You like it?" She paused again, and smiled. "I knew you would! I know 
just what you would want in a girl." She kissed at the mirror, and 
winked. "What's that? You want to leave that gorilla Green and your 
stupid, futile quest behind and live happily with me? I knew you'd say 
that!" She laughed with delight. "That's just how it's going to be! Oh, 
I'm so going to thank Clorets for this. There's no way Kyouji can keep 
up his resistance any further now that I have this. Green, your days 
are numbered!"

	A throat cleared behind her, and Twizzler started, and turned 
swiftly. A dozen soldiers, all with the same insignia, stood quietly in 
the room. The man standing in front of the others bowed slightly, and 
stood. "My name is S. P. Kid, and I'm the captain of these men. General 
Clorets said that you would have use for our platoon, Miss Twizzler?"

	Twizzler tried to compose herself. She looked down, and cleared 
her throat, then looked back up with a look of authority. "That's 
right. I've got a plan set up to destroy the Warrior Priestesses, and I 
need you to carry out it out for me. Help me get rid of them, and I 
promise you, Queen Wintergreen herself will reward you."

	Most of the soldiers looked a bit unsettled. The leader surveyed 
his troops, and then turned back to Twizzler. "My lady, I mean no 
disrespect, but as fine a group of soldiers as we are, we may not be 
the best match for warriors of legend. Those three have defeated even 
the Twixes on multiple occasions! I'm sure we could do it in the end, 
have no mistake. But, perhaps if you would come with us and lend us 
your power, we could crush them immediately."

	Twizzler frowned. "I have to stay here and be ready for when you 
bring back my Kyouji. I don't want to mess up my new clothes. And you 
only have to kill the two girls. That should make it easier, right?"

	Captain Kid coughed. "As you say, my lady. My troops should be 
able to handle them. You still haven't told us your plan, however. And 
if you could inform us of their weaknesses, that too would make the 
task simpler. Tell us your wishes, and we will carry them out, without 
fail."

	Twizzler brightened. "Sure! All right, here's my plan. I took 
their weaknesses into account when I made it. You know the ruins 
outside of camp?"

	"Of course, my lady. Since our arrival here, we've done most of 
our training in the ruins," Captain Kid replied.

	Twizzler broke into a big smile. "Great!" she enthused. "Now, 
here's what I was thinking you should try doing..."

>o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o<

	The walk down to the ruins went very quickly. Winis led the group 
determinedly through the thick forest, making each turn or bend with 
confidence. Yumi strode one step behind him. Kyouji and Tsugiko kept 
pace at the back of the group, looking carefully around them as they 
went.

	Winis turned to the others. "The ruins are just beyond that tree 
line. I've gotten you here perfectly safely." He looked coolly at 
Kyouji. "Trust me now?"

	Kyouji smiled, and nodded back. "Yeah, you seem fine. C'mon, 
let's get in there. It's getting dark."

	They moved out into the field around the ruins. In the fading 
light, the broken walls and towers of the old palatial fortress looked 
somber and majestic. Shadows stretched, long, black and gray, 
crisscrossing the clearing and the ruins themselves. Creeping vines and 
flowers curved their way around the shattered gate that stood in front 
of them.

 	Tsugiko stepped forward, and peered in through the gate. "I can't 
really see much in there. It looks like there are a couple pathways, 
but they trail off into the shadows. It doesn't really look all that 
safe," she said.

	Yumi moved to look in, when a soft creaking crunch sounded from 
the woods to the left of them. The group turned as one to look at the 
spot. Each one readied to draw a weapon.

	Kyouji sidled quietly up next to Winis. "I thought you said there 
was no one near here!" he whispered hotly.

	Winis looked back calmly. "There isn't anyone here. I checked 
everything thoroughly," he said quietly. "Here, I'll go show you."

	Winis walked over to the spot where the sound came from. He 
unsheathed his sword, and poked it around the area. "See? There's no 
one over here. Don't be so worried, Kyouji," he stated.

	Kyouji opened his mouth to respond, but another soft crunch 
sounded from the path they'd taken into the clearing. Immediately 
afterwards, the same sound came from right beyond the corner of the 
ruins.

	Yumi blanched. "All right," she said shakily, "those sounds have 
to be made by something, some kind of animal." She walked over to the 
spot next to the tower, and stared blankly into the space. "There's 
nothing here."

	Tsugiko looked over to the path out. "That was pretty well lit, 
and I didn't see anything," she said. "But you're right, Yumi, it must 
have been an animal. We should get inside the ruins and get the 
crystal, and go," she suggested, her voice cracking on the last word.

	Kyouji nodded, and took a few steps towards the gate. From the 
near edges of the woods, to the left and right, two more creaks and 
thumps came. He jumped, and looked anxiously both ways.

	Winis came over, and stood near Yumi. "Don't worry, it's got to 
be safe. I scouted this area, remember? I wouldn't have missed anything 
that would make sounds like those."

	Yumi pressed a faltering smile across her face. "Sure, he's 
right, Kyouji, Tsugiko-chan. I was there too, and I didn't see 
anything. We came over here before, right? We looked this place over, 
and it was empty. And no one was coming here, like Winis said. The 
sentries don't change. It's safe. Really," she said pleadingly.

	Another sound issued forth, this time from higher up in the 
trees. The group jumped a bit at the sound. Winis stared up into the 
tree, as the others scanned the area in the twilight. Besides the four 
of them, nothing living could be seen anywhere.

	Tsugiko moved over next to Kyouji. "Hey...do you remember that 
old woman back in the field who thought we were going to..." She 
trailed off and blushed.

	Kyouji nodded, and blushed back. "Yeah. Why?"

	"Well, didn't she say that the ruins were, y'know." She looked 
furtively over at the crumbling towers, then back to Kyouji. She 
finished fearfully, "Haunted?"

	At the sound of the word, the surrounding forest fell into chaos. 
The trees swayed noisily, their branches banging into one another. The 
wind whistled stridently through the gaps. The shadows danced madly 
across the field, the gray and black whipping across the faces of the 
group. The soft creaking thumps grew louder and more persistent. A 
chittering noise echoed from the spaces between the trees. The only 
area still silent was the ruin of the fortress.

	Yumi quailed. "Kit Kat! Go!" she cried. The carret raced into the 
shadowy depth of the ruins, and his companions trampled behind him, hot 
on his heels. The glowing darkness of the pathways within swallowed 
them quickly.

>o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o<

	Ruins, Kyouji decided as he dashed through broken corridors, were 
not a place for high speed travel. The group had broken up very quickly 
once they were past the first couple of walls, and the ways between the 
fallen parts had narrowed. He could feel bruises on his legs and arms 
from where he'd careened into jutting pieces of masonry or fallen 
rubble. A cut on his hand sullenly bled. Good thing it's not my sword 
hand, Kyouji thought. Otherwise, cutting up the ghosts would be hard.

	Somewhere off to his left, he heard the carret gika-ing for all 
he was worth. Kyouji grimaced; either Kit Kat had found the crystal 
shard, or he was hurt. Either way, Kyouji thought, he'd better get over 
there and see what was up. It didn't sound that far off.

	Kyouji bounded around a corner, ran headlong down the next 
corridor, and then hung another left. The further he got from the 
forest, the less real the story about the haunting seemed. Still, it 
was stuck enough in his mind to keep him running. He saw no reason to 
stop until Mars proved to him that ghosts didn't exist here.

	Kit Kat's noises were very close now. Kyouji rounded one more 
corner, and nearly ran smack into one of the largest remaining walls in 
the ruins. He skidded to avoid it, stumbled over the bottom half of 
what looked like a cross between a gargoyle and a mermaid, and came to 
a halt in front of Kit Kat. The carret slunk happily around his legs 
once, then meaningfully dug at the large pile of rubble behind the 
demolished statue. After Kyouji overcame his distaste at the furball's 
attention, he took the hint and started to throw the rubble aside. As 
he did, Kit Kat resumed his cries.

	Kyouji's wounded hand and bruised body made for slow digging. He 
realized why Kit Kat was being so adamant about continuing to gika, but 
it didn't make the experience any more pleasant. Oh well, he reflected 
as he moved aside a piece of the statue's chest, at least he should 
have help soon.

	Kyouji tossed aside a handful of smaller stones as another pair 
of smaller hands came into view. He looked up at the person they 
belonged to, and Winis smiled back.

	"Need a little help here?" The younger boy asked as he started 
tossing stones aside with, Kyouji noted, enviable ease. Winis looked 
worse the wear, as well. His vest had torn in several places, and he 
looked to have an interesting assortment of bruises. But he still 
heaved the stones off the pile faster than the taller, older Kyouji. 
Kyouji again reassessed their new companion.

	"Glad you're on our side," Kyouji muttered as they dug. Neither 
of them said anything as they burrowed through the pile. Between the 
two of them, they reached the bottom stone in a few minutes. They eyed 
the piece. It looked to be a stone from one of the other great wall 
that probably had enclosed this area. Of the four, only the one they 
had dug in next to still stood. The others left a treacherous and open 
courtyard. Tsugiko and Yumi just emerged into it from opposite sides as 
he watched, each carrying her own share of bumps from the ruins. Kit 
Kat immediately stopped yowling, and stood calmly, looking expectantly 
at the massive bottom stone.

	"OK. Winis, you take the far left corner, and I'll take the near 
left one," Kyouji instructed. "Tsugiko, Yumi, take the other two. We'll 
try to give you a lever to push from, and you two try to topple it up 
and over. We'll help if we can, but it'll take all four of us."

	The others nodded, and moved into position. On Kyouji's signal, 
they all lifted their parts. Kyouji grunted; the stone was every bit as 
heavy as it looked. He strained his tired muscles, focusing only on 
getting the stone off the ground. He heard similar noises of exertion 
coming from the other corners. After about thirty seconds of pressure 
up, the stone came loose with a groan, and they moved it up and over 
simply, propping it against the standing wall.

	Half buried in the soil where the stone had rested, a crystal 
shard pulsed a soft lemon yellow.

	"All right! Finally!" Tsugiko exulted, and rushed forward to pull 
it out of the ground. She plucked it, and held it aloft in celebration. 
The Lemon Shard caught the last rays of the sun and shined like a 
beacon. "We're back on track again. No more halts. Right, Kyouji?" she 
smiled.

	Kyouji smiled back, and his mind screamed danger. He glanced at 
the shining shard, down at Tsugiko, and threw his body at her.

	Tsugiko yelped in surprise as he made contact and pulled her down 
out of the way. The arrow that had been aimed for her whizzed past his 
face, grazing his cheek. He twisted himself around, and took the brunt 
of the fall as the two tumbled to the ground. The air rushed from his 
lungs.

	Tsugiko stared in horror at his face as he pulled himself 
together. She stuffed the shard into its pouch in her jacket, and 
pulled the hammer from her back. She rose into a crouch, and nearly 
immediately, Kyouji heard a metal clang.

	The Knight Protector forced air back into his battered lungs, and 
forced himself to his feet, drawing his sword as he went. Three 
swordsmen looked back at him, their faces masks of determination. As 
soon as he set up, they charged in.

	Kyouji parried and dodged, blocked and retreated. Backed up 
against the wall, against three opponents, he knew his chances were 
small. But none of the enemies seemed to press their advantage, content 
with just keeping him at bay. In the gaps between them, he could see 
flashes of three other men attacking Tsugiko with full force. Her aura 
seeped out, but it was still muted, and she had no openings. Even more 
fleetingly, he could see Yumi, desperately parrying with her wand. 
Little blasts of magic came off of it, but it didn't sound like they 
were doing much damage, just holding them back enough to breathe. He 
could hear the arrows whizzing by, pinning the girls down further. Only 
their constant erratic movement kept them from being hit. However, 
Kyouji noted, none came towards him. It didn't make any sense.

	In between all the parries and lunges, dodges and ripostes, 
Kyouji noted one last thing. Winis had disappeared from the field 
entirely. Kyouji swore as his sword clanged against one of his 
opponents. Where had the boy gone?

>o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o<

	As soon as Tsugiko had lifted the shard to the sky's fading 
light, Winis started looking around. The fools; they might as well send 
up flares, he thought bitterly. These were the Crystal Warriors? They 
should know better. He glanced over his shoulder. If there are any 
enemies, they know where we are now.

	As soon as he saw Kyouji dive, Winis grabbed the twin spears from 
his back. He unstrapped them with practiced ease, and readied himself. 
Sure enough, a group of swordsman ran in, and quickly divided into 
three groups of three. Winis sighed internally. If they were that sure 
of what they were doing, this had to be an ambush.

The group running for Yumi seemed surprised to see him there. One 
of the swordsmen broke off from the others, and attacked him. Winis 
sidestepped, knocked the sword away, and bashed the side of the man's 
head with the haft of his spear. He dropped to the ground, unconscious, 
and Winis fled for cover to figure out what to do.

He watched the battle unfold. Grudgingly, he gave respect to the 
men in Wintergreen's uniforms. The plan they had put together was well 
done. None of the Crystal Warriors could really attack at all. Kyouji 
was being contained, and archers ensured the girls couldn't move and 
couldn't set up attacks. So, in order to help them win, he should get 
rid of the archers.

Winis watched a couple of arrows fly in, and then back to where 
it looked like they'd come from. He ran back through the ruins, 
colliding with the walls or masonry on the floor, until he got near 
where he estimated the archer. He sheathed his spears, and fingered the 
row of charms.

"Mars, if ever you favored me, let these charms be strong enough 
for that man in there," he prayed under his breath. He swung into the 
archer's nest.

He smiled beatifically. "Hello, friend! How goes the battle?"

The archer started. "Oh. Hello. Those damn Warrior Priestesses, 
they just keep dodging! I haven't gotten in a clear shot yet!" He 
smiled grimly. "But give me time, comrade. How goes your end?"

Winis shrugged sadly. "Not so well, I'm afraid. I've got new 
orders from the captain. You're to take out the other archers, and then 
a couple of the men. You don't have to kill them, of course, just get 
them out of the way. We can't have the Warrior Priestesses killed, you 
know. Why, the generals would have our hides!"

The archer stared. "I don't know, friend. Those sound like mighty 
strange orders. The opposite of what I recall, in fact. And aren't you 
a bit young to be in our platoon?" He slitted his eyes suspiciously, 
and glared at Winis.

Winis reached down into his charms, and rubbed the Muddle one 
hard. He concentrated his will through the small item with as much 
force as he could. The purple and green clad boy then reached out his 
other hand out, amiably. "Of course we're together! The Dark Queen 
herself commissioned us, remember? Look, and the captain's going to be 
completely bonkers if you don't. You want to get me in trouble?" he 
said, with an affronted air.

The archer hesitated, and Winis grimaced. There was no way he 
could shoot as well as this soldier could. If the charms didn't work...

"All right, friend, as you say. There've been stranger changes in 
orders in battle before, and no mistake. The captain always was a 
peculiar fellow, if I do say so myself," the archer said as he set an 
arrow to the bow. "Just you watch. Those soldiers won't know what hit 
`em."

Winis grinned widely. "Oh, I trust you. I know you can do it!" he 
said enthusiastically. Thank you, Mars, for weak-willed soldiers, he 
said under his breath.

>o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o<

	The battle had been raging for several minutes. Kyouji could see 
the green rising from Tsugiko's area; she'd probably be at full blast 
soon. Her frustrated grunts filled the ruined courtyard, but he hadn't 
heard any solid blows. He was getting very frustrated himself. He 
couldn't extricate himself from the men, and the arrows were flying by, 
and he couldn't save the girls because he couldn't get free. He was 
worthless, powerless, if he couldn't get past the men and the arrows 
and...

	And the arrows were gone. No one was shooting. One of the 
swordsmen stopped in surprise, and Tsugiko hammered his with a sharp 
blow to the stomach. As he fell, the other two closed in, but without 
the cover fire, Tsugiko more than held her own.

	One more arrow arced into the courtyard. The middle swordsman 
facing Kyouji fell, clutching his leg. Kyouji blinked in surprise. What 
had happened to the ambush?

	A gruff voice sounded from the shadows. "This is Captain Kid. 
Fall back to the camp! Now!"

	Kyouji turned to look for the source of the voice, but the broken 
hallway it had emanated from was empty. The remaining swordsmen locked 
into formation, and retreated into the corridors quietly, not even 
attempting to attack. The Crystal Warriors watched, drained and 
puzzled.

	Tsugiko holstered her hammer, her green aura fading. "What was 
that about? What happened to the archers?"

	Kyouji shrugged, exhausted. "I don't know. Are you two all 
right?" He looked over the two furtively, checking for new wounds.

	Tsugiko nodded. Yumi checked herself over, and said worriedly, 
"Yes, I'm fine. Where's Winis?"

	Kyouji scowled. "I didn't see him during the battle. Maybe he ran 
off. He is pretty young."

	 Footsteps sounded out of the left corridor. "Hey! Let me 
introduce you to my friend!" Winis' voice rang out.

	The enemy archer stepped out into the open, with Winis behind 
him. "This is our savior, the master sniper!" Winis enthused.

	The archer blushed. "Aw, well, I am pretty good, but not that 
good, sirs. I'm glad to have helped."

	Winis stepped in next to Yumi, and basked in her presence for a 
second for looking over to Kyouji. "Trust me now?" he mouthed.

	Kyouji's shoulders sagged. Too much in a day was too much.

>o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o<

Author's notes:

Yeah! A part where I really did get everything in that I wanted, and it 
only took me three tries! The only thing missing, maybe, is a 
Yumi/Winis part, but I don't feel bad about that.

This's my most ambitious part yet, I think. I'm not sure if it's the 
longest, too, but it probably is. Hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks to 
Ard for encouragement and a prereading offer, Nathan for helping me get 
to the point where I felt so able to be ambitious, and Nicolas for 
really making me want to play with Tsugiko again.

No, no prereaders for this part, unfortunately, although I did try. The 
blame for this one falls solely on my shoulders. Oh well. It's a bit 
rough-hewn in places, to be sure, but I think it pulled out OK. I will 
reiterate, though, that Winis's charms are only meant to work on weak-
willed people. Random soldiers, maybe, but he's not going to go take 
down our red sorceress with them, I think.

The title's from those old Blow Pop commercials: "That's a Blow Pop!" 
"Say from Charms!" For some reason, I remember those commercials in 
great detail. As for the good captain, well...S. P. Kid's a real sour 
guy. That's the only tip you get.

And that's all for me here. Comments and reviews, as always, are more 
than welcome. Please, lay `em on me. Improvement's a matter of constant 
struggle, after all.

-Capfox
9/9/01
tsuwabuki@utena.org