Oh wow!! Thank you for your reviews!! ^^ Here's the next chapter, "Transfer of Power!"
DISCLAIMER: No, Rayearth doesn't belong to me. What belongs to me is my sketchpad, worth $2, so don't sue!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They all landed with a dull thud in the dark world. The acrid smell stung at Umi's nose, and made her eyes tear up. The thick air was cold, deviod of any light, while the world looked even worse than when Lady Debonair existed here. Sharp rocks, boulders, and cliffs jutted out at unearthly angles and positions. Even the very land was dead. Far away in the distance, a lone castle existed.
"A castle made of black crystal," Lantis whispered. "That must me where Hikaru is!" He began to break into a run, but Ferio grabbed his arm and held him back.
"Let me go, Ferio!" Lantis said, trying to break free of the Prince's grip. But Ferio shook his head.
"Hikaru isn't who she is anymore, and it is too dangerous out there for you alone. And you know it," Clef said quietly. This angered Lantis, but he reluctantly calmed down, knowing that Clef was right.
"Miss Nova, are you all right??" Fuu cried, running to Nova after seeing her collapse to the ground.
"Y-yeah… I'll be fine…" Nova said weakly, her form turning transparent. "I'm too weak to support myself anymore, and I have to rest for a while… please, save Hikaru…" With that, Nova disappeared. Returning to Hikaru.
"Nova, what are we supposed to do?!" Umi cried into nothing.
'Just go to the castle and save Hikaru,' Nova's voice echoed hollowly and wispingly in their minds. 'Only you can bring her back… Lantis, summon Rayearth. You will need his aid in this battle… goodbye, my friends…' Then Nova's voice went silent, most likely too drained of energy to continue.
"I'm not a Magic Knight, how am I supposed to summon the great Rayearth?" Lantis wondered aloud.
"Just try it, anything can happen here," Umi said assuringly. Lantis gave a small nod.
"Rayearth!! Come to my aid!" Lantis cried. A pause. Then a longer one. Nothing.
"Try again, Mr Lantis," Fuu said quietly. "I'm sure that if you will it to happen hard enough, Rayearth will appear."
Lantis took a deep breath. "Rayearth, come to my aid in the name of Hikaru, Magic Knight of Fire!!" he shouted. A deep rumbling began to issue from the ground, causing it to quake and shake violently. Ferio grabbed Fuu and held her protectively. Rayearth's beast form, the wolf, appeared in front of them.
"Whosoeth summons me in the name of the Knight of Fire?" boomed Rayearth's deep voice.
"I, Lantis, master magic swordsman of Cephiro, summoned you," Lantis replied. "Do you know of what has been happening to Hikaru?" Rayearth was silent for a moment.
"She has been consumed by her grief for granting the Princess Emeraude's wish," Rayearth replied quietly, or as quiet as it could be. "Even I have tried to get her back, but my attempts have failed. And her sorrow has created a powerful weapon. An image of myself, only full of dark energy. Its power rivals even myself, Windam's, and Selece's power combined. In this state, she cannot don me. In her name, I transfer my power to you, Lantis, until Hikaru is restored." Rayearth began to glow a searing bright red-orange.
Lantis closed his eyes and felt the fire energy flow through his veins, burning white-hot as the power of Rayearth entered his body. The light surrounded his form, masking him from sight.
Clef, Ferio, Umi, and Fuu shielded their eyes, the blinding light filling the area. An unforseen urge to summon the mashin filled their minds.
"WINDAM!" Fuu cried out, still shielding her eyes. A green light shot into the sky from her body, then grew larger. The machine form of Windam appeared behind her, questioning.
"SELECE!" Umi yelled. Selece's machine form appeared, also curious and questioning. Both Fuu and Umi were now in battle attire.
"What is the reason for our summoning?" Windam's gentler voice called out. It boomed similar to Rayearth's, but mellower.
"We have a crisis, sir Windam," Fuu said. "Hikaru has been taken over by her own grief, and is trying to kill herself with negative enrgy."
"She cannot don Rayearth, but instead created a mirror of Rayearth, filled with darkness," Umi said to Selece. "Now in this time, Rayearth is lending his power to Lantis until Hikaru is back with us again."
The light around Lantis died down, but everyone, including Windam and Selece, were surprised at the transformation. Lantis's normally black cape was now a deep crimson red, along with much of his armor; the armor itself was just a few shades lighter than the cape. The silver trim on his armor had turned gold, which shined brighter than ever. The once-blue gems now glowed bright red with an inner light. Finally his gold circlet had been transformed into one resembling Hikaru's tiara (or is it crown?…), only it looked more like his deceased brother Zagato's headdress. Rayearth had now transformed into its mashin form. Strangely, Hikaru's hair ribbon was tied around his wrist, like a bracelet of sorts.
"That went better than I expected," Rayearth mused in an out of character way. "It seems you are suited for my power."
"Rayearth, I find that amazing, as I myself gave Hikaru magic centered around fire," Clef said. "I thought that magic elements were for one person only?"
"Apparently, this young man can handle all types of magic," Rayearth replied simply. "We will now go to our own dimension until the need requires our aid." With that, the three mashin disappeared, leaving behind no trace of their presence.
"It's best if we get to that crystal castle to get Hikaru back," Ferio said. They all nodded in agreement before breaking into a run toward the castle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Are you sure that Lantis is able to handle it?" Windam asked. "This is quite a task, you know."
"I am sure," Rayearth replied. "Without him, we cannot get Hikaru back."
"Then hope for the best, as Hikaru is the strongest out of the Knights, and that dark you is stronger than the three of us combined," Selece said. "If the mortals cannot get her back, all is lost."
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~
DISCLAIMER: No, Rayearth doesn't belong to me. What belongs to me is my sketchpad, worth $2, so don't sue!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They all landed with a dull thud in the dark world. The acrid smell stung at Umi's nose, and made her eyes tear up. The thick air was cold, deviod of any light, while the world looked even worse than when Lady Debonair existed here. Sharp rocks, boulders, and cliffs jutted out at unearthly angles and positions. Even the very land was dead. Far away in the distance, a lone castle existed.
"A castle made of black crystal," Lantis whispered. "That must me where Hikaru is!" He began to break into a run, but Ferio grabbed his arm and held him back.
"Let me go, Ferio!" Lantis said, trying to break free of the Prince's grip. But Ferio shook his head.
"Hikaru isn't who she is anymore, and it is too dangerous out there for you alone. And you know it," Clef said quietly. This angered Lantis, but he reluctantly calmed down, knowing that Clef was right.
"Miss Nova, are you all right??" Fuu cried, running to Nova after seeing her collapse to the ground.
"Y-yeah… I'll be fine…" Nova said weakly, her form turning transparent. "I'm too weak to support myself anymore, and I have to rest for a while… please, save Hikaru…" With that, Nova disappeared. Returning to Hikaru.
"Nova, what are we supposed to do?!" Umi cried into nothing.
'Just go to the castle and save Hikaru,' Nova's voice echoed hollowly and wispingly in their minds. 'Only you can bring her back… Lantis, summon Rayearth. You will need his aid in this battle… goodbye, my friends…' Then Nova's voice went silent, most likely too drained of energy to continue.
"I'm not a Magic Knight, how am I supposed to summon the great Rayearth?" Lantis wondered aloud.
"Just try it, anything can happen here," Umi said assuringly. Lantis gave a small nod.
"Rayearth!! Come to my aid!" Lantis cried. A pause. Then a longer one. Nothing.
"Try again, Mr Lantis," Fuu said quietly. "I'm sure that if you will it to happen hard enough, Rayearth will appear."
Lantis took a deep breath. "Rayearth, come to my aid in the name of Hikaru, Magic Knight of Fire!!" he shouted. A deep rumbling began to issue from the ground, causing it to quake and shake violently. Ferio grabbed Fuu and held her protectively. Rayearth's beast form, the wolf, appeared in front of them.
"Whosoeth summons me in the name of the Knight of Fire?" boomed Rayearth's deep voice.
"I, Lantis, master magic swordsman of Cephiro, summoned you," Lantis replied. "Do you know of what has been happening to Hikaru?" Rayearth was silent for a moment.
"She has been consumed by her grief for granting the Princess Emeraude's wish," Rayearth replied quietly, or as quiet as it could be. "Even I have tried to get her back, but my attempts have failed. And her sorrow has created a powerful weapon. An image of myself, only full of dark energy. Its power rivals even myself, Windam's, and Selece's power combined. In this state, she cannot don me. In her name, I transfer my power to you, Lantis, until Hikaru is restored." Rayearth began to glow a searing bright red-orange.
Lantis closed his eyes and felt the fire energy flow through his veins, burning white-hot as the power of Rayearth entered his body. The light surrounded his form, masking him from sight.
Clef, Ferio, Umi, and Fuu shielded their eyes, the blinding light filling the area. An unforseen urge to summon the mashin filled their minds.
"WINDAM!" Fuu cried out, still shielding her eyes. A green light shot into the sky from her body, then grew larger. The machine form of Windam appeared behind her, questioning.
"SELECE!" Umi yelled. Selece's machine form appeared, also curious and questioning. Both Fuu and Umi were now in battle attire.
"What is the reason for our summoning?" Windam's gentler voice called out. It boomed similar to Rayearth's, but mellower.
"We have a crisis, sir Windam," Fuu said. "Hikaru has been taken over by her own grief, and is trying to kill herself with negative enrgy."
"She cannot don Rayearth, but instead created a mirror of Rayearth, filled with darkness," Umi said to Selece. "Now in this time, Rayearth is lending his power to Lantis until Hikaru is back with us again."
The light around Lantis died down, but everyone, including Windam and Selece, were surprised at the transformation. Lantis's normally black cape was now a deep crimson red, along with much of his armor; the armor itself was just a few shades lighter than the cape. The silver trim on his armor had turned gold, which shined brighter than ever. The once-blue gems now glowed bright red with an inner light. Finally his gold circlet had been transformed into one resembling Hikaru's tiara (or is it crown?…), only it looked more like his deceased brother Zagato's headdress. Rayearth had now transformed into its mashin form. Strangely, Hikaru's hair ribbon was tied around his wrist, like a bracelet of sorts.
"That went better than I expected," Rayearth mused in an out of character way. "It seems you are suited for my power."
"Rayearth, I find that amazing, as I myself gave Hikaru magic centered around fire," Clef said. "I thought that magic elements were for one person only?"
"Apparently, this young man can handle all types of magic," Rayearth replied simply. "We will now go to our own dimension until the need requires our aid." With that, the three mashin disappeared, leaving behind no trace of their presence.
"It's best if we get to that crystal castle to get Hikaru back," Ferio said. They all nodded in agreement before breaking into a run toward the castle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Are you sure that Lantis is able to handle it?" Windam asked. "This is quite a task, you know."
"I am sure," Rayearth replied. "Without him, we cannot get Hikaru back."
"Then hope for the best, as Hikaru is the strongest out of the Knights, and that dark you is stronger than the three of us combined," Selece said. "If the mortals cannot get her back, all is lost."
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~