~Remember I don't own Escaflowne or its characters!~
~I'm really sorry for the delay, but I have been extremely busy with college and have had no time whatsoever to type! I was lucky enough to get this chapter out as it is… I'm so sorry and I promise to get the next chapter out quicker!~
The Fate of Two Worlds: The Sequel
By Angel_Wings
Chapter 28: Truth
~~~ Mystic Valley ~~~
Hitomi struggled to rise straining every single fiber of muscle in her body. Finally able to come to a sitting position the seeress began heaving for air. Her energy was growing increasingly scarce and every moment she relinquished some she would soon spend by moving a small bit. Squeezing her eyes shut the Angel hissed through locked teeth, "This isn't good."
"You're darn right this isn't good" snarled a female voice above Hitomi's head. Wearily the seeress opened her eyes and stared up at the former queen in shock of betrayal. The demon siblings, both of royal Draconian blood, came to stand several feet before the Angel with the wickedest smirks you ever did saw.
All Hitomi was able to say was, "Why?"
Dornkirk chuckled as his sneer grew wider, "How ironic can it be for the queen of the past to be a traitor of the future?"
The seeress hissed in a breath of air as she felt her body shudder in weakness. Was there any strength left in her to even breath?
"Yes" repeated the demon female, "You finally realize the truth, Hitomi Fanel. Since the beginning I have lied to you."
Staring at the emerald eyes of her grandmother Hitomi wondering how her dear relative could possible be involved with their enemy. As if she had heard the silent question the female woman dressed in black knelt before the young woman with a sadistic grin. Her ebony claw snatched the pale cheek of her ancient successor. Hitomi's eyes widened as the woman hissed lowly, "The answer is quite simple, my granddaughter…"
Her black fingers squeezed on the girl's battered face making Hitomi wince. With venom dripping the royal hissed, "I was tired of being ruler! I wanted to live my life without having to control an entire nation. I wanted freedom, but at the same time I enjoyed the luxury of my position."
"People bow down to people like us, my child" the elder woman growled, "they worship us without the slightest need of proof, but at the same moment they demand us to rule them… to feed them… and to shelter them… They are blood sucking parasites!"
Her black claws began to dig into the seeress's pale cheek and drops of blood dripped down her face as the demon continued harshly, "They claim us to be fit rulers while at the same time they hiss about our failures in our face. They watch us waiting for us to stumble so they can try to knock us off our pedestal and find a new ruler."
The guardians who each lied across the dark valley slowly awoke and became aware of the talk going on a good twenty yards away. Though they were pretty far from the conversation they could hear every word and slowly their hearts fell…
"Do you think I cared about Joutei?!" the royal nearly screeched, "NO! I did only what he told me so I could continue to live! I wanted immortality and sought it out, but my foolish brother knocked down my chances by his greed for control on people. The war forced me to take action and I rounded up the stupid guardians, but only because I was told to! Do you think those whimpering pups mean something to me?!"
All of the warriors tensed at her words letting small tears catch in their eyes.
"I never did" she chuckled viciously, "They were pawns in my eyes and guards for me until I reach immortality. You all were pawns…"
Hitomi stared wide-eyed unable to swallow what had been fed to her. Sadly it seemed the guardians were able to. Nazomi choked out a painful sob, "All for nothing… We have wasted everything for nothing…"
"Our dreams of rebirth" Zaado whispered in anguish, "were tricks…"
Tsuno kept his eyes closed as he gasped between air, "We were made fools…"
Shakaku and Escaflowne tried to rise with their eyes bearing sadness as Nembus spoke. His sentences were bare fragments in disarray of shock, "Everything for nothing… All a lie…"
Queen Iris smirked at the guardians hissing joyously, "That's rights, my loyal guardians. You were made fools!"
Her empty laugh rang throughout the valley haunting the poor guardians as they cried out their sorrows. It was painful for each of them to come to terms with the fact that they had been shown up and were now getting their faces rubbed into it.
Sian laid all alone just twenty feet away from the two queens with her eyes still shut making her look like she was still unconscious. The wind tossed a few of her dirty strains over her eyes just before she whispered, "I don't believe it…"
A little more strongly the maiden whispered, "I won't believe it… It can't be true… It isn't true…"
Hitomi could barely hear the forest angel, but her words of denying the truth came to her anyway. Blinking a few times the seeress wondered, 'Could all Iris was saying be a lie?'
The Angel stared hard at the woman studying her carefully. For the moment Iris was turned towards the guardians laughing at them smugly. As she did this Hitomi looked the queen over. Nothing seemed to be out of order. Except for the black scales the woman looked exactly like the queen the seeress knew, but something was off about her… something Hitomi couldn't quite put her finger on… What was different?…
The elder queen of the demons turned to stare smugly at the seeress giving Hitomi the chance to look at the woman's eyes. When Hitomi had met Queen Iris in her visions she had seen compassion mingling in her eyes. Now, however, she saw only an empty void reflecting back at the seeress. There was nothing in the marrow of the queen's soul except darkness…
Hitomi scowled at the royal as she remembered someone else having eyes exactly like the queen before her… eyes dark and empty…
Iris laughed as she saw the scowl come on the youth's face thinking that the expression was of anger towards her. The queen bared her fangs as she hissed, "Not only has the queen of the past betrayed you, guardians, but the queen of the present has betrayed you also by giving up her powers!"
The seeress ignored the demon royal before her as she continued to study her eyes… so dark… so empty… familiar…
Tsuno pushed himself up onto one elbow as he hollered, "Why did you do it, Lady Hitomi?! Why did you betray us?"
The other guardians stare over at their present queen waiting for an answer. Hitomi said nothing as her eyes remained completely focused on Lady Iris as though she refused to answer. Nazomi got herself to sit up and shouted, "How could you, Lady Hitomi?! How could you give up Gaea to Dornkirk?!"
The wind furled and flew through the crowd of fallen warriors and demons towering over them. Near the edge of the group Shakaku pulled herself off her mate and growled, "All is lost now…"
Hitomi could hear their voices and every word they spoke. Their words were like spears in heart as she listened, but she pushed back her tears as she went into the staring contest with the former queen. The seeress bared her teeth as she let out a shuddered breath.
What was it about those eyes that threw off the entire picture?
Those eyes just weren't the same as the ones she had seen before on Lady Iris… They were somehow different…
Hitomi's emeralds snapped as her senses narrowed. With a weak smirk the seeress growled feebly, "You're not Queen Iris…"
The demon royal tensed as she hissed in surprise, "What?"
All of the guardians grew silent as they painfully watched their queens. The seeress carefully brought herself to one knee trying to rise, but was only able to stand on one knee as she had to catch her breath. Her eyes glowed with triumph as Hitomi repeated painfully, "You're not Queen Iris…"
"How can you say that?" the demon female narrowed her eyes in a dark hiss, "I am Queen Iris! Just look at me for Joutei's sake!"
Hitomi brought herself to sit on her heels with both hands on her knees as she panted, "You may have the same physical appearance of the wonderful queen known as Iris, but you are not her!"
"How dare you!" the woman screeched as she took Hitomi's throat in her sharp claws, "I am every bit of what Queen Iris is! I'm exactly like her!"
The seeress grinned as she whispered, "What do you mean her? I though you were Lady Iris."
The demon woman growled as she realized her mistakes as she glanced over at the guardians, each of which was eyeing her suspiciously. Hissing like a serpent the woman brought her darkened emeralds back to the seeress in her clutches.
"Very clever, seeress" the demon woman growled, "You tricked me into revealing my falsehood, but tell me… How did you know?"
Hitomi tried not to wince as she endured the pressure on her neck, "Your eyes are not the same as Queen Iris. They are dark and void of compassion just like someone I know."
Her grip tightened as the demon question, "And exactly who would that be?"
With a grin Hitomi whispered, "Ana… my clone…"
Baring her teeth the dark female hissed, "Blast you!"
"So it made me think" the seeress continued ignoring the woman's fuming, "That it made perfect sense that Queen Iris could have been clone also."
Her fangs became very much visible as the clone of Iris brought her face threateningly close to the seeress. Hitomi scowled at her adversary trying to seem brave though her predicament left her shaking inside.
"Let go of her, Stella" Dornkirk sighed angrily. The woman glanced at her superior before letting the seeress drop back to her knees painfully. The hit with the ground caused Hitomi's knee's to bleed, but she ignored it as she glared up at Dornkirk.
The emperor strode past his half sibling to stand haughtily before the seeress as the Angel got back to one knee. His red eyes burned into the seeress's as he growled, "You're correct in the assumption that she is a clone like your sister, Ana."
"No, sister of mine" Hitomi automatically hissed beneath her breath, but Dornkirk ignoring this as he continued.
"After the Final Battle" the demon leader harshly spoke, "We had taken my sister into captivity and put her under extreme tortures. Experimentation of cloning individuals was one of the many things she was forced to endure. During that time, however, cloning was just in the first stages of development and Stella died shortly after her birth. Later on the real Queen Iris escaped during one of her daily tortures killing half of the guards and barreling out of my base. I let her go, knowing she would not survive long. Her endurance had been very strong, but I knew she was dying. Never did I expect her to be able to create the Mystic Moon to send the rest of the Draconians away."
Hitomi sat back on her heels as she asked bluntly, "That's why you were waiting on me to find all the guardians… You wanted them to see the one person they had put all their faith in betray them."
Dornkirk smirked at her as Hitomi grounded out, "You didn't just want me to suffer or break my spirits. You wanted to do it to everyone I hold dear!"
"Like I said, seeress" he breathed darkly, "The more of your love ones that suffer before you the worse it is for you… far worse than death…"
The seeress unsteadily got to her feet and staggered to catch her balance. The emperor took a step towards her as he growled victoriously, "Now you see all the truth and now I will take all the power you have left in your body!"
Hitomi took a deep breath to steady herself just before she growled a single word, "Wrong!"
With what little energy she had left she flung herself at Dornkirk and nearly crashed into his chest. Too shock by her sudden attack the emperor could not draw away from the seeress as she slapped both of her palms on either side of his cheeks. A scarlet glow began to swirl at her hands as the wind began to howl. Over the noise the seeress shouted, "You see, Dornkirk, I am not as stupid as you think! I knew you wouldn't kill me right away because you like to watch people suffer just like your sons do. I waited till you laid all your secrets out to me and then I acted. You may think you can only drain people's energy, but so can I because I have the powers of Joutei and they are unlimited in abilities just like you said."
"You planned this all along?!" the emperor shouted furiously as his fingers tried to unsuccessfully wrench off the seeress's hold.
"Ever since you took Iris!" retorted Hitomi as she began to feel the first bit of her stolen energy return to her.
The world swirled with dust and scarlet glow as the two leaders were locked in a flurry of power. Nearby the demons and guardians all gaped as the sides of power were beginning to switch over. In a matter of seconds it seemed the tables were beginning to turn.
Hitomi locked her teeth together as she felt the pressure on her body increase. The use of her energy was difficult seeing that the pendant was still merging with her and causing a great amount of friction as she dipped into her powers. The swirl of energy that returned to her body was being ripped apart as the pendant took claim to a good amount of it and tore up the seeress's inside by wrenching it from her. Squeezing her eyes shut the Angel concentrated everything on finishing the drain of Dornkirk. If she took all his powers he could never be able to drain anyone again and then the guardians could finish off him and the other demons, saving Gaea in the process.
The ground shook violently making some of the demon's unsteady. Great cracks split through the black earth letting new lava swell in the crevices. Steam hissed from below making the air thick with heat. Lightning sparked in the black clouds as small tornados began to form, though they never quite touched down.
Van and Sian lied next to each other as the world quaked. The poor maiden lifted herself to her elbows staring at the two leaders. Her silver eyes were bright as a tear slid from the edge of her lashes. Quietly she whispered, "I knew they would never betray us. I knew Hitomi would find a way."
Nearby the raven king began to stir and his eyes fluttered open. The earthquake had come to wake him. His fire eyes were quick to find his beloved and saw the display going on. With a prideful smile the man whispered, "Hitomi…"
The seeress gripped harder on the emperor's face as she felt her blood spit fire and sear through her flesh. Her eyes closed tighter as she touched the burning energy in her soul. This transfer was killing her! She had to hurry and finish it! Before--
A sudden feeling of cold hard metal ran through her lower back and stomach as Hitomi flung her eyes open. She could barely register the gasps sounding through the Mystic Valley as the seeress let loose a blood curdling scream. Pain flared throughout Hitomi far worse then anything she had moments ago been feeling. She ripped her hands off Dornkirk and felt something flare at the sudden disconnection of their touch. She numbly heard the Zaibach emperor howling in agony as he writhed before her. Hitomi's hands went to clutch the half of the sword that protruded from her stomach and her fingers ran over the very tip of the blade cutting her hands deep. The seeress weakly looked down at the bloody end of the blade that jutted from her abdomen. She felt complete numbness as she slowly looked behind her.
There stood Queen Iris's clone, Stella, with her hands bloody and her eyes hard. Hitomi took a step that wobbled slightly as she turned more towards her attacker. The dark woman glared at the seeress as she growled, "I won't let you win! Blast you!"
Her hands shook as Hitomi felt for the hilt digging into her back. Her fingers feebly grasped the cold handle and tugged weakly. Slowly the blade pulled out of the woman's back while the tip disappeared back into her stomach. Blood poured forth the second the blade had vanished from her stomach and Hitomi was forced to bite her lip to keep from crying out. As the sword fully escaped the bloody flesh more wet liquid of scarlet gushed from her horrendous wound. Seconds later the weapon dropped clattering on the harsh earth.
Hitomi suddenly became aware how quiet the world sounded. The turbulence of air had quieted and the quaking had stilled. Her eyes of emeralds slowly ran over the valley taking in every single figure around her.
Dornkirk was clutching his stomach as Stella glared down at the seeress…
Shakaku was being held by her mate as they gaped wordlessly at her…
Kusari and Kaosu were unable to say a word, but were able to smirk in triumph…
Nembus bowed his head as tears slipped from his eyes…
Zaado was on one knee with Nazomi lying near his feet, both unable to tear their eyes from their queen…
Tsuno pushed Dilandau back as he took a step towards the stricken royal…
The last two individuals Hitomi looked upon were hardest to watch…
Sian had tears streaming down her face in a wave as she sat on her knees. Her mouth was continually opening and closing as if she was trying to say something, but was unable to voice it. Silver jewels reflected pain and despair as she stared at her dear friend and mistress…
Van had come to lean on one elbow while he gaped at his beloved. His eyes were fueled with deep sorrow as he unconsciously reached out for her. Every feature of expression was of shocked sadness. His face was pulled back into pain disbelief.
Hitomi slowly raised a hand to reach out to him just before she fell to her knees. Clutching her stomach with her other hand she felt a new surge of blood sweep over her fingers. The dust collected in the wound and stung her making her wince. She felt suddenly dizzy and had to throw her hand out to catch the ground before she hit it.
A shadow crawled over the dark earth towards the seeress as the Angel gasped for air. Blood splattered into a small pool as the figure came to stand before the maiden. Hitomi lifted her eyes and saw through the mess of her bangs Lady Stella towering over her with her sword high. The seeress felt her throat go dry as she saw the murder in the older woman's eyes.
"Now we finish this," the demon hissed in her feminine growl. Hitomi tensed as the sword dipped backwards a little more.
Then there was thunder…
Stella crashed to the ground letting go of her sword all together. The blade flew far disappearing into the outskirts of the valley or at least that's what appeared to happen. Dimly the seeress realized a globe of dark energy had hit the woman. Generally Hitomi turned in the direction the attack had come from mindful of how tender her body was at the moment. Dornkirk knelt on both knees with his arm still glowing a faint black.
"YOU FOOL!" the emperor cried as he went to clutch his stomach again, "YOU HAVE DESTROYED EVERYTHING!"
Stella scrambled up into a sitting position, "What are you saying?!"
Dornkirk winced as he swayed on his knees. After he steadied himself he growled hotly, "You disrupted the transfer, blast you!"
The demon woman clawed at the black soil, "Well, of course! You didn't want her to steal all your powers, now did you?!"
Hissing in pain the emperor began to crawl towards the seeress, "Yes, blast it, but you interrupted the transfer too suddenly! We were linked during the process and when you disrupted the seeress's concentration she didn't let go of the bond properly!"
Hitomi blinked a few times to keep her vision from blurring as she coughed out, "What do you mean, Dornkirk?"
Her uncle panted in exertion as he came about five feet away from her. His eyes glowed red with his remaining powers as he hissed, "When either of us try to transfer power a spiritual link is formed between us, like moments ago. When the transfer is done the spiritual link is broken, however, you are not use to the process and when Stella attacked you, you did not end the transfer properly…"
Her emeralds were dull as she looked at her relative and enemy, "Are you saying we are still spiritually linked?"
"Yes, blast it!" he near yelled, "Now if I try to kill you I'll kill myself as well because we are linked!"
A hushed silence rolled over the group as Hitomi tried to shuffle away from Dornkirk. She knew what he was going to try. The emperor bared his fangs as he shouted, "Come back here! We must destroy the link!"
Hitomi dug her heels into the earth as she struggled to crawl backwards on her palms. His black claw lunged for her ankle and she barely dodged his stretch. She needed to think clearly before anything else happened. Where did this leave her then in this new situation? She was close to dying as it was and now Dornkirk was spiritually linked with her. If she died, he died. What a wonderful exchange…
Dornkirk dove for her ankle again this time catching it in his left hand. Hitomi tried to throw off hand, but he was too strong for her…
Too strong?…
How was that possible?…
If they were linked wouldn't he be weak, too?
Her emeralds caught sight of his fire red coals. An idea glimmered in her mine as she frantically sought for some sort of weapon. Her hands ran over a sharp piece of rock and without another thought she grasped it and shoved the sharp point hard into the side of her left hand.
The screams from the two leaders mingled as one bouncing along the valley's walls. Dornkirk's hand had automatically let go the second she had stabbed herself. Hitomi sucked in a breath of air the second her echo died away. She gritted her teeth together as she wrenched the stone out of her flesh inducing even worse pain. She gave a small yelp, but kept herself from screaming again. Her emeralds quickly flipped onto the bloody wound now pouring with red liquid. She could see a white substance beneath the red flesh and realized she had cut herself to the bone.
Bringing the hand painfully to her chest Hitomi looked up at Dornkirk. The Zaibach emperor was clutching his hand feverously to his side as he panted. Drops of scarlet seeped from between his fingers and dribbled down his arm in thin streams. Hitomi scowled as she studied his hand harder. Something wasn't right about all this…
As her emeralds continued to probe the man finally Dornkirk removed his black claw so they could see the extensity of his wound. To their surprise the wound was barely visible with it only be a shallow cut, almost too shallow to bleed. Hitomi glanced between her hand and his. The cuts were identical by location and structure, but in level of damage Hitomi's injury was the far worse.
The two rulers slowly caught each other's eyes as they were tossed into a new theory.
The point that they were both injured served as proof that there was a spiritual link between them,… but the fact that the copy injury was less severe than the initial injury showed that the link was a bit weak.
Dornkirk's eyes narrowed as he stared hard at the seeress. Hitomi shifted nervously trying to figure out what he was thinking. Slowly the man bared his fangs and growled like a wild dog. By this time Hitomi was shuffling away from him backwards trying to gain some distance.
Everything was going so fast! She thought she had everything planned out and now she had empty hands unable to think up a single idea or decision to act on. Everything was falling apart now!
Dornkirk charged her and Hitomi scrambled to escape, but easily lost. His black claws twisted into her strains and snapped her head back making her cry out. Her eyes were filled with fright as she knew her options had become extremely slim abruptly.
His foul breath flustered her face as Hitomi heard his angry snarl, "If the bond is weak that means there is still a chance that I can survive even with your death."
Hitomi became terrified as she realized nothing would stop him now from killing her.
Sian shifted onto one foot as she put her weight on her other knee against the ground. Breathing hard the woman felt a rage take over her. She would not allow her queen to suffer any longer and she would not allow Dornkirk to take her life! Bond or no bond!
Abruptly in the middle of her boil, though Sian lost herself and crashed to the ground. She groaned as she felt the pain in her arms. Glancing up she saw the emperor take hold of the seeress's hair.
'There nothing we can do' thought the green maiden, 'We are all too weak from battle to even hope to save our queen. We cannot do this alone…'
Closing her silver jewels the woman took a deep breath and did the only thing she could do. She prayed.
"Dear Joutei in Heaven" she whispered quietly, "Please help us now in our hour of need. We have tried to help our queen, your chosen one, but we cannot do it by ourselves. Please, I beg you help us to save her and this world."
~~~ Judgment ~~~
"…Please, I beg you, help us to save her and this world."
The prayer flowed through the dark vastness where the two immortals floated. The red demon scowled at the words feeling his skin curl at the sound. Joutei opened his eyes with a smile. Never speaking a word the immortal raised his palm to the only opening left to them.
~~~ Mystic Valley ~~~
Sian panted heavily as she got on her hands and knees again. Her strength was depleted along with the rest of the warriors. Nearby hovering over them were the four demons that had so easily exhausted them to weaklings. Blast it! They needed a miracle now!
'My child, your faith shall help bringing forth that miracle' came a rich voice in her head.
The maiden blinked a few times before whispering gladly, "Joutei…"
'Yes, my child' he said soothingly in her mind, 'I have come to your aid as you have requested. Even with the physical obstacles between us know that I am always with you. Thus, I am able to help.'
A soft glow swirled on the woman's brow and she felt sudden warmth engulf her body. She gasped as she realized she was glowing a pale green-white. Joutei confidential spoke, 'Because you believe in me I shall grant you that miracle. Take what I give you, my child, and destroy the evil here so you may save your queen and all of Gaea.'
It was then the immortal's voice faded away, but the warmth never shuddered. Sian stumbled to stand upright as the feeling grew stronger. Her blood sang with glory as her energy shot up with renewal. Every pore of her body poured out the soft glow of her god's power and she gaped at the display it was creating.
Everyone's eyes shot up and their mouths flew open the second the scene began. The wind went up a few paces and rushed the group surrounding the maiden. Hitomi gasped for air as her eyes drifted to her highest guard. Dornkirk snarled at the sudden change in the guardian knowing it didn't mean anything good, at least not in his favor. The dragon king lifted himself to his elbows to better see the forest mistress.
Sian arched her back as a pearly globe emitted from her chest glowing with such intensity that you couldn't look directly at the object. Her bangs flew from her brow and the golden tiara shattered into twinkling stars. As the shards fell away from her forehead the emblem of her people seared in her flesh in a distinct green. From her brow a glow formed that washed over her entire body. As it twirled down the end of her braid her disorganized strains moved back into their arrangement and were clasped at the end by a white metal band. Her clothes suddenly became whole again and fluttered as they formed a pale green mail over her body. Next a shell of pearl armor encased her body with gold and several trims swirling over the uniform. The last bit of the glow swirled at her chest glowing brighter than ever. An angel of light formed at the white plate dancing with grace before charging the maiden's chest and colliding into the emblem of the Draconians. A last wisp of glow turned gold as it ran over the woman's shoulder creating golden plates. Next the light swept down to wrist guards and made them gold as well. Last it came to her shin guards and washed them over in the yellow metal. With the last few seconds the light that glowed around her became sucked into the crest before flashing one last time before coming silent and shinny.
The armor had become slightly duller from the lack of illumination, but it still held some radiance as it shined like the sun on the water. Sian stood tall in the snow-white armor with the extremely pale green mail peeking out in a few areas. Last came her wings as they shot out of her back to arch dramatically behind her with several dozen feathers floating from her.
Her bangs ruffled as the wind flowed by her. Through the chocolate strains you could see her eyes of silver had formed a new light of strength and hope. Her metal glove came forward as a gold orb suddenly formed before her. Twirling with snowy swirls the sphere grew long and pointed with two arches on either side. As the light faded from the center the emblem of the Draconians came to rest on the very core of the bow. In seconds the most glorious weapon Sian had ever come to know floated above her palm with it's majestic arches shaped in the form of sharp feathers that could slice through even dragon scales. Strains of gold and silver ran through the pearl weapon with perfect beauty. It was glorious and deadly at the same time.
Everyone just stared at the sudden transformation unable to believe their senses. How could this be possible?! The soldier had nearly been dead moments ago?!
The guardians stiffened as they saw their leader turn towards them with her bow clasped in her fist. They each became calm as they saw her silver eyes soften on them. Soon each could hear her call through their mind, 'My fellow warriors… Please, trust in Joutei, our lord. If you do you shall gain what I have just gained. Place your hope and trust in him so we might win the day.'
The warriors smiled at her words realizing they should never have thought they could go into battle without the help of their master. Slowly each closed their eyes in prayer as they called upon the one being who could alter their fates.
To the demons shock the other guardians also began to glow, each the color they bore. The warmth swept over the field in a terrible rage making the cloaked warrior hissed from the intensity. Slowly each of the six remaining angels stood with their eyes closed. The figures of light stretched out their arms accepting the energy gifted to them as their wings stretched behind them. Escaflowne watched his wife be swept along with the energy and saw her too become graced in pearl armor. The darkness became so shadowed by their illumination that you could not see past the six warriors.
Slowly they dimmed and revealed their new selves. Each of them was now protected in the snowy metal with their colors visible in their pale mails. Each of their weapons was now in their hands more beautiful then ever. Nembus's sword was now a brilliant white gold hilt with feathers imprinted along the diamond blade. Sharp feathers of metal were arranged in a circle forming the shockren of Nazomi. Zaado's great ax was imprinted with the feathers also in a glorious display from the tip of his blades to the end of his staff. The trident of Tsuno was white like the surf with the feathers twisted around the handle of his staff. Shakaku, though dragon she was, also had the markings of the Draconian's feathers along the handle of her long whip. Folken, last of the guardians, was graced with the imprints along his wristbands to the tip of his blades. Along with these markings was the emblem of their people that shone on every weapon graced to the guardians.
As each of the foreheads glowed with the Draconian Crest the six warriors stood proudly showing they were no longer weak. The demons recoiled from the guardians once they felt the extreme power emitting from them. It didn't matter how much distance the two sides put between themselves, the Guardians would come to them.
Sian lifted her bow into the air and shouted, "For Joutei!"
There was a thunderous roar as the six chosen warriors charged past their leader at the four demons. Ebony swords flew up to meet their adversaries as the two sides crashed into each other with a great blast. Sian tensed at the sudden ripple of energy whipping across the valley. Turning towards the white legend the maiden shouted over the noise, "Go and protect King Van. This battle is ours to fight. Just keep him safe."
Escaflowne nodded solemnly knowing this was a fray he was not to enter. The war angel nodded before racing into the bellows of the combat. The second she turned away from him the white figure scrambled over to his king. Van was staring at the angel queen never noticing the dragon's approach.
"My Lord" Escaflowne said earnestly, "We must retreat to safety. This battle is fierce."
The raven king ignored his friend as his rubies remained fixed on his wife, "Hitomi…"
Dornkirk snarled at the sudden shift in power. Certainly his demons could not hold up against seven fit guardians! He angrily whipped his eyes back on the seeress who was still staring in shock at her followers. His claws tightened on her ankle making her let go a small whimper. Her shaky emeralds came to his fiery coals as the emperor growled, "They might be powerful, but they will not stop me from killing you! They will never get here in time!"
The Angel frantically began to struggle with her captor trying weakly to escape his grip. Hitomi felt her mind spinning violently and she knew she would pass out any moment. The loss of blood was really hitting her hard now. She could taste the metallic syrup of her rich essence swirling in her mouth. Her hands blindly latched on to something and felt something sharp rip across her fingers. Hitomi gave a weak scream of anguish as she recoiled from the blade that had once been Ivy's.
The sudden pain opened the woman's eyes dramatically automatically catching sight of the blood smearing over her fingertips. It burned like simmering embers and bled like the heart of the world was dumping its soul. Glancing up the seeress noticed Dornkirk was nursing his own wounds. Her emeralds narrowed upon seeing the amount of blood dripping from the man's fingers. Strange how it seemed this time Dornkirk was bleeding rather badly…
The Zaibach ruler growled as he noticed the extent of his injury, "Blast it! The bond is fluctuating! Even if I kill you I might still die!"
"What?" Hitomi stuttered confused, "What are you talking about?"
The man grounded his jaws together as his rage became focused on her, "I'm telling you, oh seeress, that the blasted link between us is unstable!"
His hands dug into the earth as he stalked over to her, "If it continues to waver it can collapse and kill us both! I can't allow that to happen so I must kill you to guarantee my survival!"
Hitomi's feet desperately pushed away from the insane man as she struggled to escape, however, just as she did so her mind clicked. If it could work for him, it could work for her. If she killed him soon enough, she wouldn't die along with him. Then the world would be safe,… but could she do it?…
Their eyes met as they realized now was going to be struggle for survival…
The seeress swiftly brought her feet beneath her, now feeling suddenly refreshed and immune to her pain. Dornkirk snarled as he stretched out his wings. Emeralds narrowed as she also released her wings and to the surprise of both her and Dornkirk her wings were a near pitch black. Her life was at the end of a thread…
Soon the leaders turned away from the black objects staring hard at one another.
This was for all the marbles…
Time was short and there were no other options…
This time it would just be him and her…
And a fight to the death…
~ Well, well, well, what going to happening now? Who will become victor and will the new powers given to the guardians help? Or will it just balance things out? What about Gaea as they watch all this? What will all of the Gaeans think??? Catch it all on chapter 29: Armageddon. Coming in October! (I hope…)~
~I'm really sorry for the delay, but I have been extremely busy with college and have had no time whatsoever to type! I was lucky enough to get this chapter out as it is… I'm so sorry and I promise to get the next chapter out quicker!~
The Fate of Two Worlds: The Sequel
By Angel_Wings
Chapter 28: Truth
~~~ Mystic Valley ~~~
Hitomi struggled to rise straining every single fiber of muscle in her body. Finally able to come to a sitting position the seeress began heaving for air. Her energy was growing increasingly scarce and every moment she relinquished some she would soon spend by moving a small bit. Squeezing her eyes shut the Angel hissed through locked teeth, "This isn't good."
"You're darn right this isn't good" snarled a female voice above Hitomi's head. Wearily the seeress opened her eyes and stared up at the former queen in shock of betrayal. The demon siblings, both of royal Draconian blood, came to stand several feet before the Angel with the wickedest smirks you ever did saw.
All Hitomi was able to say was, "Why?"
Dornkirk chuckled as his sneer grew wider, "How ironic can it be for the queen of the past to be a traitor of the future?"
The seeress hissed in a breath of air as she felt her body shudder in weakness. Was there any strength left in her to even breath?
"Yes" repeated the demon female, "You finally realize the truth, Hitomi Fanel. Since the beginning I have lied to you."
Staring at the emerald eyes of her grandmother Hitomi wondering how her dear relative could possible be involved with their enemy. As if she had heard the silent question the female woman dressed in black knelt before the young woman with a sadistic grin. Her ebony claw snatched the pale cheek of her ancient successor. Hitomi's eyes widened as the woman hissed lowly, "The answer is quite simple, my granddaughter…"
Her black fingers squeezed on the girl's battered face making Hitomi wince. With venom dripping the royal hissed, "I was tired of being ruler! I wanted to live my life without having to control an entire nation. I wanted freedom, but at the same time I enjoyed the luxury of my position."
"People bow down to people like us, my child" the elder woman growled, "they worship us without the slightest need of proof, but at the same moment they demand us to rule them… to feed them… and to shelter them… They are blood sucking parasites!"
Her black claws began to dig into the seeress's pale cheek and drops of blood dripped down her face as the demon continued harshly, "They claim us to be fit rulers while at the same time they hiss about our failures in our face. They watch us waiting for us to stumble so they can try to knock us off our pedestal and find a new ruler."
The guardians who each lied across the dark valley slowly awoke and became aware of the talk going on a good twenty yards away. Though they were pretty far from the conversation they could hear every word and slowly their hearts fell…
"Do you think I cared about Joutei?!" the royal nearly screeched, "NO! I did only what he told me so I could continue to live! I wanted immortality and sought it out, but my foolish brother knocked down my chances by his greed for control on people. The war forced me to take action and I rounded up the stupid guardians, but only because I was told to! Do you think those whimpering pups mean something to me?!"
All of the warriors tensed at her words letting small tears catch in their eyes.
"I never did" she chuckled viciously, "They were pawns in my eyes and guards for me until I reach immortality. You all were pawns…"
Hitomi stared wide-eyed unable to swallow what had been fed to her. Sadly it seemed the guardians were able to. Nazomi choked out a painful sob, "All for nothing… We have wasted everything for nothing…"
"Our dreams of rebirth" Zaado whispered in anguish, "were tricks…"
Tsuno kept his eyes closed as he gasped between air, "We were made fools…"
Shakaku and Escaflowne tried to rise with their eyes bearing sadness as Nembus spoke. His sentences were bare fragments in disarray of shock, "Everything for nothing… All a lie…"
Queen Iris smirked at the guardians hissing joyously, "That's rights, my loyal guardians. You were made fools!"
Her empty laugh rang throughout the valley haunting the poor guardians as they cried out their sorrows. It was painful for each of them to come to terms with the fact that they had been shown up and were now getting their faces rubbed into it.
Sian laid all alone just twenty feet away from the two queens with her eyes still shut making her look like she was still unconscious. The wind tossed a few of her dirty strains over her eyes just before she whispered, "I don't believe it…"
A little more strongly the maiden whispered, "I won't believe it… It can't be true… It isn't true…"
Hitomi could barely hear the forest angel, but her words of denying the truth came to her anyway. Blinking a few times the seeress wondered, 'Could all Iris was saying be a lie?'
The Angel stared hard at the woman studying her carefully. For the moment Iris was turned towards the guardians laughing at them smugly. As she did this Hitomi looked the queen over. Nothing seemed to be out of order. Except for the black scales the woman looked exactly like the queen the seeress knew, but something was off about her… something Hitomi couldn't quite put her finger on… What was different?…
The elder queen of the demons turned to stare smugly at the seeress giving Hitomi the chance to look at the woman's eyes. When Hitomi had met Queen Iris in her visions she had seen compassion mingling in her eyes. Now, however, she saw only an empty void reflecting back at the seeress. There was nothing in the marrow of the queen's soul except darkness…
Hitomi scowled at the royal as she remembered someone else having eyes exactly like the queen before her… eyes dark and empty…
Iris laughed as she saw the scowl come on the youth's face thinking that the expression was of anger towards her. The queen bared her fangs as she hissed, "Not only has the queen of the past betrayed you, guardians, but the queen of the present has betrayed you also by giving up her powers!"
The seeress ignored the demon royal before her as she continued to study her eyes… so dark… so empty… familiar…
Tsuno pushed himself up onto one elbow as he hollered, "Why did you do it, Lady Hitomi?! Why did you betray us?"
The other guardians stare over at their present queen waiting for an answer. Hitomi said nothing as her eyes remained completely focused on Lady Iris as though she refused to answer. Nazomi got herself to sit up and shouted, "How could you, Lady Hitomi?! How could you give up Gaea to Dornkirk?!"
The wind furled and flew through the crowd of fallen warriors and demons towering over them. Near the edge of the group Shakaku pulled herself off her mate and growled, "All is lost now…"
Hitomi could hear their voices and every word they spoke. Their words were like spears in heart as she listened, but she pushed back her tears as she went into the staring contest with the former queen. The seeress bared her teeth as she let out a shuddered breath.
What was it about those eyes that threw off the entire picture?
Those eyes just weren't the same as the ones she had seen before on Lady Iris… They were somehow different…
Hitomi's emeralds snapped as her senses narrowed. With a weak smirk the seeress growled feebly, "You're not Queen Iris…"
The demon royal tensed as she hissed in surprise, "What?"
All of the guardians grew silent as they painfully watched their queens. The seeress carefully brought herself to one knee trying to rise, but was only able to stand on one knee as she had to catch her breath. Her eyes glowed with triumph as Hitomi repeated painfully, "You're not Queen Iris…"
"How can you say that?" the demon female narrowed her eyes in a dark hiss, "I am Queen Iris! Just look at me for Joutei's sake!"
Hitomi brought herself to sit on her heels with both hands on her knees as she panted, "You may have the same physical appearance of the wonderful queen known as Iris, but you are not her!"
"How dare you!" the woman screeched as she took Hitomi's throat in her sharp claws, "I am every bit of what Queen Iris is! I'm exactly like her!"
The seeress grinned as she whispered, "What do you mean her? I though you were Lady Iris."
The demon woman growled as she realized her mistakes as she glanced over at the guardians, each of which was eyeing her suspiciously. Hissing like a serpent the woman brought her darkened emeralds back to the seeress in her clutches.
"Very clever, seeress" the demon woman growled, "You tricked me into revealing my falsehood, but tell me… How did you know?"
Hitomi tried not to wince as she endured the pressure on her neck, "Your eyes are not the same as Queen Iris. They are dark and void of compassion just like someone I know."
Her grip tightened as the demon question, "And exactly who would that be?"
With a grin Hitomi whispered, "Ana… my clone…"
Baring her teeth the dark female hissed, "Blast you!"
"So it made me think" the seeress continued ignoring the woman's fuming, "That it made perfect sense that Queen Iris could have been clone also."
Her fangs became very much visible as the clone of Iris brought her face threateningly close to the seeress. Hitomi scowled at her adversary trying to seem brave though her predicament left her shaking inside.
"Let go of her, Stella" Dornkirk sighed angrily. The woman glanced at her superior before letting the seeress drop back to her knees painfully. The hit with the ground caused Hitomi's knee's to bleed, but she ignored it as she glared up at Dornkirk.
The emperor strode past his half sibling to stand haughtily before the seeress as the Angel got back to one knee. His red eyes burned into the seeress's as he growled, "You're correct in the assumption that she is a clone like your sister, Ana."
"No, sister of mine" Hitomi automatically hissed beneath her breath, but Dornkirk ignoring this as he continued.
"After the Final Battle" the demon leader harshly spoke, "We had taken my sister into captivity and put her under extreme tortures. Experimentation of cloning individuals was one of the many things she was forced to endure. During that time, however, cloning was just in the first stages of development and Stella died shortly after her birth. Later on the real Queen Iris escaped during one of her daily tortures killing half of the guards and barreling out of my base. I let her go, knowing she would not survive long. Her endurance had been very strong, but I knew she was dying. Never did I expect her to be able to create the Mystic Moon to send the rest of the Draconians away."
Hitomi sat back on her heels as she asked bluntly, "That's why you were waiting on me to find all the guardians… You wanted them to see the one person they had put all their faith in betray them."
Dornkirk smirked at her as Hitomi grounded out, "You didn't just want me to suffer or break my spirits. You wanted to do it to everyone I hold dear!"
"Like I said, seeress" he breathed darkly, "The more of your love ones that suffer before you the worse it is for you… far worse than death…"
The seeress unsteadily got to her feet and staggered to catch her balance. The emperor took a step towards her as he growled victoriously, "Now you see all the truth and now I will take all the power you have left in your body!"
Hitomi took a deep breath to steady herself just before she growled a single word, "Wrong!"
With what little energy she had left she flung herself at Dornkirk and nearly crashed into his chest. Too shock by her sudden attack the emperor could not draw away from the seeress as she slapped both of her palms on either side of his cheeks. A scarlet glow began to swirl at her hands as the wind began to howl. Over the noise the seeress shouted, "You see, Dornkirk, I am not as stupid as you think! I knew you wouldn't kill me right away because you like to watch people suffer just like your sons do. I waited till you laid all your secrets out to me and then I acted. You may think you can only drain people's energy, but so can I because I have the powers of Joutei and they are unlimited in abilities just like you said."
"You planned this all along?!" the emperor shouted furiously as his fingers tried to unsuccessfully wrench off the seeress's hold.
"Ever since you took Iris!" retorted Hitomi as she began to feel the first bit of her stolen energy return to her.
The world swirled with dust and scarlet glow as the two leaders were locked in a flurry of power. Nearby the demons and guardians all gaped as the sides of power were beginning to switch over. In a matter of seconds it seemed the tables were beginning to turn.
Hitomi locked her teeth together as she felt the pressure on her body increase. The use of her energy was difficult seeing that the pendant was still merging with her and causing a great amount of friction as she dipped into her powers. The swirl of energy that returned to her body was being ripped apart as the pendant took claim to a good amount of it and tore up the seeress's inside by wrenching it from her. Squeezing her eyes shut the Angel concentrated everything on finishing the drain of Dornkirk. If she took all his powers he could never be able to drain anyone again and then the guardians could finish off him and the other demons, saving Gaea in the process.
The ground shook violently making some of the demon's unsteady. Great cracks split through the black earth letting new lava swell in the crevices. Steam hissed from below making the air thick with heat. Lightning sparked in the black clouds as small tornados began to form, though they never quite touched down.
Van and Sian lied next to each other as the world quaked. The poor maiden lifted herself to her elbows staring at the two leaders. Her silver eyes were bright as a tear slid from the edge of her lashes. Quietly she whispered, "I knew they would never betray us. I knew Hitomi would find a way."
Nearby the raven king began to stir and his eyes fluttered open. The earthquake had come to wake him. His fire eyes were quick to find his beloved and saw the display going on. With a prideful smile the man whispered, "Hitomi…"
The seeress gripped harder on the emperor's face as she felt her blood spit fire and sear through her flesh. Her eyes closed tighter as she touched the burning energy in her soul. This transfer was killing her! She had to hurry and finish it! Before--
A sudden feeling of cold hard metal ran through her lower back and stomach as Hitomi flung her eyes open. She could barely register the gasps sounding through the Mystic Valley as the seeress let loose a blood curdling scream. Pain flared throughout Hitomi far worse then anything she had moments ago been feeling. She ripped her hands off Dornkirk and felt something flare at the sudden disconnection of their touch. She numbly heard the Zaibach emperor howling in agony as he writhed before her. Hitomi's hands went to clutch the half of the sword that protruded from her stomach and her fingers ran over the very tip of the blade cutting her hands deep. The seeress weakly looked down at the bloody end of the blade that jutted from her abdomen. She felt complete numbness as she slowly looked behind her.
There stood Queen Iris's clone, Stella, with her hands bloody and her eyes hard. Hitomi took a step that wobbled slightly as she turned more towards her attacker. The dark woman glared at the seeress as she growled, "I won't let you win! Blast you!"
Her hands shook as Hitomi felt for the hilt digging into her back. Her fingers feebly grasped the cold handle and tugged weakly. Slowly the blade pulled out of the woman's back while the tip disappeared back into her stomach. Blood poured forth the second the blade had vanished from her stomach and Hitomi was forced to bite her lip to keep from crying out. As the sword fully escaped the bloody flesh more wet liquid of scarlet gushed from her horrendous wound. Seconds later the weapon dropped clattering on the harsh earth.
Hitomi suddenly became aware how quiet the world sounded. The turbulence of air had quieted and the quaking had stilled. Her eyes of emeralds slowly ran over the valley taking in every single figure around her.
Dornkirk was clutching his stomach as Stella glared down at the seeress…
Shakaku was being held by her mate as they gaped wordlessly at her…
Kusari and Kaosu were unable to say a word, but were able to smirk in triumph…
Nembus bowed his head as tears slipped from his eyes…
Zaado was on one knee with Nazomi lying near his feet, both unable to tear their eyes from their queen…
Tsuno pushed Dilandau back as he took a step towards the stricken royal…
The last two individuals Hitomi looked upon were hardest to watch…
Sian had tears streaming down her face in a wave as she sat on her knees. Her mouth was continually opening and closing as if she was trying to say something, but was unable to voice it. Silver jewels reflected pain and despair as she stared at her dear friend and mistress…
Van had come to lean on one elbow while he gaped at his beloved. His eyes were fueled with deep sorrow as he unconsciously reached out for her. Every feature of expression was of shocked sadness. His face was pulled back into pain disbelief.
Hitomi slowly raised a hand to reach out to him just before she fell to her knees. Clutching her stomach with her other hand she felt a new surge of blood sweep over her fingers. The dust collected in the wound and stung her making her wince. She felt suddenly dizzy and had to throw her hand out to catch the ground before she hit it.
A shadow crawled over the dark earth towards the seeress as the Angel gasped for air. Blood splattered into a small pool as the figure came to stand before the maiden. Hitomi lifted her eyes and saw through the mess of her bangs Lady Stella towering over her with her sword high. The seeress felt her throat go dry as she saw the murder in the older woman's eyes.
"Now we finish this," the demon hissed in her feminine growl. Hitomi tensed as the sword dipped backwards a little more.
Then there was thunder…
Stella crashed to the ground letting go of her sword all together. The blade flew far disappearing into the outskirts of the valley or at least that's what appeared to happen. Dimly the seeress realized a globe of dark energy had hit the woman. Generally Hitomi turned in the direction the attack had come from mindful of how tender her body was at the moment. Dornkirk knelt on both knees with his arm still glowing a faint black.
"YOU FOOL!" the emperor cried as he went to clutch his stomach again, "YOU HAVE DESTROYED EVERYTHING!"
Stella scrambled up into a sitting position, "What are you saying?!"
Dornkirk winced as he swayed on his knees. After he steadied himself he growled hotly, "You disrupted the transfer, blast you!"
The demon woman clawed at the black soil, "Well, of course! You didn't want her to steal all your powers, now did you?!"
Hissing in pain the emperor began to crawl towards the seeress, "Yes, blast it, but you interrupted the transfer too suddenly! We were linked during the process and when you disrupted the seeress's concentration she didn't let go of the bond properly!"
Hitomi blinked a few times to keep her vision from blurring as she coughed out, "What do you mean, Dornkirk?"
Her uncle panted in exertion as he came about five feet away from her. His eyes glowed red with his remaining powers as he hissed, "When either of us try to transfer power a spiritual link is formed between us, like moments ago. When the transfer is done the spiritual link is broken, however, you are not use to the process and when Stella attacked you, you did not end the transfer properly…"
Her emeralds were dull as she looked at her relative and enemy, "Are you saying we are still spiritually linked?"
"Yes, blast it!" he near yelled, "Now if I try to kill you I'll kill myself as well because we are linked!"
A hushed silence rolled over the group as Hitomi tried to shuffle away from Dornkirk. She knew what he was going to try. The emperor bared his fangs as he shouted, "Come back here! We must destroy the link!"
Hitomi dug her heels into the earth as she struggled to crawl backwards on her palms. His black claw lunged for her ankle and she barely dodged his stretch. She needed to think clearly before anything else happened. Where did this leave her then in this new situation? She was close to dying as it was and now Dornkirk was spiritually linked with her. If she died, he died. What a wonderful exchange…
Dornkirk dove for her ankle again this time catching it in his left hand. Hitomi tried to throw off hand, but he was too strong for her…
Too strong?…
How was that possible?…
If they were linked wouldn't he be weak, too?
Her emeralds caught sight of his fire red coals. An idea glimmered in her mine as she frantically sought for some sort of weapon. Her hands ran over a sharp piece of rock and without another thought she grasped it and shoved the sharp point hard into the side of her left hand.
The screams from the two leaders mingled as one bouncing along the valley's walls. Dornkirk's hand had automatically let go the second she had stabbed herself. Hitomi sucked in a breath of air the second her echo died away. She gritted her teeth together as she wrenched the stone out of her flesh inducing even worse pain. She gave a small yelp, but kept herself from screaming again. Her emeralds quickly flipped onto the bloody wound now pouring with red liquid. She could see a white substance beneath the red flesh and realized she had cut herself to the bone.
Bringing the hand painfully to her chest Hitomi looked up at Dornkirk. The Zaibach emperor was clutching his hand feverously to his side as he panted. Drops of scarlet seeped from between his fingers and dribbled down his arm in thin streams. Hitomi scowled as she studied his hand harder. Something wasn't right about all this…
As her emeralds continued to probe the man finally Dornkirk removed his black claw so they could see the extensity of his wound. To their surprise the wound was barely visible with it only be a shallow cut, almost too shallow to bleed. Hitomi glanced between her hand and his. The cuts were identical by location and structure, but in level of damage Hitomi's injury was the far worse.
The two rulers slowly caught each other's eyes as they were tossed into a new theory.
The point that they were both injured served as proof that there was a spiritual link between them,… but the fact that the copy injury was less severe than the initial injury showed that the link was a bit weak.
Dornkirk's eyes narrowed as he stared hard at the seeress. Hitomi shifted nervously trying to figure out what he was thinking. Slowly the man bared his fangs and growled like a wild dog. By this time Hitomi was shuffling away from him backwards trying to gain some distance.
Everything was going so fast! She thought she had everything planned out and now she had empty hands unable to think up a single idea or decision to act on. Everything was falling apart now!
Dornkirk charged her and Hitomi scrambled to escape, but easily lost. His black claws twisted into her strains and snapped her head back making her cry out. Her eyes were filled with fright as she knew her options had become extremely slim abruptly.
His foul breath flustered her face as Hitomi heard his angry snarl, "If the bond is weak that means there is still a chance that I can survive even with your death."
Hitomi became terrified as she realized nothing would stop him now from killing her.
Sian shifted onto one foot as she put her weight on her other knee against the ground. Breathing hard the woman felt a rage take over her. She would not allow her queen to suffer any longer and she would not allow Dornkirk to take her life! Bond or no bond!
Abruptly in the middle of her boil, though Sian lost herself and crashed to the ground. She groaned as she felt the pain in her arms. Glancing up she saw the emperor take hold of the seeress's hair.
'There nothing we can do' thought the green maiden, 'We are all too weak from battle to even hope to save our queen. We cannot do this alone…'
Closing her silver jewels the woman took a deep breath and did the only thing she could do. She prayed.
"Dear Joutei in Heaven" she whispered quietly, "Please help us now in our hour of need. We have tried to help our queen, your chosen one, but we cannot do it by ourselves. Please, I beg you help us to save her and this world."
~~~ Judgment ~~~
"…Please, I beg you, help us to save her and this world."
The prayer flowed through the dark vastness where the two immortals floated. The red demon scowled at the words feeling his skin curl at the sound. Joutei opened his eyes with a smile. Never speaking a word the immortal raised his palm to the only opening left to them.
~~~ Mystic Valley ~~~
Sian panted heavily as she got on her hands and knees again. Her strength was depleted along with the rest of the warriors. Nearby hovering over them were the four demons that had so easily exhausted them to weaklings. Blast it! They needed a miracle now!
'My child, your faith shall help bringing forth that miracle' came a rich voice in her head.
The maiden blinked a few times before whispering gladly, "Joutei…"
'Yes, my child' he said soothingly in her mind, 'I have come to your aid as you have requested. Even with the physical obstacles between us know that I am always with you. Thus, I am able to help.'
A soft glow swirled on the woman's brow and she felt sudden warmth engulf her body. She gasped as she realized she was glowing a pale green-white. Joutei confidential spoke, 'Because you believe in me I shall grant you that miracle. Take what I give you, my child, and destroy the evil here so you may save your queen and all of Gaea.'
It was then the immortal's voice faded away, but the warmth never shuddered. Sian stumbled to stand upright as the feeling grew stronger. Her blood sang with glory as her energy shot up with renewal. Every pore of her body poured out the soft glow of her god's power and she gaped at the display it was creating.
Everyone's eyes shot up and their mouths flew open the second the scene began. The wind went up a few paces and rushed the group surrounding the maiden. Hitomi gasped for air as her eyes drifted to her highest guard. Dornkirk snarled at the sudden change in the guardian knowing it didn't mean anything good, at least not in his favor. The dragon king lifted himself to his elbows to better see the forest mistress.
Sian arched her back as a pearly globe emitted from her chest glowing with such intensity that you couldn't look directly at the object. Her bangs flew from her brow and the golden tiara shattered into twinkling stars. As the shards fell away from her forehead the emblem of her people seared in her flesh in a distinct green. From her brow a glow formed that washed over her entire body. As it twirled down the end of her braid her disorganized strains moved back into their arrangement and were clasped at the end by a white metal band. Her clothes suddenly became whole again and fluttered as they formed a pale green mail over her body. Next a shell of pearl armor encased her body with gold and several trims swirling over the uniform. The last bit of the glow swirled at her chest glowing brighter than ever. An angel of light formed at the white plate dancing with grace before charging the maiden's chest and colliding into the emblem of the Draconians. A last wisp of glow turned gold as it ran over the woman's shoulder creating golden plates. Next the light swept down to wrist guards and made them gold as well. Last it came to her shin guards and washed them over in the yellow metal. With the last few seconds the light that glowed around her became sucked into the crest before flashing one last time before coming silent and shinny.
The armor had become slightly duller from the lack of illumination, but it still held some radiance as it shined like the sun on the water. Sian stood tall in the snow-white armor with the extremely pale green mail peeking out in a few areas. Last came her wings as they shot out of her back to arch dramatically behind her with several dozen feathers floating from her.
Her bangs ruffled as the wind flowed by her. Through the chocolate strains you could see her eyes of silver had formed a new light of strength and hope. Her metal glove came forward as a gold orb suddenly formed before her. Twirling with snowy swirls the sphere grew long and pointed with two arches on either side. As the light faded from the center the emblem of the Draconians came to rest on the very core of the bow. In seconds the most glorious weapon Sian had ever come to know floated above her palm with it's majestic arches shaped in the form of sharp feathers that could slice through even dragon scales. Strains of gold and silver ran through the pearl weapon with perfect beauty. It was glorious and deadly at the same time.
Everyone just stared at the sudden transformation unable to believe their senses. How could this be possible?! The soldier had nearly been dead moments ago?!
The guardians stiffened as they saw their leader turn towards them with her bow clasped in her fist. They each became calm as they saw her silver eyes soften on them. Soon each could hear her call through their mind, 'My fellow warriors… Please, trust in Joutei, our lord. If you do you shall gain what I have just gained. Place your hope and trust in him so we might win the day.'
The warriors smiled at her words realizing they should never have thought they could go into battle without the help of their master. Slowly each closed their eyes in prayer as they called upon the one being who could alter their fates.
To the demons shock the other guardians also began to glow, each the color they bore. The warmth swept over the field in a terrible rage making the cloaked warrior hissed from the intensity. Slowly each of the six remaining angels stood with their eyes closed. The figures of light stretched out their arms accepting the energy gifted to them as their wings stretched behind them. Escaflowne watched his wife be swept along with the energy and saw her too become graced in pearl armor. The darkness became so shadowed by their illumination that you could not see past the six warriors.
Slowly they dimmed and revealed their new selves. Each of them was now protected in the snowy metal with their colors visible in their pale mails. Each of their weapons was now in their hands more beautiful then ever. Nembus's sword was now a brilliant white gold hilt with feathers imprinted along the diamond blade. Sharp feathers of metal were arranged in a circle forming the shockren of Nazomi. Zaado's great ax was imprinted with the feathers also in a glorious display from the tip of his blades to the end of his staff. The trident of Tsuno was white like the surf with the feathers twisted around the handle of his staff. Shakaku, though dragon she was, also had the markings of the Draconian's feathers along the handle of her long whip. Folken, last of the guardians, was graced with the imprints along his wristbands to the tip of his blades. Along with these markings was the emblem of their people that shone on every weapon graced to the guardians.
As each of the foreheads glowed with the Draconian Crest the six warriors stood proudly showing they were no longer weak. The demons recoiled from the guardians once they felt the extreme power emitting from them. It didn't matter how much distance the two sides put between themselves, the Guardians would come to them.
Sian lifted her bow into the air and shouted, "For Joutei!"
There was a thunderous roar as the six chosen warriors charged past their leader at the four demons. Ebony swords flew up to meet their adversaries as the two sides crashed into each other with a great blast. Sian tensed at the sudden ripple of energy whipping across the valley. Turning towards the white legend the maiden shouted over the noise, "Go and protect King Van. This battle is ours to fight. Just keep him safe."
Escaflowne nodded solemnly knowing this was a fray he was not to enter. The war angel nodded before racing into the bellows of the combat. The second she turned away from him the white figure scrambled over to his king. Van was staring at the angel queen never noticing the dragon's approach.
"My Lord" Escaflowne said earnestly, "We must retreat to safety. This battle is fierce."
The raven king ignored his friend as his rubies remained fixed on his wife, "Hitomi…"
Dornkirk snarled at the sudden shift in power. Certainly his demons could not hold up against seven fit guardians! He angrily whipped his eyes back on the seeress who was still staring in shock at her followers. His claws tightened on her ankle making her let go a small whimper. Her shaky emeralds came to his fiery coals as the emperor growled, "They might be powerful, but they will not stop me from killing you! They will never get here in time!"
The Angel frantically began to struggle with her captor trying weakly to escape his grip. Hitomi felt her mind spinning violently and she knew she would pass out any moment. The loss of blood was really hitting her hard now. She could taste the metallic syrup of her rich essence swirling in her mouth. Her hands blindly latched on to something and felt something sharp rip across her fingers. Hitomi gave a weak scream of anguish as she recoiled from the blade that had once been Ivy's.
The sudden pain opened the woman's eyes dramatically automatically catching sight of the blood smearing over her fingertips. It burned like simmering embers and bled like the heart of the world was dumping its soul. Glancing up the seeress noticed Dornkirk was nursing his own wounds. Her emeralds narrowed upon seeing the amount of blood dripping from the man's fingers. Strange how it seemed this time Dornkirk was bleeding rather badly…
The Zaibach ruler growled as he noticed the extent of his injury, "Blast it! The bond is fluctuating! Even if I kill you I might still die!"
"What?" Hitomi stuttered confused, "What are you talking about?"
The man grounded his jaws together as his rage became focused on her, "I'm telling you, oh seeress, that the blasted link between us is unstable!"
His hands dug into the earth as he stalked over to her, "If it continues to waver it can collapse and kill us both! I can't allow that to happen so I must kill you to guarantee my survival!"
Hitomi's feet desperately pushed away from the insane man as she struggled to escape, however, just as she did so her mind clicked. If it could work for him, it could work for her. If she killed him soon enough, she wouldn't die along with him. Then the world would be safe,… but could she do it?…
Their eyes met as they realized now was going to be struggle for survival…
The seeress swiftly brought her feet beneath her, now feeling suddenly refreshed and immune to her pain. Dornkirk snarled as he stretched out his wings. Emeralds narrowed as she also released her wings and to the surprise of both her and Dornkirk her wings were a near pitch black. Her life was at the end of a thread…
Soon the leaders turned away from the black objects staring hard at one another.
This was for all the marbles…
Time was short and there were no other options…
This time it would just be him and her…
And a fight to the death…
~ Well, well, well, what going to happening now? Who will become victor and will the new powers given to the guardians help? Or will it just balance things out? What about Gaea as they watch all this? What will all of the Gaeans think??? Catch it all on chapter 29: Armageddon. Coming in October! (I hope…)~