Magical Knight Evangelion Wing

From the warped mind of the Scriviner: 
A Magical Knight Rayearth/Evangelion/Gundam Wing 
Crossover/Alternate reality story

Chapter I: The Hope of Cephiro

Part I: Knights of the Evangelion

	Tokyo Tower. A lovely place to visit. Little 
wonder it often is. For some strange reason, five 
schools all decided to simultaneously hold field 
trips to it on the same day. This may seem like a 
minor coincidence. One learns early on that there are 
rarely any coincidences in the universe. Especially 
not ones of this scale.
	Hikaru Shidou, a fourteen year old student, 
peered through the pay binoculars on the observation 
deck. They offered a wonderful view of Tokyo city and 
she was giggling happily as she swung them back and 
forth trying to see as much as she could. She was a 
cute redhead, her hair in a long braid that fell to 
the small of her back. She was often being mistaken 
for someone much younger because of her rather short 
height, bubbly disposition and slender build...
	Her friends and classmates, Umi Ryuuzaki and 
Fuu Honjou smiled fondly at her. Umi was a beautiful 
girl with long blue hair, calm sea-blue eyes and a 
certain air of casual elegance. She had her hands in 
her pockets and she was calmly waiting her turn at 
the binoculars. Fuu on the other hand was a blonde 
with a certain friendly warmth in her green eyes that 
shone through despite her wire rim glasses. She had 
the look of an intellectual but there was a certain 
ready humor to her. All three wore the severe black 
uniform of Clamp University, an exclusive private 
girl's school. The dress was long sleeved, ending in 
large broad white cuffs which were folded up. It was 
long, reaching a bit past the knees, and ballooned 
outwards somewhat. The collars were large and white, 
and the only accent to the dresses was the red bow 
tied under the collars.
	The rest of their classmates were also milling 
about the observation deck, sharing the space with 
students from other schools. Complaints regarding the 
choice of venue for the trip were rampant, but not 
very loud. Interestingly enough, two of the other 
schools were apparently all boys schools. This of 
course piqued the interest of more than one student.
	Hikaru suddenly straightened up, on her face an 
expression of shock. 
	Umi and Fuu quickly moved to her side.
	"Hikaru-chan? What's the matter?" Umi asked in 
concern.
	Hikaru turned slowly to her two friends, her 
face unreadable, "Um..."
	"Did you see something, Hikaru-chan?" Fuu 
asked.
	Hikaru suddenly smiled sheepishly, "Can you 
guys lend me a couple more coins? The time ran out." 
	"Was that all?!" Umi blurted, "Don't scare us 
like that!"
	Fuu dug into her pockets, "I think I still have 
some loose change..."
	There was a clink that made the three girls 
turn towards the binoculars. Next to them stood a 
handsome boy. He looked to be about fourteen, and was 
dressed in a dark blazer, slacks and a red tie. 
Obviously a school uniform. His brown hair was long, 
reaching past his waist and braided neatly. He had a 
warm, open face. The impression was only helped by 
his smile. He was leaning casually against the 
binoculars and his hand was at the coin slot.
	Next to him was a second boy, obviously the 
same age. He was dressed in the same uniform and was 
severely handsome with a shock of unruly, brown hair 
framing a face which held none of the warmth of his 
companion's. Quite the opposite. His dark eyes 
regarded the three girls coldly and dispassionately.
 	"There you go," the smiling boy said, moving 
his hand away from the coin slot as he gestured to 
the binoculars, "Ready for use again."
	The other boy frowned, "Come along, Maxwell. 
The rest of the group's going to leave us if you keep 
wandering off."
 	The smiling boy grinned at his dour companion, 
"Surely, Hiro-kun, you'd like to take a moment to get 
to meet these lovely girls first? This is meant to be 
an educational trip after all." He turned towards 
them, "And I'd certainly like to learn their names."
	The three girls blushed. Hikaru's face was 
particularly flushed. She'd never had anyone show 
interest in her like this before.
	"Maxwell," Hiro replied stiffly, "Come along." 
He grabbed the long-haired boy's braid and dragged 
him off.
	The smiling boy apparently named Maxwell, 
managed to speak as he was dragged away, "If the 
teacher hadn't assigned me to be your buddy for this 
trip, I'm sure you'd be more than happy to leave me 
but you shouldn't spoil my fun just because 
you're..."
	"Well... that was... interesting." Umi said 
after a moment watching them leave.
	"Um... yes." Fuu replied cheerily. "I don't 
think I've ever been so blatantly hit on before."
	Hikaru stood still for a moment before she 
suddenly ran after the two boys.
	"Hikaru-chan, where are you going?" Umi called 
after her.
	"I forgot to thank him!" Hikaru called out as 
she disappeared into the crowd.
	Fuu shook her head, "Is it just me or did 
Hikaru just decide to go chasing after a boy?"
	"Just when you think you know someone... wow. 
She's finally growing up, I guess." Umi giggled.

	Hikaru fought her way past the crowd, trying to 
catch up to the two boys. Unfortunately, there were a 
lot of other boys all in the same uniform, but, then 
again, it wasn't all that hard to keep track of the 
only one who had a waist length braid. She found the 
two of them near the stairs. His companion, the one 
with the short hair and cold disposition was in the 
process of being harangued by a girl in a public 
school uniform. The long-haired boy was snickering as 
the other boy, Hiro, Hikaru remembered now, got 
dressed down by the girl. Next to the loud mouthed 
girl, was another girl in a similar uniform, looking 
bored and disinterested. No one else seemed to be in 
their immediate vicinity.
	Hikaru watched curiously for a moment before 
approaching. 
	Hiro gave a surly glower at the girl who was 
verbally abusing him with such style and finesse. Not 
that she noticed at all. 
	"I don't care what you say! You perverts ought 
to be put down now! Constantly trying to grope us!" 
Hikaru noticed that the girl was also a redhead, like 
she was, but with hair of a lighter shade, almost 
orange. She wore her hair long and loose, except for 
two strands gathered up in barrettes. She was 
scowling fiercely at Hiro.
	The long haired boy, Maxwell, noticed Hikaru 
approach and smiled at her. "Oh, hey there. Finished 
with the binoculars already?"
	Hikaru blushed and bowed quickly, saying, "I 
forgot to thank you for paying for the binoculars."
	The boy returned the bow. "Think nothing of it. 
My name's Duo, by the way. Duo Maxwell. You are?"
	"Hikaru Shidou," she replied. She glanced at 
the other boy, still in the process of being berated 
and having his familial history insulted at least 
twelve different ways, as well as being compared in 
various unflattering ways apes of numerous sorts by 
the red headed girl.
	"That's Hiro Yuy getting his ego rubbed into 
the ground. Good thing he hasn't got much of one." 
Duo whispered into Hikaru's ear. He was already 
uncomfortably close for someone she'd just met.
	"Um... what... er... what happened?"
	"He wasn't looking where he was going so he 
bumped into the girl over there-- the one with the 
blue hair-- and well... her friend didn't take it too 
well, I guess... so there he is."
	"I see..." Hikaru replied glancing at the loud 
mouthed girl's companion. She was a quietly beautiful 
girl with a certain maturity to her. The uniform was 
a pale blue jumper and a short sleeved polo shirt. 
Her particular uniform was neatly pressed, with sharp 
creases. Her skin was very pale and her silent eyes a 
deep red. The girl's face was utterly devoid of 
expression as she kept her gaze firmly locked, Hikaru 
realized after a moment, on Hiro.
	"I'm pretty surprised actually," Duo said after 
a moment, once more into the braided redhead's ear. 
"I never thought I'd find anyone as deadpan as Hiro, 
but that girl he bumped into is giving me the 
willies."
	Hiro meanwhile had taken to ignoring the red 
headed girl's rant and was returning the silent, 
blue-haired girl's gaze with frank and quiet 
appraisal.
	"Are you listening to me?!" The red headed girl 
asked the inattentive Hiro. He moved past her towards 
the other girl and nodded slightly. "I'm sorry I 
bumped into you, miss."
	The girl returned the nod and said in a soft 
voice that was all but a whisper,, "It's alright. No 
harm done. Rei Ayanami."
	"Hiro Yuy." 
	Duo's eyes boggled, "I don't believe it."
	"What's wrong?" Hikaru asked.
	Duo stomped towards Hiro and put the back of 
his hand against boy's forehead and muttered, "No 
temperature..."
	"What are you doing?" Hikaru asked.
	"Hiro..." Duo muttered, his mind obviously 
reeling in shock, "...apologized. He never 
apologizes... are you sure you aren't some sort of 
evil alien pod person?!" he demanded of Hiro.
	"Duo, enough." Hiro frowned at his friend.
	The red-haired girl turned to the blue-haired 
girl, "Rei! How could you give your name to this 
guy!?!" she demanded.
	"Why not, Asuka?" the blue-haired girl asked in 
a flat, puzzled tone.
	"Now that he's got your name who knows what 
else he's going to want?!" Asuka gesticulated.
	Duo interrupted Asuka, "Hey, this is the first 
signs of life I've seen from this guy," jerking a 
thumb at Hiro, "In two years! Let's not discourage it 
so soon."
	"Typical boy." Asuka snapped at Duo.
	"Why are you so nasty?" Hikaru asked Asuka 
after a moment.
	Asuka looked at Hikaru and raised an eyebrow, 
"Who are you? His girlfriend? You really should train 
him better if you are."
	"No, I'm not!" Hikaru retorted quickly, eyes 
snapping wide and a blush on her cheeks.
	Duo chuckled and playfully elbowed Hikaru, "No 
need to give up the idea so soon, Hikaru-san."
	Hikaru blushed again.
	Hiro and Rei merely ignored the other three and 
continued to stare at each other quietly.

	Elsewhere, Umi and Fuu shared a glance. 
	"Do you see her?" Fuu asked.
	"Nope," Umi replied. She stood on tiptoes, a 
hand shading her eyes as she scanned the crowd. 
"She's so short, I can't make her out."
	"You don't suppose she snuck off with that guy 
do you?" Fuu asked coloring slightly.
	"Come on, you know Hikaru. She's too na‹ve to 
try something like that." Umi added quietly to 
herself, she still acts like she's in grade school 
for goodness sake.
	"Na‹ve is precisely the problem, Umi-chan... 
That guy sort of looked like he was a... well... 
um... you know..."
	"A girl chasing playboy?" Umi completed. "Yeah. 
We'd better find her before she really gets herself 
into trouble."	
	"Well, that wasn't what I was worried about. 
She is a martial artist, she knows how to take care 
of herself," Fuu replied.
	"So why are you so frantic to find her?" Umi 
asked, pivoting on her tip toes to get another view.
	Fuu grinned brightly, "Well that other guy was 
cute."
	"Oh, please! You can do a lot better..." There 
was more that she wanted to say, but as she was not 
paying attention to what was near her, she crashed 
into a boy, causing both of them to fall down, Umi 
landing on top of the boy.
	"Ouch!" Umi cried out.
	"Erhm..." the blonde boy who she had landed on 
blushed. He was in dark green blazer with a string 
tie and loose black slacks. There was a school 
insignia over the breast pocket. It was obviously a 
uniform.
	"Oh my..." Fuu said, covering her mouth in 
surprise.
	The boy's companion, a very intense, Oriental 
boy with a high forehead and swept back black hair 
looked contemptuously at Umi and said snidely, "Watch 
what you're doing, woman." He spoke impeccable 
Japanese, but he had an unmistakable Chinese accent.
	He seemed to be about the same age as the 
blonde boy and was also wearing a similar uniform.
 	Umi got to her feet hurriedly, fuming, "Excuse 
me? What did you call me?"
	"I called you a woman. Oh, but I seem to have 
made a mistake. Girl."
	"Oh, really? You have some sort of attitude 
problem, pal?" Umi asked testily.
	Fuu grabbed onto Umi's shoulder, "Come on. 
Don't cause a scene."
	"Wu Fei, please. It was my fault, leave them 
alone," the blonde boy said, tugging on his 
companion's sleeve.
	"Quatre, this sort of rude behavior is 
unacceptable, particularly in a woman!" the Chinese 
boy, Wu Fei snapped.
	"Well, that sort of forehead is unacceptable, 
particularly in an imbecile," Umi mimicked nastily.
	Quatre and Fuu gave their companions horrified 
looks and proceeded to drag the two apart before it 
could get any worse.
	The Chinese boy nodded curtly to his companion 
and moved off, pausing to give Umi a final, venomous 
glance. The blonde looked apologetic. "You'll have to 
excuse Wu Fei. He's new to the country and he's still 
a little rough about the local manners," 
	Umi snorted, "If he's going to act like that 
maybe he should've stayed in China or wherever it was 
that he's from."
	Fuu and the boy, however, weren't listening. 
They were staring at each other. Both had tiny, very 
tentative smiles on their faces and huge blushes. 
Neither was looking the other directly in the eyes, 
keeping their gaze mostly on the floor.
	"Hello? Hello? Can either of you two hear me?" 
Umi tried again.
	The boy and Fuu snapped out of their daze 
suddenly, looking mildly sheepish.
	Umi raised an eyebrow at Fuu, who smiled back.
	The boy suddenly, extended a hand. "I'm um... 
Quatre Rebaba uh... Winner. Pleased to m-meet you."
	"Um... Fuu Hounjou... er... likewise..." she 
said, tentatively touching his hand.
	Umi feeling quite left out, suddenly said, "And 
I'm Umi Ryuzaki. You're foreign too, right?"
	"Er... ahh... yes. Yes I am," Quatre said, 
snapped once more from his daze.
	"Where from?" Fuu asked, almost, but not quite, 
looking into his eyes now.
	"Ahh... Saudi Arabia. My family moved to this 
country only recently." Quatre answered after 
hesitantly, nearly returning Fuu's almost half 
glance.
	"Wow. Your Japanese is excellent." Fuu smiled.
	"Yeah," Umi nodded, "And your manners are a lot 
better than your friend's."
	"Oh, you mean Wu Fei? He's always like that 
with strangers. He's a little shy," Quatre replied.
	"That was shy?" Umi asked incredulously.
	"Well, he's really a very nice guy once you get 
to know him." Quatre replied after a moment's 
thought.
	Umi nodded slowly, "If you say so..." Umi 
looked at the two who had once again fallen silent 
and she realized something. She cleared her throat 
then said, "Erhm... Quatre, was it?"
	"Yes."
	"You can let go of Fuu's hand now," Umi 
continued.
	They both pulled their hands back as though 
stung. 
	"Umi, I think I see her!" Fuu said suddenly, 
pointing to one side, close to the stairs, where Duo 
and Hikaru seemed to be talking...
	The blue-haired girl turned to look but her 
view was blocked by a good looking boy in a simple 
polo shirt and black slacks. A public school uniform. 
He had long straight hair that fell well past his 
eyes and he did not seem to be with anyone. She could 
see a certain sadness to his deep brown eyes. Umi 
almost felt her heart stop. So this is what it's like 
to fall in love at first sight, she managed to think 
to herself before there was the light and the 
voice... the blinding white light and the voice that 
seemed to fill the world.
	"Knights of the Evangelion! Save us! Please 
help save Cephiro!" A clear and ringing female voice 
called.
	Ten pairs of eyes turned to look into the sky, 
where, silhouetted against the light was a female 
figure. No one else took notice. No one else even 
stirred. But when the light had faded away, there 
were ten less students on Tokyo Tower than there'd 
been to begin with.
	
	One moment the firm steel of Tokyo Tower 
surrounded them. The next they were plummeting 
through starry blackness.
	"What the hell is going on here!?!" Duo 
screamed, his hands clawing at the air uselessly.
	"Where are we?" Umi cried, her words being torn 
away by the building wind.
	Hikaru was just too shocked to say anything.
	Asuka screamed furiously, "This is all your 
fault!" it wasn't precisely clear who she was 
referring to, but her glance was particularly 
venomous in Duo and Hiro's direction.
	"I will not die!" Wu Fei roared, trying to 
spread himself out in a desperate attempt to slow his 
fall.
	Fuu reached out and took Quatre's hand, not 
wanting to be separated from him too much. "What do 
you suppose this all is?" she asked quietly.
	"No idea. Nothing like this has ever happened 
to me." Quatre replied smiling somewhat worriedly at 
her.
	"How can you two be so calm?!" Umi shouted at 
the two.
	"Well so are they," Fuu stated, pointing with 
her free hand at Rei and Hiro. Rei and Hiro were 
watching their companions passively, allowing 
themselves to fall within a few feet of each other. 
Rei had her hands on her skirt to hold it down and 
Hiro had his arms crossed.
	Asuka gave a shocked cry, shoving her own skirt 
down and kicking out in Wu Fei's general direction, 
"Stop peeking up my skirt you pervert!"
	Wu Fei, who, quite frankly, wasn't even looking 
in her direction glowered. "Why would I want to see 
under your skirt, woman?"
	"Cause you're a GUY!"
	The boy in the public school uniform glanced in 
their direction and gave the distinct impression that 
he didn't approve of the argument. Umi found her gaze 
drifting towards him for a moment, but managed to 
recapture her composure after a moment, or as much 
composure one can gather while plummeting to your 
doom.
	"What happened to Tokyo Tower, that's what I 
want to know!" Umi called out to the others.
	Fuu called back to her cheerfully, "Maybe there 
was an earthquake."
	Quatre smiled at Fuu, looking at his watch. 
"No. I don't think an earthquake would've made it 
night, it's only 2:30 in the afternoon. Although I 
believe my watch has stopped," he added as an aside.
	Hikaru blinked as she realized something else. 
"Hey! We're all glowing."
	Exclamations of surprise, interspersed by Asuka 
and Wu Fei's bickering ran through the kids. This was 
even weirder than their sudden fall. Strange auras of 
various colors rippled and danced across their 
bodies. 
	Around Fuu was a faint greenish outline, almost 
like a visible wind. About Umi a majestic flaring 
aura of deep blue and white, like sea spray. Hikaru 
was surrounded by a red glow, like a roaring flame. 
Asuka was sheathed in a quicksilver aura with a 
shifting metallic sheen. Rei was surrounded by an 
aura of deep oaken brown patterned and marked like 
bark. Duo had no glow, but there seemed to be 
something like a heat shimmer all around him. 
Quatre's aura was a deep earthen yellow, solid and 
unmoving about his body. Wu Fei could hardly be seen 
anymore as a deep inky black shadow covered him. Hiro 
was the brightest of all, his entire body flaring and 
glowing like a brilliant star. The last boy, the 
nameless one, was enveloped by a coppery crimson glow 
like light reflecting off of burnished copper.
	They continued to burn as they fell. Like 
stars...

	"Zechs, are the first and third mobile infantry 
divisions in place yet?" Inquired the man seated 
behind the wooden desk.
	"Everything is in readiness, my Lord Treize," 
the masked man replied.
	The two were inside of a tent. Dimly lit by 
softly glowing glass spheres. In the center of the 
tent was a large wooden desk where an equally large 
tactical map was laid out as the two men inspected 
it. 
	The first man who spoke, Treize, nodded. He was 
seated in a cunningly carved wooden chair chased with 
lions and dragons. He was elegantly dressed in deep 
blue plate armor. His midnight black cloak draped 
languidly over the armrests of his seat. His helm, a 
massive, elaborately crafted thing, was laid casually 
on one corner of the desk. He was an elegantly built 
man with a patrician nose, devilishly handsome. His 
blonde hair cut short and slicked back.
	The second man, Zechs, wore a gray half helm 
which covered his entire head. The visor covered his 
eyes completely, allowing him to see only through a 
pair of small slits, serving to mask his identity. 
What little could be seen of him was merely the 
strong line of his jaw, the firm set of his mouth and 
the long straight blonde hair which spilled out from 
under his helm. His clothing consisted of a suit of 
armor, similar in design to Treize's, but colored 
deep red, his cloak of midnight black billowed lazily 
in the weak wind entering through the tent flap.
	Through the flap the sounds of the rest of the 
camp filtered in. There were the sounds of men and 
supplies being readied, calls for assistance, the 
sound of their Melefs being tested. Further off were 
the softer sounds of laughter and singing. Treize 
smiled. 
	"The men seem to be in high spirits, my good 
Cavalier." Treize noted approvingly to his masked 
companion.
	Zechs smiled slightly and shrugged, "They fight 
on the side of the Soldier of Cephiro, my Lord. How 
can they not be? Admittedly the prospect of fighting 
on holy ground has a number of them scared, but 
they're too well trained to balk."
	"Any word of the Cardinal Zagato?" the blue 
garbed man asked, leaning forward.
	"None, my Lord. As near as the Lady Noin can 
Assay, he is still in repose within his tower."
	A cry from outside the tent interrupted Zechs, 
"In the sky!"
	Both men rushed outside to find their troops 
looking up to the sky and pointing. Ten shooting 
stars of each a different color cut across the night 
sky. As they moved they left weaving contrails, 
almost like a braided trail of glowing color dividing 
the night.
	The mutterings of their troops were growing 
louder now, hints of curses and dark mutters of omens 
coming from of the younger and more devout soldiers.
	Treize eyed the light streaking from one 
horizon to the next, shedding its radiance on his 
camp. He gave a confident smile to his men, shouting 
out to call their attention, "Gentlemen! Look above 
you! We have been favored by a good omen! Our cause 
is looked on by God with approval!"
	The men looked to each other, then back up to 
the sky. There was a moment of uncertainty before 
Treize's presence reached out to them, soothing their 
doubts, rousing their fighting spirits. Before too 
long the men were cheering, slapping each other 
loudly on the back and happily returning to their 
duties to ready themselves for the morrow. Now, more 
than ever, filled with confidence.
	Zechs turned to his lord, a tiny grimace of 
doubt on his lips as he asked in a low voice, "Are 
you certain that that was indeed a good omen, my Lord 
Soldier?"
	Treize turned to his right hand man, a bland 
smile on his face. "Of course not, but it doesn't do 
to have the men know that. Now get some rest, Zechs. 
We have the Holy Citadel to take in the morning."
	The masked man gave an acknowledging nod as he 
turned away and strode off.
	Treize looked up to the sky again, murmuring 
softly, his tones admiring, "Could he have possibly 
done it? I didn't know he had it in him..."

	In a dark tower, in a small plain room, in a 
small plain bed, on white cotton sheets, a man 
attired in elaborate black robes stood slowly, 
reluctantly releasing his embrace on the beautiful 
young woman on the bed.
	The woman hidden by the darkness, was pale, her 
hair long, blonde and silken, her thin shift doing 
little to hide the contours of her body. She seemed 
waxen and pale, shivering weakly as the man allowed 
her to lie back in the bed. On her face was a tiny 
satisfied smile. Her eyes were closed as she murmured 
to the man in a small, small voice, "Did I do..." she 
paused as though trying to remember what the right 
word was. "Okay? Did I do okay?"
	The man, his features shrouded by shadows, but 
easily much taller and broader than the woman. He 
leaned down and placed a loving kiss on the woman's 
forehead. "Yes, my dear. You did very well. Now 
rest." He spoke in a voice of command-- of authority-
- but one softened by tenderness.
	"Yes." The woman replied weakly, "I feel 
sleepy..."
	"You've more than earned it," the man said, 
stroking her face lightly.
	The woman gave a small satisfied sigh and 
snuggled against the man's hand.
	Through the small, high window he could see the 
braided line stretching across the sky. His eyes 
hooded but observant, tracking the line. In a low 
voice he murmured, "It is done... Let the circle of 
Evangelion form... let the knights come... let the 
Angels of legend awaken as the Magi foretold."

	They crashed into the ground with a tremendous 
thunderclap. As they struck, there was a huge flash 
that would easily have been visible for miles around 
were it not hidden by the mountains. The powerful 
collision caused each of them to gouge out a crater. 
The ten children stirred weakly, none of them certain 
if they were stunned more by the impact or by the 
fact that they were still alive.
	"I feel dead." Asuka moaned, rolling onto her 
back
	Duo peered up from his undignified position on 
his stomach. He blinked once to clear the dust out of 
his eyes and gave a loud cry, "I'm alive!" and 
proceeded to hug the ground. "I'm never leaving you 
again!"
	Umi staggered to a sitting position, shaking 
her head to clear it. "Wow... is everybody okay?"
	Hiro stood slowly, unsteadily. He took a moment 
to reorient himself then quickly made his way to 
Rei's side, helping her to her feet as well. She 
acknowledged him with a tiny nod, holding his hand.
	The unnamed tenth was already on his feet, 
moving towards Umi to help her to her feet. "Everyone 
seems to be alright. Are you?"
	Umi looked up at him, forcing the blush 
crawling up her cheeks to go away, he was holding her 
hands and the two of them were rather close, "Um... 
yes... thanks."
	Wu Fei lifted up his head, a deep frown on his 
face. "When I find out who is responsible for 
this..." He allowed the threat to hang in the air.
	Quatre grinned at the Chinese boy, leaning back 
on his arms. "No need to get so edgy, Wu Fei. It was 
probably some sort of accident."
	"Yes, but what sort of accident would do this?" 
Fuu, who'd somehow managed to get herself into a 
kneeling position asked.
	"And where are we?" Hikaru asked, peering into 
the gloom. A low, dark moon provided little light, 
even in the cloudless, starlit sky. No, two moons! 
The terrain was rough. It appeared to be a clearing 
deep within an old growth forest, surrounded by large 
dark trees on each side. There seemed to be no ready 
paths from their little clearing, but it looked as if 
it were possible to pick a trail with some 
difficulty. To one side of them, visible mostly as no 
more than a brooding shadow, was a towering chain of 
mountains. In the sky, there were a few dark shadows 
floating but nothing which could be identified.
	"This certainly doesn't look like Tokyo," Fuu 
said, poking idly at a tree. It was so large she 
probably wouldn't have been able to get her arms 
around the trunk.
	Hiro glared at Duo, who was still in the 
process of hugging and kissing the ground and gave 
him a calculated nudge in the ribs. Duo blinked, 
snapping out of his fugue, and looked up at Hiro. 
"What?" Blink. "Where the heck is this?" he 
exclaimed.
	"Good question." Asuka nodded, bouncing to her 
feet. "An even better question is how do we get back 
to Tokyo Tower?" she added with a frown.
	Quatre looked into the sky, peering up at the 
floating shadows, "Well, I think it'll take a while 
for us to get back. This looks pretty far from 
Tokyo."
	"That's good then," Fuu replied brightly.
	"Are you stupid?" Asuka asked Fuu sourly. "Why 
is that good?"
	"Because it gives us time to introduce 
ourselves," Fuu replied.
	"I knew it," Umi said smirking slightly. Trust 
Fuu to find the bright side of any situation, she 
thought quietly.
	"Yeah," Duo said, staggering to his feet, "Who 
are you guys?"
	Asuka glared at Duo. "Why should we give you 
our names, hmmm?" 
	"Because we're trapped in the middle of nowhere 
with no one to rely on but each other," the unnamed 
boy said reasonably, "It would be better that we know 
each others names than call each other 'Hey you'."
	Wu Fei gave a non-committal grunt, folding his 
arms across his chest as he leaned against a tree.
	"Fine! I'll start," Umi said, giving a smile to 
the nameless boy. "I'm Umi Ryuuzaki. I'm in junior 
high. I'm fourteen."
	"Fuu Hounjuu. I'm Umi's classmate."
	"Me too, you guys. I'm Hikaru Shidou!" she 
giggled.
	Asuka blinked. "You're in the same grade as 
they are?"
	"Yeah. Why?" Hikaru asked.
	"Well, I thought you were still in grade 
school," Asuka said after a moment.
	Hikaru pouted as everyone else nodded in 
agreement. Fuu gave her a pat on the head. "It's 
okay," she said. Hikaru continued pouting.
	Duo grinned at her, moving next to the short 
redhead. "Hey, it's fine. I still think you're cute," 
he said quietly to her. Hikaru blushed crimson, but 
had difficulty keeping herself from smiling. Umi 
raised an eyebrow as she glanced at Duo.
	"And you are?" Umi asked Duo.
	He grinned. "He runs, he hides, but he never 
lies. I'm Duo Maxwell, also in Junior high. I'm 
fourteen too." He gestured to Hiro who was standing 
quietly next to Rei. "That's Hiro Yuy. He's my 
classmate. He's a little on the quiet side, but he's 
not a raving homicidal psychopath. Not that I know of 
anyway."
	Hiro gave Duo a short glare that eloquently 
summed up what the taciturn boy thought of his 
cheerful companion's humor. 
	Asuka put her hands on her hips and said, 
"Fine. I'm Asuka Langley Soryuu. Rising star of the 
gymnastics world." 
 	"That is Rei Ayanami. Little Miss Perfect. 
Don't expect her to say much, she doesn't. Much as it 
pains me to say, we're both in junior high, both 
fourteen years old, and I'm certain it's a pleasure 
and an honor for you all to meet me," she added with 
a smirk.
	"I could debate that, woman," Wu Fei replied 
snidely from where he was.
	Asuka whirled on the Chinese boy. "Oh yeah?! 
Who asked you?"
	"No one. I was merely commenting," Wu Fei 
replied languidly.
	"Who are you, anyway?" Asuka frowned, stomping 
towards him.
	Wu Fei straightened up. "I am Wu Fei Chang," he 
replied proudly, "I think this entire exercise is 
pointless and meaningless and we should already have 
begun to organize ourselves and find a way to get 
back home."
	"Hey, not everyone's introduced themselves 
yet!" Umi blurted, obviously anxious to learn the 
unknown boy's name.
	Wu Fei sighed and shrugged. Quatre smiled 
cheerfully and said, "Well, I'm Quatre Rebaba Winner. 
Nice to meet you all. Wu Fei and I are from the same 
school."
	"My name is Trowa Barton," the boy in the 
public school uniform said after a moment, his face 
totally impassive. "Like everyone else I'm also in 
junior high and I'm also fourteen."
	"Okay!" Asuka said stepping onto a large rock 
and raising her voice, "Now that THAT's out of the 
way, we need to organize ourselves! First we'll need 
to pick a leader, I nominate me."
	Wu Fei put his hands on his hips and looked up 
at her, "Just because one has a loud mouth, does not 
qualify one to lead," He said sourly.
	"How'd you like a fat lip, China boy?!" Asuka 
said, gesturing threateningly.
	"You are welcome to try. Girl." Wu Fei said 
shifting into a low martial arts stance.
	"Hey!" Umi's voice broke in, "We're not going 
to get anywhere bickering like this!"
	Trowa nodded, stepping next to her, "She's 
right. We'd best find some shelter for the night 
first. We can debate who leads later."
	Asuka and Wu Fei continued to glare at each 
other. Most of the rest nodded agreement, though. 
Asuka, realizing that the focus had moved away from 
her, glared at Trowa. "Hey! Who do you think you are 
giving orders like that?!"
	"I could ask the same of you." Wu Fei remarked 
to her snidely.
	Asuka's eyes narrowed as she leaped off the 
rock she was standing on and slapped Wu Fei sharply 
on the cheek. Wu Fei was both surprised and staggered 
by the blow. He took a moment to recover himself 
before lunging furiously at Asuka. only Quatre and 
Duo helping to restrain him kept him from catching 
her.
	"Hey! Chill out, man!" Duo shouted at him.
	"Wu Fei! Please, there's nothing to be gained 
by this pointless violence!" Quatre pleaded.
	"It will make me feel much better and it will 
show that girl her rightful place!" Wu Fei snarled.
	"Come and get me, China boy!" Asuka taunted, 
raising her hands in front of her face like a boxer.
	"Let's not aggravate him any more," Hikaru 
cautioned, trying to pull Asuka away from Wu Fei's 
reach.
	Trowa glanced at the two and shook his head 
quietly.
	Fuu cocked her head for a moment as she heard 
what seemed to be the faintest whisper, as if three 
people were speaking quietly, though none too 
clearly, and yet she could still hear it even above 
the noise of Wu Fei's enraged shouts and Asuka's 
jeers.
	"Everybody! Quiet... I think I hear someone 
else nearby," Fuu raised her voice, eliciting a 
moment of perplexed silence from the rest of the 
group.
	"Maybe it's someone who knows how to get back 
to Tokyo!" Hikaru said hopefully.
	Asuka glanced around at her companions, looking 
annoyed, "It could also be some maniac who chops kids 
up and eats them."
	"Well, I do not hear anything," Wu Fei said 
after a moment.
	"Are you sure you're not hearing things, Fuu-
chan? It's been a stressful day," Umi said 
sympathetically.
	Trowa spoke up again, "This is getting us 
nowhere. Let's find some shelter."
	Somewhat calmed-- but obviously not mollified-- 
Asuka and Wu Fei traded long angry glares at one 
another while the others began to gather closer 
together.
	Quatre blinked as he noticed the impressive 
craters they'd made. That alone was strange enough, 
but he looked a bit longer at the pits. "Hey, guys. 
Did anyone else notice this?"
	"Notice what?" Umi asked a little annoyed at 
another potential problem. The boy, Trowa, hadn't 
actually said that much, but he'd already managed to 
give their motley group a semblance of organization. 
She sneaked another glance at him, quiet, smart and 
very mature, she thought to herself, very cool. The 
blush she'd suppressed earlier had returned with a 
vengeance.
	"This." Quatre repeated pointing to the 
impacts. Each crater was a perfectly formed circle, 
all exactly the same size. They were arranged in a 
near exact circle with even spacing between each one.
	Hikaru glanced at the ground. "This is so 
weird."
	Duo grinned at her. "True, but it could've been 
worse."
	"I wish you hadn't said that," Umi said 
worriedly, walking up next to them.
	"This is the hope of Cephiro?" a voice cackled 
from somewhere.
	"What was that?" Wu Fei glared at the trees.
	"I knew it..." Umi muttered.
	"It's one of those voices I heard," Fuu said.
	Rei lifted an arm and pointed directly into the 
dense foliage, "There." She said quietly. Before 
she'd even managed to complete her word, Hiro had 
already kicked a rock into his hand and pitched it 
into the darkness.
	There was a muffled "OW!" and the sound of soft 
sniggering, followed by soft words in a deep, harsh 
voice. 
	There was a brief flare of light, cutting 
through the darkness. The trees and leaves casting 
strange shadows across the children as three figures 
floated out of the trees, seemingly unhampered by the 
interwoven branches.
	All three wore elaborately tailored white robes 
trimmed in blue, gold and green. All three held 
intricately carved staves topped by spherical 
crystals. There was a certain... family resemblance 
between all three, despite the obvious differences.
	They were haloed in light, the shortest seemed 
to be a young boy, no more than ten years old. He had 
a wild thatch of unruly white hair streaked with 
pink. His face was unusually sober for one so young 
and he eyed the ten teens appraisingly. 
	The tallest was a severe, haughty man easily in 
his early forties. He had dark hair, trimmed to a 
very practical, single length style. His eyes were 
hidden by dark glasses with oval frames and he had a 
neatly trimmed beard, but no moustache. His gloved 
hands held a much shorter staff than the other two, 
it was practically a walking cane.
	Between and a little behind them was an elderly 
man, bent almost double by his years. What little 
hair he still had was long and thin and white, 
occupying a short fringe around his bald pate. He 
seemed to be nursing a bump on his forehead. Of the 
three he looked the strangest, for where his eyes 
should have been were pools of a crystalline 
substance. His left arm and both legs also appeared 
to have been replaced by white crystal prosthetics. 
In his withered right hand he fingered his staff 
diffidently.
	The boy looked sternly at them, leaning 
slightly on his elaborately carved staff, which was 
half again as tall as he was, and said gravely, 
"Welcome to Cephiro, Knights of the Evangelion."
	"You have been called because there is need of 
you." The severe man spoke in a bass rumble.
	"What? Need?" Umi asked, confused.
	"The land," cackled the elderly man, "The land 
needs the ten Knights. To save it. To restore the 
peace."
	"When the Pillar fails, when chaos rises, when 
war stalks the land. There will come ten from a world 
beyond our world. Ten who bear the hidden Crafts. Ten 
to take the task and save the world," the boy spoke, 
sounding as though he were quoting.
	"Well, I'm sure you've got the wrong people, so 
if it's all the same with you, just send us back 
Tokyo?" Asuka snapped irritably.
	"Are you three responsible for bringing us 
here?!" Wu Fei snarled.
	"No," the severe man said imperiously, "We do 
not have the power to bring you here, nor do we have 
the power to return you. Only the Pillar may do 
that," even his haughty tone took on a slight 
inflection of respect at the word 'Pillar'. The teens 
could practically hear the capitalization slamming 
into place.
	Umi spoke up once more. "What is a pillar?" 
	"The Pillar," the withered old man said 
gleefully, "The Pillar is the ruler of Cephiro, 
spiritual and temporal. Her will is the strongest, 
her Craft the Envoy... she is..."
	"Dead," the child continued for the old man, 
his voice toneless. "The Pillar of Cephiro, the 
Princess Emeraude of the House Darlien died a year 
ago. The newly elevated Pillar, the Princess Relena 
of House Darlien, has... not been able to perform her 
duties as expected."
 	Hikaru listened intently. Duo at her side, 
while not so intent, lent an ear to what was being 
said. Rei and Hiro, despite their silence, gave the 
distinct impression of close attention. Trowa 
listened carefully, as though weighing each word as 
it was spoken. Asuka and Wu Fei looked angrier with 
every word.
 	"Are you telling us we're stuck here?!" Asuka 
shouted at the three, shoving her way to the front of 
their cluster.
	"How do we get back home?" Umi asked, 
desperately.
	"We have to get back home!" Hikaru said 
suddenly, "Our parents are going to be really worried 
about us!"
	"That's right!" Quatre and Fuu both agreed.
	Duo shrugged. "Those of us with parents 
anyway."
	"That is not our concern," the severe man 
snapped irritably. "You cannot return to your own 
world until peace has returned to Cephiro."
	"A peace you must bring about," the old man 
added.
	"WHAT?" came the collective reply. Eight voices 
anyway.
	The boy rubbed his head, looking worriedly at 
the group. "This was a lot easier the last time," he 
muttered. He then spoke in a louder voice, 
surprisingly commanding for his youth, "You ten are 
the Legendary Knights of the Evangelion. Summoned 
from another world and granted the powers of the 
Hidden Crafts. With this magic you will do whatever 
is necessary to return the peace to our lands. It is 
given in your hands to save Cephiro."
	"Powers?" Asuka perked up slightly. "What kind 
of powers?"
	"But I want to go home." Umi sniffed worriedly. 
Duo gave her a comforting pat on her shoulder.
	"They need us to save the world?" Hikaru asked 
no one in particular.
	"But we've all got lives waiting for us," Fuu 
pleaded with the three.
	The haughty man glared them into silence, the 
crystal embedded in his staff glowing a brighter than 
before. "Your ten lives are all that stand between 
the death of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of 
thousands. Are you all truly so selfish?"
	"That's not what we're saying! But you're being 
very arrogant to think you can just snatch us up and 
expect us to do what you want us to do!" Asuka 
shouted at him.
	The old man said in his gleeful cackle, 
"Besides, there's no way for you to get home unless 
you accept the mantle."
	"Hey, we're just kids, what're we supposed to 
be able to do?" Duo asked them irritably.
	"They have a point, Gendo," the child said, 
glancing up at the severe man. "We certainly didn't 
expect them to be so... young."
	"That shouldn't matter," the severe man, Gendo, 
said to the boy, "Age is no measure. Now bend your 
will with mine that we may awaken them to their 
Crafts."
	"I disagree," the boy said defiantly, "We have 
a contention within the Magi, Master Jeh. Do you have 
a tiebreaker?"
	The old man, whose name was apparently Jeh, 
looked first at Gendo, then at the boy, then turned 
his disturbing crystaline gaze onto the teens. He 
spoke in a surprisingly gentle voice, "What must be 
done needs to be done. If they accept the burden, we 
awaken their Crafts." His glance went up to Gendo's 
face, pinning him with those crystal eyes despite his 
dark glasses. "Even we may not force them to take the 
mantle of the Evangelion. They must choose it."
	Gendo supressed a shudder and nodded. "Yes. I 
apologize."
	The boy took a deep breath, stepping forward a 
bit, moving closer to the teens. Behind him, Jeh 
shuffled forward and to the side a bit, maintaining 
their triangular arrangement. "We are the Magi of 
Cephiro. I am Clef, this is Jeh and that is Gendo." 
He bowed formally to them.
	"I'm sorry if it seems like we're forcing this 
on you," he continued, "And it does seem really 
sudden, I agree, but time is of the essence. The 
choice is yours. You-- it must be all of you-- may 
choose to accept the burden of the Circle of 
Evangelion, to become the Legendary Knights who will 
save Cephiro and eventually return home. Or you may 
choose not to take it. But know that doing so will 
doom you to remain here, and will most certainly doom 
this world."
	Duo gulped. "Kinda heavy handed choice if you 
ask me."
	"Um... I think we'll need to talk about this." 
Umi smiled worriedly.
	"Do not take too long," Gendo said. "We do not 
have all night."
	The teens gathered into a loose huddle as the 
three Magi stood to one side.
	"Well?" Umi asked her companions.
	"Well, duh! We don't exactly have much of a 
choice!"
	Wu Fei grunted, "Much as it pains me to agree 
with her, it would appear that we should accept 
this."
	"It can't be all that bad," Hikaru said, now 
smiling cheerfully. "I mean people need us! We're 
going to be heroes!"
	Duo stared at her, "You're weird."
	Hikaru blinked in response.
	"Anyone else?" Umi asked. "I'm voting for 
taking it. I can't stay here. I mean they probably 
don't have any Hagen Daaz or anything on this world!" 
She looked panicked for a moment, but quickly managed 
to get herself under control again. She certainly 
didn't want to embarrass herself in front of 
everyone, most especially not Trowa.
	"Do we have any dissenting opinions?" Umi 
continued, glancing meaningfully at the silence 
block, comprised of Rei, Hiro and Trowa. Her gaze 
lingered on Trowa for a long moment before she shook 
her head clear.
	Fuu smiled at Quatre. "This is kind of 
exciting. I feel like we're in a fantasy novel or 
something."
	"Funny," he smiled back. "I was thinking the 
same thing." 
	Umi stared at Fuu for a moment, "Ahem... can 
you guys cut the flirting out 'til after we talk this 
over?"
	Fuu and Quatre both blushed equally red and 
looked away from one another. "You didn't have to put 
it that way," Fuu muttered quietly.
	"Accept it," Rei said quietly.
	Hiro merely gave a curt nod of agreement.
	Trowa caught Umi's gaze. "We accept for now. It 
will certainly buy us time to find out more about 
what is going on."
	"Does anyone buy this bunk they're trying to 
sell us about magic powers? And what's this 'Craft' 
and 'Hidden Crafts' they keep talking about? I don't 
think they mean the cheese," Duo asked.
	"Crafts, young man," Jeh's voice carried loudly 
to them. "Are the definitions of one's power. On 
Cephiro, magic is defined by three things. Your Will, 
determines your strength, your Training determines 
what skills and what spells you can work your magic 
into, but the third, your Craft, defines your magic. 
It makes it what it is, shapes the way your magic 
expresses itself."
	Duo poked his head up from the huddle laughing 
nervously, "Eh... um... thanks... I think..." As he 
ducked down he muttered, "Mr. Wizard speaks, and I 
don't get a word."
	"Let us get this over with. The sooner we can 
finish whatever task it is they are giving us, the 
sooner we can leave this place," Wu Fei snapped 
irritably.
	"So we're all agreed?" Umi asked again, feeling 
somewhat surprised that she'd somehow been shoved 
into a position of responsibility.
	They separated from the huddle and Umi looked 
straight at Gendo. "We don't have any choice. We 
accept."
	"Then the Second Circle of Evangelion has 
formed," Jeh announced, "The Knights of the 
Evangelion are returned to awaken the Five Angels of 
Legend. Abruel, Uriel, Mikal, Raphael, and Sammael. 
The Lords of the North, South, East, West and the 
Depths. To these ten we charge the peace of the 
land."
	The boy, Clef, spoke, seeming to complete a 
response. "To them we entrust the ten Hidden Crafts, 
the Crafts only those of the Circle of Knights may 
use." He raised one small hand, little multicolored 
bubbles suddenly seemed to rise from his palm as the 
glow from his staff brightened. The bubbles were all 
about two inches across and floating in a slow orbit 
around his hand. 
	Gendo raised his walking cane and slammed it 
hard on the ground. "We awaken the magic," his voice 
rang. He slammed the cane on the ground once more, 
the tone refining, becoming clearer, like a bell now. 
"We awaken your magic." And a third time he struck 
his cane on the ground and there came a pure, rich, 
ringing 'clang' sending vibrations deep into the 
bones of the ten, vibrations that seemed to all but 
bypass the ears and go straight to the brain, sending 
them reeling. Clef lowered his hand and blew at the 
bubbles. They seemed to drift in the gust for a 
moment, but as they passed a certain distance beyond 
his hand, each bubble's color would fix itself and 
rush at blinding speeds towards one of the 
children... 
	There were screams as the light engulfed them. 
There was no sensation but the pure heady rush of 
energy, no touch, no sight, no scent, no sound. Pure 
white power screaming through their bodies... there 
were vague hints through the light here and there. 
One being drawn into the ground. Another taking root. 
Another expanding suddenly. One rising into the sky. 
Another lost in a haze. One caught totally frozen. 
Another bursting into flames. There was one intense 
spot of pure shadow within the light. It was all but 
impossible to distinguish one from the other in the 
blinding light.
	Then, very distantly, the old man's voice 
whispered to them, as if rattling off an old, old 
list...
	"The Mason... the Smith... the Stalker... the 
Firewalker... the Winddancer... the Mariner... the 
Journeyman... the Timekeeper... the Lightbringer... 
the Heirophant. The Ten Hidden Crafts. The burden has 
been accepted."
	And just as suddenly, as the light had taken 
them in, the ten shadows within the light vanished. 
The light too faded swiftly.
	The three Magi looked at one another with mild 
satisfaction on their faces. "It is done," Gendo 
spoke.
	"Let us hope they will be able to do what is 
necessary," Jeh spoke.
	From the hidden shadows of the forest, a figure 
in black stepped out, glancing at the three. "We can 
only pray."
	Clef turned to the newcomer, "May we rest now? 
Our task for this era is done and I am anxious to 
rest."
	"Yes." The dark figure nodded. "I thank you, My 
lords Magi."
	The three nodded as one and spoke in unison, 
"We thank you, Lord Cardinal." 
	They raised their staves and it happened 
slowly, and yet, so quickly it was difficult to tell 
how it had happened. One moment, three perfectly 
normal humans, the next, their white robes seemed to 
blend into the ground, their arms twisted and became 
gnarled like branches, their bodies elongated and 
broadened until three white oaks, equal in size to 
one another and each easily several hundred years old 
to judge by that size, stood in the clearing.
	The man approached the softly glowing oaks and 
lightly touched the bark of one. "Take your rest, 
Ancient ones. The fate of the realm rests on those 
ten now." He looked over his shoulder into the 
darkness of the forest. "I just wish I were better 
soothed by that knowledge."

End of Part I.


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