~ Remember I don't own Escaflowne or its characters!~
~ Sorry for being late yet again! Shame on me! I've been having serious writer's block not to mention less hours to write because of school and work!~
~ I hope you guys are enjoying this story and I hope I'm not making any mistakes in this series! If I am point them out, but please don't burn me. This is one of my first fanfics!~
~ I was informed on a few errors I have in my story so I'm writing this to clear things up:
(a) error #1 -- Merle's eyes are actually green, NOT brown which I wrote in my first story.
Cleanup #1 -- I didn't know, sorry. From now on I'll refer to Merle's eyes as green
(b) error #2 -- Hitomi's hair is a light brown, NOT mahogany which I might have mentioned a few times.
Cleanup #2 -- I was just looking for another word for brown, but I guess I slipped with the phrase so you'll just have to excuse me and from now on I won't refer to Hitomi's hair as that color.
(c) error #3 -- Hitomi's grandmother's name in the magna series is actually Yuri (meaning "Lily" in English), NOT Iris as I like to call her
Cleanup #3 -- In all reasonable terms I'm not following the magna series, but instead the TV (uncut) version where Hitomi's grandmother's name was NEVER mentioned so I'm really not to blame for this foul up so don't worry about the name.
~ I'm not mad at anyone for mentioning these errors for me. They were honest mistakes, which I'm glad someone pointed them out to me, though they can be slightly aggravating to deal with. Thanks again for the pointers and hope you guys don't get upset for having a few~
~ Please Review~
The Fate of Two Worlds: the Sequel
By Angel_Wings
Chapter 16 ~ Whose Who?
~~~ Desert Tent ~~~
The blade was stopped short as a pale hand grasped the intruder's attacking limb. Angrily the murderer glared up at the person who had stopped her. Sian smirked at the mysterious attacker dangerously and growled, "Next time you check to see if someone's asleep perhaps it's better not to be so loud!"
Hissing like a cat the intruder struggled for the blade as the guardian used both her hands to grab the hilt of the dagger. Desperate to keep her rulers out of danger Sian pushed both of them to the ground. Sand quickly was tossed about as the two rolled over each other grasping for control of the dagger. Van and Hitomi soon jumped up into sitting positions at the sudden noise.
"What's going on here?!" Van roared angrily as he spotted Sian and some figure tossing about on the floor in the dark.
Hitomi furiously put on her clothes, as did Van, and illuminated the room with a lantern. The golden light pierced the darkness showing the face of the attacker. Sian gaped down at the face of Varia.
"Varia?!" the seeress gasped loudly shocked at the sight of the desert ruler.
Grunting the desert leader pushed the angel guard off of her sending Sian onto her back. In a single swift motion Varia jumped to her feet and hurled the dagger at Hitomi.
"Hitomi!" came the sound of Van and Sian's voices as they watch the gleaming metal fly through the air. It went all too fast for the seeress to react. Luckily someone else was able to.
Noi urgently threw herself at Hitomi making them both fall to the ground barely missing the sharp silver blade as it whizzed by. With a 'thud' the two fell into a heap and the dagger struck one of the thick tent pole becoming automatically embedded in the tough wood. Growling at her failure Varia quickly swirled around and dove out of the tent.
Sian snarled in aggravation as she gathered her limbs beneath her and struck off after the escaping killer. Noi was just as quick and easily rose to follow leaving behind the two rulers. Glancing at each other Van and Hitomi raced after the three women determined to find out what was going on.
Varia had barely exited the tent when Sian tackled her. The leader screamed bloody murder as she tried to kick the woman off of her. The guardian merely grunted as she struggled to hold down the leader's legs. Noi was soon there and reached for her dear friend's arms.
The desert leader glared up at her comrade as she roared, "Traitor!"
Noi simply frowned at the word as she said angrily, "Whose the traitor, Varia?! Why did you attack Queen Hitomi?!"
The desert attacker remained silent as she continued to struggle. Before long the camp was in an uproar with lanterns being turned on and people bursting from their tents. Merle raced out of Hitomi and Van's tent, after following the guardians, holding Iris in her arms. It didn't take long for Nembus and Zaado to wake and soon they were standing nearby the three fighting women.
As the fighting progressed the desert leader began to twist her limbs in such a way that Noi could barely hold on to the woman. Varia growled like a wild dog as she ripped her arms away from the healer. Quickly the leader placed her palm in Noi's face and in seconds an ebony-purple glow shot in the woman's eyes.
Crying out in pain Noi fell backwards running her hand over her face as if to brush away the anguish of the attack. Sian gaped at the sight and lost her concentration on the desert woman's legs. Grunting Varia brought her heels hard into the guardian's chest knocking the wind out of Sian. With a 'thud' the forest maiden collided with the ground sending up a small cloud of golden grains. With perfect grace Varia leapt to her feet and eyed the group nearby. Nembus drew his sword with a growl as Zaado readied his ax. The desert woman smirked as her palms began to glow.
Hitomi's emerald grew wide as she realized what was going to happen. Turning around desperately to the two guardians she shouted a warning, "LOOK OUT!"
It had been too late though, for the attack had already been released when the seeress had cried out at them. Though they were the best fighters in Gaea they were unable to evade the blows and crashed into the tent behind them. The canvas fixture collapsed on the two males leaving behind no sight of the two ancient fighters. Cries of fear and astonishment came from the group of desert folk startled and surprised by their leader's actions.
Varia turned towards the royal family and advisor with her eyes gleaming. Hitomi took a step back next to Merle as Van stood in front of them. The young king cursed under his breath for not remembering his sword when they had left the tent. Hitomi stared at Varia not understanding what was going on. How could Varia do this? And why was she attacking her?…
Growling the desert leader launched another black comet, this time at the raven king. Van dodged the attack and pushed Hitomi and Merle also out of the way. The two women and child landed in the sand roughly, but without injury saving the infant from its roughness. Getting into a fighting position in front of the two, Van glared at Varia daring her to attack him.
The leader was not impressed and rushed him. The king's fist went to make contact with the woman's face, but she was quicker and ducked a second before the connection took place. With perfect form Varia punched the ruler in the stomach making him wince considerably, but not quite enough to double over at the blow. Grunting painfully Van tried again by swinging at her, but it didn't even come close, for his aim was sloppy from his pain. Twisting her body gracefully the woman brought her heel hard in his side. With a small cry of anguish Van flew through the air landing several feet in the sand clutching his side as he coughed.
Smirking Varia turned back towards Hitomi. The seeress stood up with Merle and stared at the approaching leader with shock, and a glimmer of fear; however, Hitomi quickly covered those emotions by frowning at the desert maiden and stepping in front of Merle as a human barrier. Varia snarled happily as she saw her prey was unprotected.
"What's happen to you, Varia?" exclaimed Hitomi in a thunderous voice, not willing to show her fear, "Why are you doing this?! How are you doing this?!"
The desert woman's eyes grew shadowy with internal darkness while a smirk twisted her face. Her wraps ruffled in a growing wind as Varia chuckled evilly, "What's happened to me you ask, seeress?"
Hitomi bit her lower lip nervously; not enjoying the way the desert maiden was talking. Something wasn't right…
"You ask the wrong question, seeress…" Varia hissed menacingly, "The question should be: what's happened to you,… Zongi?!"
"ZONGI?!?!" the seeress gasped in total disbelief. It was him?!… The doppleganger from the 'Great War!' He was the one who had killed Plactu and taken his form! He had nearly killed Hitomi last time from a vision and now he stood before her?!?!
Staring at him with wide emerald eyes Hitomi watched as the old enemy transformed back to his original form. Slowly his clothes became the ebony darkness and his skin became a weird pale with dozens of tattoos. The beautiful hair of wild strawberry blond locks slicked back into dark mud. Surprisingly though the metamorphosis didn't end there. Suddenly raven scales ran over him and gargoyle wings protruded from his back startling Hitomi…
"You're one of them…" she whispered painfully, "You're a demon… a follower of Dornkirk…"
Zongi smirked as his eyes gleamed at her with venom, "Yes… Since my death I have thought of nothing else except finishing you, seeress…"
"Me?…" Hitomi whispered confused, "What did I do?"
"You were born!" snarled the strange creature, "It was because of you I failed my mission! It was because of you I was forced to flee! And it was because of you I died at Dilandau's hands!"
The seeress's eyes filled with anguish as she whispered, "I never meant for that to happen… I was trying to save--"
"SILENCE!" Zongi roared with his wings twitching, "I don't want to hear your lies or half-truths! I want only for your blood upon my hands!"
With that the doppleganger launched himself at the seeress. Hitomi quickly pushed Merle aside to protect her and the baby, but unfortunately the seeress was unable to evade the attacker. Tackling her to the ground Zongi and the seeress, two old enemies, rolled in the sand trying to get the upper hand. It wasn't hard for Zongi to get Hitomi on her back with him on top seeing that she was still weak and he had been training hard in the bellows of Hell. Straddling her stomach the doppleganger snarled down at his victim while the seeress struggled beneath him trying to free her arms from under his knees. Growling Zongi revealed his black claw, its nails sharp like knives.
"Die, seeress" he hissed as he brought the claw up to strike, "Die and stay dead this time!"
"No!" a woman screamed and suddenly Zongi was pushed off Hitomi. The seeress stumbled to her knees as she saw Noi grapple the doppleganger. The desert woman looked like she was in a rage as she locked the doppelganger in a headlock. About this time Hitomi noticed the others rising from their fallen positions. Sian trotted over to Merle, as Nembus and Zaado finally were able to escape the mess of twisted canvas. Van, who cradled his side painfully, came to stand by Hitomi putting an arm around her shoulder for comfort. All watched as the desert healer held the attacker tightly in a burning rage.
Noi glared down at the being angrily and growled, "Now what did you do to the real Varia?!"
Zongi smirked evilly as he breathlessly hissed, "Whenever I take on someone's form the original version of the person is eliminated."
Pure hatred burst into the golden eyes of the desert maiden as she shouted furiously, "Then you die!"
Noi reached for the dagger in her boot her golden eyes filled with the lust for blood, but sudden shaking of the ground stopped her. The golden sea rippled with sudden disturbance and roared angry thunder in the ears of nearby spectators. People began to scream and run about as the sand shifted dangerously. Hitomi nearly fell over at the shaking, but Van was quick to steady her. Sian toppled along with the other guardians, but Merle was able to keep on her two feet -- her cat skills kicking in. Baby Iris began to wail unhappily at the pounding noise and quaking earth upset by being awaken from her slumber.
Without a moment's warning the sand separating the royal couple and the healer holding the doppleganger suddenly flew into the air. Hitomi's emeralds grew wide as she saw a pale creature burst through the ground following the direction the two individuals had risen to. A deafening growl came from the monstrous beast as it lifted its mighty head into the sky. Its body was a cream cylinder that stretched up into the clouds and disappeared beneath the sand. Speared with hundreds of ten feet spikes the creature looked quite dangerous. Scales like perfect armored dressed its flesh making his skin so tough that it would take magic to penetrate it. Probably the ferocious feature about this beast was its mouth. As it opened it jaws to roar you could look down into its throat and possibly see the opening of its large stomach. Teeth curved back to hold its prey glimmered in the moonlight. There had to be at least fourteen rows of teeth inside its mouth making an expedition into its internal organs highly impossible without coming out shredded. Towering over the camp in all hideous splendor and awe with the moon as its spotlight was the treacherous sandworm of Dosha.
Roughly falling to the ground the healer and doppleganger tumbled into the sand now separated from each other. Taking the moment as a distraction Zongi flew to his feet and raced out of the camp. Sian noticed this right away, along with the other guardians and took after him ignoring the giant worm roaring overhead.
Nembus and Zaado went to follow, but suddenly another sandworm burst through the ground directly in front of them blocking their path. That's when everything became chaos. The two worms dove at the people occupying the camp their jaws wide open to scoop up the delicious prey. Screams of panic came and people scattered in all directions desperately trying to avoid the monster; however wherever they ran the other worm would attack pinning the people in the center of the camp.
Growling in annoyance the old giant twirled his ax and brought it down in the second worm's side. Sparks flew as the enchanted metal met the scaly skin of the monster, but nothing else ensued. The ax hadn't even made a scratch. Both warriors gaped in astonishment as Zaado exclaimed, "Impossible!"
Their weapons had been forged by the greatest blacksmiths of Gaea and laced with Joutei's own powers! How could a simple monster withstand the blade of Joutei?!
Noi lifted to her feet in fear seeing how her people were so badly reacting. Urgently the maiden cried out in the 'desert tongue', "NO! You mustn't move! Or cry out! They'll only seek you out better--"
Suddenly another worm pierced through the ground a few feet away from the healer halting her cry in mid-sentence as she was thrown to the side at the force. Noi rolled through the sand for a few seconds, but furiously righted herself onto her elbows to look at the destructive creature. What should she do now?…
Sian barreled after Zongi her feet kicking up clouds of sand while dozens of more worms sprouted from the earth around her. Snorting out a breathe of sand the guardian threw herself at her target making them both fall to the sand. Sian was swift to put the doppleganger into a headlock of her own as she growled out, "Gotcha!"
No sooner had the words been said had a worm suddenly erupted from the ground directly beneath them. Suddenly the two found themselves lofted into the air with themselves mere inches from the mouth of the largest creature they had ever seen. With a roar the worm opened his jaws welcoming the easy catch with fierceness. Sian was lucky enough to be thrown aside at the beginning and was able to avoid the gaping rows of teeth, but Zongi did not escape the deadly fate and fell into the jaws of the monster. The guardian, on reflex, grabbed onto a spike protruding from the worm's side and hung on to dear life. The bloodcurdling scream from the doppleganger was happily faint in her ears as the poor demon was torn to shreds in the creature's jaws.
Sian clung to the protruding spike desperately as the monster rose higher into the air. If she were to fall from this height she surely would die on impact. The forest maiden wrapped both her arms around the cream spear as she realized if she did loose her hold and fall she would have no hope for survival. Her wings had been damaged in the fight with the last demon and were still badly hurt. There was no chance she could fly on her injured wing.
"Great going, Sian" the green maiden grumbled into the wind, "Now look what you've gotten yourself into…"
Hitomi watched as the monsters attacked the people and swallowed a few whole. The snakes swallowed up nearly all the Yuis, leaving no way for the people to escape. Anger and hurt boiled in her blood as she felt the barbaric warrior within her begin to show herself again. A protective urge to help those desert folk, unable to be overlooked by Hitomi, took over as a mysterious wind blew around her. Soon the faint outline of a white sphere could be seen around her marking her growing powers evident.
Van looked at Hitomi with fear and said quietly, "No, Hitomi… Don't do this…"
Slowly the young maiden turned to look at the one person she had always trusted and loved. She saw the pain in his rubies that came with her decision and the fear that trailed with it. More than anything she wanted to wipe away those unshed tears and comfort him with her decision to not do what she was about to do,… but she couldn't…
"I'm sorry, Van" she whispered in a pained voice, "I can't let innocent people get hurt and you know that…"
Van knew that nothing he said could keep her from doing this. She had always been the first to protect the innocent and even with year of peace she had not changed in the slightest. Desperately the young king clung to his only hope to keep her out of the battle and said, "The guardians can handle this…"
The seeress felt a stab of guilt strike her at those words. She had promised Sian that she would stay out of the battles unless it was necessary… Turning Hitomi stared at the horrible scene in concern… Several people had already died by way of the sandworms and it was obvious by the continued attacks that more would follow… Nearby Nembus and Zaado did everything they could to pierce the worms' skin, but their weapons were like butter against steel. Their weapons were taken more of the beating than the worms…
Turning back to Van the seeress said firmly, but full of emotional distraught, "They need my help, Van… They need me so I must do this…"
With a silent swirl the young queen let her powers reach their peak letting the wind suddenly roar sending up the sand, her clothes, and hair in a violent ripple. The faint sphere became brilliant and the glowing symbol on her brow became evident. Grayish wings suddenly sprouted from her back, a few stray feathers left to swirl around her.
"I'm so sorry, Van…" Hitomi whispered sorrowfully, "Protect Iris…"
Unable to hold back a few tears the seeress took off towards the mass of sandworms. The raven king took a few steps after his beloved, but no further. A painful stab came to the ruler's heart as he saw his wife fleeting form flying towards danger. What could he do?… He surely couldn't stop her…He couldn't even protect her… It was hard for him to accept the fact that he would never be able to protect the woman he loved… She was more capable of protecting herself then he was… She was the destined one… She was the one who had abilities that no one else had… She was the one known as the 'Angel of Gaea'… What was he?… Her husband… The king of a successful nation… but in other's eyes he was nothing compared to her… For nearly a year that Fanelia had been so successful the light had shined mostly on Hitomi and not him… He could careless for the glory she received… It didn't matter to him what he was or what he could do when all he needed was her,… but he felt like he was a failure to her… He knew she didn't see him that way, but he felt he was being unworthy of her praises… He had vowed to always protect her… and now… when she needed it most… He could do nothing… The horrible truth place a horrible guilt in the man's heart as he stared after her beautiful form disappearing into the battle…
Just as sorrowfully as she had whispered to him the young king whispered,
I'm so sorry, Hitomi…"
~~~ Nembus ~~~
The dark clothed angel dodged another worm's dangerous jaws and flew up even higher trying his best to distract the beasts as best as he could to help the people escape. Twirling beautiful the guardian flew right through a pair of open jaws without a slight bit of fear. With agility of a cat the man brought his sword into view of the moonlight letting its silver blade and chimes gleam. The tiny metal pieces clinked together in a beautiful tone alerting the worms of his position once again. They lunged blindly at the sound hoping to find their prey. Smirking successfully Nembus quickly moved out of their path without making a sound with his sword's chimes. With a howl three of the worms butt heads and roared with anguish.
The man sneered down at the twisted forms of the worms triumphant fully and readied his sword. With a warrior's cry the soldier brought his sword down hard on one of the worm's upper half. Red and orange sparks flew at the connection and Nembus stared down in wonder at the results of the blow. The worm's scales were merely scratched deep and bent slightly making the attack more like a mosquito bite than a fatal injury. Pulling up his sword to his empty eyes the warrior saw his blade had become brittle from the extent of the attack.
Growling in annoyance Nembus unconsciously alerted the worms again of his location. Bringing his blade to cross over his arm the guardian decided he would have to resort to his powers. Suddenly a familiar wind picked up around him as the worms lunged at him. Seconds before they struck the man's brow glowed a purple emblem and an aura of identical hue surrounded him. With a yell Nembus released his powers and the sphere fell in all directions hitting the worms at full force. The large creature's fell over landing hard on the sand below nearly squashing several innocents, but just barely missing them. Slowly Nembus descended eyeing the still bodies of the worms as he still glowed with power. They appeared to be dead. Snorting the guardian turned away ready to finish off the rest of the worms. If all he needed to do was use his powers they were in luck.
Spotting Zaado not far away trying to attack the worms Nembus call out to him, "ZAADO! THE WEAPONS WON"T WORK! USE YOUR POWERS!"
The gentle giant glanced at his fellow guardian and quickly released his own powers. Zaado roared with the intensity of the process and soon a cream sphere surrounded him. Clutching the handle of his ax the man charged a worm kicking up sand as he did. With a bellow the bearded warrior caused his ax to become a brilliant glow of cream just as he swung the blade at an unsuspecting worm's side. A grunt of effort came from the snowman as a howl of pain came from the worm. The ax head laid buried in the monster's flesh, the worm's green blood spreading over the silver metal.
Zaado gave a smirk as glowing lines washed over the worm. Grinding his teeth together the warrior pushed his powers into the ax letting them strike the monster at full force. Suddenly the creature exploded sending pieces of itself everywhere with its weird blood trailing. The mountain man snorted as a large portion of the creature splattered onto him, reminding him that he should never do that again with such a large enemy.
Nembus smirked at the success they were having, but suddenly the smirk turned to distress as he spotted a frightening scene. Up in the air hanging on for dear life was Sian…
~~~ Sian ~~~
The forest maiden felt her grip on the spike slipping. Soon she would loose the hold she had and would fall to the world below. Grunting from the extent Sian tightened her hold as the worm once again tried to turn around and bite her off its neck. Luckily for her she was too close to the head for it to turn around and take her. Its mouth just simple couldn't reach her behind its head. Roaring with annoyance the worm turned to bucking. Sian was swung back and forth as she clung to the spike. Again she slipped a few inches down the spear coming to the mid-point of the visible portion of the barb.
Growling Sian decided she had to change tactics. Anyone could tell she wouldn't last long just hanging on like this. Carefully the guardian reached for another spike with one outstretched hand. Her fingers barely brushed up against the spear showing how useless it was to hope. Frowning angrily Sian reached out for the spike as best she could. Her fingers slowly wound around the spike, but it was too thick for her to properly grasp. Snarling she tried to reached even further when suddenly the worm bucked. Sian lost her hold on both spears and suddenly was in the air. Looking down she saw the worm she had just fallen off of collecting below her ready to catch her with its teeth.
"Well, if I go" Sian snarled as she reached for her bow, "At least I can take him with me."
Swiftly she twirled her bow to the right angle and brought her finger to the golden thread. In seconds a white arrow formed in the crook aiming right for the monster below. For a moment the green emblem of the Draconians brightened on her brow. Suddenly the worms rushed upwards as if the sudden powers attracted them.
"What the!--" the guardian shouted as the creature nearly met her before she could released her shot. In sudden panic of being eaten the arrow was released and shot into the opening jaws of the sandworm. As soon as the light weapon had passed through its jaws the worm quickly shut its mouth only to thrown it back open moments later in a cry of pain as it exploded to a billion pieces of blood and flesh.
Sian continued to plunge downwards unable to stop her descent. The sea of sand under the moonlight shone like a marker of death. With her wings being useless the beautiful maiden allowed herself to fall ready for the death. Her braid whipped behind her while her bangs struck her face. The green emblem continued to glow with her descent along with the emerald aura that formed around her. Her silver eyes slid close as if in a small prayer…
"I'm sorry I have failed you, Queen Hitomi" she whispered with sadness, "I'm sorry I won't be able to protect you when the time comes--"
Suddenly Sian felt a pair of arms take her from behind slowing her descent tremendously. Glancing over her shoulder the guardian spotted her dear comrade smirking at her. The woman could not hold back her joy at the sight of him, "Nembus!"
The warrior smiled a true smile that he rarely used, "Would you have thought of someone else?"
The two warriors softly landed on the sand and glanced around at the scene. Though they had tried to distract the worms the beasts had continued to round up the people in a central location keeping them from scattered from them. Zaado raced through the twists of scales striking down the worms one by one with his glowing ax, but with each worm he killed two more would pop up from the ground. Sian's silver eyes narrowed as she noticed a good portion of the sandworms were focused on the old man.
"Strange…" the woman muttered in thought, "Why would they be so intent on getting Zaado?…"
Nembus glanced at the old timer with a blank expression, "I don't see that I follow you, Sian… Wouldn't they want to focus on their most important threat?…"
"Perhaps…" she said speaking more to herself then him, "But… why do more than half concentrate on him?… Wouldn't a lot of them continue to attack the desert folk?… And their attacks are odd… Look at the way they attack as if Zaado is more of an easy meal than threat…"
Sian was quite right. The worms were continual lunging at the ancient warrior instead of trying to be wary of his dangerous ax… and completely ignoring the easier victims nearby… It was like… they were… attracted to him…
Sian gasped at the sudden thought of attraction… Could they be attracted to their powers?… That would explain a lot…
Why had the worms suddenly change their migration?…
Because they were attracted by the power radiating from the blue pillar of light…
Why did were they attacking Zaado and not the other easier prey?…
Because Zaado's powers attracted them…
Why did they suddenly attack now during the night?…
Because Zongi's attacks had attracted them…
Why had the worm suddenly rush up to meet her when she had powered up?…
Because it was attracted by her powers…
Sian stared at the intense battle with a shocked look on their face… That had to be the answer… The maiden lowered her powers extinguishing the light on her brow and green aura surrounding her. Nembus followed her approach although not quite understanding.
"What is it?" he asked mildly as he eyed her curiously. Sian glanced towards him and then back at the battle. A sudden movement caught her eye just before she could speak. Narrowing her silver jewels the guardian focused on what she saw. With a start Sian's eyes grew wide with a gasp.
Nembus frowned at this and asked, "What is it?"
Sian said nothing as she watched her queen enter the battle with her power level soaring…
~~~ Hitomi ~~~
The seeress flew through the twist and turns of the worms' twisted bodies trying to reach the old warrior in the mist of them. Her emerald eyes were trailing tears, but she ignored their meaning as she put complete focus in the task at hand. She couldn't be distracted with emotions right now…
Hitomi's emerald eyes slowly faded into their pearly glow as she opened up the powers within her… Subconsciously Hitomi noticed how much easier it was to fully open her powers now after the merge… Strange,… but logical… The white aura surrounding her suddenly became bright and began to trail a pearly afterglow like a comet's forked tail.
With a twist of her body Hitomi passed by the finally blockade of worms and landed a few feet beside the male guardian. Zaado turned to his queen and started at the sight of her. Her powers had doubled in the last few minutes and her beauty was heightened in the display of it. The guardian shifted as he noticed the young queen turning towards him. With her hair fluttering in her own magical wind the seeress softly nodded to her bodyguard. Zaado stared at her a moment before nodding in understanding.
Quickly the ancient warrior brought his ax in both fists in a perfect fighting stance. Hitomi just turned back to the regrouping worms ready to do all she could to stop them. Her emerald eyes narrowed on the approaching danger and her palms were brought up to face their targets. Slowly they glowed a beautiful pearl ready to finish cleaning up the garbage while Zaado ax became a brilliant cream. Together the two looked like a pair of beautiful jewels hidden in the desert…
~~~ Noi ~~~
The healer pushed another individual towards the nearby dunes hoping to somehow escape these monsters. Her sandy hair lifted in the growing winds as she glared at the creatures that had picked off her people in the past. She wouldn't allow them to kill all her people! Not when she had worked so hard with Varia, her dearest friend, to protect them! Growling the woman's hand subconsciously reached for her weapon, but stopped just as her fingers brushed against the cool metal.
Noi's golden eyes grew wide as she saw the three bodyguards of the royal couple attacking the worms… She saw the way they glowed with power and their weapons were graced with enchantment… More importantly she saw their wings… Draconian wings… The healer gaped at them in astonishment… She thought they had been lying to them when they had claimed to be Draconians… It had been years since Draconians had finally emerged back on Gaea in full sight… It was finally at the 'Sacrifice' that the legend of Draconians were given truth… The healer had been unwilling to believe that they had been Draconians… The idea had still been very raw and new to the world that Draconians were once again on Gaea bringing about suspension and anger for all who had old grudges against the angels…
Her gold locks fell over her eyes and the woman swept them away as she eyed the three warriors fighting off the worms. They weren't even bound to her people yet they fought for their survival willing to put their lives on the line for them…
Suddenly a flash of white light streaked towards the battle catching the healer's eyes. Turning Noi gasped at the beauty and wonder of the display. She watched as the young queen shot towards the center of the fight in a pearly glow, her wings a tinge gray though still marvelous… The desert maiden gaped in astonishment as she saw the ruler take a fighting stance against the giant snakes…
She was willing to risk her own life???… The notion of a QUEEN going into battle to protect her people was very rare,… but a QUEEN going into battle to protect just anyone had never been seen by the young woman… The idea seemed nearly impossible!…
Noi stared at the display as her mind began to go into full speed…
~~~ Zaado & Hitomi ~~~
With a shout the fighter released his pearly wings and leapt into the air striking a worm hard in the face. The snakes suddenly ignored the warrior and lunged at the seeress feeling the intense power radiating from her. With a frown Hitomi brought her power level a little higher and caused the wind around her to pick up and send sand and feathers flying. The pearl sphere around her became nearly blinding and sizzled with white lightning that struck every which way. The nearest worm hit the aura at full force and reared at the pain that came from the contact.
The seeress's face remained blank as she aimed her palms at a few of the sandworms. With a small grunt she released two sparkling orbs letting them hiss through the air and strike two of the monsters. The beasts cried out as their skin sizzled from the heat and their inner flesh was scorched.
Though their brothers had been injured the others showed no fear as they plowed past them charging the 'Angel' head on. Hitomi frowned at the sudden approach, but didn't back down. Gracefully she brought her wings into a delicate arch and pounded against the air with them as best he could against the wind sending her rapidly into the sky. Her sudden taking to the air was so quick that the worms rammed into the spot she had once occupied. With growls and hiss of aggravation the monsters thrust into the air determined to take down the delicious prize.
Zaado pushed past a few of the worms that were completely ignoring him and stared up into the sky at his queen. Hitomi dove, twisted, and swiveled past and through the worms forcing several to tie into painful knots as others were struck down by her powerful white spheres. The warrior frowned at how much attention they were showing her. What was going on?
"ZAADO!!" he heard a voice cry over the roars of the monsters. Turning his head slightly the giant caught sight of Sian and Nembus racing towards him. The green maiden waved her arms wildly as shouted hoarsely, "Stop using your powers! There attracted to them!"
The mountain man's eyes opened wider and he glanced at the worms momentarily. She was right! They were attracted to their powers! The way they ignored him and gave full attention to Hitomi told him that! The greater the powers the more attraction they drew. One could only imagine what the sandworms thought of Hitomi!
Sliding to a halt next to the giant the maiden turned her silver eyes to her mistress while the man lowered his powers. Sian bit her lip as she saw Hitomi struggling to keep a step ahead of the snakes. Though the queen was injuring several of the worms and tangling them up quite well there were still a great number of them who were still causing problems. There were at least forty worms surrounding her and who knew how many more were nearby! The odds weren't looking good!
Frowning angrily the maiden twirled her bow in one hand and growled, "Alright! Here's the plan: We need to get the sandworms off Queen Hitomi so let's draw their attention by using our own powers at full strength. We might even be able to take a few down!"
Zaado frowned automatically at the idea and snorted, "How could that help?! Queen Hitomi's powers far exceed our own! We would look like garbage compared to her!"
Annoyed by his disagreement with her idea the woman crossed her arms and snarled, "Well, Zaado, what do you suggest?!"
The ancient warrior became silent causing Sian to suddenly smirk in triumph, but it soon fell as Zaado gave a better smirk. The maiden narrowed her eyes on him in expectation while Nembus was still and expressionless.
"All we need to do" Zaado began, "Is to get Queen Hitomi to power down and then we can bring our power levels up and attract them."
Sian rolled her eyes at the way he had twisted her idea into his idea. Angrily the woman hissed, "That'll never work! Once Hitomi's power level drops the sandworms will easily take her down!"
Nembus scowled as Sian and Zaado got into each other's face snarling like wild dogs. Angrily the forgotten warrior growled, "That's enough! Must I remind you that we should be protecting the queen right now!"
The two other guardians glanced at him their eyes being washed away of anger as they turned to look up at their mistress.
~~~ Hitomi ~~~
She whirled around and brought her palms together in a circle. Within that circle a tiny orb of white light was created. Gentle warmth came from the tiny creation showing its power. Slowly the star grew rubbing up against the seeress's pale skin. As it continued to grow in diameter her hands spread back allowing the globe to swell into the size of a car. The sphere glowed so bright it was its own sun drowning the shadows in light and overrunning the moon's own glow. Sweat slipped from the angel woman's brow as she locked her jaws in exertion. Her emeralds eyed the serpents as they threw themselves at her. Her wings fluttered as she felt herself become unsteady for a moment.
Grunting because of the effort Hitomi threw the ball of light at the mass of snakes seeing a dozen of them blast to pieces, their flesh rotting from the searing heat. Bodies littered the ground marking the death on both sides. The seeress panted as she stared down at the remaining worms only to see more suddenly shoot up from the ground. Coughing once the 'Angel' got into a fighting stance gasping for air. Her body was straining against these monsters. She had been given nearly a week's rest and still she was no match for these simple beasts?! It was absurd! Growling she curled her hands into fists and forced her power level to rise higher. She had to defeat them… so these people would survive… so her guardians… so her daughter… so her beloved… so her advisor… may live…
Screaming hoarsely the seeress released a great swell of power at the dark beings allowing every ounce she could find within her to be pounded into the sandworms! A brilliant flash ensued the moment and with a deafening strike of power a group of worms fell to the ground dead,… and still more came… and more…
Hitomi saw the group of worms rising to meet her, but she was too exhausted to do anything… She had released a great deal of powers and she could tell her power level was getting dangerously low… If she went too far that would be the end… Even if she wanted to go farther she didn't know how she could without killing herself…Gulping to help her dry throat the seeress waited for the sandworms to arrive… desperately trying to come up with a way to survive…
~~~ Guardians ~~~
Sian felt her heart clenched at the sight of her mistress growing weak… the worms coming up to meet her… Without thinking the maiden's feet began to slowly walk towards the direction of her ruler… With each step her feet grew faster… The maiden suddenly began to trot… then jog… and then racing through the sand towards her queen… In the back of her mind she acknowledged that Nembus and Zaado were following behind her, trying to keep up…
In a desperate cry the 'Maiden of the Forest' called out to her queen and friend, "HITOMI! NO!"
~~~ Van ~~~
He stood next to his sister watching his wife fight the worms by herself…
Help…
The word constantly repeated in his mind…
Help…
What help was he?
He had no powers… no enchanted weapons… All he had was a sword passed down in his family and a dragon who was no where to be found… He might be a swordsman, but what good was he against those monsters?… He felt… utterly… worthless…
Merle cradled the infant to her body in a motherly fashion as she glanced again at her brother… He seemed so… dead… His rubies were shadowed with deep thought as they were transfixed on the fleeting form of the seeress… He didn't speak or move, but remained silent watching the battle…
Scowling angrily the cat-girl rocked the screaming baby. For some odd reason it seemed Iris could tell her mother was in danger. The more the danger grew for Hitomi the louder the princess would scream… Merle did her best to calm the child, but her mind was more focused on her quiet brother. Finally unable to take the silence any longer the cat-girl shouted, "VAN!"
The young king glanced at his sister in response. Angry by his silent reply Merle's voice became harsh, "For Joutei's sake, Lord Van, go do something!"
His rubies stared at her for a few long seconds before turning to refocus on the battle. In a strange low voice Van asked, "What would you have me do, Merle? I can't protect Hitomi… I have no powers to stand up against beings like that…"
The young cat-girl softened at those words. She understood his sudden silence…
Tentatively Merle whispered with her blue eyes sparkling, "Lord Van,… I have been by your side since the beginning of our childhood… I have always stood by your decisions and always had deep faith in you… I have never doubted you… Your parents had never doubted you… Folken had never doubted you… and Hitomi has never once given the slightest inclination of doubt towards you…"
Van stared at her not quite grasping the meaning held in her words. Merle smiled sadly at her brother with love and understanding. Her bronze ears twitched once as she whispered assuredly, "Lord Van, how many times has Hitomi gone to help you when all seemed impossible?… especially for her?… Don't fail her now… She has never left you to fight alone… Don't let her fight alone…"
Raven locks fluttered over his rubies as he stared at the mature young feline known as his adopted sister. Slowly his pale lips turned into a smile as he began to understand her… She was right… It didn't matter what he did… As long as he tried to always be by her side… To fight for her any way he could… Quietly the man whispered, "Thank you, Merle…"
She merely smiled as she cradled his daughter, "Don't worry about me and Iris… We'll be fine… You just go help Hitomi…"
With a wistful smile the young king nodded and turned towards the battle, but he was already too late…
~~~ Hitomi ~~~
The seeress heard the cries of her friends calling her name over the roars of the sandworms. Through all of them she caught the voice of her beloved hollering out to her, but he was so far away… She was alone to face her death…
The sandworm lunged at her and Hitomi stared at it with a panic expression on her face. This was it…. She had no plan… no decision… no option to turn to… It was the last second of her life and though she had lived through two alien wars… escape several attempts on her life… Suffered through countless visions… and died once… Her life would finally come to an end from a mindless animal?!… The irony of her death just seemed too dramatic to express…
Suddenly the seeress caught the sound of something whizzing through the air. Turning her green eyes towards the left she caught sight of a golden disc flying through the air with a forked golden trail following behind it. With a hiss the glowing disc struck the attacking worm's side going right through its flesh and exiting out the other side of it. Though the disc had been only a foot wide and had only been able to slice a hole through the worm it had been enchanted causing the magic it was graced with to slice through the rest of the worm's body severing its head. With a disgusted thud the creature's head and body fell to the ground already forming a huge pool of green blood. Hitomi stared down at the creature in astonishment unable to understand what had just happened. Turning her emeralds back to the golden disc that flew like a frisbee the seeress saw that not only did it fly like a frisbee it flew like a boomerang, for the disc was coming back the way it came!
Following it with her eyes Hitomi watched as it flew past her and was caught by a trained hand about fifty yards away. The guardians, Merle, and Van all followed the disc as well and stared in astonishment of the wielder of the weapon. The seeress gaped as she saw who caught it. The person was flying in the air by the help of two glowing white wings and her brow was blessed with the golden symbol of the Draconians. Her eyes of gold twinkled at the young queen as a smile graced the figure. Slowly the disc in her hand dimmed to its original color, a brilliant silver. It was… Noi?!…
Hitomi stared at the desert healer as the desert guardian flew to her and hovered a few feet before the young queen. Noi smiled softly as she stood before her queen. Tentatively the seeress asked in an astonished whisper, "Nazomi?…"
"Yes, my queen" the woman said in a rough, but feathery voice, "It is I, Nazomi, 'Guardian of the Sands'…"
Hitomi's mind reeled with question suddenly as stared at the newest arrival. Suddenly words poured forth from the royal's mouth as she tried to understand everything, "But how?-- Why did you?--"
Nazomi shook her head as she turned slightly to the left, "I'm sorry, mistress, but now is not the time for questions."
The seeress glanced around realizing the truth of their predicament taking notice of the sandworms regrouping to attack. The newest guardian brought her weapon to her chest as she readied to attack. Slowly the disc glowed with power sending a gold highlight over her and the seeress. Within the empty center of the sphere the emblem of the Draconians glowed like diamonds. Twisting her arm back the warrior smirked and released the deadly disc. It flew with such accuracy and grace it nearly astonished the seeress when it plowed through a worm's neck. Golden light swallowed the snake throwing its limp body back to the planet below with a crash. Hissing with power the disc twirled around and zipped back to its owner softly landing in her pale palm.
~~~ Guardians ~~~
Sian smirked at the figure flying in the air as she raced across the sand into battle while she spoke to herself in her mind, 'To think that Noi had been Nazomi the whole times… It just blows my mind away… It seems so absurd… Nazomi had always been harsh and rough while Noi had seemed more on the soft side… Strange,… but logical… It could have been a sort of strategy to keep up a sweet and innocent act…'
The warrior half shrugged as she continued to plow over the sea of golden sand. What did it matter about the reason? As long as they had found the next guardian that meant they could continue their search and leave this retched land of horrible temperatures!
With a grunt the maiden lifted her bow to eyes level and pulled back the golden thread producing a brilliant light arrow. Not even stopping her fierce running the warrior released the arrow letting it strike a worm hard in the side. A hellish roar came from the brute as the shot exploded in its skin ripping away a good chunk of its flesh.
Sian's eyes of brilliant silver narrowed as she leapt into the air. Taking her bow in two hands slowly the weapon began to glow an emerald green. The familiar angel emblem burned on her brow as the guardian released a warrior cry. In a wisp of power Sian sliced clean through the same worm severing its head from its body. Landing on one knee in the golden grains the body fell beside her making thunder in her ears.
Zaado and Nembus quickly released their wings and took off into the sky their weapons glowing brightly as well. The giant made easy work of his enemies with only a few short cuts while Nembus had to resort to using a heavy dose of his powers to cut through the monsters.
~~~ Hitomi ~~~
The seeress lowered her powers bringing them back to their normal state as she watched the four guardians work the battle. Careful to not overexert herself Hitomi barely beat her wings allowing just enough effort to keep her aloft. Glancing over at the newest bodyguard the 'Angel' grew incredible focused on the desert maiden. Nazomi threw her disc again letting it slice through another worm with barely an effort.
Why had she kept her identity a secret?… Had she doubted that I was truly the Queen of Draconians like the others?… Or did she still hold some grudges against the younger guardians?…
Shaking away the questions the seeress watched the golden disc fly in a perfect glide transfixed with its grace. Suddenly the weapon broke into two different halves striking off in their own directions. Like shooting stars the two half-spheres drilled through two different snakes destroying them in a swell of golden glow. Glittering beautifully the two halves curved back and reconnected as they flew forming a full disc once again. Silently the weapon flew back to its master's hand and its glow faded.
Hitomi stared at the weapon curiously. The guardians' weapons were so unique. She had never witness such uses of their particular weapons are such variety. Joutei surely didn't go halfway when he formed those weapons. Hitomi had been so transfixed by the display that she never noticed the figure behind her. Van placed a gentle hand on her shoulder giving her a small start. Swirling around the seeress locks bounced before her emeralds beautifully as she gasped, "Van!"
The young king smiled as he opened his mouth to speak, but the desert guardian cut him off as she exclaimed, "Queen Hitomi, we must get the people out of here!"
The royal couple turned towards the flushed warrior as Nazomi glided over to them. Scowling slightly the guardian spoke a bit roughly, "All the people who are part of this camp are the Draconians I protect. We must get them out of here before the sandworms kill them all!"
Automatically Hitomi knew what to do, but so did Van and the idea quickly put him in a panic. The Dragon King took his wife's shoulder in his hand, as he exclaimed, "No, Hitomi You're far too weak to do that now!"
The seeress shook off his shoulder softly as she whispered sadly, "I must, Van. I won't allow our people to die… I won't allow anymore people to suffer…"
His rubies glittered with concern as she turned away and closed her emeralds. Carefully she searched out for every single soul of the desert folk letting her powers surround each. New sweat dripped down her brow as she concentrated all her powers towards the familiar task. She could feel it… She could feel her powers nearing the edge… She had to get it pass that borderline for it to work… Straining hard Hitomi pushed her powers to their limits letting them spill over the crevice… With her eyes still closed the blue shafts flew downwards enveloping all of the desert angels in a single moment. Cries could be heard from the people, but they were lost in the shrill hollers of the worms. Taking off guard by the sudden outburst the guardians stopped their attacks for a slim moment. Each of them watched as the people of the desert were lifted into the sky at a rapid speed knowing they were going to the safe haven of Fanelia.
Sian lowered her powers becoming the normal warrior she had always been and stared up at the night sky at her queen. Brunette locks swept over her silver jewels and the warrior brushed them aside unconsciously. Hitomi looked extremely weak as the final glimpse of the blue pillars disappeared into the stars. Falling backwards into her waiting husband's arm Hitomi knew her power level was too low for comfort.
Opening her emerald eyes slowly the angel queen knew what was to be done next. The ocean was the final location known to have a guardian dwelling at. She had to get them all to the ocean,… but she had never been to Gaea's oceans… At least not to the particular one they needed to go to… Perhaps if…
Careful to hide her exhaustion the young queen looked up at her husband and asked, "Van, have you ever been to the Ocean of Azul?"
The young king was a little surprised at the question responded very slowly, "… Yes, Hitomi…"
Taking his hand into hers the woman whispered tiredly, "Then picture it in your mind… We must leave before all is lost here… The worms are many and we cannot hold out against them forever… We must go to the ocean… to seek out the next guardian…"
"But, Hitomi" he started worriedly, "You're still very--"
"We must!" she responded firmly as she was cradled close to his chest, "We cannot wait any longer! We must go now! Picture it, Van! Please!"
The young king stared at her with his eyes in a turmoil of decisions. Hitomi brought her hand to his cheek tenderly as she blinked back a few tears to whisper, "Please, Van,…"
That's what all it took. He could never deny her anything when she asked like that and looked straight into his eyes. Quietly he closed his fire orbs seeking out the old memory of the ocean as Hitomi gave him small instructions.
"Think of the sounds you heard… The way the water felt…"
The sound of seagulls singing filled his head and the laps of the waves he could feel against his ankles.
"Do you still remember the taste of its waters?…"
The taste of saltwater…
"Remember the way the air was like there…"
The salty air running through his raven locks…
"Where were you?…"
The ships' planks creaking… He remembered it so well… The time his father had brought him on a trip across the ocean… the Ocean of Azul…
Closing her eyes Hitomi surged into his mind clamping onto the memories he was reliving in his head…Weak from battle the seeress took hold of the images loosely and laced the memories with her powers…Without warning light shot down from the sky swallowing him and the others in its glory. Hitomi stared up the pillar at its center concentrating hard on keeping the shafts intact. Her mind was filled with the images Van remembered. Using all the abilities she wielded Hitomi focused on their destination in blind hope that this would bring them where they needed to be…
Sadly she was so weak that she lost consciousness and blacked out halfway through the process…
~~~ Sometime Later ~~~
The seeress coughed loudly spewing out the seawater that had been unconsciously swallowed by her. Sounds of an ocean penetrated the darkness that had been cradling her mind and slowly Hitomi began to draw her mind from the fuzzy blackness. Her body was cold and her clothes stuck to her body with their wetness. How had she gotten wet?… Her body ached with soreness and she felt as if she weighed a million pounds. Voices… she heard voices…
Tentatively she opened her emerald eyes and saw the moon smiling down at her. For a moment she was at lost where she was until she heard the creaking of planks beneath her… A ship… she was on a ship…
Suddenly a silhouette blocked out the moon forcing Hitomi to focus on the stranger looming over her… She desperately wanted to ask who he or she was and exactly where she was, but the trip with the pillar had been too much and before a single word could be spoken she blacked out again left to drift in the unconscious state of not knowing the seriousness of her predicament…
~Well, what's going to happen? Where is Hitomi? Did everyone else make it okay? Who's the one that found her? Is it a friend or is it a foe? Find out in Chapter 17 when Hitomi wakes up and finds herself in strange lodgings!~
~Sorry, about all these delays! I'm trying my best to get them out on time, but it's growing harder with work and all. I will try my absolute hardest to get the next chapter out by Fri. I'm out of school right now for the holidays sooooo I should be able to do it, unless of course I get writer's block!~
~Did anyone figure out that Noi was really Nazomi? I thought it was pretty obvious, but maybe it wasn't, you tell me!~
~Please review!~
~ Sorry for being late yet again! Shame on me! I've been having serious writer's block not to mention less hours to write because of school and work!~
~ I hope you guys are enjoying this story and I hope I'm not making any mistakes in this series! If I am point them out, but please don't burn me. This is one of my first fanfics!~
~ I was informed on a few errors I have in my story so I'm writing this to clear things up:
(a) error #1 -- Merle's eyes are actually green, NOT brown which I wrote in my first story.
Cleanup #1 -- I didn't know, sorry. From now on I'll refer to Merle's eyes as green
(b) error #2 -- Hitomi's hair is a light brown, NOT mahogany which I might have mentioned a few times.
Cleanup #2 -- I was just looking for another word for brown, but I guess I slipped with the phrase so you'll just have to excuse me and from now on I won't refer to Hitomi's hair as that color.
(c) error #3 -- Hitomi's grandmother's name in the magna series is actually Yuri (meaning "Lily" in English), NOT Iris as I like to call her
Cleanup #3 -- In all reasonable terms I'm not following the magna series, but instead the TV (uncut) version where Hitomi's grandmother's name was NEVER mentioned so I'm really not to blame for this foul up so don't worry about the name.
~ I'm not mad at anyone for mentioning these errors for me. They were honest mistakes, which I'm glad someone pointed them out to me, though they can be slightly aggravating to deal with. Thanks again for the pointers and hope you guys don't get upset for having a few~
~ Please Review~
The Fate of Two Worlds: the Sequel
By Angel_Wings
Chapter 16 ~ Whose Who?
~~~ Desert Tent ~~~
The blade was stopped short as a pale hand grasped the intruder's attacking limb. Angrily the murderer glared up at the person who had stopped her. Sian smirked at the mysterious attacker dangerously and growled, "Next time you check to see if someone's asleep perhaps it's better not to be so loud!"
Hissing like a cat the intruder struggled for the blade as the guardian used both her hands to grab the hilt of the dagger. Desperate to keep her rulers out of danger Sian pushed both of them to the ground. Sand quickly was tossed about as the two rolled over each other grasping for control of the dagger. Van and Hitomi soon jumped up into sitting positions at the sudden noise.
"What's going on here?!" Van roared angrily as he spotted Sian and some figure tossing about on the floor in the dark.
Hitomi furiously put on her clothes, as did Van, and illuminated the room with a lantern. The golden light pierced the darkness showing the face of the attacker. Sian gaped down at the face of Varia.
"Varia?!" the seeress gasped loudly shocked at the sight of the desert ruler.
Grunting the desert leader pushed the angel guard off of her sending Sian onto her back. In a single swift motion Varia jumped to her feet and hurled the dagger at Hitomi.
"Hitomi!" came the sound of Van and Sian's voices as they watch the gleaming metal fly through the air. It went all too fast for the seeress to react. Luckily someone else was able to.
Noi urgently threw herself at Hitomi making them both fall to the ground barely missing the sharp silver blade as it whizzed by. With a 'thud' the two fell into a heap and the dagger struck one of the thick tent pole becoming automatically embedded in the tough wood. Growling at her failure Varia quickly swirled around and dove out of the tent.
Sian snarled in aggravation as she gathered her limbs beneath her and struck off after the escaping killer. Noi was just as quick and easily rose to follow leaving behind the two rulers. Glancing at each other Van and Hitomi raced after the three women determined to find out what was going on.
Varia had barely exited the tent when Sian tackled her. The leader screamed bloody murder as she tried to kick the woman off of her. The guardian merely grunted as she struggled to hold down the leader's legs. Noi was soon there and reached for her dear friend's arms.
The desert leader glared up at her comrade as she roared, "Traitor!"
Noi simply frowned at the word as she said angrily, "Whose the traitor, Varia?! Why did you attack Queen Hitomi?!"
The desert attacker remained silent as she continued to struggle. Before long the camp was in an uproar with lanterns being turned on and people bursting from their tents. Merle raced out of Hitomi and Van's tent, after following the guardians, holding Iris in her arms. It didn't take long for Nembus and Zaado to wake and soon they were standing nearby the three fighting women.
As the fighting progressed the desert leader began to twist her limbs in such a way that Noi could barely hold on to the woman. Varia growled like a wild dog as she ripped her arms away from the healer. Quickly the leader placed her palm in Noi's face and in seconds an ebony-purple glow shot in the woman's eyes.
Crying out in pain Noi fell backwards running her hand over her face as if to brush away the anguish of the attack. Sian gaped at the sight and lost her concentration on the desert woman's legs. Grunting Varia brought her heels hard into the guardian's chest knocking the wind out of Sian. With a 'thud' the forest maiden collided with the ground sending up a small cloud of golden grains. With perfect grace Varia leapt to her feet and eyed the group nearby. Nembus drew his sword with a growl as Zaado readied his ax. The desert woman smirked as her palms began to glow.
Hitomi's emerald grew wide as she realized what was going to happen. Turning around desperately to the two guardians she shouted a warning, "LOOK OUT!"
It had been too late though, for the attack had already been released when the seeress had cried out at them. Though they were the best fighters in Gaea they were unable to evade the blows and crashed into the tent behind them. The canvas fixture collapsed on the two males leaving behind no sight of the two ancient fighters. Cries of fear and astonishment came from the group of desert folk startled and surprised by their leader's actions.
Varia turned towards the royal family and advisor with her eyes gleaming. Hitomi took a step back next to Merle as Van stood in front of them. The young king cursed under his breath for not remembering his sword when they had left the tent. Hitomi stared at Varia not understanding what was going on. How could Varia do this? And why was she attacking her?…
Growling the desert leader launched another black comet, this time at the raven king. Van dodged the attack and pushed Hitomi and Merle also out of the way. The two women and child landed in the sand roughly, but without injury saving the infant from its roughness. Getting into a fighting position in front of the two, Van glared at Varia daring her to attack him.
The leader was not impressed and rushed him. The king's fist went to make contact with the woman's face, but she was quicker and ducked a second before the connection took place. With perfect form Varia punched the ruler in the stomach making him wince considerably, but not quite enough to double over at the blow. Grunting painfully Van tried again by swinging at her, but it didn't even come close, for his aim was sloppy from his pain. Twisting her body gracefully the woman brought her heel hard in his side. With a small cry of anguish Van flew through the air landing several feet in the sand clutching his side as he coughed.
Smirking Varia turned back towards Hitomi. The seeress stood up with Merle and stared at the approaching leader with shock, and a glimmer of fear; however, Hitomi quickly covered those emotions by frowning at the desert maiden and stepping in front of Merle as a human barrier. Varia snarled happily as she saw her prey was unprotected.
"What's happen to you, Varia?" exclaimed Hitomi in a thunderous voice, not willing to show her fear, "Why are you doing this?! How are you doing this?!"
The desert woman's eyes grew shadowy with internal darkness while a smirk twisted her face. Her wraps ruffled in a growing wind as Varia chuckled evilly, "What's happened to me you ask, seeress?"
Hitomi bit her lower lip nervously; not enjoying the way the desert maiden was talking. Something wasn't right…
"You ask the wrong question, seeress…" Varia hissed menacingly, "The question should be: what's happened to you,… Zongi?!"
"ZONGI?!?!" the seeress gasped in total disbelief. It was him?!… The doppleganger from the 'Great War!' He was the one who had killed Plactu and taken his form! He had nearly killed Hitomi last time from a vision and now he stood before her?!?!
Staring at him with wide emerald eyes Hitomi watched as the old enemy transformed back to his original form. Slowly his clothes became the ebony darkness and his skin became a weird pale with dozens of tattoos. The beautiful hair of wild strawberry blond locks slicked back into dark mud. Surprisingly though the metamorphosis didn't end there. Suddenly raven scales ran over him and gargoyle wings protruded from his back startling Hitomi…
"You're one of them…" she whispered painfully, "You're a demon… a follower of Dornkirk…"
Zongi smirked as his eyes gleamed at her with venom, "Yes… Since my death I have thought of nothing else except finishing you, seeress…"
"Me?…" Hitomi whispered confused, "What did I do?"
"You were born!" snarled the strange creature, "It was because of you I failed my mission! It was because of you I was forced to flee! And it was because of you I died at Dilandau's hands!"
The seeress's eyes filled with anguish as she whispered, "I never meant for that to happen… I was trying to save--"
"SILENCE!" Zongi roared with his wings twitching, "I don't want to hear your lies or half-truths! I want only for your blood upon my hands!"
With that the doppleganger launched himself at the seeress. Hitomi quickly pushed Merle aside to protect her and the baby, but unfortunately the seeress was unable to evade the attacker. Tackling her to the ground Zongi and the seeress, two old enemies, rolled in the sand trying to get the upper hand. It wasn't hard for Zongi to get Hitomi on her back with him on top seeing that she was still weak and he had been training hard in the bellows of Hell. Straddling her stomach the doppleganger snarled down at his victim while the seeress struggled beneath him trying to free her arms from under his knees. Growling Zongi revealed his black claw, its nails sharp like knives.
"Die, seeress" he hissed as he brought the claw up to strike, "Die and stay dead this time!"
"No!" a woman screamed and suddenly Zongi was pushed off Hitomi. The seeress stumbled to her knees as she saw Noi grapple the doppleganger. The desert woman looked like she was in a rage as she locked the doppelganger in a headlock. About this time Hitomi noticed the others rising from their fallen positions. Sian trotted over to Merle, as Nembus and Zaado finally were able to escape the mess of twisted canvas. Van, who cradled his side painfully, came to stand by Hitomi putting an arm around her shoulder for comfort. All watched as the desert healer held the attacker tightly in a burning rage.
Noi glared down at the being angrily and growled, "Now what did you do to the real Varia?!"
Zongi smirked evilly as he breathlessly hissed, "Whenever I take on someone's form the original version of the person is eliminated."
Pure hatred burst into the golden eyes of the desert maiden as she shouted furiously, "Then you die!"
Noi reached for the dagger in her boot her golden eyes filled with the lust for blood, but sudden shaking of the ground stopped her. The golden sea rippled with sudden disturbance and roared angry thunder in the ears of nearby spectators. People began to scream and run about as the sand shifted dangerously. Hitomi nearly fell over at the shaking, but Van was quick to steady her. Sian toppled along with the other guardians, but Merle was able to keep on her two feet -- her cat skills kicking in. Baby Iris began to wail unhappily at the pounding noise and quaking earth upset by being awaken from her slumber.
Without a moment's warning the sand separating the royal couple and the healer holding the doppleganger suddenly flew into the air. Hitomi's emeralds grew wide as she saw a pale creature burst through the ground following the direction the two individuals had risen to. A deafening growl came from the monstrous beast as it lifted its mighty head into the sky. Its body was a cream cylinder that stretched up into the clouds and disappeared beneath the sand. Speared with hundreds of ten feet spikes the creature looked quite dangerous. Scales like perfect armored dressed its flesh making his skin so tough that it would take magic to penetrate it. Probably the ferocious feature about this beast was its mouth. As it opened it jaws to roar you could look down into its throat and possibly see the opening of its large stomach. Teeth curved back to hold its prey glimmered in the moonlight. There had to be at least fourteen rows of teeth inside its mouth making an expedition into its internal organs highly impossible without coming out shredded. Towering over the camp in all hideous splendor and awe with the moon as its spotlight was the treacherous sandworm of Dosha.
Roughly falling to the ground the healer and doppleganger tumbled into the sand now separated from each other. Taking the moment as a distraction Zongi flew to his feet and raced out of the camp. Sian noticed this right away, along with the other guardians and took after him ignoring the giant worm roaring overhead.
Nembus and Zaado went to follow, but suddenly another sandworm burst through the ground directly in front of them blocking their path. That's when everything became chaos. The two worms dove at the people occupying the camp their jaws wide open to scoop up the delicious prey. Screams of panic came and people scattered in all directions desperately trying to avoid the monster; however wherever they ran the other worm would attack pinning the people in the center of the camp.
Growling in annoyance the old giant twirled his ax and brought it down in the second worm's side. Sparks flew as the enchanted metal met the scaly skin of the monster, but nothing else ensued. The ax hadn't even made a scratch. Both warriors gaped in astonishment as Zaado exclaimed, "Impossible!"
Their weapons had been forged by the greatest blacksmiths of Gaea and laced with Joutei's own powers! How could a simple monster withstand the blade of Joutei?!
Noi lifted to her feet in fear seeing how her people were so badly reacting. Urgently the maiden cried out in the 'desert tongue', "NO! You mustn't move! Or cry out! They'll only seek you out better--"
Suddenly another worm pierced through the ground a few feet away from the healer halting her cry in mid-sentence as she was thrown to the side at the force. Noi rolled through the sand for a few seconds, but furiously righted herself onto her elbows to look at the destructive creature. What should she do now?…
Sian barreled after Zongi her feet kicking up clouds of sand while dozens of more worms sprouted from the earth around her. Snorting out a breathe of sand the guardian threw herself at her target making them both fall to the sand. Sian was swift to put the doppleganger into a headlock of her own as she growled out, "Gotcha!"
No sooner had the words been said had a worm suddenly erupted from the ground directly beneath them. Suddenly the two found themselves lofted into the air with themselves mere inches from the mouth of the largest creature they had ever seen. With a roar the worm opened his jaws welcoming the easy catch with fierceness. Sian was lucky enough to be thrown aside at the beginning and was able to avoid the gaping rows of teeth, but Zongi did not escape the deadly fate and fell into the jaws of the monster. The guardian, on reflex, grabbed onto a spike protruding from the worm's side and hung on to dear life. The bloodcurdling scream from the doppleganger was happily faint in her ears as the poor demon was torn to shreds in the creature's jaws.
Sian clung to the protruding spike desperately as the monster rose higher into the air. If she were to fall from this height she surely would die on impact. The forest maiden wrapped both her arms around the cream spear as she realized if she did loose her hold and fall she would have no hope for survival. Her wings had been damaged in the fight with the last demon and were still badly hurt. There was no chance she could fly on her injured wing.
"Great going, Sian" the green maiden grumbled into the wind, "Now look what you've gotten yourself into…"
Hitomi watched as the monsters attacked the people and swallowed a few whole. The snakes swallowed up nearly all the Yuis, leaving no way for the people to escape. Anger and hurt boiled in her blood as she felt the barbaric warrior within her begin to show herself again. A protective urge to help those desert folk, unable to be overlooked by Hitomi, took over as a mysterious wind blew around her. Soon the faint outline of a white sphere could be seen around her marking her growing powers evident.
Van looked at Hitomi with fear and said quietly, "No, Hitomi… Don't do this…"
Slowly the young maiden turned to look at the one person she had always trusted and loved. She saw the pain in his rubies that came with her decision and the fear that trailed with it. More than anything she wanted to wipe away those unshed tears and comfort him with her decision to not do what she was about to do,… but she couldn't…
"I'm sorry, Van" she whispered in a pained voice, "I can't let innocent people get hurt and you know that…"
Van knew that nothing he said could keep her from doing this. She had always been the first to protect the innocent and even with year of peace she had not changed in the slightest. Desperately the young king clung to his only hope to keep her out of the battle and said, "The guardians can handle this…"
The seeress felt a stab of guilt strike her at those words. She had promised Sian that she would stay out of the battles unless it was necessary… Turning Hitomi stared at the horrible scene in concern… Several people had already died by way of the sandworms and it was obvious by the continued attacks that more would follow… Nearby Nembus and Zaado did everything they could to pierce the worms' skin, but their weapons were like butter against steel. Their weapons were taken more of the beating than the worms…
Turning back to Van the seeress said firmly, but full of emotional distraught, "They need my help, Van… They need me so I must do this…"
With a silent swirl the young queen let her powers reach their peak letting the wind suddenly roar sending up the sand, her clothes, and hair in a violent ripple. The faint sphere became brilliant and the glowing symbol on her brow became evident. Grayish wings suddenly sprouted from her back, a few stray feathers left to swirl around her.
"I'm so sorry, Van…" Hitomi whispered sorrowfully, "Protect Iris…"
Unable to hold back a few tears the seeress took off towards the mass of sandworms. The raven king took a few steps after his beloved, but no further. A painful stab came to the ruler's heart as he saw his wife fleeting form flying towards danger. What could he do?… He surely couldn't stop her…He couldn't even protect her… It was hard for him to accept the fact that he would never be able to protect the woman he loved… She was more capable of protecting herself then he was… She was the destined one… She was the one who had abilities that no one else had… She was the one known as the 'Angel of Gaea'… What was he?… Her husband… The king of a successful nation… but in other's eyes he was nothing compared to her… For nearly a year that Fanelia had been so successful the light had shined mostly on Hitomi and not him… He could careless for the glory she received… It didn't matter to him what he was or what he could do when all he needed was her,… but he felt like he was a failure to her… He knew she didn't see him that way, but he felt he was being unworthy of her praises… He had vowed to always protect her… and now… when she needed it most… He could do nothing… The horrible truth place a horrible guilt in the man's heart as he stared after her beautiful form disappearing into the battle…
Just as sorrowfully as she had whispered to him the young king whispered,
I'm so sorry, Hitomi…"
~~~ Nembus ~~~
The dark clothed angel dodged another worm's dangerous jaws and flew up even higher trying his best to distract the beasts as best as he could to help the people escape. Twirling beautiful the guardian flew right through a pair of open jaws without a slight bit of fear. With agility of a cat the man brought his sword into view of the moonlight letting its silver blade and chimes gleam. The tiny metal pieces clinked together in a beautiful tone alerting the worms of his position once again. They lunged blindly at the sound hoping to find their prey. Smirking successfully Nembus quickly moved out of their path without making a sound with his sword's chimes. With a howl three of the worms butt heads and roared with anguish.
The man sneered down at the twisted forms of the worms triumphant fully and readied his sword. With a warrior's cry the soldier brought his sword down hard on one of the worm's upper half. Red and orange sparks flew at the connection and Nembus stared down in wonder at the results of the blow. The worm's scales were merely scratched deep and bent slightly making the attack more like a mosquito bite than a fatal injury. Pulling up his sword to his empty eyes the warrior saw his blade had become brittle from the extent of the attack.
Growling in annoyance Nembus unconsciously alerted the worms again of his location. Bringing his blade to cross over his arm the guardian decided he would have to resort to his powers. Suddenly a familiar wind picked up around him as the worms lunged at him. Seconds before they struck the man's brow glowed a purple emblem and an aura of identical hue surrounded him. With a yell Nembus released his powers and the sphere fell in all directions hitting the worms at full force. The large creature's fell over landing hard on the sand below nearly squashing several innocents, but just barely missing them. Slowly Nembus descended eyeing the still bodies of the worms as he still glowed with power. They appeared to be dead. Snorting the guardian turned away ready to finish off the rest of the worms. If all he needed to do was use his powers they were in luck.
Spotting Zaado not far away trying to attack the worms Nembus call out to him, "ZAADO! THE WEAPONS WON"T WORK! USE YOUR POWERS!"
The gentle giant glanced at his fellow guardian and quickly released his own powers. Zaado roared with the intensity of the process and soon a cream sphere surrounded him. Clutching the handle of his ax the man charged a worm kicking up sand as he did. With a bellow the bearded warrior caused his ax to become a brilliant glow of cream just as he swung the blade at an unsuspecting worm's side. A grunt of effort came from the snowman as a howl of pain came from the worm. The ax head laid buried in the monster's flesh, the worm's green blood spreading over the silver metal.
Zaado gave a smirk as glowing lines washed over the worm. Grinding his teeth together the warrior pushed his powers into the ax letting them strike the monster at full force. Suddenly the creature exploded sending pieces of itself everywhere with its weird blood trailing. The mountain man snorted as a large portion of the creature splattered onto him, reminding him that he should never do that again with such a large enemy.
Nembus smirked at the success they were having, but suddenly the smirk turned to distress as he spotted a frightening scene. Up in the air hanging on for dear life was Sian…
~~~ Sian ~~~
The forest maiden felt her grip on the spike slipping. Soon she would loose the hold she had and would fall to the world below. Grunting from the extent Sian tightened her hold as the worm once again tried to turn around and bite her off its neck. Luckily for her she was too close to the head for it to turn around and take her. Its mouth just simple couldn't reach her behind its head. Roaring with annoyance the worm turned to bucking. Sian was swung back and forth as she clung to the spike. Again she slipped a few inches down the spear coming to the mid-point of the visible portion of the barb.
Growling Sian decided she had to change tactics. Anyone could tell she wouldn't last long just hanging on like this. Carefully the guardian reached for another spike with one outstretched hand. Her fingers barely brushed up against the spear showing how useless it was to hope. Frowning angrily Sian reached out for the spike as best she could. Her fingers slowly wound around the spike, but it was too thick for her to properly grasp. Snarling she tried to reached even further when suddenly the worm bucked. Sian lost her hold on both spears and suddenly was in the air. Looking down she saw the worm she had just fallen off of collecting below her ready to catch her with its teeth.
"Well, if I go" Sian snarled as she reached for her bow, "At least I can take him with me."
Swiftly she twirled her bow to the right angle and brought her finger to the golden thread. In seconds a white arrow formed in the crook aiming right for the monster below. For a moment the green emblem of the Draconians brightened on her brow. Suddenly the worms rushed upwards as if the sudden powers attracted them.
"What the!--" the guardian shouted as the creature nearly met her before she could released her shot. In sudden panic of being eaten the arrow was released and shot into the opening jaws of the sandworm. As soon as the light weapon had passed through its jaws the worm quickly shut its mouth only to thrown it back open moments later in a cry of pain as it exploded to a billion pieces of blood and flesh.
Sian continued to plunge downwards unable to stop her descent. The sea of sand under the moonlight shone like a marker of death. With her wings being useless the beautiful maiden allowed herself to fall ready for the death. Her braid whipped behind her while her bangs struck her face. The green emblem continued to glow with her descent along with the emerald aura that formed around her. Her silver eyes slid close as if in a small prayer…
"I'm sorry I have failed you, Queen Hitomi" she whispered with sadness, "I'm sorry I won't be able to protect you when the time comes--"
Suddenly Sian felt a pair of arms take her from behind slowing her descent tremendously. Glancing over her shoulder the guardian spotted her dear comrade smirking at her. The woman could not hold back her joy at the sight of him, "Nembus!"
The warrior smiled a true smile that he rarely used, "Would you have thought of someone else?"
The two warriors softly landed on the sand and glanced around at the scene. Though they had tried to distract the worms the beasts had continued to round up the people in a central location keeping them from scattered from them. Zaado raced through the twists of scales striking down the worms one by one with his glowing ax, but with each worm he killed two more would pop up from the ground. Sian's silver eyes narrowed as she noticed a good portion of the sandworms were focused on the old man.
"Strange…" the woman muttered in thought, "Why would they be so intent on getting Zaado?…"
Nembus glanced at the old timer with a blank expression, "I don't see that I follow you, Sian… Wouldn't they want to focus on their most important threat?…"
"Perhaps…" she said speaking more to herself then him, "But… why do more than half concentrate on him?… Wouldn't a lot of them continue to attack the desert folk?… And their attacks are odd… Look at the way they attack as if Zaado is more of an easy meal than threat…"
Sian was quite right. The worms were continual lunging at the ancient warrior instead of trying to be wary of his dangerous ax… and completely ignoring the easier victims nearby… It was like… they were… attracted to him…
Sian gasped at the sudden thought of attraction… Could they be attracted to their powers?… That would explain a lot…
Why had the worms suddenly change their migration?…
Because they were attracted by the power radiating from the blue pillar of light…
Why did were they attacking Zaado and not the other easier prey?…
Because Zaado's powers attracted them…
Why did they suddenly attack now during the night?…
Because Zongi's attacks had attracted them…
Why had the worm suddenly rush up to meet her when she had powered up?…
Because it was attracted by her powers…
Sian stared at the intense battle with a shocked look on their face… That had to be the answer… The maiden lowered her powers extinguishing the light on her brow and green aura surrounding her. Nembus followed her approach although not quite understanding.
"What is it?" he asked mildly as he eyed her curiously. Sian glanced towards him and then back at the battle. A sudden movement caught her eye just before she could speak. Narrowing her silver jewels the guardian focused on what she saw. With a start Sian's eyes grew wide with a gasp.
Nembus frowned at this and asked, "What is it?"
Sian said nothing as she watched her queen enter the battle with her power level soaring…
~~~ Hitomi ~~~
The seeress flew through the twist and turns of the worms' twisted bodies trying to reach the old warrior in the mist of them. Her emerald eyes were trailing tears, but she ignored their meaning as she put complete focus in the task at hand. She couldn't be distracted with emotions right now…
Hitomi's emerald eyes slowly faded into their pearly glow as she opened up the powers within her… Subconsciously Hitomi noticed how much easier it was to fully open her powers now after the merge… Strange,… but logical… The white aura surrounding her suddenly became bright and began to trail a pearly afterglow like a comet's forked tail.
With a twist of her body Hitomi passed by the finally blockade of worms and landed a few feet beside the male guardian. Zaado turned to his queen and started at the sight of her. Her powers had doubled in the last few minutes and her beauty was heightened in the display of it. The guardian shifted as he noticed the young queen turning towards him. With her hair fluttering in her own magical wind the seeress softly nodded to her bodyguard. Zaado stared at her a moment before nodding in understanding.
Quickly the ancient warrior brought his ax in both fists in a perfect fighting stance. Hitomi just turned back to the regrouping worms ready to do all she could to stop them. Her emerald eyes narrowed on the approaching danger and her palms were brought up to face their targets. Slowly they glowed a beautiful pearl ready to finish cleaning up the garbage while Zaado ax became a brilliant cream. Together the two looked like a pair of beautiful jewels hidden in the desert…
~~~ Noi ~~~
The healer pushed another individual towards the nearby dunes hoping to somehow escape these monsters. Her sandy hair lifted in the growing winds as she glared at the creatures that had picked off her people in the past. She wouldn't allow them to kill all her people! Not when she had worked so hard with Varia, her dearest friend, to protect them! Growling the woman's hand subconsciously reached for her weapon, but stopped just as her fingers brushed against the cool metal.
Noi's golden eyes grew wide as she saw the three bodyguards of the royal couple attacking the worms… She saw the way they glowed with power and their weapons were graced with enchantment… More importantly she saw their wings… Draconian wings… The healer gaped at them in astonishment… She thought they had been lying to them when they had claimed to be Draconians… It had been years since Draconians had finally emerged back on Gaea in full sight… It was finally at the 'Sacrifice' that the legend of Draconians were given truth… The healer had been unwilling to believe that they had been Draconians… The idea had still been very raw and new to the world that Draconians were once again on Gaea bringing about suspension and anger for all who had old grudges against the angels…
Her gold locks fell over her eyes and the woman swept them away as she eyed the three warriors fighting off the worms. They weren't even bound to her people yet they fought for their survival willing to put their lives on the line for them…
Suddenly a flash of white light streaked towards the battle catching the healer's eyes. Turning Noi gasped at the beauty and wonder of the display. She watched as the young queen shot towards the center of the fight in a pearly glow, her wings a tinge gray though still marvelous… The desert maiden gaped in astonishment as she saw the ruler take a fighting stance against the giant snakes…
She was willing to risk her own life???… The notion of a QUEEN going into battle to protect her people was very rare,… but a QUEEN going into battle to protect just anyone had never been seen by the young woman… The idea seemed nearly impossible!…
Noi stared at the display as her mind began to go into full speed…
~~~ Zaado & Hitomi ~~~
With a shout the fighter released his pearly wings and leapt into the air striking a worm hard in the face. The snakes suddenly ignored the warrior and lunged at the seeress feeling the intense power radiating from her. With a frown Hitomi brought her power level a little higher and caused the wind around her to pick up and send sand and feathers flying. The pearl sphere around her became nearly blinding and sizzled with white lightning that struck every which way. The nearest worm hit the aura at full force and reared at the pain that came from the contact.
The seeress's face remained blank as she aimed her palms at a few of the sandworms. With a small grunt she released two sparkling orbs letting them hiss through the air and strike two of the monsters. The beasts cried out as their skin sizzled from the heat and their inner flesh was scorched.
Though their brothers had been injured the others showed no fear as they plowed past them charging the 'Angel' head on. Hitomi frowned at the sudden approach, but didn't back down. Gracefully she brought her wings into a delicate arch and pounded against the air with them as best he could against the wind sending her rapidly into the sky. Her sudden taking to the air was so quick that the worms rammed into the spot she had once occupied. With growls and hiss of aggravation the monsters thrust into the air determined to take down the delicious prize.
Zaado pushed past a few of the worms that were completely ignoring him and stared up into the sky at his queen. Hitomi dove, twisted, and swiveled past and through the worms forcing several to tie into painful knots as others were struck down by her powerful white spheres. The warrior frowned at how much attention they were showing her. What was going on?
"ZAADO!!" he heard a voice cry over the roars of the monsters. Turning his head slightly the giant caught sight of Sian and Nembus racing towards him. The green maiden waved her arms wildly as shouted hoarsely, "Stop using your powers! There attracted to them!"
The mountain man's eyes opened wider and he glanced at the worms momentarily. She was right! They were attracted to their powers! The way they ignored him and gave full attention to Hitomi told him that! The greater the powers the more attraction they drew. One could only imagine what the sandworms thought of Hitomi!
Sliding to a halt next to the giant the maiden turned her silver eyes to her mistress while the man lowered his powers. Sian bit her lip as she saw Hitomi struggling to keep a step ahead of the snakes. Though the queen was injuring several of the worms and tangling them up quite well there were still a great number of them who were still causing problems. There were at least forty worms surrounding her and who knew how many more were nearby! The odds weren't looking good!
Frowning angrily the maiden twirled her bow in one hand and growled, "Alright! Here's the plan: We need to get the sandworms off Queen Hitomi so let's draw their attention by using our own powers at full strength. We might even be able to take a few down!"
Zaado frowned automatically at the idea and snorted, "How could that help?! Queen Hitomi's powers far exceed our own! We would look like garbage compared to her!"
Annoyed by his disagreement with her idea the woman crossed her arms and snarled, "Well, Zaado, what do you suggest?!"
The ancient warrior became silent causing Sian to suddenly smirk in triumph, but it soon fell as Zaado gave a better smirk. The maiden narrowed her eyes on him in expectation while Nembus was still and expressionless.
"All we need to do" Zaado began, "Is to get Queen Hitomi to power down and then we can bring our power levels up and attract them."
Sian rolled her eyes at the way he had twisted her idea into his idea. Angrily the woman hissed, "That'll never work! Once Hitomi's power level drops the sandworms will easily take her down!"
Nembus scowled as Sian and Zaado got into each other's face snarling like wild dogs. Angrily the forgotten warrior growled, "That's enough! Must I remind you that we should be protecting the queen right now!"
The two other guardians glanced at him their eyes being washed away of anger as they turned to look up at their mistress.
~~~ Hitomi ~~~
She whirled around and brought her palms together in a circle. Within that circle a tiny orb of white light was created. Gentle warmth came from the tiny creation showing its power. Slowly the star grew rubbing up against the seeress's pale skin. As it continued to grow in diameter her hands spread back allowing the globe to swell into the size of a car. The sphere glowed so bright it was its own sun drowning the shadows in light and overrunning the moon's own glow. Sweat slipped from the angel woman's brow as she locked her jaws in exertion. Her emeralds eyed the serpents as they threw themselves at her. Her wings fluttered as she felt herself become unsteady for a moment.
Grunting because of the effort Hitomi threw the ball of light at the mass of snakes seeing a dozen of them blast to pieces, their flesh rotting from the searing heat. Bodies littered the ground marking the death on both sides. The seeress panted as she stared down at the remaining worms only to see more suddenly shoot up from the ground. Coughing once the 'Angel' got into a fighting stance gasping for air. Her body was straining against these monsters. She had been given nearly a week's rest and still she was no match for these simple beasts?! It was absurd! Growling she curled her hands into fists and forced her power level to rise higher. She had to defeat them… so these people would survive… so her guardians… so her daughter… so her beloved… so her advisor… may live…
Screaming hoarsely the seeress released a great swell of power at the dark beings allowing every ounce she could find within her to be pounded into the sandworms! A brilliant flash ensued the moment and with a deafening strike of power a group of worms fell to the ground dead,… and still more came… and more…
Hitomi saw the group of worms rising to meet her, but she was too exhausted to do anything… She had released a great deal of powers and she could tell her power level was getting dangerously low… If she went too far that would be the end… Even if she wanted to go farther she didn't know how she could without killing herself…Gulping to help her dry throat the seeress waited for the sandworms to arrive… desperately trying to come up with a way to survive…
~~~ Guardians ~~~
Sian felt her heart clenched at the sight of her mistress growing weak… the worms coming up to meet her… Without thinking the maiden's feet began to slowly walk towards the direction of her ruler… With each step her feet grew faster… The maiden suddenly began to trot… then jog… and then racing through the sand towards her queen… In the back of her mind she acknowledged that Nembus and Zaado were following behind her, trying to keep up…
In a desperate cry the 'Maiden of the Forest' called out to her queen and friend, "HITOMI! NO!"
~~~ Van ~~~
He stood next to his sister watching his wife fight the worms by herself…
Help…
The word constantly repeated in his mind…
Help…
What help was he?
He had no powers… no enchanted weapons… All he had was a sword passed down in his family and a dragon who was no where to be found… He might be a swordsman, but what good was he against those monsters?… He felt… utterly… worthless…
Merle cradled the infant to her body in a motherly fashion as she glanced again at her brother… He seemed so… dead… His rubies were shadowed with deep thought as they were transfixed on the fleeting form of the seeress… He didn't speak or move, but remained silent watching the battle…
Scowling angrily the cat-girl rocked the screaming baby. For some odd reason it seemed Iris could tell her mother was in danger. The more the danger grew for Hitomi the louder the princess would scream… Merle did her best to calm the child, but her mind was more focused on her quiet brother. Finally unable to take the silence any longer the cat-girl shouted, "VAN!"
The young king glanced at his sister in response. Angry by his silent reply Merle's voice became harsh, "For Joutei's sake, Lord Van, go do something!"
His rubies stared at her for a few long seconds before turning to refocus on the battle. In a strange low voice Van asked, "What would you have me do, Merle? I can't protect Hitomi… I have no powers to stand up against beings like that…"
The young cat-girl softened at those words. She understood his sudden silence…
Tentatively Merle whispered with her blue eyes sparkling, "Lord Van,… I have been by your side since the beginning of our childhood… I have always stood by your decisions and always had deep faith in you… I have never doubted you… Your parents had never doubted you… Folken had never doubted you… and Hitomi has never once given the slightest inclination of doubt towards you…"
Van stared at her not quite grasping the meaning held in her words. Merle smiled sadly at her brother with love and understanding. Her bronze ears twitched once as she whispered assuredly, "Lord Van, how many times has Hitomi gone to help you when all seemed impossible?… especially for her?… Don't fail her now… She has never left you to fight alone… Don't let her fight alone…"
Raven locks fluttered over his rubies as he stared at the mature young feline known as his adopted sister. Slowly his pale lips turned into a smile as he began to understand her… She was right… It didn't matter what he did… As long as he tried to always be by her side… To fight for her any way he could… Quietly the man whispered, "Thank you, Merle…"
She merely smiled as she cradled his daughter, "Don't worry about me and Iris… We'll be fine… You just go help Hitomi…"
With a wistful smile the young king nodded and turned towards the battle, but he was already too late…
~~~ Hitomi ~~~
The seeress heard the cries of her friends calling her name over the roars of the sandworms. Through all of them she caught the voice of her beloved hollering out to her, but he was so far away… She was alone to face her death…
The sandworm lunged at her and Hitomi stared at it with a panic expression on her face. This was it…. She had no plan… no decision… no option to turn to… It was the last second of her life and though she had lived through two alien wars… escape several attempts on her life… Suffered through countless visions… and died once… Her life would finally come to an end from a mindless animal?!… The irony of her death just seemed too dramatic to express…
Suddenly the seeress caught the sound of something whizzing through the air. Turning her green eyes towards the left she caught sight of a golden disc flying through the air with a forked golden trail following behind it. With a hiss the glowing disc struck the attacking worm's side going right through its flesh and exiting out the other side of it. Though the disc had been only a foot wide and had only been able to slice a hole through the worm it had been enchanted causing the magic it was graced with to slice through the rest of the worm's body severing its head. With a disgusted thud the creature's head and body fell to the ground already forming a huge pool of green blood. Hitomi stared down at the creature in astonishment unable to understand what had just happened. Turning her emeralds back to the golden disc that flew like a frisbee the seeress saw that not only did it fly like a frisbee it flew like a boomerang, for the disc was coming back the way it came!
Following it with her eyes Hitomi watched as it flew past her and was caught by a trained hand about fifty yards away. The guardians, Merle, and Van all followed the disc as well and stared in astonishment of the wielder of the weapon. The seeress gaped as she saw who caught it. The person was flying in the air by the help of two glowing white wings and her brow was blessed with the golden symbol of the Draconians. Her eyes of gold twinkled at the young queen as a smile graced the figure. Slowly the disc in her hand dimmed to its original color, a brilliant silver. It was… Noi?!…
Hitomi stared at the desert healer as the desert guardian flew to her and hovered a few feet before the young queen. Noi smiled softly as she stood before her queen. Tentatively the seeress asked in an astonished whisper, "Nazomi?…"
"Yes, my queen" the woman said in a rough, but feathery voice, "It is I, Nazomi, 'Guardian of the Sands'…"
Hitomi's mind reeled with question suddenly as stared at the newest arrival. Suddenly words poured forth from the royal's mouth as she tried to understand everything, "But how?-- Why did you?--"
Nazomi shook her head as she turned slightly to the left, "I'm sorry, mistress, but now is not the time for questions."
The seeress glanced around realizing the truth of their predicament taking notice of the sandworms regrouping to attack. The newest guardian brought her weapon to her chest as she readied to attack. Slowly the disc glowed with power sending a gold highlight over her and the seeress. Within the empty center of the sphere the emblem of the Draconians glowed like diamonds. Twisting her arm back the warrior smirked and released the deadly disc. It flew with such accuracy and grace it nearly astonished the seeress when it plowed through a worm's neck. Golden light swallowed the snake throwing its limp body back to the planet below with a crash. Hissing with power the disc twirled around and zipped back to its owner softly landing in her pale palm.
~~~ Guardians ~~~
Sian smirked at the figure flying in the air as she raced across the sand into battle while she spoke to herself in her mind, 'To think that Noi had been Nazomi the whole times… It just blows my mind away… It seems so absurd… Nazomi had always been harsh and rough while Noi had seemed more on the soft side… Strange,… but logical… It could have been a sort of strategy to keep up a sweet and innocent act…'
The warrior half shrugged as she continued to plow over the sea of golden sand. What did it matter about the reason? As long as they had found the next guardian that meant they could continue their search and leave this retched land of horrible temperatures!
With a grunt the maiden lifted her bow to eyes level and pulled back the golden thread producing a brilliant light arrow. Not even stopping her fierce running the warrior released the arrow letting it strike a worm hard in the side. A hellish roar came from the brute as the shot exploded in its skin ripping away a good chunk of its flesh.
Sian's eyes of brilliant silver narrowed as she leapt into the air. Taking her bow in two hands slowly the weapon began to glow an emerald green. The familiar angel emblem burned on her brow as the guardian released a warrior cry. In a wisp of power Sian sliced clean through the same worm severing its head from its body. Landing on one knee in the golden grains the body fell beside her making thunder in her ears.
Zaado and Nembus quickly released their wings and took off into the sky their weapons glowing brightly as well. The giant made easy work of his enemies with only a few short cuts while Nembus had to resort to using a heavy dose of his powers to cut through the monsters.
~~~ Hitomi ~~~
The seeress lowered her powers bringing them back to their normal state as she watched the four guardians work the battle. Careful to not overexert herself Hitomi barely beat her wings allowing just enough effort to keep her aloft. Glancing over at the newest bodyguard the 'Angel' grew incredible focused on the desert maiden. Nazomi threw her disc again letting it slice through another worm with barely an effort.
Why had she kept her identity a secret?… Had she doubted that I was truly the Queen of Draconians like the others?… Or did she still hold some grudges against the younger guardians?…
Shaking away the questions the seeress watched the golden disc fly in a perfect glide transfixed with its grace. Suddenly the weapon broke into two different halves striking off in their own directions. Like shooting stars the two half-spheres drilled through two different snakes destroying them in a swell of golden glow. Glittering beautifully the two halves curved back and reconnected as they flew forming a full disc once again. Silently the weapon flew back to its master's hand and its glow faded.
Hitomi stared at the weapon curiously. The guardians' weapons were so unique. She had never witness such uses of their particular weapons are such variety. Joutei surely didn't go halfway when he formed those weapons. Hitomi had been so transfixed by the display that she never noticed the figure behind her. Van placed a gentle hand on her shoulder giving her a small start. Swirling around the seeress locks bounced before her emeralds beautifully as she gasped, "Van!"
The young king smiled as he opened his mouth to speak, but the desert guardian cut him off as she exclaimed, "Queen Hitomi, we must get the people out of here!"
The royal couple turned towards the flushed warrior as Nazomi glided over to them. Scowling slightly the guardian spoke a bit roughly, "All the people who are part of this camp are the Draconians I protect. We must get them out of here before the sandworms kill them all!"
Automatically Hitomi knew what to do, but so did Van and the idea quickly put him in a panic. The Dragon King took his wife's shoulder in his hand, as he exclaimed, "No, Hitomi You're far too weak to do that now!"
The seeress shook off his shoulder softly as she whispered sadly, "I must, Van. I won't allow our people to die… I won't allow anymore people to suffer…"
His rubies glittered with concern as she turned away and closed her emeralds. Carefully she searched out for every single soul of the desert folk letting her powers surround each. New sweat dripped down her brow as she concentrated all her powers towards the familiar task. She could feel it… She could feel her powers nearing the edge… She had to get it pass that borderline for it to work… Straining hard Hitomi pushed her powers to their limits letting them spill over the crevice… With her eyes still closed the blue shafts flew downwards enveloping all of the desert angels in a single moment. Cries could be heard from the people, but they were lost in the shrill hollers of the worms. Taking off guard by the sudden outburst the guardians stopped their attacks for a slim moment. Each of them watched as the people of the desert were lifted into the sky at a rapid speed knowing they were going to the safe haven of Fanelia.
Sian lowered her powers becoming the normal warrior she had always been and stared up at the night sky at her queen. Brunette locks swept over her silver jewels and the warrior brushed them aside unconsciously. Hitomi looked extremely weak as the final glimpse of the blue pillars disappeared into the stars. Falling backwards into her waiting husband's arm Hitomi knew her power level was too low for comfort.
Opening her emerald eyes slowly the angel queen knew what was to be done next. The ocean was the final location known to have a guardian dwelling at. She had to get them all to the ocean,… but she had never been to Gaea's oceans… At least not to the particular one they needed to go to… Perhaps if…
Careful to hide her exhaustion the young queen looked up at her husband and asked, "Van, have you ever been to the Ocean of Azul?"
The young king was a little surprised at the question responded very slowly, "… Yes, Hitomi…"
Taking his hand into hers the woman whispered tiredly, "Then picture it in your mind… We must leave before all is lost here… The worms are many and we cannot hold out against them forever… We must go to the ocean… to seek out the next guardian…"
"But, Hitomi" he started worriedly, "You're still very--"
"We must!" she responded firmly as she was cradled close to his chest, "We cannot wait any longer! We must go now! Picture it, Van! Please!"
The young king stared at her with his eyes in a turmoil of decisions. Hitomi brought her hand to his cheek tenderly as she blinked back a few tears to whisper, "Please, Van,…"
That's what all it took. He could never deny her anything when she asked like that and looked straight into his eyes. Quietly he closed his fire orbs seeking out the old memory of the ocean as Hitomi gave him small instructions.
"Think of the sounds you heard… The way the water felt…"
The sound of seagulls singing filled his head and the laps of the waves he could feel against his ankles.
"Do you still remember the taste of its waters?…"
The taste of saltwater…
"Remember the way the air was like there…"
The salty air running through his raven locks…
"Where were you?…"
The ships' planks creaking… He remembered it so well… The time his father had brought him on a trip across the ocean… the Ocean of Azul…
Closing her eyes Hitomi surged into his mind clamping onto the memories he was reliving in his head…Weak from battle the seeress took hold of the images loosely and laced the memories with her powers…Without warning light shot down from the sky swallowing him and the others in its glory. Hitomi stared up the pillar at its center concentrating hard on keeping the shafts intact. Her mind was filled with the images Van remembered. Using all the abilities she wielded Hitomi focused on their destination in blind hope that this would bring them where they needed to be…
Sadly she was so weak that she lost consciousness and blacked out halfway through the process…
~~~ Sometime Later ~~~
The seeress coughed loudly spewing out the seawater that had been unconsciously swallowed by her. Sounds of an ocean penetrated the darkness that had been cradling her mind and slowly Hitomi began to draw her mind from the fuzzy blackness. Her body was cold and her clothes stuck to her body with their wetness. How had she gotten wet?… Her body ached with soreness and she felt as if she weighed a million pounds. Voices… she heard voices…
Tentatively she opened her emerald eyes and saw the moon smiling down at her. For a moment she was at lost where she was until she heard the creaking of planks beneath her… A ship… she was on a ship…
Suddenly a silhouette blocked out the moon forcing Hitomi to focus on the stranger looming over her… She desperately wanted to ask who he or she was and exactly where she was, but the trip with the pillar had been too much and before a single word could be spoken she blacked out again left to drift in the unconscious state of not knowing the seriousness of her predicament…
~Well, what's going to happen? Where is Hitomi? Did everyone else make it okay? Who's the one that found her? Is it a friend or is it a foe? Find out in Chapter 17 when Hitomi wakes up and finds herself in strange lodgings!~
~Sorry, about all these delays! I'm trying my best to get them out on time, but it's growing harder with work and all. I will try my absolute hardest to get the next chapter out by Fri. I'm out of school right now for the holidays sooooo I should be able to do it, unless of course I get writer's block!~
~Did anyone figure out that Noi was really Nazomi? I thought it was pretty obvious, but maybe it wasn't, you tell me!~
~Please review!~