-Oct 1. Saturday. The Hub-

Jake stepped out of the Teleporting Room, turned right, and moved swiftly down the hallway toward the hanger, where he made a left at the intersection. As he reached the hallway, the door opened, and upon stepping in, his eyes widened at the room he and the others were not allowed to use. But today, they would be in this room. He saw the others standing before a large 10 x 10-foot silver metallic archway, which he was told was the gateway to Galvania. They were allowed to enter the room today because Jin and Selen-ja were escorting the princess to Guardian HQ to be transported to the Hub. As he approached, Ryu turned to him with a gleeful look.

"We get to see an alien princess." said the excited lightning warrior.

"I know." Jake smiled, just as excited. "Seeing a royal visitor up close is pretty cool."

"Hope she does not get too uppity." Sam sounded unsure. "Else, I'm leaving."

Tanya rolled her eyes. "You don't know until you see her." She smiled. "If she is a woman with grace and even an ounce of class, she should withhold her crass demeanor until we are outside of hearing range."

"You all say she's a kind person," Amy smiled. "You have not shown us a picture of her, and I'm just jittery about what she looks like."

"You all speak so highly of her. I feel small despite not having met her yet," Blair said quietly with a small smile.

"No offense, but her looks and wardrobe do not make me like her until I get to know her personally," said Christina.

"Indeed." Lina stifled a yawn. "Once our royal visitor arrives, I can thoroughly gauge her personality; then I can relax."

"Hn." Jack shrugged. "We'll see."

Javo laughed. "It's always good to be wary of strangers, but the princess is curious about all of you. She knows you are the Radiant but wants to know the people behind the power."

"Meaning she gets to meet her heroes and see how awesome we are!" Ryu smiled.

"Or be very disappointed," said Christina. "Let's try not to make her think we're too weird."

"We'll be on our best behavior around her," said Jake. "We will be proper knights."

"Great, otherwise it's off with your head." Reinstar displayed a serious expression.

"R-really?" gasped Blair, taken aback.

"No," Jake nervously chuckled. "She's kidding, hopefully."

Reinstar smirked. "She's not that kind of princess. Beheadings for petty insults and minor offenses have been outlawed since a civil war broke out three millennia ago in a distant nation. Today, we mercilessly shame them."

"Mercilessly might be a bit of an exaggeration," The physician interjected.

"Anything else to expect?" The fire warrior inquired

"Don't hype yourself," said Javo. "She's not here to demean you. She is curious."

The fire warrior nodded, his gaze fixed on the metal gateway. It gave off a presence that felt otherworldly, both foreign and intimidating. This was the path to Galvania, and in a matter of months, he would be crossing it to explore a new world. He perked up, hearing a humming sound echoing through the air. Jake observed as the machine illuminated with an outline of soothing green energy tracing around the machine. Soon after, violet energy manifested in the center, expanding into a portal with a calming presence, hovering as if it were a reflective pond stretched from the ground to the top of the machine. He could make out five silhouettes within, concealed as if waiting for the opportune moment to reveal themselves.

"Uh... is it working?" Ryu asked. "It looks like someone polluted a lake."

"Without further destabilizing the barriers, this was the best the technicians could create at the time," replied the bird woman.

"Ah." Lina nodded. "Understood,

Jake nodded, then watched as the three silhouettes walked through the gateway. Jin and Selen-ja were before him, but it was the third person who caused the fire warrior's heart to skip a beat. He felt captivated by the princess's appearance. He had no knowledge of her age, as the canokian lifespan was longer than theirs, but she did appear youthful. Long blonde hair cascaded down to her mid back, and her blue eyes seemed to be analyzing everything. He had expected her to be wearing a royal dress, but she wore a simple ensemble consisting of a long-sleeved pink tunic under a white and gold-trimmed vest, black pants with gold trims, and white knee-high boots. Jake turned to the rest of his friends; each showed various degrees of apprehension in her presence. It was like all that bravado they had vanished.

The princess smiled brightly and executed a graceful curtsy before them. "Greetings, Earth Radiant." Her voice radiated with enthusiasm and charm. "I am Princess Rikaria-mi Avi Bloomstar of the Kingdom of Chiara. I am deeply honored to be in your presence, heroes of order."

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Jake did not know what to expect, but he felt that if anyone should feel honored, it was them, and he sensed the others felt the same way.

"Gah?" Ryu sputtered. "You? Honored?"

"Yeah," Sam's voice sounded momentarily squeaky. "Ma'am, I think between us and you, we should be more humbled."

"Um." Christina suddenly found herself at a loss for words. "T-thank you. We are honored you honor us. Welcome to Earth Princess Rikaria-mi Avi Bloomstar!"

As soon as the Water Radiant finished her sentence, the princess appeared in front of her, mere inches from her face. The group was startled at her uncanny speed. Christina suddenly felt her comfort zone invaded by the woman's presence. Though tempted to protest, she held her tongue in front of the royal figure. Christina felt she was being analyzed as the princess stared with a smile.

"Christina Zeal, thank you for welcoming me to Earth. Hmmm."

"Uh," Christina uttered out as she leaned back, but the princess seemed to follow her movement, leaning into the girl. "Yes?"

"Princess Rikaria-Mi." spoke Selen-ja. "Please refrain from intruding on people's personal space. Again."

The princess suddenly realized what she was doing, developed a deep blush, and jumped back six feet, bowing apologetically. "My humble apologies, Miss Zeal, for making you feel uncomfortable,"

"Oh, no problem." Christina sheepishly spoke.

Amy whispered to Tanya. "At least she did not receive an earful."

"Agreed. Although, Selen-ja made it appear the princess has done this often." Tanya placed a finger on her chin. "Intriguing girl."

"Younglings," Jin called out. "It's okay to remind the princess she's inches from your face. Otherwise, it would be unbecoming if an unruly ruffian took advantage of her."

The royal scoffed. "I can handle myself. Again, I apologize, Miss Zeal. When I get too excited about meeting new people, I accidentally violate their personal space. I will refrain from now on."

"Until she does it again." smirked the shinobi.

The princess giggled. "Yeah, it happens." She clasped her hands together and warmly gazed at them with interest. "Radiant, without further ado. I would like to let you know I want to spend time with each of you individually over the next few days before I return."

"You want an audience with us?" Tanya seemed intrigued. "Is there a reason someone of your stature wants little ol us?"

The princess gazed at Tanya. "Miss Winfield, as you know, each time the Radiant are summoned, they engage in the forces of chaos. A lot of people tend to tell stories of their heroics, but they rarely tell the tale of the individual. The archives only briefly inform us of the first Radiant as individuals and focus more on their group as steadfast warriors braving against the Tyrant's forces. Over time, only a few members tend to stand out as sources of inspiration, while others are overlooked." She frowned. "I want to know you as people and not as warriors. You are younglings being thrust into a dangerous world, and while some may judge you for being young or trying to live up to the standards of the previous or current warriors. I have already spoken separately with Moon, Space, and Force, and in turn, I want to repeat the dialogue." She looked between them. "Starting with... Mr. Ishida."

"Why me?" Jake raised a brow; then his eyes widened as she appeared in front of him before he could blink. Blue staring at him curiously, he felt awkward as a slight blush developed on him.

"You are the captain of this unit, correct?" She stated.

"Princess," Reinstar chortled. "You are in his personal space."

"Oh!" She jumped back six feet. "My apologies."

"Uh... right." Jake chuckled. "So... are we going to discuss here?"

"No, I want to go out and partake in activities and visit venues you frequent. I want to know the people behind the element."

The Terra Radiant frowned. "Some of us have situations that you might not be fond of."

"True, Mr. Vincent." replied the princess. "But I am still interested."

"I don't know about the others," said Amy with glee. "But I would be happy to show you my life!"

"Same here," Christina said. "Even if you might find it dull."

"Kite would be mad jealous," Ryu whispered to Sam. "Lance and the others, too. They would freak at an alien princess. Sucks to be them."

"Anybody, really." Sam chuckled. "If I feature her on Guyverman Reacts, the fans would 'want more,' thinking she's just some girl with elf ears. Although if I do have her as a guest, Guardian might skin me alive."

Right on cue, Reinstar turned to them and winked.

The wind warrior shivered. "See that?"

"Yep, classic Reinstar." chuckled the lightning warrior.

"Some of us will be in school," said the ice warrior. "Do you want to wait all day until we leave?"

"You have permission to use the Dummy Dolls to take your place at school when you are with the princess," said Luka. "We all deliberated if her visiting your academia would be appropriate, but."

"Your peers will test my wits' end," scowled Jin. "I forbade her inclusion in school, not with ruffians trying to court her or involve her in illicit activities."

The Radiant looked awkward and exasperated at his statement.

"Okay." The fire warrior scratched the back of his head. "I understand. So when do you want to have a one-on-one with me?"

"Either right now or tomorrow. That all depends on you. Are you tired? Is this an appropriate time?

Jake blinked and nodded. "It's noon. You can come over to my house, but I need to make sure mom is not home. Don't want her to find out how a girl is in my closet."

"I have been told your sister knows your duty." She smiled. "Wonderful!" She stepped forward and wrapped her arm around his arm, making him blush. "Let's go! Escort me, please."

Jake awkwardly nodded, and the girl dragged him out of the room, leaving everyone alone.

Jin snorted. "He's too close to her."

Reinstar chuckled. "He won't do anything. I appeared in his closet, and he was more flabbergasted at a strange woman than anything. She would make the moves on him than her."

"She is not that type of princess." Selen-ja reminded. "She's more modest."

Javo turned to the children. "She will meet with the rest of you later. You can stay here or go home."

"She is interesting," said the ice warrior. "Graceful, mysterious, has awkward quirks."

The shadow warrior exhaled softly. "I'll go home; s-seeing her feels overwhelming."

"Think of ways to occupy your time with her other than sleeping." the terra warrior suggested.

"Fine..." smiled the flora warrior. "Chess."

"Feels like an interview for a job or a relationship," groaned the wind warrior. "As cute as she is, it feels like I am under a lot of pressure. Hope she doesn't ask too many personal questions."

"Where do I see myself in five years?" the lightning warrior grinned. "Slinging lightning across the skies that would make Zeus jealous."

The water warrior shrugged. "It's nothing to worry about. Just answer questions you are comfortable with."

The light warrior nodded. "Right, I can show her the crafts I am working on."

"Whatever you do, remember." Selen-ja gazed at them. "Relax. She's royalty, but she is well-mannered."

The group nodded and dispersed, eagerly anticipating their individual meetings with the princess.