----------------------------------------------------Begin Phoenix----(New POV-Female)------------------------------------

I raised my hand, covering my eyes, looking up into the early morning sun, then down into the sparkling water. I couldn’t see Leo anywhere! My wrist-com beeped with a suddenness that startled me out of my thoughts, and I raised it to my mouth anxiously.

“Leo?”

“Negative, Lira. This is Simetra.” I grinned.

“How goes it?”

“Well. Orion is up and eating breakfast.” My eyebrows raised, as I bit my lip. Yes, okay, I was interested in him. So?

“How is he?”

“Fine, I believe. He still seems nervous by the fact that there are two others like him.”

“Don’t you mean, four?” She sighed, visibly upset, even over the comm-link.

“I didn’t tell him I was a temporary replacement. Yet. I didn’t want him to think he would need to compete with two other males.” I laughed as I pictured a stranger forced to put up with annoying, egotistical Leo, and cocky, outgoing Delphinus. I had to agree with her decision.

“You will tell him though, before he comes down?”

“Right after he finishes his juice.” I laughed once more before she got down to business.

“Speaking of coming, we’ll be down by four. Is Leo ready?”

“Uh...” I sighed. “We haven’t seen him since he left to do his rounds at dawn. We’re actually starting to get worried.” A small snort was picked up by the communicator.

“Worried? About Leo? He’s probably out gallivanting.” I snorted also. The mere idea of the stiff, pompous Leo in his gold suit, out gallivanting, was...much too unrealistic to picture. Another beep indicated an incoming message from the Watch.

“I need to go, Simetra. We’ll be expecting you on Island Five. Stand Straight.”

“Fly Free.” I switched frequencies.

“Lira here.”

“Lira, orders from Supreme Sovereign. He wants to see Leo. Now.” I shrugged, as if he could see.

“Too bad. Leo hasn’t been heard from since sunrise.” The voice on the line grew tight and narrow.

“What am I to tell Sovereign?”

“Tell him that Leo might be in trouble, and might need backup.” I flicked back a strand of red tinted hair and saw something out of the corner of my eye, floating and moving towards me on the water.

“Lira out.” I squinted, and strained. It was a Spotter, one of the Sea City’s patrol units. The person was riding a dolphin, but swimming slowly as to best push whatever it was pushing, straight at us. I saw a streak of blue hair, and grinned, waving my arm in wide arcs.

“Hail, Delphinus!” His voice carried over the water easily as he waved back.

“Hail back at you, Lira!” When he came close enough to speak normally, I gasped. The thing he was pushing was a body in a golden suit. I jumped off the grassy edge of the island onto the metal pier, and reached as far out as I could. Delphinus slipped into the water to help me pull Leo onto the pier. His limbs were limp and cold. I slapped his face quickly, and knelt to hear a heartbeat. Nothing. Quickly again, I grabbed his wrist.

“Menyen’ock va!” The suit slid back into the golden bracelet, letting me see the full damage. Luckily, years of being in the Protectorite had hardened my stomach, so looking at Leo was not as bad as it could have been, but it was bad, make no mistake. His body was bloated as only death by drowning could make it. His eyes were filmy and rolled back, his skin, purple and vein-popping. I heaved once, then looked away until I could control myself.

“I swear to you, Lira, on the grave of my mother and father, in the name of Princess Picea, I found him this way. I did not kill him.” I swallowed quickly, and nodded, eyes closed, activating my wrist-link.

“Lira here. Message to Supreme Sovereign....Leo is dead. Repeat, Leo Major is dead.” Delphinus awkwardly climbed up beside me, visibly uncomfortable on dry land.

“Lira, confirm?” My eyes rolled.

“Leo is dead, Leo is dead, Leo is dead! Confirm?” Beneath my feet and the sparse dirt and grass, the metal base of the island began to vibrate.

“Delphinus, you’d better leave. It won’t look good if you’re here, and...well...you know.” He nodded once, and did a perfect dive into the water, slipping onto the back of his dolphin effortlessly. He soon disappeared under the water, just as the Protectorite Watch appeared on the scene to inspect, and carry Leo’s body away. This was the worst thing to happen since the betrayal of Asiza. The Floating City had no protector. I caught up to the Head of the patrol, and explained the situation. This was no mere dead body, this was Leo Major, Protector of our City! He paled and hesitated.

“Isn’t there someone else who can take the job?”

“It’s not just a job! The Suit only bonds with a certain type of person!” I clutched my head in panic, then glanced at my watch and stifled a scream. “Orion and Simetra will be here in less than four hours! It takes weeks to find a replacement!” My wrist beeped again.

“Lira. Direct orders from Sovereign. He commands you to replace Leo within the hour.” I sighed.

“The only way to do that would be to take the job myself.” Seconds of silence followed my sarcastic reply, and when the voice came back on, I could have slapped myself.

“Sovereign approves of your decision. Congratulations, and good luck.”The frequency lapsed into silence. I stared at the comm-link, jaw hanging.

“C’est mauvais.” The guard next to me moved closer.

“What’s bad?” I shook my head, and called for the unit to stop. I sighed wearily as I placed my fingers around the bracelet on Leo’s cold hand.

“Authority Delta; Level Three; Priority: Disengage.” The bracelet fell into my palm lifelessly, still ice cold from the water. I got chills as I slipped it on. Totally impossible. First I helped design this thing, and now I was going to wear it, and use it, too. I glanced again at my watch. I had approximately three hours to acclimate myself to the suit. Should be no problem, since I helped design the thing. This was going to be interesting. I turned the bracelet around, activating it. Like before, it slid up my arm and body, covering me with a golden film of electric, metallic, force field, impervious everything. Almost everything. I took a shuttle to Island Five, watching the barren, brown and green land outside, flash by in blurs. Our building were domes, huge half-circle metal domes, all painted a grotesque mixture of silver and green. Red flags waved forlornly in the cool wind, and small bunches of flowers tried desperately to grow, to stretch their roots beyond the thin layer of land between them and the metal basing of our enormous ships. I felt sad for a while, then ignored it. I practiced interpreting my thoughts into movements of the suit. Twenty minutes later, when I stepped out of the empty shuttle, I could use tendrils like arms. Good, things were progressing well. I still wasn’t enjoying it. I never did like the project. Mainly because, I didn’t like it here on the Floating City. The Supreme Sovereign was bossy, and although he did what was best for everyone, he still remained a cold, hard personage. Not like the Sky City. They had a Council of Thirteen, who rotated every year, so no one was in power long enough to do any real damage. And in the Sea City, they had a Princess who loved her people, and held celebrations in honor of her, every year. The Floating City stayed stubborn and solitary. The Sky City evolved enough to breed gigantic eagles, and the Sea City evolved enough to commune with the sea creatures! All we boasted was weaponry. I didn’t relish the idea of patrolling and protecting a City I cared nothing about. Oh well. I practiced mindlessly, again and again going through all the things the suit was capable of, until I could use it like extensions of my own body. I didn’t even notice the time, until a hand grabbed my shoulder. Never, ever, ever do this to a trained, military person who is practicing combat techniques. You would think this would be obvious, wouldn’t you? I reacted without thought, using at least ten tendrils to grab my assailant and wrap them up, while dropping to a crouch. Once I turned, and saw a silver man watching with folded arms as I lofted Simetra over my head, wrapped like a broken arm, I realized my mistake and gently released her.

“You should know not to disturb someone who is concentrating, Simetra.” Chided the man who could only be Orion. I had seen Simetra before, so I studied him thoroughly. He was about as tall as Simetra, maybe a little taller, which meant he was definitely taller than I was. I don’t know if ‘man’ was the word to describe. ‘Boy’ wasn’t it either. He seemed younger then the normal age of most military people placed in a Suit, but from what I heard from Simetra, he wasn’t normal. I noticed, with discreet looks, that he had a nice enough body, for supposedly being abnormal. I also noticed, with unseen blushes, that he had been studying me as well. I knew I looked good, after all, I was raised on a City where athletic prowess is everything, and I hadn’t been promoted to my position for nothing.

“Orion, I presume?” He bowed regally, startling me.

“At your service, madam.” He straightened, then hesitated.“ However, I seem to be misunderstanding. I thought Simetra was the protector of Sea City, then I find it’s a guy. Now I come expecting a guy, and I find a female. Pardon if I seem slow catching on.” I nodded, and turned to Simetra, ready to fill her in. In French, I began relating all I knew. He stepped between us.

“Excusez-moi de vous avoir derange.....but I know French, so that language won’t work for a private conversation.” I stared at him in surprise, then scrounged up another language.

“Miles gloriosus-”

“And I know Latin as well.”

“Conas a dearfea e’ sin i mBearla?”

“Yes, I also speak Irish.”

“Como’-”

“Yes.”

“A-” He nodded.

“I understand, and can communicate fairly well in about....twelve different languages.” My respect for him went from polite to admiring in merely two minutes. Nearly everyone knew Latin, as it was the linking language. The Sky City stayed with Latin mostly, but also dabbled in a few others. The Sea City liked Latin for visitors, but spoke in ancient languages, like Greek, Italian, and Irish. We of the Floating city preferred English, but there were a few who practiced others for fun. I considered it a great skill to be multi-lingual, so I was very impressed with Orion’s grasp of languages. Simetra shook her head.

“Well, this is all very amazing and wonderful, but I need to get back to the Sea City. Delphinus should be up at any moment to reclaim the Suit. I’ll meet him halfway and switch.” I watched wordlessly as she dived off the edge of the island, barely making a splash. Orion turned to me, and held out his hand.

“What does your Suit do?”

“I beg your pardon?” He tilted his head oddly, then indicated his hand.

“I’d like you to meet ‘O’, my Suit. Artificial intelligence.” I favored him with a look he couldn’t see.

“You named the A.I. personality ‘O’?”

“There’s a joke behind it. Anyway, what does your Suit do?” I shrugged.

“Flies.” He did a double take, and uncrossed his arms.

“What? Cool!”

“No,” I shook my head confusedly.“It’s hot, using fire and- ugh never mind. It’s too complicated to explain.” As Orion sighed a second later, his Suit followed his exhalation, sliding off into the Ring the Sky City designed, revealing his true self. I was glad my Suit covered my head, because I couldn’t stop the appreciative smile spreading across my face. He was not good-looking. He was great-looking! His black hair was wild, sticking up everywhere, giving him a roguish appearance that appealed to my own wild side. And his eyes! They were grey and wide, like he was some kind of naive, innocent kid. He was tan from being in the sun, and his smile was lopsided, reminding me of Delphinus’ joker qualities. Once my smile and blush disappeared, I too removed my Suit. Orion’s eyes flickered in a lightning quick motion.

“You’re blonde. And you have green eyes. Pretty green eyes.”

“Thank you. Is that a problem?” He looked down, embarrassed.

“You just remind me of someone I know. Knew. Know.” I smiled charmingly.

“So...where are you from? Do you have anybody back there?” I shut my mouth quickly as he glanced at me sharply.

“Far away, and I don’t know anymore.”

“Mmm...How old are you?”

“Eighteen this August.” Huh?

“August?”

“August, you know, six months away?”

“Months...?” He smiled apologetically.

“Months? As in twelve a year?” Could he be talking about the phases of the moons and seasons? Perhaps he saw that I didn’t understand, because he shook his head.

“First, how old are YOU?”

“Sixteen last double full moon, Spring.” He blinked.

“How many hours does it take for your suns to circle the planet, amounting to a day?”

“Twenty.” He looked surprised, then continued.

“And how many days between double full moons?” I thought a second.

“About.....twenty-nine to thirty.”

“Okay, carrying that, adding this, you need to take in account the twenty-nine slash thirty, and-on my planet you’d be seventeen and a third!” He finished proudly, beaming. I simply took his word for it.

“Okay.” Whatever. If he said so. Suddenly, in the awkward silence, a dolphin’s call carried over the water. I raised a hand over my eyes, even though the sun was beginning to set, and scanned the horizon.

“He could easily pop up at the water’s edge without us knowing his arrival, but he likes the effect.” Orion laughed, flashing white teeth and slight dimples.

“I would do it this way too.” As soon as Delphinus got within viewing range, Orion’s Suit covered him once more.

“I prefer it if people don’t know too much, too soon.” I shrugged. It seemed that both boys liked effect better. Whatever. Sure enough, Delphinus had his blue Suit on. Orion nudged me.

“What does his suit do?”

“It enables him to breathe underwater.” The blue metallic shine of Delphinus’ Suit was amplified by the streaming water as he slid off his dolphin and pulled himself on land. Orion held out his hand to Delphinus, who shook it warmly. I gave him a quick hug, and introduced him.

“Delphinus of the Sea, this is Orion of the Sky.” Delphinus nodded, then turned to me.

“It is as I suspected. You’ve been given a promotion.” I nodded.

“Someone has to protect us, even if it is me.” Orion tilted his head, and shrugged.

“Care to fill me in somebody?” As I told him what had happened, Delphinus studied him. Orion folded his arms when I finished.

“Sounds like somebody had it in for your pal.” I eyed the sinking sun with relief.

“Well, we are a very pretty shining group, but we have negotiations to make, so I suggest we all troop inside.” I waved towards an empty house usually reserved for visiting Sea City politicians. Delphinus and Orion were in a deep discussion, and didn’t hear. I sighed. It seemed the boys were banding together already. Goody for them. I ignored them and went into the house.