| Legend of the Kokoro Episode 8-Long-Lost Sister |
| It was a beautiful afternoon at a two-story pale blue house with a white roof, white trim, and a spacious front porch. A young boy about seven years old stepped onto the porch with a large red ball in his hands. He blew at a lock of his thick blonde hair, which was in his face. The boy's violet-gray eyes glistened in the sunlight as he bounced the ball on the porch. He was wearing a white polo shirt, khaki shorts, white socks, and brown loafers. "Sage!" a woman's voice shouted from inside the house. Thinking that he was in trouble for playing on the porch, the little boy clutched the ball in both arms and asked, "Yes, Mama?" "Before you go play in the backyard, wait for you sister, okay?" Mrs. Date asked. Little Sage groaned before he replied, "Okay, Mama." He sat down on the porch steps and rested his chin against the ball in his lap. A few minutes later, Sage heard a small pair of feet running toward the door and turned around. He saw a little five-year-old girl running towards him. Her long straight black hair was tied up in a ponytail with a purple ribbon, which bounced up and down as she ran. She was wearing a short-sleeve white blouse, purple overalls, and white socks. Before the girl could head out onto the porch, Mrs. Date shouted, "Cassandra Date, what do you think you're doing?" The girl froze like a statue as her mother approached her. Mrs. Date was a beautiful young woman. Her long blonde tresses hung down her shoulders as she bent down to look at her daughter, who was staring down at the floor. "Cassandra, look at me," she whispered gently. Cassandra looked up into her mother's bright blue eyes. "Didn't I tell that you can't run in the house?" she asked. "I'm sorry, Mommy," Cassandra whispered bashfully. "That's a good girl," Mrs. Date replied as she patted her daughter on the head. "Sage, help your sister get her shoes on." Sage grumbled a bit to himself as he stepped back inside the house and tied Cassandra's black tennis shoes on for her. "Have fun, you two," Mrs. Date announced as she headed back to the kitchen, while her two children stepped onto the porch. Sage got down the porch steps with no problem. He turned around and groaned as he watched his sister slowly climb down the steps, one at a time. "Come on, Cassandra!" Sage whined impatiently. As soon as Cassandra climbed off of the last step, Sage grabbed her by the hand and led her to the backyard. "Why couldn't I have a little brother instead?" Sage mumbled angrily to himself. Sage didn't like to admit it, but he really did like his sister. One thing he liked about Cassandra was her dark jet-black hair. She got it from their dada, whereas Sage got his golden locks from his mom. Another thing he was proud of was that both he and Cassandra had violet-gray eyes. Sage didn't understand why the boys in his first-grade class teased him about his eyes. Sage remembered one time when he asked his mom, "Why do the boys at school tease me about my eyes?" His mom just smiled and replied, "Don't worry about what those boys say at school, Sage. They're just jealous because your eyes are very special." Suddenly, Sage felt a tug on his arm. "What is it, Cassandra?" he asked his little sister. "Can we please play a game with your new ball?" Cassandra asked curiously. "Okay! Hold this," Sage exclaimed as he handed his ball to his sister. Cassandra held the ball and watched as her older brother pulled out some small square mats from a little outdoor shed. Sage put one mat down in front of his sister, and then he dropped three more mats on the grass, forming a miniature baseball diamond. "You ready, Cassandra?" Sage asked as he ran into the center of the surrogate baseball field. The little girl nodded her head in approval. "Roll me the ball," Sage instructed. Cassandra rolled the ball and Sage caught it. "Okay, we're gonna play kickball," Sage announced. "What's kickball?" Cassandra asked. "It's like baseball, only you kick the ball instead of hitting it with a bat," Sage explained. "Oh, okay," Cassandra replied while slowly nodding her head. "I'm gonna roll the ball to you, and then you kick it," Sage instructed. He put the ball on the ground in front of him and pushed it. Cassandra waited until the ball was a few feet away from her, then she ran towards it and kicked it as hard as she could. The red ball quickly bounced past Sage and rolled into the woods behind the house. "I'm sorry, Sage," Cassandra apologized. "Stay here, and I'll go get my ball," Sage told her before he ran into the woods. He has been in the woods many times before with his father, so he wasn't afraid. Sage finally found his new ball, which was lying in a pile of twigs and leaves that looked like an old bird's nest. He was about to pick it up when he heard Cassandra scream... A loud beeping sound quickly woke Sage up from his dream. He sat up in his bed for a moment before he reached over and turned off his alarm clock. Sage wiped the cold beads of sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand as he breathed in heavily. Suddenly, there was a knock at Sage's bedroom door. "Sage? Are you awake?" a woman's voice asked. Sage let out a deep sigh before replying, "Yes, I am, Mom." "Well, hurry up and get dressed. Breakfast is almost ready," Mrs. Date announced. "Okay, Mom," Sage replied as he got out of bed. He headed over to a nearby chair, where a pale yellow shirt and a pair of khaki slacks lay in a folded pile. After grabbing his clothes from the chair, Sage headed back over to his bed, sat down, and started to get changed. After he slid his shirt over his head, Sage's eyes focused on a silver-plated double picture frame on his bed stand. In the left frame was a picture of himself when he was seven. In the right frame was a picture of the little black-haired girl from his dream. Sage picked up the silver frame and stared at the picture of the smiling little girl. "Cassandra, where are you?" Sage whispered sadly. He held the picture frame for a few more moments before he set it back on his bed stand. After he slid his brown loafers on, Sage slowly stood up and grabbed his navy blue jacket, which was hanging from a hook on his wall, and his backpack from the floor. Sage let out a deep sigh as he opened his bedroom door and walked down the hall leading to the stairs. He slowly climbed down the stairs and cut through the living room to the kitchen. "Good morning, son," Mr. Date greeted as Sage entered the kitchen. "Morning, Dad," Sage greeted back as he hung his jacket on the back of an empty chair and sat down. "Hope you two are hungry," Mrs. Date announced as she placed a large platter of hot French toast in the center of the table. "Thank you, dear," Mr. Date replied as his wife joined him and their son at the kitchen table. As Mr. Date loaded a couple of pieces of French toast on his plate, he noticed that Sage was just sitting there, with a strange guilt-ridden look in his eyes. "Sage? Are you all right, son?" Mr. Date asked. "I'm just fine, Dad," Sage replied quickly as he reached over, grabbed a piece of French toast with his fork, and placed it on his plate. "Sage, if there's something bothering you, you can tell us," Mrs. Date assured her son as he took a bite of his French toast. There was a long pause of silence before Sage cleared his throat. "I, umm...I had that dream again," Sage muttered hesitantly before taking a drink of milk. Sage's parents glanced at each other for a moment, then they both looked at their son with concern in their eyes. "Sage, sweetheart, it's not your fault," Mrs. Date whispered softly. "Yes, it is, Mom," Sage argued. "I shouldn't have left Cassandra alone in the backyard. I should have done something to stop that creep instead of just standing there!" He groaned loudly out of frustration as he slammed his fist against the kitchen table. "Sage, let me remind you that you were only seven at the time," Mr. Date explained as he put a reassuring hand on his son's shoulder. "There's no way you could have stopped that man from kidnapping Cassandra. Matter of fact, if you had arrived any sooner, you probably would have been kidnapped as well." Sage sat at the table in complete silence for a few moments. "I better get ready for school," he muttered out loud as he got up and took his jacket off the back of the chair. As he put his jacket on, Mrs. Date glanced at the wall clock. "Sage, it's still early," she remarked as she looked back at her son. "Yeah, I know, but I gotta wake up Rowen first," Sage replied as he picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulders. "You know Rowen. That guy can sleep through an earthquake!" "Goodbye, Sage," Mr. Date said as Sage opened the kitchen door leading outside. "Have a nice day at school," Mrs. Date added. "Thanks," Sage replied as he left the house. Sage started walking down the street, lost in his thoughts. He was so focused that he didn't notice a certain redhead girl leave her house on the opposite side of the street. "Hey, wait up, Sage!" Sandra shouted as she ran down the street after the blonde boy that she eventually learned to tolerate. "Good morning to ya," Sandra greeted cheerfully as she caught up with Sage. "Yeah, good morning, Sandra," Sage mumbled out loud. The two friends walked down the street in silence for a few minutes. "Sage is there something bothering you?" Sandra asked curiously. "No. What makes you think that?" Sage asked. "Well, you haven't tried to flirt with me yet, so there must be something wrong with you!" Sandra joked with a small smirk on her face. "Very funny, Sandra," Sage retorted dryly. "Come on, Sage. What's wrong?" Sandra prodded. "Nothing's wrong, Sandra!" Sage snapped a bit rudely. "I just didn't sleep well last night, okay?" "Okay, okay!" Sandra retorted, trying not to show that she was a bit hurt by Sage's sudden rudeness. "Touchy this morning, aren't we?" "I'm sorry, Sandra," Sage apologized. "I just got a lot on my mind." "That's okay, Sage," Sandra replied. "Just don't take it out on me anymore, all right?" "Okay, Sandra," Sage agreed. "I'm really sorry about snapping at you like that." All right, Sage. Just don't do it again, okay?" Sandra asked as they approached Rowen's house. "Gotcha," Sage replied. "Buenos dias, Sage and Sandra," Roxie greeted cheerfully, who had just joined them on the street. "Morning, Roxie," Sandra greeted. "Morning, Roxie," Sage muttered as he walked past the two girls to Rowen's door. "What's with him?" Roxie asked Sandra. "I don't know, really," Sandra admitted, "Sage told me that he didn't sleep well last night, but I think he's covering up for something else. I just can't put me finger on it." Roxie was about to say something when a loud buzzing sound interrupted her. She and Sandra looked across the street and noticed that Sage was holding down the doorbell button with his finger. "Oh, great! Now he's taking it out on Rowen!" Sandra remarked as Sage continued to hold down the doorbell button. He finally stopped ringing the doorbell when Rowen quickly opened the door, with an irritated expression on his face and his hands covering his ears. "What did you do that for, Sage?" Rowen asked in an annoyed tone as he brought his hands down. "Just making sure your doorbell was working, Rowen," Sage stated. "Come on. Let's get going." "Okay," Rowen replied slowly as he followed Sage across the street to join Sandra and Roxie. As the four friends walked down the street, Sage asked, "Any idea what Dulcea was up to with those fortune bracelets, Rowen?" "To be honest, I haven't the faintest idea," Rowen confessed. "What about that idea Cye had the other day?" Sage asked. "You know, about Dulcea trying to control everyone with those bracelets?" "Unfortunately, Cye's theory fizzled out," Rowen reluctantly admitted. "Don't worry about it, Rowen," Roxie told him. "If anyone can figure out what Dulcea is up to, you can." "Thanks, Roxie," Rowen replied. "But it's not going to be easy. I've been racking my brain for a logical explanation for this, but so far, nothing fits." "You might be going at this all wrong," Sage interrupted. "Not everything has a logical explanation to it, Rowen." "I hate to admit it, but Sage could be right," Sandra muttered out loud as they arrived at the street corner. "Well, what do you suggest, Sage?" Rowen asked curiously. "The answer could be more spiritual than logical," Sage replied. "I don't know about that..." Rowen muttered thoughtfully. "Just hear me out, all right?" "I'm listening." "This is from what I learned from practicing meditation with my father. There is a balance of karmic energy within the body known as Chi. There are two types of Chi: White Chi and Black Chi. Meditation is supposed to help achieve a perfect balance between the White and Black Chi." "Okay, but what does this have to do with Dulcea's fortune bracelet plot?" Rowen asked. Before Sage could answer him, Sandra announced, "Sorry to interrupt, but our friends are coming." Sage and Rowen looked up and saw Ryo, Rita, Kento, Kim, Cye, and Clara walking towards them. "I guess you'll have to tell me the rest later," Rowen told Sage. "When would be a good time?" Sage asked. "Lunchtime would be the best time," Rowen replied. "With all the noise, no one else will overhear what we're saying, and you can fill the others in on what's going on as well." "All right," Sage agreed. "Morning, guys," Ryo greeted as he, Rita, Kento, Kim, Cye, and Clara approached Sage, Sandra, Rowen, and Roxie. "Good morning, Ryo," Sage and Rowen replied as the ten friends continued the walk to school. "So, Rowen, have you figured out the deal with those fortune bracelets?" Ryo asked Rowen. "No, not yet," Rowen replied. "So, my idea didn't fit at all?" Cye asked. "Sorry, Cye, but controlling people with those bracelets couldn't possibly be the case," Rowen told him. "And why not?" Kento asked. "There are two reasons, Kento. First of all, those fortune bracelets were sparsely distributed only in Japan. And second, the bracelets would have appealed more to girls than to boys," Rowen explained. "Yeah, I guess you're right about that, Rowen," Cye admitted. "You know, Sage has come up with a theory of his own," Rowen added. "Really? What is it, Sage?" Ryo asked. Sage didn't respond at all. "Earth to Sage! Come in, Sage!" Kento shouted loudly, bringing Sage back to reality. "I'm sorry. What?" Sage asked. "Are you all right, Sage?" Cye asked curiously. "I'm fine, Cye," Sage muttered out loud. "I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Now, what did you ask me about, Ryo?" "Rowen told us that you came up with an idea about what Dulcea's up to," Ryo explained. "Care to tell us about it?" Before Sage could reply, Cye announced, "Looks like it's going to have to wait till later. We're almost at the school now." Ryo, Sage, Rowen, and Kento looked up and saw Han`a High School up ahead. "Sage can explain his theory during lunch. Is that all right with you guys?" Rowen asked. "I think we can do that," Ryo admitted as Cye and Kento nodded their heads in approval. "It'd be best if we meet in the courtyard for lunch," Rowen suggested. "The cafeteria gets so noisy that we won't be able to hear each other clearly." "Good idea, Rowen. The courtyard it is," Ryo agreed as he and his nine friends entered Han`a High School... Little Sage was about to pick up his red ball from the old bird's nest when he suddenly heard a girl's terrified scream. "Cassandra?" Sage shouted as he turned around and started running through the woods. "Cassandra!" Sage shouted again as he made his way back to the backyard, where he had left his sister. When he finally reached the backyard, Sage stopped running and gasped loudly out of shock. Standing in the backyard was a tall stranger, unfamiliar to the little boy. He was wearing a long-sleeve charcoal gray shirt with dark purple thorn-covered vines embroidered on the front, charcoal gray pants, and shiny black leather shoes. The stranger's short hair was white in color, despite his youthful face and slight muscular build. Sage looked down and gasped again when he saw Cassandra lying on the ground in front of the tall stranger. From the looks of it, it appeared that Sage's little sister had fainted when the stranger surprised her. Sage began to grow angry when the stranger knelt down to pick up Cassandra. "Leave her alone!" Sage shouted as he charged towards the stranger. The young man quickly looked up and glared at the little boy with his chilling ice-blue eyes. He narrowed his eyes, which started to glow a pale blue. Suddenly, to Sage's surprise, he stopped running as a strange chill went through his body, encasing him in a pale blue light. The young man snickered softly at Sage's attempt to save his little sister. "Nice try, kid, but not good enough," he retorted evilly as he scooped up the unconscious girl in his arms. "No! Cassandra!" Sage shouted as he struggled to move. Despite his efforts, Sage was able to move an inch. "Don't worry, little boy. We'll meet again...when I come back for you!" the stranger announced. He let out a sinister laugh as he and Cassandra disappeared into thin air. Just as soon as they disappeared, the strange light that kept Sage frozen vanished as well. Sage fell to his hands and knees, completely bewildered over what had just happened. He quickly got up and ran to the front porch. "Mama! Mama! Some strange man took Cassandra!" Sage shouted as he ran into the house... "Sage? SAGE!" Kento shouted loudly, bringing Sage out of his daydream. "Hmm...what?" Sage asked. "For the third time, Sage, can I have your potato chips?" Kento asked, pointing at an unopened bag of potato chips lying on the picnic table in front of Sage. "Sure, help yourself," Sage muttered out loud. "All right!" Kento cheered as he took the bag of chips. "Hey, guys! Sorry I'm late," Cye apologized as he joined Sage, Kento, and Ryo at the picnic table. "Don't worry about it, Cye. You're not the only one that's late," Ryo pointed out. "Rowen hasn't shown up yet." "Rowen is always late for everything!" Kento complained loudly before he popped a handful of potato chips in his mouth. "Look, since Rowen isn't here yet, I can fill you guys in on what I already told him," Sage announced. "We're listening," Ryo revealed. "Well, this is from what I learned from practicing meditation with my father. Within the body, there is a balance of karmic energy known as Chi. There are two types: White Chi and Black Chi. Meditation is supposed to help achieve a perfect balance between these two energies." "Yeah, yeah. Very interesting, Sage, but what does that have to do with Dulcea's scam?" Kento asked dully. "That's what Rowen asked me earlier," Sage admitted. "I'll let you know when he gets here." "Speaking of Rowen, here he comes," Cye announced as he pointed at Rowen, who just entered the courtyard. Besides his bagged lunch, Rowen was carrying a small plastic case in his other hand. "Hey, Rowen," Ryo greeted as their blue-haired friend sat down at the picnic table with them. "Hey, guys. I apologize for taking so long," Rowen apologized. "Mr. Lobello, the teacher for my Criminal Justice class, needed to speak with me after Study Hall." "No way! You got in trouble, for once in your lifetime?" Kento asked out of surprise. "That's definitely the only reason why any teacher would want to see you after class, Kento!" Cye retorted. "You better watch it, Cye!" Kento retorted loudly. "Knock it off, you two!" Ryo interrupted. Kento and Cye reluctantly kept quiet. "Look, I didn't get in trouble with Mr. Lobello. He wanted to give me this." Rowen showed his four friends the plastic case he had with him. Ryo, Kento, Cye, and Sage could see that within the semi-transparent plastic case was a CD. "What the heck is that?" Kento asked curiously. "It's a CD-ROM I'm using for a Criminal Justice project," Rowen explained. "It's a new software program designed to help the police create more accurate composite drawings of escaped criminals and missing persons. This program's been working very well in the United States, so the software's designers decided to distribute the program internationally." "That sounds like an excellent idea," Cye admitted. "Wait a minute! If the cops are supposed to be using this thing, then how did you get your hands on it, Rowen?" Kento asked suspiciously. "Well, it just so happens that Mr. Lobello has a brother who's a captain of the Tokyo City Police Department," Rowen revealed. "Don't worry, I'm not doing anything illegal here." "Well, since you're here, Rowen, Sage can finish explaining his idea to us," Ryo announced. "Yeah, Sage. Tell us, how does this Chi fit into Dulcea's scheme for taking over our world?" Rowen asked curiously. "Well, Chi represents a true balance within a person, kinda like the idea of Yin-Yang in China," Sage explained. "Black Chi would represent the Yin, and White Chi would represent the Yang. Most of the time, people have an even balance of Chi, but sometimes, the Chi can be thrown out of balance." "How can that happen, Sage?" Ryo asked. "It all depends on a person's character. Anyone who's considered a generous or selfless person would have more White Chi than they normally would," Sage explained. "Anyone who's seen as a hateful, corrupt person would have much more Black Chi than White Chi." "Dulcea definitely has a lot of that Black Chi in her!" Kento remarked. "You got that right, Kento," Cye agreed. "Another way that the Chi can be thrown out of balance is when a person expresses a very strong emotion," Sage continued. "If the emotion's a positive one, like love or hope, the White Chi overpowers the Black Chi, However, if someone were to express a strong negative emotion, such as cruelty or jealousy, the Black Chi would become stronger." "I think I see what you're getting at, Sage," Rowen mused thoughtfully. "Mind explaining it to the rest of us?" Kento asked. "It could be possible that Dulcea has found a way to harness this Black Chi as an energy source," Rowen explained. "If so, she's probably saving it for something big." "That would explain those fortune bracelets," Ryo muttered thoughtfully. "They were forcing our friends to express some really bad emotions." "Yeah, and Dulcea probably managed to collect some Black Chi from them," Sage added. "Just some? Why not all of it?" Kento asked. "Although Black Chi is negative energy, everyone needs at least enough of it to balance with the White Chi," Sage explained. "It's like with Yin-Yang. The balances of the two forces interact with each other to achieve perfect harmony. The same goes for White and Black Chi. If either one of the two forms of Chi was completely removed from a person, he or she would die. It would be impossible for anyone to live with just one type of Chi inside of them." "Then that would mean that even Dulcea has the slightest bit of White Chi inside of her," Cye realized. "Yeah, but not enough for her to make a complete turnaround, unfortunately," Sage pointed out. "You know, Sage, your theory made more sense than I originally thought it would," Rowen admitted. "Thanks, Rowen...I think," Sage muttered out loud. "So, if Sage is right about this, we all have to make sure to keep our emotions in check, or one of us will end up being Dulcea's next target," Ryo announced. "You got it, Ryo," Kento agreed as Cye and Rowen nodded in approval. Just then, the bell rang, ending lunch period for the day... "Let's see..." Rowen muttered thoughtfully to himself as he typed away at the computer. School had ended a few hours ago and Rowen was on the home computer in his living room. "There, that should do it," Rowen muttered to himself as he opened up the program. The screen became black for a moment, and then a page came up with a list of instructions. "Okay, first thing is to put the picture in the scanner," Rowen murmured as he opened a scanner that was on the left side of the computer. He quickly placed a picture facedown on the scanner, closed it, and pressed a button marked SCAN. As he waited for the scanner to finish scanning the picture, Rowen heard the doorbell ring. "Hold on! I'm coming!" he shouted as he approached the front door and opened it. "Hey, Rowen," Sage greeted, who was carrying a large book under his arm. "Hey, Sage. Did you come by to make sure the doorbell was working again?" Rowen asked sarcastically. "Okay, I deserved that," Sage admitted. "I said I was sorry, Rowen. I wasn't exactly in a good mood this morning." "I understand," Rowen replied. "Wanna come in?" "Sure, but I can't stay long, though," Sage replied as he entered Rowen's house. "So, what brings you here?" Rowen asked curiously. "Well, I'm returning this book I borrowed from you last week," Sage explained as he handed the book to Rowen. "Thanks, Sage," Rowen replied as he headed to a bookshelf next to the computer and put the book on the top shelf. "So, what are you doing, Rowen?" Sage asked curiously when he saw an old black-and-white photograph of a little baby girl appear on the computer screen. "Remember that software program I mentioned earlier that Mr. Lobello loaned me?" Rowen asked as he approached the computer. "Oh, yeah. That one where you can make composite drawings of missing people," Sage muttered out loud. "Well, I'm about ready to run the program by using this photograph that I scanned earlier," Rowen explained as he sat down at the computer desk. "Care to witness the demonstration?" "Sure, I guess," Sage replied. "This program is quite advanced, Sage. Besides the scanned photograph, the only piece of information required is the person's birth date," Rowen explained as he started to type away at the computer. "With the birth date, the program automatically calculates how old the person will be in present time and creates a nearly accurate composite of what the person will look like, even if several years have passed since that person was last seen." After he finished entering the birth date, Rowen used the mouse to click on a button marked START PROGRAM. Instantly, a message popped up, reading LOADING...PLEASE WAIT. "Whoa," Sage exclaimed slowly. "How accurate is this program anyway, Rowen?" "According to the statistics I've read about this program, it's approximately ninety-three percent accurate," Rowen replied. "That's a much better accuracy than what the police's composite artists can do." "Oh, really?" Sage asked nonchalantly, trying to hide the fact that he was really interested. Just then, the two boys heard a beeping noise from the computer. "Okay, it's finished," Rowen explained as he watched the original photograph download on the computer screen. "There's the photograph that I originally scanned, Sage. In about a minute, the composite drawing will download next to the photograph for comparison." "Whose picture did you scan for this, Rowen?" Sage asked curiously. Rowen glanced up and noticed that the composite drawing had finished downloading on the computer screen. "Why don't you take a look and tell me who you think it is?" Rowen asked. Sage looked at the computer screen and gasped when he recognized the drawing of a woman in her mid-thirties with shoulder-length hair. "That's your mom!" Sage exclaimed out of surprise. "I know," Rowen replied. "That's amazing," Sage admitted. "Rowen, do you know if you could print a missing person's poster from your computer?" "Now that's easy," Rowen boasted. He looked up at Sage and asked, "Why the sudden interest in this, Sage? I'm starting to get the feeling that you came here for another reason other than returning that book to me." Sage let out a deep sigh. "You got me, Rowen." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a wallet. Sage opened it up, pulled out a small photograph, and handed it to Rowen without a word. Rowen studied the photograph, which was of a little five-year-old girl with long black hair and violet-gray eyes. "This girl, she has the same color eyes as you, Sage," Rowen remarked. "Yeah, well, there's a reason for that," Sage muttered out loud. "And what's that? Is she your cousin?" Rowen asked curiously. "No, she's not," Sage replied. "Then, who could she be?" Rowen asked. "She couldn't possibly be your sister. You don't have one." Rowen looked up at Sage and noticed the strange look in his friend's eyes. "Sage, is this girl your sister?" Rowen asked curiously. Sage slowly nodded his head. "Her name's Cassandra. About ten years ago, Cassandra was kidnapped at our old home back in California." "How come you never told me about this?" Rowen asked. "We've been friends ever since you moved to Toyama and you never told me that you had a sister." "Truth is, it was just too painful for me to bring up, Rowen," Sage revealed. "I was playing with her in the backyard the day it happened. I just left her for a minute to get my ball and..." Sage closed his eyes and kept his head bowed down, so Rowen wouldn't see the tears starting to form in his eyes. "It must have been very hard on you," Rowen muttered thoughtfully. "You have no idea, Rowen," Sage muttered out loud as he quickly wiped his eyes. "Why do you want me to print this poster out for you? What do you plan on doing with it?" Rowen asked curiously. "I was going to make copies and post them around Toyama, Tokyo, and all the areas in between," Sage replied. "What for?" Rowen asked. "Look, the police who worked on the case back in California had a lead that the man who took Cassandra went on a flight with her to Tokyo," Sage revealed. "They believed that Cassandra is living somewhere in Japan, possibly under another name. Odds are she probably doesn't even remember me or my mom and dad. I would do anything to find Cassandra." Rowen looked back down at the photograph of Sage's little sister and let out a deep sigh. "Okay, I'll do it for you, Sage," Rowen finally replied. "You will? Thanks a lot, Rowen," Sage admitted with a relieved look on his face as Rowen placed Cassandra's picture in the scanner and scanned it onto his computer. "I'll need to know Cassandra's birth date for the program, Sage," Rowen revealed. "All right, Rowen. Cassandra was born on July 2, 1975," Sage told him. Rowen quickly entered the birth date into his computer. "All right. Here we go," Rowen announced as he clicked on the START PROGRAM button. Sage watched over Rowen's shoulder as the program slowly started to load the scanned photograph of Cassandra on the computer screen. which was eventually followed by a composite drawing of a fifteen-year-old teenage girl with long straight black hair and violet-gray eyes. "In order to make this look more like a professional missing person's poster, I just need to enter her name, age, and your phone number," Rowen revealed. "That way, if anyone recognizes this composite drawing of your sister, they'll know who to call." Sage nodded in approval and watched as Rowen typed the information on his computer and clicked on the PRINT button. Instantly, the printer on the right side of the computer printed out the missing person's poster of Cassandra. "Here you go, Sage," Rowen announced as he took the sheet of paper out of the printer and handed it to Sage. "Just go down to the library and make as many copies as you need." "Thanks a lot, Rowen. I won't forget this," Sage admitted as he headed for the front door... It was now late at might in the city of Toyama. Sage was just leaving the Toyama City Library, carrying a huge stack of flyers in his arms. As he walked down the sidewalk, Sage stopped into every store to put a poster on the store's window. He also stopped to tape up posters onto every telephone pole he came across. After putting yet another missing person's poster of Cassandra on the side of a brick building, next to a group of other posters also plastered on the wall, Sage continued on his way. "I sure hope this works," Sage muttered to himself as he kept making his way through Toyama. With his back turned, Sage never noticed a stranger approaching the wall. The stranger was wearing a long trench coat, dark sunglasses, and a hat that covered most of his blonde hair. He focused on the poster that Sage put up a while ago and carefully tore it off. The stranger held the poster in his hands, studying it with great interest. He looked around to make sure no one was watching him before he entered a dark alley. When he reached a dead end, the stranger chuckled sinisterly as he removed his sunglasses, revealing sinister green eyes with no pupils. "So, Sage of Halo, it appears that you've been keeping a little secret," Halo muttered out loud. "Lady Dulcea should be very interested in this." Halo let out another sinister chuckle as he teleported away... Meanwhile, up in the mysterious black spaceship, Dulcea was sitting on her ebony-carved throne. "Devaki, come forth!" she ordered. Devaki quickly hobbled into the throne room. "Yes, Lady Dulcea?" Devaki asked as he bowed respectively to her. "Have you come up with any new plans yet, Devaki?" Dulcea asked. "I'm growing impatient with you." "Well, when it comes to collecting Black Chi, it would be best to target a single human at a time," Devaki announced. "And why should we do that?" Dulcea asked. "By targeting a single human rather than a group of them, I can assure you that the Black Chi we collect will be more powerful," Devaki explained. "And it would also be faster. Since the Black Chi is more concentrated, we won't need to collect as much." "If this is the best way to collect the Black Chi that we need, then so be it," Dulcea stated. "Excellent! All we need to do now is select our first victim," Devaki announced. "We'll need someone with an excessive amount of Black Chi within them." "Might I make a suggestion?" Halo asked as he teleported into the throne room, wearing his green and dark gray sub-armor. "And who would you suggest, Halo?" Devaki asked. Halo stopped in front of the throne and bowed respectively to Dulcea before replying, "That would be my other half: Sage of Halo." "Why him?" Devaki asked curiously. "He fights for good and humanity. How could Sage of Halo possibly have an overwhelming amount of Black Chi in his body?" "It's been building up inside of him for a very long time, but he's been hiding it from the others," Halo explained. "Ten long years of grief and guilt." "How do you know this, Halo?" Dulcea asked curiously. Halo reached behind his back and took out a piece of folded paper, which he handed to Dulcea. She opened it up and saw the two faces of a five-year-old girl and a fifteen-year-old teenage girl, both with black hair and violet-gray eyes. "Who is this?" Dulcea asked. "That young girl in the drawing is Sage's sister, Cassandra," Halo explained. "From my psychic link with Sage of Halo, I discovered that this girl was kidnapped ten years ago, when he was just a mere boy. Sage of Halo has been blaming himself for his sister's kidnapping ever since." "Ten years of grief and guilt would produce a tremendous amount of powerful Black Chi, Lady Dulcea," Devaki admitted. "We'll have much more Black Chi than before, once this dark energy is harvested from Sage of Halo." "How do you plan on collecting the Black Chi from Sage of Halo, Devaki?" Dulcea asked. "The first step would be to trick Sage of Halo into thinking that he has found his sister," Devaki explained. "I'll have someone pose as Sage's sister and convince him to meet in a secluded area. When his guard is down, Halo will intervene and zap Sage of Halo dry of his excess Black Chi." "It would be a great pleasure to do this for you, Lady Dulcea," Halo admitted sinisterly. "Unfortunately, in this case, we will have to wait for some time, at least a week," Devaki admitted. "And why must we wait?" Halo asked impatiently. "If we try to trick Sage of Halo too soon, he may become suspicious," Devaki explained. "Perhaps you are right, Devaki," Dulcea admitted. "And this opportunity would also give me the time necessary to find someone to impersonate this Cassandra," Devaki added. "Very well, then," Dulcea replied. "Devaki, find someone to impersonate Sage of Halo's sister right away!" "I'm on it, Lady Dulcea," Devaki replied before he and Halo left the throne room... "Hey, Mom! I'm home!" Sage announced as he entered the kitchen of his house. "Hey, Sage," Mrs. Date greeted, who was standing at the open refrigerator door. "How was school today?" "Just fine, Mom," Sage replied as he took off his backpack. "Where's Dad?" "He's teaching a class at the dojo," Mrs. Date replied as she took an uncooked pork loin in a ceramic dish out of the fridge. "Mom, has there been any calls yet?" Sage asked curiously. "I'm sorry, Sage, but no one has called about Cassandra today," Mrs. Date reluctantly told her son. Sage groaned out of frustration as he plopped down in a seat at the kitchen table. "I don't get it, Mom. I put those posters over a week ago. Someone should have called us by now." "Sage, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but you know that you shouldn't expect a response so soon," Mrs. Date revealed while she placed the ceramic dish in the oven. "You just have to be patient, sweetheart." "Yeah, I know, Mom," Sage muttered out loud. Mrs. Date smiled a bit at her son as she picked up her jacket and purse. "Sage, would you mind staying in the kitchen for a while and keeping an eye on my roast for me?" Mrs. Date asked. "I have to go to the store and pick up a few things for dinner." "Sure thing, Mom," Sage replied as he took a book and binder out of his backpack. "I'll just do my homework in here until you get back." "Thank you, Sage. I'll be back soon," Mrs. Date replied as she put on her jacket and left the house. Sage got up from the table, opened the refrigerator, and took out a red apple. He rinsed it off in the sink and dried it with a paper towel. Sage took a bite out of the apple as he sat back down at the table. He started to flip through his book until he reached a certain page and started to read. Just then, the phone started to ring. Sage immediately got up from the table and grabbed the phone right after its first ring. "Hello?" Sage asked a bit anxiously. "Hey, Sage," Rowen greeted over the telephone. "Oh. Hey, Rowen," Sage replied with a hint of disappointment in his voice. "What's wrong, Sage? Did I call at a bad time?" Rowen asked curiously. "It's not that, Rowen," Sage admitted. "I was kinda hoping that it was going to be someone who recognized Cassandra from those posters I put up a week ago." "Oh, I see," Rowen muttered out loud. "Don't worry so much, Sage. You'll find your sister, I'm sure of it, so don't give up." "I don't know the meaning of the words, especially when it comes to finding Cassandra," Sage remarked. "It was the same case when we were battling Talpa and his Evil Dynasty a year ago." "I think during that time, all of us forgot the meaning of the words 'give up,' " Rowen replied. "Sorry to do this to you, Rowen, but could you get off the phone?" Sage asked. "I'd like to keep the line clear, you know, just in case someone calls." "I understand, Sage. Goodbye." Goodbye, Rowen," Sage replied before he hung up the phone. He sat back down at the table and tried to read his book, but he couldn't focus. I can't concentrate. My mind is on Cassandra. I just hope that she's out there somewhere, that she's okay, Sage thought to himself as he stared absently at the open book in front of him. Suddenly, the phone rang again. Sage got up once again and picked up the phone. "Hello?" Sage asked. "Hello? May I ask who I'm speaking to?" a young girl's voice asked, which was unfamiliar to Sage. "This is Sage Date you're speaking to," Sage replied. "Are you the one who put up those missing person flyers of a Cassandra Date?" the young girl asked curiously. "Yeah, I did," Sage admitted. "Did you recognize the composite at all?" "Yes, I did. It was me, I'm Cassandra," the young girl revealed. Sage gasped loudly out of shock. He was so surprised by the stranger's response that he nearly dropped the phone. "Sage? Are you still there?" Cassandra asked. "Yeah, I'm still here," Sage eventually got out. "I can't believe it. Is it really you, Cassandra?" "Of course, it's me, Sage," Cassandra replied. "Do you remember what happened to you?" Sage asked curiously. "I...I'm not exactly sure," Cassandra reluctantly admitted. "Everything's just a big blur in my mind." "It could be possible that you might have suffered a case of amnesia," Sage muttered thoughtfully. "I think you might be right," Cassandra admitted. "I honestly don't remember much about my life as a little girl. The only thing I do remember was playing in a yard with a boy that was a few years older than me. He had thick blonde hair and these light violet-colored eyes that were just like mine...Sage, were you the boy I just described?" "Yeah, that was me ten years ago," Sage admitted, now certain that he was indeed talking to his sister. "It's so good to hear from you, Cassandra. I was so worried about you, and so were Mom and Dad, of course." "Yeah, I can only imagine how tough it must have been on you and our parents," Cassandra replied. "Listen, Cassandra, why don't you come to Toyama and meet us?" Sage asked. "Umm...I don't know about that," Cassandra nervously admitted. "Why not?" Sage asked curiously. "Well, it's just that I don't remember them at all. I don't even know what they look like," Cassandra reluctantly admitted. "I'd prefer it if I could just meet you alone, if that's all right with you." "That would probably be best," Sage muttered thoughtfully. "Since you're obviously suffering from amnesia, we should take things slow, one day at a time." There was an awkward pause of silence for a few moments. "So...Sage, where do you think we should meet?" Cassandra asked. Sage thought about it for a few moments. "How about Toyama City Park? Is that okay with you, Cassandra?" Sage asked. "That's just fine with me, Sage," Cassandra agreed. "What time?" "How about tomorrow, at noon?" Sage asked. "All right," Cassandra replied. "Okay, great," Sage admitted, trying to hide his excitement. "I'll bring some pictures of our family. Maybe they'll help jog your memories." "That might help me out, Sage, seeing pictures of my family...I mean, our family," Cassandra admitted. "All right. I'll see you tomorrow, Cassandra," Sage replied. "Goodbye, Sage," Cassandra replied. "Goodbye...Cassandra," Sage replied. He waited until Cassandra hung up before he hung up the kitchen phone... "What a gullible fool!" Devaki remarked with a sinister chuckle as he removed a small black electronic box from the mouthpiece of his black cellular phone. He was standing in front of Dulcea, who was sitting in her throne. "This electronic voice simulator worked like a charm, Lady Dulcea," Devaki announced as he put away the voice simulator and his cell phone. "Sage of Halo was completely convinced that he was talking to his sister, Cassandra. He had absolutely no idea that he was talking to me." "Excellent work, Devaki," Dulcea admitted. "Thank you, Lady Dulcea," Devaki replied. "If you don't mind, I need to speak with your evil Ronin Warriors for a few minutes. It's very important." "Very well, then. Ronins, come forth!" Dulcea commanded. A few moments later, Wildfire, Halo, Torrent, Hardrock, and Strata marched into the throne room, all of them wearing their sub-armor. "You wish to speak with us, Lady Dulcea?" Wildfire asked as he and the other Ronin clones bowed respectively to Dulcea. "Devaki has something for all of you," Dulcea revealed. The five Ronin clones turned around to face Dulcea's servant. "What do you have for us, Devaki?" Strata asked. "Give me a moment and I'll show you," Devaki replied as he reached inside of his black trench coat. He pulled out five chain necklaces from his coat pocket, each with a small fragment of a Dark Crystal hanging from it. "What are those?" Torrent asked curiously. "Each of these chains contain a fragment of a Dark Crystal," Devaki explained as he handed each necklace to Wildfire, Halo, Torrent, Hardrock, and Strata. "These special fragments each have the ability to collect a vast amount of concentrated Black Chi. It's important that you return to the ship immediately after any of you collect Black Chi, so it can be stored properly in the Dark Crystals." "So...how are these things supposed to work?" Halo asked as he examined his necklace. "You'll soon find out for yourself, Halo," Devaki replied. A sinister little smirk slowly appeared on Halo's face. "Does this mean that I finally get to go after Sage of Halo?" Halo asked, although he already knew the answer. "The time has indeed come for you, Halo. You will intercept Sage of Halo tomorrow at Toyama City Park," Devaki explained. "He will be arriving there at noon to meet his sister, Cassandra." "Speaking of which, did you ever find someone to impersonate his sister, Devaki?" Dulcea asked. "Of course, Lady Dulcea," Devaki replied as he snapped his fingers. Instantly, a strange creature teleported into the throne room, dressed in a flowing blue gray robe. The creature had hairless pale gray skin, a scrawny build, and long pointy ears. "This creature is called a doppleganger, Lady Dulcea," Devaki explained. "It has the ability to assume the shape and appearance of any human it chooses." "Is that so, Devaki?" Dulcea asked. "Why yes, my lady," Devaki replied. "The doppleganger will be posing as Sage of Halo's sister, Cassandra." "I would like to see a demonstration of this doppleganger's power first," Dulcea requested. "Of course, Lady Dulcea." Devaki removed the missing person's poster from his trench coat and held it up in front of the doppleganger. "I want you to look like this girl here," Devaki ordered the doppleganger, pointing at the composite drawing of Cassandra. The creature nodded silently before it became engulfed in a white light. When the light faded away, the doppleganger had taken on the appearance of the fifteen-year-old girl, while still wearing the blue gray robe. "That is quite amazing," Dulcea admitted. "I knew that you would be pleased with the results, Lady Dulcea," Devaki confessed. He turned his attention to Halo. "There is one other thing that I need to give to you, Halo," Devaki explained as he reached into his trench coat and pulled out a pair of sunglasses. "Why are you giving me sunglasses?" Halo asked curiously as Devaki handed him the sunglasses. "I have my own, Devaki." "These sunglasses have been magically induced, Halo," Devaki explained. "They'll allow you to see and hear everything the doppleganger does. Also, you must keep in touch with the doppleganger telepathically. That way, if Sage of Halo asks it any questions, you'll be able to provide it with the answers." "All right, Devaki," Halo agreed... "Come on, Kento. Hurry up!" Sage muttered impatiently as he slowly paced back and forth along the side of the street in front of his house. Sage was waiting for Kento to show up in his van to take him to Toyama City Park, where he was going to meet Cassandra. He suddenly heard a door opening from across the street. Sage looked up to see Sandra leave her house and walk down the driveway. "Hey, Sandra," Sage greeted as he quickly walked across the street. "Hey, Sage," Sandra greeted as she stopped at a mailbox at the edge of the driveway. "What are you up to, Sandra?" Sage asked curiously as Sandra opened the mailbox and pulled out a bunch of envelopes, along with a couple of magazines and catalogs. "Just checking the mail for now," Sandra replied as she looked through the small pile of envelopes. "You sound happy 'bout something, Sage. What's going on?" "Don't worry, Sandra. You'll find out about it as soon as I come back from the park," Sage revealed. Just then, Sage and Sandra heard a horn honk from behind them. They turned around and saw a familiar gold van on the road. "Come on, Sage. Let's roll!" Kento announced as he stuck his head out of the open driver's window. "Okay, I'm coming," Sage replied as he opened the passenger's door and got into the van. "See you later, Sandra." "Bye, Sage. Bye, Kento," Sandra shouted as the van made a U-turn and headed down the street toward the main road. She walked back up the driveway and inside her house. Sandra walked into the kitchen, where her mother was waiting for her. Mrs. O'Brien had the same flaming red hair as her daughter, which accentuated her bright brown eyes. "So, what did we get in the mail today, Sandra?" Mrs. O'Brien asked in a thick Irish accent. "Looks like a bunch of bills, Mom," Sandra replied as she handed the small pile to her mother. "Thank you much, dear," Mrs. O'Brien replied as she started looking through the mail. Sandra was about to leave the kitchen when her mother shouted, "Wait a minute, Sandra!" "What is it, Mom?" Sandra asked curiously as she turned around. "You got a letter, Sandra," Mrs. O'Brien revealed as she handed an envelope to her daughter. Sandra glanced at the return address on the envelope and a big smile spread on her face. "It's from Lindsay!" Sandra announced. "I can't believe I missed this. I'm gonna read this upstairs in me room, Mom. See ya later." "See ya later, Sandra," Mrs. O'Brien replied. Sandra left the kitchen and quickly ran upstairs to her room. She turned on the light, plopped onto her bed, and was about to tear open the envelope when she suddenly felt a sharp jolt of pain in her head. Sandra dropped the letter and held her head in her hands as the excruciating pain continued. To Sandra's surprise, she saw several images in her mind. The first image she saw was of Sage, who was walking in the park with a young teenage girl with long black hair and violet-gray eyes that matched Sage's eyes. The next image showed Sage and the young girl being attacked by Halo in his sub-armor. The last image Sandra saw in her mind was of Halo, who appeared to be removing a strange dark purple energy from Sage's body. When the images finally stopped, so did Sandra's throbbing headache. Sandra took in several deep gasps of air as she slowly brought her hands down. "What just happened here?" Sandra slowly asked herself. "What I just went through, it must be one of those visions that Kim told us 'bout." Sandra suddenly gasped when she realized something else. "If what I saw was right, then Sage is gonna be walking right into Halo's trap! I gotta stop him before it's too late!" Sandra quickly jumped off of her bed, ran down the stairs, and opened a closet near the front door. "Where are you going, Sandra?" Mrs. O'Brien asked. "Umm...I just remembered, I'm supposed to meet Sage in the park to work on a Biology project," Sandra quickly explained as she grabbed a denim jacket and put it on. "I'll be back in a few hours. Gotta go!" With that, Sandra left the house and ran as fast as she could down the road... "Let's try this one," Sage muttered out loud as he selected a photo from the small box he brought with him to the park. He handed the picture, which was of an elderly Japanese man, to his sister, who was wearing a purple blouse, a black skirt, and black boots. When Sage first saw Cassandra, he was surprised as to how close the composite drawing matched. Sage watched as Cassandra held up the photo and carefully studied it, as though she was trying to remember who it was. Little did Sage know that she was actually waiting for someone to tell her the answer. "That man in the picture is Sage's grandfather," Halo told Cassandra telepathically. "Is this...our grandfather?" Cassandra asked a bit uncertainly. "Yes, it is," Sage replied with a small smile. "How is he, by the way?" Cassandra asked curiously. "I'm sorry to tell you this, Cassandra, but our grandfather passed away seven years ago," Sage reluctantly told her. "Oh, I'm sorry," Cassandra whispered. "That's okay, Cassandra," Sage replied as he placed a reassuring hand on his sister's shoulder. "You didn't know. I'll bet that if he was still alive, he would be very happy to know that we finally found you." "That's good to know," Cassandra admitted. "We've toyed with Sage of Halo long enough," Halo told Cassandra telepathically. "It's time to put our plan into action. You know what to do." "Umm...Sage? Would it be all right if we take a little walk?" Cassandra asked. "Sure, no problem," Sage agreed as the two stood up from the park bench they were sitting on. "Which way do you want to go?" "How about...that way?" Cassandra suggested, pointing up at a path that ran past where they were sitting. "Sure," Sage agreed. As they started walking down the path, Sage couldn't help but stare at his sister. I can't believe that I finally found her after so long, that she's walking right next to me, Sage thought to himself. Mom and Dad are going to be so thrilled when I bring Cassandra home with me. As the path led Sage and Cassandra toward a small thicket of trees, Sage felt a strange sensation and stopped walking. That's strange. I sense something evil nearby, Sage thought as he carefully looked around the surrounding area for anything suspicious. "Sage? Is there something wrong?" Cassandra asked curiously. Sage looked at Cassandra and replied, "No, it's nothing to worry about, Cassandra. Let's keep going." "All right," Cassandra agreed. No sooner had they entered the thicket of trees than Sage and Cassandra were startled by a sinister chuckle that broke the eerie silence. "Halo," Sage muttered, who recognized the voice. "What's going on, Sage?" Cassandra asked. "Just stay here, Cassandra," Sage instructed his sister as he slowly walked forward a few steps. He narrowed his eyes and stared up at the high tree branches looming overhead. "I have to be very careful," Sage muttered to himself as he continued scanning through the branches. "With Halo's armor being green and dark gray, he can easily blend into the shadows above me." Sage slowly turned around toward his sister and started to check the tree branches above her. With his back turned, Sage didn't see Halo silently drop down from a nearby tree, wearing his green and dark gray sub-armor. Halo slowly crept up behind Sage with his arms raised and struck Sage in the back. Stunned by the unexpected blow to the back, Sage fell face first to the ground. "It's good to see you again, Sage of Halo," Halo retorted sarcastically with a sinister laugh. Sage slowly lifted his head and looked up at his sister. "Cassandra, get outta here now!" Sage shouted. Cassandra just stood there and stared blankly at Sage. At that very moment, Sage realized the truth. "You're not Cassandra!" he gasped. "Congratulations, Sage of Halo! You finally figured it out!" Halo congratulated Sage mockingly. "This whole thing was a trap," Sage whispered out loud. "You're two for two! Nice job! As much as I'm enjoying this, I do have my orders to follow," Halo remarked as he held up the chain that was hanging from his neck. The Dark Crystal fragment started to glow with an eerie dark purple light, and Sage screamed out of pain as bolts of black energy waves left his body and became absorbed into the Dark Crystal fragment... "Sage! Where are you, Sage?" Sandra called out as she ran through the park. Sandra looked around, but could find no sign of Sage or the young black-haired girl she saw in her vision. She stopped running for a minute to catch her breath. Suddenly, Sandra heard a pain-filled yell in the distance. "That's Sage. I just know it," Sandra told herself as she ran in the direction of the yell. She eventually reached a small hill, which had a small thicket of trees clustered on top. Sandra looked up and gasped when she saw a strange dark purple glow coming from the group of trees. "Oh, no! I just hope that I'm not too late!" Sandra whispered to herself as she quickly ran up the hill toward the trees. Meanwhile, inside the small cluster of trees, Halo was still using the Dark Crystal fragment on Sage, which was quickly sucking up Sage's excess Black Chi like a vacuum. The doppleganger, still disguised as Cassandra Date, silently watched what was going on with great interest. "It won't be much longer," Halo muttered to himself. "THUNDER STRIKE!" Halo was surprised when a ball of green electricity struck him in the back. He turned around and sneered a bit when he saw Sandra with a second ball of green electricity in her hand. "You better back off now, Halo!" Sandra warned him. "I got another one right here with your name on it!" Halo let out a sinister chuckle. "I'd like to see you try and stop me, kokoro." Halo turned his head toward the black-haired girl. "Take care of that pest for me." The girl silently nodded as she ran up to Sandra and swung a fist at her. Sandra quickly ducked out of the way of the girl's first swing, which was soon followed by a second swing that also missed its intended target. "Hate to do this to ya, but you're pushing me too far!" Sandra warned the girl as she jumped out of the way. "THUNDER STRIKE!" The ball of electricity left Sandra's hand and struck the girl in the stomach, causing her to fall to the ground. "What the...?" Sandra gasped. The girl had unexpectedly changed into a hideous thin creature with pointed ears and pale gray skin. "You're so useless!" Halo shouted angrily at the strange creature. "Get out of here! I'll take care of this." The pale creature nodded as it teleported away. "Remember what I told you would happen the next time we meet?" Halo asked sinisterly as he glared at Sandra. The redhead Irish girl didn't say a word as she glared back at him. "I'll take that as a yes," Halo retorted coldly. "Armor of Halo! DAO CHI!" Once he finished transforming into his full green and dark gray armor, Halo charged straight at Sandra. Before Sandra could even brace herself, Halo had grabbed her by the neck and held her back against a tree. "Sage, you have to get up!" Sandra shouted to Sage, who was still lying on the ground. "I need your help!" "Don't expect any help from that weakling," Halo muttered sinisterly. "No one can save you now!" He chuckled evilly as he tightened his grip around Sandra's neck. To Halo's surprise, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist and pull him away from Sandra, who slumped down to the ground. Halo turned his head and growled angrily when he saw Sage, wearing his green and white sub-armor, with an enraged look burning in his eyes. "There's no way I'm gonna let you kill Sandra!" Sage shouted angrily. "You'll have to kill me first!" "That can be arranged!" Halo shouted. He quickly broke out of Sage's grip, withdrew his battle sword, and quickly spun around to strike the Ronin Warrior with his sword. Sage reacted quickly by jumping high in the air. "Armor of Halo! DAO CHI!" As soon as he landed back on the ground, Sage withdrew his own sword. "Sage, don't! You're too weak to fight!" Sandra pleaded. "I have to, Sandra," Sage told her. "This time, it's personal." "Then bring it on!" Halo taunted. Sage growled angrily as he charged at Halo and swung his sword at him. Halo blocked Sage's sword with his own and managed to knock Sage to the ground. "Time to die, Ronin!" Halo shouted as he lifted his sword above his head. "THUNDER BOLT--" Before he could finished his attack, Halo heard a familiar voice shout in his head, "Halo, stop!" "What is it, Lady Dulcea?" Halo asked telepathically, a bit annoyed by the sudden interruption. "I need you to come back to the ship, now!" Dulcea ordered. "Please, Lady Dulcea, just give me some more time," Halo pleaded telepathically. "I'm so close to getting rid of Sage of Halo and the kokoro of spirit permanently." "This is more important, Halo," Dulcea stated coldly. "Get back to the ship now, or I'll have your head!" "Right away, Lady Dulcea," Halo reluctantly agreed. He turned toward Sage and Sandra and glared evilly at them as he placed his sword back in its sheath. "Looks like you two lucked out this time, but eventually, your luck will soon run out!" With that, Halo teleported away. Sage managed to get up on his knees by using his sword as support. "Sandra, are you okay?" he asked as he put away his sword. "Yeah, I think so," Sandra replied. "How 'bout you?" "I'm good," Sage lied. Suddenly, Sage fell face first to the ground out of exhaustion. "Sage!" Sandra shouted as she quickly ran to his side. Sandra managed to get Sage up in a sitting position and laid his back against a nearby tree. "Hold on! I'll be right back!" With that, Sandra got up and ran as fast as she could... Meanwhile, inside the Dark Crystal room, Devaki was pacing back and forth, waiting impatiently for the arrival of Halo. Just then, Halo entered the Dark Crystal room, now back in his sub-armor. "It's about time, Halo," Devaki muttered out loud. "Quickly, give me the necklace." Halo took off the chain necklace and placed it in Devaki's slimy hand. Devaki took out a small black device from his trench coat with his free hand and inserted the Dark Crystal fragment in a slot on top of the box. He pressed a button and instantly, the Dark Crystal fragment glowed deep violet. Suddenly, the tiny fragment released a tremendous amount of black energy waves, which were soon absorbed by some of the surrounding Dark Crystals in the room. "Excellent!" Devaki admitted gleefully. "So, how much Black Chi did Halo collect, Devaki?" Dulcea asked. Devaki and Halo turned around to see Dulcea standing in the doorway. "He collected quite a bit, Lady Dulcea," Devaki admitted. "As you can see for yourself, he has collected enough Black Chi to completely fill four Dark Crystals. At this rate, we'll have plenty of Black Chi necessary to take over this world far ahead of schedule." "That's good to hear, Devaki," Dulcea muttered out loud. "These results are very promising. Devaki, start picking out more victims." "Right away, Lady Dulcea," Devaki replied as he and Halo left Dulcea alone in the Dark Crystal room... "Here you are, Sage. Drink up," Sandra announced as she handed Sage a bottle of water. "Thanks, Sandra," Sage replied, who was back in his regular clothes. He twisted off the cap and quickly drank the contents of the bottle without even stopping to take a breath. "How are you feeling now?" Sandra asked curiously. "Much better now, Sandra," Sage admitted. "Thanks a lot for helping me out." "No problem, Sage. You would have done the same for me," Sandra replied. "How did you know that I was in trouble?" Sage asked curiously. "I had one of them visions," Sandra explained, "like that one Kim had over two weeks ago." "Oh, yeah. Kento and Cye told us about that," Sage muttered out loud. "Sage, why did you come here in the first place?" Sandra asked curiously. "I thought I was coming out here to meet my sister, but it turned out to be a trap," Sage muttered a bit angrily. "Sister? What sister?" Sandra asked, a bit surprised to hear this news. "My sister, Cassandra Date," Sage explained. "Over ten years ago, when my family and I were still living in California, Cassandra was kidnapped from our own backyard. She was taken right in front of me, and there was nothing I could do to stop him!" "You've been blaming yourself for this ever since, haven't you?" Sandra asked. "Yeah, I have been blaming myself," Sage admitted. "All that guilt must have made a lot of that Black Chi you told me about," Sandra muttered thoughtfully. "That must be why they targeted me," Sage realized. "This is all my fault!" "Sage, you gotta stop blaming yourself!" Sandra told Sage as he buried his face in his hands. "You're starting to sound like my mom," Sage remarked rudely. "Sage, all I know is if you keep this up, this Black Chi is gonna get even stronger and completely take over you. I don't want to see that happen to you," Sandra revealed. Sage slowly brought his hands down and looked at Sandra. "You really mean that?" he asked. "Of course, I do, Sage," Sandra replied. "Just remember, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm right across the street from you." "Thanks, Sandra," Sage admitted with a small smile. He quickly glanced at his watch and noticed that it was 2:15 PM. "Sandra, are you hungry?" Sage asked. "Come to think of it, I am kinda hungry," Sandra admitted as they stood up. "I didn't have anything to eat earlier, and fighting your evil clone does work up an appetite!" Sage chuckled a bit as they started following the path out of the cluster of trees. "How about we go out for pizza? My treat," Sage offered. "That sounds good to me," Sandra admitted. "And maybe afterwards, we can go see a movie," Sage suggested. "Don't push your luck with me, Sage," Sandra warned him as they left the park together...TO BE CONTINUED |