Gwyn continued to walk down the castle hallways aimlessly when someone suddenly pulled him into a room. The door slid shut, and the person who grabbed him by the arm not so quietly whispered:

"Shhhh," Odell said as he cautiously looked around the room.

"Running from your fiancé again?" Gwyn asked while shaking his head.

"No, this time, it's worse. I'm running from my father!"

"Does your father chase you while flying through the air as well?" Gwyn asked while not being sure what answer he should expect to get.

"Wha- Dant, he wants me to attend the conference!"

"What conference?" Gwyn asked. He had heard about it in passing but was starting to wonder about its importance. Quenth was clearly an Aqueenian city, so was it rare to see so many other species in it? He was not sure, nor did he get an explanation. A moment after asking his question, Fiona appeared in a flash of blue light.

Gwyn jumped back in surprise, but Odell had been expecting it.

"There is a secluded balcony that overlooks the city on the Lover's Bridge side. We should be able to get some peace there... oh, hey Gwyn, are you joining us?"

"Shouldn't you be involved in this conference?" Gwyn asked.

"My father doesn't like me involved in those sorts of things," Fiona said with an odd smile.

Neither Odell nor Gwyn replied as Fiona waved for them to follow. She poked her head out of the doorway and looked in all directions. When she saw the path was clear, she crept out and began to tiptoe down the hallway. The other two followed in an equally sneaky manner.

"Why are we moving like this? Couldn't she just zap us there?" Gwyn asked.

Odell furrowed his brow in confusion, so Gwyn rephrased, "Couldn't she use her powers to get us there?"

"She cannot," Odell explained after making an expression that would often be paired with the image of a light bulb over his head, "She can lock onto an object and move to it, or farther from it, she had me as the target to return so we have to walk there."

"I see," Gwyn said as he pondered what Odell said. He looked at Mem, who was still bonded on his arm as he thought. When neither of them said anything else, Gwyn considered another subject to talk about as they continued to creep along.

He thought about asking why Fiona seemed so disliked by the king, but as he pondered it, he figured it would not be best to ask Odell something personal about someone else.

They continued quietly moving along. Fiona would stop them at every turn with a silent hand gesture and peer around corners. They had to hide behind a pillar or odd furniture a couple of times as some guards made their routine rounds.

It took far longer than it should have and far longer than necessary as none of the guards would have stopped them, but they reached the spot Fiona had mentioned. The trio let out a sigh of relief, though for different individual reasons, and sat down on the balcony.

The balcony overlooked Lover's bridge, which was drawn back to prevent any unwanted people from entering. It was not meant to be stood on, as the trio had to open a window to get out on it, but a series of railing contained the space anyway. King and Queen Whitlock had often escaped to the secluded spot to get some peace and quiet in their youth. As such, the railings were added by Queen Whitlock's younger brother, who also knew of their excursions.

The shining city beyond the bridge had a unique calm that Gwyn had not seen the earlier day. It was still very early in the morning, though he was unaware of that, and most of the city was still asleep.

"So, what is this conference about?" Gwyn asked after a moment of silence.

Fiona shrugged and gave him an answer.

"It's an annual peace conference between world leaders. We hold it once every year at a different capital. They discuss boring things and what they are going to do differently, or something."

"I see," Gwyn answered.

"This year is a special one; it happens to be the hundredth conference held since the event started," Odell added.

Gwyn nodded to show that he understood. His head was filled with questions he could ask to follow up. Why did the conference start? Have there been any clashes since it started? What is the conference like?

Such history had not been on display in the museum they had visited the previous day. The last event recorded in the museum that he could recall was the Hobusian and Aqueenian war that took place just slightly over 100 years ago. He was beginning to wonder if the war and the beginning of the conference were related.

Though he didn't get a chance to ask about it, Odell spoke up to start a different conversation.

"Gwyn, I heard you arrived in some sort of vehakul!"

"Yeah, my car... what did happen to that?" Gwyn asked as he looked at Fiona. She simply shrugged.

"I was not involved with that, but I would think that they would have taken it to the lab to dismantle," Fiona explained.

"Dismantle?" Gwyn repeated in shock.

"Can they put it back together? I wanted to take it apart!" Odell added.

Fiona sighed and ignored the responses from the other two, and looked out to the city. That is when she noticed something interesting.

Over the quiet city, a large, winged creature seemed to be heading in their direction.

"Do you have giant birds on this planet too?" Gwyn asked while taking notice of the thing that was headed their way.

Neither Fiona nor Odell answered, but both rubbed the Needaimus on their arms as if to double-check they were attached.

The figure came into view more clearly as it flew closer. Soon a humanoid shape formed under the two large wings. In a matter of seconds, the form became distinct enough to make out.

It was an Aqueenian girl with an erinite green complexion. She wore a white dress with a laced front and frilly, short skirt; that dress had light black highlights that accented the waist and end of the skirt. The top of the dress was strapless, and the back, though the trio could not see it, was open. A snow-white Needaimus covered her left arm.

The Aqueenian gracefully landed on a lamp post at the city end of Lover's bridge. Two large wings furled behind her back as she pushed snow, white threads of hair away from her face. Her hair was all white, save for a black color that covered just around her roots. Her left wing was made of black feathers and resembled a bird's wing. Her right wing looked as if it was covered in a silver coating, but it was clear that the wing was a mechanical prosthetic when looked at closely.

The Aqueenian unfurled her wings. Fiona shuddered like a chill went up through her back as the newcomer took to the sky. With her wings outstretched, she put her hand over her eyes like it was a visor on a baseball cap. She began flying over the water while looking all around the castle. It wasn't long until her gaze settled on the trio that was staring at her.

The odd Aqueenian stopped in midair and hovered in place with her flapping wings. The trio and she stared at each other for a moment. Then, she smiled, tilted her hand, and made a friendly wave. With a sudden flap of her wings, she suddenly shot to the left and began to fly around the castle.

Gwyn was about to ask about this odd newcomer, but Fiona suddenly disappeared in a flash of blue light. She instantly appeared in front of the winged stranger and grabbed onto her. They began to fly around the sky in a hectic manner as the newcomer tried to shake Fiona off.

"What's going on?" Gwyn asked Odell as he stepped onto the ledge of the balcony.

"She's trouble!" He simply said as he leaped off the balcony. He didn't make a strong push with his legs, but he went flying through the air like a rocket regardless.

"Wait! Why is she trouble!" Gwyn shouted out as Odell shot out over the water.

The winged Aqueenian quickly changed directions once she had noticed the other's gaze.

You were not to let anyone see you! Her Needaimus echoed in her head.

"Don't worry about it, X!" she spoke in a playful tone but tried to get away from the three that had spotted her as fast as possible.

She didn't get very far before Fiona suddenly appeared in front of her in a flash of blue light. Fiona grabbed onto the winged Aqueenian with a bear hug, wrapping around her arms and her back. The Aqueenian princess had meant to catch her opponent's wings but was somewhat unable, and slightly unwilling, to reach far enough to grab them.

"What are you doing here!" Fiona shouted as loud as she could.

"Oh, you must be a fan, I know I'm huggable, but I'm afraid this isn't a meet and greet!" she playfully answered before frantically flying around to shake her new opponent off. Fiona held firm and continued to yell out.

"You should know the guards won't let you in the castle!" she yelled.

The winged Aqueenian stopped struggling and hovered in the air. She could see Fiona would not give up so easily. A different tactic would be needed; fortunately, the newcomer had plenty of options. The odd Aqueenian began to repeat the saved information her Needaimus was now echoing through her mind.

"Fiona Whitlock, the third child of the Aqueenian royal family. You love sweet things, but pretend you like sour meals to seem more mature. You get pretty good grades in school, but despite that, your father has excluded you from most events, such as the conference. Your ability is to teleport in a radius around a target you set, and you can freely change the targets. At least, that is how you apply it," she told Fiona. The princess was wide-eyed and shocked; her grip loosened for a moment. The winged Aqueenian was waiting for the opportunity and took it to push Fiona off by moving her arms out.

Fiona came back to her senses and was able to teleport behind her opponent in a blue flash.

The winged Aqueenian was not paying attention to Fiona, however. She had just taken notice of Odell flying to her. With a flap of her wings, she flew up into the air just out of Odell's trajectory.

Fiona, however, was not so lucky and Odell went crashing into her. Fiona began to fall, and Odell seemed to float down slowly.

"Well, I sure am popular today!" The winged opponent mused as she looked to Gwyn. He was still standing on the balcony. His good hand gripped the railing, and his bad hand just rested on it.

He wasn't in any of the files; we better be careful, her Needaimus, X, said.

"Oh, you worry too much!"

Fiona appeared next to Odell. She grabbed his arm and spun in the air to throw him at the winged opponent whose attention focused on Gwyn. He shot through the air at her and delivered a heavy punch right on her back, directly between her wings.

The winged Aqueenian cried out, but it was mostly in shock. She spun around and grabbed Odell's arm before he could pull it back. At the same time, Fiona appeared in the air above them and tried to kick the opponent in the head. Instead, the winged Aqueenian grabbed Fiona by the leg.

"Now, now, you can't go kicking beauideals in the face!" she said in a friendly tone and with an angry expression before doing a flip in the air and throwing the two of them down to the water. Fiona disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared on the balcony. Odell started falling quickly but suddenly slowed to an almost stop. He spun over and glared at the opponent.

"Now, since you are apparently unaware, I will tell you who has so graciously appeared in front of you!"

Don't! Her Needaimus shouted in her mind, but the warning was ignored.

"Yes, you have been greeted by the number one beauideal in all of Nun, the amazing Dia Mond!" The winged opponent shouted as she flipped her hair back.

You actually told them... X sighed.

Dia spun in the air with her left hand raised after just announcing herself. She stopped and held her open hand out to the duo on the balcony, though they showed no indication that they were impressed.

Fiona instead appeared by Dia again and grabbed onto her. Dia tried to duck out of the way, but Fiona was able to grab onto her left arm and hold it tightly.

"This again?" Dia said with her tone suddenly turning from chipper to bitter. She shook her arm, but Fiona wouldn't let go. "What do you plan to accomplish anyway?" Dia asked back in her cheery tone.

"I just need to keep you in one place," Fiona said as she looked up. Dia followed the princess' gaze, and her eyes became wide.

While she had been distracted by Fiona on her arm, Odell had slowly floated in the air above them. He suddenly began to drop rapidly. Fiona disappeared in a red flash as Odell shot down with both his feet targeted at Dia.

Before he could make contact, Dia reached out and grabbed Odell but his ankles. She gracefully pushed to redirect him. It happened in a straightforward motion that went by so fast the two observers were unable to see. Odell appeared to fly right next to her and continue plummeting down.

"You missed?" shouted Fiona from the balcony where she had retreated.

Odell started floating in the air again and looked up at Dia.

"She's tougher than she looks," Odell shouted back, "We should call for help!"

Fiona responded by pulling out her tablet. She tapped on the screen, but no connection was made.

"Tsk, Tsk, you three really are trying to be trouble. Too bad for you; we have already had any communications within the castle under our control!"

Fiona tossed her tablet to the ground.

"Fiona," Gwyn tried to say something but was cut off as she disappeared in a blue flash.

He looked back out to the fight where Fiona had once again appeared next to Dia. Odell was beginning to float above the two Aqueenians, and Gwyn banged his hand on the railing. He couldn't do anything but watch this battle in the air.

Fiona once again latched onto her opponent. Dia rolled her eyes as the Princess was only able to grab her leg. It didn't take too much effort to shake her off and avoid another falling strike from Odell. As Odell suddenly slowed to a stop in the air again, Fiona appeared next to him.

She grabbed the Hobusian by the arm and spun to throw him at Dia. Just before Odell made contact, however, Fiona reappeared behind Dia and finally was able to grab her mechanical wing. Dia was distracted just in time for Odell to give her a heavy punch to the stomach. She and Fiona flew away from Odell as if they had launched from a cannon. In no short time, they began to plummet to the water.

Dia struggled as Fiona held tightly to her wing. The princess planned to teleport away right before they hit the water and had already locked onto Odell in preparation. Odell continued to float in the air, watching them as they fell.

Dia, however, had other plans. From under her dress's skirt, she produced a short dagger. She moved her wing so that it was next to her side, and by extension, so was Fiona, and plunged the blade at the princess' chest. Fiona tried to avoid it but still managed to get a slit across her arm. She cried out, and the beauideal seized the moment to throw her off.

Dia expanded her wings and managed to break her fall in the air right above the water. With a strong push of her wings, she changed direction and began to fly low above the water. Fiona, on the other hand, kept falling in as she held a hand over the cut. She plunged into the clear Quenth water, and in a matter of minutes, a flash went off under the water, and Fiona was in the air over Odell. She looked to the balcony and appeared there quickly before even another second had passed.

Dia flipped the blade through the air and then slid it back under her dress, where she had a sheath strapped to her leg. She proceeded to run her hands through her long, white hair then looked back up to Odell with a smile.

Odell gritted his teeth.

Meanwhile, Fiona was breathing heavily on the balcony and holding her hand over the slash. She was drenched head to toe, and water dripped down to a puddle that she teleported with her. The princess dropped to a kneeling position as she began to catch her breath.

"Fiona, are you okay?" Gwyn asked as he frantically looked around for something that could be used for first aid.

Fiona tore a piece of her jacket and began to wrap it around her cut.

"It's alright; battle scars are impressive, right?" she said in a forced tone of happiness as she tightly secured it around her wound.

With a large flap of her wings, Dia came in close to where the castle base met the water. She began to fly up alongside the wall. The balcony was clearly her target.

"She's coming here. What should we do?" Gwyn shouted. He looked to Fiona, but she was too busy tying her makeshift bandage to react in time.

We need to stop her! Mem answered in Gwyn's head.

Gwyn put his hand on the railing and liquified a small section of it. Before it turned completely liquid, he pushed it off in the direction Dia was flying up in. She quickly drifted to the side to avoid his falling hazard.

The beauideal flew over the balcony, flapped her wings, changed directions to fly over their heads into the castle. She quickly landed and began running down a hallway that was slightly too narrow for the impressive wingspan.

Fiona gave her bandage one last pull and stood to her feet.

"Hey, don't forget about me!" Odell yelled as he continued to float out above the water.

"Gwyn, chase after her; we'll catch up to you!" Fiona said as she turned to lock onto Odell.

Gwyn took off in a sprint as he followed Dia down the hall. Had he more time to think, he would have pondered what he was doing and who this person was. At the moment, he was focused on chasing the strange Aqueenian.

She was still visible as she neared the next turn, so Gwyn pushed to run as fast as he could. He slowly gained distance on the winged Aqueenian as she rounded the corner. He turned to chase after her while continuing to close the distance.

Dia looked over her shoulder at Gwyn. She turned forward again and shook her head.

"You're pretty quick on your feet, huh?" she yelled out.

"It's the one thing I was good at back home!" Gwyn shouted back as he was getting close enough to reach out and grab one of her wings. He reached out with his right hand, but just before he could grab Dia, she suddenly sped up and began to pull away from him.

"Wow, this is fun; I don't think I've ever ran this fast before! Thanks!" she chirped in excitement.

Gwyn clenched his fist as she began to pull away from him.

"If only I could liquify the floor in front of her..." he muttered.

"What was that? I didn't catch it." Dia shouted back to him as she continued to get farther away. They rounded another corner, and Gwyn spotted one of the swirling lamps a short distance ahead. That was when he got an idea.

As they ran past, he held out his Needaimus covered hand so that it would collide with the lamp. Instead of knocking it over, he liquified just the edges of his current radius limit so that he could catch and hold onto a chunk of it within his hand. The rest of the lamp fell apart behind them as they continued to run.

With the strongest throw he could muster, Gwyn tossed the chunk of the lamp, just before he turned it liquid, in an underhand manner. It splattered on the floor right at Día's feet, and she slipped almost immediately.

The winged Aqueenian went rolling on the ground, and Gwyn continued sprinting after her, making sure to leap over the place where the liquid lamp was on the floor. Dia pushed herself up, but Gwyn grabbed her tightly before she could start running again.

Unfortunately, he could not grip as tightly with his left arm and hand, and Dia noticed immediately. She grabbed his left arm and twisted it so that he flipped over her shoulder and landed squarely on his back.

"Gwyn!" Fiona shouted from down the hall as she and Odell ran down to them.

Dia sighed and began running down the hall away from them.

Gwyn pushed himself off the ground and shouted to the duo.

"Don't slip!" His shout came just in time as Odell and Fiona were able to notice the puddle and jump over it without losing speed.

Gwyn hopped up and joined the other two as they chased after the beauideal.

"What is she after?" Gwyn shouted to the other two. They had temporarily lost track of Dia and were now frantically running through the hallway to chase after her. Fortunately, the path was clear to both Fiona and Odell.

"She must be planning to do something at the conference! We need to hurry." Odell yelled forward to the other two. Despite not knowing exactly which way to go, Gwyn was the fastest and led the group with Fiona on his heels and Odell only keeping up with the assistance of his Needaimus ability.

"Turn left here!" Fiona yelled to Gwyn, and he turned the corner. They exited that hallway into the grand entrance that made up the front of the castle. It was long and wide, with two rows of swirling columns running down to make it seem like three hallways.

The columns were equally spaced and had the light fixtures hanging out near the ceiling on a thin pole with a large decorative light hanging on the end of each.

Dia sat like a witch on a broomstick on one of these fixtures while examining a hand-drawn paper map. She rotated the map 180 degrees in front of her, then spun it back the way she had it.

"I'm telling you; we should have made a right back there," she said out loud from her perch as she tried to find the way. "No, I'm not lost!"

The trio could not hear her Needaimus, but they all knew to who Dia was currently speaking. Fiona started to run into the room but was caught with the back of her shirt by Odell. He held up a finger to his lips and shook his head.

Gwyn nodded to Odell and began to tiptoe over to a column. He slid behind it and peered out from behind, but Dia was still preoccupied with her map.

Odell suddenly began to float just above the floor. He pointed from himself to Dia while looking at Fiona. Then he made a couple of hand signs.

"I don't understand; just spit it out," Fiona said in a quiet but pressing voice.

"I should have the advantage in this room; just support me," Odell hissed back as he pushed off the floor with all of his might. He went back to the wall, then he spun in the air like a gymnast and propelled himself off the wall with a mighty push.

His target was a column that Dia was not on, which he pushed off similarly to the wall. Then he bounced off the ceiling, and then he bounced off another wall.

He began to ricochet around the room before Dia took notice of him. At that point, it was too late. He flew next to her with one arm held out, she was unable to react as it smashed into her, and she was knocked right off her perch. Odell continued to fly forward and bounced off the next wall.

Meanwhile, Dia flapped her wings but was not able to fully break the fall. She hit the ground while managing to tumble so that the impact would not be as harsh. However, Fiona was ready to go as she zapped next to Dia and swept under her legs. Dia, who had not fully regained her balance, stumbled even further in the direction where Gwyn was.

"Get her, Gwyn!" Fiona shouted.

Gwyn stepped out from hiding.

"What am I supposed to do!" he shouted back as the beauideal was starting to regain her balance as she headed his way.

"Just give her a good knockout blow!" Odell shouted as he went from his ricochet to the ground behind Dia. He kicked her in the back, so she headed to Gwyn and bounced away without missing a beat.

Gwyn balled a fist but stood still like a statue.

He had not ever been in a fight, nor had he thrown a punch at someone. He wasn't sure how to do it properly or if he grasped the situation enough to join in this fight. Gwyn contemplated how he might be able to restrain her instead.

This hesitation was noticed by Dia, even as she was knocked off balance, and she smirked. She jumped forward to Gwyn to get out of her stumbling and spread her wings. Odell bounced in for another blow, but she simply spun in the air and let him fly right past her.

She took to the air right over Gwyn's head and flew around a column to avoid another blow from Odell.

Fiona tried to teleport in Dia's way, but the winged Aqueenian was already expecting it and punched Fiona out of the air with a hit right in her core. The princess hit the ground hard as Dia began to fly to the door.

Before she could make it through, Odell landed in front of the door. The ground cracked underneath him as he slowly moved his arms out to block her. Dia flapped her wings to stop midair then retreated up to the ceiling. Odell bent down like he was about to jump again, but before he could, Dia pointed a single finger at him.

A beam of energy shot from the tip of her finger. As soon as he saw the flash, Odell gritted his teeth but could not do anything more as he was blasted.

"Magic too?" Fiona muttered as she sat up while holding her stomach. Odell fell to his knees as the spell drained him. He paused for a moment as he tried to fight it but ultimately fell facedown on the ground.

Gwyn steeled his resolve and balled his fists as he watched Odell collapse.

"Odell!" he yelled out.

Calm down, partner; that spell didn't kill him.

Gwyn didn't listen. He charged ahead at Dia, who was descending in the room. She landed just behind Odell and began to walk out of the main castle hallway. Gwyn ran past Odell with his good fist raised. He threw it at Dia, who had her back turned. It was clear that he had never punched another person before by his form. It was sloppy with a weak arm and weak wrist. He was likely only to hurt his hand if it landed.

Dia spun around and caught Gwyn by the arm. The next thing he knew, he was lying on his back and staring at the ceiling. Dia smiled and winked as she pointed a single finger at him. The tip glowed like it was hot with energy.

"This might sting a little," Dia said in a sweet voice.

Before she could fire the shot, Fiona appeared next to her and pushed Dia's arm in the air. The magical energy shot to the ceiling, but this ended up with Fiona in the same position as Gwyn. Dia sighed and walked away from the three on the floor. She smacked her hands together as if to shake off the dust.

*****

Fiona and Gwyn were able to get up quickly after Dia left. Odell, on the other hand, was down for the count.

"Odell?" Gwyn shouted to him while shaking his shoulder.

"Mmm," Odell managed to mumble.

"He won't be getting up for a while," Fiona explained. She looked down the hallway where Dia had gone.

Gwyn rubbed the back of his head.

"You say that like I should understand it."

Fiona waved her hands for Gwyn to follow. He looked to Odell and back to Fiona.

"He will be fine, but she will be an issue if she keeps running loose," Fiona said.

"Mmm," Odell added from the floor.

Fiona didn't give Gwyn a chance to reply; she just began to run off. Gwyn sighed and ran after her.

"I don't like leaving him in the middle of the floor!" he protested as he caught up with her.

"She is a dangerous person," Fiona started to say.

"I picked up on that!"

"I don't know what magic was like in your world, but using it on Resh is... rare. If she can use a spell, she is a real danger! We need to warn the guards as soon as possible!" Fiona clenched her teeth. She did not like how serious everything was at the moment.

"There was no magic in my world!"

Gwyn could tell that Fiona was not listening as he chased after her.

They ran through a couple of corridors and finally exited into a large hallway. It was similar to the main entrance but only had one rather large and wide column in the center of the room. Around the column sat several faux trees, and artificial grass filled up most of the room. It appeared to be a park within the castle. Gwyn had not seen the room before as it was one of the ones Fiona did not show him. He looked around and tried to squash his curiosity as they ran through the room.

On the other side of the giant column, there was a door that rivaled the throne room's in size. Several guards were standing in front of the door, four in total. One of them was Colton, who made a lazy yawn as he stared off into space.

"Hey, Colton looks like the princess is running this way," One of the guards said.

"Ahahaha, she had to come on my shift," a second guard said.

"You have the worst luck, Colton; the last guard chimed in.

Colton sighed and shook his head.

"It just has to be when I am in charge," he muttered as he made steps to the princess and Gwyn.

"Colton!" Fiona yelled as she finally broke from her sprint to a halt. She struggled to catch her breath and spit out her next words.

"Come on, Princess Fiona, the conference is underway now; please don't go trying to do anything," Colton groaned. He looked to Gwyn, "And you shouldn't go along with her like this, Nonpareil."

"There's a cursed Aqueenian coming here! She took down Prince Odell with the spell of weakness!" Fiona yelled out.

Colton's eyes grew wide for a moment, then he closed them and sighed.

"I respect your tenacity, but that one is a little in poor taste, Princess Fiona," he replied as he rubbed the back of his head.

"She seems to be dangerous!" Gwyn chimed in when he saw Colton was not listening to Fiona.

"I don't know what she told you, but you don't have to play along. She tries to do things like this all the time," Colton explained.

"But!"

"Please, princess, we can't have too many distractions today."

Fiona shuddered as Colton turned his back and began to walk back to the giant door.

Gwyn looked back and forth between the two as he tried to comprehend why Colton wouldn't listen. It didn't take him long to figure it out; he had picked up on how Fiona was viewed.

Gwyn gritted his teeth, he didn't quite understand the danger Dia presented, but Colton's initial reaction suggested he would act if he took Fiona's words seriously.

"Colton, wait!" he yelled out to the guard.

Colton waved to Gwyn but did not bother turning back to look at them.

"There are some royal baths in the castle; you should be able to relax there for a while!" Colton yelled back to the duo.

Gwyn looked back to Fiona, who had slumped down on her knees. Then he turned to Colton, who had begun a nonimportant conversation with the other guards. They laughed as they talked.

On the other side of the ample space, Dia had entered. She was still concealed to the other's view by the large column that sat in the middle of the room.

"We're finally here!" she chirped as she stretched out her arms.

We would have gotten here sooner had you not played around before. Her Needaimus added.

"Hey, Vance drew a poor map!"

Master Vance drew an excellent map; it was your inability to follow a simple path and your insistence on fighting those three that made us so late. We are low on time now. Additionally, you showed that trio all of your available skills prior to arriving here. Should they come before us, they will be able to inform the guards of your capability fully. X lectured as Dia began to walk around the column.

"Oh relax, I left those three so far behind they couldn't possibly-" Dia stopped mid-sentence as the guards, and their company came into view. The four guards were still off in their conversation, and both Gwyn and Fiona had their backs turned to where Dia stood. She slipped behind the column. Her wings shivered. "They beat me here! What do I do? They probably told the guards everything!" she began to stammer.

Relax, we only need to carry out the mission.

Dia took a deep breath. Then she waved and winked to fans that were not presently watching.

"Your right; I'm not the number one beauideal in Nun for nothing! I can take some guards and people I already wiped the floor with earlier!"

Her wings grew outstretched as she prepared for her attack.

"Fiona, Nonpareil, you are welcome to leave now," Colton said in the politest tone that he could muster. The two of them had stared at the guards for several minutes as they chatted and laughed with each other.

"They're not very impressive guards, huh?" Gwyn asked Fiona in a whisper that was deliberately loud enough for Colton to hear.

"The real guard is hidden behind the door; they are just here for show," Fiona whispered back in the same loud manner.

A vein on Colton's forehead popped.

"Even if they believed us, could we trust them to stop Dia?" Gwyn asked.

Fiona hummed to herself before answering.

"We probably shouldn't, but they're not totally incompetent."

"All right, you two, it's time to leave," Colton said with a sigh as he walked over to the duo and began to wave his hands to indicate that they should leave.

He didn't get very close to them when Dia came flying around the giant column. She started up at the top of the column and glided downward. Colton drew his sword and his fellow guards instantly shaped up.

Two of the guards drew their weapons. They were known as the sky twins, Maxon and Jaxon. Each had a similar light, faintly blue complexion and white, cloud eyes. Both were bald, and each wielded a heavy compound bow. Of the twins and Colton, none had a Needaimus attached to any of their limbs.

The last of the guards did have a Needaimus wrapped around his arm. His name was Lieutenant, and he was often teased for it as it did not reflect his actual rank. He had a jonquil yellow complexion and jet-black hair.

Dia crashed into Gwyn and Fiona, or more accurately, she outstretched her arms and used her momentum to knock them down. The two that had come to warn the guards fell, and Dia landed gracefully on her feet. She winked at Colton with a big, yellow eye. He shuddered and pointed his blade at the new opponent.

"There are no fans here," Dia said with a sigh and a shake of her head.

Colton responded with a charge at her; his blade pointed at her throat. The sky twins each fired off an arrow from their bows at the same time.

Dia effortlessly ducked under Colton's blade and grabbed him by the clothes. Before he could react, he was thrown onto his back. Then, she gracefully spun on her toes as the arrows harmlessly flew past her. She stopped her spin so that she faced the twins. Her wings suddenly grew outstretched, and the twins jumped back. They were promptly knocked to the ground as Dia quickly closed the gap between them.

Lieutenant sighed and closed his fist that the Needaimus was attached to. His hand began to glow a steady blue color, and he charged at the winged Aqueenian.

Dia was prepared and easily avoided the punch from Lieutenant. He was flipped over and thrown on his back before he even realized what had happened.

Dia sighed and shrugged.

"You're not going to stop me with this effort. It's hardly entertainment! Try calling someone who could be more of a challenge!" she chided at the guards, who all laid on the ground.

Before anything else could be done, Fiona flashed in front of Dia and threw a punch at her face. Dia quickly leaned back and let the fist sail past her head. At the same time, she reached out to grab Fiona, but the princess disappeared in an instant.

Gwyn was next to strike, and he broke into a sprint at Dia as he pushed himself off the ground.

Dia chuckled to herself slightly as he ran to her.

"We've already done this before!" she yelled out to Gwyn. "Not even the dumbest fan would bet on you!"

Gwyn ignored Dia and grabbed one of the twin's bows as he ran past. He reached Dia in no time and swung the heavy crossbow up in the air. She confidently stood her ground but put one arm up instinctively to defend herself. As Gwyn brought down the heavy weapon, it liquified. At the same time, he tried to grab her second arm that was not prepared to block his blow. He planned to put both hands by each other, but he could not hold her free arm with his bad left hand.

The liquid crossbow splashed around Dia's defending arm, then turned solid in an instant. Had both her arms been close by, they would have been bound like she was in cuffs. Instead, only one arm was encased. She frowned and kicked Gwyn back. Dia tried to shake the heavy, misshapen former bow off, but it was molded tightly to the shape of her arm.

"That bow was a family heirloom!" Maxon yelled out from the ground.

Dia glared at Gwyn for a moment, then her gaze softened, and she sighed. She stopped shaking her arm and shrugged.

"What a boring ability, or perhaps you have no sense of entertainment," he said. She flapped her wings and took to the air. Fiona flashed in front of Dia but was immediately batted away with the encased arm. Dia had swung it like it was a club.

"We need help," Colton coughed from the ground. Gwyn turned away from Dia to look at the guard. He had thought Colton was just talking out loud, but the guard was speaking into a device.

Looking away from Dia proved to be a bad idea, however. Dia plunged downward to Gwyn while doing a corkscrews spin in the air. Her encased hand smashed into Gwyn's side, and he was immediately thrown back.

Dia gracefully landed on her feet after the impact and looked to the door. As she had expected, the true guard emerged while phasing through the door. It was a Hobusian man. He was tall, for a Hobusian, and stood at the height of Gwyn.

His shoulders were so broad he might not have fit through some doorways, and his skin was an ashen grey. His eyes looked almost dark and sunken. The crown on his forehead split into three thin sections that curled over his head, and a bright red Needaimus lit up his arm. His muscles twitched as he prepared his strength for the fight.

The Hobusian looked around at all the fallen on the ground.

"You're a disgrace," he said in a deep and even tone voice.

Dia spun on her toes and threw her hands out in gesture at the Hobusian.

"What an honor! The strongest in the world, Platon, has come to greet me!"

Platon settled his gaze on Dia.

"A jewel with wings, that's a new one," he said, a voice that had a hint of a sneer.

Dia simply smiled. She grabbed the misshapen crossbow and pulled it off her arm with one simple motion.

"I have to thank you; I didn't know how I was going to get that off!" Dia chirped as she shook her previously encased arm.

Platon didn't say anything and simply charged at Dia. The ground shook under his heavy footsteps. Dia followed suit and charged forward. Gwyn and the others were merely watching from the sidelines. The two clashed together as American football players might. It appeared that Platon should easily knock Dia over, but instead, she began to push him back.

Platon tried to escape when it became clear the small and thin Aqueenian was overpowering him, but Dia only lifted him just above the ground and carried him through the air. They were on a collision course with the large door to the conference venue.

Platon gritted his teeth and prepared for impact. He figured they would collide with the door, and he could get the better of Dia afterward. He had not been cautious with her ability, but it seemed to give her some strength, as far as Platon could tell.

They did collide, then the giant metal door broke open like it had been made from cardboard, and they went through. The impact was strong enough to render the strongest Hobusian unconscious.

Dia threw Platon to the side and took to the air. The crowd in the venue all took their own time to register the threat.

Gwyn pushed himself up and ran to the now open door. He was greeted by a sight of Dia plunging her dagger into the chest of King Whitlock.