~Remember I don't own Escaflowne or its characters!~
~Here's another chapter for you to enjoy. Hope you like it and please remember to review after! Please!!!!~
The Fate of Two Worlds: The Sequel
By Angel_Wings
Chapter 9 ~ Chaos
~~~Skies of Gaea~~~
Van's snowy wings beat furiously in his hard effort to gain more altitude. Wisps of his feathers were flung into the air and the wind caught them with gentle ease. The king's eyes of fire narrowed from the rush of wind flying into his rubies. His blue scarab lazily tapped against the side of his leg as he flew reminding him it was there ready for battle. All he could think about as his raven hair whipped around his face was his beloved. Her face lingered on his worried mind and her smile was torture to his heart. Was she alright?… That's all he could think… Was she alright?… Silently he vowed if any harm came to her he would bring down his fury on whoever did so.
With the grace of a bird the angel king flew in a vertical ascent to the skies above. His senses flowed from him as he desperately tried to sense for his wife amongst the clouds. If she was dead he would have known when he felt nothing from her. The barest awareness was all he needed to feel to give him the comfort he needed. Smiling in relief Van felt his senses brush against Hitomi's showing she was still alive. However when he felt her it sent a wave of fear through his body. He could sense the fear and horror roaring from her soul. Something was wrong… Like a knight on a white horse the man pulled all the remaining energy stored in his body into quickening his flight. He vowed always to protect her and was not about to break such a promise now.
Unfortunately he had so busy worrying about Hitomi he never noticed the fast approaching form
coming from above. By the time Van saw the dark figure coming he was too late. The demon rammed his fist into the royal's abdomen making the man double over and halt in mid-flight. Just as quickly as he had delivered the punch the cloaked being got behind the angel man and placed him in a iron-hold headlock. Van clawed at his captor's arm trying in vain to pull away the rough limb. Angrily the royal growled, "Who are you?!"
A dark sneer was visible in the moonlight although Van was incapable of looking upon it. In a voice of the dead the demon hissed, "Let's just say… I am old friend coming to finish what I didn't get a chance to do a year ago…"
Van's ruby eyes grew wide as he realized he knew that voice. It was voice he had thought twice he would never hear again. The first time had been just after the 'Great War' and the second time was after the 'Sacrifice'. That voice was a nightmare to all who heard it and was a torment to all who were victims of such for the twisted voice was forever imprinted in their minds. The horror flying through the angel's blood only allowed him to speak a single word. Luckily all Van needed was one word…
"Dilandau?…" the king muttered in a shocked voice. Van's attempt's to pull away the arm under his chin faltered for the moment as reality sank into the angel's mind.
The being gave a low dead chuckle in his prisoner's ear, "Correct… I have return for the second time, Van… Perhaps my body is slightly altered and I hold powers I never before possess, but my soul is the same… I am the same Dilandau that destroyed your precious kingdom four years ago… and I am the same Dilandau that help in the murder of your wife over a year ago…"
Images of the past flowed through both fighters' minds. Scenes of burning buildings and smoke curling into the air polluted their thoughts. Corpses spewed over scorched earth with the smell of death hindered their movements. Such horrible memories…
At the mention of his wife Van again tried to struggle away from the murder's grip, but the dark being's arm held firm. Growing annoyed by the man's disrupting actions Dilandau dug his knee into the angel's lower spine immobilizing him. Grinding his teeth in pain Van hissed in a breath of air. Meanwhile the old dragon slayer continued his speech. In a hollow voice of darkness the killer growled, "Years ago I was weak, but now I am more than a match for you, Fanel. Today your love will die with you shortly following. Then those two foolish warriors will perish along with the other guardians and the whole Draconian race! And you -- you, King Van Fanel-- are incapable of saving them! Admit it, Van… You've lost!"
Life sparked in the king's dark rubies and one of his hands slipped from the black arm of scales to drift down to his belt. With deep vengeance dripping in his voice Van hissed, "No, Dilandau! I believe you've lost!"
Grabbing the hilt of his sword the White Dragon swiftly drew his blade and stabbed the slayer in his side. Dilandau roared in pain and reared back his head causing his hood to fly off and reveal the hidden horror beneath the black garment. A face very familiar from the past was littered with black scales that ran over most of his brow and the left side of his face. Silver locks fell over the dragon skin in what might have been considered a beautiful flow if it had not been for the identity of the twisted being who held the features. Eyes of burning violet were closed shut at the moment because of the anguish within the demon, but usually the lavender jewels were always gleaming with the desire of plunder and death. With his mouth wide open in a painful howl the demon beast's rows of fangs flashed in the moonlight.
Dilandau's hold slacked off during his moment of suffering and Van hastily stole the moment to escape the dark creature's clutches. The young king didn't waste a second after he had released himself from the headlock to pull out his black stained sword and start flying towards his love. Putting all his energy into the vertical climb the raven king flew towards his angel while desperately hoping she was alright and that he would be able to make it to her in time. Glancing over his shoulder Van noticed Dilandau's close pursuit and knew he could not escape him. He didn't care though… All that matter was getting to Hitomi… With a burst of energy Van quicken his speed…
~~~Guardians~~~
Sian gasped in horror as she saw the light begin to glow between the demon's fingers and claws. Her queen froze like a statue as the light grew and a mysterious wind of power swirled around the two leaders of opposite sides making their clothes and hair ruffle. The green maiden stared at the scene remembering how Sukai had died from the same attack. Poor guardian, she had no way of getting to her mistress. The demons' grips were like steel and as rough as a dragon. Never before had she ever felt such strength from beings, though she had to remind herself these were not ordinary beings; they had been brought back from the dead with dark powers of the Demon King himself. Growling in growing frustration Sian doubled her efforts to escape her captors while Nembus did the same. Neither was willing to give in just yet, but they both knew their actions would be fruitless. Their queen, in their eyes, had yet to fallen, but they could tell she would soon… and before they could ever reach her…
~~~Hitomi~~~
She didn't know what to do… Her mind felt like it froze along with her body… Around her the world was deaf to her ears and her senses no longer appeared to work… Her emerald eyes could barely focus on the being that towered before her making him a dark blur in her sights. Hitomi was vaguely able to distinguish Dornkirk in his dark shadow-like form. His body mingled with the scarlet light that blinded her already undistinguishable sight and made it impossible to make heads-or-tails of what she was seeing.
She was however aware of her feelings, at least that much was still intact. When I say feelings I do not speak of the senses or awarenesses the seeress feels, but the emotions that all beings feel within their souls. Hitomi could feel her powers, her essence, being dragged away from her body. Desperately the seeress clasped onto the marrow of her powers trying to keep it from being stolen from her, but she continued to feel the same pull slowly taking away what she held deep within. Survival instincts started to roar in her royal blood screaming at her to fight back,… but how?…
Her body was completely immobile and her powers unusable. How was she to survive when she had no way of defending herself… Her child… What of her child?… With her death came with it the death of child,… along with the deaths of her friends and family… Without her no one would be able to defend all of Gaea… She was the eighth guardian and final protector of this beautiful world… No one could stop Dornkirk except herself… If she died her people would die… her loved ones… her husband… Van…
Her death would cause the chain reaction in destroying all she knew and loved. Her life held not only her people, her child, her friends, or her angel in the balance, but it also held all of Gaea. Dornkirk would easily take over the planet of dreams in a few days and then destruction would reign down for centuries upon centuries! She didn't know how, but she couldn't allow this to happen!
Slowly a spark began to glow in the center of her being like warm coals. It was the same feeling that she had felt earlier with Ana had attacked her. Involuntarily Hitomi grasped hold of the power and it gradually began to grow in warmth. Soon the power began to blaze within her like an internal inferno searing her soul with its flames. Slowly Hitomi's hands began to move from her sides in a shaky motion undetected by her adversary. Dornkirk was too busy draining the seeress powers to notice her movement. He was becoming all too aware of his progressing transfer when he saw the queen's wings dull in light. Hitomi's wings no longer glowed, but stood there like a regular pair of bird's wings. Meanwhile the royal angel forced the power within her to grow,… but her hands would not move any more… They shook violently trying to move where they laid frozen, only a yard away from Dornkirk's arms. Hitomi struggled with the powers as they fluctuated from the transfer…
Grinding her teeth together the seeress became determined to escape his clutches. Images of her love ones flashed before her eyes and with each person she saw her hands moved an inch closer to the two limbs shrouded in ebony clothing. Even with that small movement closer to her goal Hitomi was still a foot and a half from Dornkirk's arms. With her vision growing worse, Hitomi knew her time was short. She began to think about other times she had become so enrage her emotions had taken over. If she could just have a moment of rage… perhaps it would be enough to give her the strength to stop Dornkirk's transfer.
Quickly Hitomi focused on memories of the past. An image of a boy with short sandy hair grinned at her from the depths of her mind. She remembered the time she had punched the high school boy…
A glimmer of warmth…
Hitomi remembered the time she had fought the gargoyle to save both hers and Merle's life. Red coal-like eyes gleamed at her and roars filled her head at the memory…
Another slight glimmer… the fire became as large as a flame on a candle…
The moment when she had attacked Ana flashed before her mind suddenly… The white energy that had surrounded her licked her soul searing it with its unbearable heat…
The fire glowed brighter… becoming as large as a torch…
Images of the Mystic Moon being completely obliterated flung themselves against her mind. Hundreds of faces screamed at her in fear and pain moments before the planet was destroyed….
Hissing loudly the flame within her heart grew to a small bonfire,… but it still wasn't enough…
A final image played in the seeress mind and with it came the worst memory she could ever remembered…
~~~Memory~~~
Weakly he smiled up at his fiancé and brought a bloody hand to her cheek smearing more blood on her face, but the girl didn't even noticed. The king soon became all too aware of the pain searing through his body. Wincing a little he began to check himself over while he still looked into those green depths. His leg hurt tremendously and he was sure he couldn't move it. His left arm felt like it was on fire and his insides were hissing in anguish. The taste of blood filled his mouth and ran over his tongue as he realized he was not getting enough precious air into his lungs. Cold fear gripped his soul as he realized he was dying. He had learned from experience in battle that once a warrior had blood dripping from his mouth it usually meant death was soon to fall upon the man.
Trying his best to hide the fact from his beloved he forced his smile to widen. The tears in her eyes tore at him... She already knew the truth... Hitomi brushed away his stiff bangs to better see his eyes.
"Why did you do that?" she whispered as she tried to keep her voice from
breaking.
Van felt himself falling into a pit of darkness, but he struggled to hold onto the moment for a second longer. If he was to leave this blessed world than he wanted to say his goodbye to his true love before he went to the afterlife.
Looking deep into her eyes he whispered, "I had to... I couldn't let you
die..."
Tears of emeralds fell down the angel woman's pale cheeks as she whispered, "So you try to kill yourself..." The angel king was going to say something, but the brunette girl beat him to it.
"Well Van Fanel, I am not letting you get out of this marriage!" she did her best to joke in hope of somehow lighting the mood,... but the cold sadness within her voice was easily noticed by them both. They both couldn't deny the deadly fact. It was something they couldn't go around. The dragon king could feel his soul slipping away, but he held onto the last strain of his life. He had to talk to her one last time...
The young royal could barely feel his own tears falling down his tan skin as he hoarsely whispered, "I want you to know, Hitomi, that I love you and that I hope you'll live a long life--"
"No!" she whispered harshly cutting off his words. With a determined voice she cried, "Don't think like that! You won't die! You hear me! You will not die!"
Her pale fingers dug into his shoulders as though if she were to let go he would leave forever. Van could see the emotional battle going on her mind by looking into her glittering tears. A new fear swelled into his soul as he saw one of her pale hand reach for her pendant.
Holding it in front of her over his chest she whispered, "I can save you..."
Closing her eyes she used her senses to unlock the awesome power. With unknown strength the man grabbed the red stone away and clutched it against his bloody shirt, "No, Hitomi..."
Snapping her emeralds open the seeress tried desperately to take the item back, but his words stopped her, "No... If you do it again you'll surely die..." The boy of stiff raven locks looked deep into her eyes, "I couldn't live with myself if you gave your life for mine..."
Her fingers loosen their grip on his firm fist as she felt dread sink into her mind. He was willing to die for her. She didn't want to let go of him... The angel woman placed both of her hands on his bloody cheeks and looked into his rubies as she whispered, "But I could not live with myself if I didn't even try..."
Van bit his lower lip as he realized she would do it no matter what. If she got hold of the stone she would die for him. The thoughts within his mind slowed as he felt the strength left in him being sucked out of his body. He decided he could do only one thing...
"I ask this of you..." he whispered as his voice began to fade, "Respect my dying wish and do not try to save my life…"
Hitomi shook her head violently causing her dusty locks of silk to swirl. Her voice was full of pain, but it was strong as she said, "No, Van! I won't--"
His other tan hand went to her face and both of his palms took hold of her cheeks stopping the motion of her head. With a deep voice he shouted loudly, "Promise me!"
Looking in those sharp eyes of burning flames that she loved so much she felt her world crumble. She wanted to shun him for what he was asking. He was commanding her not to save himself and let him slip into death... But how could she?!... He was her love... her friend... her spirit... her air... her LIFE!!!... What he was asking of her was impossible!...
Tears welled into her eyes as she tried a final time to tear away the red stone from his firm clutches, but in vain. His fingers had a deadly hold over the ancient red teardrop. His eyes that were beginning to dull pleaded to her to give up the futile attempts. Looking into his eyes she broke down and fell onto his chest shoving her face into his bloody shirt.
His arms weakly wound around her as she sobbed into his tan flesh. Ruby eyes slid close as he whispered lovingly into her ruffled hair, "When you sing the song I sung to you... the night I ask you to marry me... remember me... I will always remember you..."
A peace formed in the angel king's eyes as he looked into his lover's emeralds, "I'll always be with you, my love…"
The girl brought her cheek up to his trying to always remember the feel of his warmth. Silently the angel sobbed as her only love began to drift into death. With his last moment of life he brought her face to his and kissed her for his last time. Hitomi wounded her arms around his neck as their eyes closed letting the kiss deepen... but the affectionate touch held no joy for it was the last time they would have this chance of bliss... The seeress felt her love break the kiss... far too soon... and upon opening her eyes she saw his rubies had closed forever... The man's soul had left the world around him and now he laid in the realm of the dead...
Tears spilled from the seeress's eyes as she laid her cheek against his chest in blind hope to hear a heartbeat. No sound was heard except deadly silence. Her hands stroked his body in search of warmth, but his tan skin was already growing cold. She lifted her head of silky locks from his chest and stroked his face with her hands in a finally attempt in search of hidden life. With overwhelming sadness the seeress pulled her pale hands away from his already battered face as fresh tears washed down her face.
His bloody hand that had clutched so firmly on his only chance of life had fallen limp to the ground revealing the red drop of blood. Grief filled the last of her soul as her pale fingers slowly took the pendant. She bowed her head as she squeezed the jewel in her fingers as her soul gave out into anguish.
Turning her emeralds of sparkling woe towards her lover's dead face she almost felt anger for him. If he had only let her have the pendant perhaps she would have been able to save him... regardless of the fact that she would have sacrifice her own life for his... It was too late now though for the damage was done and she could not heal wounds like these... Death was a disease she could not even hope to cure...
As the terrible emotion raked her body she flung her face towards the sky and shouted a single word, "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"
~~~End of Memory~~~
That's all Hitomi needed to send her emotions over the edge. Her heart flared powerfully at the sudden remembrance of the horrible scene. Rage, anguish, and grief took hold of her soul and soon the fire within her enveloped every single nerve of her body. Soon… Hitomi was lost again in her own powers…
Like before Hitomi's brow began to glow a pearly hue and slowly white lines rippled across her skin. In a matter of seconds the emblem of the Draconians shone on the seeress's forehead in all its glory dazzling in power. Dornkirk was shocked with the sudden glow and stared at it the moment it appeared. Taking the emotions that took her soul Hitomi brought her arms up and knocked the demon's hold off her face. Surprised by this the dark leader staggered backwards a few feet in the air. He growled in annoyance and went to lunge back at the seeress, but was halted by what he saw…
~~~Van~~~
The raven headed king could feel her thunderously now. At first her awareness had been a small whisper, but then, all of a sudden, her existence roared into life like a storm. The sudden change caught Van off guard, but it did not falter his flight, only quicken it. Without thinking about the pursuer behind him the royal plunge through a mass of clouds and found himself on the other side of the white mists. Halting to float at the same level as the others the mist of bluish-white tint swirled around the royal angel's body. The ebony haired king automatically found his wife and had to gape at what he saw…
~~~Guardians~~~
Nembus and Sian froze in their struggles as they watched their mistress. Their eyes of black and silver grew wide in awe as their clothes and hair fluttered in the wind that began to roar around them. The demons were no better for they too were frozen at the sight that laid before them.
~~~Hitomi~~~
The seeress hands lifted to the heavens and her knees bent slightly as her wings were still. Her short brown hair whirled about in all directions and her clothes rustled at the force of air. The Draconian emblem burned brighter than ever sending a white glow all around the group. Hitomi's green eyes turned completely white with no pupils to hinder the colorless orbs. Clouds rammed into each other and golden lightning streaked across the sky. The bolts of electricity ran through the air and hit the seeress several times, but the angel queen did not flinch. The golden spears from the thunderclouds ran over the seeress's body like water and showed the woman was immune to its tortures. Gradually the wind increased and began to blow with such fierceness that the flyers of occupying the night sky could barely hold their positions.
Dornkirk lifted an arm against the raging winds in hope to give himself some protection though it was hopeless efforts. The man glared over at the angel queen in anger and shouted, "Blast you, 'Seeress'!"
As if the wind had heard the curse it suddenly roared into a rage so powerful it formed a living tornado. No one was able to hold their positions any longer and soon the group of virtuous and malevolence were scattered into the wind tunnel. The guardians were thrown from their captors' holds and then tossed into the grips of another, the tornado's. The angels and demons were tossed around like rag dolls while in the center stood the seeress untouched except for the fact her clothes and hair were tossed around violently as the wind stole a few feathers from the queen's white wings. All tried to fly through the violent current of air, but to no avail. The wind was so powerful that it would strike their wings in such a way that they would cave in and forced back to the sides of its master.
Sian struggled again and again to get her wings to glide, but no matter how much effort she put into her goal the wings would slam back against her back and force her to continue her tumble through the tornado. Finding there was no hope in flying the woman looked around for her friends and spotted the armored warrior. He too was in the same predicament as she was tumbling about like there was no tomorrow. Locking her jaw the green maiden stretched out her hand to her comrade against the powerful force of air. Her long braid swung around her head during the moment and slapped her in the face, but she shook off the stinging sensation quickly. Urgently the warrior called out to her fellow angel, "Nembus, give me your hand!"
The purple guardian did his best to slow his tumble and also struggled to stretch forth his hand to her. For several minutes the two whirled around each other with their hands more than once barely brushing each other. Nembus growled in frustration as he grabbed the pale hand of his friend only to have it slip from his grasp. Neither refused to give up though for it was not in their blood to quit. They continued to reach out for one another coming more than once close to grabbing the other's hand only to be pulled out of reach suddenly or having their grip not firm enough to keep.
Somehow Sian finally got a hold of the armored angel's hand and quickly took it in her other hand as well. Nembus, just as quickly, clasped his free hand over hers and soon they began to tumble together lost in the currents. In the mist of their tumbles the green warrior looked up into her friend's face and caught, for a fraction of a second, the gaze of her old comrade. His bottomless eyes stared deep into her until their movements caused him to break the stare.
Van, on the other hand, was doing no better. He did not try to stop himself from tumbling. He tried to get to Hitomi. Again and again he went to the center of the tornado only to have himself tossed back farther into the currents of air as if the area was off-limits. Not willing to give up just yet the king dove for the center again several more times only to find his attempts to be the same, fruitless. It was torture to him. He could see Hitomi as plain as day before him, but the invisible wind refused to allow him to go to her. She stood, but a few yards away yet he was unable to get even within arms reach of her. Desperately he called out to his beloved, "HITOMI!"
Sadly the seeress could not hear or see anything that was happening around her. All she could make out was the pain stabbing in her chest. It was like a hot slab of metal had been embedded directly into the center of her chest and with the barest movement horrible anguish would erupt from the torturous feeling. With each breath she took the pain grew worse and more intense along with the gradually growth of the tornado's strength. Hitomi desperately tried to look around, but the horrible torments racking her body kept her from focusing. She felt as if she was falling into an endless pit of anguish that struck her from all sides and seeped into her chest. Her powers were in chaos just like the time she had called upon the power of the Atlantians,… but it had never reacted in this way... The struggle had been with her and had never gone beyond that. It had never inflicted troubles on anyone else except those who had helped her. Now her powers were doing the same thing as before, but they were also going against everyone around her as well. She had to stop it,… but she didn't know how. Her rage still flowed in her veins and she knew that as long as she held that emotion within, her powers would never recede.
Hitomi had to do something and now, before anything happened to her friends! Dornkirk… She had to get Dornkirk away… She could use the blue pillar of light… She had done it before. Well she sort of used the pillar. She hadn't known exactly what she had been doing, but she had manage to bring the shafts down from the heavens and move the Draconians to Fanelia. However another problem arose with this decision: where could she send Dornkirk and his followers? She couldn't send them anywhere there might be people because they might hurt them or possible even destroy them. She couldn't send them to the desert, ice land, or sea either because Draconian villages were there… so where? An image of Sian's village flashed before Hitomi's mind and the royal would have smiled if she had the strength. With the town already destroyed there would be no one to be placed in danger. It was perfect. Struggling with the chaos Hitomi focused on the eight dark beings. Like before the 'Angel' felt her powers fly towards the beings and swoop them up.
The pillars came and left so quickly that no one had time to really react to the mystical transport. Eight blue shafts descended from the sky in a single swept lifting eight cloaked beings into the stars. Dornkirk snapped his head around as he saw the sapphire color swim before his eyes. His eyes sparked in rage. He was being taken away from his victims! His revenge was being wrenched from his grasped! Fire sparked in his dark orbs as he reared his head back and roared in pure fury,… just as the pillars of light stole them into the heavens…
At the sudden disappearances of the demons Hitomi felt her power plummet to nothing, along with the emotions that had clashed within her soul. The wind died and the three other angels suddenly had to beat their wings furiously to stay aloft. Slowly Hitomi's brown hair settled down and her clothes became silent. Her eyes gradually turned back to their normal forest green color and her brow dimmed to its normal hue. Weaken from the whole ordeal Hitomi's eyes rolled into the back of her head and the royal fell backwards down towards the planet below unconscious.
Upon seeing his wife's fall, Van swiftly went into a dive after the woman with the two guardians close behind. It took only a few moments for the man to catch up with his wife and take her into her arms. Though Hitomi was heavier than normal because of her pregnancy the young angel king was somehow manage to carry his precious bundle alone securely in his tan arms. Slowly the four angels descended in hoping not to awake the slumbering queen. As they floated downwards the guardians could see the figure of the cat-advisor running from a clove of tree. Reaching the clearing of deep green grass Merle began waving her arms towards the group to grab their attention. Nembus smiled down at the cat-girl before glancing over at his fellow warrior with an old look Sian had not seen in a long time. The armored warrior however quickly turned away forcing his eyes back on the three companions that had come with his the green maiden. Sian smiled softly before also turning her attention to her rulers and their advisor.
Meanwhile Van was lost in his own world completely oblivious to his three friends. All he could see was his angel's serene face sleeping peaceful. A soft rosy tint flushed Hitomi's cheeks and her silky locks of brunette repeatedly fluttered upwards from their descent. If his hands were not occupied in carry the woman in his arms Van would have ideally brushed away the seeress's bangs from her closed eyes like he often did. Being unable to do so the man did what he usually did when he did that action. In a sweet voice only loud enough for his wife to be able to hear (if she could have) Van whispered, "Hitomi…"
~~~Fanelia~~~
Mamoru sat up in bed all of sudden pushing the light covers off his body. The youth's eyes were wide and wild as he looked around the room frantically. Gradually he slowed his rapid breathing and realized he was in his own room. Bringing his hand to his brow he felt sweat drenching his forehead. Wiping most of it off with the back of his hand the prince tried to remember what he had been dreaming that had startled him from his sleep. The images were very fuzzy in his mind. All he could remember were colors really, whiteness mingling with a blackness… no… there had been someone… someone dark surrounded by redness before the scarlet turned white… Rage… he remembered feeling overwhelming rage and anger,… but why?…
Feeling uneasiness take over his body the prince knew sleep was impossible for the night and thus slowly rose from his bed. Dressed in white pants and shirt the angel boy walked across the marble floor in bare feet. With no expression on his face Mamoru stepped to the double glass doors that laid open to his balcony. The thin white see-through curtains rippled with the breeze and brushed against his ankles, but he was unaware of this. Tenderly he stepped into the moonlight and made his way to the beautiful railing of his enclosure. His pale fingers ran over the glorious blue and white marble feeling the cool stone beneath his skin. Bringing his eyes of chestnut to the starry night the wind teased his hair.
Quietly the boy whispered into the wind, "Hitomi…"
The world was silent and spoke no response except for the sound of bird wings flapping overhead. Mamoru scanned the skies hopefully forgetting his prior thoughts of his sister. In the vastness of the sky the boy spotted several small forms soaring in the stars. At the sight of those figures the prince quickly discarded his shirt letting it fall to a heap on the balcony's floor. Flinching, but a moment the prince unfurled his white wings allowing white feathers to slip to the marble as they glowed brightly. With his wingspan being over twice the length of his height the boy found the small balcony to be too crowded and swiftly lofted himself onto the railing. Mamoru slightly hunched forward to jump into the air when he stopped.
Looking back into his room the royal youth wondered if it was wise to leave the castle. Though it was late at night and he surely doubted anyone would come to his room he had to remind himself he was the acting ruler of this country. To just get up and leave without anyone knowing was probably not the best idea. Glancing back at the sky the boy wondered however if anyone knew yet that he 'was' the acting ruler.
Though they had been given a great number of Draconians to suddenly care for he and the rest of the group of nobles and warriors had been able to keep the matter a secret. With the only guards on the roof and castle grounds bringing the people into the infirmary without anyone knowing had been a pretty easy job. It seemed none of the guards had seen the light, or perhaps it had been so quick that the group believed the guards might have thought they imagined it, on both times. Either way no soldiers had run up to the royal gardens and disturbed the group. Millerina automatically ordered the Draconians needed to be brought to the infirmary. Quickly and quietly the group began to bring the angels to the ward. Chid and Mamoru handled carrying the children while Allen, Resshi, Amano, Celena, and Dryden could each take a single Draconian in their arms. However the redheaded angel and royal doctor were forced to carry a single victim between them seeing that either were unable to carry one by herself. Slowly after a half an hour of work all of the Draconians had been secretly brought in.
However there was still much to do. Quickly the sunshine haired queen looked over the people one by one checking over their injuries. Only a fourth of the winged group needed serious medical attention; all others were tended by the rest of the nobles and warriors by listening to Millerina's instructions carefully as the doctor continued to examine the victims. Finally after another hour of labor the work was done leaving the ward completely filled with injured angels.
It had been decided shortly after the whole mess that they should all go to their rooms to rest seeing that tomorrow would be extremely busy explaining to both, the advisors and the new arrivals, the situation. Not to mention the fact they would need to find places to put the angels. They couldn't keep the Draconians in the infirmary for long because sooner or later new arrivals would come and they too would probably need medical attention. If they didn't get any sleep none of them would be able to handle the stress of tomorrow. So it had been decided and thus the group separated to their rooms leaving the three bodyguards to stay within the infirmary. Because they could not leave the Draconians fearing one might wake to the nightmare of not knowing where they were and because the warriors also needed their sleep the three bodyguards volunteered to sleep in the last remaining infirmary beds. Perhaps they were not watching over the angels with eyes open, but being highly trained to sleep lightly in case of being attacked while slumbering they would know immediately when one of the Draconians woke.
Glancing back into his room the prince shrugged off his worries and beat his wings. He needed to rest his weary mind, but not with sleep, with ease. His fears of tomorrow responsibilities he needed to escape… just for a short while at least… Soaring upward the air riffled his pants making them ripple like water. With the ease of a bird the boy lofted into the clouds. The figures above grew closer and soon their forms could be made out.
As a beam of moonlight graze over the beings the prince could see the familiar shapes of the beings called pegasuses. Slowly the youth glided next to the 'flock' of winged horses that were counted to be at least half a dozen. The lead stallion glanced at the royal angel before neighing a small welcome. Mamoru gave a soft smile as he settled himself in the center of the group. A small pair of twin fillies came along side the boy and began to nip at his bare sides making him laugh. Mamoru had often flown with the creatures before and several of their kind had come to welcome the youth's presence. The prince merely flew with the pegasuses for the sheer joy and rarely got to see the creatures outside of their joined flights. Sleep or duties would always call him back and thus he never truly got to become close friends with the beings though at heart they already were.
Glancing around the group Mamoru tried to look for familiar faces. The twin fillies were well known to him seeing that he had played chase with them several times in the clouds. One was of royal blue splattered with silver specks. White and silver strains erupted from its mane and tail with its hooves gleaming silver. Silver and royal blue feathers made up its beautiful wings. The filly's twin was the same except where there was silver there was gold instead. The leader of the group was a deep gray with white blends mixed into his coat and hair. His hooves and wings were the same idle gray swept in a soft grayish-blue showing the royal he knew the horse well also. Two mares of solid rose and gold flanked the leader, but Mamoru had never seen either before. It was obvious the stallion was running with a different group that night for what reason was unknown. It was easy to say though that mares must have been with him awhile though for one was heavy with foal.
At the rear of the group Mamoru noticed a mare he was very fond of. She was the mother of the two fillies and the head mare of the group sworn to the leader. Her coat was a blackish-blue and radiated with splatters of beautiful pearly spots making her look like the night sky. Her mane and tail fell over her dark coat like milk falling over darkness and her hooves were as dark as ebony. Mamoru had come to call her "Starry-Night" because of her remarkable resemblance to the heavens. In fact on her brow was a small crescent moon making her coat a perfect seen of the night sky.
Flying along with the group the prince passed along each winged horse and graciously pets the wondrous beasts. They all neighed softly for the pleasant comfort and welcomed further caresses from the angel boy. After a while though the prince grew lost in thought and flew silently along with the flock mindful to keep a eye on how far he was wandering from the castle. The fillies tried to get the prince to play, but at a sharp nip from their mother they quickly flew to her side. Starry-Night might have been a creature not known for intelligent thought, but she could tell the royal wanted to not be bothered and kept her young from interfering.
Mamoru was unaware of this as he thought of his sister. She wished desperately she was there with him. He missed her… he missed his parents… Being in a castle filled with people he had never felt more alone… Though servants, soldiers, and nobles bustled about the gray edifice marking life within its silent form Mamoru was alone… If it weren't for his friends nearby he would have gone into depression… though he was beginning to do just that…
As he drifted through the clouds with the horses at his side the boy remembered a talk he once had with his sister. He could not remember where he was exactly or what they had been doing, but he remembered their conversation… and the fact that it had been years ago back on the Mystic Moon…
~~~Memory~~~
"But I'm not like you, Hito!" he could hear his younger voice whine, "I'm not strong like you…"
There was a small sniffle before Mamoru heard his sister reply, "Of course you are not like me, Mamo, but you are more like me than you think."
Another sniffle, before he heard himself ask, "What do you mean?"
There was a gentle sigh like bells, "Are we not sister and brother?"
"Yes" the boy had said swiftly though confused, "But--"
"Than we are the same" Hitomi said wisely as if she had the experience of many years instead of the few she 'had' experience of. This did not convince her brother though.
"That doesn't mean anything though, Hito!" the boy began to wail, "You can be able to do so much I can't even do!"
Another sigh. Mamoru could almost see himself being held in his sister's arms as she rocked him softly in her warm embrace.
"We are both children from the same parents and though we are two individuals we have been born with the same thing… life…" There was a moment of silence before the seeress continued, "Perhaps we do things differently and fight sometimes, but we have been given the gift of existing and with it we can do great things. We cannot all be the best runners or the best students, but we all have the strength and knowledge to do anything… With time and determination one could probably do anything… I know you, Mamo… I have faith in your abilities…"
Again there were a few sniffles before he heard himself say to his older sibling, "Thank you, Hito…"
Mamoru was sure his sister had smiled then. He could almost see her face shining down on him. With a sweet voice like that of a mother's Hitomi said, "Now if you're feeling better how about we go play a game of checkers."
There was a joyous squeal from him at the mention of his favorite game, "Alright! I'm red this time!"
~~~End of Memory~~~
Mamoru began to fly away from his friends about that time seeing that he was growing too close to the edge of Fanelia's border. Hearing his comrades neigh their goodbyes the youth smiled at them as he waved his farewell. His sister was right. He needed to have more faith in his abilities like she did. If she could do it so could he. He could rule in her place for the time being. Though he had his doubts he felt his heart lift a little at the prospect. He just wanted to get away from his fears and dread. As the prince glided down to the country below back to his quiet room the flock of pegasuses flew onward in a graceful arch towards the horizon.
~~~Lands East of Fanelia~~~
Dornkirk awoke and shook the dust from his black hide as he stretched his wings of black leather and dark feathers. Growling the demon leader glanced around the area to see his fellow dark beings sprawled out on the parched earth unconscious. The breeze riffled the dust making the dirty cloud swirl around the dark beast's hunched over form. Baring his fangs the emperor pulled himself into a standing position. His ebony cloak rippled with the breeze and his hood fluttered lifeless behind his head revealing the altered face of the Zaibach ruler. With a heavy claw soaked in dark scales the murder pull his hood back over his head bringing down a shadow over his face that reached all the way down to his nose leaving his fangs to shine in the moonlight. His hand and claw came to his sides and curled up into two hard fists as the creature stared at the horizon pointed towards the west.
The moon was growing low in the sky and in a few hours the dawn would emerge with a yawn as if nothing had taken place during the night. The ruins surrounding the eight demons groaned against the wind as if to crumble to dust at the slightest touch. Dornkirk stood in the mist of destruction surrounded by his only allies and one could tell the man's rage was soaring. His teeth were locked together and his fist shook with anger. Several times his wings flinched as if unseen flames were searing them. With a low voice dark with threat the fallen emperor hissed, "You win this time, 'Angel of Gaea', but know this… Today is only the beginning of the end… When we meet again I will finish what I started… Your life will be drained and your powers will be mine… Soon… very soon…"
With that the demon reared back his head sending his hood off again. The moonlight washed over his twisted face making his scales gleam an almost silver hue. His fangs open revealing the depths of his throat, which seemed to stretch on forever. His tongue forked like a snake twisted like a stinger as Dornkirk roared his cry. Eyes that were the color of dirt sparkled with red specks and began to glow like embers. His fists pulled outwards as they curled tighter almost drawing blood by such pressure. A blast of wind blew around the beast sending his cloak into a rapid flutter and his short brunette hair and beard ruffled dramatically. As dust swirled around his ankles tiny red stars sparkled in the musty cloud. Gradually the appearance of scarlet sphere formed around the emperor as his roars of rage grew louder. Soon the light of the aura grew so intense that it blinded the world into its red glow…
~Okay, maybe that wasn't as long as my last couple of chapters, but I had to end it here. Sorry if this might seem short, but it did take a while. Hey it is 14 pages!~
~Sorry I couldn't get this out sooner, but some stuff came up all of a sudden and I had little time to work on this chapter, however I did manage to get it up today! Whew!~
~Did you guys actually think I was going to end the story here? I mean then what would the purpose be with even mentioning the other guardians! Well the story has really just begun. There are going to be some serious twists and turns in later chapters that I'm sure none of you will even see coming. Here's a slight hint: I mentioned a few thing in the first story! Got a clue? Well, I'm sorry, but that's all I'm telling!~
~Okay, I need some reviews! Review! Please review!~
~Next chapter should be out Monday or Tuesday. Keep an eye out for updates. Sometimes I say a date and I'll get so into typing that I'll speed up and finish it in time to post earlier than that. However I am rarely late with my updates and promise to keep up!~
~Here's another chapter for you to enjoy. Hope you like it and please remember to review after! Please!!!!~
The Fate of Two Worlds: The Sequel
By Angel_Wings
Chapter 9 ~ Chaos
~~~Skies of Gaea~~~
Van's snowy wings beat furiously in his hard effort to gain more altitude. Wisps of his feathers were flung into the air and the wind caught them with gentle ease. The king's eyes of fire narrowed from the rush of wind flying into his rubies. His blue scarab lazily tapped against the side of his leg as he flew reminding him it was there ready for battle. All he could think about as his raven hair whipped around his face was his beloved. Her face lingered on his worried mind and her smile was torture to his heart. Was she alright?… That's all he could think… Was she alright?… Silently he vowed if any harm came to her he would bring down his fury on whoever did so.
With the grace of a bird the angel king flew in a vertical ascent to the skies above. His senses flowed from him as he desperately tried to sense for his wife amongst the clouds. If she was dead he would have known when he felt nothing from her. The barest awareness was all he needed to feel to give him the comfort he needed. Smiling in relief Van felt his senses brush against Hitomi's showing she was still alive. However when he felt her it sent a wave of fear through his body. He could sense the fear and horror roaring from her soul. Something was wrong… Like a knight on a white horse the man pulled all the remaining energy stored in his body into quickening his flight. He vowed always to protect her and was not about to break such a promise now.
Unfortunately he had so busy worrying about Hitomi he never noticed the fast approaching form
coming from above. By the time Van saw the dark figure coming he was too late. The demon rammed his fist into the royal's abdomen making the man double over and halt in mid-flight. Just as quickly as he had delivered the punch the cloaked being got behind the angel man and placed him in a iron-hold headlock. Van clawed at his captor's arm trying in vain to pull away the rough limb. Angrily the royal growled, "Who are you?!"
A dark sneer was visible in the moonlight although Van was incapable of looking upon it. In a voice of the dead the demon hissed, "Let's just say… I am old friend coming to finish what I didn't get a chance to do a year ago…"
Van's ruby eyes grew wide as he realized he knew that voice. It was voice he had thought twice he would never hear again. The first time had been just after the 'Great War' and the second time was after the 'Sacrifice'. That voice was a nightmare to all who heard it and was a torment to all who were victims of such for the twisted voice was forever imprinted in their minds. The horror flying through the angel's blood only allowed him to speak a single word. Luckily all Van needed was one word…
"Dilandau?…" the king muttered in a shocked voice. Van's attempt's to pull away the arm under his chin faltered for the moment as reality sank into the angel's mind.
The being gave a low dead chuckle in his prisoner's ear, "Correct… I have return for the second time, Van… Perhaps my body is slightly altered and I hold powers I never before possess, but my soul is the same… I am the same Dilandau that destroyed your precious kingdom four years ago… and I am the same Dilandau that help in the murder of your wife over a year ago…"
Images of the past flowed through both fighters' minds. Scenes of burning buildings and smoke curling into the air polluted their thoughts. Corpses spewed over scorched earth with the smell of death hindered their movements. Such horrible memories…
At the mention of his wife Van again tried to struggle away from the murder's grip, but the dark being's arm held firm. Growing annoyed by the man's disrupting actions Dilandau dug his knee into the angel's lower spine immobilizing him. Grinding his teeth in pain Van hissed in a breath of air. Meanwhile the old dragon slayer continued his speech. In a hollow voice of darkness the killer growled, "Years ago I was weak, but now I am more than a match for you, Fanel. Today your love will die with you shortly following. Then those two foolish warriors will perish along with the other guardians and the whole Draconian race! And you -- you, King Van Fanel-- are incapable of saving them! Admit it, Van… You've lost!"
Life sparked in the king's dark rubies and one of his hands slipped from the black arm of scales to drift down to his belt. With deep vengeance dripping in his voice Van hissed, "No, Dilandau! I believe you've lost!"
Grabbing the hilt of his sword the White Dragon swiftly drew his blade and stabbed the slayer in his side. Dilandau roared in pain and reared back his head causing his hood to fly off and reveal the hidden horror beneath the black garment. A face very familiar from the past was littered with black scales that ran over most of his brow and the left side of his face. Silver locks fell over the dragon skin in what might have been considered a beautiful flow if it had not been for the identity of the twisted being who held the features. Eyes of burning violet were closed shut at the moment because of the anguish within the demon, but usually the lavender jewels were always gleaming with the desire of plunder and death. With his mouth wide open in a painful howl the demon beast's rows of fangs flashed in the moonlight.
Dilandau's hold slacked off during his moment of suffering and Van hastily stole the moment to escape the dark creature's clutches. The young king didn't waste a second after he had released himself from the headlock to pull out his black stained sword and start flying towards his love. Putting all his energy into the vertical climb the raven king flew towards his angel while desperately hoping she was alright and that he would be able to make it to her in time. Glancing over his shoulder Van noticed Dilandau's close pursuit and knew he could not escape him. He didn't care though… All that matter was getting to Hitomi… With a burst of energy Van quicken his speed…
~~~Guardians~~~
Sian gasped in horror as she saw the light begin to glow between the demon's fingers and claws. Her queen froze like a statue as the light grew and a mysterious wind of power swirled around the two leaders of opposite sides making their clothes and hair ruffle. The green maiden stared at the scene remembering how Sukai had died from the same attack. Poor guardian, she had no way of getting to her mistress. The demons' grips were like steel and as rough as a dragon. Never before had she ever felt such strength from beings, though she had to remind herself these were not ordinary beings; they had been brought back from the dead with dark powers of the Demon King himself. Growling in growing frustration Sian doubled her efforts to escape her captors while Nembus did the same. Neither was willing to give in just yet, but they both knew their actions would be fruitless. Their queen, in their eyes, had yet to fallen, but they could tell she would soon… and before they could ever reach her…
~~~Hitomi~~~
She didn't know what to do… Her mind felt like it froze along with her body… Around her the world was deaf to her ears and her senses no longer appeared to work… Her emerald eyes could barely focus on the being that towered before her making him a dark blur in her sights. Hitomi was vaguely able to distinguish Dornkirk in his dark shadow-like form. His body mingled with the scarlet light that blinded her already undistinguishable sight and made it impossible to make heads-or-tails of what she was seeing.
She was however aware of her feelings, at least that much was still intact. When I say feelings I do not speak of the senses or awarenesses the seeress feels, but the emotions that all beings feel within their souls. Hitomi could feel her powers, her essence, being dragged away from her body. Desperately the seeress clasped onto the marrow of her powers trying to keep it from being stolen from her, but she continued to feel the same pull slowly taking away what she held deep within. Survival instincts started to roar in her royal blood screaming at her to fight back,… but how?…
Her body was completely immobile and her powers unusable. How was she to survive when she had no way of defending herself… Her child… What of her child?… With her death came with it the death of child,… along with the deaths of her friends and family… Without her no one would be able to defend all of Gaea… She was the eighth guardian and final protector of this beautiful world… No one could stop Dornkirk except herself… If she died her people would die… her loved ones… her husband… Van…
Her death would cause the chain reaction in destroying all she knew and loved. Her life held not only her people, her child, her friends, or her angel in the balance, but it also held all of Gaea. Dornkirk would easily take over the planet of dreams in a few days and then destruction would reign down for centuries upon centuries! She didn't know how, but she couldn't allow this to happen!
Slowly a spark began to glow in the center of her being like warm coals. It was the same feeling that she had felt earlier with Ana had attacked her. Involuntarily Hitomi grasped hold of the power and it gradually began to grow in warmth. Soon the power began to blaze within her like an internal inferno searing her soul with its flames. Slowly Hitomi's hands began to move from her sides in a shaky motion undetected by her adversary. Dornkirk was too busy draining the seeress powers to notice her movement. He was becoming all too aware of his progressing transfer when he saw the queen's wings dull in light. Hitomi's wings no longer glowed, but stood there like a regular pair of bird's wings. Meanwhile the royal angel forced the power within her to grow,… but her hands would not move any more… They shook violently trying to move where they laid frozen, only a yard away from Dornkirk's arms. Hitomi struggled with the powers as they fluctuated from the transfer…
Grinding her teeth together the seeress became determined to escape his clutches. Images of her love ones flashed before her eyes and with each person she saw her hands moved an inch closer to the two limbs shrouded in ebony clothing. Even with that small movement closer to her goal Hitomi was still a foot and a half from Dornkirk's arms. With her vision growing worse, Hitomi knew her time was short. She began to think about other times she had become so enrage her emotions had taken over. If she could just have a moment of rage… perhaps it would be enough to give her the strength to stop Dornkirk's transfer.
Quickly Hitomi focused on memories of the past. An image of a boy with short sandy hair grinned at her from the depths of her mind. She remembered the time she had punched the high school boy…
A glimmer of warmth…
Hitomi remembered the time she had fought the gargoyle to save both hers and Merle's life. Red coal-like eyes gleamed at her and roars filled her head at the memory…
Another slight glimmer… the fire became as large as a flame on a candle…
The moment when she had attacked Ana flashed before her mind suddenly… The white energy that had surrounded her licked her soul searing it with its unbearable heat…
The fire glowed brighter… becoming as large as a torch…
Images of the Mystic Moon being completely obliterated flung themselves against her mind. Hundreds of faces screamed at her in fear and pain moments before the planet was destroyed….
Hissing loudly the flame within her heart grew to a small bonfire,… but it still wasn't enough…
A final image played in the seeress mind and with it came the worst memory she could ever remembered…
~~~Memory~~~
Weakly he smiled up at his fiancé and brought a bloody hand to her cheek smearing more blood on her face, but the girl didn't even noticed. The king soon became all too aware of the pain searing through his body. Wincing a little he began to check himself over while he still looked into those green depths. His leg hurt tremendously and he was sure he couldn't move it. His left arm felt like it was on fire and his insides were hissing in anguish. The taste of blood filled his mouth and ran over his tongue as he realized he was not getting enough precious air into his lungs. Cold fear gripped his soul as he realized he was dying. He had learned from experience in battle that once a warrior had blood dripping from his mouth it usually meant death was soon to fall upon the man.
Trying his best to hide the fact from his beloved he forced his smile to widen. The tears in her eyes tore at him... She already knew the truth... Hitomi brushed away his stiff bangs to better see his eyes.
"Why did you do that?" she whispered as she tried to keep her voice from
breaking.
Van felt himself falling into a pit of darkness, but he struggled to hold onto the moment for a second longer. If he was to leave this blessed world than he wanted to say his goodbye to his true love before he went to the afterlife.
Looking deep into her eyes he whispered, "I had to... I couldn't let you
die..."
Tears of emeralds fell down the angel woman's pale cheeks as she whispered, "So you try to kill yourself..." The angel king was going to say something, but the brunette girl beat him to it.
"Well Van Fanel, I am not letting you get out of this marriage!" she did her best to joke in hope of somehow lighting the mood,... but the cold sadness within her voice was easily noticed by them both. They both couldn't deny the deadly fact. It was something they couldn't go around. The dragon king could feel his soul slipping away, but he held onto the last strain of his life. He had to talk to her one last time...
The young royal could barely feel his own tears falling down his tan skin as he hoarsely whispered, "I want you to know, Hitomi, that I love you and that I hope you'll live a long life--"
"No!" she whispered harshly cutting off his words. With a determined voice she cried, "Don't think like that! You won't die! You hear me! You will not die!"
Her pale fingers dug into his shoulders as though if she were to let go he would leave forever. Van could see the emotional battle going on her mind by looking into her glittering tears. A new fear swelled into his soul as he saw one of her pale hand reach for her pendant.
Holding it in front of her over his chest she whispered, "I can save you..."
Closing her eyes she used her senses to unlock the awesome power. With unknown strength the man grabbed the red stone away and clutched it against his bloody shirt, "No, Hitomi..."
Snapping her emeralds open the seeress tried desperately to take the item back, but his words stopped her, "No... If you do it again you'll surely die..." The boy of stiff raven locks looked deep into her eyes, "I couldn't live with myself if you gave your life for mine..."
Her fingers loosen their grip on his firm fist as she felt dread sink into her mind. He was willing to die for her. She didn't want to let go of him... The angel woman placed both of her hands on his bloody cheeks and looked into his rubies as she whispered, "But I could not live with myself if I didn't even try..."
Van bit his lower lip as he realized she would do it no matter what. If she got hold of the stone she would die for him. The thoughts within his mind slowed as he felt the strength left in him being sucked out of his body. He decided he could do only one thing...
"I ask this of you..." he whispered as his voice began to fade, "Respect my dying wish and do not try to save my life…"
Hitomi shook her head violently causing her dusty locks of silk to swirl. Her voice was full of pain, but it was strong as she said, "No, Van! I won't--"
His other tan hand went to her face and both of his palms took hold of her cheeks stopping the motion of her head. With a deep voice he shouted loudly, "Promise me!"
Looking in those sharp eyes of burning flames that she loved so much she felt her world crumble. She wanted to shun him for what he was asking. He was commanding her not to save himself and let him slip into death... But how could she?!... He was her love... her friend... her spirit... her air... her LIFE!!!... What he was asking of her was impossible!...
Tears welled into her eyes as she tried a final time to tear away the red stone from his firm clutches, but in vain. His fingers had a deadly hold over the ancient red teardrop. His eyes that were beginning to dull pleaded to her to give up the futile attempts. Looking into his eyes she broke down and fell onto his chest shoving her face into his bloody shirt.
His arms weakly wound around her as she sobbed into his tan flesh. Ruby eyes slid close as he whispered lovingly into her ruffled hair, "When you sing the song I sung to you... the night I ask you to marry me... remember me... I will always remember you..."
A peace formed in the angel king's eyes as he looked into his lover's emeralds, "I'll always be with you, my love…"
The girl brought her cheek up to his trying to always remember the feel of his warmth. Silently the angel sobbed as her only love began to drift into death. With his last moment of life he brought her face to his and kissed her for his last time. Hitomi wounded her arms around his neck as their eyes closed letting the kiss deepen... but the affectionate touch held no joy for it was the last time they would have this chance of bliss... The seeress felt her love break the kiss... far too soon... and upon opening her eyes she saw his rubies had closed forever... The man's soul had left the world around him and now he laid in the realm of the dead...
Tears spilled from the seeress's eyes as she laid her cheek against his chest in blind hope to hear a heartbeat. No sound was heard except deadly silence. Her hands stroked his body in search of warmth, but his tan skin was already growing cold. She lifted her head of silky locks from his chest and stroked his face with her hands in a finally attempt in search of hidden life. With overwhelming sadness the seeress pulled her pale hands away from his already battered face as fresh tears washed down her face.
His bloody hand that had clutched so firmly on his only chance of life had fallen limp to the ground revealing the red drop of blood. Grief filled the last of her soul as her pale fingers slowly took the pendant. She bowed her head as she squeezed the jewel in her fingers as her soul gave out into anguish.
Turning her emeralds of sparkling woe towards her lover's dead face she almost felt anger for him. If he had only let her have the pendant perhaps she would have been able to save him... regardless of the fact that she would have sacrifice her own life for his... It was too late now though for the damage was done and she could not heal wounds like these... Death was a disease she could not even hope to cure...
As the terrible emotion raked her body she flung her face towards the sky and shouted a single word, "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"
~~~End of Memory~~~
That's all Hitomi needed to send her emotions over the edge. Her heart flared powerfully at the sudden remembrance of the horrible scene. Rage, anguish, and grief took hold of her soul and soon the fire within her enveloped every single nerve of her body. Soon… Hitomi was lost again in her own powers…
Like before Hitomi's brow began to glow a pearly hue and slowly white lines rippled across her skin. In a matter of seconds the emblem of the Draconians shone on the seeress's forehead in all its glory dazzling in power. Dornkirk was shocked with the sudden glow and stared at it the moment it appeared. Taking the emotions that took her soul Hitomi brought her arms up and knocked the demon's hold off her face. Surprised by this the dark leader staggered backwards a few feet in the air. He growled in annoyance and went to lunge back at the seeress, but was halted by what he saw…
~~~Van~~~
The raven headed king could feel her thunderously now. At first her awareness had been a small whisper, but then, all of a sudden, her existence roared into life like a storm. The sudden change caught Van off guard, but it did not falter his flight, only quicken it. Without thinking about the pursuer behind him the royal plunge through a mass of clouds and found himself on the other side of the white mists. Halting to float at the same level as the others the mist of bluish-white tint swirled around the royal angel's body. The ebony haired king automatically found his wife and had to gape at what he saw…
~~~Guardians~~~
Nembus and Sian froze in their struggles as they watched their mistress. Their eyes of black and silver grew wide in awe as their clothes and hair fluttered in the wind that began to roar around them. The demons were no better for they too were frozen at the sight that laid before them.
~~~Hitomi~~~
The seeress hands lifted to the heavens and her knees bent slightly as her wings were still. Her short brown hair whirled about in all directions and her clothes rustled at the force of air. The Draconian emblem burned brighter than ever sending a white glow all around the group. Hitomi's green eyes turned completely white with no pupils to hinder the colorless orbs. Clouds rammed into each other and golden lightning streaked across the sky. The bolts of electricity ran through the air and hit the seeress several times, but the angel queen did not flinch. The golden spears from the thunderclouds ran over the seeress's body like water and showed the woman was immune to its tortures. Gradually the wind increased and began to blow with such fierceness that the flyers of occupying the night sky could barely hold their positions.
Dornkirk lifted an arm against the raging winds in hope to give himself some protection though it was hopeless efforts. The man glared over at the angel queen in anger and shouted, "Blast you, 'Seeress'!"
As if the wind had heard the curse it suddenly roared into a rage so powerful it formed a living tornado. No one was able to hold their positions any longer and soon the group of virtuous and malevolence were scattered into the wind tunnel. The guardians were thrown from their captors' holds and then tossed into the grips of another, the tornado's. The angels and demons were tossed around like rag dolls while in the center stood the seeress untouched except for the fact her clothes and hair were tossed around violently as the wind stole a few feathers from the queen's white wings. All tried to fly through the violent current of air, but to no avail. The wind was so powerful that it would strike their wings in such a way that they would cave in and forced back to the sides of its master.
Sian struggled again and again to get her wings to glide, but no matter how much effort she put into her goal the wings would slam back against her back and force her to continue her tumble through the tornado. Finding there was no hope in flying the woman looked around for her friends and spotted the armored warrior. He too was in the same predicament as she was tumbling about like there was no tomorrow. Locking her jaw the green maiden stretched out her hand to her comrade against the powerful force of air. Her long braid swung around her head during the moment and slapped her in the face, but she shook off the stinging sensation quickly. Urgently the warrior called out to her fellow angel, "Nembus, give me your hand!"
The purple guardian did his best to slow his tumble and also struggled to stretch forth his hand to her. For several minutes the two whirled around each other with their hands more than once barely brushing each other. Nembus growled in frustration as he grabbed the pale hand of his friend only to have it slip from his grasp. Neither refused to give up though for it was not in their blood to quit. They continued to reach out for one another coming more than once close to grabbing the other's hand only to be pulled out of reach suddenly or having their grip not firm enough to keep.
Somehow Sian finally got a hold of the armored angel's hand and quickly took it in her other hand as well. Nembus, just as quickly, clasped his free hand over hers and soon they began to tumble together lost in the currents. In the mist of their tumbles the green warrior looked up into her friend's face and caught, for a fraction of a second, the gaze of her old comrade. His bottomless eyes stared deep into her until their movements caused him to break the stare.
Van, on the other hand, was doing no better. He did not try to stop himself from tumbling. He tried to get to Hitomi. Again and again he went to the center of the tornado only to have himself tossed back farther into the currents of air as if the area was off-limits. Not willing to give up just yet the king dove for the center again several more times only to find his attempts to be the same, fruitless. It was torture to him. He could see Hitomi as plain as day before him, but the invisible wind refused to allow him to go to her. She stood, but a few yards away yet he was unable to get even within arms reach of her. Desperately he called out to his beloved, "HITOMI!"
Sadly the seeress could not hear or see anything that was happening around her. All she could make out was the pain stabbing in her chest. It was like a hot slab of metal had been embedded directly into the center of her chest and with the barest movement horrible anguish would erupt from the torturous feeling. With each breath she took the pain grew worse and more intense along with the gradually growth of the tornado's strength. Hitomi desperately tried to look around, but the horrible torments racking her body kept her from focusing. She felt as if she was falling into an endless pit of anguish that struck her from all sides and seeped into her chest. Her powers were in chaos just like the time she had called upon the power of the Atlantians,… but it had never reacted in this way... The struggle had been with her and had never gone beyond that. It had never inflicted troubles on anyone else except those who had helped her. Now her powers were doing the same thing as before, but they were also going against everyone around her as well. She had to stop it,… but she didn't know how. Her rage still flowed in her veins and she knew that as long as she held that emotion within, her powers would never recede.
Hitomi had to do something and now, before anything happened to her friends! Dornkirk… She had to get Dornkirk away… She could use the blue pillar of light… She had done it before. Well she sort of used the pillar. She hadn't known exactly what she had been doing, but she had manage to bring the shafts down from the heavens and move the Draconians to Fanelia. However another problem arose with this decision: where could she send Dornkirk and his followers? She couldn't send them anywhere there might be people because they might hurt them or possible even destroy them. She couldn't send them to the desert, ice land, or sea either because Draconian villages were there… so where? An image of Sian's village flashed before Hitomi's mind and the royal would have smiled if she had the strength. With the town already destroyed there would be no one to be placed in danger. It was perfect. Struggling with the chaos Hitomi focused on the eight dark beings. Like before the 'Angel' felt her powers fly towards the beings and swoop them up.
The pillars came and left so quickly that no one had time to really react to the mystical transport. Eight blue shafts descended from the sky in a single swept lifting eight cloaked beings into the stars. Dornkirk snapped his head around as he saw the sapphire color swim before his eyes. His eyes sparked in rage. He was being taken away from his victims! His revenge was being wrenched from his grasped! Fire sparked in his dark orbs as he reared his head back and roared in pure fury,… just as the pillars of light stole them into the heavens…
At the sudden disappearances of the demons Hitomi felt her power plummet to nothing, along with the emotions that had clashed within her soul. The wind died and the three other angels suddenly had to beat their wings furiously to stay aloft. Slowly Hitomi's brown hair settled down and her clothes became silent. Her eyes gradually turned back to their normal forest green color and her brow dimmed to its normal hue. Weaken from the whole ordeal Hitomi's eyes rolled into the back of her head and the royal fell backwards down towards the planet below unconscious.
Upon seeing his wife's fall, Van swiftly went into a dive after the woman with the two guardians close behind. It took only a few moments for the man to catch up with his wife and take her into her arms. Though Hitomi was heavier than normal because of her pregnancy the young angel king was somehow manage to carry his precious bundle alone securely in his tan arms. Slowly the four angels descended in hoping not to awake the slumbering queen. As they floated downwards the guardians could see the figure of the cat-advisor running from a clove of tree. Reaching the clearing of deep green grass Merle began waving her arms towards the group to grab their attention. Nembus smiled down at the cat-girl before glancing over at his fellow warrior with an old look Sian had not seen in a long time. The armored warrior however quickly turned away forcing his eyes back on the three companions that had come with his the green maiden. Sian smiled softly before also turning her attention to her rulers and their advisor.
Meanwhile Van was lost in his own world completely oblivious to his three friends. All he could see was his angel's serene face sleeping peaceful. A soft rosy tint flushed Hitomi's cheeks and her silky locks of brunette repeatedly fluttered upwards from their descent. If his hands were not occupied in carry the woman in his arms Van would have ideally brushed away the seeress's bangs from her closed eyes like he often did. Being unable to do so the man did what he usually did when he did that action. In a sweet voice only loud enough for his wife to be able to hear (if she could have) Van whispered, "Hitomi…"
~~~Fanelia~~~
Mamoru sat up in bed all of sudden pushing the light covers off his body. The youth's eyes were wide and wild as he looked around the room frantically. Gradually he slowed his rapid breathing and realized he was in his own room. Bringing his hand to his brow he felt sweat drenching his forehead. Wiping most of it off with the back of his hand the prince tried to remember what he had been dreaming that had startled him from his sleep. The images were very fuzzy in his mind. All he could remember were colors really, whiteness mingling with a blackness… no… there had been someone… someone dark surrounded by redness before the scarlet turned white… Rage… he remembered feeling overwhelming rage and anger,… but why?…
Feeling uneasiness take over his body the prince knew sleep was impossible for the night and thus slowly rose from his bed. Dressed in white pants and shirt the angel boy walked across the marble floor in bare feet. With no expression on his face Mamoru stepped to the double glass doors that laid open to his balcony. The thin white see-through curtains rippled with the breeze and brushed against his ankles, but he was unaware of this. Tenderly he stepped into the moonlight and made his way to the beautiful railing of his enclosure. His pale fingers ran over the glorious blue and white marble feeling the cool stone beneath his skin. Bringing his eyes of chestnut to the starry night the wind teased his hair.
Quietly the boy whispered into the wind, "Hitomi…"
The world was silent and spoke no response except for the sound of bird wings flapping overhead. Mamoru scanned the skies hopefully forgetting his prior thoughts of his sister. In the vastness of the sky the boy spotted several small forms soaring in the stars. At the sight of those figures the prince quickly discarded his shirt letting it fall to a heap on the balcony's floor. Flinching, but a moment the prince unfurled his white wings allowing white feathers to slip to the marble as they glowed brightly. With his wingspan being over twice the length of his height the boy found the small balcony to be too crowded and swiftly lofted himself onto the railing. Mamoru slightly hunched forward to jump into the air when he stopped.
Looking back into his room the royal youth wondered if it was wise to leave the castle. Though it was late at night and he surely doubted anyone would come to his room he had to remind himself he was the acting ruler of this country. To just get up and leave without anyone knowing was probably not the best idea. Glancing back at the sky the boy wondered however if anyone knew yet that he 'was' the acting ruler.
Though they had been given a great number of Draconians to suddenly care for he and the rest of the group of nobles and warriors had been able to keep the matter a secret. With the only guards on the roof and castle grounds bringing the people into the infirmary without anyone knowing had been a pretty easy job. It seemed none of the guards had seen the light, or perhaps it had been so quick that the group believed the guards might have thought they imagined it, on both times. Either way no soldiers had run up to the royal gardens and disturbed the group. Millerina automatically ordered the Draconians needed to be brought to the infirmary. Quickly and quietly the group began to bring the angels to the ward. Chid and Mamoru handled carrying the children while Allen, Resshi, Amano, Celena, and Dryden could each take a single Draconian in their arms. However the redheaded angel and royal doctor were forced to carry a single victim between them seeing that either were unable to carry one by herself. Slowly after a half an hour of work all of the Draconians had been secretly brought in.
However there was still much to do. Quickly the sunshine haired queen looked over the people one by one checking over their injuries. Only a fourth of the winged group needed serious medical attention; all others were tended by the rest of the nobles and warriors by listening to Millerina's instructions carefully as the doctor continued to examine the victims. Finally after another hour of labor the work was done leaving the ward completely filled with injured angels.
It had been decided shortly after the whole mess that they should all go to their rooms to rest seeing that tomorrow would be extremely busy explaining to both, the advisors and the new arrivals, the situation. Not to mention the fact they would need to find places to put the angels. They couldn't keep the Draconians in the infirmary for long because sooner or later new arrivals would come and they too would probably need medical attention. If they didn't get any sleep none of them would be able to handle the stress of tomorrow. So it had been decided and thus the group separated to their rooms leaving the three bodyguards to stay within the infirmary. Because they could not leave the Draconians fearing one might wake to the nightmare of not knowing where they were and because the warriors also needed their sleep the three bodyguards volunteered to sleep in the last remaining infirmary beds. Perhaps they were not watching over the angels with eyes open, but being highly trained to sleep lightly in case of being attacked while slumbering they would know immediately when one of the Draconians woke.
Glancing back into his room the prince shrugged off his worries and beat his wings. He needed to rest his weary mind, but not with sleep, with ease. His fears of tomorrow responsibilities he needed to escape… just for a short while at least… Soaring upward the air riffled his pants making them ripple like water. With the ease of a bird the boy lofted into the clouds. The figures above grew closer and soon their forms could be made out.
As a beam of moonlight graze over the beings the prince could see the familiar shapes of the beings called pegasuses. Slowly the youth glided next to the 'flock' of winged horses that were counted to be at least half a dozen. The lead stallion glanced at the royal angel before neighing a small welcome. Mamoru gave a soft smile as he settled himself in the center of the group. A small pair of twin fillies came along side the boy and began to nip at his bare sides making him laugh. Mamoru had often flown with the creatures before and several of their kind had come to welcome the youth's presence. The prince merely flew with the pegasuses for the sheer joy and rarely got to see the creatures outside of their joined flights. Sleep or duties would always call him back and thus he never truly got to become close friends with the beings though at heart they already were.
Glancing around the group Mamoru tried to look for familiar faces. The twin fillies were well known to him seeing that he had played chase with them several times in the clouds. One was of royal blue splattered with silver specks. White and silver strains erupted from its mane and tail with its hooves gleaming silver. Silver and royal blue feathers made up its beautiful wings. The filly's twin was the same except where there was silver there was gold instead. The leader of the group was a deep gray with white blends mixed into his coat and hair. His hooves and wings were the same idle gray swept in a soft grayish-blue showing the royal he knew the horse well also. Two mares of solid rose and gold flanked the leader, but Mamoru had never seen either before. It was obvious the stallion was running with a different group that night for what reason was unknown. It was easy to say though that mares must have been with him awhile though for one was heavy with foal.
At the rear of the group Mamoru noticed a mare he was very fond of. She was the mother of the two fillies and the head mare of the group sworn to the leader. Her coat was a blackish-blue and radiated with splatters of beautiful pearly spots making her look like the night sky. Her mane and tail fell over her dark coat like milk falling over darkness and her hooves were as dark as ebony. Mamoru had come to call her "Starry-Night" because of her remarkable resemblance to the heavens. In fact on her brow was a small crescent moon making her coat a perfect seen of the night sky.
Flying along with the group the prince passed along each winged horse and graciously pets the wondrous beasts. They all neighed softly for the pleasant comfort and welcomed further caresses from the angel boy. After a while though the prince grew lost in thought and flew silently along with the flock mindful to keep a eye on how far he was wandering from the castle. The fillies tried to get the prince to play, but at a sharp nip from their mother they quickly flew to her side. Starry-Night might have been a creature not known for intelligent thought, but she could tell the royal wanted to not be bothered and kept her young from interfering.
Mamoru was unaware of this as he thought of his sister. She wished desperately she was there with him. He missed her… he missed his parents… Being in a castle filled with people he had never felt more alone… Though servants, soldiers, and nobles bustled about the gray edifice marking life within its silent form Mamoru was alone… If it weren't for his friends nearby he would have gone into depression… though he was beginning to do just that…
As he drifted through the clouds with the horses at his side the boy remembered a talk he once had with his sister. He could not remember where he was exactly or what they had been doing, but he remembered their conversation… and the fact that it had been years ago back on the Mystic Moon…
~~~Memory~~~
"But I'm not like you, Hito!" he could hear his younger voice whine, "I'm not strong like you…"
There was a small sniffle before Mamoru heard his sister reply, "Of course you are not like me, Mamo, but you are more like me than you think."
Another sniffle, before he heard himself ask, "What do you mean?"
There was a gentle sigh like bells, "Are we not sister and brother?"
"Yes" the boy had said swiftly though confused, "But--"
"Than we are the same" Hitomi said wisely as if she had the experience of many years instead of the few she 'had' experience of. This did not convince her brother though.
"That doesn't mean anything though, Hito!" the boy began to wail, "You can be able to do so much I can't even do!"
Another sigh. Mamoru could almost see himself being held in his sister's arms as she rocked him softly in her warm embrace.
"We are both children from the same parents and though we are two individuals we have been born with the same thing… life…" There was a moment of silence before the seeress continued, "Perhaps we do things differently and fight sometimes, but we have been given the gift of existing and with it we can do great things. We cannot all be the best runners or the best students, but we all have the strength and knowledge to do anything… With time and determination one could probably do anything… I know you, Mamo… I have faith in your abilities…"
Again there were a few sniffles before he heard himself say to his older sibling, "Thank you, Hito…"
Mamoru was sure his sister had smiled then. He could almost see her face shining down on him. With a sweet voice like that of a mother's Hitomi said, "Now if you're feeling better how about we go play a game of checkers."
There was a joyous squeal from him at the mention of his favorite game, "Alright! I'm red this time!"
~~~End of Memory~~~
Mamoru began to fly away from his friends about that time seeing that he was growing too close to the edge of Fanelia's border. Hearing his comrades neigh their goodbyes the youth smiled at them as he waved his farewell. His sister was right. He needed to have more faith in his abilities like she did. If she could do it so could he. He could rule in her place for the time being. Though he had his doubts he felt his heart lift a little at the prospect. He just wanted to get away from his fears and dread. As the prince glided down to the country below back to his quiet room the flock of pegasuses flew onward in a graceful arch towards the horizon.
~~~Lands East of Fanelia~~~
Dornkirk awoke and shook the dust from his black hide as he stretched his wings of black leather and dark feathers. Growling the demon leader glanced around the area to see his fellow dark beings sprawled out on the parched earth unconscious. The breeze riffled the dust making the dirty cloud swirl around the dark beast's hunched over form. Baring his fangs the emperor pulled himself into a standing position. His ebony cloak rippled with the breeze and his hood fluttered lifeless behind his head revealing the altered face of the Zaibach ruler. With a heavy claw soaked in dark scales the murder pull his hood back over his head bringing down a shadow over his face that reached all the way down to his nose leaving his fangs to shine in the moonlight. His hand and claw came to his sides and curled up into two hard fists as the creature stared at the horizon pointed towards the west.
The moon was growing low in the sky and in a few hours the dawn would emerge with a yawn as if nothing had taken place during the night. The ruins surrounding the eight demons groaned against the wind as if to crumble to dust at the slightest touch. Dornkirk stood in the mist of destruction surrounded by his only allies and one could tell the man's rage was soaring. His teeth were locked together and his fist shook with anger. Several times his wings flinched as if unseen flames were searing them. With a low voice dark with threat the fallen emperor hissed, "You win this time, 'Angel of Gaea', but know this… Today is only the beginning of the end… When we meet again I will finish what I started… Your life will be drained and your powers will be mine… Soon… very soon…"
With that the demon reared back his head sending his hood off again. The moonlight washed over his twisted face making his scales gleam an almost silver hue. His fangs open revealing the depths of his throat, which seemed to stretch on forever. His tongue forked like a snake twisted like a stinger as Dornkirk roared his cry. Eyes that were the color of dirt sparkled with red specks and began to glow like embers. His fists pulled outwards as they curled tighter almost drawing blood by such pressure. A blast of wind blew around the beast sending his cloak into a rapid flutter and his short brunette hair and beard ruffled dramatically. As dust swirled around his ankles tiny red stars sparkled in the musty cloud. Gradually the appearance of scarlet sphere formed around the emperor as his roars of rage grew louder. Soon the light of the aura grew so intense that it blinded the world into its red glow…
~Okay, maybe that wasn't as long as my last couple of chapters, but I had to end it here. Sorry if this might seem short, but it did take a while. Hey it is 14 pages!~
~Sorry I couldn't get this out sooner, but some stuff came up all of a sudden and I had little time to work on this chapter, however I did manage to get it up today! Whew!~
~Did you guys actually think I was going to end the story here? I mean then what would the purpose be with even mentioning the other guardians! Well the story has really just begun. There are going to be some serious twists and turns in later chapters that I'm sure none of you will even see coming. Here's a slight hint: I mentioned a few thing in the first story! Got a clue? Well, I'm sorry, but that's all I'm telling!~
~Okay, I need some reviews! Review! Please review!~
~Next chapter should be out Monday or Tuesday. Keep an eye out for updates. Sometimes I say a date and I'll get so into typing that I'll speed up and finish it in time to post earlier than that. However I am rarely late with my updates and promise to keep up!~