Twizzler stalked through the halls of the palace of Wintergreen, her face
twitching.  "How dare she?!" she bellowed at nothing at all.  "How could
Wintergreen just leave me behind? And after I dealt with all the traitors for
her?"

She whirled at a nearby corpse.  "What was that? YOU DARE TO MOCK ME WITH YOUR
SILENCE?!" Twizzler wrenched the fallen soldier's sword from him and began to
hack at the body with impunity.  "Never *hack* do *slash* that *cut* to me
again!"  The sorceress stood over the bloody mess with a lopsided grin.  "I
didn't even get blood on myself."

Then her eyes softened and she looked at the slippery sword in her grasp.  With
a low moan, she dropped it to the floor.  She fell to her knees and buried her
face in her hands.  "What am I doing?" she mumbled.  "What's happening to me?"

It was green...

Twizzler grimaced and clutched her head.  "Damn it, my head! It feels like it's
on fire!" She gritted her teeth and slowly got to her feet.  "I need healing."
The sorceress tried to focus, but the pain drove her to distraction.  "Argh! I
can't concentrate enough to cast the spell! I must find... someone else... to
heal me..."

Suddenly, an unearthly wail rent the air.

You killed us!

Twizzler whirled, searching for the source of the sound.  She grabbed the sword
off the floor and quickly cleaned it.  Her gaze carefully went across the
ancient stone walls, cracked and burnt from ages of battle.  Blood was smeared
across the walls from the victims of Twizzler's latest rampage.

"Hmm," Twizzler pursed her lips thoughtfully.  "What's going on here?"  Suddenly
her eyes widened and she stepped back frantically.

Before her, an endless horde of ghosts moaned and wailed.  They surrounded her.
They had already been surrounding her.

"Ghosts!" Twizzler stepped back.  "Disappear this instant, you expired
degenerates! I refuse to allow spirits in my presence!"

"Why, why, why, why...?" The endless one word question of a ghost as it tugged
pathetically on Twizzler's shirt.

"Murderer!" A ghost screamed an inch away from Twizzler's ear.

Twizzler shrieked and raised her hands defensively and called out, "Sorbert!" A
wave of ice shot out at the stream of ghosts - and went through them completely.
"Get away from me!" Twizzler screamed at the ghosts.  "Go away!" She held her
hands over her ears and began to run away.

"Why, Twizzler, why?"

"No, please don't kill me Twizzler!"

"I have a family Twizzler!"

"Twizzler!"

"Twizzler!"

Images danced before her, of death, blood, tears.  Twizzler snapping a
worker's neck.  Twizzler incinerating a group of helpless handmaidens.  Twizzler
literally ripping the head of a guard with a powerful spell.

Everywhere she looked, Twizzler saw death - at her own hands.

"Why are you showing this to me?" she pleaded.

To no avail.

Their eyes pierced her, deep down, down farther than she had ever imagined one
could go.  The pain in her head got worse and worse and worse and worse and...

Twizzler screamed again, and something inside her snapped.  A forgotten spell,
an ancient spell, bubbled to her lips.  She felt her power, sweet and wonderful,
arising within her.  This would show them! This would show them all! And Kyouji,
sweet Kyouji, would be hers for the taking.  And oh, would the taking be sweet
in itself.

Sweet...

Her eyes no longer seeing anything but pain, she called out passionately,
"Baklava!" A glowing energy began to emanate from Twizzler's hands, and a ring
of sharpened golden stones began to circle her body.  Faster and faster they
spun, and then they exploded in all directions.

The force of the explosion was immense.

Twizzler dropped to her knees again, tears of agony running down her face.
Breathing haltingly, she opened her eyes.

But an unfamiliar sight greeted her.

Instead of the walls of Wintergreen palace, hopefully now free of ghostly
apparitions, she instead found herself standing on a shore.  The waves of a
black sea crashed against the coast.  Red and yellow trees were stretched above
and across the beach as far as the eye could see

She frowned.

"Where am I?" she wondered aloud.  "And how on Mars did I get here?"

Twizzler scratched her head then her eyes widened in surprise.

The pain was gone.

* * *

The floor of the Starburst Valley was barren and white.  The armies of
Wintergreen had long since moved on - and no creature would approach the blasted
surface.

They could feel it.

They could feel that palpable sense of rage and fury.  It could be said that,
perhaps, it was the anger of the planet itself.  Others would say it was
foolishness.  But none would be foolish enough to remain in the now empty
valley.

When magical forces collided of such force - the planet suffered.

The pox that had been Wintergreen on Mars was now much, much more.  And it
was far, far worse.

A bird, daring greatly, flew nearby.  Then it lost its mind and plummeted to the
ground.  The pain had been too great.

A Release was needed.

The ground of the valley, the scorched clay, began to crack.  And crack.  Soon,
the very ground itself had been torn into pieces.  And then it began to arise.
Slowly at first, pushing with great effort through the cracks, but then faster,
faster, as rage from the planet itself began to fill its body.

After less than a minute, it had broken free.

It raised its head to the heavens - and roared.

>o< >o< >o<

    The Starburst Crystal
    Created by Ardweden

    Chapter Forty-Five: Just Add Milk
    By Jeremy Fogelman

>o< >o< >o<

Kyouji grumbled and took another drink of water.  He still felt a little dizzy.
'I'm probably still getting over that stupid cheerio hallucination,' he thought
to himself.  'What a ridiculous pile of dribble that was.'  The Knight Protector
looked over at his girlfriend, who still seemed troubled.  Kyouji frowned.
"Yumi, what's the matter?" he asked.

Yumi looked startled, but turned back towards Kyouji and smiled slightly.  "Oh,
nothing, dear.  I just still can't get that dream completely out of my head."

"You neither, huh?" Tsugiko asked, moving back from her leading position.  "I've
been trying to keep careful on watch Kit Kat, hoping it'd keep me from thinking
about that dream.  But no dice."  The green suited warrior shrugged.  "I can't
believe I'm saying this, but maybe it would help to, you know...  well, I
mean..."

"Talk about it?" Kyouji finished.

Tsugiko nodded with a grateful smile.

Yumi looked between them with a small pout.  "Well, I don't know.  I'm still
trying to figure it out."

Kyouji laughed.  "Figure it out? If your dreams were anything like mine, that'd
be close to impossible.  I mean," he chuckled.  "I'm not sure anyone could
explain what the meaning of balancing on a rope over the Chasms of Choices."

"I think it's pretty obvious, actually," Tsugiko said with a rueful smirk.  "I
think that these 'chasms' of yours are just you trying to avoid making a choice
- and clearly you failed."  She gave Yumi a meaningful look.

Yumi blushed.  "Tsugiko! I don't think that 'failed' is a good word for it.  Not
at all!"

Kyouji sighed.  "All right, all right, so maybe the dreams DO mean something.
Fine, if you want to talk about it, I'll go first."

Tsugiko smiled very widely at him, and a glint of mischief appeared in her eyes.
"Why, go right ahead.  Don't you think so, Yumi?"

Yumi smiled brightly.  "Yes, that sounds like a simply wonderful idea! Then I
can go, then Tsugiko can go - oh, unless Tsugiko wants to go first."  She turned
to the other priestess.  "Tsugiko, do you want to go after Kyouji?"

Tsugiko opened her mouth as if to say something, but then closed it and shook
her head.  She muttered something under her breath that sounded a lot like, "No
way she knows what she said."

Kyouji groaned, realizing what he done to himself.  "Wait, there's isn't a
chance I can go second is there?" he asked hopefully.  He held a hand.  "Never
mind.  Okay, here's goes nothing."

* * *

The sun was shining brightly, the birds were singing lovingly, and the road was
as dusty as the day is long.

Kyouji walked down a dusty road and smiled.

There before him, stood Tsugiko and Yumi, smiling brilliantly.

Why do you smile so, Kyouji asked humility and grace.

Why, because we are happy, the girls answered.

Tsugiko smiled.  I have found true happiness in the way things are.

Yumi smiled.  As have I.

Kyouji's heart soared as he watched the girls also soar into the skies above.
It was such a beautiful sight, a tear came unbidden to Kyouji's eye.

* * *

Yumi linked her arm with Kyouji's.  "Wow, what a beautiful dream! That's so much
better than mine!"

Tsugiko raised an eyebrow.  "Wait a minute, are you saying that piece of tripe
was your hallucination? I find that extremely hard to believe.  And what is it
supposed to 'mean', anyway? That Yumi and I should be happy no matter what? Or
are you saying that we should leave you?" Tsugiko frowned and she said angrily,
"What are you trying to pull, Kyouji?"

Kyouji laughed nervously.  "Um, nothing at all, Tsugiko.  I didn't mean anything
bad by it.  I just thought it was what you - um, I mean I just thought it was
interesting, I don't know what it means."

"Nice try, Kyouji!" Tsugiko yelled.  "But I know what this is about.  You're
just trying to rid yourself of blame about the Twixes!"

"What?" Kyouji's face wrinkled into a scowl.  "Tsugiko, that's ridiculous.  I
wasn't thinking anything of the sort!"

Yumi poked her boyfriend's nose.  "Gotcha!"

Tsugiko laughed.  "Yeah, we saw right though you."

Kyouji groaned.  "But listen, my dream was really - well, weird.  I mean, the
only important part was when I journeyed with Kit-Kat through my psyche."

"We believe you," Yumi said reassuringly.

Tsugiko said nothing, but rolled her eyes.

"Well", Kyouji hedged.  "Well, okay.  The only thing that really happened before
the psycho - I mean psyche trip was a sort of weird concert where I met a lot of
the monsters we've defeated before."  He paused.  'Can I really tell them about
my dream?'

Yuri nodded encouragingly.

"Then I was at this concert with all these different aspects of myself - I think
they represented different parts of my personality."  Kyouji thought for a
moment.  "Oh, and there was this odd part where I was talking to Mars... but I
can't remember what we talked about."

"Wait a minute," Tsugiko interrupted.  "You talked to Mars? The planet? How
exactly did that happen?"

"I really don't remember," Kyouji admitted.

Yumi looked at Kyouji with a confused look.  "That's an interesting dream.  I'm
not sure what it means, though."

"Neither do I," Kyouji told her.  He turned to the other Warrior Priestess.
"What about you Tsugiko?"

* * *

There was once an ancient man by the name of Chuckles, who spread joy and
happiness throughout the land using his wondrous magic tricks.  When Wintergreen
had been defeated, long ago, the man had helped heal a planet.

But those days were long gone.

Now, the only one who remembered Chuckles was an old woman - and some days, she
wasn't completely sure that she what actually remembered was not just a story.

Patty sighed.  There was something about the story that seemed familiar though.

The characters were almost the same, but not quite.  And something else was
different.  But what was it?

A frantic knock sounded at Patty's door.  Patty raised an eyebrow in surprise.
She walked to the door, in no hurry.  In her opinion, there was always enough
time.  A long life had helped cement that opinion.

But then the knock sounded again, even more frantically than the first time.

"I'm coming!" Patty called out, not pleased that she had had to shout.  She
finally reached the door and opened it, revealing the village leader, Pepper.
"What is it, Pepper?" Patty asked.

"Have you heard the news?" Pepper asked hysterically.  "HAVE YOU?!"

"No, I haven't," Patty answered, trying to calm down Pepper.  "What could
possibly be the problem?" And then she felt it - slowly, at first, then more
quickly.  The anger.

"The Starburst Temple has been destroyed by Wintergreen!" Pepper pulled at his
hair.  "What are we going to do? Why didn't the Crystal Warriors stop her?"

Patty sighed.  She was getting a headache.

"This is not good news.  The planet is angry, more than I can ever remember
feeling.  And when Mars gets mad, it lashes out - blindly."

Pepper paled.  "B-blindly? You mean, at just anyone?"

Patty nodded.  "I'm afraid so.  Although I have no idea what Mars could possibly
do in response to such a horrid thing."

* * *

Krackel paced through the corridors of the palace, his mind racing.  ‘I can
scarcely believe it.  The Starburst Temple gone...”  The hero paused and leaned
on a nearby wall.  ‘How could this have happened? Was it something I did? Should
I have refused Wintergreen all along?’

He shook his head.  ‘No, because that would have endangered Rollo.  But how can
the middle ground be this...  this abominable act.’

Krackel’s eyes narrowed as he considered another possibility.  ‘Unless all of
this was the fault of that filthy advisor – Riesen.  Yes, it seems far more
likely now that I think of it.  He must be dealt with.  And soon!”

His sword was nearly out of its sheath before Krackel realized what he was
doing.  Now moving extremely carefully, the warrior sheathed his sword.  ‘My
thoughts have drifted too quickly to violence of late.  I must endeavor to watch
myself.’

"Sir!"

Krackel whirled to face one of Wintergreen's soldiers running frenetically
towards him.

The soldier halted and saluted his superior.  "The Walnetto has been spotted!"

Krackel froze, his face pale.  "That's impossible.  The Walnetto is not real,
it's just a old tale."

The soldier shook his head.  "Yes, sir, I know! But legend or no, it HAS been
seen near Mikeandikes! It is only a matter of time before it heads for the
mountains.  And if the legends are true, what is the dangers of the Three
Musketeers Mountains to such a monster?"

Krackel nodded gravely.  "Indeed, you are correct.  Now the only question is
whether or not to reveal this to Wintergreen.  She may not wish to hear such
news.  But then again, if we say nothing, the Queen may be even more
displeased."

The soldier held up his hands.  "I'm just delivering the message.  It's in your
hands now."  He saluted and walked away, leaving Krackel in the corridor to
ponder.

Riesen stood silently nearby, hidden amongst the columns of the castle.  But he
had heard every word the soldier had spoken to Krackel.  'The Walnetto? Loose?'
He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.  'I have no doubt that this is the
result of Wintergreen's attack on the temple.  But can I possibly turn this to
my own advantage without adversely affecting my own life or position? I must
think.'

He slunk away to think.

* * *

"Here's what I think, Kyouji," Tsugiko said.  "I think your 'dream' is about you
wanting to be many things at once.  Trying to spread yourself too thin."

Kyouji looked thoughtfully at Tsugiko.  "You know what, you may be right! I
hadn't even thought of that."  He shook his head ruefully.  "And after I walked
through the Personality Plains too."

"I think Tsugiko has a point," Yumi put in.  "But I also think that you
shouldn't take it too seriously.  I mean, it wasn't even a real dream, just a
fruit-induced hallucination."

Tsugiko gaped at Yumi.   "Geez, that's a good point too!"

Yumi frowned.  "You don't have to be so surprised!"
Kyouji cleared his throat and frowned at Tsugiko.  “Don’t be mean, Tsugiko.”

Tsugiko’s expression looked hurt and she quickly looked away.

“Um, Yumi, why don’t you tell us about your dream?” Kyouji asked quickly.

“Oh, it was awful!” Yumi exclaimed.  “We were all trapped on Mars after we
defeated Wintergreen, then we stayed here for centuries, then you died! Oh, it
was horrible!” Yumi started to sob, burying her face in her hands.

Kyouji quickly moved over and put his arm around Yumi’s shoulder.

“Um, Tsugiko, why don’t you tell us about your dream?” Kyouji asked.

With a sigh, Tsugiko related her hallucination quickly.  “And after that crazy
woman attacked me, I woke up.  That’s basically all I remember.”

“Well, that’s an interesting dream, Tsugiko,” Yumi said, looking better.  “Do
you really think that’s what will happen to us?”

Tsugiko shrugged.  “I have no idea.  But it doesn’t seem too likely.  After all,
the Starlite can’t really do that, right? And I seriously doubt I’d end up
dating someone named Clark in Japan.”

Kyouji looked thoughtful.  “I wonder what the significance is behind it.  In my
hallucination, everything had some kind of meaning in relation to me.  Do you
think everything in your dream had something to do with you?”

“Well, in a way,” Tsugiko started.  “But it was really more of, well, honestly?
It’s like my worst fears come to life, in a way.”  She blushed and turned away.


Yumi gave her boyfriend a significant look and walked over to the other
priestess.   "Tsugiko, you're not afraid of being alone, are you? Because I
promise you, that will never happen."

Tsugiko sniffed and smirked at Yumi, but her eyes were red.  “Well, thanks for
the mention, but I guess fate will let me know later, huh?”

“Stupid fate...”  Kyouji muttered.

* * *

Twizzler sat lying near the surf, her feet immersed in the tide.  It had been
several hours since she had first arrived, but it seemed like she had not
gone very far at all.  Her magic did not seem to work at all.  After walking
what seemed like miles down the beach, Twizzler had decided to take a break.  So
now she lay there, relaxed and deep in thought.

'Oh, how I miss my darling Kyouji.'  A tear came to the sorceress's eye as she
remembered the Knight Protector.  ‘If only you were here with me right now – if
we could share this time on this deserted island together.’  She shivered with
delight as her mind considered the possibilities.

Twizzler sighed again and sat up.  “That water looks awfully refreshing.  I
think I’ll go for a swim.”  Getting up from the beach, she began to wade into
the dark waters.  She moved around a little bit before floating a little ways
from the shore.

“This is so relaxing, I’m in no hurry to find a way back any time soon.”
Suddenly, Twizzler felt a brushing against her leg.  The sorceress whirled,
flipping into the water, before she resurfaced, sputtering.  Then she saw.

The sea was filled with the dead.  Twizzler screamed as they grabbed at her
arms, her legs, her clothing.  “Get off of me! Flan!” Nothing happened.
“Flambe! Layer Cake!” The sorceress now began to panic.  ‘Could I possibly use
the forbidden magic? Agh, I have no choice!’

“Manju!” Twizzler shrieked.  “NO! What’s going on?!” She pulled off an undead
arm, and then another, but there were too many.  “Oh, Mars, I would do anything,
anything, if I had my magic now!”

The sorceress closed her eyes and waited for the end.  She felt the arms of the
undead grab... and slip away.  Twizzler opened her eyes and realized in
wonderment that a translucent spirit had picked her out of the surf and was now
carrying her over to the beach.

The misty form slowly dropped the sorceress onto the sand and drifted next to
her.  He bowed.  “Greetings, milady, I am the guardian of this isle.  You may
call me Lemonhead.”

"Wait, wait," Twizzler held up her hands.  "Are you telling me I'm on an
island?"

Lemonhead nodded.  “That is, correct, magician.”

Twizzler raised an eyebrow.  “How did you know I was a magician?”

“You were trying to cast spells out there,” Lemonhead explained.  “But normal
magic doesn’t work on the island.  The spirits steal away all your magical
energy.”

“But I don’t understand,” Twizzler complained.  “How did I get here in the first
place?”

“Well, what were you doing right before you arrived here?” Lemonhead inquired.

Twizzler pursed her lips.  “Well, I was being chased by these damned ghosts,
entirely not my fault!” She glared at the spirit, who looked at her curiously.
“Um, no offense.”

Lemonhead shrugged.  “I am very different from a typical ghost.  I am certain
that these ghosts had only malicious intentions.”

“You got that right.”  Twizzler muttered.  “After I was attacked by the spirits,
I cast my Baklava spell, and suddenly I found myself here.”

Lemonhead nodded.  “It would seem apparent that the combination of the power of
your spell, combined with the haunting the spirits were giving you, sent you to
this island.”  He waved his hands at their surroundings.  “This, the island
Raisinets, is the only land in the Cola sea.  But perhaps you were unaware that
it was also called the sea of the damned.”

Twizzler shook her head.  “No, I didn’t know.

"Hmm." Lemonhead rubbed his chin thoughtfully.  "Very well.  But don't come
crying to me when you find yourself drowning in the sea of the damned."  He held
up his hands again and looked toward the sky.  "And now, the most ancient of
spells!"

"Behold!" the spirit said.  "The greatest spell of them all! It is as ancient as
the very sea of Cola itself!"

Twizzler licked her lips and rubbed her hands in anticipation.  'Finally, my
time has come!'

"THE SPELL!" Lemonhead paused and pulled a transparent hand through his blond
hair.  "Well, actually, I'm not sure it's such a good idea.  After all, how do I
know that you will not misuse it? The dead do not appreciate the one who has
killed them.  Perhaps they will attack you again when you return.  Remember, the
spell will not work unless the ghosts are pleased."

"No!" Twizzler fell to her knees in supplication.  "Please, I won't kill anyone
without cause ever again! I promise!" Her eye twitched, but she kept her gaze on
Lemonhead.

"Hmm." Lemonhead rubbed his chin thoughtfully.  "Very well.  But don't come
crying to me when you find yourself drowning the sea of the damned."  He held up
his hands again and looked toward the sky.  "And now, the most ancient of
spells!"

"Yes, yes?!"

The spirits hands began to glow with a bright light, and suddenly, a beam of
golden energy streamed from his hands, passing over Twizzler.  The spirit closed
his eyes and shouted, "The Crème Brulee!"

* * *

As the sun fell low in the sky, the Crystal Warriors rested at a makeshift
campsite.  Yumi sat next to Kyouji as he prepared dinner over a camp fire.
Tsugiko yawned as she leaned back on a nearby tree.

"Hey, where's the little guy?" she asked, looking around.

"I think Kit Kat wandered off somewhere."  Kyouji shrugged.  "Don't worry, I'm
sure he'll make his way back once we start eating."

Tsugiko snickered.  "Probably.  What are you making anyway? I hope you're not
experimenting with local vegetation.  We all remember what happened last time we
did that."

Kyouji smiled and winked.  "No, it's just some typical traveling grub.  I got
the recipe from one of the Sparkling Elite."

Tsugiko frowned at the mention of the late and great Mallo's force.  'I wonder
what ever happened to Clark, anyway.  I hope he's doing okay.'

As though she could sense Tsugiko's thoughts, Yumi quickly changed the subject,
"So, do you think we'll come across a village any time soon?"

"It doesn't seem too likely," Tsugiko snorted.  Then she looked at Yumi and
smiled.  "But thanks for asking."

"Don't mention it," Yumi replied happily.

Kyouji looked between the two girls in confusion.  "What are you two talking
about?"

Yumi only giggled in response, and Tsugiko merely winked at him.

"Well, okay then," Kyouji said, as though he had been following them all along.

Suddenly the Knight Protector sat upright, and looked around.

"What is it, Kyouji?" Yumi asked, putting her hand on her boyfriend's shoulder.

"I sense it too," Tsugiko said, getting up and pulling out her hammer.

Kyouji and Yumi exchanged nods and got up, quickly getting their respective
weapons.  'Better conceal that fire,' a voice in Kyouji's head said.  Kyouji
nodded, realizing the source, and tossed some dirt over the campfire,
extinguishing it.

The three Crystal Warriors formed a triangle around the extinguished fire.

The sound of a horse gallop echoed loudly throughout the forest.  They tensed
for action.  The galloping noise grew closer and louder, until they knew it was
right upon them.

Kyouji licked his suddenly dry lips nervously.  ‘No matter what, I will not kill
without thinking.’

A horse burst through nearby brushes and reared up before them.  Tsugiko’s eyes
widened and she raced over to the rider.

“Tsugiko, wait!” Yumi held up her hands frantically, trying to stop the green
warrior’s mad suicidal rush.  Kyouji pulled out his sword and stepped forward.

Tsugiko looked back them with an odd look in her eyes.  “You guys, it’s just
Clark.  He came back!” She looked up and smiled at the handsome soldier of the
Sparkling Elite.

Clark did not smile back, but looked over the Warriors with a grim face.

Tsugiko’s face fell, and she stepped back from the horse.  “What’s wrong, Clark?
Why are you here?”

Yumi stepped forward.  “Did you get here just now? I thought you were going to
Mikeandikes?”

“I was,” Clark said gravely.  “But then something terrible happened, and I
volunteered to take the information to you.  I gave my faithful steed some
enchanted Cherry Mash so we could find you quickly.”

“So what is this ‘terrible’ thing you’re talking about?” Kyouji asked, still
holding his sword.

Clark breathed in and out and closed his eyes painfully.  “Wintergreen attacked
the Starburst Temple.”

The Warriors’ mouths dropped open in shock.

“How could she?” Yumi asked frightfully.  “Why would she?”

“That’s not the worst part, I’m afraid.”

Kyouji suddenly got a cold feeling, a shiver down his spine.

“The Temple was destroyed.”

Yumi gasped, and Tsugiko’s face paled.  Kyouji suddenly felt frozen, unable to
move, and yet, he managed to say, “H-how could this have happened? I mean, even
Wintergreen couldn’t be that strong.  Right?”

Clark looked haggard.  “I don’t know how she did it, but she did.  And that’s
not all.  The real reason I was sent to find you is what happened after the
Temple was destroyed.”

Tsugiko looked a little sick.  “I don’t think I want to know.”

“The Walnetto has been set free.”  Clark looked around, but now the Warriors
looked only confused.

“Wait, Walnetto? What’s that?” Yumi asked first.

“The Walnetto is a legendary beast that hasn’t been seen in millennia.  I don’t
know if anyone can stand against it, except hopefully you three.”  Clark wiped
his brow.

Kyouji slowly looked at his companions.  “I suppose we had better go.”

Yumi looked sadly around the area.  “I don’t know – we’re still looking for the
next crystal.  Which is more important?”

”Kyouji, what do you think?” Tsugiko asked, looking carefully at the Knight
Protector.

“I think.”  He stopped.  “Wait, why hasn’t Kit-Kat come back yet?”

>o< >o< >o<

Author’s notes:

For lists of the candies I used, check out:

http://japanesefood.about.com/library/pictures/blpicdes_index.htm
http://oldtimecandy.com/CandyList.htm
http://www.bad-candy.com/old/bc3/

Lemonheads
Cola
Chuckles
Walnetto
Cherry Mash
Crème Brulee
Manju – a steamed cake

I would like to thank all people who helped me:
Doublemint, Nic Juzda, Ardweden, Kenji Murasaki, and Mr. Greg Sanders.

I wrote two different endings to this chapter, one where Clark shows up (this one) and one where he doesn't, but is on the way.  Due to the feedback I got from several people, I decided to go with this version.

Remember this, if you question how he arrived so quickly -
Enchanted Cherry Mash

Toodles!

-Jeremy F