A large expanse lit only by a strange purple glow, illuminating various rocks and boulders floating with pieces of metal and crystals that let out a luminous glow.

In this space, devoid of what one would consider life slipped a lone craft, shaped like a jagged cone of metal, pointed at the tip with a color variation of silver and chrome, its symmetry is broken by an oval glass dome close to the point. At the rear, its formation broken up by a fuselage with two fins at both sides, letting out a soft blue hue, aided further by the rear exhaust. It drifted through the dead expanse, making its way around the boulders.

Just as it banked to avoid an overhead obstacle, a red beam suddenly passed by, missing the craft overhead before hitting the strange crystal above. In response, the ship made an immediate bank to the port side, ducking under the crystal before gaining speed. More red beams passed by, hitting the various obstacles as the craft swung back and forth, trying to shake off its pursuers.

Behind were the hunters, a swarm large orbs comprised of a gyro, thick metal plates of an otherworldly blue, twirling around the circumference, for long tendrils trailing behind coupled with a glowing red eye that fired the deadly beams. One hit the craft in the upper deck, deflected by a translucent light.

Inside the cockpit of the craft, the two pilots shuddered under the impact of the shot as it sent ripples throughout the entire craft.

"Damn it..." Wrestling at the controls was one of the pilots, a man with a turquoise jacket, black greasy hair with a stubble goatee. "Hey Otto, how we doing?"

In the forward seat sat a small creature barely 4 foot, wearing an orange and blue pilot jumper, face covered by goggles and an orange and blue scarf, topped off with a helmet that had two enlarged parts. "Shields holding for now," He said as his small fingers tapped away at the console before him, "But we got more gargoyles materializing! Diverting power from the shields to forward cannons!"

The man clicked his tongue, slamming a button on his console. "Yo Markus! We got a lot of unwelcome company out here! Enforcers popping up left and right!"

Within the confines of the ship sat a large metal giant, sitting on a bench in front of a series of holographic displays. "This is not good," he said to himself as he looked over the data.

His face was that of a human, yet with blue-rimmed eyes that let out a mechanical glow. The rest of his head was coated in a thick silver metal and light green plates.

"It's highly likely they detected the jump before we entered the void. That means a Primes may be among them."

"With the amount of activity out there, that is a possibility." The voice of one of the pilots said, sounding grim with the odds that were stacked against them.

"Great. That means they know who we have on board." The other responded with a disgruntled tone. "Please tell us we're near the exit point at least."

"The exit point is currently 1745.09 Arva's away." The giant said as he crunched the numbers on his display. "At present speed, I estimate our ETA is about 27.45 minutes away."

A shudder then rattled throughout the craft as it took another hit. "Hate to break it to ya, but if we keep getting swarmed by gargoyles we're not gonna last five minutes!"

"I'm aware of that," The giant's focus never left the displays, "Please allow me some time to calculate our best course of action."

"You got two minutes! If we die on this mercy mission it's all on you!"

Back in the cockpit, the man clicked his tongue, maundering around one of the rectangle metal formations, squeezing the ship through a narrow space as he tried to shake off the pursuers who trailed, five crashing into the debris.

"Alright Otto, you're up!"

"Roger Roger!" The small creature took a hold of a joystick as a holographic display of a target radical appeared in his field of vision.

The ship continued its dance through the mysterious debris field, swerving in and out of the various rocks and crystals before climbing vertically over a long metal rectangle before diving over it. Before it, more machines they referred to as gargoyles emerged from behind, claiming towards the craft as they fired their red beams. The ship swerved through them while a light beam shot out repeatedly from the nose. The blue beams struck their mark, exploding the target on impact. The ship them made an immediate bank to the starboard, flying through the interior of one of the metal rectangles that looked as though it had been unfinished, the interior a mess of long thin beams and square plates.

The ship danced through the interior before bursting out from the end, continuing its flight. Before it on several of the rocks, blue light with digital lines began to shine, slowly taking the shape of a round sphere with additional pyramids on the left and right along with a triangle base. Once the form was a complete machine of similar construction to the gargoyles emerged, their red eyes spinning as it turned on its axis.

"HYDRAS! DEAD AHEAD!" The small pilot warned.

"Oh that's just great!" The main pilot cursed as he wrestled with the controls, banking the ship upwards to avoid the incoming red beams.

"Larek." Markus' voice sounded on the intercom.

"Little busy here!"

"I'm sending you coordinates to grid 475.8. Once there initiate an emergency void exit."

The pilot Larek's eyebrows shot up. "Say that again?" He asked, hoping that the metal giant was joking, despite knowing him long enough to understand humor was not one of his strengths.

"It is the only option that would provide us with a 45.8% probability of our survival. At that point there is a world that is habitable."

Larek couldn't help but let out a dry laugh. "Yeah, but that will also rip the Yasliee to pieces! Markus, we won't survive the landing!"

"That's why I'll have Ion transport us before we crash."

"...... You serious?" Larek clicked his tongue. "You realize the whole point of this was so the enforcers wouldn't catch on. If she's let out of stasis things are gonna get rowdier. Not to mention even worse constructs my phase in."

"At this point, I don't think that will matter," The second pilot, Otto, chimed in, still firing the ship's cannon, "not to mention the Enforcers won't think twice about blasting us into the void even with the Star Singer on board." The ship then rattled after being hit by one of the beams, "And at this rate, we won't make the original exit point."

It took one glance at the monitors aline with red alerts for Larek to let out a loud curse. "Make sure she's ready to sing on my word! If not, we're dead!"

The com cut out with Larek pulled on his controls, causing the ship to fly upwards before spinning 180 degrees, flying through a small opening in the rock.

Back in the ship's interior, the mechanical door hissed open for Markus, standing in his full height, squeezing his large metal bulk through the threshold. His body was silver as was his head, with a chest plate with a blue triangle in the center. His shoulders were two metal semi-circle plates with a long metal arm up to a black gyro, after which his arm enlarged into a large cylinder with green striped forearms with blue strove in each, his hand's black mechanical constructs. His legs were even larger, reinforced heavily with the silver plates, green and blue lines decorating where the gaps between them were located, his kneecap plated donned with large blue lights.

"Markus!" As he walked into the circular room, a floating mechanical, bronze plated rabbit floated down, waving its small hands while Markus made his way across the room to the tube in the far end, occasionally being tripped up by the rumblings of various hits to the ship. "What's going on?! My sensors keep picking up Enforcers! I thought you said we'll be fine if Ion remains in stasis while we're in the void?"

"That was my thought as well," Markus answered as he looked over the cylinder. "Deactivate stasis."

"CONFIRMED. DEACTIVATING STASIS." A mechanical voice reverberated the command.

"Deactivate? You're not going to make Ion Sing?" The rabbit asked.

"Berken," Markus addressed the rabbit directly. "Whatever happens, you must stay with Ion."

"H-Hold on! I don't know whats-?"

The cylinder's glass door suddenly flung open, letting out a plume of smoke. Markus stood over the content, with Berken hovering over him.

Sleeping peacefully inside with hands pressed together as though in prayer was a teenage girl. Hair chestnut brown, flowing down her back, her clothes adding to her angelic appearance, a white top that left her arms, back and nevil exposed, and dress, both decorated with golden plates by her colour bones, red hems on her dress's edge and long red stockings which wrapped only around her ankles, complimented with her long white arm garments that extended from her elbow to her wrist, with a red cloth extended over the backhand, hooking on her ring finger.

As much as Markus wanted to avoid such a situation, he had very little choice.

"Ion!" He called out. "Ion!"

She mumbled as she slowly awoke, her blue eyes scanning her environment. ".... Markus.... Berken?"

A shudder suddenly rocked the ship, causing the girl to awaken fully as a siren blurred on and off. "Wh-What? What's going on?" She said looking panicked. "I-Is it Altosk? Did they-?"

"Ion!" Markus gently grasped the girl's arms with his large metal hands, leaning in close to the panicked girl. "I need you to listen to me very carefully. Larek will give you a signal over the COMMs. When he does, I need you to use your song to transport all of us out of the ship."

"M-Markus...?" The girl looked flustered, still panicking at the impending emergency that seemed to be going on around her.

"Can you do that?"

The girl nodded meekly.

Back outside, the ship made a long bank over an array of rocks and crystals in an attempt to evade the pursuers. Unbenounced to them where a battery of machines set up on the ridge firing a barrage of red beams. One struck the underbelly of the ship causing a large explosion.

Inside, the entire craft shuddered violently. Markus threw himself on the girl as she screamed through the horrible rattling, bombarded with the sounds of the sirens blaring and metal being ripped away in the distance.

"Yo yo! We got big trouble!" Larek's voice boomed on the intercom.

"Is that Larek?"

"Report!" Markus instructed as he leaned upwards, keeping a grip on the girl.

"That last shot penetrated the shields," Otto responded. "Engineering has taken significant damage. We're losing power fast!"

"Markus! Get to the engine room and work your magic! If not we're as good as dead!"

"Affirmative." Markus looked back to the girl. Despite looking terrified, she steeled herself and nodded. "Berken. Stay with Ion."

"Y-Yes," The rabbit Berken floated towards the girl who embraced it while laying back down into the casual. The glass door then began to close, sealing both insides as Markus made a hasty exit.

"......" Scared of not knowing, feeling guilty for what was happening, the girl squeezed Berken as hard as she could, closing her eyes in silent prayer.

"Ion....?"

"I'm sorry..... Everyone...."

In the void, the ship continued on its increasingly desperate escape through the rock field. Swarms and swarms of gargoyles charged after them, firing beams at the ship.

Back and forth it swerved between the jagged rocks and crystals, banking under the metal structures while avoiding the incoming red beams.

"How we doing Otto?" Larek asked as he continued his dance, pushing the wounded ship to its limits.

"We're good for now," Otto said as he studied the displays, "But we're still losing power. I have to divert power from the cannons or we'll lose propulsions."

"Markus!" Larek spoke into the intercom, "Get to that engine room or we're gonna be nothing but dust!"

The engine room was located in the lower decks, and the last hit had caused it to become a blazing inferno. Machines and long vein-like cables were bursting with sparks while electrical fires raged. As soon as Markus squeezed his bulk through the door, another explosion occurred following a rumble through the ship.

With his large feet stabilizing him, Markus reached out his large left arm to one of the devices. Blue cybernetic streams began to encroach on his hand moments before he touched the surface of one of the damaged machines. Upon contact with the machine, the blue streams began to spread out onto the device itself.

"Damage is severe," he said to himself, closing his eyes. "I must act quickly."

The streams began to expand as a blue aura began coating the machines. Slowly, several of the loose wirings began to reconnect and rents in the mechanisms began closing up. The fires that were raging began to subside.

Suddenly, one of the machines exploded, causing the ship to shake.

"We're losing speed!" Larek's panicked voice boomed through the ship's intercom. "Markus, do something!"

"Curses...." Growling, Markus released his hand from the machine, making his way to the center of the room where a large orb of energy was located, erratically emitting a hue of jet green energy.

"I would rather have avoided having to do this," Markus raised his hands to the orb, blue streams still being emitted from both palms. "But needs must...."

He then slammed both onto the surface of the orb. A reaction took place almost instantaneously. As the blue energy emitted from his hands began to spread, a violent torrent of green energy ran up his arms.

"URRGGG!!!" Markus gritted his teeth as he felt the waves of power beginning to circulate across his body. Small rents and explosions rippled through his arms. All around him, the engine began to repair itself while the fire began to be put out.

"Power's back!" Otto shouted as he hammered on his conceals.

"Yes!" Larek cheered. "Looks like we're gonna make it out alive after all!"

"ETA, two minutes."

"Ion! Get ready to sing your song! We're in the home stretch!" Larek began fiddling with his controls.

"Wait," Otto tapped on one of his monitors, "..... Something on radar!"

"More gargoyles?"

"No.... its...." Otto's voice began to trail off as he leaned in close to the monitor in question. "By the Ekon...." He then shot up, leaning on his chair. "BAD NEWS!! IT'S A CARRION!"

Larek shot up from his seat startled, "A what?!"

As though answering him, a large distortion began to emerge in front of the speeding craft. Materializing out of nowhere was a large cylinder construct phasing into the expanse. Nemours red lights could be seen across its body while a horrid mechanical noise was emitted through the expanse.

"..... How far do we have left?"

Otto looked at his monitors, hammering away at the buttons. "About 200 Arva away from our destination."

"Good enough! Prepare for an emergency exit!" Larek jumped back in his seat. "ION! START SINGING!!"

Inside the heart of the ship, within the capsule hugging the mechanical rabbit, the girl heard the bellowing over the intercom. She had no idea what was going on, bare from the rumblings in the ship. She was scared, yet there was something only she could do, something she was entrusted to by the person she looked up to the most.

And so, scared, cut off from what was happening beyond the confines of the pod she was sealed in, she closed her eyes and opened her mouth.

The ship began picking up speed just as the massive construct began firing large balls of red energy from the lights that extended across its hull. Through the barrage of projectiles, the craft swerved and ducked under each shot while trying to shake its pursuers, some of which were hit by the hail of projectiles.

"Come on... come on..." Larek groaned as he pushed the ships mobility to its absolute limit.

"Coordinates imputed!" Otto announced, hammering away at the controls. "Exiting the void in one minute!"

In the engine room, Markus was struggling as his body was flooded by more and more energy from the core. His arms were beginning to break apart and the devastation was extending to his own body. Plates were blown away, internal wiring was coming to lose and the glowing blue lights on his body were going out. His own core was beginning to shine brightly as he poured as much of the energy he could to keep the ship from ripping itself apart.

"WARNING! WARNING! STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY FAILING! REQUIRE IMMEDIATE REPAIRS TO CORE SYSTEMS. PROBABILITY OF CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE ELEVATED FROM 56% TO 89.4%. EVACUATION IS RECOMMENDED."

All around him, the flames was returning as various instruments began to explode.

"Just..... A Bit..... Longer....." He said under a strained voice as his body was being ripped apart by the flow of energy. "RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"

The ship continued to swerve around, taking several hits from beams from stationary positions along the rocks and black crystals. One lucky shot blasted away a part of the ship's left fin, causing it to swerve as a portion of its propulsion was missing.

"Ok! All set!" Otto announced. "Initiating Void exit in ten!"

"Screw countdown! Punch it!"

A green hue began to surround the ship as the gargoyles began to swarm around, all aiming their red eyes at it ready to rip the ship to shreds.

At once, the machines fired in a collective volley, just as sparks began to emerge from the ship. All of a sudden, the ship blinked out of existence in a fraction of a second.

In a dark void of space, the ship reappeared from a jet green expanse. The moment it did, the ship began to explode, the rear of the ship tearing itself apart as it was propelled forward to a large planet directly in its path.

Sweet Sixteen

What had happened in Avalon was only the beginning. As though a curse had befallen, Britania was invaded by otherworldly figures.

Chaos fell upon the realms.

Creatures that one would believe to only exist within the confines of one's nightmare, monsters so abhorrent that they challenged the very senses of a mans sanity.

As King, it is my sacred duty to see to it that no harm is to befall my subjects. We road out from Camalot, challenging the monsters that plague our lands. Yet we cannot hold them for long.

Then I met someone, a stranger that appeared from the darkness.

A witch by the name of-

"ALLISSSAAAA!!!"

****

"Urrgg...." Allisa stirred from her sleep after she heard a loud cry from the heavens. Groggy and half asleep, she could feel there was something looming over her, and as her eyesight began to adjust she took stock of a pair of bright green cat-like eyes staring deep into her own green eyes, along with short blue hair that contradicted her blond hair.

"...... Mary?"

Positioned on all fours just above her was Meracle, one of her friends; and she did not look happy.

"Myoooowww...Look what that stupid crystal did to me!!" Meracle huffed as she pulled on a pair of human ears attached to her skull.

Not listening, Allisa curved her head around, taking stock that she was in her own room back in her old home. Her eyes then drifted to her digital clock by her bedside.

6:09.

"Meow! Are you listening?!" Meracle pouted.

"No," Allisa said grumpily, pulling the sheets over her head, "Now go away. It's Saturday, the one of two days I can sleep in,"

"But that stupid crystal took away my ears at tail!"

"That's the point, remember,"

Meracle was not a human. She was a cait sith; a human-cat hybrid characterized by a pair of cat ears and tail. To her knowledge, she and her other non-human friend Rodger needed special disguises for them to blend into the human-dominated world of Terra. It didn't take long for Allisa to put two and two together to realize they had just arrived.

"If you don't like it just change back." Allisa huffed as she pulled the covers over her head.

"Meow, they took it away from me after I changed!" Meracle said, pulling the cover back.

"Then bother Dale about it!" Allisa pulled the sheet back over her head.

"Nyewwww...." Meracle pouted. If she still had a tail, it would likely have gone completely rigid. "Why do I have to go round looking like a human anyway?!"

Allisa threw the sheet off. "Cause you can't go around looking like you've jumped out of an anime! Now leave me alone!"

Meracle sat up, folding her arms with an unsatisfied look. "Meow... I'm a part of your team of humans, and they don't have to go around acting like they're not them! It's not fair one bit!

"As your friend, I demand to go out with my ears and tail as free as when I was robbing people off the street! Using magic to hide it feels..... Meow, really dirty. I can't just hide a magical sword and still look human like you, but there's gotta be something better than getting rid of my tail and ears! This is crueler than when Milady threw me down a well to recover some Rundes I happened to drop down- Myew?"

Shortly after Meracle's outburst, the window to Allisa's bedroom was opened up, followed by the blue-haired girl being thrown out before it shut again.

"Why is my life so damn complicated?" Allisa moaned as she slammed her head against the window. Instantly she raised her right hand. In a flash of light, the sword Excalibur appeared out of thin air.

"..... Oh yeah, that's why."

About four months ago, Allisa was an ordinary girl living in the town of Little Wood. Before summer vacation she found Excalibur and suddenly found herself thrust into a magical adventure. By all accounts, there were many stories like the one Allisa was in. She herself was a big fan of the concept of an ordinary person, bored of mandarin life, finding themselves the hero of their own adventure.

But for Allisa, the path was not an easy one.

Just last month, Allisa had been involved with a cataclysmic event involving the resurrection of the Nine-Tailed fox. Despite achieving a narrow victory, her will was tested and was almost broken.

The girl Ellie, someone who had been betrayed by the ways of the world and wished only to destroy it, was killed right in front of Allisa right after she accepted defeat. Even now, the memory of that event still plagued Allisa.

Since then, her life had returned to a somewhat normal state of affairs. And in three days, October 22nd, it would be her Sixteenth birthday, something she had been looking forward to since reaching adolescence.

However, the joy was slightly dampened by a looming threat; whether in this lead up to her turning sixteen, something would happen to remind her that her life can never be the same.

****

"Uhgh..." Allisa groaned as she held her hot chocolate in both hands, letting the heat in her cup to wake her up more.

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said you had a rough night again." Sitting opposite her was Lucy, her bespectacled best friend with short brown hair tied into a side ponytail.

"Not quite... more like a bad alarm clock," Allisa muttered, thinking back to how Meracle interrupted her sleep. Brushing the awkward and annoying memory aside she drank from her cup, hoping the warm liquid would somehow wake her up.

Little Wood's was not a big place (she'd seen far bigger in Avalon), consisting of only a shopping mall in the center of the town with forests surrounding it. It was, however, her home, and for what felt like an eternity, Allisa was spending her Saturday with her best friend.

"Still, I'm happy you can finally leave the house," Lucy said as she slurped on her own cup. "Don't think you've ever been grounded that long before."

"Y-Yeah... haha..." Allisa let out a weak laugh. Her last trip to Avalon ended up causing her more problems when she finally made it back. Not only did she miss out on hanging out with Lucy as well as the autumn ball, but she'd been gone for over the agreed upon week due to the Elder's flimsy excuse of going on a history trip where no one was able to get a hold of her. With literally no plausible excuse as to why she'd seemingly disappeared, and even her usual laid-back mother becoming increasingly concerned in her time away, Allisa found herself grounded, unable to leave the house for over three weeks. On top of that, she had missed out an entire week of school and was bombarded with piles and piles of homework. It was only last week her punishment officially ended and she was allowed to venture outside, just in time for her birthday.

However, her dad was now even stricter on her. While Herb Reed was not an overbearing parent and gave Allisa a certain degree of freedom, respecting her privacy, she was now not allowed to be out of the house past 5 PM, and when she was out she needed to tell him exactly where she was.

All and all, her life in Terra was becoming more and more complicated and Allisa was beginning to dread what would happen if- on more accurately when- something from Avalon would pull her back.

"Well.... Things have been complicated for me," she said mostly to herself.

".... Yeah, I guess," Lucy said, sounding rather distant.

Allisa noticed, but couldn't think of something to say. Along with the complicated situation at home, there was also Lucy to add to her woes. While they acted as though nothing had changed between them, Allisa couldn't help but feel Lucy was acting strange around her.

That was understandable to some degree. Her complete disappearing act was complete without warning, and just after the two had made plans. However, that didn't make the situation any less awkward.

"Hey..." Lucy spoke again. "You're not.... Hiding anything, are you?"

Allisa looked surprised by the very direct question. She had been asked something like that before, but this one sounded much more serious. ".... W-what do you mean? I-I told you I'm not hiding anything months ago." She stuttered awkwardly.

There was a long pause before Lucy nodded. "Y-Yeah... I guess," She then gave a weak smile; so innocent that it caused a pit in Allisa's stomach to form. "Sorry. Guess that was a strange question." She then drank her own hot chocolate.

"N-no, don't worry about it!" Allisa shook her head, desperately trying to shake off the guilt she felt.

After both girls had finished they continued exploring the three-story complex, enjoying their time off school, with Allisa's birthday only two days out. The next day, Lucy and Allisa were going back with all of Lucy's friends from the science club, Gina and Gabriela along with Gina's boyfriend Troy, for a day out.

Allisa had the feeling that it was planned for today, but something had come up later that evening, and it was something Allisa' wasn't particularly looking forward to.

"Ha ha! Right I forgot you two hate each other," Lucy chuckled when the topic was brought up at a burger restaurant.

"Hate would be an understatement," Allisa sighed, clutching her meal in her two hands. "I swore Madison was born just to tell me how much I suck,"

What was bothering Allisa two days before her birthday was that her auntie and uncle were coming around for a family dinner to celebrate her birthday. That included her cousin; Madison, and the two absolutely hated one another.

Everything Allisa was in school- into comic books, anti-social, unpopular, borderline social outcast and never dated in her life- Madison was the complete opposite, coupled with a nasty and hardy personality that would always find ways to put Allisa down for all her faults. Because of that, Allisa was dreading the evening to come.

"Are you absolutely sure you can't come around?" Allisa asked as she bit into her burger. "I don't think I can handle Madison on my own...."

Lucy let out a chuckle. "Sorry. It's mom and Chris's anniversary. Someone needs to look after Will."

"Ahhh," Allisa groaned loudly as she slumped down on the table.

"It can't be that bad. I mean, it's your birthday coming up in two days,"

"Yeah... you don't know my cousin like I do. I bet she's gonna be even worse now that I'm gonna be sixteen."

Lucy couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at her friend's distress. She then reached into her purse and pulled out a white box and slid it to the slumped Allisa. "In that case, I should probably give you some energy."

Allisa's head slowly turned to the white, rectangle box presented before her. Sitting up she opened it. Inside was a golden bracelet with a small golden plate with Allisa's name written on it.

"I know it's a bit early, but happy birthday," Lucy added with a smile. ".... You seem like you're going through a lot at the moment, so think of it as a good luck charm."

"Lucy..." Allisa took the charm from its box, tying it around her right wrist. "Thanks. Looks great."

Lucy smiled and nodded. Then she looked out of the window, her warm smile replaced with a melancholy one. "Just remember.... No matter what you're going through.... I'm-"

"Hm?" Lucy was muttering so quietly to herself Allisa didn't pick up what she was saying.

".... I-It's nothing," Lucy shook her head, taking a bite of her burger.

"O-Okay...." Allisa did the same. She could tell something was bothering her, and had a very good guess what that was. The thought made her stomach tie up in knots from the guilt.

A buzz suddenly came from Lucy's phone. She took it out and looked at what was a text message on her scream. "Ah! I need to go home now. My parents are getting ready to leave." She announced jumping off her stool. "I'll call you tonight with the details!"

"Right! See ya!" Allisa called waving back. When Lucy was out of sight, she took another look at the bracelet she was given. Looking at it was a reminder of how important Lucy was to her.

Allisa had always been something of an outcast in Terra due to her interests, along with other factors. It was hard for her to make friends in this world, despite it being far easier in Avalon, almost making it feel like it was the other world that was where she belonged.

However, Lucy was her first true friend and became friends due to something that neither could forget, which to this day Allisa wonders what she was even thinking at the time.

Since then, the two were practically inseparable. Allisa never had many friends at school, but Lucy would always find time to hang out. When she was ever feeling upset, Lucy would comfort her (even when she didn't want to).

So now, with everything that had happened to her, Lucy was the one person she didn't want to be involved in what was happening.

"........." Despite that, knowing she was keeping this very important secret from her best friend completely tore her up.

"Wewee! That's a sweet little birthday present right there!"

A sudden voice made her jolt, just as a man dressed in a black suit with short cropped hair and black sunglasses sat down next to her, putting down a large tray of burgers.

"Hope ya don't mind! Need a place to sit!" The man rattled on and on, almost oblivious to Allisa's unease.

"N-No." Allisa said getting up from her seat. "I-I was just leaving."

"Please. No need to rush, Allisa Reed."

Allisa froze. She looked back at the man, who took off his sunglasses.

"Allisa Reed. Daughter of Herbert Reed, chief of Little Wood's police." The man brought out a badge. "Dan Wilson. Work for the government. That's all you need to know."

This made Allisa feel uneasy. The 'men in black,' as the public called them, were government agents sent after Allisa and her friends dealt with the Alchemist. Needless to say their presence was alarming to some of her friends.

"Uh... R-Right..." Allisa looked around nervously. "Well, I-I need to go."

"Why the rush?" Dan Wilson dismissed, tapping his chair. "Just need to ask a few questions. Won't take long?"

Allisa glanced back at the man, watching him tuck into one of his burgers. As much as she wanted to walk away, she knew that these were no ordinary policemen or government agents. She knew nothing about them besides her dad complaining about how they've effectively taken control of law enforcement of the entire town. It was almost as though he was playing a mind game, seeing if she had something to hide.

"....." Saying nothing, Allisa sat back down, keeping her wits about her.

"Mmmm-mh. Now that's what I call a burger," Dan Wilson said. "From out west. San Francisco to be exact."

"R-Really," Allisa said, trying to hide her unease.

"Ever been?" Dan asked, which responded by shaking her head. "Beautiful city. The bay and the bridge ain't nothing like they show in them movies. Ain't sure when, but I developed my love of burgers down there. And not that fast food crap, talking about genuine diner burgers."

"Y-Yeah... I hear you." Allisa glanced around, trying to see if something would save her from this awkward conversation.

"Ya gonna eat that?" Dan Wilson pointed to the half-eaten burger in Allisa's hand. She had forgotten she was still holding it. Still scowling, she took a large bite, hoping it would somehow distract her from the present situation. "So," with his mouth full, Dan put down his burger, swallowing before continuing, "Do you believe in aliens?"

Allisa couldn't help but raise her eyebrow. The question seemed out of nowhere as well as being laughably generic for the present situation. "No..." She answered, "It's just an urban legend. Nothing else,"

"Fair enough. Thought the kids would be into that stuff, what with all them movies and books," Dan Wilson finished his burger, licking his fingers, "Let me tell ya, movies these days was nothing like what I've grown up with. Favorite alien movie would be Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Let me tell ya, that was a classic.

"The thought that people you know could be something else in disguise, waiting to pounce on ya at a moment's notice, replace you with something that isn't even human... can you think of anything more terrifying?"

Of course Allisa could think of something more terrifying given her experiences but held her tongue. She still wondered where these bizarre series of questions were going.

"So, believe in magic?"

The next one made her body jolt. She remained frozen, yet her eyes moved to glance at Dan Wilson who was casually unwrapping his next burger. "Wh-What?"

"You know? Wizards, magic," Dan took another bite of his burger. "Monsters." His dark eyes then shifted to Allisa. "Mad experiments hidden in underground laboratories."

Allisa's grip on her burger tightened.

"You see, I don't believe in aliens," Dan raised his burger taking another large bite out of it, "But I do believe... there's something out there, something that we lonely humans couldn't hope to understand."

Butterflies started to swim around her gut as the man spoke.

"I think what happened that night of the explosion was caused by something that is beyond the confines of what we know. It's my duty, the duty of every one of my men and women under my command to find whatever has caused such a powerful blast so close to one of our towns, this far inland." Dan Wilson looked to Allisa, "And it is the duty of citizens like yourself to provide them with any information they may know."

Slowly, Allisa turned to face the man. The inquisitive look he had, one that was studying her reactions, was enough to tell her what this was about.

Buzz! Buzz!

Allisa's phone then went off, breaking her focus. Quickly taking out her phone, she took one glance before turning back to Dan Wilson. "S-Sorry, I gotta go," She said quickly.

"Completely understand," Dan said, returning his attention to his burger while Allisa hurried off her seat. "Nice to meet you, Allisa Reed." He said as Allisa was about to walk away. "Got a feeling we'll be meeting very soon."

Not even bothering to look his way, Allisa shuffled her feet across the floor, brushing past the tables, the other customers and staff before pushing apart the glass doors and continued to put as much distance between her and the dinner before finally coming to a halt on the ground floor.

Hunched over, Allisa realized she had been holding her breath the entire time. She had never felt such oppressive tension before or something outside of when she could feel such a thing.

From that conversation alone, she could tell that the government was now suspecting her, and it was attention she really didn't need. Her life in Terra had been messed up enough by her going back and forth from Avalon, but now this.

Allisa couldn't help but look around, seeing if anyone was watching her. The mall was packed as it usually was, but it didn't seem there was anyone watching her. Then again, she wasn't Nel.

Her phone buzzed again to remind her she had a message. She was in such a hurry she had forgotten what had saved her.

Just to remind you, be home by 5PM.

We'll be back at around 7. Mom has left instructions.

Text me when you get back.

The message was from her dad. Looking at the time, it was 3:43. She'd spent more time at the mall then she had thought.

"I should head back," Allisa said to herself. ".... Better stop by the comic book store. The other's should know about that Dan guy,"

Letting out a sigh, Allisa was about to leave when she finally noticed she was still holding her half-eaten burger in her hand. "Oh.., right." The conversation with Dan Wilson had knocked her appetite straight out of her. Letting out another sigh (and wishing a certain glutton was with her) she threw the burger in the nearest trash can before setting off.

****

Allisa's friends, the Hunters, owned the comic-book store she visited frequently. Before she went to buy the latest comic books and action figures, but since returning from Avalon and learning about the true identity of the owners, she spent more time underneath the mall in the 'home,' a large underground apartment that was completely hidden from the outside world.

It was also where her friends spent most of the day now. After they got back and the 'men in black' began upping their presence in Little Wood, her friends Nel, Max, Melvin and Yuki who had been impersonating students to keep Allisa safe from unseen dangers, dropped out of school. Given how bad they were at fitting into her world, having them drop out came as a blessing.

The store was close to the east exit of the mall, a simple shop with a green banner that said 'Little Woods Mysteries.' And on the door was a very large CLOSED sign.

"Huh? Closed?" Allisa once again checked the time. It was far too early for Dale, the shop's owner, to close. She cycled through her contacts to find Mirage, one of the hunters' numbers. Pressing it, it rang three times before going to voicemail. Same with Cliff and Dale. "Did something happen?"

Allisa looked back at the shop. There were other entrances she could use to access home. If something was happening then....

"....... No. Whatever it is, I'm sure they can handle it."

Her birthday was in two days. The very last thing she needed was a complication to that. Besides, if something had happened and they needed her, it was certainly one of them who would get in contact with her.

She would only turn sixteen once, and for every teenage girl, that was one major step towards adulthood. When she was young she made a list of what she wanted for her birthday (Many of it was utterly ridiculous like a car or a kiss from her favorite teen heartthrob) and she would trade all that for one normal day.

No magic. No swords. No monsters. No otherworld. No life threatening situations. For all of her childhood wishes for her sweet sixteen, above all was a perfectly normal day.

With her business concluded and focusing on what her birthday wish was, Allisa set off for home.

****

After leaving the Store, Allisa took out her MP3 Player, tuning in her round headphones before pressing the play button. The music was techno music, one that painted a strange world in her mind. She turned into a back ally, reached under a nearby dumpster and pulled out her skateboard.

With music blaring in her ears, Allisa kicked off, skating through the sleepy afternoon streets of her home town as the sun was beginning to go down ever slowly. For her, this scene of tranquillity was oddly calming. Her life had been so hectic following her finding Excalibur, with her journey taking one strange turn after another.

The concrete pavement, flashing traffic lights and revving of car engines over the music was enough to make her realize how much she had missed these moments. Even if it may not last, she relished it none the less.

It took her half an hour to make it back to her house on the outskirts of the center, a two-story building that looked nearly identical to every other building in the neighborhood. Reaching the doorstep, Allisa jumped off her skateboard before hitting the back of it, launching it up before catching it. She couldn't help but chuckle, realizing she could not pull such a maneuver off before all this.

Taking out her key, she opened the door. Once inside she put her skateboard to one side before texting her dad she was home. It was 4:43. "Made it just in time."

Everyone was out at the time, a football try-out Luke took part in. After that, her family was going out to pick up her cousins before driving back. Despite Allisa's various disappearing acts, they trusted her enough to leave her at home alone.

Putting her skateboard aside, Allisa made her way into the kitchen where her mother would have left her instructions for dinner that night. The second she walked in she took note that the back door was left wide open.

"Luke..." Allisa let out a loud sigh as she closed the back door. Her brother had a habit of leaving the door wide open and forgetting to close it afterward. This often included the back door when they all left. It was a wonder they hadn't been robbed yet.

Finding the note on the kitchen island, Allisa set to work. First was turning down the heat in the oven, which had been left on, a large roast baking inside. Then the dining room table had to be set for everyone (including her auntie, uncle, and cousin). Then preparing the gravy in the gravy boat.

After everything was done, Allisa crashed on the couch in the living room, turning on the TV to whatever there was, her music still blaring in her ears. She found one of her comics on the coffee table. Feeling too lazy to go up and get something else, she took that and took to reading it while the sitcom she put on was playing in the background.

The music she was listening to drowned out the canned laughter from the audio to a smooth piano orchestration, humming to the tune as she ran her eyes through the comic strips.

The story was ironically about a teenager like her, who was granted a special power and thrown into another world fighting an evil overlord. Reading through it, she couldn't help but chuckle at some of the similarities to her own situation, as well as what contradicted it.

"Iuz re-fao lryen,"

She turned her attention back to the TV. Only then realizing the program had just ended, with the next episode airing.

"SSor mo teshe forga do feee."

She couldn't help but chuckle, seeing the actors playing roles of ordinary people. Their worries compared to her seemed so contradictory to her own life.

"Goso do motoraa-!"

Letting out a sigh, Allisa reached for the remote, aiming it at the TV before turning it off. With only her music, singing its tune, Allisa turned back to her comic.

Singing?

Allisa raised her MP3, see what song was playing. There seemed to be a melody playing in the background, one she didn't recognize.

"-Toroke so kar magaa-"

"........" She removed one of her headphones-

"-SSor mar sogoshe kaaa,"

"Wh-What...?"

Taking off both headphones, Allisa sat up from the couch. She wasn't hearing things, there seemed to be singing above her. And what was above her was-

"-My room?"

Slowly, Allisa got up from her perch, slowly making her way across to the hall with the stairs to the second floor. The way the singing was getting louder as she began moving up meant it was close by.

Listening to the lyrics, it was not a song she was familiar with. Even its language was strange. It sounded odd, alien, even robotic and synthetic at times.

"..... Huh?"

As she peered down the hall she saw the door to her room was partially open. From that gap there was an unnerving light seeping from the cracks. What was more, the singing she was hearing was definitely coming from her room.

Someone, or something that wasn't from Terra was inside her room.

Swallowing, Allisa slowly approached the door, holding back her right hand ready to summon her sword should the need arise. Reaching the door, she slowly creaked the door open.

As it slowly creaked open, a spark of light flew past her head. With more view of her room, she could see more of her room, which was illuminated by strange sparks of rainbow colored lights fluttering back and forth. Slowly, Allisa pushed the door open to get a full view of her room. There, she couldn't help but gasp. Crouched in the center of her room, surrounded by a circle of light, was a girl dressed in pure white.

She was kneeling, singing a song in a strange voice that sounded oddly mystic, changing its pitch as the girl sang. Surrounding her, a wave of bright technicolored lights surrounded her as she lost herself in a deep trance, swerving her hands that emitted simmering sparks from her fingertips.

So, mesmerizing was the sight, Allisa lowered her guard, taking a step forward into her room as she watched the girl singing a song with such passion that could move a mountain, seeing the incredible phenomenon happening all around her.

"INTRUDER!"

"Huh?"

BANG!

Something hard suddenly rammed into the back of Allisa's head, causing her to lurch forwards as she grabbed the back of her head. The sound of the ring interrupted the girl's song as she jolted, snapping her head around her to see Allisa hunched forwards, clutching the back of her head.

"B-Berken...?"

"Don't worry Ion! I took care of the intruder before she could sneak up on you." An odd, chirpy yet mechanical voice spoke. "No thanks are necessary."

"Owowowow...." Allisa shot up and looked around her to the source of the voice. "Wh-Wh-what do you mean intruder? This is my..... Room?"

Floating in the air above her was a small mechanical rabbit. Allisa blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. She'd seen her fair share of oddities in her travels but never had she seen something like this.

"Ok, speak intruder!" The rabbit continued, jabbing its finger towards the confused Allisa. "Who sent you? Was it Aralius? Raxx? Or are you a part of Frontier?"

"Wha- Front.... Huh?" Allisa was having a hard time wrapping her head around this strange situation.

"Not answering?" The rabbit said proudly. "I knew it! You are some kind of spy. Why else would you be here sneaking up on the Star Singer!"

"I don't know what you're talking about you stupid rabbit!" Allisa snapped. "I live here! This is my bedroom!"

"Ba! What a convenient excuse!"

"B-Berken! That's enough!" The girl behind Allisa spoke up. She walked up to Allisa, giving her an earnest look. "I'm sorry. We didn't mean to intrude." She spoke in a very polite manner. "There was.... A crisis and I had to use a lot of either so I needed to replenish. There was a strong Either flow in this room so... that's why we're here."

"....Uhh...." The girl's explanation said almost nothing about why they were in Allisa's bedroom. If anything, Allisa was more confused.

"I'm truly sorry. I thought no one was inside."

"Ion! Don't apologize to this intruder!" The mechanical rabbit said flying to the girl's side. "For all we know, she could be an Altosk spy!" It hissed in a whisper, enhanced by the mechanisms that enabled it to talk.

"B-But..."

Ignoring the rabbit, still feeling a throbbing in the back of her head, Allisa ended up letting out a deep sigh. Trying to make sense of what was going on would only confuse her more. "No, its ok. I shouldn't have sneaked up on you." She said in an apologetic tone mixed with her bewilderment at the strange turn of events. "Wasn't expecting anyone from Avalon to suddenly appear in my room."

She remembered wishing she could have a normal birthday were she didn't have to worry about anything from Avalon at all. Thinking back on how things had been, that was truly wishful thinking. Hope I can deal with this fast.

"Avalon?" The girl then gave a puzzled look at Allisa. "Oh! Is that the name of this world?"

"Hm? No that's where you're from," Allisa clarified. "You know, this is Terra, the other world." Thinking back on it, she remembered Nel had explained that only those chosen by the Arch Sage's could cross into Terra. "So... did Dran send you? Or one of the other Arch Sages?"

This time, the girl looked lost. "Arch.... Sage? Terra....?"

"..... Perhaps I rammed her so hard she forgot she's a spy." The rabbit said.

"I'm telling you this is my room you stupid rabbit!" Allisa snapped.

"Hey! I have a name you stupid Hune! Berken! Got it!" The rabbit snapped. "And stop confusing Ion with all your useless word games!"

"Wh-What are you-?"

"Uh... there seems to be some kind of misunderstanding." The girl said waving her arms. "I'm not from this world... uh... Avalon was it?"

"........ Eh?" Once again, Allisa was confused.

"Oh my! I realized I haven't properly introduced myself. How silly of me." The girl cleared her throat, put her hands before her and gave Allisa a bright smile. "My name is Ion. I'm from the world of Sora."

"................................................................ HUHHH?!!!"