~Remember I don't own Escaflowne or its characters!~
~Sorry, for getting this out a day late, but I got called into work making my time be cut short on Wed so I didn't get to quite finish this chapter on time. However I did get it up the next day! I'm proud of that. Lately because of school and work my deadlines have been off very badly. I'm really sorry about that. I'm trying my best to get it out on time. Please forgive my lateness!~
~Enjoy and please review!~
The Fate of Two Worlds: The Sequel
By Angel_Wings
Chapter 18 ~ For the Price of One
~~~ Ship: Apparition ~~~
Thunder clapped above and the waves became dark hands of malicious striking against the side of the ship. Hitomi and Ana were nearly a blur as they went all out against each other. Neither was ready to leave this battle without one of them being dead. Individuality pushed them to the brink of their fight, but it was the difference of them that sent them into the abyss. So blinded were they that they didn't even consider where they were or what they were doing. All that matter was becoming victor of the battle… of being themselves…
The angel queen dove through the raven clouds letting the gas swirl around her body as she dove. Ana was not far behind bursting through familiar darkness. With a grunt the demon released a black comet after the seeress. Hitomi nimbly dodged as she turned to face her evil sibling ready for more. Bringing her palms beside each other the seeress formed a ray of white light that shot at her sister. Ana growled at the sizzling beam as it charged towards her sending away the shadows that engulfed her. The moment the attack came close enough the demon, without taking her eyes off her twin, knocked the beam away. Hitomi gaped at her sister as the beam continued on its flight towards the horizon, before exploding in the sea. A white mushroom cloud hissed up from the distance and the final bit of the shock wave rattled the ship.
Hitomi bit her lip wondering how her clone had been able to deflect a shot like that one. Supposedly she, the 'Angel of Gaea' was to be stronger than anyone on the face of the planet, yet it seemed Ana was about to test that theory. Scowling the seeress lifted her palms at her twin again and shouted angrily, "You might be able to deflect one, but how about two!"
Coming with that threat were the sound of two more sendoffs of light beams from the seeress. Ana snarled at the strategy, but show no discomfort in the approaching danger. In fact she charged them! Twirling in a slanted spiral the demon faced her illuminating attackers with a dark smirk. Bringing her arms across her face the shafts of radiance shattered against her crossed limbs. The remains of the blow became fading twinkles as they drifted in the roaring wind. Hitomi gaped at her opponent unable to believe what she saw. How was this possible?!
Smirked at her twin's discomfort Ana shouted, "Now it's my turn!"
In the blink of an eye dozens of dark orbs where shot in the 'Angel's direction. Locking her jaws together the young queen frantically dodged the array of the attacks at such speed that the spectators below could barely follow her.
Sian stood tensely next to her king and companions. Her silver eyes never left her queen's racing form as Hitomi flew through the air. The guardian's jaws tightened every time the seeress barely missed an attack. Next to her Van did the same, but it was more restraints then concern etched in his movements. He so badly wished to enter the fray, but at the same time wanted to follow Hitomi's wishes by keeping out. Next to them the other guardians remained expressionless with the help of the old training, but they too felt a longing to stop their queen from fighting. Screaming her discomforting cries Iris wiggled wildly in the bronze arms of her godmother trying to go to her dame. Merle did her best to keep an eye on Hitomi, but the young princess was helping little.
The seeress flew into her adversary's face and threw a hard punch. Ana easily dodged and grabbed hold of the woman's arm. Hitomi growled beneath her breath and threw her other fist at the demon's face. Again the blow was stopped by an iron hold leaving Hitomi to glare at her sibling.
"I'm must say, sister" the dark one taunted sweetly, "You have shown little improvement over the last year. Have you not trained at all?"
"Personally, I see no importance of training when there is no war to fight" Hitomi shot at her with rage gleaming in her white eyes.
Ana chuckled lowly, "Perhaps, but does one always know when a fight will break out?… I am prepared for I trained through the last rotation ready to take your life the moment I had the chance."
"Surprising how you have trained for a full rotation in Hell" smirked Hitomi, "And still can barely reach the same level of power I am on when he did no training what so ever."
Empty black eyes narrowed as the other snorted, "Surprising how Joutei's had to give you a strain of his power just so you could stand a chance against me."
The seeress growled as she ripped her arms out of their hold and brought a hard fist into the demon's stomach. Ana winced at the blow and angrily grabbed hold of the same arm that had struck her. With a warrior's cry the demon threw the woman over her shoulder at the clouds. This battle was far from over…
Hitomi flew towards the dark clouds as she warily watched the lightning. Gracefully her wings spanned out and she angled for the black cover hoping to gain its help for a surprise attack. Glancing over her shoulder the seeress suddenly noticed her sister was not following her… To be more precise, she was nowhere in sight…
The seeress absently muttered, "Where did she--"
Slamming into something hard forced the 'Angel' to realize her mistake. Turning back around Hitomi came face to face with her sister. Sneering the devil woman hissed, "Why are you in such a hurry to leave?"
Opening her mouth to reply a sharp remark Hitomi was suddenly cut off as a knee came jutting into her stomach. Bending over with her arms holding her abdomen the seeress gasped for the air that had suddenly been lost. Ana then brought her fists down hard on the angel's unguarded back. In a vertical headfirst descent Hitomi fell her eyes shut close from her recent pain. Feeling that the seeress was not falling fast enough Ana brought her hands together to create a giant beam of black power. Crackling darkly the attack flew down to meet its target. Hitomi weakly opened her eyes and noticed the power coming her way. Unfortunately even as Hitomi tried to block the attacks like Ana had done she was too weak to do so. In seconds the shaft enveloped her ramming her hard towards the earth.
The crowd on the ship gaped at the battle above unable to take their eyes of the shock of the power radiating from two women. It was almost impossible to believe those two women had that much power in their veins… At the first sight of the ebony shaft the group separated knowing the destruction that was coming. The guardians quickly turned around racing to escape the blast plowing towards them while easily grabbing their princess, king, and royal advisor.
There was no sound as the beam ripped through the deck of the ship plunging through two floors before coming to a stop. The shaft quickly vanished before being replaced by a sudden blast of wind, light, and sound. The rush of air alone threw people back making them slide into a crash against the boat railing. Next a light so powerful that is swallowed the entire sea enveloped the boat for several seconds before blinking back to the dark blackness of night. From the heavens the short flash had been like a sudden light bulb had burnt out. Last came the after shock as wild screeching came the thunderous blast knocking over people once again.
Ana hovered close to the clouds eyeing the destruction she had just cause searching for her sister. As if to signify the huge power drawn in the attack several planks collapsed into the large gap in the ship's deck. The first sign of movements came from the foreign group as Van quickly rose to his feet. His ruby eyes stared at the devastation in fear as smoke curled from the rubble. Desperately he called out to his angel, "HITOM?!"
Nothing came from the seeress as the ship swayed beneath him. Slowly Sian rose with help from Nembus. The brunette warrior's heart ached as she felt a longing to find her friend and mistress. The rest followed with all eyes on the hole. The White Dragon ignored the others and raced towards his beloved shouting out her name, "HITOMI!"
Sian shoved past Nembus and followed her king also eager to discover the condition of their queen. Watching as Merle passed him with the squealing princess the soldier ran after his friend with his fellow guardians on his heels.
Reaching the edge of the hole Van slowed his speed careful of the rest of the deck collapsing. Slowly he approached the crevice scanning into the pile of broken tree for his wife. Tenderly he called out to her, "Hitomi?…"
Coming to stand at his shoulder the king didn't even acknowledge the forest guardian with a glance as they both searched for the seeress. It didn't take long for a crowd to grow around the hole, not just including the travelers; Ski was amongst them along with a few of his crewmen starring down in the dirty pit.
Finally to relief of the searchers a loud groan came from the bottom of the destruction. A clump of rubble shifted and fell to the side revealing the battered seeress as she painfully lifted herself onto her feet. Her wings were tattered with small wisps of dark pink (nearly red) mingling in the gray feathers. Grabbing a bloody arm Hitomi stepped slowly across the destruction testing her body for internal injuries. Blood seeped from several nasty gashes on her face and forehead while her clothes was nearly torn to nothing. More cuts then bruises marked her pale skin making her look flush with so much red covering her body. Probably the worst was the chunk of wood that was speared in her arm that she held. Locking her teeth together the angel grasped the end of the scarlet wood that protruded from her arm. With a half-muffled cry the queen ripped the material from her arm letting the wound pour forth its sweet nectar.
Forgetting about the danger of the planks collapsing Van leapt into the pit and scrambled over to his wife. Sian rolled her eyes at how lovesick her king was and followed his approach. The White Dragon came to stand beside his wife unable to approach her suddenly as he felt a sudden emotion radiating off of her… Rage… Uncontrollable rage… Not for him, but for the demon in the sky…
Van had never felt something like this from Hitomi… At times he had sensed her anger and fury, but never before had he ever felt such pure animalistic rage burning from her at such intensity…
Nosily Hitomi's labor breathing cut through his thought making the young king remember his wife was badly injured. Anxiously Van went to hold her as he said, "Hitomi, are you alrig--"
Suddenly the maiden flinched causing him to back away from his approaching hug. Worriedly the young king, 'What's wrong with her?… I've never seen her this way…'
Hitomi blinked at the young king several times before refocusing on the world around her. Her battle lust had become so blinding that it had blocked everything out except Ana and defeating her. Shakily the seeress asked in a low whisper, "Van?…"
It took her several seconds to remember who he was exactly and where she was presently. The absentmindedness of her caused Hitomi's mind to wander… What was wrong with her?… Her anger was taking over her mind… making it slur with rage… Why did anger always do this to her?… Every event when she lost her temper her movements were completely fueled by anger and her mind blanked out on her… She needed to control herself…
"You need to stop this, Queen Hitomi" came the firm voice of the forest maiden sparking life back into the seeress. The 'Angel' looked over at her guard silently as Sian face became a firm scowl, "You can't defeat her like this. Let us handle this."
"NO!" Hitomi replied hotly startling both the king and guardian, "I can defeat her! I am not weaker than she is!"
Frowning angrily the seeress ripped the bottom of her shirt in a long strip and roughly tied it over the wound on her arm. Unable to use her injured arm Hitomi was forced to use her teeth to tie the other end causing the tightness to be nearly cutting at her circulation. Wincing at the pain that came with her roughness Hitomi wiped some of the blood away from her brow. Her wings flexed testing their injuries… nothing serious… she could still fly…
Above Ana noticed the seeress was still alive and smirked. This meant she still had time to torture her before her sibling died. Abruptly the demon female went into a dive and plunged towards the ship to reek her havoc. Hitomi automatically caught sight of her opponent's movements and tensed. Being the warrior she was Sian took a mechanical notice of her queen's tense body language and glanced towards the obvious assessment. Growling at the demon's approach the brunette warrior pulled her bow off her back and shot an arrow at the dark clone. Ana hissed as the attack barely missed her left wing and stopped her descent near the tops of the masts.
Hitomi swirled around at the guardian and cried out, "No, Sian! Stay out of this!"
"My lady" the war angel replied forcefully, "I won't allow you to do this any longer. You'll get hurt!"
"I am your queen" the seeress replied hotly using her only trump, "and I order you to stay out of this fray!"
Sian's muscles tense at the words as anger flurried in her veins. She was a warrior to obey her commander and she would without question. Silver eyes flexed into a glaze as the bodyguard of old sought to go against the rules of her station, but could not. Angrily the warrior hissed beneath her breath, "Yes, my queen."
Van, on the other hand, wasn't about to let her do this and interrupted the staring contest loudly, "No! I won't let you!"
Grabbing hold of her arms the king forced the woman's face into his flushed one. Hitomi frowned at him as he growled, "You're going to kill yourself! Blast it! Don't do it!"
A single tear slipped from the colorless eye of its bearer swelling with all the emotions of the three. Hoarsely the seeress replied, "I am not going to kill myself! I'm going to kill Ana! She may be the darkness of my heart and hold powers like myself, but she is not me!"
Furiously the maiden wrenched her arms out of his hold and struck off into the air rushing Ana. Van growled at his wife's stubbornness and went to follow her when a firm hand took his shoulder. Glancing over his shoulder Van saw Sian staring after the angel queen. Annoyed the White Dragon demanded loudly, "Why did you stop me?!"
A far off look came in the guardian's eyes as she whispered quietly, "Because this is a battle neither of us can truly fight in… It is not a battle between physical beings, but a battle fought within many of us warriors…"
"Hitomi is no warrior!" Van quickly said hoping to salvage any hope of stopping his wife.
Sian turned to her king quietly and said, "She might not have the skill of one of us or the experience of battle,… but her heart and soul is of one and she fights with courage and hope of one as well…"
"Then what battle does she fight?" Van asked, wanting to help his beloved in any way he could. Perhaps knowing the problem would help.
Turning to look back at her queen and the demon fight the guardian whispered, "She fights the inner turmoil that plagues many of us warriors. She fights the darkness that harbors her heart determined to make it known that though she fights she is not evil. Ana is her inner darkness… her evil side… that has loomed in the shadows as he nightmare… Seeing her dark half makes Hitomi think she might be truly evil inside… Hitomi thinks that perhaps if she destroys Ana it will prove her pure heart…"
Van stared at the guardian as the wind flurried around them loudly. Trying to speak over the sudden wind the king shouted, "How do you know about this?"
"Because I've fought the same battle" Sian called out over the noise, "Though not exactly like this…"
Looking up at his wife his rubies reflected his deep concern for his angel. Letting the wind steal his words the man quietly asked, "Do you think she will win this battle?…"
Sian, being so well trained for listening, caught his question through the turbulence of the air and stared up at her queen thoughtfully. Quietly the warrior spoke, "I don't know… Killing Ana might make her doubts about her heart become more pronounce… Killing her might be like submitting to the darkness…"
~~~ Battle Above ~~~
Hitomi quickly rose to meet the demon woman and threw a heavy punch at her face. Ana threw her head back and dodged the attack responding with her own offense. A sharp knee collided with the 'Angel's stomach and the seeress gasped violently at the hard blow. Sneering in victory Ana pulled back her fist to bring it in the woman's face. Surprisingly Hitomi roughly caught the punch in her palm and took hold of the demon's ebony arm in both hands. Swiftly the seeress pulled the clone over her shoulder and threw her towards a nearby mast. With a sickening crunch the heavy pole splintered and toppled over crashing to the deck. Several people screamed and the crowd separated to escape the fatal collusion. Ana hovered over the destruction smugly starring at her opponent.
With a sly hiss the demon spoke to her rival, "I didn't think you would actual put other people's lives in danger, sister… Must be the darkness within that caused you to do it… the same darkness I was born from…"
Hitomi growled a warning at her twin's accusation. Crossing her arms haughtily Ana said loudly, "You are just as evil as me, sister! Admit it!"
"NEVER!" the seeress cried out as she charged her half-sibling. A new light formed over the angel's body as power became charged with the fury burning in her heart. Her fists flew with unknown speed trying to meet their target furiously, yet somehow Ana was able to block or dodge the impressive blows. The two glowed brightly as their fight became nearly unseen by their glows. Fists met fists and knees struck against knees as either opponent tried to block attacks.
Suddenly the black light was flung back from the pearl and crashed through one of the sails ripping a large gap into it. The demon quickly stopped her flight and glared at the seeress who floated on the other side of the sail. Hitomi eyed her twin darkly feeling a sudden lust for her clone's blood upon her hands…
A sudden voice suddenly struck through the angel queen's mind speaking slyly, 'She is the dark side of you, seeress…'
Hitomi frowned deeply at the voice before she growled beneath her breath, "Dornkirk…"
The emperor ignored her answer at his appearance and continued with obvious accusation, 'She is you, seeress. You are her. Both of you hold the same dark portion of your soul.'
"NO!" Hitomi cried aloud surprising the demon at her sudden outburst, "We are two different people! I'm nothing like her!"
'You two are the same' the far away enemy continued to hiss demonically, 'She came from the darkness in your heart that you try to overlook… She shows there is darkness in you! Both are of one heart and soul! You are one of them!'
"NO!!!!" Hitomi screamed as she rushed her rival determined to settle this disagreement. Ana shouted a warrior cry as she met the attacks driven at her. As her body moved with fury the seeress silently spoke to herself… doubting her very being…
'I'm nothing like her…'
'She may have the same face and soul as me, but we are not the same!'
'She is my clone, but she is not me!'
'Is she?…'
Because she was so caught up in her own thoughts Hitomi lost concentration and Ana took advantage. Before long the seeress was in a headlock plunging towards the sea. The 'Angel' gasped for air as she clawed at her adversary. Her emerald eyes glanced towards the waters below knowing the demon's tactics. Hitomi knew Ana was going to try and drown her… If she was going to survive she needed air!
Sadly the brunette maiden's head hit the water before she could gather enough necessary air. Hitomi and Ana sunk into the black waters the cold currents pulling at their struggling bodies. The seeress continue to grapple at her holder's arm desperate for air, but her attempts became less forceful as she began to grow weak from lack of oxygen.
'If you die now, seeress, it proves everything that I say…' sparking sudden life in the drowning royal.
'If you die it proves your darker half is greater than your pure half… It will prove you are evil…'
'Not today' Hitomi's mind screamed as she fought furiously against the hold of her captor. With sudden victor of her escape the seeress exclaimed to the emperor and to herself, 'Not today, and not ever!'
~~~ Ship: Apparition ~~~
The dark waters rolled angrily against the ship as the spectators hung over the railings waiting for the two women to show themselves again. The foreign group was tense, as the minutes grew long for their queen. Van shifted from foot to foot as his eyes of fire scanned the sea desperately… Where was she?…
There was an abrupt flash of white light beneath the surface of the water and then suddenly the sea sprayed everywhere as white light shot out from the water. The air roared against the people's ears and some were tossed to the deck at the force. When the aftereffects of the explosion ended the crowd turned around to see the two women standing on the sturdy portion of the deck. Both were soaked to the bone their clothes clinging to the bodies in an almost indecent manner. Watery liquid tinted with blood ran down both of them though mostly from the seeress. The bitter serum dripped from the demon's shoulder becoming darker with each moment. A heavy raven claw clamped over the hideous wound as the woman panted from exertion. Hitomi's body shook with weariness and lack of oxygen as she gasped for air.
Van stood at the edge of the crowd next to Sian, the others momentarily forgotten as they both watched their teammate. Both wanted so badly to run out into the middle of the starring down contest, but neither willing to do it because of how important this fray was for their dear comrade…
Hitomi and Ana suddenly flew into fighting stances ready for more though their physical injuries disagreed with them. Their bodies became engulfed by their personal auras showing how their powers were rising again. It didn't take long before they both lunged at each other meeting halfway. Their fingers interlaced as they pushed against each other's palms. White-eyes locked with solid black daring the other to blink. Black and white electricity sizzled around their hands, down their arms, and over their bodies as a single sphere surrounded them. Illumination of both the darkness and the light swirled around the two in a glorious and powerful radiance. As the fighters fought with all they had the different color glows fought for domination of radiance. Light versus darkness… pearl versus ebony… angel versus demon… Hitomi versus Ana…
The sky was darker than ebony and the waves matched their raven shade. White foam contrasted against the black waters peaking at the sharp crests that plagued the sea. Golden bolts seemed dim against the glorious show below them as they hissed in the heated air. All waited in the mist of the storm tensely for the battle to end…
Then it was over… Soon the light vanished and all that was left behind was the two women… Both stood several feet apart, scarlet juice dripping all over their bodies… Neither of them looked as strong as before… The glowing auras that had surrounded them both had disappeared and the solid colored eyes became their normal hue… Though they were back to their regular physical state they both looked different, for blood near completely covered their bodies… The storm continued to roar around them, but it was forgotten for the moment…
Hitomi wobbled on her bloody legs for a moment as she glared at her rival… before falling to her knees scraping them even more… The drained seeress rammed her hands onto the floor teetering back and forth on them… Lazily, and pain filled in her motion, emerald eyes slid upwards to stare at the demon before her. Ana glared down at her opponent with obvious fire in her shadowed emeralds…however… the fire suddenly died and the woman's eyes shut as she fell face forward. Landing with a lifeless thud the demon remained on the deck forming a pool of blood around her…
Van took a step towards his wife feelings his heart jumble in concern… Though Hitomi had defeated Ana had she truly won the battle?… Had she discovered the truth she sought for through Ana's death?… Sian stood nearby with Nembus behind her… Her silver eyes trained on the injured queen before them…
The 'Angel' stared over at her sibling with emotion plaguing her ebony pupils… Though she was victorious in the battle she felt a dead aching in her heart… an ache that didn't seem to go away… She had won… She had WON!… SHE HAD WON!… yet… she still felt defeated… Had she not proven she was pure and innocent with this victory?…
A voice deep within her mind answered the question…
'No…'
Bringing her hands to her face Hitomi stared at the copper blood spread over her milky palms. A dreadful reminder of the past flash in the back of her mind reminding the seeress what she had discovered a year ago… during the 'Sacrifice'…
~~~ Memory ~~~
The two women stared down at the blade that pierced through the female body. Its silver hilt gleamed evilly as pale hands clutched the object. Ana turned her eyes of emerald depths up to her sister. Hitomi stared back at the dark woman with wide eyes. Blood began to drip from the lady's pale lips as she fell limp against the seeress's shoulders. The red liquid seeped into the angel woman's blue shirt as her foster sister died. Shuddering away from the corpse the brunette maiden pulled herself from under the body and dislodged the weapon from the warrior's bloody chest. The dead body of the evil twin fell to the marble floor, her dull emerald eyes were wide and stared up at the ceiling.
Hitomi shuddered at what she had just done and lifted the sword to her face. The blood dripped down the silvery blade and proceeded to slip over the seeress's pale fingers. Gasping from the touch of the liquid the 'Angel' allowed the weapon to fall onto the floor with a clatter. The angel woman stared down at her hands and saw blood staining the pale palms. The girl's shoulders shook as she remembered a past vision......
~~~ Vision ~~~
Without even thinking Hitomi looked down at her hands. They were stained with blood. Her eyes grew wide and her hands shook in fear. She stood up and tried to wipe away the blood on her clothes, but the blood just grew thicker. Pink feathers littered the ground around her causing her eyes to widen even more. The feathers were soaked in blood resulting them to turn pink...
~~~ End of Vision ~~~
The girl stared down at her hands remembering the small fraction of the vision. Turning her eyes back to her other half she realized what she had just done. She had just murdered... The world swirled around and Hitomi felt like her mind was floating. How could she do such a cold act?... She killed someone in cold blood...
Slowly the angel backed away from the limp body of her clone and tears filled her eyes. Hitomi's sweet voice sobbed, "No... I..."
Kusari emerged from the edge of the darkness just behind the seeress. His ice blue orbs were hard with anger as he stared at the girl's back that held white wings. With a hollow voice he said, "You murdered your own sister..."
The seeress didn't turn when she heard his sinister voice. Her emeralds were still locked on the corpse laying on the gray marble that was stained in new blood. Hitomi shook her head as she whispered, "I had to.... she..." The seeress was unable to continued as she shook violently.
Silently the commander strode over to his dead aid and knelt by her side. Gently he brushed aside several of the woman's brown bangs so he could better see Ana's forest green jewels. Growling with anger the dark angel said, "You destroyed my plans, Kazanki..."
His dark eyes stared down at the beautiful dead woman as he hissed, "No, matter I can clone another, but... I had grown fond of Ana... She was everything I could hope for in a woman... beautiful... strong... and dark..."
The angel woman barely acknowledged the words for her heart still shook with the terrible dread that went through her body. It seemed like all her energy had been drained once the blade had dug into her twin's flesh. Hitomi still couldn't believe what she had done... Murder... She had always been carefully to not hurt another soul, yet here she had ruthlessly killed another... The girl's mind snapped and grief ran through the girl... Her legs felt weak as sobs broke out... Her eyes squeezed shut as she bowed her head of brunette locks...
Kusari smirked at the woman remembering he could have a more interesting way to get what he desired. It was rather risky, but he would greatly enjoy carrying out the new plan. Without being noticed he pressed a small button concealed on his black guadlent. A small mechanical sound was heard as a small door was opened somewhere in the shadows. Slowly the man rose to his feet and walked over to the seeress. Standing just a few feet in front of the woman he said, "Perhaps you can still be of use to me, Kazanki..."
The seeress said nothing as she listened to the dark voice. She could barely acknowledge the words for her mind was whirling. The man stared at the woman's tear stricken face and hissed, "You will use your powers to aid me..."
Her emerald eyes snapped open. Part of her was still in chaos... Tearing apart at the seams at what had happened,... but another part of her was controlled and realized the meaning of those last words. She looked at her captor with shaky eyes and whisper, "What?..."
The dark eyes of the officer stared hard at the woman as he growled, "You killed in cold blood just like a killer..."
She shook her head slowly, "No..."
Slowly he circled the girl as he continued, "You murdered and enjoyed it like a killer..."
"No...."
"You no longer hold a care for one's life... like a killer..."
"No..."
"Your heart is of a killer... cold and hard..."
"No..."
Slowly the dark angel brought his mouth to the seeress's pale ear and whispered, "Look into your soul, Kazanki... You know it is true...Your just like one of us... a murder..."
"NOOOOOOO!!!!!" Hitomi cried as she fell to her knees and pounded both of her fists against the hard floor. Tears streamed down her cheeks as her shoulders shook from sobs. She couldn't believe what he was saying. It wasn't true!!!!!!
~~~ End of Memory ~~~
Blood… Her clone's blood… It stained her skin again… History was repeating itself again… Looking across the deck at her sibling she felt her heart shatter for her own self… She had murdered again… Maybe it could be called self-defense, but to Hitomi she felt as if her soul had been condemned…
'You have confirmed your own truth of your soul…' hissed Dornkirk in her mind, 'You have shown that your heart is of shadows and your soul of raven…'
Tears slipped down her cheeks as she mourned for her wrongdoing. Hugging her self with her arms and darkened wings the poor maiden crumbled to sobs… Closing her eyes her powers released with the memories of the past and of the present… The torment plaguing her rammed her heart into her throat and made her powers burn… Crying out to the stars Hitomi called upon the storm to end her misery…
The maiden could almost see the disapproving look Joutei would be giving her this very moment… Hitomi felt as if she had failed him… She was the 'Guardian of Gaea' and her God's champion, yet she had murdered in a fit of rage… New tears and sorrow surfaced in her green eyes as she no longer felt the suffering of her own sin, but the suffering of knowing her God would disapprove… The idea of Joutei disapproving was for more terrible then thinking she was a murderer… She had been trusted with the responsibility to protect this world and the people on it… Now here she knelt beside the bloody form of her sibling, who she had murdered… Over a year ago the same sin had occurred and she had been forgiven, but would he forgive her again?… Would you?… She could almost see herself standing in Heaven with Joutei towering before her with a sadden face. He would speak a sad farewell of disbelief before the ground beneath her would shatter and she would drop into the empty pit of Hell… The consequence didn't really matter to her… It was the thought that she had failed her king… failed the being that had created her… That notion was far more damaging to her heart…
The wind picked up and slowly monsoons formed in the sea. The waves became tall as high as eighty feet buffeting the ship dangerously. People slammed against the railing as the storm howled its anger at them. Startled by everything going on Van stumbled to his feet calling out to his beloved, "HITOMI!"
The seeress just knelt there thinking of Joutei's disapproving face… This was the second time in her life she had killed… The first time had been hard and a powerful blow to her, but the second seemed just as bad… if not, worse… After her emotions had settled into her stomach and the battle was over she discovered the consequences of her temper… She knew what she had just done was nothing to be triumphed over… Though she had stopped Ana she felt a dull weight in her heart at the death of her sibling… Slowly the world dimmed as she released every ounce of remaining energy out at the world surrounding her…
Sian slammed down onto the deck as the ship pivoted to the right. Sliding against the wet planks the guardian was rammed into the side. Angrily she tried to right herself, but then the ship pivoted to the left sending her flying with the crowd again. Quickly as she slid on her back the guardian brought herself feet first and caught her heels on the railing. Before the vessel could pivot again Sian latched her arms onto the side and hung on desperately as water sprayed in her face. Flinging back her wet bangs the warrior glanced over her shoulder as the boat's deck came at a near vertical angle. Her chestnut boots hung in the air for a fraction of a second before the boat righted itself and they clapped against the deck again. The crew once again slammed onto her side, but this time Nembus was beside her. Before the male could slide away the woman grabbed hold of her wet comrade and brought him to the railing.
Numbly the man took hold of the side and threw up salt water he had just swallowed. Limp from the ordeal the guardian shouted out over the storm, "We need to do something! We can't survive through this! The boat will surely flip!"
"Even if it didn't" Sian hollered, "We'll soon crash along the Siren's shores! We have to get Queen Hitomi to bring everyone to Fanelia!"
"That's impossible!" he reeled on the boat's side a moment before regaining his steadiness, "Just look at her!"
Following his advice Sian looked over her shoulder at her friend. Hitomi knelt in the very center of the ship unaffected by the ship's reeling. Her head hung down she looked as if she was crying. Around her white stars whipped around her making the wind roar. Her powers were beginning to lace the storm and reek havoc on them.
~~~ Hitomi ~~~
Slowly a shaft of light formed from the floating stars rising into the sky. Coming together in a single ray Hitomi knelt in the pillar blocked off from the outside realm as if the light was her cell… her punishment…
Nazomi, who had been smacked against the railings several times, stumbled towards the white light surrounding her queen. The water curled around her ankles trying all it could to pull down the desert maiden, but she gritted her teeth and steadied herself carefully. She needed to stop her queen from allowing the storm to continue. Being, but a few feet away from the immobile royal Nazomi took it upon herself to stop her mistress.
Reaching out with a friendly hand the guardian called out to the seeress, "Lady Hitomi! Please stop this! We need to--"
The very second her fingers brushed against the pillar a blast sounded and Nazomi was flung into the air. The maiden cried out in pain with smoke trailing her as she flew threw the air backwards. Zaado grunted as he leapt into the sky and took hold of the woman. The female guardian though slightly burnt was all right and quickly squirmed out of his arm hating being babied. All of the guardians stared at the pillar in surprise…
Hitomi's powers were reacting in the way of a shield around her… They couldn't get to her… The giant felt their chances disappear into nonexistence as she whispered, "Now what do we do?…"
"Blast!" Sian hissed as another wave hit the side of the ship sending water into her face. Shaking the stinging salt from her eyes the woman glanced down at the water and suddenly spotted two glows beneath the aqua surface of blackness… One red… and one green… Quietly the guardian whispered to herself, "What the--"
At that moment two beings burst from the waters into the blackness of the sky. For a split second Sian could have sworn the beings were massive, but suddenly they grew closer to the light and showed their slim forms…
~~~ Van ~~~
The young king hugged his daughter and sibling close to his chest as he hung onto a nearby rope. Merle whimpered into his chest frightened by everything that was happening and Iris wailed loudly. Water crashed over their already drenched bodies and the cold wind did nothing for them. Van numbly glanced at his beloved as her chaotic emotions called for the storm's havoc. Her powers were going out of control as distress plagued the seeress… Van wished so desperately to go to her, but he had to hold onto Merle and Iris or they would surely be swept away…
Looking across the deck suddenly as two figures appeared before Hitomi staring down at her. One was a woman with long fiery red hair that was tangled and coarse like that of a wild woman. Her outfit was completely made of scarlet scale mail that draped all the way from her sleeveless shirt to her tight fitting pants and boots. An odd crimson cape was draped from her high scale collar. Strapped to her side was a wondrous whip also of the vibrant red color. To finish off her physical attributes were a pair of coal red eyes that burned with heated emotions. To say the least she was a bit odd. Next to her a man stood in a very similar attire. He had long white hair tied back in a low ponytail. His sleeveless high collar mail with matching pants and boots were also made of scales, but instead of crimson color were of white pearl. Also different was the fact that he had cream, nearly white, armor over it with a red jewel the size of a fist over the spot where his heart was. At his side was a very familiar looking sword… His white cape was heavy and didn't even float in the wind… Glancing towards Van the young king noticed strange green eyes that sparkled with mystery…
Who were these people?…
The red female nodded to the male before kneeling before Hitomi. Quickly the man raced towards Van and the others with unknown intentions. As the man reached for the fallen king the ruler flinched away from his reach and demanded hotly, "Who are you?"
"There is no time" came the smooth voice of the stranger as he grabbed hold of Van, "Just come with us if you want to survive. We're here to help."
The young ruler stared at the man as he was lifted to his feet along with his sibling and daughter. Automatically Van trusted the stranger and decided to follow his feelings like he and Hitomi had talked about earlier. Something told him it was dire that he follows him…
Nodding sharply Van showed his cooperation. Smiling at the king the man whirled around and raced towards the woman, his long hair flapping against his heavy and odd looking cape. As they ran across the unsteady deck while it was momentarily horizontal Van stared at his wife as if she were his goal to reach.
The red headed woman frowned at the pillar of white light cautiously as the wind caused her clothes to flap rapidly. Gingerly the stranger lifted a pale hand to the shaft preparing to do exactly what Nazomi had done earlier. The young king tried to warn the woman before it was too late,… but he was a step behind her…
The pale fingers brushed against the white light… and then… her hand went through the wall of illumination to the surprise of all. The stranger stared at where her hand passed through the pearl barrier with a hard look on her face… as if she were… concentrating… Slowly the woman passed through the powerful barrier as though it were water… and to the shock of the spectators she entered into the circle of light…
~~~ Inside the White Pillar ~~~
Hitomi slowly lifted her eyes as she realized she was no longer alone in the pillar. She felt no comfort or remorse at the intrusion… only curiosity… The maiden, through blurred vision, stared up at the scarlet woman with obvious confusion… There standing before her was a woman possibly in her mid-thirties. Her hair was a deep red, about as red as Yukari's, but more vibrant and tangled like she was wild and rugged. Her eyes… her eyes of burning red… were odd…
Slowly the woman came to one knee and whispered in a low sweet voice, "Why do you torment yourself like this, 'Angel of Gaea'?…"
The world of white swirled about them in complete silence as the seeress stared up at the middle-aged woman. Quietly Hitomi asked, "Who are you?…"
"I am a guardian" replied the woman in a mysterious voice, "That's all you need to know for now. I ask you again,… Lady Hitomi, why do you torment yourself?"
Sadness swept over the brunette maiden as she bowed her head. Chestnut locks fell over her eyes as she whispered quietly, "I have sinned by murdering my… my twin…"
The woman cocked her head without a sound as she whispered just as lowly, "I promise you, Lady Hitomi, that may have been a being physically like you, but she was not you… You are an individual of your own,… There is only one Hitomi Kazanki… but that is not the true reason you cry so many tears… Now is it?…"
Hitomi looked up into red eyes in slight surprise. This woman seemed to be able to read her heart… as if she knew her better than she knew herself… Slowly the seeress shook her head no, "It is not… I'm upset… because I wonder what Joutei will think of me… He must be very displeased… for I have sinned…"
"You're not perfect, Hitomi" came the mysterious woman's sweet voice, "Joutei knows that… We all make mistakes… Sooner or later you will sin again, but Joutei will forever forgive if you repent…"
Hitomi looked at the woman as if she were crazy, "But what about this?! Look what I have done! Blood is smeared on my hand! A life has been taken because of me!"
"And Joutei will forgive you" the redhead said confidently, "He forgives all errors, mistakes, and wrongdoings as long as you truly are sorry for the deed."
Carefully the seeress stared into the red coals of the woman's feeling a glimmer of hope forming. Quietly, and almost in the sound of a plea, Hitomi asked, "Are you sure?"
"Yes…" came the quiet reply as the stranger reached her hand out to the maiden, "Take my hand and let me show you how Joutei forgave me…"
Hitomi glanced at the hand a moment before tenderly grasping the woman's hand. The stranger smiled warmly making her face linger in the 'Angel's mind moments before the young queen blacked out.
Suddenly the shaft of light disappeared and the world once again began to grow quiet. The clouds began to part for the stars and the sea lazily lapped against the ship's side. Van was next to the stranger and queen in moments with the white clothed male beside him. The young king stared at the red head as she lifted his unconscious wife into her arms. Automatically the mysterious woman took note of his concern and said, "Do not worry, King Van, she is quite alright. She is just a bit spent from the battle."
Ruby eyes snapped onto the woman with surprise as Van gasped, "How do you know me?"
Shaking her head her firelocks danced, "There is no time to explain. The ship is growing very close to the siren's shores. We must leave at once."
"But how?" came a female's voice nearby.
Turning around the small group discovered the four guardians approaching along with Ski and several of the crew. The one who had spoken was as usually the forest maiden. Continuing Sian gestured to the seeress, "She was our transportation and the helm is gone."
"Besides" interrupted Ski, "This is my ship! I can't just abandon it and go with a couple of strangers!"
"Listen" snapped Nazomi angry by his coward attitude, "If you want to go down with the ship fine! But as for me I'm getting off this vessel!"
There were a few cries of approval from the crew at the woman's remark making the guardian give a tiny smirk at the captain. Ski shrugged casually as if it were just a joke, "Fine! I guess your right… Rats always know when to leave a sinking ship."
Nazomi turned five different shades of red with anger and lunged at the man. Her hands coming dangerously close to snapping his neck, but luckily Zaado was able to catch her before she got any closer to her target. Ski laughed heartily at the red faced struggling woman without concern as if he could easily take her. Sian rolled her eyes at the whole display and impatiently growled, "Can we get back to the problem here?!?! We are on a ship heading for a fatal crash! BLAST IT!"
"Don't worry, Sian" came the gentle laugh of the mysterious woman, "We have everything under control."
The brunette war angel swirled around at the red female with a shocked expression. Gaping still the green guardian asked, "How--… How did you--"
Smiling with a knowing glint in her eye the scarlet figure Turned to her companion and gave a signal. Nodding the man closed his eyes along with the woman as if in a form of concentration. In a matter of seconds the storm, sea, and ship were gone to be replaced with the hard ground beneath them. Glancing around Van noticed the entire crew and guardians were scattered across a large dusty plain. About two miles off towards the horizon a single mountain pierced the sky making the king wonder where exactly they were. Shaking his head in confusion the White Dragon turned to their hosts with questions sparkling in his rubies.
The scarlet woman bowed lightly and handed the unconscious Hitomi to Nembus. Stepping away from the crowd the two strangers stood side by side. Smiling with warmth the woman spoke in a loud voice for all to hear, "We are glad to have been help to you and your comrades, King Van Fanel. Let us just say we are your humble followers for we are two guardians in which you seek."
~Yep, there's a cliffhanger. This one isn't so bad though. Well… not really at least. Anyway, what's going to happen next? In the next chapter Hitomi wakes up and a story unfolds about the two new arrivals, but with their story comes another, making a startling discovery. Before long everyone begins to talk and finally the history of the guardians is revealed,… but what are the pasts of the ancient guardians? And what startling discovery is going to be uncovered? And what does it have to do with… Van???? Find out in my next chapter: 'The Pasts of Warriors' coming on April 30th! See you then!~
~Sorry, for getting this out a day late, but I got called into work making my time be cut short on Wed so I didn't get to quite finish this chapter on time. However I did get it up the next day! I'm proud of that. Lately because of school and work my deadlines have been off very badly. I'm really sorry about that. I'm trying my best to get it out on time. Please forgive my lateness!~
~Enjoy and please review!~
The Fate of Two Worlds: The Sequel
By Angel_Wings
Chapter 18 ~ For the Price of One
~~~ Ship: Apparition ~~~
Thunder clapped above and the waves became dark hands of malicious striking against the side of the ship. Hitomi and Ana were nearly a blur as they went all out against each other. Neither was ready to leave this battle without one of them being dead. Individuality pushed them to the brink of their fight, but it was the difference of them that sent them into the abyss. So blinded were they that they didn't even consider where they were or what they were doing. All that matter was becoming victor of the battle… of being themselves…
The angel queen dove through the raven clouds letting the gas swirl around her body as she dove. Ana was not far behind bursting through familiar darkness. With a grunt the demon released a black comet after the seeress. Hitomi nimbly dodged as she turned to face her evil sibling ready for more. Bringing her palms beside each other the seeress formed a ray of white light that shot at her sister. Ana growled at the sizzling beam as it charged towards her sending away the shadows that engulfed her. The moment the attack came close enough the demon, without taking her eyes off her twin, knocked the beam away. Hitomi gaped at her sister as the beam continued on its flight towards the horizon, before exploding in the sea. A white mushroom cloud hissed up from the distance and the final bit of the shock wave rattled the ship.
Hitomi bit her lip wondering how her clone had been able to deflect a shot like that one. Supposedly she, the 'Angel of Gaea' was to be stronger than anyone on the face of the planet, yet it seemed Ana was about to test that theory. Scowling the seeress lifted her palms at her twin again and shouted angrily, "You might be able to deflect one, but how about two!"
Coming with that threat were the sound of two more sendoffs of light beams from the seeress. Ana snarled at the strategy, but show no discomfort in the approaching danger. In fact she charged them! Twirling in a slanted spiral the demon faced her illuminating attackers with a dark smirk. Bringing her arms across her face the shafts of radiance shattered against her crossed limbs. The remains of the blow became fading twinkles as they drifted in the roaring wind. Hitomi gaped at her opponent unable to believe what she saw. How was this possible?!
Smirked at her twin's discomfort Ana shouted, "Now it's my turn!"
In the blink of an eye dozens of dark orbs where shot in the 'Angel's direction. Locking her jaws together the young queen frantically dodged the array of the attacks at such speed that the spectators below could barely follow her.
Sian stood tensely next to her king and companions. Her silver eyes never left her queen's racing form as Hitomi flew through the air. The guardian's jaws tightened every time the seeress barely missed an attack. Next to her Van did the same, but it was more restraints then concern etched in his movements. He so badly wished to enter the fray, but at the same time wanted to follow Hitomi's wishes by keeping out. Next to them the other guardians remained expressionless with the help of the old training, but they too felt a longing to stop their queen from fighting. Screaming her discomforting cries Iris wiggled wildly in the bronze arms of her godmother trying to go to her dame. Merle did her best to keep an eye on Hitomi, but the young princess was helping little.
The seeress flew into her adversary's face and threw a hard punch. Ana easily dodged and grabbed hold of the woman's arm. Hitomi growled beneath her breath and threw her other fist at the demon's face. Again the blow was stopped by an iron hold leaving Hitomi to glare at her sibling.
"I'm must say, sister" the dark one taunted sweetly, "You have shown little improvement over the last year. Have you not trained at all?"
"Personally, I see no importance of training when there is no war to fight" Hitomi shot at her with rage gleaming in her white eyes.
Ana chuckled lowly, "Perhaps, but does one always know when a fight will break out?… I am prepared for I trained through the last rotation ready to take your life the moment I had the chance."
"Surprising how you have trained for a full rotation in Hell" smirked Hitomi, "And still can barely reach the same level of power I am on when he did no training what so ever."
Empty black eyes narrowed as the other snorted, "Surprising how Joutei's had to give you a strain of his power just so you could stand a chance against me."
The seeress growled as she ripped her arms out of their hold and brought a hard fist into the demon's stomach. Ana winced at the blow and angrily grabbed hold of the same arm that had struck her. With a warrior's cry the demon threw the woman over her shoulder at the clouds. This battle was far from over…
Hitomi flew towards the dark clouds as she warily watched the lightning. Gracefully her wings spanned out and she angled for the black cover hoping to gain its help for a surprise attack. Glancing over her shoulder the seeress suddenly noticed her sister was not following her… To be more precise, she was nowhere in sight…
The seeress absently muttered, "Where did she--"
Slamming into something hard forced the 'Angel' to realize her mistake. Turning back around Hitomi came face to face with her sister. Sneering the devil woman hissed, "Why are you in such a hurry to leave?"
Opening her mouth to reply a sharp remark Hitomi was suddenly cut off as a knee came jutting into her stomach. Bending over with her arms holding her abdomen the seeress gasped for the air that had suddenly been lost. Ana then brought her fists down hard on the angel's unguarded back. In a vertical headfirst descent Hitomi fell her eyes shut close from her recent pain. Feeling that the seeress was not falling fast enough Ana brought her hands together to create a giant beam of black power. Crackling darkly the attack flew down to meet its target. Hitomi weakly opened her eyes and noticed the power coming her way. Unfortunately even as Hitomi tried to block the attacks like Ana had done she was too weak to do so. In seconds the shaft enveloped her ramming her hard towards the earth.
The crowd on the ship gaped at the battle above unable to take their eyes of the shock of the power radiating from two women. It was almost impossible to believe those two women had that much power in their veins… At the first sight of the ebony shaft the group separated knowing the destruction that was coming. The guardians quickly turned around racing to escape the blast plowing towards them while easily grabbing their princess, king, and royal advisor.
There was no sound as the beam ripped through the deck of the ship plunging through two floors before coming to a stop. The shaft quickly vanished before being replaced by a sudden blast of wind, light, and sound. The rush of air alone threw people back making them slide into a crash against the boat railing. Next a light so powerful that is swallowed the entire sea enveloped the boat for several seconds before blinking back to the dark blackness of night. From the heavens the short flash had been like a sudden light bulb had burnt out. Last came the after shock as wild screeching came the thunderous blast knocking over people once again.
Ana hovered close to the clouds eyeing the destruction she had just cause searching for her sister. As if to signify the huge power drawn in the attack several planks collapsed into the large gap in the ship's deck. The first sign of movements came from the foreign group as Van quickly rose to his feet. His ruby eyes stared at the devastation in fear as smoke curled from the rubble. Desperately he called out to his angel, "HITOM?!"
Nothing came from the seeress as the ship swayed beneath him. Slowly Sian rose with help from Nembus. The brunette warrior's heart ached as she felt a longing to find her friend and mistress. The rest followed with all eyes on the hole. The White Dragon ignored the others and raced towards his beloved shouting out her name, "HITOMI!"
Sian shoved past Nembus and followed her king also eager to discover the condition of their queen. Watching as Merle passed him with the squealing princess the soldier ran after his friend with his fellow guardians on his heels.
Reaching the edge of the hole Van slowed his speed careful of the rest of the deck collapsing. Slowly he approached the crevice scanning into the pile of broken tree for his wife. Tenderly he called out to her, "Hitomi?…"
Coming to stand at his shoulder the king didn't even acknowledge the forest guardian with a glance as they both searched for the seeress. It didn't take long for a crowd to grow around the hole, not just including the travelers; Ski was amongst them along with a few of his crewmen starring down in the dirty pit.
Finally to relief of the searchers a loud groan came from the bottom of the destruction. A clump of rubble shifted and fell to the side revealing the battered seeress as she painfully lifted herself onto her feet. Her wings were tattered with small wisps of dark pink (nearly red) mingling in the gray feathers. Grabbing a bloody arm Hitomi stepped slowly across the destruction testing her body for internal injuries. Blood seeped from several nasty gashes on her face and forehead while her clothes was nearly torn to nothing. More cuts then bruises marked her pale skin making her look flush with so much red covering her body. Probably the worst was the chunk of wood that was speared in her arm that she held. Locking her teeth together the angel grasped the end of the scarlet wood that protruded from her arm. With a half-muffled cry the queen ripped the material from her arm letting the wound pour forth its sweet nectar.
Forgetting about the danger of the planks collapsing Van leapt into the pit and scrambled over to his wife. Sian rolled her eyes at how lovesick her king was and followed his approach. The White Dragon came to stand beside his wife unable to approach her suddenly as he felt a sudden emotion radiating off of her… Rage… Uncontrollable rage… Not for him, but for the demon in the sky…
Van had never felt something like this from Hitomi… At times he had sensed her anger and fury, but never before had he ever felt such pure animalistic rage burning from her at such intensity…
Nosily Hitomi's labor breathing cut through his thought making the young king remember his wife was badly injured. Anxiously Van went to hold her as he said, "Hitomi, are you alrig--"
Suddenly the maiden flinched causing him to back away from his approaching hug. Worriedly the young king, 'What's wrong with her?… I've never seen her this way…'
Hitomi blinked at the young king several times before refocusing on the world around her. Her battle lust had become so blinding that it had blocked everything out except Ana and defeating her. Shakily the seeress asked in a low whisper, "Van?…"
It took her several seconds to remember who he was exactly and where she was presently. The absentmindedness of her caused Hitomi's mind to wander… What was wrong with her?… Her anger was taking over her mind… making it slur with rage… Why did anger always do this to her?… Every event when she lost her temper her movements were completely fueled by anger and her mind blanked out on her… She needed to control herself…
"You need to stop this, Queen Hitomi" came the firm voice of the forest maiden sparking life back into the seeress. The 'Angel' looked over at her guard silently as Sian face became a firm scowl, "You can't defeat her like this. Let us handle this."
"NO!" Hitomi replied hotly startling both the king and guardian, "I can defeat her! I am not weaker than she is!"
Frowning angrily the seeress ripped the bottom of her shirt in a long strip and roughly tied it over the wound on her arm. Unable to use her injured arm Hitomi was forced to use her teeth to tie the other end causing the tightness to be nearly cutting at her circulation. Wincing at the pain that came with her roughness Hitomi wiped some of the blood away from her brow. Her wings flexed testing their injuries… nothing serious… she could still fly…
Above Ana noticed the seeress was still alive and smirked. This meant she still had time to torture her before her sibling died. Abruptly the demon female went into a dive and plunged towards the ship to reek her havoc. Hitomi automatically caught sight of her opponent's movements and tensed. Being the warrior she was Sian took a mechanical notice of her queen's tense body language and glanced towards the obvious assessment. Growling at the demon's approach the brunette warrior pulled her bow off her back and shot an arrow at the dark clone. Ana hissed as the attack barely missed her left wing and stopped her descent near the tops of the masts.
Hitomi swirled around at the guardian and cried out, "No, Sian! Stay out of this!"
"My lady" the war angel replied forcefully, "I won't allow you to do this any longer. You'll get hurt!"
"I am your queen" the seeress replied hotly using her only trump, "and I order you to stay out of this fray!"
Sian's muscles tense at the words as anger flurried in her veins. She was a warrior to obey her commander and she would without question. Silver eyes flexed into a glaze as the bodyguard of old sought to go against the rules of her station, but could not. Angrily the warrior hissed beneath her breath, "Yes, my queen."
Van, on the other hand, wasn't about to let her do this and interrupted the staring contest loudly, "No! I won't let you!"
Grabbing hold of her arms the king forced the woman's face into his flushed one. Hitomi frowned at him as he growled, "You're going to kill yourself! Blast it! Don't do it!"
A single tear slipped from the colorless eye of its bearer swelling with all the emotions of the three. Hoarsely the seeress replied, "I am not going to kill myself! I'm going to kill Ana! She may be the darkness of my heart and hold powers like myself, but she is not me!"
Furiously the maiden wrenched her arms out of his hold and struck off into the air rushing Ana. Van growled at his wife's stubbornness and went to follow her when a firm hand took his shoulder. Glancing over his shoulder Van saw Sian staring after the angel queen. Annoyed the White Dragon demanded loudly, "Why did you stop me?!"
A far off look came in the guardian's eyes as she whispered quietly, "Because this is a battle neither of us can truly fight in… It is not a battle between physical beings, but a battle fought within many of us warriors…"
"Hitomi is no warrior!" Van quickly said hoping to salvage any hope of stopping his wife.
Sian turned to her king quietly and said, "She might not have the skill of one of us or the experience of battle,… but her heart and soul is of one and she fights with courage and hope of one as well…"
"Then what battle does she fight?" Van asked, wanting to help his beloved in any way he could. Perhaps knowing the problem would help.
Turning to look back at her queen and the demon fight the guardian whispered, "She fights the inner turmoil that plagues many of us warriors. She fights the darkness that harbors her heart determined to make it known that though she fights she is not evil. Ana is her inner darkness… her evil side… that has loomed in the shadows as he nightmare… Seeing her dark half makes Hitomi think she might be truly evil inside… Hitomi thinks that perhaps if she destroys Ana it will prove her pure heart…"
Van stared at the guardian as the wind flurried around them loudly. Trying to speak over the sudden wind the king shouted, "How do you know about this?"
"Because I've fought the same battle" Sian called out over the noise, "Though not exactly like this…"
Looking up at his wife his rubies reflected his deep concern for his angel. Letting the wind steal his words the man quietly asked, "Do you think she will win this battle?…"
Sian, being so well trained for listening, caught his question through the turbulence of the air and stared up at her queen thoughtfully. Quietly the warrior spoke, "I don't know… Killing Ana might make her doubts about her heart become more pronounce… Killing her might be like submitting to the darkness…"
~~~ Battle Above ~~~
Hitomi quickly rose to meet the demon woman and threw a heavy punch at her face. Ana threw her head back and dodged the attack responding with her own offense. A sharp knee collided with the 'Angel's stomach and the seeress gasped violently at the hard blow. Sneering in victory Ana pulled back her fist to bring it in the woman's face. Surprisingly Hitomi roughly caught the punch in her palm and took hold of the demon's ebony arm in both hands. Swiftly the seeress pulled the clone over her shoulder and threw her towards a nearby mast. With a sickening crunch the heavy pole splintered and toppled over crashing to the deck. Several people screamed and the crowd separated to escape the fatal collusion. Ana hovered over the destruction smugly starring at her opponent.
With a sly hiss the demon spoke to her rival, "I didn't think you would actual put other people's lives in danger, sister… Must be the darkness within that caused you to do it… the same darkness I was born from…"
Hitomi growled a warning at her twin's accusation. Crossing her arms haughtily Ana said loudly, "You are just as evil as me, sister! Admit it!"
"NEVER!" the seeress cried out as she charged her half-sibling. A new light formed over the angel's body as power became charged with the fury burning in her heart. Her fists flew with unknown speed trying to meet their target furiously, yet somehow Ana was able to block or dodge the impressive blows. The two glowed brightly as their fight became nearly unseen by their glows. Fists met fists and knees struck against knees as either opponent tried to block attacks.
Suddenly the black light was flung back from the pearl and crashed through one of the sails ripping a large gap into it. The demon quickly stopped her flight and glared at the seeress who floated on the other side of the sail. Hitomi eyed her twin darkly feeling a sudden lust for her clone's blood upon her hands…
A sudden voice suddenly struck through the angel queen's mind speaking slyly, 'She is the dark side of you, seeress…'
Hitomi frowned deeply at the voice before she growled beneath her breath, "Dornkirk…"
The emperor ignored her answer at his appearance and continued with obvious accusation, 'She is you, seeress. You are her. Both of you hold the same dark portion of your soul.'
"NO!" Hitomi cried aloud surprising the demon at her sudden outburst, "We are two different people! I'm nothing like her!"
'You two are the same' the far away enemy continued to hiss demonically, 'She came from the darkness in your heart that you try to overlook… She shows there is darkness in you! Both are of one heart and soul! You are one of them!'
"NO!!!!" Hitomi screamed as she rushed her rival determined to settle this disagreement. Ana shouted a warrior cry as she met the attacks driven at her. As her body moved with fury the seeress silently spoke to herself… doubting her very being…
'I'm nothing like her…'
'She may have the same face and soul as me, but we are not the same!'
'She is my clone, but she is not me!'
'Is she?…'
Because she was so caught up in her own thoughts Hitomi lost concentration and Ana took advantage. Before long the seeress was in a headlock plunging towards the sea. The 'Angel' gasped for air as she clawed at her adversary. Her emerald eyes glanced towards the waters below knowing the demon's tactics. Hitomi knew Ana was going to try and drown her… If she was going to survive she needed air!
Sadly the brunette maiden's head hit the water before she could gather enough necessary air. Hitomi and Ana sunk into the black waters the cold currents pulling at their struggling bodies. The seeress continue to grapple at her holder's arm desperate for air, but her attempts became less forceful as she began to grow weak from lack of oxygen.
'If you die now, seeress, it proves everything that I say…' sparking sudden life in the drowning royal.
'If you die it proves your darker half is greater than your pure half… It will prove you are evil…'
'Not today' Hitomi's mind screamed as she fought furiously against the hold of her captor. With sudden victor of her escape the seeress exclaimed to the emperor and to herself, 'Not today, and not ever!'
~~~ Ship: Apparition ~~~
The dark waters rolled angrily against the ship as the spectators hung over the railings waiting for the two women to show themselves again. The foreign group was tense, as the minutes grew long for their queen. Van shifted from foot to foot as his eyes of fire scanned the sea desperately… Where was she?…
There was an abrupt flash of white light beneath the surface of the water and then suddenly the sea sprayed everywhere as white light shot out from the water. The air roared against the people's ears and some were tossed to the deck at the force. When the aftereffects of the explosion ended the crowd turned around to see the two women standing on the sturdy portion of the deck. Both were soaked to the bone their clothes clinging to the bodies in an almost indecent manner. Watery liquid tinted with blood ran down both of them though mostly from the seeress. The bitter serum dripped from the demon's shoulder becoming darker with each moment. A heavy raven claw clamped over the hideous wound as the woman panted from exertion. Hitomi's body shook with weariness and lack of oxygen as she gasped for air.
Van stood at the edge of the crowd next to Sian, the others momentarily forgotten as they both watched their teammate. Both wanted so badly to run out into the middle of the starring down contest, but neither willing to do it because of how important this fray was for their dear comrade…
Hitomi and Ana suddenly flew into fighting stances ready for more though their physical injuries disagreed with them. Their bodies became engulfed by their personal auras showing how their powers were rising again. It didn't take long before they both lunged at each other meeting halfway. Their fingers interlaced as they pushed against each other's palms. White-eyes locked with solid black daring the other to blink. Black and white electricity sizzled around their hands, down their arms, and over their bodies as a single sphere surrounded them. Illumination of both the darkness and the light swirled around the two in a glorious and powerful radiance. As the fighters fought with all they had the different color glows fought for domination of radiance. Light versus darkness… pearl versus ebony… angel versus demon… Hitomi versus Ana…
The sky was darker than ebony and the waves matched their raven shade. White foam contrasted against the black waters peaking at the sharp crests that plagued the sea. Golden bolts seemed dim against the glorious show below them as they hissed in the heated air. All waited in the mist of the storm tensely for the battle to end…
Then it was over… Soon the light vanished and all that was left behind was the two women… Both stood several feet apart, scarlet juice dripping all over their bodies… Neither of them looked as strong as before… The glowing auras that had surrounded them both had disappeared and the solid colored eyes became their normal hue… Though they were back to their regular physical state they both looked different, for blood near completely covered their bodies… The storm continued to roar around them, but it was forgotten for the moment…
Hitomi wobbled on her bloody legs for a moment as she glared at her rival… before falling to her knees scraping them even more… The drained seeress rammed her hands onto the floor teetering back and forth on them… Lazily, and pain filled in her motion, emerald eyes slid upwards to stare at the demon before her. Ana glared down at her opponent with obvious fire in her shadowed emeralds…however… the fire suddenly died and the woman's eyes shut as she fell face forward. Landing with a lifeless thud the demon remained on the deck forming a pool of blood around her…
Van took a step towards his wife feelings his heart jumble in concern… Though Hitomi had defeated Ana had she truly won the battle?… Had she discovered the truth she sought for through Ana's death?… Sian stood nearby with Nembus behind her… Her silver eyes trained on the injured queen before them…
The 'Angel' stared over at her sibling with emotion plaguing her ebony pupils… Though she was victorious in the battle she felt a dead aching in her heart… an ache that didn't seem to go away… She had won… She had WON!… SHE HAD WON!… yet… she still felt defeated… Had she not proven she was pure and innocent with this victory?…
A voice deep within her mind answered the question…
'No…'
Bringing her hands to her face Hitomi stared at the copper blood spread over her milky palms. A dreadful reminder of the past flash in the back of her mind reminding the seeress what she had discovered a year ago… during the 'Sacrifice'…
~~~ Memory ~~~
The two women stared down at the blade that pierced through the female body. Its silver hilt gleamed evilly as pale hands clutched the object. Ana turned her eyes of emerald depths up to her sister. Hitomi stared back at the dark woman with wide eyes. Blood began to drip from the lady's pale lips as she fell limp against the seeress's shoulders. The red liquid seeped into the angel woman's blue shirt as her foster sister died. Shuddering away from the corpse the brunette maiden pulled herself from under the body and dislodged the weapon from the warrior's bloody chest. The dead body of the evil twin fell to the marble floor, her dull emerald eyes were wide and stared up at the ceiling.
Hitomi shuddered at what she had just done and lifted the sword to her face. The blood dripped down the silvery blade and proceeded to slip over the seeress's pale fingers. Gasping from the touch of the liquid the 'Angel' allowed the weapon to fall onto the floor with a clatter. The angel woman stared down at her hands and saw blood staining the pale palms. The girl's shoulders shook as she remembered a past vision......
~~~ Vision ~~~
Without even thinking Hitomi looked down at her hands. They were stained with blood. Her eyes grew wide and her hands shook in fear. She stood up and tried to wipe away the blood on her clothes, but the blood just grew thicker. Pink feathers littered the ground around her causing her eyes to widen even more. The feathers were soaked in blood resulting them to turn pink...
~~~ End of Vision ~~~
The girl stared down at her hands remembering the small fraction of the vision. Turning her eyes back to her other half she realized what she had just done. She had just murdered... The world swirled around and Hitomi felt like her mind was floating. How could she do such a cold act?... She killed someone in cold blood...
Slowly the angel backed away from the limp body of her clone and tears filled her eyes. Hitomi's sweet voice sobbed, "No... I..."
Kusari emerged from the edge of the darkness just behind the seeress. His ice blue orbs were hard with anger as he stared at the girl's back that held white wings. With a hollow voice he said, "You murdered your own sister..."
The seeress didn't turn when she heard his sinister voice. Her emeralds were still locked on the corpse laying on the gray marble that was stained in new blood. Hitomi shook her head as she whispered, "I had to.... she..." The seeress was unable to continued as she shook violently.
Silently the commander strode over to his dead aid and knelt by her side. Gently he brushed aside several of the woman's brown bangs so he could better see Ana's forest green jewels. Growling with anger the dark angel said, "You destroyed my plans, Kazanki..."
His dark eyes stared down at the beautiful dead woman as he hissed, "No, matter I can clone another, but... I had grown fond of Ana... She was everything I could hope for in a woman... beautiful... strong... and dark..."
The angel woman barely acknowledged the words for her heart still shook with the terrible dread that went through her body. It seemed like all her energy had been drained once the blade had dug into her twin's flesh. Hitomi still couldn't believe what she had done... Murder... She had always been carefully to not hurt another soul, yet here she had ruthlessly killed another... The girl's mind snapped and grief ran through the girl... Her legs felt weak as sobs broke out... Her eyes squeezed shut as she bowed her head of brunette locks...
Kusari smirked at the woman remembering he could have a more interesting way to get what he desired. It was rather risky, but he would greatly enjoy carrying out the new plan. Without being noticed he pressed a small button concealed on his black guadlent. A small mechanical sound was heard as a small door was opened somewhere in the shadows. Slowly the man rose to his feet and walked over to the seeress. Standing just a few feet in front of the woman he said, "Perhaps you can still be of use to me, Kazanki..."
The seeress said nothing as she listened to the dark voice. She could barely acknowledge the words for her mind was whirling. The man stared at the woman's tear stricken face and hissed, "You will use your powers to aid me..."
Her emerald eyes snapped open. Part of her was still in chaos... Tearing apart at the seams at what had happened,... but another part of her was controlled and realized the meaning of those last words. She looked at her captor with shaky eyes and whisper, "What?..."
The dark eyes of the officer stared hard at the woman as he growled, "You killed in cold blood just like a killer..."
She shook her head slowly, "No..."
Slowly he circled the girl as he continued, "You murdered and enjoyed it like a killer..."
"No...."
"You no longer hold a care for one's life... like a killer..."
"No..."
"Your heart is of a killer... cold and hard..."
"No..."
Slowly the dark angel brought his mouth to the seeress's pale ear and whispered, "Look into your soul, Kazanki... You know it is true...Your just like one of us... a murder..."
"NOOOOOOO!!!!!" Hitomi cried as she fell to her knees and pounded both of her fists against the hard floor. Tears streamed down her cheeks as her shoulders shook from sobs. She couldn't believe what he was saying. It wasn't true!!!!!!
~~~ End of Memory ~~~
Blood… Her clone's blood… It stained her skin again… History was repeating itself again… Looking across the deck at her sibling she felt her heart shatter for her own self… She had murdered again… Maybe it could be called self-defense, but to Hitomi she felt as if her soul had been condemned…
'You have confirmed your own truth of your soul…' hissed Dornkirk in her mind, 'You have shown that your heart is of shadows and your soul of raven…'
Tears slipped down her cheeks as she mourned for her wrongdoing. Hugging her self with her arms and darkened wings the poor maiden crumbled to sobs… Closing her eyes her powers released with the memories of the past and of the present… The torment plaguing her rammed her heart into her throat and made her powers burn… Crying out to the stars Hitomi called upon the storm to end her misery…
The maiden could almost see the disapproving look Joutei would be giving her this very moment… Hitomi felt as if she had failed him… She was the 'Guardian of Gaea' and her God's champion, yet she had murdered in a fit of rage… New tears and sorrow surfaced in her green eyes as she no longer felt the suffering of her own sin, but the suffering of knowing her God would disapprove… The idea of Joutei disapproving was for more terrible then thinking she was a murderer… She had been trusted with the responsibility to protect this world and the people on it… Now here she knelt beside the bloody form of her sibling, who she had murdered… Over a year ago the same sin had occurred and she had been forgiven, but would he forgive her again?… Would you?… She could almost see herself standing in Heaven with Joutei towering before her with a sadden face. He would speak a sad farewell of disbelief before the ground beneath her would shatter and she would drop into the empty pit of Hell… The consequence didn't really matter to her… It was the thought that she had failed her king… failed the being that had created her… That notion was far more damaging to her heart…
The wind picked up and slowly monsoons formed in the sea. The waves became tall as high as eighty feet buffeting the ship dangerously. People slammed against the railing as the storm howled its anger at them. Startled by everything going on Van stumbled to his feet calling out to his beloved, "HITOMI!"
The seeress just knelt there thinking of Joutei's disapproving face… This was the second time in her life she had killed… The first time had been hard and a powerful blow to her, but the second seemed just as bad… if not, worse… After her emotions had settled into her stomach and the battle was over she discovered the consequences of her temper… She knew what she had just done was nothing to be triumphed over… Though she had stopped Ana she felt a dull weight in her heart at the death of her sibling… Slowly the world dimmed as she released every ounce of remaining energy out at the world surrounding her…
Sian slammed down onto the deck as the ship pivoted to the right. Sliding against the wet planks the guardian was rammed into the side. Angrily she tried to right herself, but then the ship pivoted to the left sending her flying with the crowd again. Quickly as she slid on her back the guardian brought herself feet first and caught her heels on the railing. Before the vessel could pivot again Sian latched her arms onto the side and hung on desperately as water sprayed in her face. Flinging back her wet bangs the warrior glanced over her shoulder as the boat's deck came at a near vertical angle. Her chestnut boots hung in the air for a fraction of a second before the boat righted itself and they clapped against the deck again. The crew once again slammed onto her side, but this time Nembus was beside her. Before the male could slide away the woman grabbed hold of her wet comrade and brought him to the railing.
Numbly the man took hold of the side and threw up salt water he had just swallowed. Limp from the ordeal the guardian shouted out over the storm, "We need to do something! We can't survive through this! The boat will surely flip!"
"Even if it didn't" Sian hollered, "We'll soon crash along the Siren's shores! We have to get Queen Hitomi to bring everyone to Fanelia!"
"That's impossible!" he reeled on the boat's side a moment before regaining his steadiness, "Just look at her!"
Following his advice Sian looked over her shoulder at her friend. Hitomi knelt in the very center of the ship unaffected by the ship's reeling. Her head hung down she looked as if she was crying. Around her white stars whipped around her making the wind roar. Her powers were beginning to lace the storm and reek havoc on them.
~~~ Hitomi ~~~
Slowly a shaft of light formed from the floating stars rising into the sky. Coming together in a single ray Hitomi knelt in the pillar blocked off from the outside realm as if the light was her cell… her punishment…
Nazomi, who had been smacked against the railings several times, stumbled towards the white light surrounding her queen. The water curled around her ankles trying all it could to pull down the desert maiden, but she gritted her teeth and steadied herself carefully. She needed to stop her queen from allowing the storm to continue. Being, but a few feet away from the immobile royal Nazomi took it upon herself to stop her mistress.
Reaching out with a friendly hand the guardian called out to the seeress, "Lady Hitomi! Please stop this! We need to--"
The very second her fingers brushed against the pillar a blast sounded and Nazomi was flung into the air. The maiden cried out in pain with smoke trailing her as she flew threw the air backwards. Zaado grunted as he leapt into the sky and took hold of the woman. The female guardian though slightly burnt was all right and quickly squirmed out of his arm hating being babied. All of the guardians stared at the pillar in surprise…
Hitomi's powers were reacting in the way of a shield around her… They couldn't get to her… The giant felt their chances disappear into nonexistence as she whispered, "Now what do we do?…"
"Blast!" Sian hissed as another wave hit the side of the ship sending water into her face. Shaking the stinging salt from her eyes the woman glanced down at the water and suddenly spotted two glows beneath the aqua surface of blackness… One red… and one green… Quietly the guardian whispered to herself, "What the--"
At that moment two beings burst from the waters into the blackness of the sky. For a split second Sian could have sworn the beings were massive, but suddenly they grew closer to the light and showed their slim forms…
~~~ Van ~~~
The young king hugged his daughter and sibling close to his chest as he hung onto a nearby rope. Merle whimpered into his chest frightened by everything that was happening and Iris wailed loudly. Water crashed over their already drenched bodies and the cold wind did nothing for them. Van numbly glanced at his beloved as her chaotic emotions called for the storm's havoc. Her powers were going out of control as distress plagued the seeress… Van wished so desperately to go to her, but he had to hold onto Merle and Iris or they would surely be swept away…
Looking across the deck suddenly as two figures appeared before Hitomi staring down at her. One was a woman with long fiery red hair that was tangled and coarse like that of a wild woman. Her outfit was completely made of scarlet scale mail that draped all the way from her sleeveless shirt to her tight fitting pants and boots. An odd crimson cape was draped from her high scale collar. Strapped to her side was a wondrous whip also of the vibrant red color. To finish off her physical attributes were a pair of coal red eyes that burned with heated emotions. To say the least she was a bit odd. Next to her a man stood in a very similar attire. He had long white hair tied back in a low ponytail. His sleeveless high collar mail with matching pants and boots were also made of scales, but instead of crimson color were of white pearl. Also different was the fact that he had cream, nearly white, armor over it with a red jewel the size of a fist over the spot where his heart was. At his side was a very familiar looking sword… His white cape was heavy and didn't even float in the wind… Glancing towards Van the young king noticed strange green eyes that sparkled with mystery…
Who were these people?…
The red female nodded to the male before kneeling before Hitomi. Quickly the man raced towards Van and the others with unknown intentions. As the man reached for the fallen king the ruler flinched away from his reach and demanded hotly, "Who are you?"
"There is no time" came the smooth voice of the stranger as he grabbed hold of Van, "Just come with us if you want to survive. We're here to help."
The young ruler stared at the man as he was lifted to his feet along with his sibling and daughter. Automatically Van trusted the stranger and decided to follow his feelings like he and Hitomi had talked about earlier. Something told him it was dire that he follows him…
Nodding sharply Van showed his cooperation. Smiling at the king the man whirled around and raced towards the woman, his long hair flapping against his heavy and odd looking cape. As they ran across the unsteady deck while it was momentarily horizontal Van stared at his wife as if she were his goal to reach.
The red headed woman frowned at the pillar of white light cautiously as the wind caused her clothes to flap rapidly. Gingerly the stranger lifted a pale hand to the shaft preparing to do exactly what Nazomi had done earlier. The young king tried to warn the woman before it was too late,… but he was a step behind her…
The pale fingers brushed against the white light… and then… her hand went through the wall of illumination to the surprise of all. The stranger stared at where her hand passed through the pearl barrier with a hard look on her face… as if she were… concentrating… Slowly the woman passed through the powerful barrier as though it were water… and to the shock of the spectators she entered into the circle of light…
~~~ Inside the White Pillar ~~~
Hitomi slowly lifted her eyes as she realized she was no longer alone in the pillar. She felt no comfort or remorse at the intrusion… only curiosity… The maiden, through blurred vision, stared up at the scarlet woman with obvious confusion… There standing before her was a woman possibly in her mid-thirties. Her hair was a deep red, about as red as Yukari's, but more vibrant and tangled like she was wild and rugged. Her eyes… her eyes of burning red… were odd…
Slowly the woman came to one knee and whispered in a low sweet voice, "Why do you torment yourself like this, 'Angel of Gaea'?…"
The world of white swirled about them in complete silence as the seeress stared up at the middle-aged woman. Quietly Hitomi asked, "Who are you?…"
"I am a guardian" replied the woman in a mysterious voice, "That's all you need to know for now. I ask you again,… Lady Hitomi, why do you torment yourself?"
Sadness swept over the brunette maiden as she bowed her head. Chestnut locks fell over her eyes as she whispered quietly, "I have sinned by murdering my… my twin…"
The woman cocked her head without a sound as she whispered just as lowly, "I promise you, Lady Hitomi, that may have been a being physically like you, but she was not you… You are an individual of your own,… There is only one Hitomi Kazanki… but that is not the true reason you cry so many tears… Now is it?…"
Hitomi looked up into red eyes in slight surprise. This woman seemed to be able to read her heart… as if she knew her better than she knew herself… Slowly the seeress shook her head no, "It is not… I'm upset… because I wonder what Joutei will think of me… He must be very displeased… for I have sinned…"
"You're not perfect, Hitomi" came the mysterious woman's sweet voice, "Joutei knows that… We all make mistakes… Sooner or later you will sin again, but Joutei will forever forgive if you repent…"
Hitomi looked at the woman as if she were crazy, "But what about this?! Look what I have done! Blood is smeared on my hand! A life has been taken because of me!"
"And Joutei will forgive you" the redhead said confidently, "He forgives all errors, mistakes, and wrongdoings as long as you truly are sorry for the deed."
Carefully the seeress stared into the red coals of the woman's feeling a glimmer of hope forming. Quietly, and almost in the sound of a plea, Hitomi asked, "Are you sure?"
"Yes…" came the quiet reply as the stranger reached her hand out to the maiden, "Take my hand and let me show you how Joutei forgave me…"
Hitomi glanced at the hand a moment before tenderly grasping the woman's hand. The stranger smiled warmly making her face linger in the 'Angel's mind moments before the young queen blacked out.
Suddenly the shaft of light disappeared and the world once again began to grow quiet. The clouds began to part for the stars and the sea lazily lapped against the ship's side. Van was next to the stranger and queen in moments with the white clothed male beside him. The young king stared at the red head as she lifted his unconscious wife into her arms. Automatically the mysterious woman took note of his concern and said, "Do not worry, King Van, she is quite alright. She is just a bit spent from the battle."
Ruby eyes snapped onto the woman with surprise as Van gasped, "How do you know me?"
Shaking her head her firelocks danced, "There is no time to explain. The ship is growing very close to the siren's shores. We must leave at once."
"But how?" came a female's voice nearby.
Turning around the small group discovered the four guardians approaching along with Ski and several of the crew. The one who had spoken was as usually the forest maiden. Continuing Sian gestured to the seeress, "She was our transportation and the helm is gone."
"Besides" interrupted Ski, "This is my ship! I can't just abandon it and go with a couple of strangers!"
"Listen" snapped Nazomi angry by his coward attitude, "If you want to go down with the ship fine! But as for me I'm getting off this vessel!"
There were a few cries of approval from the crew at the woman's remark making the guardian give a tiny smirk at the captain. Ski shrugged casually as if it were just a joke, "Fine! I guess your right… Rats always know when to leave a sinking ship."
Nazomi turned five different shades of red with anger and lunged at the man. Her hands coming dangerously close to snapping his neck, but luckily Zaado was able to catch her before she got any closer to her target. Ski laughed heartily at the red faced struggling woman without concern as if he could easily take her. Sian rolled her eyes at the whole display and impatiently growled, "Can we get back to the problem here?!?! We are on a ship heading for a fatal crash! BLAST IT!"
"Don't worry, Sian" came the gentle laugh of the mysterious woman, "We have everything under control."
The brunette war angel swirled around at the red female with a shocked expression. Gaping still the green guardian asked, "How--… How did you--"
Smiling with a knowing glint in her eye the scarlet figure Turned to her companion and gave a signal. Nodding the man closed his eyes along with the woman as if in a form of concentration. In a matter of seconds the storm, sea, and ship were gone to be replaced with the hard ground beneath them. Glancing around Van noticed the entire crew and guardians were scattered across a large dusty plain. About two miles off towards the horizon a single mountain pierced the sky making the king wonder where exactly they were. Shaking his head in confusion the White Dragon turned to their hosts with questions sparkling in his rubies.
The scarlet woman bowed lightly and handed the unconscious Hitomi to Nembus. Stepping away from the crowd the two strangers stood side by side. Smiling with warmth the woman spoke in a loud voice for all to hear, "We are glad to have been help to you and your comrades, King Van Fanel. Let us just say we are your humble followers for we are two guardians in which you seek."
~Yep, there's a cliffhanger. This one isn't so bad though. Well… not really at least. Anyway, what's going to happen next? In the next chapter Hitomi wakes up and a story unfolds about the two new arrivals, but with their story comes another, making a startling discovery. Before long everyone begins to talk and finally the history of the guardians is revealed,… but what are the pasts of the ancient guardians? And what startling discovery is going to be uncovered? And what does it have to do with… Van???? Find out in my next chapter: 'The Pasts of Warriors' coming on April 30th! See you then!~