Author's Notes: Here is the second chapter to "Crystal Tears". As the love between Umi and Eagle grows, a new plague is set upon the people of Cephiro, one that may equal it's end. Will Umi, Fuu, and Hikaru have the strength to protect their friends?

For this chapter, I have added more about Fuu and Ferio, and Hikaru and Lantis. I plan on adding some action in the next chapter and more drama. And, I also have been working on a site for Umi and Eagle. So if any of you have any Rayearth artwork or Rayearth fanfiction, please e-mail me at eviltrista@hotmail.com and it can be anything, including hentai (just not in the pics).

Disclaimer: I don't own Rayearth or any of the characters cause I'm not a part of CLAMP.

Crystal Tears- Part 2

Everyone in the palace diningroom immediately began to chat as a large breakfast was set upon the table. Lafarga, Tatra, Tarta, Geo, Zazo, Ascott, Ferio, Presea, Eagle, Lantis, Fuu, Caldina, Hikaru, and Umi, all sat at the large, rectangular table, having little conversations amongst themselves, all except for Guru Clef.

Guru Clef stared down at his plate sadly, then looked around at all the people sitting at the table, his gaze silently pleading for their fate to not come. For some, this would be the last meal they would ever see of Cephiro.

His visions filled his head for the millionth time that day. The night before, he had a dream of what was to come. It wasn't the first vision he had. He noticed that the visions were coming quite often, all up to the events of the next few days. He saw the battle…the devastation of a great country…

"Clef? Guru Clef?" Hikaru called.

"Huh?" he suddenly replied, pushing his thoughts passed him. "Sorry Hikaru. I must have zoned out for a second there."

"It's okay. I was just wondering if you're alright. You haven't touched your food and you had this sad look in your eyes. Is anything bothering you?"

"Well…" he began. But, he knew that it was not his place to reveal these visions. By doing that, he may turn fate around and cause an even greater devastation than what was about to come.

"I'm a little bit tired this morning. That's all."

Hikaru appeared to accept his reply and went back to eating her breakfast and giggling happily with Umi. Guru Clef wished more than ever to reveal the visions, to let his friends know the loss that will be set upon their shoulders.

I wish these visions were but awful dreams…

~*~*~*~*~

Later that day, Geo, Zazo, and Eagle, sat outside in the garden, chatting about Eagle's recent love interest.

"So, you really do love her?" Geo asked, happy for his friend.

Eagle's reply was anything but uncertain. "More than you can imagine. She's unlike any other girl I've ever met. I was more taken by her than I was with Hikaru."

"She is quite beautiful," Zazo added.

" I know."

The afternoon sun beat down on them as they continued their conversation. Soon, their conversation became of old times and then they realized how much they had missed Autozam. It had been about two months since they had set eyes upon their homeland. But they hadn't lost contact with their leader. Geo had recently sent a report on their mission failure to inform Hawk Vision of a truce between the two countries. Autozam and Cephiro were now part of an alliance.

A beep from Geo's miniature laptop signaled that a message had just been sent. Excusing himself from the conversation with his friends, Geo opened his laptop and scanned the message that had just been sent by Hawk.

He gave a petrified gasp, catching the attention of Eagle and Zazo. As they watched their friend's reaction, his face became paler than a ghost's, fear apparent in his eyes. He looked up at his friend's, slowly handing the laptop to Eagle.

Eagle accepted the laptop, reading out the sent message:

"To my son Eagle, Geo, and Zazo,

We have just received word that the country, Youtozeta, has broken their alliance with us. Their leader, Yusomi Enzio, has planned an attack on the country of Cephiro. He wants to extend Youtozeta's territory and turn the country into a military base.

We are sending a hundred of our men to protect Cephiro and it's people. We will attempt to stop their approach and battle with them as they head your way. But, our chances of survival are five-to-one. If anything should go wrong, you will be the last hope for these people.

General Hawk Vision"

"No…" Zazo whispered.

Eagle calmly stood up. "We have to tell Guru Clef."

~*~*~*~*~

Guru Clef, Prince Ferio, the magic knights, Lantis, and the three warriors from Autozam, all sat at the round table in Clef's den, holding a small conference. Just as Clef suspected, those weren't dreams but images of Cephiro's fate.

He grew weary, deciding desperately about what was to be done.

"Could you tell me about Youtozeta?" he asked, looking over at Eagle.

Eagle sighed. "Youtozeta is a strong country, their political ways cruel and ruthless. The majority of the country goes through military training from the time of birth till death. Their advantage is arm-to-arm combat but these also undergo deep training on machinery and technology, depending on the war situation they end up in. Their country's population is about three times larger than all of Cephiro and Autozam combined. The chances of winning a war against them are quite slim."

"I wonder why they would turn against us after so long?" Zazo said aloud.

"They must want to own Cephiro. Yusomi is greedy but well trained in the art of war. He probably heard about the Pillar system that works based on one's will, here in Cephiro. If him and his countrymen were to take over this land, they would completely turn it around, making this a land of horror and taking all as slaves. Since we are in alliance with this country, we have no choice but to keep the bastard from taking over. It would be the end for all of us if he did," Geo explained.

Clef turned towards the magic knights, his visions clouding over him as small tears welled in his eyes. Their futures were planted in his memory…so sad…they were only young girls and they had their whole lives ahead of them.

"I want you girls to know that this is Cephiro's battle. You're too young to be a part of this. If you choose to not be a part of this battle, I'll understand," he began.

Hikaru stood up and looked at him square in the eyes. "I think I speak for all three of us when I say that we are not going to back down and witness any destruction within Cephiro. I was choosen to be Pillar and I know I would give my life to protect this land. I am not backing down."

Fuu also stood up, standing beside Hikaru. "I don't want to see any of my friends get hurt. I'll fight to protect them and this world I have come to love."

Umi then stood up, her statement made loud and clear. "If you think I'm gonna allow anyone to suffer as I sit safely in my room, in Tokyo, you all have another thing coming. I refuse to abandon you in your time of need."

Just as I thought, Clef thought sadly. They've come to love Cephiro and would risk their lives to protect the innocent throughout our land. Little do they realize how much is about to be risked…

"Our men should arrive sometime tomarrow night. According to my calculations, it should  take Youtozeta about a week before they reach around Autozam. I think we should begin recruiting a small army to protect Cephiro in case Autozam fails."

Eagle tried his best to remain calm but even Clef could trace the thin line of fear in his voice. The odds were just too great.

Why must I know all who will suffer?

~*~*~*~*~

"Are you worried?" Umi asked, wrapping a reassuring arm around Eagle.

He avoided her eyes, firmly replying, "Me? Worried? What is there that I should be worried about?"

But she knew the truth. This battle would just be too hard for them. It seemed as if their future fate was against them, preparing to draw them all into a dark loop of suffering and pain.

"Have you fought against them before?"

Eagle was silent for a few seconds, remembering the last battle from years ago.

"We have fought against them once before. I remember I was only a child at the time and my father had his armies prepared to fight. He had went into battle with about 200 men and only five of them returned, including him. He was in the worst condition of all five and almost didn't survive. Youtozeta had sent out about 400 and only lost about 150 men. They later backed down and my father had to give in to their demands for more land. He was too helpless to fight and didn't want any more sacrifices.

"I remember seeing how badly hurt he was," Eagle continued. "Geo was with me. We had both waited by my father's side for about a week before he finally woke up. Once he had enough strength to talk to us, Geo had broke down into tears and asked if his older brother and father had been taken prisoner. Geo had wanted them to be taken prisoner since he'd rather live on the small line of hope instead of knowing that they were gone forever.

"Then, my father looked him in the eye and told him the truth. Both his brother and father were killed in battle. No prisoners had been taken."

"Geo," Umi whispered. "I would hate to have to suffer like that. It must be hard for him to battle against Youtozeta, especially after all that has happened in the past. I hope we have a better chance of surviving if we fight against them."

"I hope so too. The people in Cephiro are not warriors. This country is too peaceful for any of them to have to witness pointless destruction. But I don't think fate is going to work the way we want it too."

"It never does…" Umi said, allowing her voice to trail off.

~*~*~*~*~

New recruits, defenders of Cephiro, surrounded the palace. Some, who had more experience than others, trained the other recruits who were ready to defend their country. Others just talked amongst themselves.

Fuu sat with Prince Ferio, resting her head on his shoulder as they sat alone in his room. They sat on his woolen rug in front of a warm fire, allowing a peaceful silence to pass between them. It was moments like this that she wanted to remember in case…

She didn't allow herself to finish the thought. Life without him was not life at all but a disgusting journey till she would meet her inviting end. Fuu loved Ferio more than she could ever express in words.

"Are you okay Fuu?" Ferio asked worriedly.

Fuu looked into the burning flames of the fire, trying to hide her concern. "I-I'm fine."

"No you're not. Will you please look at me?"

She did as he asked. She slowly lifted her head, a few golden blonde strands falling in front of her eyes. When Ferio looked into them, she knew he could see the tears that were beginning to fill her sea green eyes.

"You're as worried about the battle as I am, aren't you?"

She simply nodded her head.

"Don't worry. We may not even have to fight and if we do, I promise I won't get myself killed."

When he said the word "killed", Fuu broke down into uncontrollable tears, hugging Ferio's body tightly. Images of his possible death filled her mind faster than she could blink. She didn't want to lose him, not here, not now.

"What if something did happen to you? What would I do without you?" Fuu demanded, wiping tears out of her eyes with frustration.

"And what if the same happened to you? I know how hard it would be to live without the one you love but we have to try and worry about the future in the future and focus on now."

"But the future is soon to become the present! I can feel it…this wave of pain wash over me whenever anyone mentions the war that may come. I know something bad is going to happen and I know that it'll somehow affect me. And if you were to die," Fuu whispered, her eyes filling again with hot tears of pain, "I know that the pain would cause me to take my life."

Ferio's eyes began to grow moist as he pictured a mental image of Fuu taking her sword and burying it deep into her chest, crushing her tormented heart. It was a sight he hoped never to witness. But he knew that if Fuu died, he would do the same.

"Fuu…if I die, you must promise me you will not take your life," Ferio began.

"That is a promise I cannot keep. I would be lying if I said I could."

"Promise me…please…"

"I…I…I can't! I could never stop myself from being with you!" she cried.

"Fuu…"

She collapsed into his chest, sobbing even more heavily than before. She knew something horrible would happen. She even saw the fear in Clef's eyes and the small tears that had shone brightly within those sapphire orbs. She even noted the trace of defeat in Geo's voice and the strickened look plastered on Eagle's face.

"I wouldn't be able to live without you…" she sobbed.

"And what if you died, Fuu? Would you want me to greedily give up the life that I was blessed to live?" he whispered softly.

Fuu became silent as she stared up into his face. "No…I would want you to live on…"

She suddenly realized all that he had been saying.

"Promise me you'll live on if I die…"

"Only if you can promise me the same, Ferio."

He smiled sadly. "I promise. Anything for you Fuu."

"And I promise the same to you."

Ferio lowered his lips onto Fuu's, planting a delicate kiss upon her lips, washing away all her worries for the time being.

~*~*~*~*~

Hikaru walked with Lantis, her arm linked with his. She loved taking short walks through the palace with him, even if they did nothing at all. Just being with him is what made her happy.

"Lantis," she wondered. "Do you think we'll be involved in a war?"

"I don't think. I know we will. I can feel it."

"So it's not just me…"

They continued on silently, Hikaru resting her head against his arm, wishing she wasn't so short. She wouldn't mind resting her head on his shoulder but things never did go your way, with only a few ecceptions.

She gave a small sigh. "I wish there was no such thing as war. Isn't that why this world was created? Since Earth has it's wars and crime, then wasn't this world meant to stay in peace?"

"It was. But that is why Autozam is fighting the battle for us. They hope to rid us of the chances of war but even this may reach beyond their control. There is just too many from Choutozeta. But where there's hope, there's still the thin line of survival."

"If only there could be more than a thin line of survival."

They entered the main room of the palace, walking over to the fountain and sitting down along it's edge. A peaceful atmosphere surrounded them, regardless of the soldiers from Cephiro strolling around. It's times like this I'll remember, she silently vowed.

"You really don't want to return to Tokyo?" he asked.

Hikaru shook her head.

"Even if I asked you to return home? Even if I begged on my hands and knees for you to return home because I don't want to see you get hurt?"

"No," Hikaru replied. "I was willing to give my life for this country once and I know for a fact that I would do it again. I can't stand back while my friends get hurt. Even if I do die in battle, I'll die happy, knowing that I attempted to protect the lives of those I care about."

"You have a strong heart," Lantis whispered. "But I'm afraid it might not help you this time."

"It may not. But as long as Cephiro wins, I don't care what happens to me."

Is it just me or has Lantis lost all hope? Does he really feel that this is a lost cause? Hikaru wondered. She knew that all of Cephiro had to be strong in order to survive but if some admitted to defeat before the battle, they might as well give up Cephiro.

"You could have a little more faith," she whispered. "We can win. Cephiro will not be taken."

Lantis grew quieter. "Believe what you want but I don't feel victory will be set upon us…"

~*~*~*~*~

The next night, a hundred men arrived from Autozam, just like General Hawk Vision had promised. All came armed and ready for battle, even arriving with extra weapons for the warriors of Cephiro. Most were excited and willing to fight, finding this to be an adventure they were about to embark on. Others remained solemn and quiet, knowing that this was not a game.

Throughout the rest of the week heavy training went on throughout the land of Cephiro. The magic knights also trained the recruits, Fuu teaching her pupils to master archery, Umi showing them to fence (for swordfighting), and Hikaru using her style of Tai-kwon-do for when one lost a weapon.

By the end of the week, all the recruits were true fighters, able to battle in the worst of conditions. And for a celebration, a large dinner was to be hosted at the palace. Everyone attended, some trying to get the idea of this being their last dinner out of their heads and others just there to take away the pang of worry within their hearts.

Once the dinner started, everyone immediately forgot the near future and enjoyed themselves. Talking, dancing, and having a good laugh was all that were on their minds. Umi danced in Eagle's arms for a waltz like dance, resting her head on his shoulder as they swayed across the floor. She never did know a commander could dance so well.

Eagle had been a little tense but now he was getting more and more into the celebrating mood and just accepted all that was for now. Plus, with a wonderful woman like Umi in his arms, he should be anything but depressed.

From across the room, Geo sat with Zazo and Mokona, watching his friend enjoy himself. He couldn't help but smile, knowing that his friend had been able to let go of the battle for one night and have a good time. But he couldn't help but wonder how Autozam was holding up against Youtozeta.

If Eagle's calculations were correct, Autozam should be battling against Youtozeta at the moment. The battle would determine whether or not a war would go on in Cephiro.

"They have to win…" Zazo said.

Geo nodded grimly. "The fate of this country may rest on our people's shoulders."

Suddenly, a stricken cry rang from across the room. All music stopped, all stopped dancing, all stopped talking, and all stopped laughing as they stared at the sobbing figure that lie on the ground, her red curls covering her tear stained face.

Lantis ran to Hikaru's side, holding her up against him as she sobbed on his shoulder. Clef ran over to Hikaru too, tears of sadness shining in his eyes. For he knew what Hikaru knew, the fate of a country finally meeting it's end.

Geo began to stride over to them, straining to hear the words that left Hikaru's lips.

"Gone…they died…Youtozeta…won…" she managed to choke out.

"What? What do you mean? How would you know?" Eagle demanded worriedly.

Hikaru looked into his stricken eyes. "I-I saw it…v-visions…it was so horrible…"

Eagle looked away, refusing to believe what had just been said. "It can't be. It's impossible."

Geo's laptop beeped. He opened it and accessed the message that had just been sent to him.

"It's from Youtozeta…" he whispered.

To Cephiro and all that wish to fight us,

It's over. We have just defeated the country of Autozam, killing off every last person that lived within the disgusting land. They were just too weak…and this could have been avoided if they hadn't agreed to help those who are pathetic and can't fend for themselves.

I have killed all that we fought against, including General Hawk Vision. I hold his disgusting head within my grasp. The end has begun. You can either surrender or suffer an unlikely death. The choice is still there, for those of you who value your lives.

General Yusomi Enzio

"M-my father…" were the only words that left Eagle's lips.

All the soldiers of Autozam became quieter, tears forming as they all took in the information. Their friends, family, and beloved husbands and wives…and their very home land had been taken from them in only a matter of hours.

Eagle collapsed to the ground, emotion overcoming him as his heart ripped in half, his whole world falling apart from all around him. All that he had loved since he was only a young child…gone…

"Nnnoooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

To Be Continued

Umi