We arrived at the courtesy desk. Ness, BJ, Paula, Tracy, Jeff, someone I assumed was Prince Poo, and a strangely-dressed girl were there.
"BJ!" Ñrutas cried, leaping towards BJ.
"'Roots!" answered BJ.
"What are you doing here?" Picky asked.
"Come out of the mall," said who I thought was Prince Poo. "We feel that it would be most prudent if why we came here was unveiled in a more secluded position."
Paula led us out of the mall and down the road to an old house. A well-kept sign stood before it, reading: Home of Apple Kid, inventor.
"Apple Kid moved to Printemps to continue his scientific explorations," Paula explained. "He requested that I watch his house while he's in Printemps, however long that might be. And since I have carte blanche to use the house as I wish, we decided that our presentation would be best executed there. Or here." She smiled, opening the door. "Ignore the mess, though."
And boy, was it messy! Food was everywhere, although Paula seemed to have assorted it into the various food groups: fruits, vegetables, grains, sweets, and molds.
"Did I mention I'm allergic to certain types of molds?" Picky mused.
BJ rolled his eyes. "Perhaps we should hurry, then."
"All right," the strange girl said. "Prince Poo, please do the honours." She batted her eyes at him.
Prince Poo -- his identity now confirmed -- groaned. "We happened to find this in Dalaam." He pulled something from a small white pack that he had fastened to his belt.
"The Power Crystal!" Picky exclaimed.
"Yes, the Power Crystal," Jeff confirmed. "It was created when four beams of light from the west met with four other beams of light in Dalaam."
"You mean re-created," Ness observed. "It was around before then."
"But four?" I wondered out loud. "There were only three that we lost. Where could the fourth have come from?"
"It couldn't have been from far away," Tracy said. "I saw the four lights from the west appear at the same time; there was not a lot of time between your three and the fourth light."
"Let's go after the Energy Points then," Ñrutas exclaimed.
"One problem with that, 'Roots," BJ murmured. "We only know of the location of three of the remaining five: we have no idea where Civalia or Sanken Mountain are. But the department store in Fourside may be the Civalia Energy Point, I'm not completely sure."
"Didn't you do some research about Fourside's history?" Paula asked.
"Yeah, I did," he admitted. "But all I found was that it used to be called Fivaia. And Papen Polder. And med' kieva, but that's just padding it. Nothing like Civalia, really, except the fact they both contain 'iva' in their name."
Jeff appeared to be in thought. "Sanken Mountain, you said?" Tracy nodded. "There is an island volcano that once went by that name between Summers and Scaraba. Its name was changed to Mount Volca after a devastating series of volcanic eruptions destroyed the Summers colonial village of Villeloin. Strangely enough, the kingdom of Summers had known the island since antiquity, many thousands of years; and yet they observed nothing that would have suggest they were colonising an island with a volcano on it."
Poo spoke up. "Perhaps, rather than muse like we are now, we should continue to collect the Energy Points' energies."
"It can't be we," Paula said. "I want to be with Paul."
"And Lomond and I should get back with the team before the next game. I'm betting the coach is in conniptions over the way we just disappeared," Ness observed. He threw his receiver phone to Picky. "Just in case I need to contact you."
Ness and Paula walked out and beyond the house; Paula went to her house, Ness to the Hotel.
It was just me, Picky, BJ, Ñrutas, the girl, Jeff and Poo.
"Well, this is a lucky number," the girl observed. "And of course, there's Prince Poo to protect us."
Poo sighed again. "Ani, must you obsess over me so?"
I looked at Ani. She smiled at me and shrugged.
"So, what Energy Point do we go after first?" she wondered.
"Lake Tess," BJ said. "With luck, it's neither Dusty's nor the Eighth's."
"If you want, I can teleport you there," Poo said. "I will also stay with you to help you teleport to the other position."
"Poo, once you get us to Winters, I'd like you to teleport me to Printemps. I think you were there once, right?" Upon receiving confirmation from Poo, Jeff continued. "I feel that I'll best serve all of you if I were to help Apple Kid work on inventions there."
"I can do that." We walked outside, and Poo teleported us to Winters. He then teleported Jeff to Printemps and we continued on to Lake Tess.
"I hope Dusty's doing as well as we are," Ñrutas mused.

Tracy
Once we arrived at Lake Tess, we got to work finding the Energy Point. Picky had an idea as to whose point it was.
"To my knowledge, to activate the Guardian of the Energy Point, the person whose point it is has to have touched the Power Crystal not long before the Point is reached," Picky surmised. "I wasn't there when Neptune Crevice's Guardian appeared, but it was my Energy Point. I think there's a day's wait; and we haven't been here for a few days. We should pass the Crystal among Ñrutas, Tony, and Ani."
"I'll go first!" Ani said. She grabbed the Crystal from his hands and ran along the side of Lake Tess, hoping for a reaction; but there was no one. Depressed, she returned.
She handed it to Ñrutas, but BJ snapped it out of his friend's mouth.
"We're not being logical. I seem to remember the Power Crystal growing in Tony's hands here. Let's try it with him before anyone else." He threw it to Tony, who caught it.
The Power Crystal immediately began to pulse yellow.
"Yellow?" Tony wondered. "Why would it be yellow? Wind?" He held it out. A crow flapped over the sky.
"That crow is yellow!" exclaimed Ani. "It's yellow!"
"It must be the Guardian then," I observed.
The crow veered towards us; the yellow of its feathers was revealed to be a deep pulsing. It landed near Tony, then exploded.
"Move away, move away!" BJ ordered. "We need to figure out what its weaknesses might be before we attack."
The Light Pillar receded, and what reminded me of a harpy was there. She was like a harpy. Her wings were black, her face seemed clearly feminine to me, and she was dressed like a medieval princess.
"What are you?" I asked. "A Harpy princess?"
"Quite close," the Guardian said. "I am Harp."
Harp lifted her left hand, which was like a bat's, attached to a wing. Black feathers ruffled on the back of the hand. I saw the tornado appear.
"And now, you will die. None shall hold the Wind Energy Point but Harp."
She cawed like a crow. The tornado veered towards us.
"PSI Freeze Gamma!" Poo yelled.
"PSI Delta Breaker Alpha!" Picky chimed.
The PSI flew towards the tornado... and made it grow bigger! It sent Picky and Poo flying into the trees. I saw the snow fall from the treetops.
"That's impossible!" BJ exclaimed.
"It is impossible for all but Harp," Harp said mockingly, "for I am Harp; and Harp can do anything."
BJ leapt towards Harp. She lifted her right hand, and BJ was caught in a spin cycle.
"Aaaaaahaaa ahaaaaaa ahaaaaaa ahaaaaaa!" he moaned.
Now it was just myself; Ani, whose abilities I doubted; Tony, who had to defeat to claim the Energy Point; and Ñrutas.
"Beeeeee caaaaaaareful whaaaaaaaaat PSIIIIIIIII youuuuuu uuuuuuuuuse, 'Roooooooooots!" BJ managed, still spinning.
"PSI Fire Beta!" I exclaimed, aiming below Harp. The snow melted, and Harp dropped into the puddle.
"How trite," mused Harp. She took flight.
"Tony! Do something!" Ani cried.
"I have no idea what to do!"
What useful allies, I thought caustically.
"Thunder! Maybe she'll be weak to thunder!" Ñrutas yelled.
"Thunder?" I asked. "Oh, yeah. PSI! Tony! Do you have a Bottle rocket?"
"Yeah... I think so, at least."
"Fire it, then!" I exclaimed.
He rummaged in his pack for a Bottle rocket. He lit it, and aimed it at Harp. It went flying.
"PSI Thunder Beta!" I hoped that this PSI would hit either Harp. "Ñrutas, get ready to use your PSI!"
One strike missed totally, hitting the water; the other hit Harp. She screamed like a pained crow. Fitting, really.
"Now, Ñrutas!"
"PSI Fire Beta!" He leapt, and the fire burst from his feet like it always did. It hit Harp, who was already in a freefall. Then the Bottle rocket contacted, and Harp collapsed. She began to pulse again, and the Power Crystal, which Tony had dropped near the lake, burst apart. The eight shards settled around Harp in an ocatagonal fashion.
Picky and Poo struggled up; BJ fell on the ground, freed from his spin cycle. They came over. BJ, Picky and I took our places by the black, blue and red Crystal-shards. There was now a fourth coloured Crystal-shard; it was yellow; it was Tony's, the Crystal-shard of Wind.
"What do I do now?" Tony asked, completely naïve.
"It's simple," BJ explained. "Stand before the Yellow Crystal-shard. Then say..." He thought for a second, dredging the information from his memory. "... 'Powers of light, energies of darkness; surrender your power, Guardian Harp of Wind.'"
"...OK," Tony said, completely disbelieving. "Powers of light, energies of darkness; surrender your power, Guardian Harp of Wind."
The blast of light that came from Harp blinded us all. As my vision returned, I saw Harp revert to the crow, who wisely flew away. The Crystal-shards recombined into one; now it was a combination of red, blue, black and yellow: the four energy colours we had so far collected. Tony picked it up.
"Now, onto Deep Darkness," he said. "That should be our next goal."
The receiver phone began to ring. Picky answered it.
"Maybe not," he muttered. "Robe's back. Paula wants us in Twoson."