Draconian Chronicles 3:

Draconian Chronicles 3:

Chapter Two: Shattered Links

The new dawn's light breaks over the Western Mountains. It's light reflecting the blue colored Mystic Moon, high in the sky. The crickets ceased their nightly chirps, and the larks sang a song of their own, awakening the other daytime creatures of Gaia.

Over the Morning's sounds, laughing and splashing was heard, coming from the river that ran through the mountains and out into the open sea. It split into several intertwining streams, out in the far distance, to Golaya Sea.

The laughs belonged to two cat teens gallivanting in the river's flow. Reeko slapped his hand in the water, hitting a fish that flew onto the shore. It landed on the green grass and flopped around until it stopped and dies. Merle sis the same, and another fish hit the shore.

Watching another fish swim by, Reeko hit it towards the shore, but it hit Merle instead. She shrieked and fell back into the water. Reeko laughed.

"You really get into your work don't you?" He teased.

Merle growled and lunged at him resulting in a playful catfight in the water. Merle would shove Reeko's head under water, and he would simply pull her down with him. The two wrestled and giggled to their hearts' content… the previous night's events momentarily forgotten.

But those events were not forgotten for the two it had affected the most. Hitomi sat beneath the tree, eyes closed, arms wrapped around her self. She had been forced to attack Van, when doppelgangers had attacked. They…injected him with something that made him go haywire.

Hitomi hated having to do what she did, but she had had no other choice. Though she had been injured, she did not blame Van. It was not his fault. She clearly remembered his menacing red eyes that he had possessed during that fight.

She shivered at the memory.

"Cold?"

Hitomi looked up to see Van standing next to her, looking at her sadly. She rubbed her arms. "N-no, I- I'm okay." She lied.

Van took out a blanket and wrapped it around her. "Thought so." He smiled.

Hitomi couldn't help but smile back.

Van's expression turned worried. "How are you?"

Hitomi looked down to avert his gaze. "F-fine." She glanced up and saw Van looking at her stomach where his whip had hit her. She raised her shirt and revealed a medium sized scar on her mid drift. Even though Van had healed it, the scar remained. Van placed a gentle hand on it, and Hitomi put a hand over his. "It's okay."

"I'm so sorry." He whispered.

"Don't be," She comforted him. "It's not your fault. I told you...I felt another presence.

Van looked into her eyes carefully. "Who was it?"

Hitomi blinked. "I-I don't know." She thought back. She knew she felt the presence before…sometime during her stay in Gaia. But who was it? She had to figure it out…

Emperor Dornkirk sat alone in his throne room, aboard the floating fortress, en route to Golaya Sea. Home of Atlantis and the most powerful weapon on Gaia.

Oh yes. Dornkirk knew of Atlantis and knew of its power. How did he know? The age-old emperor smiled at the memory of a beautiful draconian woman that had shown him the light…

Rhoan Dornkirk sat on the edge of a fountain, next to a beautiful draconian woman. Her chestnut long brown hair flowed around her as a gentle spring wind blew. Her green eyes fixed on him with an innocent smile playing across her lips.

Great angelic wings grew from her back and played in the wind behind her. She was nothing short of gorgeous.

She smiled. "I…I feel something very special for you, Rhoan."

He gently moved a hand to her cheek and pushed aside a loose strand of hair. "I feel it too." He confessed.

It was true. He was in love with this woman. He was not of her kind, but he did not see any reason why he could not love her like any other woman. The Elders of Atlantis had not approved at first, but with her standing and persuasion, he had been granted passage to Atlantis, to spend long love filled days with this woman.

Rhoan moved his eyes momentarily off of her face, and noticed a necklace around her neck. "That's a pretty pendant." He commented, not noticing it before for some reason.

She smiled and held it in her hand. "Yeah, it was a gift from the Elders on my sixteenth year. It holds great power. Only those of the royal family can use its magic. I am being trained to use it now." She said with pride.

Rhoan smiled. Magic? He needed to learn more about this…

"What kinds of powers does it have?" He asked casually.

She smiled, completely trusting her first love. "It allows my innate powers to grow tremendously. I can see things and sense things like never before. And…" She stopped, suddenly unsure.

Rhoan gave her his most charming smile. Leaning in, he kissed her on the lips. Breaking the kiss he whispered in her ear. "Come on…you can tell me."

She smiled again. "It is the key to Atlantis' defenses. A massive weapon hidden in the very center of the city." She explained with renewed fascination. "It is strong enough to destroy anything that might come against us."

Rhoan smiled broadly inside. This might prove useful…

Emperor Dornkirk's trip down memory lane was cut short by a knock o his massive throne room door. "Enter." He said.

One of Ziaboch's messengers came in a bowed before the mighty emperor. "My Lord, we have spotted the guymelif you seek, coming up just before Golaya Sea." He said. "Escaflowne and the four rebels are camping out near one of the tributaries, sire."

Emperor Dornkirk nodded. "Send out the 'melif units. Dilandau's in charge. I want them taken alive."

The messenger nodded. "Right away, My Lord." Then he turned on his heel and left.

Emperor Dornkirk smirked. "Something about that girl seems familiar…I want her captured." Then he stepped to the window and looked out over the land. The Golaya Sea visible far in the distance. "It's almost time…"

Hitomi's head jerked up as the four ate their breakfast.

Van looked at her. "Are you okay?"

She looked at him in worry and stood up, bringing attention to herself. "Something's wrong." She said.

Van looked up and saw the Ziaboch Floating Fortress. "They're here!" He shouted and ran to Escaflowne. Hitomi ran with him and Reeko helped Merle to her feet before running to seek shelter. This was out of their league.

Van had just gotten into Escaflowne, when three Ziaboch guymelifs came down from the fortress and landed on all three sides of them.

"Fancy seeing you here, Van!" A voice boomed.

Van gasped. "Dilandau!" He shouted, unsheathing his sword.

Dilandau laughed and used the stealth cloak to disappear. The other two did as well. Van growled. "That won't work this time!" He ran forward and raised his sword from the ground to split one of the melifs from hip to shoulder. The soldier inside cried out and fell to the ground.

Dilandau opened his mouth in shock. He could see them through the cloaks! What was going on? He growled and charged in, just as Van sliced through the second melif that attacked him from behind.

"Van!!!!" Dilandau brought down his sword with such ferociousness, that Van barely had time to block.

Hitomi gasped. "Oh no. Van!" She gasped as she sensed something. She glanced up and above the two fighting guymelifs… Hitomi saw the floating fortress. Something there was making her feel uneasy. She closed her eyes and saw something that caught her completely off guard.

A red line, as thin as a single hair, ran from her to someone in that fortress. She followed it and it led to none other than Emperor Dornkirk himself. He watched the battle with a smile on hi face.

Hitomi opened her eyes in disbelief. "What was what last night was for. He wanted to create the link with her. But why? What did she know that he wanted? Hitomi put on a determined look and closed her eyes again. If it could work for him, why not her? She started to see a vision like no other…

She saw her grandmother standing before what looked like a council of Draconians. Her grandmother bowed before them, and then looked up with pleading eyes. "Please! Why can't I make the decision?"

The person in the middle of the council shook his head. "He is not one of us. We can't possible have a…a… human, being wed to a woman of your stature. You are the high priestess, you must think about your people." He explained.

Her grandmother frowned. "My people? I will not abandon my people if I wed out of our order. He loves me and I love him! What else should be said?"

"We cannot allow it." He stated.

Hitomi saw her grandmother gasp and run from the building. She ran until she was outside…then she made her way to a beach. She collapsed on the ground and hugged herself. "When will I ever find true love again?" She said.

A man came running up behind her. "Wait!" He called out.

She turned. "Rhoan!" She hugged him and he held her close. "Oh Rhoan!" She cried on his shoulder.

He caressed her back and rocked her back and forth. "Shhh, it's alright. We'll find another way somehow."

Hitomi frowned. What did this mean? Why was she being shown this? Hitomi looked out to the sea and gasped. That was the sea that they were near. Golaya Sea! That is where they are headed!

She saw the same red link and broke it with her powers. The Emperor would not learn any more from her.

Hitomi was returned to the real world and gasped as she saw Van battling Dilandau, as the floating fortress got closer and closer to the sea. She had to stop it, but that would mean revealing her identity. She nodded knowing she had to, and placed her hand over her heart.

The Rhinestone of Life glowed and she felt the wings grow out of her back and her hair grow once again. She realized now that only when she was in draconian form, did her hair grow. She allowed herself a small smile as she looked at her hair. She was kinda getting used to it being this long.

She lifted into the air and flew towards the floating fortress.

What are you doing?! Van's voice came into her head.

Hitomi frowned. They're heading for Golaya Sea! There's something there I don't think we want them getting to! I have to stop them! She flew on and powered up an attack, then let it fly at the levistones that powered the fortress.

Aboard, Folken fought to maintain his balance. "Report!"

A technician fought for the controls of the massive ship. "We've been hit on the starboard side! Our engines aren't responding!" He said.

Folken growled and turned his head. "What is going on out there?"

Hitomi flew with lightning speed to the other side, and blasted another levistone, ceasing the fortress' forward movement.

Van raised his sword and struck Dilandau's guymelif in one of the two energists. It exploded and Dilandau fell to the ground.

Van turned Escaflowne into a dragon and flew down to where Reeko and Merle were hiding. "Come on! We're getting out of here!"

Reeko jumped on, pulling Merle up with him.

Van pulled both rudders back and the dragon took off into the air…towards the fortress.

Folken saw Hitomi flew across the view port. "Attack her! She's the one causing this!"

The technician looked at Folken skeptically. "That girl caused out engines to go out?"

Folken glared at him. "Are you questioning me?" He took out his metal arm to emphasize the consequences of such an act.

The technician swallowed hard. "N-no sir. Opening fire." The fortress rocked with blasts as it attacked the angel causing all the problems.

Hitomi dodged as many as she could, but one hit her and she fell from the sky…

Only to be caught by none other than Van Fanel. "Always have to go and be heroic, don't you?"

She smiled and reverted back to her human form, the wings disappearing in her back and her hair going back to it's normal length. "They…won't be catching up with us soon."

Van smirked. "Golaya Sea, huh?" She nodded. "Then that's where we're heading."

The dragon took off towards the sea, leaving the Ziaboch behind.

The Emperor scowled. "That girl…she will pay."

A/N: I think that was a pretty juicy chapter. Anyone know where I'm going with this? I think it's pretty obvious, but we'll see. Maybe I'll add a few more twists. R+R please!!!