Jonathan was woken up late that night by a red light flashing in front of his eyes.  When he opened his eyes, he found a black paper in front of him with white writing in it.  Glancing at Alisha and Seiji, who were still asleep, he picked it up.  He gasped as he read it.  Stopping only for a minute to think, he scribbled out a note to his friends, and looked back at them once more.  He clicked a few buttons on his "watch" and in an instant he was gone.
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     Alisha stared at her feet in surprise.  It wasn't her feet that shocked her...it was what was laying on top of them.  Two kids, a boy and a girl, were fast asleep beside her.
     Both looked about five years old.  The boy had spikey brown hair.  The little girl looked stangely like Alisha, but her thick brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail.  
     Alisha gently shook Seiji awake, who looked confused when he saw them.  He looked at Alisha and shrugged.
     The girl suddenly pulled her head up and stared at the two.  They stared back.  Alisha was amazed at her eyes.  She had deep blue eyes like she had never seen before.  The boy looked up now too, and they could see he had gray eyes.
     "Are you Alisha?" the girl asked, breaking the silence.  Alisha nodded.
     "I'm supposed to give this to you, then,"  she said holding out a folded paper.  Alisha opened it up and read it as Seiji-san looked over her shoulder.
     Alisha-
     These children somehow ended up at my home, although I'm not sure how with all the fighting that's going on.  They said they had to find their parents, and they can't remember their parent's names.  I'll run a bio scan on them to find their parents, but it will take a while with all the names to sort through, and it will be even longer, since they both have different parents.  Until then, they need somewhere to stay.  I have no room for them here, you will have to keep them.  Your friend Seiji should be able to help you.  I will let you know as soon as I find anything.  More supplies are on the way.  Good luck.
        Lazaar

     Alisha sighed.  "I guess you're staying with us, then.  What are your names?"
     "I'm Selena, and this is my cousin, Jeremy," the girl said, pointing to the boy hiding behind her.  "Hello," Jeremy said quietly.
     Alisha smiled.  "Well, I'm Alisha, but you already knew that.  And this is..."she said, turning to find Seiji staring at the floor, a troubled look on his face.
     "Seiji-san?  Hey, what's wrong?" she asked as Selena and Jeremy came towards them.
     "I was just...I read that note you got...my friends..." he said, looking even more worried than before.  "I almost forgot about them with everything that's happened lately.  What if they're lost, or hurt, or-"  he shook his head, not wanting to finish that thought.  "They're all very strong, and I hope they can fend for themselves...but against Realans...I dunno..." 
     Alisha felt genuinely sorry for him.  From what he had told her, Seiji seemed used to being alone.  She hadn't realized he cared so much for his friends.  "I'm sure they're alright, but if you want I'll have Lazaar check on them."
     "Would you?" he asked gratefully.
     "I'll do it right now,"  she told him, walking towards the caverns.  On the way there she noticed another paper on the ground.  She picked it up and read it.
     Alisha & Seiji-san,
I have some business to take care of.  I don't know when I'll be back, or if I'll be back at all.  I'll see you again, I know.  Later, guys.
      Your friend,
         Jonathan

     Alisha sighed again and tossed the paper over her shoulder.  *I told Jonathan he was still needed here, but since when does he ever listen to me?*  she thought as she turned on her communicator and watched a hologram appear on the wall.  She saw Lazaar in a room full of dead or dying Animates.  It was all Alisha could do to keep from crying.
     Lazaar turned towards her.  "What do you need, Alisha?"  he asked, sounding and appearing tired.
     "Seiji-san's really worried about his friends.  Do you know anything about them?"  
     Lazaar was hesitant to answer her, and Alisha knew something was wrong.  "What is it, Lazaar?  If you have anything Seiji-san needs to know, then spit it out!"
     He sighed.  "A little while back, I did have a couple people in here that asked about him.  But...they didn't survive."
     She looked at the ground.  "They're dead..?  How am I supposed to tell--"  She looked up at Lazaar, who was staring just behind her.  "Now what??"  she asked.  Alisha spun around to face a very sad looking Seiji.
     "Seiji-san...I...."  she couldn't think of anything to say to him.  He quickly turned and ran out of the room.  A moment later, she heard something hit the floor.  She walked into the main cave and saw Seiji sitting on the floor, rubbing his head.  Selina was standing beside him.  
     "What happened, Selina??"  she asked.  Selina shook her head and shrugged.
     "Seiji-san, are you okay?"
     "No, my head hurts!" he comlained, pouting.
     "Well, I meant about your friends..."
     Seiji stared at her, flustered.  "Friends? Which friends??"
     Alisha gasped in surpise.  "But don't you remember??"
     Seiji-san shook his head.  "I'm sorry, Alisha, I don't know what you're talking about."
     Lazaar's voice clicked in Alisha's head.  "If he doesn't remember, then you shouldn't remind him.  There's no telling what he might do if he recalls what happened."
     Alisha sighed.  "Never mind."
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     Within a few days Alisha and Seiji-san began to notice something terribly wrong with Jeremy.  From the day he arrived, he had been very weak.  They figured once he got fed he'd be all right.  But when everyone else ate, he didn't.  He always had some excuse: he had taken an apple earlier, he would eat a little later, he just wasn't hungry.  
     Seiji believed him for a while, until one day when he went back to check the food.  He counted up the amount of food in storage, and the only things missing were the things that he, Alisha and Selina had eaten.  Seiji became worried.  When he asked Selina about it, she told him that Jeremy was fine, but even she sounded doubtful.
     On the fifth day after the kids arrived, Seiji sat Alisha down and talked to her about the matter.
     "Alisha, I'm really worried about Jeremy.  He says he gets his food, but the only things missing from supplies is whatever we ate."
     Alisha had no idea what was happening to Jeremy, but it scared her too.  "Do you get the feeling that Selina is hiding something from us?"
     Before Seiji could respond, they heard Selina shriek.  They ran to the room Selina's voice came from.  Seiji wasn't completely surprised by what he saw; he almost expected it.  Jeremy was lying feebly on the floor, and Selina was shaking him, trying to wake him up with no success.  Seiji sat down by his side and tried to get Jeremy breathing again.  Selina ran into Alisha's arms.  As she tried to comfort the little girl, she softly asked, "Selina, do you really know what's going on?  If you do, you have to tell us!  We can't help him unless we know that's wrong!"
    Selina burst into tears all over again.  "H-He's anorexic," she sobbed.  "He won't eat anything unless he's forced to.  The only ones who could ever get him to eat even a little were his mom and his uncle..."
     The girls looked to Seiji, who seemed exhausted.  "Well, I got him breathing," he managed, "but he has to eat or he'll never make it.  We've gotta try our best."
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     The next day everyone took shifts watching him and trying to get him to eat.  Every time they put food up to his mouth, he would clamp his mouth shut  and pull away from it.  They all tried hard, but no one tried harder than Seiji.  For some unexplainable reason, he felt a strong bond to these kids, and he couldn't let anything happen to them.
     That evening, Seiji was still trying to get Jeremy to eat.  He tried to press a piece of apple up to his mouth, but Jeremy pulled away again.  At last he dropped the apple to the ground.  He stared at Jeremy for a minute, then he crossed his arms on a large rock and put his head in his hands.
     Jeremy saw this and turned his head slightly toward him.  "What's wrong?" he barely managed to whisper.
     Seiji heard him, but he didn't answer.
     Jeremy thought for a moment, then slid his hand to where a clean slice of apple sat.  After a few attempts, he cupped the slice in a loose fist.  He slid his hand back towards him, but was too weak to lift it to his mouth.  He felt himself losing his remaining strength quickly, and he knew he had to get Seiji to give the apple to him now.  He couldn't even speak to tell him.  Jeremy saw an object sitting near his foot.  He slid his foot to roll the object as his head began to fall back in his pillow, and his eyes started to droop shut.
     Seiji felt something roll up against his foot and he looked up. He gasped when he saw the condition Jeremy was in.  He glanced down into Jeremy's hand, saw the apple, and knew what he had tried to do.  Seiji grabbed the apple and pressed it up to Jeremy's mouth one last time.  Jeremy was able to open his eyes just enough to see, and forced his mouth to fall open.  Seiji moved his jaw for him to chew it up, and as Jeremy swallowed it he felt slightly better.  Jeremy ate the whole
apple before he fell asleep.  Alisha watched unnoticed from the door, smiling.  *Someday you'll make a great father, Seiji,* she shought as she left to check on Selina.
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     Selina crept into Jeremy's room late that night.  She shook him awake.  "Jeremy?"
     Jeremy opened his eyes a little. "What?" he whispered, still worn out from earlier. 
     Selina frowned.  "Why did you have to go and get so sick?  Now we have to wait until you get better!  We don't have very long!"
     Jeremy shuddered as he thought of the reason they were here. "I don't want to have to hurt them, though.  Isn't there any other way?"
     "You know there isn't.  This is out last hope.  We have to leave tomarrow if we're going to get back in time.  Don't let them know anything, okay?  You were never good at hiding things, you know."
     Jeremy lowered his head. "I know. Goodnight, Selina."
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     All through the next day, the kids tried to act normal, but Jeremy seemed so nervous Seiji and Alisha knew something was up.
     "What's with them?" Seiji asked the watched Selina and Jeremy  whispering in the corner.
     "I'm not sure," Alisha replied, "maybe they need to go home.  We should see if Lazaar has found out anything about their parents yet."
     Before Alisha could turn on the communicator, Lazaar's image popped up on the wall.  
     "I've found out who those childrens' parents are, but I'm afraid you aren't going to like this.  I still can't quite figure out how this happened... but from the genetic results I have, it seems you are Selina's mother, Alisha."
     Alisha and Seiji stared at Lazaar in shock.  "HOW could I be her mother?!?  I never...well, you know.  It's literally impossible!!"
     While Alisha went on about how it couldn't be true, Seiji stood quietly, thinking.  When he was finally able to speak, he asked anxiously, "Who's her father?"
     Lazaar flipped through the papers he had in his hand and sighed.  "It looks as though you are."
     Alisha stopped yelling and widened her eyes at Seiji-san.  They looked to Lazaar and said in unison, "We didn't do anything, I swear!"
     "I know that.  I think I know that.  Alisha was never pregnant.  I don't know how this could be.  I have also found that Jonathan and Yumi are the parents of Jeremy, and Yumi had about the same reaction as you.  Where is Jonathan?"
     Alisha had nearly forgotten about him.  "He left sometime last night. He said he had something important to take care of.  He didn't say when he'd be back...or if he'd be back at all."
     Lazaar looked worried.  "I will run a scan and find him then.  He needs to be back where you are."
     Lazaar's hologram dissapeared.  Seiji and Alisha had a long talk about what Lazaar had told them, but neither could figure out how this could be possible.  Both went to bed that night with a lot on their minds.
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     Jeremy watched silently as Alisha and Seiji slept.  He knew what had to be done that night, but he couldn't help the sadness that came over him.  
     Selina saw this and said, "If you can't do it, I will, Jeremy."  She secretly wished she didn't have to, since these were to be her parents.  But her mother had taught her to do whatever she had to do, even if it meant hurting someone she loved.
     Selina slowly crept up beside Alisha, with Jeremy close behind.  She rested her fist on Alisha's chest, and Alisha stirred, beginning to wake up.  
     Selina whispered, "Heart Removal."  Her hand shone a pale pink, then a vivid red.  As she began to open her fist, a black glowing hole appeared where her hand was.  
     Alisha's eyes flew open.  She started to scream in pain.  Seiji heard her and woke up.  When he saw what was happening, he tried to get up, but found that he couldn't move his body.  He turned his head to see Jeremy shooting an invisible beam into him, making it impossible for him to budge.
     Selina finally had the hole big enough to see a flaming red crystal inside her.  With her other hand, she began to bring the jewel toward her.  
     Alisha shrieked when the crystal moved.  Jeremy was startled by it and the beam stopped.  Seiji saw his chance and leapt up before Jeremy could do anything about it.  As Seiji-san was close to grabbing Selina's hand, Jeremy fired the first energy beam he could muster through Seiji.  Seiji's whole body tensed as the ray hit him, then he collapsed.  
     Selina turned and saw him lying there.  She pulled the crystal out and closed the hole as quick as she possibly could.  The process was supposed to be done slowly, and she hoped Alisha would be okay.  Alisha, who had been leaning against the wall, slid to the ground, shaking.
     Selina ran to Seiji's side.  Jeremy was standing beside him, crying.  "Is he alright?  Tell me he's okay!!"
     Selina took Seiji's wrist and tried to find a pulse.  Jeremy knew he was dead when she let go, buried her face in her hands, and began to sob.  After a few minutes, Selina tried to dry her tears.  It was time to go back...the had gotten what they came for.  
     Selina looked back at Alisha, who was still shaking.  Selina walked over to her and placed a hand on Alisha's throat, cutting off what little air she was still receiving.  Too weak to fight her, Alisha at last lay still.
     Jeremy gravely took a small rod out of his pocket and threw it up in the air.  The rod spun faster and faster until a colorful spotlight burst out of it.  Taking one look back, Selina and Jeremy stepped in and dissapeared.  
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     Jonathan sat on his wife's bad, dazed and uneasy.  He had expected Alisha to fall, but not Seiji.  He looked at his wife, who hadn't woken up yet that day.  He checked her costantly to make sure she was still living, but he knew if help didn't arrive soon, he'd lose her.
     Jonathan suddenly looked up to see Jeremy's key spinning in the air.  His son and neice appeared under it and the key fell into Jeremy's hand.  He put it away.
     Jonathan walked to them.  "What happened??  What's wrong with Seiji?"
     Selina was still too upset to talk, so Jeremy started.  "Selina started to take Aunt Alisha's crystal when she screamed.  Uncle Seiji tried to stop her, so I had to make him stay still.  Then Aunt Alisha screamed really loud and it scared me and Uncle Seiji almost stopped Selina but I blasted him and he..."  Jeremy stared at the ground, ashamed of himself.
     Jonathan thought about this for awhile, then sighed.  Where's the crystal, Jeremy?"
     Selina quietly took the small red crystal from her pocket and handed it to her uncle.  Jonathan concentrated on it, hoping he still remembered how to do this.  He concentrated as hard as he could until the crystal glowed dark red.  It slowly began to blur and appear as though someone was looking at it crosseyed.  Finally the two blurs became two red crystals and Jonathan opened his eyes.  He gave one to Selina, and walked to his wife with the other.  He set it gently on her chest and closed his eyes once more.  She began glowing a pale blue and a black hole like the one Alisha had in her appeared where the crystal was.  The crystal dropped inside and the hole dissappeared.
     Jonathan looked at her and held her hand, waiting for some sign.  After a few minutes he turned away.  A moment later he felt a soft squeeze at his hand.  He looked back to see Yumi with her eyes half opened, smiling at him the best she could.
     He smiled back at her.  "Welcome back, sweetheart..."
     Jeremy heard this and hopped up onto his mother's bed.  "Mommy!"
     Yumi laughed.  "Hi, sweetie!"  She looked at the floor to see Alisha and Seiji lying there and her eyes widened in terror.  
     Jonathan explained the whole situation to her and she shook her head.  "The messes you guys get yourselves into...."  She reached into a table by her bed and took out a tiny orange jewel.  She handed it to Selina.  "You know your magic better than Jeremy does.  This is a death seed.  Has your mother taught you how this works?"  Selina nodded.  "Good then.  Use this on your father when you go back to give your mom's crystal back.  And don't forget to leave before they wake up..."  
     Selina merely nodded again and looked at Jeremy.  Jeremy jumped off Yumi's bed and tossed his rod in the air.  "We be back soon!"
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They reappeared in the cave again.  Jeremy stood aside while Selina used the same technique on her mother that Jonathan had used.  She then threw the death seed into Seiji's heart as accurately as she could, checking then to make sure he was alive.  Jeremy tossed his rod and, taking one last look back, dissappeared again.
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