The fastest way around Pandora, as Lich and Ark knew, was by the strange, Fa'diel invention known as Cannon Travel. Ark distrusted the operators known as "travel agents", and always uttered a quick prayer to the Elementals before being blasted to - hopefully - the destination he wanted. Horror stories of waylaid cannoners occasionally hit the news - even the Mana Knight, Randi, was the subject of one, landing in the middle of the Great Desert while trying to reach Kakkara two centuries prior.
They had run from the Water Palace to the nearby travel agent at Potos, and then, after paying fifty GP each, they were blasted to the village green at Kippo to find…
"Hey, Dy," Ark said, cynically, "Nase said there was trouble afoot, and I see none."
"Better go ask Mum and Dad, though," Lich replied, as he trotted anxiously towards the Navel Falls View.
Upon entering, they found their father, Reuben, righting a fallen chair and their mother, Kara, serving some people at the bar.
"Hi, Mum, Dad, what's going on?" Lich pronounced as he walked over towards his parents. "We've just come from the Water Palace, Nase said that something bad was going on here."
"Hello, Dy, Ark," Reuben greeted them as he mopped down a table. "Rumpil and ourselves just had two unsavoury customers, left a little while ago."
He winced, sucking air in through his teeth and laid a hand on his shoulder for a moment.
"Two?" Ark said. "Was one of them a tall robot thing with a skull head, and did the other have no nose?"
"Er…yes!" he replied, taken aback. "How did you know?"
"They just paid Nase a visit," Lich sighed, sitting down in a nearby chair. "They roughed him up a bit, before blowing a hole in a wall downstairs, escaping through Undine's Cave and trapping her. Had to free her myself. Just be glad they didn't do anything really nasty."
"Would you two like anything?" Kara offered from behind the bar. "And nothing expensive, or I'll charge you for it."
Ark said that he was fine, until Lich said that he would like some orange Yoshi-ade. Realising that he was thirstier than he thought he was, he decided on an apple flavour.
"What happened to your shoulder, Dad?" Ark asked him as Kara entered the kitchen.
"The noseless fellow put his hand there and somehow heated it up so it burnt," Reuben answered, righting a tablecloth with a picture made up of the busts of the past and present monarchy of Pandora. "It'll be right in a few days."
"A few days?" Lich laughed as he suddenly held a Round Drop in his hand. "Here, catch and eat this."
He threw the lolly to his father, who misjudged the catch and had to pick it up from the floor. He looked at it suspiciously before looking up at his sons, who nodded emphatically at him. He tenderly unwrapped it, then sniffed it, before placing it in his mouth and swallowing.
"He's lived here all this time and he still hasn't learnt," Lich whispered to Ark in a grin.
Kara placed the glasses of Yoshi-ade down at the table next to her eldest son. The two thanked their mother, before Lich picked up his glass and took a sip out of it, savouring the taste. Ark, who was too far away to reach his without having to walk, shot out his tongue, wrapped it around the glass and pulled it towards him. As he grabbed it with his hand, retracted his tongue and gulped its bulk back down his throat, he looked up to see Kara roll her eyes and retreat to her place behind the bar.
"Did they give any indication as to where they might be headed?" Lich asked, taking another sip.
"I'm not sure," Reuben replied. "They were speaking in some sort of foreign language…very foreign. I've heard most Yamauchian languages and almost all on Fa'diel, but I didn't recognise what they were speaking one bit."
"Why did they leave then?" Ark asked.
"Two travelers that seemed to know each other were here…well, one was already here, and the other came in the door as the first began to kick them out. The second fellow had an impressive green cloak."
Lich swallowed his mouthful quickly before asking, "And a silver gun?"
"Yes…you know him too?"
"We're travelling with him at the moment. Name's Ian…just does all the odd jobs that need to be done, but that gun…I know that gun. You might have seen it before, too. Remember that Multehx fellow who's stayed here? My good friend? It's his. He disappeared during that time I had on Zolott about five years…er, about three here, ago. What I want to know is how this Ian person got a hold of it. It's been something that's been plaguing me all th-"

Lich suddenly fell quiet, and closed his eyes.
"What wa-" Reuben started, only to be shushed by Ark.
Lich snapped his eyes open, stood, downed the rest of his drink in a single gulp, forced the glass down onto the table and said, "Finish it off, Ark. We have to go. Now."
"What's happening?" Kara called from the bar.
"They're in Potos," Lich answered, straightening up his belt as Ark finished his Yoshi-ade. "And it isn't just harassing innkeepers, either. Nase just telepathised to me. I'll see you sometime soon. Love you both. Let's go."
Lich hurried out of the inn as Ark waved to their parents, trotting backwards. He turned and followed his elder brother.
As he ran out the door, he lifted an orange Pokéball from his belt and aimed it into the village square in front of him. Pressing the button, a white flash of light shot from it and materialised into the form of Nessie, his Dragonite and chief mode of transport.
"Oh, no…" Ark groaned.
"I don't give an Undine's Tail, Ark. Put the acrophobia aside. There's people in Potos who need us and," he slipped into Yoshian so everyone around them couldn't understand, "a Sword to protect."
"You don't mean…"
"I think so, and Nase thinks so too."
In a single leap, he was on Nessie's back, with Ark gingerly climbing on behind him.
"How I hate this," he said, burying his head in Lich's back and tightly wrapping his arms around his brother's chest.
With a pull of Nessie's antennae, they were off, rising above Kippo. The village spread out before them, with the stream coursing its way around it in a canal (it had been redirected so that more houses could be built), and beyond it, forest-bordered fields stretched towards a large, cliff-lined depression in the land's contour: Gaia's Navel. The higher Nessie traveled, the more of Pandora was revealed - the skyscrapers and smoke billowing factory chimneys of Pandora City at one o'clock, the perpetually mist-covered trees of the Haunted Forest at ten o'clock, and dead ahead, a plume of smoke in the distance.
"Hegeratu, Nase, you're right," Lich whispered. "Nessie, as fast as you can towards that smoke!"
"Will do," a voice replied from around Lich's neck - the PLT translating the Dragonite's words.
"I hate flying," Ark muttered as Nessie sped up.
"You cannon travel fine, though," Lich said, bemused.
"You can't fall off when you do."
Nothing could be heard for a moment, except the rushing of air.
"Loosen up a little, okay? You'll kill me with that grip."
"Sorry."

Keeping with Lich's belief of always having the element of surprise in a fight, they landed to the south of Potos and ran towards the village. Unfortunately, their efforts were in vain.
As they entered the village from the south, the sight that greeted their eyes was wreckage and destruction. Houses were without walls, some had lost their roofs, others were nothing but rubble. Rain fell everywhere in the village - not ordinary rain, but the curing waters of Undine.
A groan nearby alerted them to the Potos Elder's awakening from unconsciousness. Lich went over and helped him to sit up, noting a bleeding wound just above an eyebrow.
"We're too late, Ark," he sighed.
Ark knelt on one knee in front of the old man, who was regaining his senses, but not totally - he hadn't repulsed at the fact they were not of a Fa'diel race, yet.
"Please, tell us," he begged, "what happened here?"
"Oh…it was horrid," the old man sighed, reaching out towards the air in front of him. "They…they've come for the Sword…is…is the Sword okay?"
Lich looked at Ark quickly, before, as if psychic communication had happened (which it didn't), both of the brothers lifted the Elder so his arms were around each of their necks, and their hands supported his legs. They took him to a woman nearby who, in regard to what had happened just before, was looking relatively unscathed. The villagers stared at the two lizardine creatures as they ran towards the northwestern exit of the town, clutching their weapons. They ignored the pink-tailed, fluffy yellow Rabites that jumped out at them as the trail they were now on twisted through the trees.
A slight breeze blew past them as the two Yoshies suddenly fell over.
"You felt it too?" Lich asked as he got back up.
Ark nodded and said, "That's a massive Mana fluctuation…don't tell me they've taken the Sword already…"
"There'd be a flash of light - that's what happened when Randi took it."
The two started running again and, as they reached the bridge that crossed the stream the Sword rested in, they stopped. Where there should have been a rock with the Mana Sword in it, there nothing but water gushing over the hole.
"It's gone," Ark whispered in shock. "We're…too late."
Lich nodded somberly before narrowing his eyes and shushing Ark. A voice was yelling inside his head.
"Do you hear something?"
Lich concentrated on the voice in his head, a distant Aaaaaa...
"Yeah, I hear it," Ark said, looking up. "It's a psychic yelling of some sort…"
They gripped their weapons tightly and began to look around, before the yelling grew to aaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAHH!!!
With a descending whistle, a splash and a "plufp" noise, a brown, slender body flanked by two legs with back-to-front knees was sticking out of the mud in the middle of the stream.
What is a Protoss doing on Fa'diel? Lich wondered.
Looking for you, it answered after overhearing his thoughts. Help me, please!
Lich took off his thongs and put them in his Mana Storage before entering the water.
Who are you? Lich thought, hoping that the Protoss could still hear him.
I am Artanis, he answered.
Lich stopped.
"Hold on a second," he said aloud. "You arrested us for Markior's disappearance or something like that, and we escape while beating up a few of your forces…how do I know you're not here to arrest us again?"
I come with no intention to do so, the warrior answered. Hurry up, please, I can't hold my breath much longer.
Lich beckoned to Ark, who splashed into the water. As he put the Boomerang back in his belt, the two waded quickly towards the Praetor, before pulling him out of the mud. Facing away from them, he turned on his psi-blades and "growled", If I get my hands on that spiky-haired hu-human!
The Protoss turned to face them. He was a rather comical sight, his flashing eyes peering from beneath a mask of mud and water plants as his blue psi-blades hummed faintly. Lich and Ark smirked at his appearance. His eyes seemed to show a moment's confusion before flashing in realisation. He turned off his blades, bent over, and began to clean his face.
The two brothers then looked at the hole where the Sword was, and watched it begin to fill with the dislodged mud and greenery of Artanis' landing.
The Twilight Council has beaten us to it, am I correct? he asked.
Lich's only reply was a nod.

They continued to stare at the hole for a little while, before the thuds as a rock bounced along the ground nearby grabbed their attention.
Lich and Ark turned to see a brown-haired Caucasian man, dressed smartly in a lounge suit. As his sapphire blue eyes met dark brown ones, he realised who was in front of him, even though he had never met before, thanks to seeing a picture once.
"Lich!" the man cried. "By Venus, what are you doing here, you damned lizard?"
"Richter!" Lich returned the call. "By the Elementals, why are you on this world? It is peaceful! We want none of your trouble!"
Richter Sprint, the infamous Grand Admiral of the Tairez Imperial Battlefleet, and bane of the entire Yoshi race stood before him on the bank of the stream. Lich knew from talking with his pseudo Yoshi brother, Vector, that he had come from a millenium in the future to prevent their spread and colonisation of other planets that would eventually happen, and enslave them for what the Tairez Empire believed was for the good of both man and Yoshi.
"I am not here to cause trouble," he said, in a level tone. "I am here to see the Sword."
"Well, it's not here," Lich spat. "The Twilighter Council took it. Besides, why would you just want to look at the Mana Sword?"
Artanis, who was not seen by Richter, stepped in front of Lich, and turned to Richter.
I can tell you are a man of evil, he said to everyone. I, however, cannot determine your intentions. He turned to Lich and continued, I believe the human, that he did come here to see the Mana Sword.
Lich was silent for the moment, unable to think of anything to say. He knew Richter's plans and intentions from Vector, and he also knew that he, who was a particular target of his, was only a few miles away, on board the Spectrum.
"Um…Artanis, a quick word to you," he said.
The Protoss followed Lich upstream a small distance.
"That man is Richter Sprint," he started, in a low tone. "You may or may not have heard of him, but he has come from the future specifically to enslave my entire race. And, without Markior around as our Guardian Spirit, he has a good chance of doing so. Markior is against him, and…well, I don't think you would want to betray him."
I understand, he replied.
"If you're Richter," Ark suddenly blurted, "then where are your robots?"
Oh no, not this, Lich thought.
Richter smirked, and pressed what looked like a few buttons on the surface of his left glove.
There was a red flash of light, and a golden, robotic Yoshi materialised. His frowning eyes did not have pupils like normal Yoshies, but were completely red.
"Well, my magenta friend," Richter said. "Here is my robot, EV-700. The most advanced killing machine in the universe."
Ark's mouth opened in delight, before asking, "Is it sentient?"
"EV is fully sentient. He can feel real emotions too."
Ark's eyes widened as Lich fingered the Boomerang at his side.
"May I see his AI unit and emotion engine?" Ark asked.
Richter thought a moment before replying, "Yes, you can. Come on board my ship. It's not good for his circuitry to open him up outside of a controlled environment."
Ark looked towards Lich, who frowned, and mouthed the Pandoran word for "no".
"Oh, and when I said 'come on board my ship', that wasn't an offer," Richter said casually. "It was an order. EV, take care of him."
Lich whipped out the Boomerang and held it, ready to throw. He had faith in Ark's ability to stand up for himself, but was not entirely certain that he could do this fight alone. Artanis' psi-blades switched on with a hum, and he began to run sluggishly through the water towards the robot, who was rushing towards Ark.
Suddenly, the emerald pendant around Ark's neck, which Lich had given the stone of which to him as a child, began to glow. Richter's eyes widened as it did, sensing its power. Ark turned his head to the side and looked down at it (he had to due to his nose) and was bemused by its appearance. Lich lowered the Boomerang as Artanis paused in his running. EV stopped, and began to back away.
"I don't like the look of this, Boss," the robot said.
"Just take him!" Richter shouted.
That was the last thing heard from them as the stone emitted a blinding green light. Artanis, Lich and Ark covered their eyes. As the light subsided, the robot and the human were gone.
"Wha…what happened, Dy?" Ark asked.
"I don't know, except that they've disappeared," Lich replied, wading towards Ark. "Give me a look at that."
Lich grabbed the pendant and studied the emerald.
"I've picked up a stronger presence from you on the Mana Field lately, but I didn't know it was this," Lich said. "Was it enchanted while you were underground?"
Ark shook his head.
Just then, a female voice started talking inside the Yoshies' heads.
Um…hello? This is Dryad, calling all Guardians. I am…er…certain that you have all felt that large Mana fluctuation…um…there will be an urgent meeting with all of you and the Elementals at the Mana Tree tomorrow about it…uh…start making your way there now. Uh…that's it. Okay…um…see you there.
"You sure that was Dryad?" Ark asked.
Lich nodded and said, "Definitely. She's very shy and insecure. Never met her myself, but…well, Lumina gossips. Anyway, when we go to this meeting, we shall raise the issue of your stone."
I am now very confused, Artanis groaned.
"It'll take a lot to explain," Lich replied.
I am patient.
"I'm not. Basically, what's going on is that, well, on this world we have eight very powerful beings who control certain elements of nature. They want to see myself, Ark, and all these other important people who are in charge of…well, different things on this planet."
What do we do now?
"Well, I shall head for the Spectrum, inform them as to our needing to stay, tell them that business is finished for them here and that they may go as they wish, and to come and pick us up when they can. Ark…well, you go back home and tell Mum and Dad that I'll be on my way soon and of this meeting. Don't tell them about the Sword - all of the Pandoran media will be here in probably the next three minutes. Artanis, do whatever you want. We have many texts on this planet in the use of Mana and the two Paths, as we call it - all your Psi abilities are what we call the Left Path."
I shall decide. Please, feel free to leave me and go.
Lich nodded and said farewell with Artanis' traditional "Adun Toridas", before being farewelled likewise.
"I think I'll just go downstream to the Palace and go from there," Ark told Lich. "See you later."
Ark removed his top, put it in Storage, turned and began to swim, parting the water plants with his hands as he went. Lich brought out Nessie, climbed aboard, and was soon aloft.
It was just as well because, as the two departed, a wave of reporters appeared, finding a vulnerable Artanis.

Lich's mind kept thinking about Ark's emerald as he flew to the Spectrum. In fact, he was thinking so hard about it, that before he realised it, he was now standing at a window inside the Spectrum, looking out at the fields. It was probably Rainstorm's cry of "Oh no…no…no!" from a room behind him that snapped his train of thought.
He opened the door and peered inside to find the precipiwizard flat on his stomach, his arms reaching under a nearby bed.
"Hey, what are you lookin' for?" he asked.
"Nothing…nothing at all," Rainstorm snapped, without even looking at him.
Lich knew this sort of response - it meant: "I'm actually looking for something that I rather you didn't know about." And, in situations like this one, his curiosity would always get the better of him.
"You sure?" he questioned skeptically.
"Yeah, I'm sure," was the reply, translated as: "Please go away, I don't need nor want your help."
Deciding that Rainstorm was true to that fact, and not wanting to stretch their friendship, Lich nodded and returned to gaze out the window a moment longer, before pacing down the aisle towards the lounge.
"Why did his emerald do that?" Lich mumbled to himself. "And where did Richter and the robot go? I know I felt some power from it when I picked it up in the rock pool…just why now? I've seen him threatened by people before…why didn't it do it then?"
Lich sat down in a seat beside Prism, and continued to think.
"Do you know anything about him?" she asked suddenly, dispelling his thoughts.
"Hmm?"
"Ian," she whispered. "Do you know anything about him?"
"Not a thing," Lich answered with a yawn - only near dusk and already tired, he thought. "Though, you'd think he'd want some sleep by now."
It was true - not once had he seen the jack-of-all-trades put down his tools and sleep. Just like another he knew. Suddenly, Ian had entered from another car. In that moment of fright one has when one is afraid that their secret observations of a particular person are now known, Lich grabbed the nearest magazine and opened it coolly. Unfortunately, it was a popular teenage girl magazine called Cosmopolitan - one of the Archipelago's publications.
Ian approached the two, and he and Prism struck up a conversation. Finding a quiz to look occupied with if asked what he was doing reading a magazine designed for the opposite gender, Lich eavesdropped.
"Shouldn't you get some rest?" she asked. "It's not healthy for anyone to stay awake that long…especially humans."
Lich smirked slightly at the remark.
"I'm fine," Ian replied with a cheerful tone as he began to walk away.
"Who are you, anyway?" she asked in a more impudent tone.
Lich's eyes looked up from the magazine to see Ian simply smile and walk towards the engine.
"He's hiding something," Prism whispered.
Lich nodded and said, "Either way, we're not going to find anything soon. Hey," he cheered, "according to this 'hot guy' quiz, I'm a seven on a scale of one to ten!" He thought a moment before frowning, and continuing with: "Though…I think the question regarding the size of my nose threw it off."
Although Prism took his expression as thinking about the quiz he had just "done", Lich was beginning to concentrate on Ian's presence on the Mana Field. He was in the engine with CR - this was a problem, as anything around CR was hard to pick up because they were swamped by his massive presence. He had to wait until the Rip Watcher moved to the other side of the room before he could really pick up Ian's presence.
He was sure that it was Ian. He could feel the presence, certainly. However, he couldn't read the signature. Something was blocking him from doing so - it would have to have been a very powerful force. Ian obviously had secrets to hide, and it seemed CR was in league with him.
Ian had moved back into the lounge. Fearful that Ian could have felt him feel his presence, Lich stopped concentrating and just sat on the lounge, looking up at him as he approached.
"Say, if you knew him," he started, "who was the bloke who owned the gun and what was he like?"
Lich was about to open his mouth, but Prism had already started to say, "Well, his name was Multehx707, and he was a rather strong fellow…"
She paused, and coughed slightly.
Was that…a smile on the boy's face? And his eyes…were they looking…smug?
"He was quite unlike anyone I had ever met before," she continued, "and quite helpful on numerous journeys."
Was there a faint red tinge in his cheeks as he nodded?
"Yes, is that all?" he asked one last time, before receiving a nod from Prism and returning to the engine.
Lich opened his mouth to speak, but the train suddenly shook and began to rise. He sprang out of his seat as he remembered why he had come back in the first place.
"Gulto, I knew I'd forget to tell them," he mumbled as he rushed to the engine door and yelled, "Guardian Council! Need to attend with my brother! Pick me up later!"
He hoped his message got through and ran for the door, only to jump back a moment as Ratch came sailing through it, as if by magnetic force. He tried to exit again, but this time it was Sixtyfourhundred's turn. Giving a half-growl, half-sigh, he stepped off the Spectrum.
Had there not been so much noise going on, they would have heard the yell as he plummeted ninety feet to the ground below.