Well, after some lurking here is my first fic posted to the FFML. Let see 
what happens...
...if you bother to C&C, do it privately, please.

Bonamico
mbnesons@uli.it
http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/garden/5779
---------------------------------------
Tell me lies
Time flies
Close your eyes
Come with me
---------------------------------------
Puff Daddy--Come with me (Godzilla soundtrack)

                         ##The Secret of the Tower##

                         by Emanuele 'Bona' Bonamico
                  and the invaluable support of StudioYogipig

  All Rayearth characters are owned by CLAMP. All other 
songs/anime/manga/movies have their respective owners. Thinking about it, the 
only original character is Nemo.

  This is awork of *fan*fiction: all references to movies, mangas, animes and 
songs are completely voluntary.

  ""   This stands for talks
  <> This stands for thoughts
    This stands for songs


                             #The Experiment#

  A room, its size hidden in darkness; only sparks of sickly green, blue or 
red lit here and
there faces of people busy checking data on computers and whispering comments 
on them.
  The reflected image of a man crept over a golden shoulderguard: "We are 
ready, sir."
  "Prepare yourselves!" a powerful voice echoed from the chair that mastered 
the row of
workstations semicircling it.
  "Preliminary check!" he ordered aloud.
  "All systems ready! Grid power 0%"
  He sneered: "Begin!"
  "Primary power system: engaged, sir!"
  "Energy flux modulators: engaged, sir!"
  "Neutron pipes heating, sir!"
  He looked at his personal screen.
  "Enabling power grid, sir! 1%, increasing!"
  The air charged with static as a dim light gleamed into cristall tubes 
pumping blue energies
into the farthest deepths of the room. The concrete-encased vault slowly 
appeared in all its
three-story-building size, even if for the most part it was occupied by a 
titanic contraption of
steel and wires in the rough shape of a cylinder, connected to the walls by 
sturdy iron beams
jutting out in asimetrical order from its surface. All the computers were 
nested well away, on
a balcony slightly higher than the apparatus, and protected by a sheet of 
blastproof crystal.
  "Grid power 25%, sir!"
  The base of the machine lighted of a bright shine, first where the pipes 
connected to it, then
expanding to the whole circumference.
  "Grid power 50%, sir!"
  "Prepare the antenna!" he coldly ordered.
  "Grid power 75%, sir!"
  Slowly, another, concentrical cylinder rose from the huge buzzing device, 
and another and
another, up the ceiling, where an opening had formed from an iris-like door 
or hatch. There
were empty spaces now at the base revealing a room in which air itself was 
becoming blue
plasma for the intense energy fields.
  "Full grid power, sir! Beginning launch procedures."
  "NOW" he shouted with a peremptory gesture.
  The storm of dancing plasma froze, and imploded focusing into a single, 
blinding, azure
thread; a sonic blast shook the protective shield of the command station as 
the power the
device had charged was shot high above, into the antenna, into the Tower of 
Tokyo.
  On the surface, the structure groaned from the sudden energy flow, and all 
the lights
waved. But it had been built for the purpose, and the materials, the very 
geometry of its
forms allowed it to bring and concentrate the flux in the pinnacle, creating 
a blue ball of
power. The plasma stood there for not more than second, before exploding in a 
fading,
expanding circle and a single, blinding, azure thread pointing at the 
nightsky, and above, and
above.
  "Orbit reached, sir."
  The man on the great chair relaxed and sighted with relief. "Laddies, you 
made my
heartbeat grow faster, d'you know?" he laughed.
  "Sir" interjected someone on his left "something it's...the tunnel we 
created is changing
parameters!"
  "All data on my screen!"
  "Sir, the tunnel is being deformed by an unknown force! Better if we cut 
power now."
  "Don't cut the power! Not yet. Remember we have a city over us."
  "The tunnel has reached a critical point, sir."
  "What is next?" he asked.
  "We cannot guess. Should we cut power now?"
  "Wait sir" someone else shouted "I have something on the internal scanner: 
something got
*inside* the tunnel!"
  "Living?" he asked frowning.
  "I cannot tell it yet."
  "Keep it open, let *it* come to *us*."
  "Sir, energy will be automatically shut in a minute by safety locks."
  But he was totally concentrated on the track of the object coming from the 
opening and at
its data; a nervous grimace deformed his mouth. Distance with the object was 
now: zero.
  Another shimmer blinded them; as it faded, it left a black stain on the 
floor inside the
cylinder: a human-looking body.
  "Scan it" he ordered.
  "Is a human, sir, no doubt."
  He got up and jumped from his chair toward the body, deaf at warnings; he 
kneeled before
an unconscious boy with short green hair wearing a brown tunic.
  "Call a doctor, *now*!" he cried loading the body and runnig out of the 
room.

  The door of the medical room slid open and the doctor stood up at the sight 
of the golden
shoulderguards and the blue-and-green gem.
  "How is our...guest?" asked Nemo stepping inside.
  "The general condition is satisfactory, but he is still very weak. I guess 
the ''travel'' had put
under great stress all his body functions; we are lucky he is young and in 
good health."
  "Is he awake now? I should ask him something."
  The doctor frowned a little. "He's regaining consciousness, that's true, 
but I can't ensure he
will be coherent."
  "I'll take the risk, then" Nemo said opening the door of the boy's room.
  He was still sleeping, surrounded by medical instruments bipping and 
scratching ritmically.
Nemo stood near him, quiet, studiyng his features. The boy was indeed young, 
but the scars
on his face (one across his nose and another on the left cheek) proved that 
he was a fighter,
or at least he had already seen his share of battles. Fisically, he was 
human, dead sure, but
the green hair was not something found commonly on Earth, not even in Nerima; 
moreover,
even if he *was* a human being, he was not of this planet, and could be a 
threat. Nemo had
to move with caution.
  The boy stirred and moaned faintly. Opening his green eyes, he saw a man 
with a white
cloak and golden armor watching him. He tried to speak, but his lips just 
didn't open.
  Nemo smiled (and succeded in not sneering) and said: "Keep quiet. You are 
safe now. Do
you understand me?"
  The boy got enough strenght to nod.
  "Well, I'm Nemo. Don't be afraid, I'm here to help you."
  The boy nodded again.
  "Do not strain, you must rest. Can you tell me your name?"
  A soft whisper escaped from the boy's lips: "Fe...rio..."
  "Well, Ferio, you must sleep now. I'll be back when you'll be in force." 
And Nemo turned
with a swirl of his cloak exiting the room. Outside the medical area, he was 
reached by an
assistant: "Sir, the Lead Scientist has the report you asked for."
  "Excellent" Nemo said.

  Inside the Conference Room caos was spreading among the scientists, the air 
was full of
searing words, flying sheets, pens, rubbers, coffe cups, drawers, desktop 
computers and a
couple of the latest numbers of *Fist of the North Star*, and they were 
literally skinning each
other over plausible theories for what happened during the test, who (or 
what) the boy was,
and, last but not least, what to say to Nemo to prevent heads from falling.
  The door opened; silence descended upon them, objects stopped in midair and 
falled, a
giant stuffed Doraemon crushed an unlucky fellow and a coffepot landed near 
the only empty
seat. Nemo sat and looked directly, without a word, at the opposite corner of 
the room, into
the shadows.
  Something stirred and moved with a crackling and squishing sound; a 
tentacle-like
appendage surfaced to light for an instant.
  Nemo frowned. "I am waiting" he said, nearly spelling the words.
  A breath like a cat's hiss preceded the reply, made in a harsh and 
high-pitched voice,
lisping often into hissed *h*s and gargling *r*s: "Should I debrief you, 
sir?"
  <Gee, whatta fear!> A shiver ran down Nemo's back (It was still chilling 
for him hearing
terran words coming from a creature like THAT). "Yes."
  The hulking body of the Lead Scientist slid from the shadows, towering 
everybody with his 7
feet of black skin, thin limbs, writhering tail. "The situation is not under 
perfect control now"
he explained. "Data on the experiment is incomplete and inconclusive; we were 
not prepared
to face such an eventuality."
  "*What* do you know for sure, then?" asked Nemo.
  "Not much" the Lead Scientist said putting a brown paper box and a 
giant-sized sword on
the table. "From the specimen's possessions we could just guess something of 
the world
from which it comes." He handed the stuff lifting it up with his prehensile 
tail.
  Nemo had to repress a quiver of repulsion when the appendage got near him. 
Inside it were
the tunic Ferio wore, some trinkets and an egg-shaped jewel.
  The Lead Scientist continued: "The place from where the specimen comes is
underdeveloped and primitive, as you can see from the persistence of war 
simbols like
swords worn as garments. I think the tecnological level must be similar to 
Earth's Middle
Ages, as nothing we found on it had any electronic or mechanical parts."
  "What about bacterial contamination and biological data on the 'specimen'?" 
There was a
spiteful note on the last word. <We're not dealing with one of your guinea 
pigs.>
  "It carried no dangeorous contaminants, sir; and it is undoubtedly a young 
human. In my
opinion is not a threat, but we should put a guard to stop it in the case of 
an irrational fit of
rage."
  Nemo shifted his attention to the jewel, not paying attention to the Lead 
Scientist's
ramblings, and found it very interesting; he sneered. <You dull slimy 
monster! Think before
laying down the law! His homeworld could be a little *tecnologically* 
backward, but for sure
they have developed a culture...based on...*magic*...yes, it still radiates a 
faint aura...And I
don't even think Ferio is a savage: his eyes were not those of a barbarian. 
And look at the
sword, it's more like a work of art than an instrument of death. There's 
nothing to worry
about. How could you have reached your position?> He stopped glancing at the 
Lead
Scientist's huge and tapered head, and the consequently huge brain mass 
inside it; he
reached for a plastic-glass of smoking coffee.
  An assistant ran into the room with a bunch of sheets for the Lead 
Scientist; his tail
whithered as he slid his eyeless face on them, and frowned (for how such a 
creature could).
  "Sir" he said "there is a problem. The specimen comes from...we 
have...pierced our
dimension and got it from another..."
  Nemo started and jolted, crushing the glass in his grip. This darted in his 
mind: <Ferio *is*
something to worry about.> And this darted out of his mouth: "IT'S SCALDING 
HOT,
FUCKING A!"

  Meanwhile, the boy from Cefiro was trying to make up his mind; thoughts, 
images, sounds,
emotions, were whirling in a painful dance, horribly twisting before his 
eyes, that he couldn't
tell if were open or closed. He had just barely enough strenght to put order 
in the caos of his
head, and that's was an effort for itself. What happened? He wasn't sure if 
he was still alive;
he pain had been more than he thought possible.
  One of the clearest, and perhaps one of the most recent, memories was a man 
with golden armor; he had moved the lips, but he couldn't recall what he 
heard.
  <Who he is? I'm still on Cefiro? Fuu...> his lids closed, overwhelmed by 
exertion and sedatives.

                            #Interlude on Cefiro#

  "Are you blind?!" Lantis slammed his fist in the table, actually a 
disc-shaped, translucent
magical creation covered with a relief map of the castle and its 
surroundings.
  Guru Clef frowned a little.
  "Are you deaf, too?"
  No answer: he had been trying to control himself over the past 6 hours, and 
didn't want to
ruin all now.
  "Guru Clef" he roared "speak, for Mashins' sake!"
  The sage sighed. "What would do like to hear from me?"
  The words seemed to hit the other, leaving him speechless.
  "You're too upset to think clearly, Lantis. Calm down, or with your 
nonsense yelling will
make ME mad." Guru Clef went on: "What happened is not to neglect, you are 
right, but we
have no clue about its nature, and a bad move now could endanger Ferio."
  The other leaned to the table, letting his head fall down.
  "I can understand you, Ferio was a friend, a good one." Clef tried to rise 
his mood, but with
little success.
  "So we're going to stay here hands in hands?"
  "Alas, it's the only thing we can do for now."
  "For now..." Lantis sadly repeated.
  The great door of the throne room slammed open, and two figures walked 
inside: one was
tall, wore a white militar suit; the other, shor nearly as Clef, had a green 
hat with goggles.
  Clef greeted them: "Geo, Zazu, what brings you here?"
  Before anyone could answer, Lantis interjected. "Guru Clef, I've called 
them here. They
have something for me."
  "Yes" Geo said to Clef "he asked us a favor."
  "What kind of?" the sage said.
  "Now you'll see" Zazu tottered to the table were he put a little metallic 
box; he sticked inside
some kind of plastic sheet and its upper side opened, revealing a crisscross 
of circuits. In
midair something was taking shape from nowhere.
  "Lantis asked us if we were able to do some research on the...well, you 
know what, and this
is our analisys result." A wireframed, cone-like formation appeared over the 
castle. "This is
the rough shape of the phoemomenon; eye witnesses had described an intense 
disc-shaped
bright light, but that was only an optic illusion. This data had been 
obtained by our scanners
on the surface of Cefiro and by the sensors of the orbiting NSX."
  "So, *what* it was?" Lntis and Clef asked at once, eager to end that 
lesson.
  Zazu giggled. "Alas, we were not prepared to study such a thing, so...we 
only know for sure
that...that it was a dimensional tunnel. It created a gravity well on the 
surface of the planet
that focused on a very small area that, unfortunately, was occupied by Ferio 
at that moment,
and sucked him away." Pause. "We do not know for sure where."
  Clef lowered his head in sadness, Lantis sighed.
  "Lantis" Geo said trying again to rise the mood "not all is lost. I put 
Autozam's best scientists
on this, and soon they'll end up with some <I really hope>good news."
  The magic swordman tried to smile: "Thank you, Geo."
  "This is the least we can do for you." To Clef: "But now, we have to 
discuss of more military
matters."
  "What do you mean?" asked the sage.
  "We don't know who or what created that planetary vacuum cleaner, maybe 
it's another
attempt to conquer Cefiro."
  "Of who? Besides, there is no more the power of a vacant Pillar to appeal 
potential
invaders..."
  "...or to protect the planet..."
  "...*and*" Clef underlined this sentence with a wide movement of his staff 
"*there are no
more neighboors that can treat us.*"
  "Nevertheless, I insist Clef! We cannot stand here simply waiting for 
things to happen and
meditating on the meaning of life!"
  "Have something to argue about this?" Clef was losing self-control.
  "Yes that I have! We are sitting ducks! If an enemy army has a weapon like 
that we cannot
counterattack them."
  "Nobody said it was a weapon."
  "It could be!"
  "It couldn't, too."
  "Attack!"
  "Defense!"
  "Granite pate!"
  "Military smartass!"
  The opposite wills soon became tangible auras of energy, clashing into a 
show of fireworks,
with crackling lightning shooting from their eyes and exploding in midair 
between them;
Lantis and Zazu watched them quarrel with astonished expressions and beads of 
perspiration
appearing in industrial quantities.
  "Lantis...think it's better if we leave this two alone for a while..."
  "I agree Zazu. *Get out of here*."

                         #Looking for clues#

  Ferio was sitting in his bed, fully awake and conscious; the situation, 
though, was not better
than when he was knocked out: he was in an unknown place, surrounded by 
unknown
devices (even if some were a real show of dancing fireflies) and his body was 
like a
crisscross of straps, neddles and little metal plates; he had already tried 
to take them off, but
people in whitecoats, healers for sure, had entered immediately after to put 
them on again.
All they had said was that he was in a safe place, that he had nothing to 
worry, that they were
friends, and to stop messing up the medical equipment; when he had asked 
something, he
had no answer aside from *when the Head will come to see you he will explain 
everything*.
Then they had fed him some mud-thick, foul-smelling vegetable soup in a tray 
made of a
strange white material unknown on Cefiro; only the colonies from Autozam used 
it, and they
called it *plastic*. But that was not one of the colonies, he was sure; at 
least they were
human and spoke his language.
  The food was orrible, but he was too hungry to complain (and he was 
becoming used to
Presea's terrible cooking, too) and ate to regain strenght; the first thing 
he had to do then was
to exit this place and find a way back to Cefiro.
  The door slid open after a faint bell noise and a man, that looked 
different from the others
he had seen, stood in the frame: first of all, he was not a healer, second, 
his golden armor
and white cloack identified him as a warrior or other important person; 
perhaps this was the
*Head* the others had told him. When he got closer Ferio recognized him as 
the one he saw
while daydreaming...his name was...
  "I'm glad you're awake now, Ferio."
  "Ohayogozaimasu, Nemui-san" said the boy managing to bow.
  Nemo's face twichted. "My name is *Nemo*, not *Nemui*" he said brandishing 
a futon
pillow. "Anyway" he returned normal "how are you?"
  "Better."
  "Fine, because we have to talk of very pressing matters now."
  "Yes, we have" said Ferio mimicring Nemo's thoughtful expression.
  "I will not lie to you, the situation could seem impossible, and I want you 
to be open-minded,
because we have brought you...and that wasn't our fault, it has been an 
accident...in another
dimension, on a planet called Earth." He hoped Ferio could believe such a 
*Twilight Zone*
story.
  "Oh...is that all?"
  Nemo facefaulted. "What!?" he said pulling himself up. "I thought *you* was 
going to be
shocked, not me."
  "Well, actually, we know about this dimension."
  "Yes? Tell me more of you and of your homeworld."
  Ferio was not sure if he could really trust that stranger. Sure he saved 
him, sure he had no
reason to doubt, but, still, he could not discard the chance he was in enemy 
hands <Is
someone trying to take over Cefiro again?> and the shrewdly inquisitive tone 
of the last
question had chilled him as the dark shine in Nemo's eyes; for now, the best 
was to tell him
just bare informations.
  "I come from a planet called Cefiro, where we have many legends regarding 
your world."
  "And" the other asked in I-know-you-know mode "lately, there had been 
experiments, or
anything like, that had a possible involvement of Earth?"
  "Yes...we had to...bring to Cefiro some people very important for us."
  "People linked to the ancient legends?"
  "Yes."
  "Why?"
  "...internal affairs..." managed to say Ferio without hinting directly to 
the Pillar.
  "I understand." Inside Nemo smiled at his feeble attempt to evade the 
subject. "Anyway, if
you give me the name of someone who has been on Cefiro, we could trace 
him/her and
bring him/her here."
  "Sorry, I don't know their names."
  Nemo nearly smiled and turned to go. "The doctors say that you still need 
rest to recover
completely; I'll be back as soon as possible."
  "Nemo" said Ferio before the door closed "where are we on Earth?"
  "Tokyo." The door closed.
  Another one opened, a couple of sectors away, and the Head was greeted by 
two rows of
whitacoated men rising on their feet; at the far end of the table, the black 
mass of the Lead
Scientist twitched his tail in respect. Nemo could not restrain himself: <We 
need only R. H.
Giger, Ripley, Ridley Scott and he could feel at home.> He sit.
  "We have seen all" hissed the L.S. turning on a wall-sized screen behind 
him on which was
running a tape of Ferio's conversation.
  "So?" Nemo asked.
  "We have noted many contradictions and imprecisions in the specimen's tale; 
he is clearly
lying and trying to hide information, and in our position of total ignorance 
we cannot judge
properly what he said. We cannot trust his story on Cefiro, at least not 
before we have
access to the main database, nor any other reference to people actually being 
transported
from one dimension to another. I would suggest precautionary measures to be 
taken
immediately."
  Nemo got a deep breath, recollecting ideas. "I agree with you, the 
situation is critical. I
authorize instant satellitar connection with total stop of any other uses of 
the parabolic
antennas; download directly to this room all information regarding *Cefiro*. 
Meanwhile plug
into our local databank and take all reports of the last four weeks, plus all 
security tapes.
Regarding to Ferio I want nothing of this slip to him, but keep security 
alerted, and put a
guard outside his room.
  "He is still a source of informations..." gargled the Lead Scientist.
  "No" said Nemo, understanding what he could think. "I don't want him 
drugged or beaten, he
is still too important for us. Dismissed."
  All other men stood up and ran to their new duties, only the Lead Scientist 
remained.
  "What else do you want?" asked Nemo, frowning.
  "Sir" he began "yesteday's accident has caused more trouble than we ever 
thought of, and I
perfectly know what we, and you personally, are risking, but the scientific 
staff agrees that we
should *repeat* the experiment."
  "You what?" Nemo was on the edge of losing his temper. "Can't you realize 
that we're
already tightrope walking over a lake of shit?! It's a luck *they* did not 
*already* sent one
ship to investigate."
  "With all respect sir, they couldn't..."
  "They *couldn't* what" interjected Nemo, a deep blue aura flaring. "We have 
absolutely no
way to know how far and how precise they are in pinpointing dimensional 
tunnels, not to say
that we don't even have an idea on *what* they use as sensors. No kidding, 
you can shove it
where you know."
  "Sir" the Lead Scientist jumped from his seat and moved on all fours 
towards Nemo "the
only thing we want to discover is how to send the specimen back, *before* 
anyone could
arrive, so you'll need to fear nothing, as there will be no proof of what we 
did."
  Nemo recalled one of the few laws he was actually restricted to obey:
  <Never let your affairs interfere with any other dimensional plane; never 
let substantial
quantities of matter travel from one to another, never let travel any life 
form, never
*personally* travel to another plane.
  The only exceptions are natural phoenomena and creatures or independent 
entities with
dimensional shifting powers.
  Any violation will be punished upon discovery of proofs by an Eye.>
  Nemo shuddered at the mere thought of one of those creatures getting at 
some light years
from the Solar system, not to mention into Earth's orbit. But the last term 
gave him an edge,
if he moved quickly and was blessed with a little luck.
  "Okay" he finally said. "I want all ready in two days, and make the damn 
thing work this
time, or the Eye (chill) will get not only my head."
  "Yes, sir."
  In that moment, over one of Tokyo's highest skyscrapers, a hatch opened, 
revealing a rising
giant parabolic antenna that unfolded like a steel flower, pointing one 
geostationary comm-
sat, that directed the datastream into space, somewhere in the asteroid belt. 
And waited for
an answer.
  On the room under the Tower, the main screen displayed a *Please stand by* 
blinking
script, followed by *Estimated download in 61:00 minutes*.
  "Good, we've got time for other matters" said Nemo turning it off and 
talking to the men-
crowded table. "What did you discover?"
  "Sir" a man on his left spoke "we have re-examined the security tapes as 
for your orders,
and we have got some interesting news." He digited something on his keyboard, 
and an
image appeared on the main screen. It was labeled with date and hour, and was 
taken from a
camera inside the Tower.
  "Look here, please." The tape ran until an incredible bright light blinded 
it, and for a second
all became confused, filled with static and superimposed. A whisper rose from 
the scientists.
  "This has happened three weeks ago; at the moment, we didn't had a clue 
about the nature
of the interference, mostly because the station's devices were not fully 
operational, and the
unstable materials for the later experiment could cause strange anomalies in 
the normal
gravity and magnetic fields of Earth." He hit some more key, and the images 
ran back,
stopping right before the shine. "We have coupled the frames with the sensors 
reports, and
got to the conclusions that it was for sure a very localized warp, as you can 
see." A serie of
graphs and data sided every frame of the next 2.3 seconds.
  "This is not all, though" the man continued "because in that moment the 
Tower was full of
classes involved in fieldtrips, and this" the image switched to a trio of 
girls weeping in one
another's arms "has been recoreded right after the light." More whispers.
  "Interesting" Nemo commented. "Do you have something more on them?"
  "Yes, sir" the man stopped to digit and the tape changed date and time. 
"Some days after,
the bright light manifested again, and look who was in the Tower at the 
moment."
  "I see" breathed Nemo.
  Another man, next to the current speaker, stood up and switched the 
on-screen tape to the
profiles of the girls. "We have got this from our local database and citywide 
network systems.
They are all eight-graders in three different school of Tokyo, do not live in 
the same districts,
practically they are perfects strangers to one another; we would've wanted to 
make a more
accurate research regarding the last weeks, but time has been scarce."
  Nemo read the names aloud: "Shidou Hikaru, Umi Ryuuzaki, Fuu Hououji. This 
is not
enlightening yet; if the three have nothing in common aside the field trip 
and the other
meeting <still more than a coincidence, though> we have nothing tangible. 
Anyone has found
anything else that could link Ferio to them?"
  A man interjected: "Yes sir, we actually have. From the security recordings 
of the boy's
room, we know that during the first part of his period in bed he repeated 
more than a dozen
times a name."
  "Let me guess" said Nemo with a smile flooding his face. "Umi Ryuuzaki."
  "No, sir, Fuu Hououji."
  Bead of perspiration hidden behind Nemo's head. <It's the same.> Then 
switching to a
Godfatherlike accent: "We'll make her an offer that she could not refuse."
  On the wall-wide screen, a red message appeared: DOWNLOAD COMPLETE and
DANGER: CLASSIFIED DATA
  "Gentlemen" said Nemo rising from his chair "I think everybody has got 
something to do.
Dismissed." What he was to read was not for everyone's eyes; when he was 
alone with the
Lead Scientist, he digited his personal code.
  A hiss rose: "Interesting."




Next message, next part. Something's preventing me to send it whole.