(somewhere else)
"Ah, they have finally arrived," the familiar gruff voice chuckled. "It's working like a charm."
"Sire, we have them into view." Dilandau announced.
"Very well, prepare to follow them in the warp that will be created. Are the stealth cloaks at maximum?" Motaro asked.
"Yes master, everything is working perfectly," Dilandau told him.
"Very well, stand by, and start engines. We will follow them on my mark!" Motaro yelled.
(back on the Crusade)
"What do we do now Hitomi?" Merle asked.
"Ssh, don't rush her," Van said gently.
Hitomi closed her eyes, and focused. "Varie, you said you'll always be with me, help me open the gate to the Mystic Valley," Hitomi silently pleaded.
"Right, now focus with me, and will it to open," Varie said in her head.
"I will you to open, gate!" Hitomi thought, focusing to the best of her ability.
All of a sudden, the familiar blue warp opened.
"Well, I'll be damned!" Gaddes exclaimed.
"See, I told you Hitomi could do it!" Merle told him enthusiastically.
"Head for that blue warp!" Allen told his first mate.
"Mark!" Motaro yelled.
The Crusade headed straight for the blue warp. Everyone braced for impact. The ride was tough, and shook everyone's insides. It caught some people by surprise. Merle was one of the people that didn't brace for the ride. She was thrown back, and landed on Gaddes, knocking him off his chair. They both slid across the floor, crashing into the nearby wall. Merle ended up in Gaddes' arms, a very awkward position, since they fought so much. Van held Hitomi firmly in place, trying to shield her from the turbulence as much as possible. In a few seconds, the ride ended.
"Hey, Merle, you ok?" Van asked.
"Just fine," she said, blushing furiously as she picked herself off the floor. (you couldn't see it because of her red fur)
"Would you two get a room?" Astrid laughed sensing her embarrassment.
"Hey, it wasn't my fault. It was Merle who knocked me over." Gaddes defended himself.
"No matter how much you enjoyed it, you wouldn't admit it for the world." Hitomi teased him.
Gaddes didn't say anything, but blushed.
"Are you ok?" Van asked turning to Hitomi.
"Yes, just fine. You shielded me from the shock." she told him lovingly.
"Well, we wouldn't want you getting hurt in your delicate condition," he said whispering in her ear, so only she could hear.
"Well, let's get to work. We're racing against time here," Hitomi motioned everyone.
The group agreed, and they all went outside looking for clues.
"What's the damage to the Crusade?" Allen asked before following everyone else.
"Minimal, should we repair boss?" the first mate asked.
"Yes. We might need to flee fast.
"Where are we?" Motaro asked.
"In the Mystic Valley milord," someone answered.
"Where is the ship?" Motaro asked in a frenzy.
"Nowhere to be seen. All of our systems are going wild. Before we can tell you anything, we have to fix the radar and tracking systems." that same voice informed.
"Curses! I must not loose them. You have 15 minutes to fix what's wrong, or else you pay with your life. Incompetents!!!!" Motaro yelled and went back to his laboratory.
Hitomi took a close look around. It wasn't the same place where they landed eight years ago. There was no monument. They were in an open field, with a thick forest behind them.
"This is not the same place," she observed.
"Yes, but how is that possible?" Van asked.
"I have no idea. We have got to check this out." Hitomi told him. "Should we go check the forest?" she asked Van.
"Sure, the others will check around here." Van told her.
Van and Hitomi headed for the forest. Van was tense and alert. He couldn't know what evil was lurking in the depths of that forest. Hitomi took no notice of the others, and just disappeared in the forest. Van took more precautions. He told the others where they were going before disappearing after Hitomi.
"Hitomi!" he called out. "Where are you?"
"Up ahead!" she called out.
Van ran in the direction he heard her voice. "Don't leave like that." he told her.
"Sorry, it's just that something is dragging me forward. It's calling out to me. Can you feel it too?" she asked.
Van opened his senses. There was indeed something in that direction. He wrapped his arm around Hitomi's waist and guided her forward.
"I feel it too. Let's see what it is." he told her.
"This place, it's giving me the creeps," Hitomi told him.
"We could always go back," Van said kissing her lightly.
"No, we have to end this. We don't have much more time," Hitomi said putting her hand on her stomach.
"When this is all over, me and you are taking a long vacation, away from everyone," Van told her. "I don't want to hear about anyone or anything. It's only going to be you and me." he said and kissed her hungrily.
"Let's end this first," Hitomi kissed him back. She just wished she could throw all her worries away, and stay with Van in limbo forever.
Holding each other protectively, they headed deeper into the forest.
"Ah! I feel it! I feel the power!" Motaro yelled in his laboratory. "It's calling out to them! Hahahahahahah!" he roared with insane laughter.
"Sire, it will take a few more minutes until we fix the systems," Dilandau announced him.
"It doesn't matter! I feel it! Hahaha! Wait here! There's important matters I must attend to!" Motaro told him and disappeared into a cloud of smoke.
Astrid, Allen and Celena decided to keep on going forward from their landing site. After telling the crew how to fix the ship, they decided to explore the valley.
"Can you sense anything?" Allen asked Astrid.
"No. It's like there's a block on all my senses. I know what we're supposed to find though." she told him.
"Really? How?" Celena asked.
"Well I know the prophecies the Ispano Clan has. According to them, we're supposed to find an ancient temple. In that temple, in a forgotten tomb lays locked the True Power of Atlantis." she informed them.
"How come you didn't tell us all of this before?" Allen asked eyeing her strangely.
"Well, you see, I wasn't supposed to. I was sent by the Ispano Clan to block out the Zaibach spies."
"I see, well you should have told us sooner." Celena observed.
"I couldn't, or else I would have changed circumstances. I was strictly forbade to say anything." Astrid told them.
The three figures were engulfed in silence after that. All of them were busy looking for anything out of the ordinary. Then again, the Mystic Valley was an out of-the-ordinary place.
"Come on Gaddes! The others already left!" Merle said impatiently.
"I'm coming, I'm coming, hold your horses." he told her.
"You're always late! I can't believe you're Van's first general!" Merle scorned.
"Yeah, well I can't believe you're on his advisory council!" Gaddes shot back.
"Hmpf! A lot you know!" Merle said and led the way.
Gaddes sighed. No matter what he said, it was always wrong. Why did he even try?
They walked into the forest, nearly in the same direction Van and Hitomi took off in.
They walked and they walked in silence for a few good hours.
"Hey Merle, are you mad?" Gaddes asked when he could stand the silent silence no longer.
"No, I'm just worried, I have this bad feeling," she told him.
"I thought I was the only one. Come on," Gaddes told her leading her down the left side of a fork in the path they were taking.
"No, no you're not," Merle said quietly and followed him.
Little did they know that Van and Hitomi took the right path minutes before
"Are you tired?" Van asked Hitomi.
They had been walking for over two hours when Van posed the question. He was worried that two much exercise might not be good for Hitomi.
"No, come on, let's keep moving," she said with determination in her voice.
"Maybe we should sit down and rest." Van suggested still clinging to his idea.
"Van, I'll tell you when I'm tired, not let's go." Hitomi insisted.
Van was silent and followed his wife. He knew how stubborn she was, and that at this stage there'd be no arguing with her. He'll get his way later on though....
"Van!" Hitomi yelled. She had been walking fairly faster and got up a forest hill before him.
"Is something wrong?" Van asked coming up behind her breathless.
"Not with me, come on, let's go down there!" Hitomi instructed him.
She pointed to the base of the hill, where a lot of stony monuments shined in the sunlight. Hitomi ran down the hill, anxious to see what their discovery was all about. She touched one of the stones, and immediately found out it was a head stone. They had accidentally stumbled into a graveyard. By touching that stone, she saw the entire life story of that person. By the time Van caught up with her, Hitomi was standing in tears near the grave.
"What's wrong?" he asked concerned.
"This is a graveyard. I just saw how one of the Atlanteeans died. It was painful and crude. Van, we were never meant to find this place," Hitomi sobbed.
"Hey, it's all right, you couldn't have known," Van said hugging her.
"No, it's terrible, they, they die incinerated, and this young girl died because she was considered below their standards of intelligence. They incinerated her alive. She was a sacrifice. She was so small..." Hitomi sobbed into Van's shirt.
"It's ok, Hitomi, don't cry, please don't cry," Van said hugging her. It broke his heart to see her tortured by the awful vision.
Hitomi sat on the grass, drying her tear soaked hands on her pants.
"What do we do now?" Van asked.
"We keep going. We must find that temple." Hitomi said.
"Wait a minute, how do you know about a temple?" Van asked her.
"I... think I know where the power was buried. When I touched the stone, I saw that this girl was incinerated in a temple, and around her were these gruesome sorcerers chanting some sacrificial song. From her thoughts, I remember she cursed being the sacrifice for the buried power. Touch the stone of you don't believe me." Hitomi responded, still sobbing lightly.
"No, I believe you, where do we go now?" Van asked.
"Forward, on the path leading out of the graveyard. We will find the temple at the end of the path," Hitomi motioned with her hand.
Van sat beside her. "So, do you want to go now, or do you want to stay here a little longer?" he asked.
"No, this is a sacred place, I do not wish to disturb it any longer. It has slept in peace for the last 2000 years, and it holds gruesome memories. I wish no part in that, let's go," Hitomi said and got up.
She then proceeded on the path confidently.
Van caught up with her. They both faded into the horizon.
"Ah! Finally, I have found it! The sacred temple!" Motaro exclaimed coming up to a halfway demolished building. "But who are those people coming up the path?" he asked, seeing two figures walking down the path.
He quickly hid behind some rubble.
"Gaddes, what is this?" Merle asked when she reached the demolished building.
"I think, well it looks like a temple!" Gaddes exclaimed.
"Hmm, maybe we'll find it here." Merle hoped.
"It is possible. The more I look at it the more it seems like a temple. Let's go inside!" Gaddes suggested.
"Yeah!" Merle jumped at the suggestion.
The both headed for the entrance, when a cloud of smoke appeared in front of them.
"You shall not enter this temple!" Motaro raged appearing in front of them.
"Yeah? Who are you to tell us what to do?" Gaddes said jumping in front of Merle.
"I am Lord Motaro! You are useless insects! Prepare to be destroyed!" Motaro screamed.
"So you're the one that's causing so much trouble!" Merle exclaimed.
"Trouble! Who said anything about trouble! I merely want what's mine!"
"The power of Atlantis is not yours to play with!" Merle yelled.
"Who's going to stop me?" Motaro asked. "You two pesky insects?" he scorned.
"Yeah! Us and the rest of Gaea!" Gaddes jumped.
Motaro laughed, and made a sign with his staff.
Gaddes propelled a few feet into the air. He landed on the pavement stifling a grunt.
"Gaddes!" Merle screamed.
"And now! It's your turn!" He said turning to Merle.
With his staff, Motaro created a fireball, and was about to throw it at Merle, when Gaddes got up and with a supreme force pushed her out of the way. The fireball hit him, and both Merle and Gaddes flew into the air.
"Gaddes, you saved me!" Merle said making her way to the wounded man.
"See, I'm not such a rat. I, I couldn't let him hurt you," Gaddes whispered.
"Gaddes, why do you always have to go get yourself hurt?" Merle asked with tears in her eyes. She never realised how much she cared about Gaddes until now.
"Don't cry, I... I'm glad I saved you," Gaddes said.
"You, I, how hurt are you?" Merle asked.
"I'm ok," Gaddes said weakly. "Merle, I... love you...." Gaddes said and passed out.
"Gaddes, Gaddes come back!!" Merle screamed in desperation. "I love you too! Gaddes don't die on me!" Tears were flowing in salty rivers down her cheeks.
It was true. She loved Gaddes. He had been with her through thick and thin. All those years he was right there beside her. He had always managed to be beside her in her hour of need, but she pushed him away. At first with her love for Lord Van, then with all the fights she picked with him. Yet, he had always been there. No matter what. And she loved him. He always made her feel so special. He would always make her laugh, and no matter how badly they fought, she could never stay mad at him. Over the years, she unconsciously fell in love with Gaddes. But now he was gone, because he tried to save her. It wasn't fair! Why did life had to be so cruel?
"Don't leave me, please!" Merle cried.
"It's time for you too to meet your doom!" Motaro said menacingly coming towards her.
Merle cowered in fear, but in her eyes, you could see a fiery spark of well-known rebellion.
"What are you going to do? You sadistic bastard!! You selfish leach! I hate you!" Merle screamed. Tears still flowing down her cheeks.
(Just then, Hitomi and Van approached the same temple, from the back)
Motaro stood there frozen.
"They've come! They've come!" He yelled, and turned around. It was like he forgot Merle was there.
(On the other side)
Van and Hitomi approached the temple from the back.
"It's here!" Hitomi informed Van. "Can you feel it?" she asked.
"Yes, it's coming from inside. Come on, let's go in." Van told her.
They went inside the almost demolished structure.
"Stay close to me, so you don't get hurt by the potentially falling ceiling." Van instructed Hitomi.
As they were walking through rubble and other fallen debris, Hitomi was concentrating on the location of the Power. She could feel the strong pull, and the hurried call. All of a sudden, she left Van's side, and went over to a wall.
"Hitomi! What are you doing?" Van asked confused.
"Ssh! I must concentrate!" She hissed.
Hitomi closed her eyes, and touched the wall. All of a sudden, her pendant began to glow. Hitomi took it off her neck, and the pendant floated to a dent in the wall. It fit there like a key. The wall shook and growled, but then it moved out of the way, leading to some stairs.
"Come on, Hitomi instructed," She then took the pendant from the wall, and proceeded down the stairs.
"How did you know that was there?" Van asked surprised.
"It was calling out to me." Hitomi told him.
The staircase took them to an underground room. Surprisingly, as they entered that room, the torches lit up.
"Did you do that?" Hitomi asked turning to Van.
"I have no idea," he responded.
Hitomi looked around the room. It was musty, and she could see the cobwebs in the corners. In the middle, stood an altar. In front of it, was some sort of sculpture. It was actually a woman. She was sitting on a stony throne, and she was holding a box.
"What is this place?" Van asked.
"It is where they sacrificed the people of lower intelligence to the Power of Atlantis." Hitomi explained.
All of a sudden, there was a cloud of smoke, and Motaro appeared in front of them.
"You are making this too easy my pets!" he said smiling dangerously.
With the light of the torches shining on his face, and half of his body engulfed in darkness, he looked like a devil resurrected from hell. Van quickly made his way over to Hitomi, and held her in a protective embrace.
Three hours had passed, and Allen, Celena and Astrid weren't getting anywhere. They were walking past thick bushes and dwarf trees. The forest was very scarce in that area. All of a sudden, they heard a noise behind them.
"Well, well, well, we meet again!" Dilandau's voice echoed behind them.
"It's you!" Allen said jumping in front of the ladies.
"Well, Allen Schezar! It will be a pleasure killing you!" Dilandau said coldly.
"I will finally put an end to you!" Allen yelled. He drew his sword and started to fight Dilandau. The blades clashed loudly in the almost arid field.
"Brother No! You're in no condition to fight!" Celena yelled.
Allen just ignored her, and continued on fighting fiercely with Dilandau.
"Lady Celena! Listen to me!" A voice sounded in Celena's head.
"Who are you?" Celena thought.
"I am Eunice! The only way that you can reunite with your other half is to forgive all the mistakes it did. That way your aura will be whole again!" the voice said.
"How can I forgive all of the atrocities my other personality did? It, I, we, killed so many people. It haunts me even now!" Celena argued.
"You must, or else both of you shall perish!" the voice said and faded.
Celena came back to reality just in time. Dilandau was down, and Allen prepared to apply the final blow.
"No! Brother! If he dies, I die!" Celena yelled at Allen.
Luckily, Allen stopped in time. The blade was millimetres away from Dilandau's neck.
"Weakling!" Dilandau screamed, and got up to run.
"You're not going anywhere!" Celena screamed after him. For the first time, one could hear pure confidence in her voice.
Dilandau stopped cold in his tracks.
"Turn around!" Celena ordered him, getting closer.
"Celena! Watch out!" Allen yelled.
"Leave her alone!" Astrid grabbed his arm and stopped Allen from interfering.
Celena got closer to Dilandau. He stood there, frozen in his tracks. Dilandau was examining Celena. How was she supposed to forgive him? Celena looked in his eyes. They were icy. The cold, calculated eyes of a killer. She could see he enjoyed killing. It was part of his nature. That was all he lived for. Killing.
All of a sudden, Celena felt sorry for him. He was empty inside. All he did was kill, destroy, he never created. He never saw the joy of building something. As Celena stood there, she realised she was crying. Tears were spilling down her cheeks. She felt sorry for him, so sorry for him. He was empty. An uncontrollable void of pain. Her tears were real, as were her pain. She truly did feel sorry for him.
"Why are you crying?" Dilandau suddenly asked. He had never seen someone cry. He could feel she was crying for him. He saw fire and passion in her eyes. It was like he was attracted to her. Attracted to her flame and joy of living.
"I forgive you," Celena whispered, and hugged Dilandau. She truly did. She never realised how empty he was, and why he committed all those atrocities. Now she knew.
All of a sudden, she could feel herself being lifted off the ground. Both her and Dilandau. Celena felt Dilandau dematerialise. He simply disappeared from her arms. In front of her, she could see a shining energy. The energy entered her body, and Celena felt how her inner power replenished. She slowly returned to the ground. As soon as she touched it though, Celena fainted.
Both Allen and Astrid hurried to her aid.
(meanwhile)
*flashback*
"You are making this too easy my pets!" Motaro said smiling dangerously.
*end flashback*
"What do you want?" Van asked, with a hand on his sword.
"What is rightfully mine. Now move out of the way, and let me have it!" Motaro yelled preparing a fireball.
"No, you're never going to get the power of Atlantis!" Hitomi yelled. "Where is it?" she thought frantically.
"Just let your spirit guide you," Hitomi heard Varie's voice.
"Of course! The box the woman was holding! That's where it's locked!"
Motaro threw the fireball, and Van pushed Hitomi to the side, covering her with his body. Hitomi could feel his heart beat fast under his shirt.
"Van, the box!" Hitomi whispered to him while they were ducking from the blow. "That's where it is!"
They both got up, and escaped another dooming fireball. The room shook, becoming unstable with each blow. By the third fire ball, Van and Hitomi had made their way to the statue.
"Now Hitomi!" Van yelled.
Hitomi took off her pendant. It was already glowing dangerously. She fit it in the similar dent, to the one in the wall.
"Noo! Fools! There is a special incantation!" Motaro yelled, as light engulfed the room. Streaks of the blinding light shot from the box into the room, and from the room out into the valley.
"Van! Hitomi!" Merle yelled from outside the temple.
Inside, the room shook. Van, Hitomi and Motaro watched in silence as the box opened, and out of it came a spirit. That is when the final forces that were holding the room together gave out. It crumbled on them, but the spirit lifted them up in the sky.
"Thank you for setting me free!" the spirit said turning to Van and Hitomi.
"Who are you?" Hitomi asked
"I, I am the true Power of Atlantis. I am the ability to turn wishes into fate."
"You fools! You doomed this world!!" Motaro yelled from behind them.
"You are the selfish man that caused so much pain in this world! You do not deserve fate. You, shall disappear!" The sprit yelled. It only made a slashing sign with its hand, and Motaro disappeared. He fell into two bloody pieces that dematerialised in front of their eyes.
"What happened to him?" Van asked.
"He got what he wanted. Everyone gets their wish here." The spirit said.
"But, he wanted you." Hitomi observed.
"I gave him the next best thing. Now, thank you for setting me free." the spirit told Van and Hitomi.
"What's going to happen to you now?" Van asked.
"I will finally be allowed to pass beyond the rim, to a resting place. I have been waiting for this day for centuries. Thank you." the spirit said.
"Why were you so important to the Atlanteeans?" Hitomi asked.
"Because I allowed them to make their wishes reality. They helped me with their intelligence once before, but then they got selfish and imprisoned me. When they passed to the world beyond, they left me behind. That made people like Motaro want to find me. But now, you set me free. Thank you once again." the spirit explained.
"What's going to happen to Gaea now?" Van asked.
"It will continue to exist. It will eventually turn into a new Earth, only here, on Gaea the power of your wishes will still have some influence. Just remember the power of your love will always prevail. The evil is not extinct yet, but you have done your part. It is now up to your children and future generations to battle it. You have done more than your share. For your eternal faith in each other, I will grant you one wish." the spirit told them.
"We wish that Gaea would become restored to its former beauty, as it was when I came here three weeks ago," Hitomi said.
"That shall be done. Remember, love will prevail, and you love is stronger than any evil," the spirit said and vanished.
The blob of light vanished and in the sky, you could see two angels hugging, in the gentle light of the reddish sun.
Van slowly placed Hitomi on the ground.
"Have I told you how much I love you?" He said hugging her, and planting sweet kisses on her neck.
"Not today you didn't," Hitomi said kissing him back.