Wheee! New chapter! New chapter! I have finally defeated the evil writer's
block! I just wanted to thank everyone for reviewing! This chapter might
seem a bit odd, it shows a few things from the last chapter that I didn't
write about but please bear with me! Besides its nothing really big, not
like the small sentence I changed in the beginning of chapter 6, which you
should reread if you didn't notice. Also, some of Eagle's fight scene with
the other 2 countries is taken almost directly from the manga. (Don't kill
me if you want to know what happens!)
Chapter 9: Summoning Flames
Primera was strangely silent as Lantis watched Mokona's jewel change colors, shifting from a fiery red into the muddy sable color of spilled blood. It seemed to Lantis that some one was speaking from a great distance, trying to make him hear. He strained his hearing, not quite able to understand the words.
It took him a moment but at last they rang clear in his mind. When he found he could hear them he also thought he saw a half-formed picture in Mokona's jewel.
"How dare Eagle? I would have told them in my own time, my own way! What right does he have to interfere anymore than he has?" Hikaru's angry voice asked him. In Mokona's picture he saw her with her head bowed, fist clenched around the letter from Eagle.
"How could he? I've no doubt he feels responsible for it, but can't he leave well enough alone?"
"Yes, but were you really going to tell them? You know that you were considering 'leaving well enough alone' and— " Another voice broke in, still sounding like Hikaru, but slightly calmer and less angry, sounding more reasonable and collected, and self-righteous.
"Who wouldn't?" The first voice broke in, now sounding even angrier.
"Ah, I forgot. Real Magic Knights don't get themselves captured and get amnesia. Forgive me for hurting your pride," The second voice now took on a slightly mocking cast, daring the other to disagree. There was a slight pause.
"You're right. I was thinking more of my pride than of my friends," Lantis decided that listening to someone argue with herself was unnerving at best and frightening at worst. "But Eagle still has no justification for what he just did!"
"Maybe not, but— What are you doing?!" Lantis saw the note catch fire and burn, not even touching Hikaru. His blue eyes narrowed, thinking.
"Nothing, I think that was the magic reacting to our emotions," here the first voice sounded decidedly smug.
"You used magic to burn a note! Why?" The other voice, sounding scandalized shouted at the smug one.
"I didn't mean to! It was an accident. Although, that does look kind of interesting, I mean, how many times do you get to see a piece of paper burn in your hand and not get hurt yourself?"
"Never mind, just don't do it again," here voice two, who Lantis called reason, sounded exasperated.
"I won't! Promise!" Voice one, emotion, as Lantis thought of it now, sounded happy to have gotten so lightly off. "But what do we do about Eagle?"
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
"But— What was that?" Emotion didn't get a chance to finish.
1 "Sounds like Mokona…"
2
3 The voices stopped and the picture of Hikaru looking up at what must have been Mokona vanished, leaving Lantis back in his room, staring at the fuzzy creature.
"What was that all about?" the castle shuddered and Lantis turned to look out his window. "We're under attack!"
"Puu!" Mokona jumped up and down in front of him, holding something small and dark in its paw.
* * *
"Magic Knights. The enemy once again approaches Cephiro," Celece's voice broke into the respective musings and thoughts of the three girls.
Three blades were drawn and the Mashin suddenly appeared above the castle.
"Rayearth!" "Celece!" "Windam!" The Spirits immediately soared forward, ready for battle.
Eagle was getting annoyed, although he took pains not to show it. Fahren's princess, a little girl who seemed to be no more that eleven and no less than nine, was distinctly stubborn and unyielding in her instance that she was right.
He had found out what the people of Chizeta wanted, the two young women from there had been perfectly straightforward. He had, however, given them something to consider as well.
Since they wanted to have Cephiro for a colony of sorts, they also wanted the Cephirans there. But, if they tried to land on Cephiro, there might be battle and they could end up killing most of the people now that they had all retreated into the castle. They had then asked for time to think and he had given them an hour and a half.
Now Eagle was about ready to yell with frustration, the child was unwilling to get past her own needs and wants to the larger picture, with someone like that for a pillar then the Magic Knights would be summoned within a week.
I wonder… suddenly he hit on perhaps the way to make her see how risky becoming the pillar was.
"Lady Aska, if you do invade and conquer Cephiro, what happens to Fahren, your own country?" Eagle watched as confusion clouded the eyes of the younger leader.
"I- I do not understand the question," her voice calmed as she tried to figure out just what he was trying to do.
"When you invade Cephiro, and if you become the pillar, what will happen to Fahren? Will you abandon it for Cephiro?" Eagle resisted the urge to smile. Checkmate. He thought in satisfaction.
"Why should I abandon Fahren? Even if I was the pillar?"
"If you let your heart turn elsewhere, focusing on something besides the welfare of Cephiro, then it will crumble and become as you see it today."
"…" Lady Aska nodded. "Very well, how much time will you give us to decide?"
"An hour." That should time it about right…Chizeta and Fahren will answer just about the same time. "But be warned. If you continue your attacks on Cephiro, then first, you must face Autozam," Eagle got up from the command chair and walked away from the bridge, leaving three stunned people behind him.
Zazu killed the online screen but kept the link with both the Dream Child and the Bravada. Wow! Eagle handled that last one nicely, no wonder his father the president wanted him to stay. He must be great in politics.
"Wasn't Eagle frightening when he said that?" He turned to Geo. Geo didn't answer, staring after Eagle with a disturbed expression on his face. "Geo?"
"He's hiding something from us," Geo's expression changed to a thoughtfully disturbed one.
"Huh?" Zazu couldn't fathom what Eagle would want, or need, to hide from them.
"Never mind lets check the weapons systems again." They went back to work, but Geo continued to wear a thoughtful look, long after Zazu had forgotten about it.
He smiled when that one princess from Chizeta asked him what exactly Autozam wanted from Cephiro. And if it was willing to give up a life for it. Why would he smile instead of answering? He is definitely hiding something, and I'm going to find out.
While Zazu left to get them something to eat, Geo carefully accessed the records of the crew.
"Get me Eagle's health records online in thirty minutes," he told the computer, glancing at his watch in the process. That should be right before he comes back to the bridge.
The crew was still making last minute checks half an hour later, but Geo managed to slip away from them to his own computer consul to check. It had finished downloading Eagle's data just moments before.
"Computer, please open…" Geo said quietly, and it was lucky that that he did so because Eagle had just walked in. Geo panicked and canceled the request, bringing up information about the weapons check so that Eagle wouldn't know what he had been doing.
"Are we all set?" Geo turned toward Eagle, and he saluted.
"Everything seems to be in order."
"Very good. Zazu, open communications with the Dream Child and the Bravada," Eagle looked up at the main screen.
Lady Aska of Fahren appeared first, looking thoughtful and completely serious.
"We will continue on to Cephiro," Eagle noted that she hadn't said that she still wanted to be the pillar and he smiled faintly.
"So will we." Chizeta was also online.
"I understand. Then, let us begin," all traces of a smile vanished from his face.
Hikaru watched as all three of the roads thundered downward into Cephiro's darkened skies.
"Here they come!" Umi shouted and they got into their separate attack positions, but Fuu had other ideas.
"Guardian Wind!" the protective shield rose to meet the roads. They halted for a moment and seemed to bunch up, then crashed right through.
Hikaru was about to use her fire magic when the Dream Child, Bravada, and NSX broke out of their respective roads. She targeted the NSX, confident that the FTO wouldn't be long in coming.
"Let me handle Eagle! I know his fighting style better than you," she yelled to her friends as, true to her guess, he appeared.
Immediately she went on the offensive, rushing forward before he could pinpoint who was where.
"Fire Arrow!" the flames shooting from her hands hurtled straight at Eagle. But before they could hit they were deflected by a shield that seemed to have been created by nothing in particular.
"Fuu?! Did you get what that was?" Hikaru asked over her shoulder, blocking a missile that Eagle had just fired at her with her sword, slicing it in half and moving away so as not to get hit with shrapnel.
"Yes! The shield seems to have been created by the small bee-like mechanisms swarming about the FTO," Fuu's calming voice helped Hikaru force down panic.
Now she merely dodged the missiles and other attacks he threw at her and concentrated solely on getting a lock on the tiny robots that flitted around Eagle.
"Scarlet Lightning!" The spell hit one and it blew up. Got you! But no matter how many she 'killed,' another was always there in its place. And now she had other worries.
The other countries had apparently recovered from the bumpy ride down and were now ready for battle.
Something akin to a huge fireball shot out from the Dream Child, making straight for the NSX. Eagle, however, was still in command of things.
"Fire the Ragna Cannon," in seconds a huge blast of energy clashed with the ball of fire, and dissipated it, then continued its destructive path. The resulting explosion rocked the red dragon ship and sent more pieces of metal whizzing in all directions, the Knights scrambled to avoid the larger chunks.
The Bravada, seeing the Dream Child take such a heavy hit, put up some sort of barrier; but that didn't last long against the onslaught of missiles that Eagle sent off in their direction.
Hikaru had zapped several of his little shield creators, but there were still a lot of them left.
"Fuu, Umi! Can you distract him for a moment?" she asked, edging in closer to the FTO while its attention was elsewhere.
"I guess so…" Fuu said, sounding rather unsure of herself.
"Well then? What are we waiting for?!" Umi asked, drawing Eagle's concentration away from them. "Water Dragon!"
"Green Whirlwind!" As the attacks flew at the FTO, Eagle turned so that Hikaru was to one side of him, watching her out of the corner of his eye. Nice try Eagle. But you expect me to use my magic don't you?
"Ice Blade!" Hikaru waited for the right moment. Now! She ran forward, charging him with her sword. I'll got you this time!
But even as she moved the FTO seemed to blur for a second, then disappear. What—!! Hikaru's surprised thought was interrupted by the sensation of being pulled into something. It's just like when I was pulled into the transmitter thing of his! But, Lantis picked mine up! How could Eagle—?!
Chapter 9: Summoning Flames
Primera was strangely silent as Lantis watched Mokona's jewel change colors, shifting from a fiery red into the muddy sable color of spilled blood. It seemed to Lantis that some one was speaking from a great distance, trying to make him hear. He strained his hearing, not quite able to understand the words.
It took him a moment but at last they rang clear in his mind. When he found he could hear them he also thought he saw a half-formed picture in Mokona's jewel.
"How dare Eagle? I would have told them in my own time, my own way! What right does he have to interfere anymore than he has?" Hikaru's angry voice asked him. In Mokona's picture he saw her with her head bowed, fist clenched around the letter from Eagle.
"How could he? I've no doubt he feels responsible for it, but can't he leave well enough alone?"
"Yes, but were you really going to tell them? You know that you were considering 'leaving well enough alone' and— " Another voice broke in, still sounding like Hikaru, but slightly calmer and less angry, sounding more reasonable and collected, and self-righteous.
"Who wouldn't?" The first voice broke in, now sounding even angrier.
"Ah, I forgot. Real Magic Knights don't get themselves captured and get amnesia. Forgive me for hurting your pride," The second voice now took on a slightly mocking cast, daring the other to disagree. There was a slight pause.
"You're right. I was thinking more of my pride than of my friends," Lantis decided that listening to someone argue with herself was unnerving at best and frightening at worst. "But Eagle still has no justification for what he just did!"
"Maybe not, but— What are you doing?!" Lantis saw the note catch fire and burn, not even touching Hikaru. His blue eyes narrowed, thinking.
"Nothing, I think that was the magic reacting to our emotions," here the first voice sounded decidedly smug.
"You used magic to burn a note! Why?" The other voice, sounding scandalized shouted at the smug one.
"I didn't mean to! It was an accident. Although, that does look kind of interesting, I mean, how many times do you get to see a piece of paper burn in your hand and not get hurt yourself?"
"Never mind, just don't do it again," here voice two, who Lantis called reason, sounded exasperated.
"I won't! Promise!" Voice one, emotion, as Lantis thought of it now, sounded happy to have gotten so lightly off. "But what do we do about Eagle?"
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
"But— What was that?" Emotion didn't get a chance to finish.
1 "Sounds like Mokona…"
2
3 The voices stopped and the picture of Hikaru looking up at what must have been Mokona vanished, leaving Lantis back in his room, staring at the fuzzy creature.
"What was that all about?" the castle shuddered and Lantis turned to look out his window. "We're under attack!"
"Puu!" Mokona jumped up and down in front of him, holding something small and dark in its paw.
* * *
"Magic Knights. The enemy once again approaches Cephiro," Celece's voice broke into the respective musings and thoughts of the three girls.
Three blades were drawn and the Mashin suddenly appeared above the castle.
"Rayearth!" "Celece!" "Windam!" The Spirits immediately soared forward, ready for battle.
Eagle was getting annoyed, although he took pains not to show it. Fahren's princess, a little girl who seemed to be no more that eleven and no less than nine, was distinctly stubborn and unyielding in her instance that she was right.
He had found out what the people of Chizeta wanted, the two young women from there had been perfectly straightforward. He had, however, given them something to consider as well.
Since they wanted to have Cephiro for a colony of sorts, they also wanted the Cephirans there. But, if they tried to land on Cephiro, there might be battle and they could end up killing most of the people now that they had all retreated into the castle. They had then asked for time to think and he had given them an hour and a half.
Now Eagle was about ready to yell with frustration, the child was unwilling to get past her own needs and wants to the larger picture, with someone like that for a pillar then the Magic Knights would be summoned within a week.
I wonder… suddenly he hit on perhaps the way to make her see how risky becoming the pillar was.
"Lady Aska, if you do invade and conquer Cephiro, what happens to Fahren, your own country?" Eagle watched as confusion clouded the eyes of the younger leader.
"I- I do not understand the question," her voice calmed as she tried to figure out just what he was trying to do.
"When you invade Cephiro, and if you become the pillar, what will happen to Fahren? Will you abandon it for Cephiro?" Eagle resisted the urge to smile. Checkmate. He thought in satisfaction.
"Why should I abandon Fahren? Even if I was the pillar?"
"If you let your heart turn elsewhere, focusing on something besides the welfare of Cephiro, then it will crumble and become as you see it today."
"…" Lady Aska nodded. "Very well, how much time will you give us to decide?"
"An hour." That should time it about right…Chizeta and Fahren will answer just about the same time. "But be warned. If you continue your attacks on Cephiro, then first, you must face Autozam," Eagle got up from the command chair and walked away from the bridge, leaving three stunned people behind him.
Zazu killed the online screen but kept the link with both the Dream Child and the Bravada. Wow! Eagle handled that last one nicely, no wonder his father the president wanted him to stay. He must be great in politics.
"Wasn't Eagle frightening when he said that?" He turned to Geo. Geo didn't answer, staring after Eagle with a disturbed expression on his face. "Geo?"
"He's hiding something from us," Geo's expression changed to a thoughtfully disturbed one.
"Huh?" Zazu couldn't fathom what Eagle would want, or need, to hide from them.
"Never mind lets check the weapons systems again." They went back to work, but Geo continued to wear a thoughtful look, long after Zazu had forgotten about it.
He smiled when that one princess from Chizeta asked him what exactly Autozam wanted from Cephiro. And if it was willing to give up a life for it. Why would he smile instead of answering? He is definitely hiding something, and I'm going to find out.
While Zazu left to get them something to eat, Geo carefully accessed the records of the crew.
"Get me Eagle's health records online in thirty minutes," he told the computer, glancing at his watch in the process. That should be right before he comes back to the bridge.
The crew was still making last minute checks half an hour later, but Geo managed to slip away from them to his own computer consul to check. It had finished downloading Eagle's data just moments before.
"Computer, please open…" Geo said quietly, and it was lucky that that he did so because Eagle had just walked in. Geo panicked and canceled the request, bringing up information about the weapons check so that Eagle wouldn't know what he had been doing.
"Are we all set?" Geo turned toward Eagle, and he saluted.
"Everything seems to be in order."
"Very good. Zazu, open communications with the Dream Child and the Bravada," Eagle looked up at the main screen.
Lady Aska of Fahren appeared first, looking thoughtful and completely serious.
"We will continue on to Cephiro," Eagle noted that she hadn't said that she still wanted to be the pillar and he smiled faintly.
"So will we." Chizeta was also online.
"I understand. Then, let us begin," all traces of a smile vanished from his face.
Hikaru watched as all three of the roads thundered downward into Cephiro's darkened skies.
"Here they come!" Umi shouted and they got into their separate attack positions, but Fuu had other ideas.
"Guardian Wind!" the protective shield rose to meet the roads. They halted for a moment and seemed to bunch up, then crashed right through.
Hikaru was about to use her fire magic when the Dream Child, Bravada, and NSX broke out of their respective roads. She targeted the NSX, confident that the FTO wouldn't be long in coming.
"Let me handle Eagle! I know his fighting style better than you," she yelled to her friends as, true to her guess, he appeared.
Immediately she went on the offensive, rushing forward before he could pinpoint who was where.
"Fire Arrow!" the flames shooting from her hands hurtled straight at Eagle. But before they could hit they were deflected by a shield that seemed to have been created by nothing in particular.
"Fuu?! Did you get what that was?" Hikaru asked over her shoulder, blocking a missile that Eagle had just fired at her with her sword, slicing it in half and moving away so as not to get hit with shrapnel.
"Yes! The shield seems to have been created by the small bee-like mechanisms swarming about the FTO," Fuu's calming voice helped Hikaru force down panic.
Now she merely dodged the missiles and other attacks he threw at her and concentrated solely on getting a lock on the tiny robots that flitted around Eagle.
"Scarlet Lightning!" The spell hit one and it blew up. Got you! But no matter how many she 'killed,' another was always there in its place. And now she had other worries.
The other countries had apparently recovered from the bumpy ride down and were now ready for battle.
Something akin to a huge fireball shot out from the Dream Child, making straight for the NSX. Eagle, however, was still in command of things.
"Fire the Ragna Cannon," in seconds a huge blast of energy clashed with the ball of fire, and dissipated it, then continued its destructive path. The resulting explosion rocked the red dragon ship and sent more pieces of metal whizzing in all directions, the Knights scrambled to avoid the larger chunks.
The Bravada, seeing the Dream Child take such a heavy hit, put up some sort of barrier; but that didn't last long against the onslaught of missiles that Eagle sent off in their direction.
Hikaru had zapped several of his little shield creators, but there were still a lot of them left.
"Fuu, Umi! Can you distract him for a moment?" she asked, edging in closer to the FTO while its attention was elsewhere.
"I guess so…" Fuu said, sounding rather unsure of herself.
"Well then? What are we waiting for?!" Umi asked, drawing Eagle's concentration away from them. "Water Dragon!"
"Green Whirlwind!" As the attacks flew at the FTO, Eagle turned so that Hikaru was to one side of him, watching her out of the corner of his eye. Nice try Eagle. But you expect me to use my magic don't you?
"Ice Blade!" Hikaru waited for the right moment. Now! She ran forward, charging him with her sword. I'll got you this time!
But even as she moved the FTO seemed to blur for a second, then disappear. What—!! Hikaru's surprised thought was interrupted by the sensation of being pulled into something. It's just like when I was pulled into the transmitter thing of his! But, Lantis picked mine up! How could Eagle—?!