Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or the plot line of
Escaflowne. I do own Jewel, Narisia, Kat, Blue, Rika and the new DS. If
you wish to use any of them, please let me ask me first.
Author's Note: Hi everyone! Alright, chapter 18! This is my longest story yet! Yay! The people I have picked for this chapter are Chichirui, Shadow Angel, Smoke Girl, Lightning Wolf, Magical Dream, Rei Lynn, and Dilanda. Thanks to all who have reviewed! I hope you all like this chapter too! (Go to the bottom for the author who is the character in this chapter)
Chapter Eighteen: Wishes
Kat looked at the book in her hands. She sighed and looked at Jewel, who was sprawled at her feet. "Well… I can say this. It certainly opens up a whole new avenue for us. I mean, this has so much more information then I could ever find. It's amazing," Kat said.
"Yeah. But I don't get the last part. 'The soldiers with heart, have been dark; but the man with tea, will set things free.'"
Kat shook her head sadly. "I don't know about that either. But we'll find the answers."
Jewel got to her feet and smiled. "Yeah."
And with that she left Kat's room. Kat looked back at the book as the door clicked shut. "We will," she whispered.
****
Rika sighed and pushed a strand of lavender hair out back into place. "There, he comes forth," she whispered to herself. She regarded the image in the mirror in front of her with interest. She was strong now, but she wasn't strong enough. She would have to watch how the Moon Daughter handled herself and the upcoming situations, and then give her judgement.
****
Kat looked upon her small group of warriors proudly. "I am very proud to tell you all that you are now, officially, part of the Dragon Slayers," she told them. An 5'6" female with long dark brown hair that ended mid- back and had red highlights and tips, gray eyes with a tint of red in them, slightly tanned skin and a nice frame, gave the slightest of slight smiles. She was Zaiyane Lunabellek, a girl who liked to remain silent. Xenon and Kendall grinned.
Rei Lynn, a 5'9" female with short light brown hair with red highlights, fit with an athletic build, light brown eyes with red contacts, cheered loudly. Standing next to her was Lacey Canell, 5'8" with long gray hair held back in a ponytail, smoke gray eyes, pale skin, and wearing light gray robes, started jumping around the room with joy, yelling her happiness. Cameron Spiel, a 5'7" female with shoulder length black hair, gray eyes, and a slim form and strangely dark red lips, began to whistle very loudly and clap.
Nebula, a 5'3" woman with ash blonde hair, hazel-emerald eyes, muscular legs, slim figure and nice upper curves, crossed her arms across her chest and grinned broadly. Heather Permina, 5'5" with dark brown hair that came just below her shoulder blades, light brown eyes, a pretty face, and a fragile yet strong looking frame, cheered loudly and started jumping up and down. Sara Kinden, 5'4" with short light blue hair, baby blue eyes, and a thin yet muscular frame, thrust her first into the air.
"Now, you will be training, eating and executing orders and missions along with the Dragon Slayers. You will be with them in battle, in crisis, in death, in life. They will be your family, and you will support them and look out for each other. You will listen to your commander and obey him; you will follow orders without protest or question. And most importantly, you will have no other family outside of Zaibach.
"You will sleep and shower in a different area then the Dragon Slayers. That will be shown to you later. With everything said, I want you all to go to the main training room and begin your session with the Dragon Slayers," Kat told them.
Everyone nodded and headed out of the room, smiling and laughing and talking excitedly. Kat waited until the door had shut before she turned to the shadows. "What do you think?" She asked them.
"They look good. You honed in their talent very well," A voice replied.
"You think they'll survive the first mission?"
"I had fifteen original Slayers. Only six came out alive."
"Wow… I hope they make it. They're good kids."
Dilandau stepped out of the shadows and came up to Kat. He put his hand on her shoulder. "Come on, we're late for the training session."
Kat nodded and followed him out of the training room.
****
The small group of bandits was spread out in the trees, watching the Zaibach castle. There were no guards, but it looked heavily guarded on the inside. "We'll go stealth," Kianna told the group. They all nodded. Only one remained still. And only one had other ideas.
****
"Tell me something. How come you didn't come after me when I left?" Kat asked. She and Dilandau were in their room, lying in bed. Kat had her head on Dilandau's chest, she knew he was slipping off to sleep. But she couldn't sleep. One question bugged her…
"Because," came Dilandau's sleepy reply.
"Because why? I want to know, Dilandau."
"Fanel told me."
"Van?"
"No, Fanel. He told me."
Kat was confused. "Why not come after me?"
"Fanel said once you were transported that you would be killed. I kept visiting him trying to get more information about your transportation for weeks, but he wouldn't tell."
Now this was interesting, Kat thought. She stroked Blue's head; the wolf had taken to constantly staying at her side since she had come back. "Oh, I see."
"Why do you want to know?"
"Just curious. Good night."
Dilandau didn't reply. Kat heard his soft, even breathing and knew he was asleep. He must really be tired if I got those answers out of him without a fight, she thought. Dilandau almost never answers questions like those straight forward. I wonder…
Kat waited some more until she was sure Dilandau was asleep. Then she silently slipped out of bed and pulled on a silk midnight blue robe over her skimpy sleep shorts and shirt. She headed towards the door and silently opened it. Blue saw her leaving and jumped off the bed and came towards her. "No Blue, you can't come," she hissed at him.
Blue ignored her and slipped out. Kat rolled her eyes and then slipped through the door herself, shutting it firmly. Then she and Blue made their way down to the dungeons. Once inside the cool area, Kat pulled her robs tighter around her. It was colder down here then up in the castle.
"Where's Fanel, Blue?" She quietly asked the wolf. Dilandau had mentioned that Blue had come with him whenever he went into the dungeons. Blue, hearing his master's request trotted off down the dark corridor. Kat followed behind him. They walked a while, heading towards the very back of the dungeons.
Finally Blue stopped and clawed at a door. It was a simply cell, three brick walls and the cage-like front. Nothing special, fancy or even remotely nice, just a simple, it-will-do cell. Kat looked within its dark depths, looking for a familiar shape. There, it was lying on the small cot, unmoving.
Kat went to the door and put her hand up against the lock, silently cursing herself for not carrying an extra set of keys. She gave herself a mental shake and reminded herself of the powers she was given. So, Kat closed her eyes and her hand glowed for a second. When she removed her hand, the door swung open with a small creak.
She stepped inside and closed the door behind her, allowing for Blue to come in with her. She heard it click close and knew that it had locked again. But that didn't matter now, she was with her prey and she needed answers. Silently she crept towards the figure on the bed, silent and careful, senses on high in case of some sort of ambush.
But as she neared Fanel, she realized that he was sitting on his cot, his pants and shirt town in various places, his face a mess with dried blood and bruises, and his body stiff. The thing that threw her off, however, was that he was holding a cup of brown liquid that smelled strangely like tea…
"I was wondering when you would return from your encounter with Rika Avalon," Fanel spoke, his voice strangely soft and un-Van like. Kat stopped in her tracks, only a few feet away from him.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I knew you would come to me, after you had encountered Miss Rika Avalon. I must admit, I didn't think it would take you this long though."
Kat narrowed her eyes. She had a feeling… "Tell me, Fanel, who are you exactly?"
Fanel gave a soft chuckle. "I am no one, yet I am everyone. I am nothing, yet everything. What am I?"
A riddle, how clever, Kat thought. "Easy, a spirit."
"Right. Your husband didn't get that, so instead he beat me."
"What do you know?"
"Everything."
"Okay, let's try this. Why are you here?"
"I am here because of the future. The future where one Queen rules all, and no one dares defy her in fear of being killed. No one can escape or run from her, for she is everywhere."
"Just tell me, no riddles. Unlike my husband, I have little patience for games.
Fanel turned his eyes to look at Kat. They were strangely bright. "I am one of the Guardians of Time, I look into the past, present and future and make sure nothing goes wrong. I almost never interfere, except when the fate of Gaea is in the balance and no one can stop what happens. Only then do I get involved.
"In the future, one girl will become Queen of all Gaea, not through government or by Gaea's choice, but by power. She will control Gaea herself with her powers of Infinity. At first her visions of a better Gaea will be pure, but her powers will slowly consume her and her visions will be not of her own, but of her power's. She will become a slave to the Infinity Powers, a puppet, and she will do their bidding.
"Once she is in control of Gaea, she begins to slowly drain the planet of its life. She uses Gaea's internal powers for her own, using them to power her own powers. That act slowly kills Gaea. Thought many will insurgence against her, but they will all fail. Because of her Infinity powers, she can quickly kill everyone who rises up against her. Soon those who are left will learn and try their best to run or hide from her.
"But in the end she will succeed in destroying Gaea, and Earth. For Gaea will explode, killing the remnants of Gaea. The pieces of Gaea will fly towards Earth and once they hit Earth, she too will explode. There will be nothing left of the two planets except for an asteroid field. I came here to stop that."
Kat remained quiet, taking in all the information. She had a feeling she knew who the girl was… "Tell me, the Infinity Powers are the powers that infest a child while its still in the womb, and they take it over. And they way to tell who the Powers have infected is to watch the suspected child and see if they transform into a cat hybrid, right?"
"That is correct."
"And if you don't want the Powers to have the child, you kill them before they discover their powers."
Fanel nodded.
Kat looked him in the eye. "Then, you, a Guardian of Time, came here in the form of a past great king, to get the people of Gaea to rise up against Zaibach. Because the Power's Choice was in Zaibach and you hoped to kill the Choice. You came here to kill Jewel."
Fanel remained silent. Kat knew what that meant. She was right, he was here to kill Jewel. Kat lowered her eyes to the ground, turned and phased through the cell along with Blue. Slowly the two of them began to head down the corridor.
Fanel got up and ran to the cell door. "Don't let foolishness get in the way of your duty, Moon Daughter!" He yelled after her fading form. Kat ignored him and kept walking. Fanel sighed and went back to his cot, sipping his tea.
But a figure cloaked in the darkness watched both forms disappear into the darkness. A tear slid from her eye. How could they stop this from happening, and spare a life?
*~~*
TBC….
Author's Note: Well, that's it folks! Yes, a cliffhanger, I know. I'm evil and mean. Sorry for that, but I have to keep you interested, right? Okay, I'm picking a few more characters for the 19th chapter, and that's it! I'll delete the auditions once I'm done, but I'll post the last few winners before I do. Thanks for reading, and review please! Oh yeah, below are the authors who are characters in the chapter.
-ShadowKat
Chichirui = Cameron Spiel
Smoke Girl = Lacey Canell
Lightning Wolf = Nebula
Magical Dream = Heather Permina
Rei Lynn = Rei Lynn
Dilanda = Sara Kinden
Shadow Angel = Zaiyane Lunabellek
Author's Note: Hi everyone! Alright, chapter 18! This is my longest story yet! Yay! The people I have picked for this chapter are Chichirui, Shadow Angel, Smoke Girl, Lightning Wolf, Magical Dream, Rei Lynn, and Dilanda. Thanks to all who have reviewed! I hope you all like this chapter too! (Go to the bottom for the author who is the character in this chapter)
Chapter Eighteen: Wishes
Kat looked at the book in her hands. She sighed and looked at Jewel, who was sprawled at her feet. "Well… I can say this. It certainly opens up a whole new avenue for us. I mean, this has so much more information then I could ever find. It's amazing," Kat said.
"Yeah. But I don't get the last part. 'The soldiers with heart, have been dark; but the man with tea, will set things free.'"
Kat shook her head sadly. "I don't know about that either. But we'll find the answers."
Jewel got to her feet and smiled. "Yeah."
And with that she left Kat's room. Kat looked back at the book as the door clicked shut. "We will," she whispered.
****
Rika sighed and pushed a strand of lavender hair out back into place. "There, he comes forth," she whispered to herself. She regarded the image in the mirror in front of her with interest. She was strong now, but she wasn't strong enough. She would have to watch how the Moon Daughter handled herself and the upcoming situations, and then give her judgement.
****
Kat looked upon her small group of warriors proudly. "I am very proud to tell you all that you are now, officially, part of the Dragon Slayers," she told them. An 5'6" female with long dark brown hair that ended mid- back and had red highlights and tips, gray eyes with a tint of red in them, slightly tanned skin and a nice frame, gave the slightest of slight smiles. She was Zaiyane Lunabellek, a girl who liked to remain silent. Xenon and Kendall grinned.
Rei Lynn, a 5'9" female with short light brown hair with red highlights, fit with an athletic build, light brown eyes with red contacts, cheered loudly. Standing next to her was Lacey Canell, 5'8" with long gray hair held back in a ponytail, smoke gray eyes, pale skin, and wearing light gray robes, started jumping around the room with joy, yelling her happiness. Cameron Spiel, a 5'7" female with shoulder length black hair, gray eyes, and a slim form and strangely dark red lips, began to whistle very loudly and clap.
Nebula, a 5'3" woman with ash blonde hair, hazel-emerald eyes, muscular legs, slim figure and nice upper curves, crossed her arms across her chest and grinned broadly. Heather Permina, 5'5" with dark brown hair that came just below her shoulder blades, light brown eyes, a pretty face, and a fragile yet strong looking frame, cheered loudly and started jumping up and down. Sara Kinden, 5'4" with short light blue hair, baby blue eyes, and a thin yet muscular frame, thrust her first into the air.
"Now, you will be training, eating and executing orders and missions along with the Dragon Slayers. You will be with them in battle, in crisis, in death, in life. They will be your family, and you will support them and look out for each other. You will listen to your commander and obey him; you will follow orders without protest or question. And most importantly, you will have no other family outside of Zaibach.
"You will sleep and shower in a different area then the Dragon Slayers. That will be shown to you later. With everything said, I want you all to go to the main training room and begin your session with the Dragon Slayers," Kat told them.
Everyone nodded and headed out of the room, smiling and laughing and talking excitedly. Kat waited until the door had shut before she turned to the shadows. "What do you think?" She asked them.
"They look good. You honed in their talent very well," A voice replied.
"You think they'll survive the first mission?"
"I had fifteen original Slayers. Only six came out alive."
"Wow… I hope they make it. They're good kids."
Dilandau stepped out of the shadows and came up to Kat. He put his hand on her shoulder. "Come on, we're late for the training session."
Kat nodded and followed him out of the training room.
****
The small group of bandits was spread out in the trees, watching the Zaibach castle. There were no guards, but it looked heavily guarded on the inside. "We'll go stealth," Kianna told the group. They all nodded. Only one remained still. And only one had other ideas.
****
"Tell me something. How come you didn't come after me when I left?" Kat asked. She and Dilandau were in their room, lying in bed. Kat had her head on Dilandau's chest, she knew he was slipping off to sleep. But she couldn't sleep. One question bugged her…
"Because," came Dilandau's sleepy reply.
"Because why? I want to know, Dilandau."
"Fanel told me."
"Van?"
"No, Fanel. He told me."
Kat was confused. "Why not come after me?"
"Fanel said once you were transported that you would be killed. I kept visiting him trying to get more information about your transportation for weeks, but he wouldn't tell."
Now this was interesting, Kat thought. She stroked Blue's head; the wolf had taken to constantly staying at her side since she had come back. "Oh, I see."
"Why do you want to know?"
"Just curious. Good night."
Dilandau didn't reply. Kat heard his soft, even breathing and knew he was asleep. He must really be tired if I got those answers out of him without a fight, she thought. Dilandau almost never answers questions like those straight forward. I wonder…
Kat waited some more until she was sure Dilandau was asleep. Then she silently slipped out of bed and pulled on a silk midnight blue robe over her skimpy sleep shorts and shirt. She headed towards the door and silently opened it. Blue saw her leaving and jumped off the bed and came towards her. "No Blue, you can't come," she hissed at him.
Blue ignored her and slipped out. Kat rolled her eyes and then slipped through the door herself, shutting it firmly. Then she and Blue made their way down to the dungeons. Once inside the cool area, Kat pulled her robs tighter around her. It was colder down here then up in the castle.
"Where's Fanel, Blue?" She quietly asked the wolf. Dilandau had mentioned that Blue had come with him whenever he went into the dungeons. Blue, hearing his master's request trotted off down the dark corridor. Kat followed behind him. They walked a while, heading towards the very back of the dungeons.
Finally Blue stopped and clawed at a door. It was a simply cell, three brick walls and the cage-like front. Nothing special, fancy or even remotely nice, just a simple, it-will-do cell. Kat looked within its dark depths, looking for a familiar shape. There, it was lying on the small cot, unmoving.
Kat went to the door and put her hand up against the lock, silently cursing herself for not carrying an extra set of keys. She gave herself a mental shake and reminded herself of the powers she was given. So, Kat closed her eyes and her hand glowed for a second. When she removed her hand, the door swung open with a small creak.
She stepped inside and closed the door behind her, allowing for Blue to come in with her. She heard it click close and knew that it had locked again. But that didn't matter now, she was with her prey and she needed answers. Silently she crept towards the figure on the bed, silent and careful, senses on high in case of some sort of ambush.
But as she neared Fanel, she realized that he was sitting on his cot, his pants and shirt town in various places, his face a mess with dried blood and bruises, and his body stiff. The thing that threw her off, however, was that he was holding a cup of brown liquid that smelled strangely like tea…
"I was wondering when you would return from your encounter with Rika Avalon," Fanel spoke, his voice strangely soft and un-Van like. Kat stopped in her tracks, only a few feet away from him.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I knew you would come to me, after you had encountered Miss Rika Avalon. I must admit, I didn't think it would take you this long though."
Kat narrowed her eyes. She had a feeling… "Tell me, Fanel, who are you exactly?"
Fanel gave a soft chuckle. "I am no one, yet I am everyone. I am nothing, yet everything. What am I?"
A riddle, how clever, Kat thought. "Easy, a spirit."
"Right. Your husband didn't get that, so instead he beat me."
"What do you know?"
"Everything."
"Okay, let's try this. Why are you here?"
"I am here because of the future. The future where one Queen rules all, and no one dares defy her in fear of being killed. No one can escape or run from her, for she is everywhere."
"Just tell me, no riddles. Unlike my husband, I have little patience for games.
Fanel turned his eyes to look at Kat. They were strangely bright. "I am one of the Guardians of Time, I look into the past, present and future and make sure nothing goes wrong. I almost never interfere, except when the fate of Gaea is in the balance and no one can stop what happens. Only then do I get involved.
"In the future, one girl will become Queen of all Gaea, not through government or by Gaea's choice, but by power. She will control Gaea herself with her powers of Infinity. At first her visions of a better Gaea will be pure, but her powers will slowly consume her and her visions will be not of her own, but of her power's. She will become a slave to the Infinity Powers, a puppet, and she will do their bidding.
"Once she is in control of Gaea, she begins to slowly drain the planet of its life. She uses Gaea's internal powers for her own, using them to power her own powers. That act slowly kills Gaea. Thought many will insurgence against her, but they will all fail. Because of her Infinity powers, she can quickly kill everyone who rises up against her. Soon those who are left will learn and try their best to run or hide from her.
"But in the end she will succeed in destroying Gaea, and Earth. For Gaea will explode, killing the remnants of Gaea. The pieces of Gaea will fly towards Earth and once they hit Earth, she too will explode. There will be nothing left of the two planets except for an asteroid field. I came here to stop that."
Kat remained quiet, taking in all the information. She had a feeling she knew who the girl was… "Tell me, the Infinity Powers are the powers that infest a child while its still in the womb, and they take it over. And they way to tell who the Powers have infected is to watch the suspected child and see if they transform into a cat hybrid, right?"
"That is correct."
"And if you don't want the Powers to have the child, you kill them before they discover their powers."
Fanel nodded.
Kat looked him in the eye. "Then, you, a Guardian of Time, came here in the form of a past great king, to get the people of Gaea to rise up against Zaibach. Because the Power's Choice was in Zaibach and you hoped to kill the Choice. You came here to kill Jewel."
Fanel remained silent. Kat knew what that meant. She was right, he was here to kill Jewel. Kat lowered her eyes to the ground, turned and phased through the cell along with Blue. Slowly the two of them began to head down the corridor.
Fanel got up and ran to the cell door. "Don't let foolishness get in the way of your duty, Moon Daughter!" He yelled after her fading form. Kat ignored him and kept walking. Fanel sighed and went back to his cot, sipping his tea.
But a figure cloaked in the darkness watched both forms disappear into the darkness. A tear slid from her eye. How could they stop this from happening, and spare a life?
*~~*
TBC….
Author's Note: Well, that's it folks! Yes, a cliffhanger, I know. I'm evil and mean. Sorry for that, but I have to keep you interested, right? Okay, I'm picking a few more characters for the 19th chapter, and that's it! I'll delete the auditions once I'm done, but I'll post the last few winners before I do. Thanks for reading, and review please! Oh yeah, below are the authors who are characters in the chapter.
-ShadowKat
Chichirui = Cameron Spiel
Smoke Girl = Lacey Canell
Lightning Wolf = Nebula
Magical Dream = Heather Permina
Rei Lynn = Rei Lynn
Dilanda = Sara Kinden
Shadow Angel = Zaiyane Lunabellek