"Runa."

Runa's eyes opened to a sudden whisper that's calling her all of a sudden. She slowly got back up on her feet and her hand reached her forehead to support her blurry vision. Once her vision was clear, she turned to her surroundings.

Runa found herself in a dark room. No person, no thing, no animal, no place, nothing. She was confused by the sound she just heard. Where did it come from?

"Runa."

It's that sound again. Runa immediately whipped around to where the sound came from. What's going on? What's happening? Why was she hearing this whisper all of a sudden?

"Runa."

This time, when Runa heard a whisper, she started analyzing it. This voice was as calm as her father's, but it's also deep like Shadow's. Not only that, but overall, it had a hint of a deep, raspy voice. She didn't know why, but it felt so... unfamiliar, but at the same time, it was.

"Connect with him."

Connect with him? What does that even mean? Who's the "him" the voice is talking about? Runa thought.

Then came another sentence.

"Stay strong."

Before things started to get confusing, a hand forced Runa to wake up.

The scene switched to reality where Runa's eyes shot open. The first thing she saw was a black blur with the brown blur beside it. As she fluttered her eyes to see better, a certain young, enthusiastic voice called out to the others, "Guys, look! She's awake!"

Runa noticed that everyone else gathered around to see if she's okay. All including Leo, Clifton, Intellizo, Billie and Bashiri. The ones who were mostly up close were Shadow and Leo.

"Runa, are you alright?" Shadow asked Runa.

Runa groaned as she slowly rose into a sitting position. Her hand reached her forehead to do so to help recover her dizziness.

Once Runa's in her sitting position and her dizziness was recovered, she managed to answer Shadow’s question, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Runa turned to the others. “How long have I been out?"

"You've been unconscious for three-in-a-half hours, Runa," Intellizo answered.

"Three-in-a-half hours?" Runa asked in confusion.

"Yes, Runa. We were taken to a place we've never been in before. It's possible it's far away from the Leone Kingdom," Leo said.

That's when Runa turned to look at her surroundings. The walls were made of sun-baked stone bricks. Their color was like sand in the desert. Between them were a few small pieces of vines. Some long ones were hanging from the ceiling. She looked up and saw the details of the ceiling. It's shaped like a dome. It's also the same color as the sun-baked stones. As for the floor... well, let's just say it's hard for a person to sleep on. The tiles on the floor were a bit darker shade of peach. Right before her was an opening, filled with aligned iron bars.

Runa's eyes widened. Wait. Are we... imprisoned?

As for Shadow and the Royal Guardians, they're the ones looking over to see if Runa was still okay.

Everyone gave Runa some space, so that she could slowly get back up on her feet. And so, she did. Then, her hands dusted off her clothes as a curious question popped in her head.

"And one question. Where are we?"

Clifton shrugged. "I dunno. Feels like we've never been here before."

"All of us have never been here before," Billie stated.

"Billie is right," Bashiri said. "This place is known to be a secret territory no one wants us to pass. Anyone who intrudes it will receive disastrous consequences.

"We don't know the name for sure, but everything they said is all I know. Same goes with everyone who's heard of it."

"Don't tell anyone about your events here..." a female high raspy voice said.

All heads whipped around to see some kind of alien they've never seen before. Her skin was magenta and translucent. She had golden brown eyes and wavy purple hair. She wore a samurai-like helmet with a palm leaf. The stem was glued at the center of it. Her outfit was more like someone living in the wild with a belly top made of a leopard’s skin and skirt made of leaves. Her helmet was made of bamboo and leaves. In her right hand was a spear made of bamboo, with a magenta, crooked, diamond-shaped crystal placed on top.

The same raspy voice was heard as the glow around her suddenly appeared, "...But you're in the Land of Langcomns."

"The Land of Langcomns? What’s that?” Intellizo asked in confusion.

"Oh, that's right. You didn't know," the female alien said.

"Don't know what exactly?" Intellizo asked.

"We have a territory that's been kept secret for over a thousand years. Not even a single person knows this place. That is until that meddling scientist came in and stole the sacred artifact we must protect," she explained.

"Could that be Eggman?" Clifton asked Bashiri.

Bashiri turned to Clifton. "I'm not sure. We can't jump to conclusions that quickly."

“I agree with you, Bashiri,” Billie said.

"That sacred amulet is called 'The Amulet of Communication,'" the female alien said. "It allows the user to communicate with other people, and creatures big and small. Even those who wanted to explain, but they couldn't. Its purpose is exactly the same as us, but it can only seek souls when you need it. Especially in extreme cases. Which is why it must not fall into the wrong hands." The alien pointed her spear at Runa. "And now, it comes to our attention that you're the one stealing it."

"I'm sorry, what?!" Runa reacted in shock.

"Are you crazy?! Whoever you are, we would never do such a thing like this!” Clifton exclaimed, glaring at the alien.

"Oh, and just in case you didn't know, I'm Langua. Current chief of the Langcomns. You were imprisoned because we learned the one thing about this meddling scientist," she said.

"What’s that?" Billie asked.

"It's none of your business," answered Langua, then her eyes were directly on Runa, "But you're coming with me."

Just as Runa was about to ask why, a force pulled Shadow to run in front of her and went into his protective position much to the Royal Guardians' surprise.

A teasing chuckle was heard from Langua, "Not to worry, lover boy. I'll take care of her just as you will eventually take care of her."

Everyone else's — except Shadow's — surprised expressions shot their directions towards him. You could see Runa's eyes widening in surprise while also feeling a blush creeping on her cheeks.

"Lover boy?!?!" they — except Shadow — all reacted. Although, you could hear Runa stuttering a bit at the start of the sentence.

As for Shadow, his eyes widened in quite a shock on how much Langua knew about the new feeling inside of him. Then, his head shook in denial. "No. I'm not like that. I just... don't want her to get hurt."

"You think so? If you ask me further, again, it's none of your business. Come with me, Runa. We'll talk more about our history," Langua said.

"No. I won't let you do that to her," Shadow said, glaring at Langua.

"Didn't I tell you that I will take care of her just like how you will take care of her?” Langua asked. “I promise you that I'll keep her safe from harm."

"How do I know if we could trust you?" Shadow asked Langua, eyeing her suspiciously.

"The amulet and I are one. I can sense everything in that amulet. Not only that, but there's still at least some power inside of her that I keep connecting with. I prepare her extra power just in case the amulet is lost, but it won't last long. But now, we are all connected in one power. In short, I trust her and she should trust me."

Just as things were about to get wrong, Runa laid her hand on Shadow's left shoulder. "It's okay, Shadow. I'll be careful with her," she said softly.

"You're not going to regret your decision, are you?" Langua asked.

Runa turned to Langua and shook her head.

Runa gently slipped her hand away from Shadow allowing him to face her. But he didn't. Instead, he never made a single move.

Shadow didn't know how to respond to Runa's sudden physical touch on his shoulder. No one had dared to touch him apart from Rouge, Hope and Maria and he felt fine with it. But with Runa, it crossed his mind to stop her from doing that, but his gut told him to do nothing with her. A strange feeling was developing inside of him again, but he brushed that off, ignoring it as a result.

"Are you sure you're going to accept Langua's decision?" Leo asked Runa in concern.

Runa turned to Leo to give him an answer. "I have no other choice, Leo. But don't worry. Langua and I are one. Our powers are the same. According to my gut-feeling, she would never intend to hurt me."

"That's right. Now, any last words before coming with me?" Langua asked.

In response, Billie took a few steps forward. "Stay safe out there, Runa. If you need any backup, we'll be on our way."

"Billie's right, Runa. We'll always be there for you whether you're around us or not," Bashiri told Runa.

Then all of a sudden, Runa was engulfed in a hug by Clifton.

"No! Don't go, Runa!" Clifton told her.

"Okay... Take it easy. Can't breathe," Runa said weakly.

"Oh, right. Sorry, Runa," Clifton said as he unwrapped their arms around Runa. "My bad."

"Don't worry, Clifton,” Runa said. “It'll only be temporary. I'll come back for you soon, okay?"

"Of course, Runa! Please do!" Clifton said in a mix of worry and sadness.

Runa let out a light chuckle.

Intellizo approached Runa. "Take care of yourself."

"I will. You, too," Runa replied to Intellizo.

Then, Runa’s body turned to Leo, waiting for his final words to her.

Tears were starting to fill Leo's eyes. He looked down and sighed in defeat. Well, not exactly defeat. He was about to lose his only student apart from his adoptive son, Clifton.

Leo looked back up at Runa. "I could say the same as the rest of us. Come back safely, Runa."

Runa nodded in reply, "I will."

When Runa turned to Shadow, she saw the mix of emotions in his eyes as he was about to lose her just as he lost his special friend. Concern, sadness, worry, and worst of all, fear.

With that, Runa ran towards him and wrapped her arms around him. "Don't worry, Shadow. I'll be there for you. Even when you're alone."

Shadow was tensed when he felt her arms wrapped around him. Apart from Hope hugging him, he had never felt arms wrapped around his body before. Shadow had nothing to do with it now that Runa was hugging him, but after a few moments, he wrapped his arms around her, too.

The next thing Runa heard from Shadow was his concerned voice, "Be careful out there."

"I will. You, too," Runa replied as they broke away from the hug.

Then, Runa's body turned to the cell door. Langua used her electric spear to open up the cell door. A big bang was heard, then as it opened, there came a loud squeak ringing in everyone's ears. Then, her hand gestured for Runa to come out.

Runa nodded in definite response knowing it's now or never and that she couldn't turn back. The next thing she did was to walk out of the big cell.

———————————————————————

Shortly after...

Langua started touring Runa around the Land of Langcomns. As Runa looked at her surroundings, she saw that the other Langcomns were wearing clothes made of leaves, leopard’s skin and bamboo as suspected, but not in the way she thought. Runa could tell who's male and who's female. Not just by the hair, but it's also the clothes and they both had different natural looks.

For the males, each had a jacket and shorts with traditional colors. When you look beyond where the clothes come from, it's actually made from sheep's wool. They also wore samurai-like helmets with two leaves at its front center. You see, the leaves at the front center represented their gender. As for the looks, you could see two tusk-like bug teeth in their lower lips. The biggest ones came from the male chiefs of the Langcomns. Their helmets had five leaves at its front center.

For the females, you already know the looks of them when they became chiefs. As for the citizens, they're wearing clothes made out of leaves and leopard’s skin. Their helmets had one leaf at its front center.

As Langua and Runa walked around the land, it's finally time to have a chance to look at Runa's surroundings. Village houses on the ground, cottages in between them, a small garden with handy tools and even the training session where they had to learn to be military guards were scattered around this place.

Once they’re far from the village, Runa was introduced to a cave. And inside the cave... was a magenta glowing beast. As Runa examined the details, she saw that it had a lion's body. Its head was like a beast from popular fantasy stories. It had two horns on its head and fangs appeared in its teeth. This place was served for those who violated the rules in the Land of Langcomns and when they're guilty of their wrong doings, especially extreme ones.

Langua and Runa moved on to the chief's palace. This was exactly how it all started. To Runa, this palace didn't look like they're royalty in fantasy stories, but that's okay because — well, what could she say? It's the Langcomns they're talking about!

The tour started on the second floor where Runa got to see what the bedrooms looked like. Turns out, it had at least five bedrooms. One for the male and female chiefs and the others for their children. Each of them was filled with luxury. At the same time, traditional and simple things were decorated. Runa was impressed at those designs. They were well-balanced when it came to decorating your home, especially in your bedroom.

Soon, Langua and Runa moved on to the last two destinations. One of them was the throne room. It's a big room, but everything was all blank except the throne before them and the mats on each side. This allowed the Langcomns to sit down in any form they wanted. If someone needed a chair, they had to get permission from the chief's advisor. The throne had different shades of brown and it's made of wood. In its left armchair, when you pressed one button, a cylinder-like post rose up. The post had a lateral line running across it. This indicated that the top part was actually a lid. And when you opened it, there was glass underneath.

"This is where we usually keep the amulet," Langua told Runa.

Runa turned to her in a mix of confusion and surprise. "Really?"

"Yes. Our very first chief made an idea about it. It's the one way to keep it safe from evil hands."

Soon, Langua and Runa moved on to their last destination. The dining room. Inside, it’s like holding a banquet. Runa could tell by how long the rectangular table is. About 5 meters. Runa had to sit down for lunch along with Langua since it's almost twelve o'clock in her communicator. The maids were ordered to give a few dishes to the prisoners since they're a few of those Runa was happy with. In addition to that, her male advisor was requested to go with them, too.

Lunch was served.

Right before Runa was a bowl of seasoned soup. Made from sliced cabbage, minced vegetables, a teaspoon of minced tamarind, a pinch of minced chili and a pinch of palm sugar. Runa scooped up the small amount of broth and blew it gently. Then, once she felt like it's getting warmer, her spoon reached her lips and the soup entered her mouth. You couldn't miss the surprised look on Runa's face with her mouth closed as she'd never had a taste of soup like this before.

They both ate in silence until Runa raised her hand to ask Langua in a soft voice, "This may seem a bit... intense, but who's the meddling scientist you're talking about?"

Langua sighed in response. Then, the next words she could hear from her... was the complete history.

"It all started out over a thousand years ago..."

———————————————————————

Meanwhile...

Clifton was seen walking around randomly while kicking stones nearby him. His hands were behind his backs. Then, in a few seconds, Clifton was seen yawning with his left hand covering his mouth.

Leo was seen sitting on the ground with his legs crossed. He had a humble expression on his face.

After a few moments, a sigh of exasperation escaped Clifton's mouth. "Ugh, I'm bored! We've been waiting for Runa for more than ten minutes!" said Clifton.

"Patience, Clifton. If you have faith, you'll know Runa will come back safely sooner than you think," Leo said.

"I am having faith! But I feel like it's fading away!" Clifton told Leo.

Shadow was seen standing there with his arms crossed. By his facial expression, the public could tell that his expression was blank, but in reality, he was thinking of what would happen to Runa when she got out of the cell.

Little did Shadow know, the maids had served lunch to the whole group in the cell. A bang on the cell door was heard and lunch had arrived. He turned his head to the cell door.

"Looks like lunch is ready," Billie said as he slightly turned his head to Shadow. "You'd be welcome to join us, Shadow. If you don't mind."

Just as Shadow was about to speak up, a new voice joined in. "Perhaps, you might wanna have time to listen to our origins."

This time, everyone's heads — including Shadow's — turned to the door cell to see the same male advisor Langua ordered him to go with the maids.

"I'm Comono. Langua's younger brother and trusted advisor," he said.

After a few moments of deep thought, Shadow finally agreed to join the others for lunch.