~ Remember I don't own Escaflowne or its characters!~
The Fate of Two Worlds: The Sequel
By Angel_Wings
Chapter 29 ~ Armageddon
This was going to be the greatest battle in all of history. Not even the Persecution could match up to what was happening here that day. That historical event had been only centered on the Draconians and half of Gaea. This war was for not only the Draconians, not only Gaea, but it was for all the dimensions on the side. Whoever stood at the end of this battle would either lock away the spiritual realm and become immortal or they would bring back peace to this universe. Everything lied between seven guardians, two dragons, a king, and the Angel.
Hitomi and Dornkirk scowled at each other knowing that the prize was only given to who survived. Consciously the seeress knew that she didn't stand much of a chance against her uncle at the moment. She was weaker than him and was less experience in battle. She bared her teeth in determination. She would not lose!
Her emeralds saw his muscles tense seconds before he lunged at her. Ignoring the many wounds stretched out over her body the seeress leapt into the air backwards and flapped her wings. The dark emperor quickly followed rushing up to meet her.
Baring her teeth Hitomi knew she was in for some extreme fighting, but she felt so weak. Her wounds were tearing apart from her movements and they seared with stinging heat. Weighed down by exhaustion she felt terribly slow. In the back of her mind she knew of only one way that would possibly save her now, but she was so close to the edge of blacking out that she was certain it was suicidal.
'It doesn't matter' she thought sadly, 'I'm dead any way.'
Her hands curled into fist as she reared back her head. Closing her eyes tight she let out a painful scream just before the red pendant glowed brightly.
~ Wave & Sand Guardians ~
Tsuno and Nazomi raced forward at Kusari with murder in their eyes. The demon snarled as he readied his sword, "You won't defeat me!"
The blue warrior smirked as he said, "You assume too much!"
A pale hand of the guardian came up and you could see tiny water droplets swirl in his palm. The glorious wave of crystal surged from is hand in an instant barreling it way towards the demon. Kusari growled in frustration and brought his sword to block the attack. Unfortunately for him the blade did little to stop the attack for the liquid just divided upon hitting the sharp metal of the sword and continued headfirst at its target. The demon man cursed loudly as he was slammed hard backwards. Angrily the man fought with his sword and thrust it into the ground making it his anchor. It didn't take long for him to stop his movement, but when he did he found the blonde guardian standing over him.
Growling the man did an impressive jump to his feet with a smooth twirl to face her. In mid-spin he brought up his weapon to attack her, "One down!"
Kusari gaped in shock when the blade swept through the woman without bringing a drop of blood. With his sword still flying to the side the man lost his footing and fell through the illusion of the woman angel. Slamming a foot down to catch himself Kusari twirled on the toe of his ebony boot crunching the earth beneath it. With agile grace he threw his other foot through the woman only to watch the attack slide right through her. As his whole body twisted off balanced he caught sight of the real desert maiden charging him at his open left side.
Her feather daggers gleamed as they swayed at her sides. With a mighty voice she cried, "Don't you think after the first try you would learn!"
Hurling herself through the air propelled by her glittery wings she attacked. Kusari roared with frustration as he gathered his energy in his hand. When they were meters apart he released the deadly orb at her, but she nimbly batted it away with her dagger and ripped the other blade through his side. An anguish cry bounded from his throat as he raked his claws across her cheek. Soon both were shouting out their pain as they crashed into the earth in a pile.
Tsuno quickly raced over to his partner's aid as he saw her grappling with the demon.
~ Cloud & Ice Guardians ~
The wind ripped chunks out of the black ground hurtling them in a howling tornado. Nembus grinded his teeth as his wind tunnel grew stronger. Shouting a cry of effort the attack threw itself at the demon before him. The being growled as he narrowly dodged the ferocious strike. As he did this, unfortunately for him, Kaosu's wings were struck by dozens of ice daggers ripping through his flesh. With a wounded cry the man crashed into the ground while his wings flopped lifelessly. Quickly the demon man pushed himself off the ground in time to see the ax head embed itself in the spot his neck once lied.
Coming into a fighting position Kaosu faced his new opponent. Zaado wrenched his weapon from the dead earth and twirled the heavy item with little effort. Slapping the staff into both hands the guardian brought back his heel and pointed his ax at the demon man. Kaosu crouched low like a serpent with his fangs visible. Zaado seemed unfazed as the dark figure began to hiss.
Kaosu felt his hair stand on end before he even glanced over his shoulder. Standing several feet away was the second guardian with his sword pointed at his back. Angrily the demon swatted at the fancy blade, but Nembus pulled his sword away and swung at the creature. Gasping at the closeness Kaosu threw his head back with a few inches to spare between him and the attack. Unfortunately he forgot about the other guardian.
~ Fire & Spirit Guardians ~
Folken and Shakaku flanked each other as they faced the silver headed dragonslayer. Dilandau cackled as he brought his gleaming black sword into view. The two guardians' muscles tensed as they kept their gaze on the cloaked figure. The dark one's pale lips pulled back into a sneer as his eyes gleamed with bloodlust. In a low voice the demon slayer whispered, "Who would have thought the legendary Strageos would be a guardian?"
The white haired angel just scowled at the man ignoring the statement all together. Beside him Shakaku had her eyes locked on their adversary studying him carefully. With a smirk Dilandau charged the two fighters with his sword whizzing through the heated air. Both of the guardians leapt into the sky seconds before the slayer arrived making Dilandau growl in aggravation.
"Why don't you fight me, cowards?!" the slayer shouted before throwing an energy ball at them.
Shakaku only had to just barely move her head to avoid the attack making the whole thing seem very unimpressive and making the slayer even more furious. Sneering the red female shouted down at him, "It is never wise to ask for something you cannot handle!"
With a flick of her wrist her long whip unraveled making it look long and deadly. Her eyes gleamed red as she again flicked her wrist and caught the whole tread on fire. The golden flames twirled around the length of the wrist to the very tip of the handle and licking her clenched hand. She seemed completely unfazed by the flames. Her eyes glowed brightly as she snarled loudly. Dark red wings stretched out as she readied herself.
Below on the ground Dilandau prepared his sword. Throwing open her rows of fangs the mistress of flames roared and dove towards the dark figure.
~~~ Sian & Stella ~~~
The pearl boot crunched down on the black earth as the forest maiden glared at the figure that looked so much like her old mistress. Stella smirked slyly as she slide to one side circling the guardian. The silver eyes of the bright soldier kept with the woman with heated rage. With dark cackle the black angel demon asked, "Can you kill someone who looks so much like the woman you were so loyal to centuries ago?"
Brunette hair flung back as the maiden shook away her bangs. Silver jewels snapped on the demon queen viciously, "We shall soon find out."
With perfect timing Sian pulled out her bow and lunged at Stella. The demon royal growled as she brought up her sword to strike away the attack. The two metals rang loudly as they met in violent union. The guardian growled as her boot touched the black earth. Her other arm surged forward and punched solidly against the queen's chin. Stella winched as she stumbled back and crashed into another hard punch, this time in her back. The black sword rattled to the ground as the woman fell to her hands and knees. Now standing behind her Sian glared at the cloaked back of her adversary. The point of her bow dove for the unprotected flesh, but Stella quickly rolled over. As Sian's bow became embedded in the ground the demon royal kicked sharply in the angel's chest. The maiden let out a great deal of air as she fell back and leaving behind the embedded bow.
Stella snarled as she flew to her feet. Grabbing the bow's exposed end the clone wrenched the weapon out of the earth tearing apart the ground. Sian stumbled to a halt holding her stomach as she glared at the ruler. Shouting a warrior's cry Stella charged with her cloak flapping wildly behind her. The guardian merely smirked at the approach and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Stella slid to a halt as her emerald eyes darted about looking for her opponent. The air was heavy, but it churned with unseen life making the woman edgy. Where was she?
Suddenly the bow was ripped from her hands and disappeared. Stella gaped at her hands just before a well delivered punch rammed into her face. Slamming onto her back the demon quickly threw up her eyes to see the guardian standing a few feet away smirking with her bow. The beautiful warrior dressed in the pearl armor twirled her weapon as she muttered, "I must say I have missed my speed…"
~~~ Leaders ~~~
Hitomi voice went up a level as she felt the searing pain react throughout her nerve system. The pendant burned red with power as the three vaults of different energy sources flung open. The seeress could sense the powers merging ever closer together almost to the point where you couldn't even distinguish which was which. Brittle anguish launched throughout her pores as her lungs were stretched to the brink. Her blood felt thinned and her oxygen came in small bursts trying to fuel the immense need of energy. Hitomi's hands flinched open as her entire body was stressed by extraordinary straining. Her bones creaked at the tension echoing in her ear loudly.
For a moment the seeress lost her voice only to fling up her heart wrenching cry to a level twice as high as before. Suddenly the pendant shot out beams of scarlet light making Dornkirk halt in his charge to cover his eyes by the intensity of the blinding illumination. Below everyone stopped to see what was causing such brightness.
As the shattered blood-red rays pierced throughout the ebony valley another light formed at Hitomi's chest. With warming beauty a white orb formed at the woman's heart shifting towards the pendant. The crimson beams abruptly wavered at the arrival of the pearly aura and soon turned towards the new form. Without a moment to blink the red swirls rushed forward and wrapped around the snowy orb just before golden sting-like light curled around both. Hitomi's eyes snapped open revealing empty whiteness as the three lights churned in front of her chest. The bottomless white eyes slowly faded into a pair of emerald ones as the newly created orb flashed into a million rays of gold, red, and white. As the valley was consumed by the brightness Hitomi let out one last scream.
Dornkirk slowly removed his arm seconds after her scream had faded to see what had occurred. He stared in awe as he saw the seeress floating directly where she had been seconds before. Now she stood with her eyes gleaming green and her body just glowing with red, gold, and white color. Her wings stretched out from behind her in the darkest black that anyone had ever seen them as. Her ripped attire fluttered stiffly with her dried blood.
The emperor scowled at his opponent as he realized she had dipped into the very bottom depths of her powers. The merge between her and Joutei's powers were becoming extremely unstable as the pendant tried to grasp hold of the seeress's life force. Dornkirk knew she had to be struggling now quite badly to stay alive so why was she doing this. She wouldn't be able to concentrate on both him and trying to keep the pendant from taking all her energy!
Hitomi grinded her teeth together as she struggled with the unstable power surges going off throughout her body. Each time a bit of energy would explode in her body she felt intense pressure rake her nerves. Her lungs and blood felt they were on fire making ciders that blocked her oxygen. The tiny circuits of nerves that ran through her brain were going into overload as the energy and pain swelled through her skull. Whatever she had to do she had to do it fast because she didn't know how long she could survive the intense pain.
Dornkirk clutched his head as he felt the barest surge of pain rack his own body. He gaped at how impossible it seemed that the seeress could stand against the power. His eyes narrowed as he saw the seeress was trying to look as if she was in no pain at all. Though she was doing an extremely impressive show of such Dornkirk could see right through the act because he could feel her pain (though not to the same degree).
Throwing back her bangs the woman shouting with all the force she could gather, "Let's end this, Dornkirk! Both of us cannot be on this world at the same time!"
The emperor locked his jaw as he hissed darkly, "So let it be! This fight shall determine everything!"
His hands curled into fists as his wings fluttered behind him. His eyes glowed red and his body formed a sort of scarlet-black illumination similar to the seeress. His fangs became visible as he snarled loudly.
Below the warriors watched in awe of the supreme power being displayed. No matter how many times they saw the two leaders show off the amount of energy they possessed they just had to gap at it.
Sian was the first to snap back to reality realizing they were still in the mist of battle. Lifting her bow high the woman shouted, "For Joutei and the Draconians!"
The guardians lifted their weapons and shouted with heavy force thundering throughout the valley. The demons suddenly snapped back to their opponents remembering they were still in a fray and thus the battle continued.
Hitomi braced her body as she drew out a sphere of energy. Dornkirk did the same bringing his palm to face her. Electricity sizzled between them and lightning flashed in the sky. Every so often a shred of the golden bolts would strike the two, but they just seem to ignore the effects all together. The pearl orb suddenly flew from the seeress's hands straight for the Zaibach emperor, but he quickly shot off his own energy sphere canceling out the woman's attack in a thick array of smoke. The two rulers pushed through the dark gas as they began the first wave of their own personal battle.
~~~ Van ~~~
The dragon king fought against his guard desperately as he watched his wife struggle overhead. Something surged through his blood making him panic. He could feel his beloved dying… He could feel her every ounce of pain and he could feel her energy tearing her apart inside out… The very sight of her sent a nerve wracking pain down his spine rattling his bones… There had to be something he could do for her…
'just be by my side…'
Her voice called to him begging him to come to her, but the iron hold of the white lizard held him fast…
~~~ Land Battle ~~~
Tsuno brought his palms side-by-side as he shouted from the intense pressure of his power. Water leapt from his hands and spiraled at the four demons as they tried to fly off into the sky. Arrows shot off from Sian's bow swiftly hitting two of the demons in their wings. With a cry the two dark brothers crashed to the ground. Nazomi launched into the sky with her shockren clasped together. Her eyes glinted gold just before she tossed the disc into the air. The two remaining demons sneered at the object knowing it would be easy to dodge. Unfortunately for them in a single heartbeat the disc suddenly appeared like a million shockrens flying at them with the help of the sand warrior's powers. Both of the cloaked figured screamed as they felt the weapon take turns thrusting right through their stomachs. When the fake images faded away all that was left was Nazomi holding a bloody disc in her hand. With a painful groan the pair fell to the earth landing a few feet away from their companions.
The demons moaned as they got to their feet and saw the guardians had formed a circle around them. Smirks and sneers appeared on the guardians' faces as they gripped their weapons. Weakly the four dark fighters going into fighting stances as the wind wipes around them. Electricity crackles throughout the air as the cloaked beings gather up all their energy for a final strike.
~~~ Kusari ~~~
The dark lord landed directly between Nembus and Shakaku with his eyes of silver-blue ice glinting dangerously. With a roar the she-dragon leapt at her prey. Kusari dodged as he shot off a large orb of energy at the female creature. Frantically she dove from the attack and was seared by the heat. Crashing into the brittle earth the maiden howled her pain as the scraps of blackness scratched her pearl armor. Snapping to one knee the woman took in a deep breath. The demon man scowled as the woman continue to inhale with her mouth wide.
Just seconds after she closed her mouth her fangs snapped open with a bellow of fire flying out. Kusari automatically threw up his arms to protect his face. The golden tongues of the flames ran over his body in a scorching blaze licking up his ragged cloak and setting the dry material into their own bonfire. Even though the man had been through the hottest furnaces in the depths of Hell he had forgotten the true torture of the fires over time in the Realm of the Living and now those dragon flames, which were the second hottest on earth, drove him back into remembrance of the times he had been burning in the underworld.
His painful scream was like echoes of torments from his past life. Those cries of anguish seemed to reflect each howl of suffering that had been produced from his victims before his death. When he thought he had escaped the revenge of his quarries he was finally feeling their retribution through that moment.
At the same time Shakaku was launching this punishment she was off in the depths of her mind remembering her past. She saw the flashes of destruction running through the Draconian civilizations and the deaths plagued by the countries of Gaea. She had committed to memory every face that she had know that had died. Their blood spewed upon the ground had reflected in her scales as she absorbed the devastation. With their deaths and suffering came her rage of vengeance. As those orange flames enveloped the demon man she felt herself finally repaying those people who had passed away.
Nembus watched as Shakaku gave a heavy sigh and finally extinguish her spray of fire allowing him a chance to fight. His eyes of blackness swelled by the replicated orange in his ebony orb. Those burning tongues drew out his past when he would burn down armies and let his wind spread the bonfires. As Kusari twisted in agony amongst the gold spikes of the inferno Nembus remember how the soldiers had those nights had withered the same way the demon was now.
Standing tall the soldier brought his wings to their gull length. At that moment Kusari turned to face the man with his face twisted in evident pain. Nembus whispered quietly to himself, "I am sorry for what I did those centuries ago and with the ashes brushed away there goes my pain."
With a mighty gust his wings blasted the cloaked fighter with a turbulence of tornado tearing apart the demon's body into a million ashes, which both guardians could only stare as they fluttered into the dark sky.
~~~ Dilandau ~~~
Folken scowled at the dragonslayer as the cloaked figure streaked towards him. The old ally stepped back as he set his blades in front of each other before him. With a shrill cry the demon man threw all his strength into a sweep of his sword. The angel man nimbly batted the weapon away and thrust his own blade at the slayer. Dilandau threw his head to one side barely missing the attack as he flew past the royal's shoulder. Flipping over onto his feet the cloaked soldier swirled his sword and drove it through Folken's back. The guardian smirked as the blade ran right through his body without drawing a single drop of blood.
The dragonslayer had put so much effort into the swing that he became unbalanced and flew with the blade straight through Folken. Crashing to his knees the demon soldier whirled around growling, "What sort of trickery is this?!"
The angel prince of old smirked as he turned to his opponent, "I am a mix of human, dragon, and angel blood, Dilandau. Powers beyond what you can assume lie within my body one of which is being able to be transparent."
Dilandau growled as he shoved off the ground straight at Folken again with his blade aimed for the angel's heart. The guardian smiled as the sword easily went by without a single cut. When the slayer's eyes snapped up at the guardian he threw a heavy punch at the angel. Chuckling Folken moved to the side letting just the barest of the attack brush through him. As soon as all contact was removed the guardian swung his own blade at the slayer bringing a large gash to rip through his mutated flesh. Screaming at the anguish raced through his pores Dilandau onto his back trying to hold down the blood rushing from his body. Folken stepped forward with his sharp weapons gleaming in the twilight of the lightning above. The slayer suddenly sneered up at the guardian and hissed painfully, "Strageos…"
The white haired angel flinched for a moment, just as Dilandau had wanted, at the old name feeling the disgust of sin clinging to the remembrance of his past, but Folken soon recovered and pointed his right blade at the demon's heart.
With a powerful voice consumed with new life the guardian softly spoke, "I am Folken!"
Dilandau's face paled as he heard those words and gasped as he saw the weapon come down. Never did the slayer have a chance to deflect the point that pierced his heart…
~~~ Kaosu ~~~
The trident pierced the black earth driving into the heart of the soil. Tsuno tugged at the weapon wrenching it from the ground and sending burning coals to scatter. The three points of the dangerous tool gleamed wickedly as the guardian turned back to the blonde demon. Kaosu sneered as he tossed a dark blast of energy at the angel. As the orb shadowed the pearl soldier the knight of water jumped to the side avoiding the explosion of darkness.
With a ferocious shout the demon man stormed towards the guardian with a sword of utter raven. Tsuno was just settled back to his feet and didn't have the time to regain his footing before the attacker could swipe at him. It looked as if finally a guardian would be taken down, but one must never assume too much too soon.
Just as Kaosu came about in arm's reach of his opponent a large ax head fell between him and the guardian breaking his sword in two. The demon stared at his weapon for a second before looking up at the new arrival. He barely caught sight of the bearded giant before a heavy fist struck him square in the face causing him to fly backwards directly on the spikes of Tsuno's trident. With a howl the demon withered in pain.
Zaado glared at the cloaked opponent with a hard heart that drew from his memories. He could see the darkness in the demon that had once claimed the hearts of his own parents. As he watched the enemy take a few last breaths the guardian thought back to when he had been forced to kill his own parents. It had been years, but finally Zaado no longer felt the dirtiness of the deed he had completed years ago. It finally had died away from his guilt…
As blood of ebony slid down the staff and over his clenched hands Tsuno remembered how the blood of his crewmen had been just as thick. Their deaths had been the cause of his mistakes and even now he could see their scarlet liquid spewed over his clothes. Though his armor presently shone with pearl glints Tsuno could still see the darkness that had fed off him years ago. Now however his soul seem to final wash clean with a purely underbelly that glimmered. Even though Joutei had forgiven him years ago the guardian now could forgive himself…
Kaosu shuddered as the last of the pain ebbed through his mind killing him, but with that final moment he heard a thousand voices scream their victory. Those voices were the people he had slaughtered and now they had revenge with his death…
~~~ Stella ~~~
The bow and shockren cross over each other as they tried to hold down the blade of the demon. Aggressively the woman of darkness pushed aside the pearl weapons and swung at the two women. Sian did a perfect back flip onto one knee as Nazomi did a graceful roundup. Both guardians brought the weapons back to guard themselves as they waited for the clone to make the first move. They didn't have to wait long.
The demon queen roared like a banshee seconds before she shot of a pair of energy orbs straight at our two heroines. The guardians smirked as they agilely deflected the attacks and struck towards the cloaked warrior. Nazomi got to her first and ripped apart her shockren into her daggers. With a nice jump the guardian struck out with her blades trying to catch a chunk of the clone. Arrogantly the demon woman caught both of the blades in the palm of her hands letting the daggers cut deep into her mutated flesh. The guardian grunted as she tried to push her daggers so far into the woman's palms that they would go right through, but somehow Stella endured and kept the blades from going deeper. Curling her dark claw and pale hand over the two weapons the demon female used her powers to travel down the pearl blades and electrify the guardian. Nazomi cried out as the black electricity ran through her nerve system. With a painful groan the woman released her blades and stumbled back while clutching her burnt hands to her chest. With a sneer Stella turned the blades about and directed the points at the desert warrior with Nazomi never noticing.
Before Stella anything, fortunately, Sian appeared in a whistle of wind and grabbed both daggers out of the demon queen's hands. The dark woman was so shocked by the sudden appearance of the guardian that she was dumbstruck even while the green maiden slashed both blades across the woman's chest. Blood spilt over the dark fabric in a flood as Sian's pearl armor caught a few sprays of the ebony. As the liquid sprayed over her the guardian thought back to when she had killed with such quickness like now. Murdering hundreds had never caused her to flinch back then, but as she saw death once more the painful guilt of her past grasped her for a second making her gasp.
She saw the array of faces swirl before her eyes and she knew each face was from a different person she killed. It was almost like she had a photographic memory and they lingered in her mind. The darkness of heart swirled into a pearly glow though and the gold of Joutei replaced the blackness proclaiming his forgiveness. With a final cry the warrior shouted, "You shall be the last of those whose lives I claim!"
Stella screeched as Sian once again struck her with the daggers, however, this time the guardian hit her heart. Nazomi winced as she pulled her hands away from her chest not watching the scene anymore. She knew Sian was handling it. The desert woman saw the red burns lined with blood and saw the flash of dagger clasped in her hand, it's blade running with blood. The death of the child still hung over her head, but for once she was able to look at the memory without feeling a sense of utter woe. She finally has finished forgiving herself…
With the last cries of the demon queen Stella fell into the blackness of the afterlife knowing her life had still been too short to remember much…
~~~ Rulers ~~~
Hitomi landed heavily on her heels, but quickly jumped back as the black claw punched into the earth. The ebony ground sprang up in chunks and lava beneath the hard layer swirled around the forearm of the attacker, but he did not wince from the heat. He had endured heat far superior to which the lava held. The seeress slid to a halt and quickly leapt back at the emperor with her fists glowing white. Dornkirk growled as he dodged the first punch the Angel served up. With the other hand Hitomi opened her fist and released a beam of snow-whiteness that struck the demon hard in the face. Dornkirk howled his pain as he backed away seizing his face. The seeress decided to keep up her attacks while he was off guard, but the evil ruler was not so easily swayed out of concentration. When Hitomi got a foot closer than before the emperor released his own beam of energy striking the seeress right in the gut. The blow was so powerful that it sent the queen flying backwards before crashing into the ground.
Angrily Hitomi quickly got to her feet ignored the extreme amount of pain that was being to surface to her nerves. She knew Dornkirk would try to take her while she was down. Seeing him coming rushing at her proved her suspicions. Frantically she lifted both of palms and shot off several sprays of electric stars that blew up at first physical contact. The emperor tried to bat a few away, but the second they touched him they exploded sending bolts of electricity through him. The unfortunate man roared as the anguish hit his nerves at full force. Several more stars shot out of the Angel's hands as she tried to get Dornkirk a little weaker before she used something stronger. She didn't want him to be able to dodge something that would take a lot of her energy.
Dornkirk fell to one knee as more of the energy bombs hit him. Hitomi let loose a final array of sparkling orbs before rounding up a larger one in her palms. The emperor brought his arms over his face to endure the last of the stars and he hissed at the blasts that ensued. As the last of the energy needed to create the attack formed into the orb Dornkirk jumped to his feet. With a yell Hitomi released the attack in a baseball pitch and watched as the curve of the orb went for the demon king. The emperor fell to the ground on his stomach completely avoiding the shot and tossed his own energy ball that took mere seconds to create.
Hitomi banged into the ground at the force of the attack and clutched her side. How long would this go on she wondered? If this kept up they would be here all night… Looking up the seeress noticed that the emperor was not advancing, but was now powering up. Gulping the girl whispered, "Looks like this will end sooner than I thought…"
The emperor pounded his foot into the ground creating a small crater of cracks. Bringing his elbows close to his sides and clutching his fists closed the man growled as his clothes ruffled. Red lightning formed over his body and randomly struck at the ground. Chunks of the black ground broke off and slowly floated around him as the man dug out all his energy. Hitomi winced as a bolt of energy hit her. What was she going to do now?
Dornkirk violently grasped his cloak and tore it in two letting the pieces fly into the lava to burst into flames. His eyes turned into the brightest red possible and in a deep voice he shouted, "I'm tired of these games. We shall end this now!"
~~~ Guardians ~~~
As the demons fell to the ground lifeless the warriors of white turned to each other with smiles of triumph. The feelings of sorrow and guilt from their pasts had finally died away and now they were free of those nightmares that haunted them. Coming together they carefully looked over each others injuries making sure no one was seriously hurt before realizing the battle was still going on. Escaflowne and Van rushed over to them as they turned to the two leaders.
~~~ Rulers ~~~
Hitomi got to her knees as the man began to float up into the air. His body glowed scarlet with black swirls as he grew higher and the clouds rolled back allowing the sky to be his platform. Lava began to spew from the ground and hissed as it ate through some of the crust of Gaea. The seeress recoiled as a bit of lava came dangerously close to brushing by her. Golden blobs bubbled bursting into sprays that sizzled onto the ground by the maiden's feet. Hitomi lurched backwards trying to avoid the deadly droplets. One caught on her the flap of her shirt and automatically burst into a small flame. With a yelp the angel tore off the shred of fabric and tossed it into the lava.
Swallowing the woman got to her feet and turned back to her opponent. Above Dornkirk spread out his arms letting his palms embrace the lightning that slip from his fingertips. The earth rattled violently tossing all the below warriors about. Throwing her arms this way and that for balance Hitomi struggled to stay on her feet.
"Today shall end the reign of the great Seeress of the Mystic Moon!" roared the dark emperor.
Sian desperately stayed on her feet as the earthquake progressed. Whirling around she caught wind of the Zaibach ruler's words and growled. Tossing back her eyes at the other guardians the female soldier shouted, "Come on! Lady Hitomi needs us!"
The winged soldiers nodded as they began to rush towards the seeress. Van, upon seeing this, ripped out of the white dragon's hold and barreled after the group. Escaflowne scowled at his king's escape and retorted, "KING VAN!"
Hitomi gave a small smile at the approach of her friends. With their help they could defeat Dornkirk,… but the emperor knew this…
Baring his fangs the Zaibach ruler growled loudly, "Sorry, but this a fight between leaders!"
The seeress felt her blood drain as she swiveled about to see what Dornkirk had planned. Her eyes grew wide with fright as she saw his hands glow a thousand volts brighter than before. The entire battlefield of darkness became swallowed in the reflection of scarlet illumination and power rippled in the air. Though the guardians knew something was about to happen they didn't slow down, but instead they raced faster. Hitomi grew tense as a howling wind thundered at her. Her clothes flapped wildly as she grappling against the force. Looking up she gaped as she saw a million shards of light sprint from Dornkirk's hands to the ground. Instinctively the seeress wrapped her arms over her head, but the beams of lightning missed her by half a mile as they formed a barrier surrounding the two leaders and kept the guardians out.
Even though the warriors saw the wall of electricity they didn't stop, but ran at full force. With a cry Sian brought her palms together facing the wall and as she ran she formed a light in her hands. Violently against the wind she shouted, "In the name of Joutei and all of Gaea, powers graced by my King help me now dispel this barrier!"
Crackling with intensity a beam of emerald shot from her hands at the wall, but to the dismay of the group it merely dissolve upon contact. As they grew a few yards away from the crimson stronghold the guardians began to slow, but stubbornly Sian rushed forward with her hands still glowing. With a shout she shot another ray at the wall, but in vain attempt for it too was swallowed.
Desperately Nembus called to her, "Sian, Stop! It's no good!"
The green warrior gritted her teeth as a few tears slip by unaware, "NO!"
With a cry of her warrior self the woman leapt into the air while unsheathing her bow. The guardians and king watched in dismay as her bow crashed against the red wall with a screech. The woman floated in midair for a few seconds as her weapon fought against the power of the wall,… but sadly the wall fought back and sent a shrill of energy blaring through the woman's nerves. Screaming the guardian flew backwards with her bow trailing behind her. Landing roughly in the dirt yards away from the wall the woman whimpered from her pain.
Quickly the group swarmed around the woman checking her over. Hitomi bit her bottom lip as she watched from the inside of the cell her friends caring for her lead warrior. Above Dornkirk smirked down at the seeress, "Now let us continue."
Fearfully the Angel turned to stare up at the ruler and saw the light in his hands coil up. With a swallow the woman braced herself just before a billion bolts of electricity came screaming down at her. The rain of red shards pounded down on the ebony world within the enclosed cell with such fierceness that clumps of earth littered the area with steam hissing out of lava-filled cracks. Lucky for the seeress the lightning was not very accurate because Dornkirk had to control every billion stream of power. Unfortunately though there were so many bolts coming down at constant random places that it was hard to even dodge them at all.
A scream tore from the Angel's throat as one of the blasts hit her hard in the side. Slamming to the ground the woman winced in anguish while outside the guardians grew dangerously tense. Sian stood the closest to the wall facing it with deep sorrow and frustration. Being only a meter away the guardian growled angrily.
"Maybe if we combine all our powers we can at least make a big enough hole to get in" the maiden shouted as she ran to stand along side the other warriors. The guardians all nodded to their leader as she placed her palms facing the wall. Bringing their powers to the surface the other warriors followed the woman's lead bringing their own hands towards their large opponent. Gradually their hands glowed their designated colors pulsating with energy. Sian locked her jaw together as her sweat beaded on her brow. In a tight voice the lead guardian shouted, "I, Sian, Guardian of the Forest, call upon the powers of Joutei to vanquish this barrier to save our queen!"
In seconds a shaft of glorious emerald shot from the woman's hands ramming headfirst at the wall of scarlet. Unfortunately he seemed to do nothing as it pounded against the firm stronghold.
Next to her another beam of lavender shot forth as a male voice cried, "I, Nembus, Guardian of the Clouds, call upon the power of our Master to help us to defeat this wall!"
The green and purple lights pushed against the barrier, but it appeared the wall only got stronger from their attacks. The desert maiden angrily shouted, "In the name of Joutei, I, Nazomi, Guardian of the Sand, will wield the powers of the One to destroy all obstacles!"
The third beam relentlessly smashed into the scarlet baring down on the huge power, but the wall seemed to laugh at the futile attempts. As the fourth beam of blue rushed forth you could hear, "By the grace of Joutei, I, Tsuno, Guardian of the Waves, shall bring down this evil!"
Just as the aqua color hit the wall the fifth beam came with glowing silver. Folken threw back his hair as he shouted, "As Guardian of the Spirit, I, Folken shall overcome the darkness to bring in the light!"
Thunder crackled and the blood red barrier sizzled as the combined powers of the guardians began to waver the wall's strength. The five energy shafts curled and mingled into one center beam that pounded into the wall like a hammer hitting a nail. Slowly the single pillar glowed into a yellow flame that seemed to be pressing a dent in the great barrier.
Shifting his energy towards the others so it merged with theirs the giant mountain man shouted, "With the force of Joutei I, Zaado, Guardian of Ice will finish this!"
The whirl of power bubbled with intensity as they mingled together in a binding attack. The final warrior stepped forward as her hair was combed by the wind, "In the name of all that is Joutei's, I, Shakaku, Guardian of Flame, will burned down all opponents!"
The last of the power circling in the Ring of Warriors finally dispersed and drove against the translucent scarlet obstruction with howling affects. The seven chosen fighters staggered as the wind fought against them trying to pull them down, but they held firm unwilling to stop. The point where the two forces clashed began to sputter with sparks and it seemed the gold beam might actually penetrate the scarlet.
The maidens and knights grinned as the sunbeam began to inch into the blood of the wall. Then all Hell broke lose…
Abrupt flames broke from the center between the two sides and spread down the golden light. In seconds it came into contact with the seven fighters and flared in a great bellow before swallowing them up. Within a heartbeat the group broke the flow of the power and the beam shattered into emptiness. While crying out in searing anguish the fighters were tossed away from the barrier and slammed into the earth. The remaining flames flickered on the edge of their armor as the guardians laid upon the ground in shock. What had just happen?…
Sian slowly picked herself up breathing heavily. Her armor was powdered in ash and smeared with the black blood of the once living demons. Carefully she picked herself up wincing as her tight muscles groaned. Her eyes glared at the crimson cell with fury. Why couldn't they destroy the barrier?… Wasn't the powers of Joutei greater than Dornkirk's?…
Screams of torment rip from the seeress as she was pushed back into the ground by another lightning bolt. The green maiden flinched as she saw her queen being smashed into the ground. If they couldn't get through the barrier… Hitomi would surely die…
The leader desperately turned to the red dragon woman who was being helped up by her mate. If they couldn't take the wall down then they would just have to go through it. Hastily the emerald guardian cried, "Shakaku, do you think you could pass through the barrier?"
The scarlet guardian stared at her leader, "Pass through it?"
"Yes" frantically nodded the maiden, "You have the powers of going through dimensions. Could you pass through the barrier, you think?"
Glancing momentarily at her mate the female dragon shrugged uncertain, "I could try, but I'm not sure."
"Alright!" Sian shouted over the wind, "Try your best, Shakaku."
The red female nodded and hurried from the arms of Escaflowne. The white figure reached out for his beloved sadly as he watched her leave his protection. Glancing his emeralds at the lead warrior the legend sighed knowing he couldn't stop his mate.
Shakaku slid to a stop before the giant dome before her. Her eyes of fire ran over the convulsing orb in doubt. The massive structure didn't look the least bit of a push over. Coals burning in her skull turned to the surface of the structure and saw the small strands intertwining into a single skin overtaking the small area within. Energy was spread like a system of nerves throughout the wall. It was its own flesh with its blood surging through the pores and burning all that touched it.
Timidly the dragon brought her hand to the electric flesh leaving just a hair between her and the dark power. Behind her the group watched anxiously hoping for success. Shakaku scowled as her concentration ignited. A white light formed at her fingertips as she shoved her hand against the wall. Wind erupted from the contact and her clothes whirled with her hair tossing behind her tense form. Static bit down on the woman trying to drag her away, but Shakaku only pressed harder against the wall. The wall's glow grew firm instantly at her increased pressure and flashed several times as it centered all it energy suddenly at the female. Before the scarlet maiden could do anything a loud blast rammed at her and threw her several yards back. Escaflowne gasped and raced for his mate as the others gaped in shock. Bouncing along the ground the dragon female rolled to a stop with darkness clinging to her. She hugged her body as spots of electricity ran over her body. Opening her eyes of scarlet she looked up at her approaching husband and whispered, "I'm sorry."
Falling to his knees frantically the white legend brought his wife's injured body to his chest. Tears surfaced to his eyes as the man dragon whispered, "No, you did well."
The young queen nearly cried out as she saw the woman fall. Hitomi exhaled roughly as she struggled with the air going through her lungs. Was there no hope?…
Letting her head lay against the hot ground the seeress let herself take a rest to think. If her soldiers could not help her then she alone could stop Dornkirk. Hitomi groaned instinctively as her body wracked with pain at the very thought of moving. She was too badly wounded to do much. The powers were still ripping through her blood stream and stabbing through her flesh. Blood continued to pour from her many wounds and her oxygen was coming in staggered loads. It was extremely amazing to believe she was even alive now. Why couldn't she just lay here?…
Opening her emeralds painfully the Angel looked over the battlefield. The lava and black soil surged and boiled as scarlet splinters raked against the world. Hitomi felt a sudden warmth as thought of what would result in her failure. The world would swallowed by this very destruction. The fields and kingdoms of Gaea would fall to this darkness and for a thousand years of suffering would enveloped life. Hitomi firmly pressed her palms against the ground as she whispered, "I won't let this world die…"
Pushing onto her knees the seeress wobbly got up. Outside the guardians noticed their queen rising and felt a swell of fear. She couldn't possible hope to defeat the emperor now! As it was, she was literally bleeding to death and was now striving to get up and fight?! Desperately the soldiers shouted for her to stay down.
"Don't do it!" screamed Nazomi with her eyes wild.
The seeress rose to her feet and staggered for a moment. Carefully she turned towards the center of the dome where Dornkirk laid with blood seeping over her battered skin.
"You'll die, Queen Hitomi!" proclaimed the wave warrior, "Just stay down!"
Slowly she stepped forward marching straight towards destruction. Her clothes flapped noisily behind her as her first strides wobbled.
Sian remained quiet as her fellow warriors continued to shout.
"If you try to defeat Dornkirk, Hitomi, you'll kill yourself" Folken hollered frantically as he waved his arms.
Sian stood still as she blinked and let her tears run down her skin. Even with the extreme suffering the royal was going through she was willing to go even deeper in torment to save this planet. She was doing it all for the planet. Quietly the emerald maiden whispered, "You can do it, my lady. I have faith in you."
Hitomi pushed forward chartering each footfall to grind into the soil. It seemed that with each pace she took her energy grew and gradually expand within her. The destruction that surrounded her screeched in her ears and the display reflected in her eyes as she began to trot towards Dornkirk. Her eyes locked firmly on the emperor as her vigor raced into her limbs. Breathing hard the seeress launched across the world. Flashes of red swam here and there, but she ignored the potential danger determined to get to her adversary. Fire and lava licked at her heels trying to melt her flesh. Flinching from the heat the woman did her best to avoid the extreme hazards. Her heels clobbered through the black clumps of brittle earth as she dodged what she could of the red spears.
Above Dornkirk towered in the mist of the threat scowling at her attempt, "You dare hope that you can stop me?!"
Turning up his powers the lightning grew more intense hitting closer to Hitomi. Fetching her arms up to protect herself from the nearby spears the woman pushed forward. She would not be frightened away. Sadly her limbs did little for real protection as one of the bolts hit her. Crying out the seeress flew back a few feet. Hitting onto her back the woman stared up at the sky of redness. Frantically she got back to her feet ignoring her pain. She refused to let it keep her down. Rushing onward the seeress continued. She took only a few feet though when another lightning shard struck her. Groaning she crumpled to the earth.
Shakily she pushed off the ground, but her limbs gave out and she hit the hard soil again. Heaving from exhaustion and pain the woman took the moment to gasp for air.
Outside the dome, Van watched with anguish. Again his beloved fell and he felt his insides twist. Stay down he wanted to scream. He couldn't bear to watch her crash down again. She struggled to her feet with her chest yanking in oxygen. Weakly she headed forward before another wave of energy hit her down. The thrusting wind drilled her into the ground as she was racked with pain. Van stepped forward unconsciously reaching out to his angel.
Hitomi groaned as she dug her fingers into the soil. With every muscle straining the woman pulled herself up to her knees. Blood and sweat trailed over her bruised flesh. Shuddering gasps exit her throat as she forced her knees to bend. Just a heartbeat after she had achieved her knelt position a lightning bolt hit her from behind like a wild bull and she crashed into the earth.
Van's head shook vaguely as he whispered, "No…"
She couldn't die… She was unstoppable… That's why he loved her so… because of the determination to fight for what was right…
The seeress laid there in torment as her lungs struggled to hold up. Her eyes were dull with fatigue and fuzzy in sight; however a slight glimmer caught her notice. Blinking several times to refocus her vision the seeress focused on the image. Inches from her face laid the glistening jewel of her people, the pendant. The red stone, though dusty, laid perfectly undisturbed on the ebony clumps. The twinkling stars beneath its surface were slightly dim, but at no means snuffed out. There was life still within the stone.
Suddenly something came in front of the jewelry blocking the Angel's view of the precious item. It took Hitomi a few seconds to realize her own hand was in the way of her view. The bloody fingers squeaked like old metal joints as they coiled over the blood drop. Weakly the maiden brought the item to her face divulging in the reflection the jewel caught of her face. The bloody mess she once knew as her numbly stared back her in the petrified crimson. It almost appeared to be as if the stone was saying, "Even if you live through this I'll kill you…"
Heaving a strangled cough Hitomi realized she was fighting against two enemies. She battling not only Dornkirk, but the pendant as well. In the physical plane Hitomi was facing the dark emperor from the past. Every injury she endured came from the corporeal contact she encounter through the battle (be it magic or fists). While in the realm of the spirit Hitomi faced the powers of the curse. Forced to endure the effects of the magic laid within the stone the seeress felt the terrible tortures that went through her body.
Both wanted her dead and neither were willing to let go of their goal…
Another blast of power collided with her back making her rear back her head and scream before hitting the ground again. With the electricity still singing through her blood the seeress got her knees. Her strangled hair fell over her eyes momentarily as Hitomi gasped for air. Placing her hand over her heart the seeress felt the small beat of her organ. Her eyes winced as she took noticed the pendant's pulsating glow was perfectly in sync with her heart. They were growing even closer in their merge…
Feebly Hitomi slid her foot through the soil coming to rest just beneath her. Her red fingers ran over her torn pants to grasp her knee. Taking a deep breath and locking her teeth together so she wouldn't scream the woman stood up. Anguish ripped through her joints as she righted herself into a majestic stance. Perfect ebony wings stretched out behind her as her tattered and bloody clothes fluttered limp in the roaring wind. Determination was stretched in her face as she stepped forward. In the reflection of her emeralds you could see the fire of retribution.
In the currents of the wind you could hear the phrase, "The enemy of your enemy is your friend…"
The seeress scowled at the words echoing in her mind. Why did that stupid phrase flash in her mind now?! In the tangle of her fingers the broken chain of the pendant dangled with the stone swaying to and fro as she walked.
"The enemy of your enemy is your friend…"
A stroke of lightning shattered mere inches from her feet scaring Hitomi into backing up. Growling at her fear the seeress pushed herself to go faster.
"The enemy of your enemy is your friend…"
Blast it! Why wouldn't that voice go away?!
"Because my child I never will leave you…"
Hitomi felt her senses reel for a moment as she breathed, "Joutei…"
"Yes, young one, I am here."
The seeress braced herself as another string of scarlet power brushed by her tearing a part of her vest. Looking up at the sky she saw Dornkirk was growing lost in the red glow of his powers, but she wasn't really look at him, she was looking past it all into the depths of Judgment. The golden god's face came into her vision smiling as he spoke, "The enemy of your enemy is your friend…"
"What do you mean, Joutei?" the Angel asked bluntly, "I don't understand."
"The enemy of your enemy is your friend…"
Hitomi blinked and found herself back in reality almost as quickly as she had left it. Within her hand the chain of the pendant grew hot almost to a level of burning. The seeress quickly opened her hands to see the pendant glowing intensely just as a sudden pain burst through her chest. The blistering heat stabbed through her lungs and gushed through her pours like lava from a volcano. In the depths of her pupils you could see sparks of embers and swirling flames bellowing. In the faint drum of her ear the angel queen heeded her own scream.
Sudden reeling caught the seeress as her mind flashed an image of Dornkirk withering in pain with his cries echoing in the darkness. It had been his scream not hers she realized. Gradually the image of the emperor backed off so you could see his entire surroundings. Abruptly a crimson aura formed around the Zaibach leader forming a glittering teardrop… or was it a blood-drop? A gasp escaped from her pale lips as the seeress realized it was a vision she was seeing of Dornkirk suffering by way of the Ancient Pendant of the Draconians!
Somehow the pendant was able to bring Dornkirk to his knees! But how?!
Looking up at the emperor as he clutched his chest from the pain still coming from the seeress Hitomi tried to think of how to reverse what was happening to her with the curse.
Wait a moment…
Reverse…
Curse…
Gradually a smirk tugged at the woman's lips along with the dimming of her pain. Why had she not thought of that?! With the unlimited powers of Joutei she could do anything imaginable! She could reverse the curse in fact!
Finding new vigor in her blood stream the woman stood up and glared at her adversary with a grin. Softly she stepped forward with plain intent that she had something up her sleeve. The emperor scowled at her approach and targeted more of the lightning bolts her way. Hitomi frowned as the rain of red spears pounded down around her. Several skimmed by her scratching her clothes and flesh. Locking her jaw together she ignored the pain that came from the inflictions and pushed harder towards her target. Sadly, one of the larger bolts hit home. A barely audible cry was wrenched from her throat as she fell backwards with smoke curling from her body.
Groaning Hitomi rose to her elbows and stared up at the ruler. She had to get closer to him for this to work. She just wasn't strong enough to get her powers to reach him. If she could get about fifty yards closer she would possible be able to do it. Grinding her teeth together the seeress pushed off the earth and stepped forward again.
Sizzling electricity flared throughout the atmosphere as Dornkirk unleashed a new wave of power at the Angel. Hitomi, upon catching sight of it, threw her arms over her face just before it hit her. She was thrown head over heels and slammed onto her stomach fifty yards farther than she was before. Digging her fingers into the black ground the seeress feebly picked up her head. All the energy she had was quickly draining from her…
Van pounded his fists against the barrier not caring about the pain that it caused. With his eyes wild he shouted, "No, Hitomi!"
The guardians stared sadly at their king unable to offer any support or comfort; each were desperate for some as well. The dragon king brought his fists down upon the wall again letting the electricity run over his arms. He cried out in pain, but only a moment before crying out his beloved's name again.
"Hitomi!" he moaned loudly, "No!"
Watching her fall again he felt the air his lungs grow thin. Squeezing his eyes shut the man heavily struck down on the dome feeling every bit of the power attacking his body as he did so. Tears fell from his closed eyes as he whimpered, "You can't leave me now…"
Sian wept for the couple as she watched the man batter himself against the extreme power. There was such unconditional love between them. Though they never professed their love repeatedly in front of an audience it was obvious there was a devotional bond to each other.
Unable to take it anymore the guardian rushed over to the ruler and pulled him away from the wall shouting, "Enough, my king! You'll only hurt yourself further!"
The raven man struggled against the hold of the warrior yelling, "No! Hitomi will die!"
The green warrior desperately tried to hold on to her majesty, but he fought like a wild animal against her and she was forced to call for help.
"Nembus! Folken! Help me here before he gets hurt worse!" she cried frantically.
The two other soldiers rushed forward taking the king into a firmer grasp, but Van did not discontinued his struggle; he only fought fiercer!
"You don't understand!" he shouted angrily with sorrow, "She will die if we don't do something!"
"Van" his brother yelled, "There is nothing we can do!"
A fierce look came from the younger sibling as he glared at his brother. Nembus quickly replied, "We have tried, milord, and nothing has worked! Save yourself and rest!"
Van suddenly burst with energy as he shouted, "NO!"
Unexpectedly the guardians were no longer able to hold them and the king wrenched from their limbs. Barreling from the trio the ruler flew at the barrier once again planting his palms firmly against the blood red power. Sparkling waves of energy ran over his body as Van pushed against the wall.
"I won't let her die!" he shouted to no one in particular, "I can't bear to see her die again!"
The forest maiden stared sadly at her king knowing it was useless to stop him. Tears pooled in her silver jewels as she watched his own tears drip from his chin. He was going through such pain right now… after he had been through so much. Hitomi had finally spoken of Van's past to her. She had given the bare overview of how he had lost his family in less than a few years all at once and was forced to be the king he was meant to be at an early age. He had been through two wars and hundreds of battles where blood and rage had blinded him. Going through the torment of watching a friend court the seeress had nearly broken him in two and now with her finally at his side he was being forced to watch her die unable to do anything… for the second time…
Sian couldn't take it any longer. Sniffing away her tears the guardian stepped towards the man. She lost her stride though as she saw the ruler's hands pierce through the wall. She gaped in astonishment as she realize he was able to go through the barrier. As more energy sparked anguish through him Van moaned his torture and was forced to take away his hands to the guardian's displeasure.
With his palms smoking the king fell backwards clutching his hands close to his chest in agony. Sian quickly came over to the ruler as she stared at him in awe. How was he able to do that? Watching him curl into a fetal position the warrior knew the dragon leader would able to change the tides of this battle,… but perhaps a little help was needed…
Closing her silver eyes the maiden prayed in a inaudible whisper, "Dear Joutei, All Mighty, help this man achieve what he desires! Let him help his wife!"
~~~ Judgment ~~~
Joutei snapped his eyes open and stared out of the spiritual portal's door with sharpness. The devil behind him scowled at the new demeanor from his enemy wondering what had occurred outside the realm that had caught the god's eye. Oh yes, Akuma could sense all that went about outside his cell, but nothing had he deemed important enough to disturb the great Joutei from his slumber.
The golden figure smiled softly as he whispered to know one within earshot, "As you wish, child…"
~~~ Mystic Valley ~~~
"As you wish, my child…"
Sian smiled when she knew her prayer would be answer and opening her eyes she waited for the result of her request.
Abruptly a golden stream of radiance poured out from between the ebony gases within the atmosphere forming a spotlight on the injured king. Slowly the man opened his eyes as all the others of the group turned their eyes to the heavens. From above a great voice called down to the White Dragon Ruler in a deep, but soft voice saying, "Rise my child of fused creators! It is time that you made a mark in the history of all things. Step forth and go protect the one you are bound to. With the aid of your guard be her shield in the heat of battle."
Van rose from the ground in awe unable to speak. The whirling spotlight of gold fused onto him making him glow. Staring at his body he saw the sparkles of power become intense and swam over his flesh. Soon several stars of the gold shot away from him and his rubies followed their trail. Soon his fire rubies were on Escaflowne who was being circled by the sun drops.
"With the aid of your guard…"
The two men stared at one another not completing understanding what was happening, but comprehending what was to be done. Both nodded just before the white guard became a pearly transparency of a dragon roaring in silent wonder. Van fell into a tense stance within the gold light as he watched the apparition come streaking towards him. The pearly glow of the legendary lizard shone brightly over the valley and from a far it was a beacon in the darkness as it twisted and swirled around the king. Sizzling from power the Almighty Joutei the two beings became one for the last time. With a clap of thunder and a blinding flash the union was completed.
Left in the wake was Van adorn with white and cream armor that was shaped like Escaflowne. His gloves were sharp like claws and his cape was the leathery fabric of dragon wings. The head of Escaflowne was the king's helmet with the jaws wide open revealing the royal face within the rows of sharp teeth. Jewels were marred in the flesh of the cool armor and twists of gold lingered over the decoration of the display. Just over Van's heart was the brilliant energist of blood that Escaflowne always bore and now had allowed his king to bear. Last was the great sword of the lizard that now dangled from the king's side opposite of his own sword. Van's eyes brightly glowed as the armor that was his partner finally settled and with a hiss of steam the king was ready.
Sian gaped at her king in shock realizing why all this was happening. Her eyes of silver grew wide as she whispered, "No wonder Van can penetrate through the barrier. He has the blood of royal dragons!"
~ So whatcha think now? Do you really think I wasn't going to include Van in this battle?! You've got to be joking! Hitomi and Van are partners and one does not go without the other!
~Anyway, what's next? Van's going to protect Hitomi, but with the armor of Escaflowne on will that kill the dragon? And if Escaflowne and Van are connected will they both get hurt? What about Hitomi? Is she so hurt that she will still die? And if not won't using her powers destroy her? What about everybody back in Fanelia and all of Gaea watching? What will they think about the battle going on? Can't really tell you, but you can surely find out in the final chapter (not sure if I'll put the epilogue with this chapter or not) of The Fate of Two Worlds: The Sequel à Chapter 30: In the Blink of an Eye…. (Coming soon in November!)~
The Fate of Two Worlds: The Sequel
By Angel_Wings
Chapter 29 ~ Armageddon
This was going to be the greatest battle in all of history. Not even the Persecution could match up to what was happening here that day. That historical event had been only centered on the Draconians and half of Gaea. This war was for not only the Draconians, not only Gaea, but it was for all the dimensions on the side. Whoever stood at the end of this battle would either lock away the spiritual realm and become immortal or they would bring back peace to this universe. Everything lied between seven guardians, two dragons, a king, and the Angel.
Hitomi and Dornkirk scowled at each other knowing that the prize was only given to who survived. Consciously the seeress knew that she didn't stand much of a chance against her uncle at the moment. She was weaker than him and was less experience in battle. She bared her teeth in determination. She would not lose!
Her emeralds saw his muscles tense seconds before he lunged at her. Ignoring the many wounds stretched out over her body the seeress leapt into the air backwards and flapped her wings. The dark emperor quickly followed rushing up to meet her.
Baring her teeth Hitomi knew she was in for some extreme fighting, but she felt so weak. Her wounds were tearing apart from her movements and they seared with stinging heat. Weighed down by exhaustion she felt terribly slow. In the back of her mind she knew of only one way that would possibly save her now, but she was so close to the edge of blacking out that she was certain it was suicidal.
'It doesn't matter' she thought sadly, 'I'm dead any way.'
Her hands curled into fist as she reared back her head. Closing her eyes tight she let out a painful scream just before the red pendant glowed brightly.
~ Wave & Sand Guardians ~
Tsuno and Nazomi raced forward at Kusari with murder in their eyes. The demon snarled as he readied his sword, "You won't defeat me!"
The blue warrior smirked as he said, "You assume too much!"
A pale hand of the guardian came up and you could see tiny water droplets swirl in his palm. The glorious wave of crystal surged from is hand in an instant barreling it way towards the demon. Kusari growled in frustration and brought his sword to block the attack. Unfortunately for him the blade did little to stop the attack for the liquid just divided upon hitting the sharp metal of the sword and continued headfirst at its target. The demon man cursed loudly as he was slammed hard backwards. Angrily the man fought with his sword and thrust it into the ground making it his anchor. It didn't take long for him to stop his movement, but when he did he found the blonde guardian standing over him.
Growling the man did an impressive jump to his feet with a smooth twirl to face her. In mid-spin he brought up his weapon to attack her, "One down!"
Kusari gaped in shock when the blade swept through the woman without bringing a drop of blood. With his sword still flying to the side the man lost his footing and fell through the illusion of the woman angel. Slamming a foot down to catch himself Kusari twirled on the toe of his ebony boot crunching the earth beneath it. With agile grace he threw his other foot through the woman only to watch the attack slide right through her. As his whole body twisted off balanced he caught sight of the real desert maiden charging him at his open left side.
Her feather daggers gleamed as they swayed at her sides. With a mighty voice she cried, "Don't you think after the first try you would learn!"
Hurling herself through the air propelled by her glittery wings she attacked. Kusari roared with frustration as he gathered his energy in his hand. When they were meters apart he released the deadly orb at her, but she nimbly batted it away with her dagger and ripped the other blade through his side. An anguish cry bounded from his throat as he raked his claws across her cheek. Soon both were shouting out their pain as they crashed into the earth in a pile.
Tsuno quickly raced over to his partner's aid as he saw her grappling with the demon.
~ Cloud & Ice Guardians ~
The wind ripped chunks out of the black ground hurtling them in a howling tornado. Nembus grinded his teeth as his wind tunnel grew stronger. Shouting a cry of effort the attack threw itself at the demon before him. The being growled as he narrowly dodged the ferocious strike. As he did this, unfortunately for him, Kaosu's wings were struck by dozens of ice daggers ripping through his flesh. With a wounded cry the man crashed into the ground while his wings flopped lifelessly. Quickly the demon man pushed himself off the ground in time to see the ax head embed itself in the spot his neck once lied.
Coming into a fighting position Kaosu faced his new opponent. Zaado wrenched his weapon from the dead earth and twirled the heavy item with little effort. Slapping the staff into both hands the guardian brought back his heel and pointed his ax at the demon man. Kaosu crouched low like a serpent with his fangs visible. Zaado seemed unfazed as the dark figure began to hiss.
Kaosu felt his hair stand on end before he even glanced over his shoulder. Standing several feet away was the second guardian with his sword pointed at his back. Angrily the demon swatted at the fancy blade, but Nembus pulled his sword away and swung at the creature. Gasping at the closeness Kaosu threw his head back with a few inches to spare between him and the attack. Unfortunately he forgot about the other guardian.
~ Fire & Spirit Guardians ~
Folken and Shakaku flanked each other as they faced the silver headed dragonslayer. Dilandau cackled as he brought his gleaming black sword into view. The two guardians' muscles tensed as they kept their gaze on the cloaked figure. The dark one's pale lips pulled back into a sneer as his eyes gleamed with bloodlust. In a low voice the demon slayer whispered, "Who would have thought the legendary Strageos would be a guardian?"
The white haired angel just scowled at the man ignoring the statement all together. Beside him Shakaku had her eyes locked on their adversary studying him carefully. With a smirk Dilandau charged the two fighters with his sword whizzing through the heated air. Both of the guardians leapt into the sky seconds before the slayer arrived making Dilandau growl in aggravation.
"Why don't you fight me, cowards?!" the slayer shouted before throwing an energy ball at them.
Shakaku only had to just barely move her head to avoid the attack making the whole thing seem very unimpressive and making the slayer even more furious. Sneering the red female shouted down at him, "It is never wise to ask for something you cannot handle!"
With a flick of her wrist her long whip unraveled making it look long and deadly. Her eyes gleamed red as she again flicked her wrist and caught the whole tread on fire. The golden flames twirled around the length of the wrist to the very tip of the handle and licking her clenched hand. She seemed completely unfazed by the flames. Her eyes glowed brightly as she snarled loudly. Dark red wings stretched out as she readied herself.
Below on the ground Dilandau prepared his sword. Throwing open her rows of fangs the mistress of flames roared and dove towards the dark figure.
~~~ Sian & Stella ~~~
The pearl boot crunched down on the black earth as the forest maiden glared at the figure that looked so much like her old mistress. Stella smirked slyly as she slide to one side circling the guardian. The silver eyes of the bright soldier kept with the woman with heated rage. With dark cackle the black angel demon asked, "Can you kill someone who looks so much like the woman you were so loyal to centuries ago?"
Brunette hair flung back as the maiden shook away her bangs. Silver jewels snapped on the demon queen viciously, "We shall soon find out."
With perfect timing Sian pulled out her bow and lunged at Stella. The demon royal growled as she brought up her sword to strike away the attack. The two metals rang loudly as they met in violent union. The guardian growled as her boot touched the black earth. Her other arm surged forward and punched solidly against the queen's chin. Stella winched as she stumbled back and crashed into another hard punch, this time in her back. The black sword rattled to the ground as the woman fell to her hands and knees. Now standing behind her Sian glared at the cloaked back of her adversary. The point of her bow dove for the unprotected flesh, but Stella quickly rolled over. As Sian's bow became embedded in the ground the demon royal kicked sharply in the angel's chest. The maiden let out a great deal of air as she fell back and leaving behind the embedded bow.
Stella snarled as she flew to her feet. Grabbing the bow's exposed end the clone wrenched the weapon out of the earth tearing apart the ground. Sian stumbled to a halt holding her stomach as she glared at the ruler. Shouting a warrior's cry Stella charged with her cloak flapping wildly behind her. The guardian merely smirked at the approach and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Stella slid to a halt as her emerald eyes darted about looking for her opponent. The air was heavy, but it churned with unseen life making the woman edgy. Where was she?
Suddenly the bow was ripped from her hands and disappeared. Stella gaped at her hands just before a well delivered punch rammed into her face. Slamming onto her back the demon quickly threw up her eyes to see the guardian standing a few feet away smirking with her bow. The beautiful warrior dressed in the pearl armor twirled her weapon as she muttered, "I must say I have missed my speed…"
~~~ Leaders ~~~
Hitomi voice went up a level as she felt the searing pain react throughout her nerve system. The pendant burned red with power as the three vaults of different energy sources flung open. The seeress could sense the powers merging ever closer together almost to the point where you couldn't even distinguish which was which. Brittle anguish launched throughout her pores as her lungs were stretched to the brink. Her blood felt thinned and her oxygen came in small bursts trying to fuel the immense need of energy. Hitomi's hands flinched open as her entire body was stressed by extraordinary straining. Her bones creaked at the tension echoing in her ear loudly.
For a moment the seeress lost her voice only to fling up her heart wrenching cry to a level twice as high as before. Suddenly the pendant shot out beams of scarlet light making Dornkirk halt in his charge to cover his eyes by the intensity of the blinding illumination. Below everyone stopped to see what was causing such brightness.
As the shattered blood-red rays pierced throughout the ebony valley another light formed at Hitomi's chest. With warming beauty a white orb formed at the woman's heart shifting towards the pendant. The crimson beams abruptly wavered at the arrival of the pearly aura and soon turned towards the new form. Without a moment to blink the red swirls rushed forward and wrapped around the snowy orb just before golden sting-like light curled around both. Hitomi's eyes snapped open revealing empty whiteness as the three lights churned in front of her chest. The bottomless white eyes slowly faded into a pair of emerald ones as the newly created orb flashed into a million rays of gold, red, and white. As the valley was consumed by the brightness Hitomi let out one last scream.
Dornkirk slowly removed his arm seconds after her scream had faded to see what had occurred. He stared in awe as he saw the seeress floating directly where she had been seconds before. Now she stood with her eyes gleaming green and her body just glowing with red, gold, and white color. Her wings stretched out from behind her in the darkest black that anyone had ever seen them as. Her ripped attire fluttered stiffly with her dried blood.
The emperor scowled at his opponent as he realized she had dipped into the very bottom depths of her powers. The merge between her and Joutei's powers were becoming extremely unstable as the pendant tried to grasp hold of the seeress's life force. Dornkirk knew she had to be struggling now quite badly to stay alive so why was she doing this. She wouldn't be able to concentrate on both him and trying to keep the pendant from taking all her energy!
Hitomi grinded her teeth together as she struggled with the unstable power surges going off throughout her body. Each time a bit of energy would explode in her body she felt intense pressure rake her nerves. Her lungs and blood felt they were on fire making ciders that blocked her oxygen. The tiny circuits of nerves that ran through her brain were going into overload as the energy and pain swelled through her skull. Whatever she had to do she had to do it fast because she didn't know how long she could survive the intense pain.
Dornkirk clutched his head as he felt the barest surge of pain rack his own body. He gaped at how impossible it seemed that the seeress could stand against the power. His eyes narrowed as he saw the seeress was trying to look as if she was in no pain at all. Though she was doing an extremely impressive show of such Dornkirk could see right through the act because he could feel her pain (though not to the same degree).
Throwing back her bangs the woman shouting with all the force she could gather, "Let's end this, Dornkirk! Both of us cannot be on this world at the same time!"
The emperor locked his jaw as he hissed darkly, "So let it be! This fight shall determine everything!"
His hands curled into fists as his wings fluttered behind him. His eyes glowed red and his body formed a sort of scarlet-black illumination similar to the seeress. His fangs became visible as he snarled loudly.
Below the warriors watched in awe of the supreme power being displayed. No matter how many times they saw the two leaders show off the amount of energy they possessed they just had to gap at it.
Sian was the first to snap back to reality realizing they were still in the mist of battle. Lifting her bow high the woman shouted, "For Joutei and the Draconians!"
The guardians lifted their weapons and shouted with heavy force thundering throughout the valley. The demons suddenly snapped back to their opponents remembering they were still in a fray and thus the battle continued.
Hitomi braced her body as she drew out a sphere of energy. Dornkirk did the same bringing his palm to face her. Electricity sizzled between them and lightning flashed in the sky. Every so often a shred of the golden bolts would strike the two, but they just seem to ignore the effects all together. The pearl orb suddenly flew from the seeress's hands straight for the Zaibach emperor, but he quickly shot off his own energy sphere canceling out the woman's attack in a thick array of smoke. The two rulers pushed through the dark gas as they began the first wave of their own personal battle.
~~~ Van ~~~
The dragon king fought against his guard desperately as he watched his wife struggle overhead. Something surged through his blood making him panic. He could feel his beloved dying… He could feel her every ounce of pain and he could feel her energy tearing her apart inside out… The very sight of her sent a nerve wracking pain down his spine rattling his bones… There had to be something he could do for her…
'just be by my side…'
Her voice called to him begging him to come to her, but the iron hold of the white lizard held him fast…
~~~ Land Battle ~~~
Tsuno brought his palms side-by-side as he shouted from the intense pressure of his power. Water leapt from his hands and spiraled at the four demons as they tried to fly off into the sky. Arrows shot off from Sian's bow swiftly hitting two of the demons in their wings. With a cry the two dark brothers crashed to the ground. Nazomi launched into the sky with her shockren clasped together. Her eyes glinted gold just before she tossed the disc into the air. The two remaining demons sneered at the object knowing it would be easy to dodge. Unfortunately for them in a single heartbeat the disc suddenly appeared like a million shockrens flying at them with the help of the sand warrior's powers. Both of the cloaked figured screamed as they felt the weapon take turns thrusting right through their stomachs. When the fake images faded away all that was left was Nazomi holding a bloody disc in her hand. With a painful groan the pair fell to the earth landing a few feet away from their companions.
The demons moaned as they got to their feet and saw the guardians had formed a circle around them. Smirks and sneers appeared on the guardians' faces as they gripped their weapons. Weakly the four dark fighters going into fighting stances as the wind wipes around them. Electricity crackles throughout the air as the cloaked beings gather up all their energy for a final strike.
~~~ Kusari ~~~
The dark lord landed directly between Nembus and Shakaku with his eyes of silver-blue ice glinting dangerously. With a roar the she-dragon leapt at her prey. Kusari dodged as he shot off a large orb of energy at the female creature. Frantically she dove from the attack and was seared by the heat. Crashing into the brittle earth the maiden howled her pain as the scraps of blackness scratched her pearl armor. Snapping to one knee the woman took in a deep breath. The demon man scowled as the woman continue to inhale with her mouth wide.
Just seconds after she closed her mouth her fangs snapped open with a bellow of fire flying out. Kusari automatically threw up his arms to protect his face. The golden tongues of the flames ran over his body in a scorching blaze licking up his ragged cloak and setting the dry material into their own bonfire. Even though the man had been through the hottest furnaces in the depths of Hell he had forgotten the true torture of the fires over time in the Realm of the Living and now those dragon flames, which were the second hottest on earth, drove him back into remembrance of the times he had been burning in the underworld.
His painful scream was like echoes of torments from his past life. Those cries of anguish seemed to reflect each howl of suffering that had been produced from his victims before his death. When he thought he had escaped the revenge of his quarries he was finally feeling their retribution through that moment.
At the same time Shakaku was launching this punishment she was off in the depths of her mind remembering her past. She saw the flashes of destruction running through the Draconian civilizations and the deaths plagued by the countries of Gaea. She had committed to memory every face that she had know that had died. Their blood spewed upon the ground had reflected in her scales as she absorbed the devastation. With their deaths and suffering came her rage of vengeance. As those orange flames enveloped the demon man she felt herself finally repaying those people who had passed away.
Nembus watched as Shakaku gave a heavy sigh and finally extinguish her spray of fire allowing him a chance to fight. His eyes of blackness swelled by the replicated orange in his ebony orb. Those burning tongues drew out his past when he would burn down armies and let his wind spread the bonfires. As Kusari twisted in agony amongst the gold spikes of the inferno Nembus remember how the soldiers had those nights had withered the same way the demon was now.
Standing tall the soldier brought his wings to their gull length. At that moment Kusari turned to face the man with his face twisted in evident pain. Nembus whispered quietly to himself, "I am sorry for what I did those centuries ago and with the ashes brushed away there goes my pain."
With a mighty gust his wings blasted the cloaked fighter with a turbulence of tornado tearing apart the demon's body into a million ashes, which both guardians could only stare as they fluttered into the dark sky.
~~~ Dilandau ~~~
Folken scowled at the dragonslayer as the cloaked figure streaked towards him. The old ally stepped back as he set his blades in front of each other before him. With a shrill cry the demon man threw all his strength into a sweep of his sword. The angel man nimbly batted the weapon away and thrust his own blade at the slayer. Dilandau threw his head to one side barely missing the attack as he flew past the royal's shoulder. Flipping over onto his feet the cloaked soldier swirled his sword and drove it through Folken's back. The guardian smirked as the blade ran right through his body without drawing a single drop of blood.
The dragonslayer had put so much effort into the swing that he became unbalanced and flew with the blade straight through Folken. Crashing to his knees the demon soldier whirled around growling, "What sort of trickery is this?!"
The angel prince of old smirked as he turned to his opponent, "I am a mix of human, dragon, and angel blood, Dilandau. Powers beyond what you can assume lie within my body one of which is being able to be transparent."
Dilandau growled as he shoved off the ground straight at Folken again with his blade aimed for the angel's heart. The guardian smiled as the sword easily went by without a single cut. When the slayer's eyes snapped up at the guardian he threw a heavy punch at the angel. Chuckling Folken moved to the side letting just the barest of the attack brush through him. As soon as all contact was removed the guardian swung his own blade at the slayer bringing a large gash to rip through his mutated flesh. Screaming at the anguish raced through his pores Dilandau onto his back trying to hold down the blood rushing from his body. Folken stepped forward with his sharp weapons gleaming in the twilight of the lightning above. The slayer suddenly sneered up at the guardian and hissed painfully, "Strageos…"
The white haired angel flinched for a moment, just as Dilandau had wanted, at the old name feeling the disgust of sin clinging to the remembrance of his past, but Folken soon recovered and pointed his right blade at the demon's heart.
With a powerful voice consumed with new life the guardian softly spoke, "I am Folken!"
Dilandau's face paled as he heard those words and gasped as he saw the weapon come down. Never did the slayer have a chance to deflect the point that pierced his heart…
~~~ Kaosu ~~~
The trident pierced the black earth driving into the heart of the soil. Tsuno tugged at the weapon wrenching it from the ground and sending burning coals to scatter. The three points of the dangerous tool gleamed wickedly as the guardian turned back to the blonde demon. Kaosu sneered as he tossed a dark blast of energy at the angel. As the orb shadowed the pearl soldier the knight of water jumped to the side avoiding the explosion of darkness.
With a ferocious shout the demon man stormed towards the guardian with a sword of utter raven. Tsuno was just settled back to his feet and didn't have the time to regain his footing before the attacker could swipe at him. It looked as if finally a guardian would be taken down, but one must never assume too much too soon.
Just as Kaosu came about in arm's reach of his opponent a large ax head fell between him and the guardian breaking his sword in two. The demon stared at his weapon for a second before looking up at the new arrival. He barely caught sight of the bearded giant before a heavy fist struck him square in the face causing him to fly backwards directly on the spikes of Tsuno's trident. With a howl the demon withered in pain.
Zaado glared at the cloaked opponent with a hard heart that drew from his memories. He could see the darkness in the demon that had once claimed the hearts of his own parents. As he watched the enemy take a few last breaths the guardian thought back to when he had been forced to kill his own parents. It had been years, but finally Zaado no longer felt the dirtiness of the deed he had completed years ago. It finally had died away from his guilt…
As blood of ebony slid down the staff and over his clenched hands Tsuno remembered how the blood of his crewmen had been just as thick. Their deaths had been the cause of his mistakes and even now he could see their scarlet liquid spewed over his clothes. Though his armor presently shone with pearl glints Tsuno could still see the darkness that had fed off him years ago. Now however his soul seem to final wash clean with a purely underbelly that glimmered. Even though Joutei had forgiven him years ago the guardian now could forgive himself…
Kaosu shuddered as the last of the pain ebbed through his mind killing him, but with that final moment he heard a thousand voices scream their victory. Those voices were the people he had slaughtered and now they had revenge with his death…
~~~ Stella ~~~
The bow and shockren cross over each other as they tried to hold down the blade of the demon. Aggressively the woman of darkness pushed aside the pearl weapons and swung at the two women. Sian did a perfect back flip onto one knee as Nazomi did a graceful roundup. Both guardians brought the weapons back to guard themselves as they waited for the clone to make the first move. They didn't have to wait long.
The demon queen roared like a banshee seconds before she shot of a pair of energy orbs straight at our two heroines. The guardians smirked as they agilely deflected the attacks and struck towards the cloaked warrior. Nazomi got to her first and ripped apart her shockren into her daggers. With a nice jump the guardian struck out with her blades trying to catch a chunk of the clone. Arrogantly the demon woman caught both of the blades in the palm of her hands letting the daggers cut deep into her mutated flesh. The guardian grunted as she tried to push her daggers so far into the woman's palms that they would go right through, but somehow Stella endured and kept the blades from going deeper. Curling her dark claw and pale hand over the two weapons the demon female used her powers to travel down the pearl blades and electrify the guardian. Nazomi cried out as the black electricity ran through her nerve system. With a painful groan the woman released her blades and stumbled back while clutching her burnt hands to her chest. With a sneer Stella turned the blades about and directed the points at the desert warrior with Nazomi never noticing.
Before Stella anything, fortunately, Sian appeared in a whistle of wind and grabbed both daggers out of the demon queen's hands. The dark woman was so shocked by the sudden appearance of the guardian that she was dumbstruck even while the green maiden slashed both blades across the woman's chest. Blood spilt over the dark fabric in a flood as Sian's pearl armor caught a few sprays of the ebony. As the liquid sprayed over her the guardian thought back to when she had killed with such quickness like now. Murdering hundreds had never caused her to flinch back then, but as she saw death once more the painful guilt of her past grasped her for a second making her gasp.
She saw the array of faces swirl before her eyes and she knew each face was from a different person she killed. It was almost like she had a photographic memory and they lingered in her mind. The darkness of heart swirled into a pearly glow though and the gold of Joutei replaced the blackness proclaiming his forgiveness. With a final cry the warrior shouted, "You shall be the last of those whose lives I claim!"
Stella screeched as Sian once again struck her with the daggers, however, this time the guardian hit her heart. Nazomi winced as she pulled her hands away from her chest not watching the scene anymore. She knew Sian was handling it. The desert woman saw the red burns lined with blood and saw the flash of dagger clasped in her hand, it's blade running with blood. The death of the child still hung over her head, but for once she was able to look at the memory without feeling a sense of utter woe. She finally has finished forgiving herself…
With the last cries of the demon queen Stella fell into the blackness of the afterlife knowing her life had still been too short to remember much…
~~~ Rulers ~~~
Hitomi landed heavily on her heels, but quickly jumped back as the black claw punched into the earth. The ebony ground sprang up in chunks and lava beneath the hard layer swirled around the forearm of the attacker, but he did not wince from the heat. He had endured heat far superior to which the lava held. The seeress slid to a halt and quickly leapt back at the emperor with her fists glowing white. Dornkirk growled as he dodged the first punch the Angel served up. With the other hand Hitomi opened her fist and released a beam of snow-whiteness that struck the demon hard in the face. Dornkirk howled his pain as he backed away seizing his face. The seeress decided to keep up her attacks while he was off guard, but the evil ruler was not so easily swayed out of concentration. When Hitomi got a foot closer than before the emperor released his own beam of energy striking the seeress right in the gut. The blow was so powerful that it sent the queen flying backwards before crashing into the ground.
Angrily Hitomi quickly got to her feet ignored the extreme amount of pain that was being to surface to her nerves. She knew Dornkirk would try to take her while she was down. Seeing him coming rushing at her proved her suspicions. Frantically she lifted both of palms and shot off several sprays of electric stars that blew up at first physical contact. The emperor tried to bat a few away, but the second they touched him they exploded sending bolts of electricity through him. The unfortunate man roared as the anguish hit his nerves at full force. Several more stars shot out of the Angel's hands as she tried to get Dornkirk a little weaker before she used something stronger. She didn't want him to be able to dodge something that would take a lot of her energy.
Dornkirk fell to one knee as more of the energy bombs hit him. Hitomi let loose a final array of sparkling orbs before rounding up a larger one in her palms. The emperor brought his arms over his face to endure the last of the stars and he hissed at the blasts that ensued. As the last of the energy needed to create the attack formed into the orb Dornkirk jumped to his feet. With a yell Hitomi released the attack in a baseball pitch and watched as the curve of the orb went for the demon king. The emperor fell to the ground on his stomach completely avoiding the shot and tossed his own energy ball that took mere seconds to create.
Hitomi banged into the ground at the force of the attack and clutched her side. How long would this go on she wondered? If this kept up they would be here all night… Looking up the seeress noticed that the emperor was not advancing, but was now powering up. Gulping the girl whispered, "Looks like this will end sooner than I thought…"
The emperor pounded his foot into the ground creating a small crater of cracks. Bringing his elbows close to his sides and clutching his fists closed the man growled as his clothes ruffled. Red lightning formed over his body and randomly struck at the ground. Chunks of the black ground broke off and slowly floated around him as the man dug out all his energy. Hitomi winced as a bolt of energy hit her. What was she going to do now?
Dornkirk violently grasped his cloak and tore it in two letting the pieces fly into the lava to burst into flames. His eyes turned into the brightest red possible and in a deep voice he shouted, "I'm tired of these games. We shall end this now!"
~~~ Guardians ~~~
As the demons fell to the ground lifeless the warriors of white turned to each other with smiles of triumph. The feelings of sorrow and guilt from their pasts had finally died away and now they were free of those nightmares that haunted them. Coming together they carefully looked over each others injuries making sure no one was seriously hurt before realizing the battle was still going on. Escaflowne and Van rushed over to them as they turned to the two leaders.
~~~ Rulers ~~~
Hitomi got to her knees as the man began to float up into the air. His body glowed scarlet with black swirls as he grew higher and the clouds rolled back allowing the sky to be his platform. Lava began to spew from the ground and hissed as it ate through some of the crust of Gaea. The seeress recoiled as a bit of lava came dangerously close to brushing by her. Golden blobs bubbled bursting into sprays that sizzled onto the ground by the maiden's feet. Hitomi lurched backwards trying to avoid the deadly droplets. One caught on her the flap of her shirt and automatically burst into a small flame. With a yelp the angel tore off the shred of fabric and tossed it into the lava.
Swallowing the woman got to her feet and turned back to her opponent. Above Dornkirk spread out his arms letting his palms embrace the lightning that slip from his fingertips. The earth rattled violently tossing all the below warriors about. Throwing her arms this way and that for balance Hitomi struggled to stay on her feet.
"Today shall end the reign of the great Seeress of the Mystic Moon!" roared the dark emperor.
Sian desperately stayed on her feet as the earthquake progressed. Whirling around she caught wind of the Zaibach ruler's words and growled. Tossing back her eyes at the other guardians the female soldier shouted, "Come on! Lady Hitomi needs us!"
The winged soldiers nodded as they began to rush towards the seeress. Van, upon seeing this, ripped out of the white dragon's hold and barreled after the group. Escaflowne scowled at his king's escape and retorted, "KING VAN!"
Hitomi gave a small smile at the approach of her friends. With their help they could defeat Dornkirk,… but the emperor knew this…
Baring his fangs the Zaibach ruler growled loudly, "Sorry, but this a fight between leaders!"
The seeress felt her blood drain as she swiveled about to see what Dornkirk had planned. Her eyes grew wide with fright as she saw his hands glow a thousand volts brighter than before. The entire battlefield of darkness became swallowed in the reflection of scarlet illumination and power rippled in the air. Though the guardians knew something was about to happen they didn't slow down, but instead they raced faster. Hitomi grew tense as a howling wind thundered at her. Her clothes flapped wildly as she grappling against the force. Looking up she gaped as she saw a million shards of light sprint from Dornkirk's hands to the ground. Instinctively the seeress wrapped her arms over her head, but the beams of lightning missed her by half a mile as they formed a barrier surrounding the two leaders and kept the guardians out.
Even though the warriors saw the wall of electricity they didn't stop, but ran at full force. With a cry Sian brought her palms together facing the wall and as she ran she formed a light in her hands. Violently against the wind she shouted, "In the name of Joutei and all of Gaea, powers graced by my King help me now dispel this barrier!"
Crackling with intensity a beam of emerald shot from her hands at the wall, but to the dismay of the group it merely dissolve upon contact. As they grew a few yards away from the crimson stronghold the guardians began to slow, but stubbornly Sian rushed forward with her hands still glowing. With a shout she shot another ray at the wall, but in vain attempt for it too was swallowed.
Desperately Nembus called to her, "Sian, Stop! It's no good!"
The green warrior gritted her teeth as a few tears slip by unaware, "NO!"
With a cry of her warrior self the woman leapt into the air while unsheathing her bow. The guardians and king watched in dismay as her bow crashed against the red wall with a screech. The woman floated in midair for a few seconds as her weapon fought against the power of the wall,… but sadly the wall fought back and sent a shrill of energy blaring through the woman's nerves. Screaming the guardian flew backwards with her bow trailing behind her. Landing roughly in the dirt yards away from the wall the woman whimpered from her pain.
Quickly the group swarmed around the woman checking her over. Hitomi bit her bottom lip as she watched from the inside of the cell her friends caring for her lead warrior. Above Dornkirk smirked down at the seeress, "Now let us continue."
Fearfully the Angel turned to stare up at the ruler and saw the light in his hands coil up. With a swallow the woman braced herself just before a billion bolts of electricity came screaming down at her. The rain of red shards pounded down on the ebony world within the enclosed cell with such fierceness that clumps of earth littered the area with steam hissing out of lava-filled cracks. Lucky for the seeress the lightning was not very accurate because Dornkirk had to control every billion stream of power. Unfortunately though there were so many bolts coming down at constant random places that it was hard to even dodge them at all.
A scream tore from the Angel's throat as one of the blasts hit her hard in the side. Slamming to the ground the woman winced in anguish while outside the guardians grew dangerously tense. Sian stood the closest to the wall facing it with deep sorrow and frustration. Being only a meter away the guardian growled angrily.
"Maybe if we combine all our powers we can at least make a big enough hole to get in" the maiden shouted as she ran to stand along side the other warriors. The guardians all nodded to their leader as she placed her palms facing the wall. Bringing their powers to the surface the other warriors followed the woman's lead bringing their own hands towards their large opponent. Gradually their hands glowed their designated colors pulsating with energy. Sian locked her jaw together as her sweat beaded on her brow. In a tight voice the lead guardian shouted, "I, Sian, Guardian of the Forest, call upon the powers of Joutei to vanquish this barrier to save our queen!"
In seconds a shaft of glorious emerald shot from the woman's hands ramming headfirst at the wall of scarlet. Unfortunately he seemed to do nothing as it pounded against the firm stronghold.
Next to her another beam of lavender shot forth as a male voice cried, "I, Nembus, Guardian of the Clouds, call upon the power of our Master to help us to defeat this wall!"
The green and purple lights pushed against the barrier, but it appeared the wall only got stronger from their attacks. The desert maiden angrily shouted, "In the name of Joutei, I, Nazomi, Guardian of the Sand, will wield the powers of the One to destroy all obstacles!"
The third beam relentlessly smashed into the scarlet baring down on the huge power, but the wall seemed to laugh at the futile attempts. As the fourth beam of blue rushed forth you could hear, "By the grace of Joutei, I, Tsuno, Guardian of the Waves, shall bring down this evil!"
Just as the aqua color hit the wall the fifth beam came with glowing silver. Folken threw back his hair as he shouted, "As Guardian of the Spirit, I, Folken shall overcome the darkness to bring in the light!"
Thunder crackled and the blood red barrier sizzled as the combined powers of the guardians began to waver the wall's strength. The five energy shafts curled and mingled into one center beam that pounded into the wall like a hammer hitting a nail. Slowly the single pillar glowed into a yellow flame that seemed to be pressing a dent in the great barrier.
Shifting his energy towards the others so it merged with theirs the giant mountain man shouted, "With the force of Joutei I, Zaado, Guardian of Ice will finish this!"
The whirl of power bubbled with intensity as they mingled together in a binding attack. The final warrior stepped forward as her hair was combed by the wind, "In the name of all that is Joutei's, I, Shakaku, Guardian of Flame, will burned down all opponents!"
The last of the power circling in the Ring of Warriors finally dispersed and drove against the translucent scarlet obstruction with howling affects. The seven chosen fighters staggered as the wind fought against them trying to pull them down, but they held firm unwilling to stop. The point where the two forces clashed began to sputter with sparks and it seemed the gold beam might actually penetrate the scarlet.
The maidens and knights grinned as the sunbeam began to inch into the blood of the wall. Then all Hell broke lose…
Abrupt flames broke from the center between the two sides and spread down the golden light. In seconds it came into contact with the seven fighters and flared in a great bellow before swallowing them up. Within a heartbeat the group broke the flow of the power and the beam shattered into emptiness. While crying out in searing anguish the fighters were tossed away from the barrier and slammed into the earth. The remaining flames flickered on the edge of their armor as the guardians laid upon the ground in shock. What had just happen?…
Sian slowly picked herself up breathing heavily. Her armor was powdered in ash and smeared with the black blood of the once living demons. Carefully she picked herself up wincing as her tight muscles groaned. Her eyes glared at the crimson cell with fury. Why couldn't they destroy the barrier?… Wasn't the powers of Joutei greater than Dornkirk's?…
Screams of torment rip from the seeress as she was pushed back into the ground by another lightning bolt. The green maiden flinched as she saw her queen being smashed into the ground. If they couldn't get through the barrier… Hitomi would surely die…
The leader desperately turned to the red dragon woman who was being helped up by her mate. If they couldn't take the wall down then they would just have to go through it. Hastily the emerald guardian cried, "Shakaku, do you think you could pass through the barrier?"
The scarlet guardian stared at her leader, "Pass through it?"
"Yes" frantically nodded the maiden, "You have the powers of going through dimensions. Could you pass through the barrier, you think?"
Glancing momentarily at her mate the female dragon shrugged uncertain, "I could try, but I'm not sure."
"Alright!" Sian shouted over the wind, "Try your best, Shakaku."
The red female nodded and hurried from the arms of Escaflowne. The white figure reached out for his beloved sadly as he watched her leave his protection. Glancing his emeralds at the lead warrior the legend sighed knowing he couldn't stop his mate.
Shakaku slid to a stop before the giant dome before her. Her eyes of fire ran over the convulsing orb in doubt. The massive structure didn't look the least bit of a push over. Coals burning in her skull turned to the surface of the structure and saw the small strands intertwining into a single skin overtaking the small area within. Energy was spread like a system of nerves throughout the wall. It was its own flesh with its blood surging through the pores and burning all that touched it.
Timidly the dragon brought her hand to the electric flesh leaving just a hair between her and the dark power. Behind her the group watched anxiously hoping for success. Shakaku scowled as her concentration ignited. A white light formed at her fingertips as she shoved her hand against the wall. Wind erupted from the contact and her clothes whirled with her hair tossing behind her tense form. Static bit down on the woman trying to drag her away, but Shakaku only pressed harder against the wall. The wall's glow grew firm instantly at her increased pressure and flashed several times as it centered all it energy suddenly at the female. Before the scarlet maiden could do anything a loud blast rammed at her and threw her several yards back. Escaflowne gasped and raced for his mate as the others gaped in shock. Bouncing along the ground the dragon female rolled to a stop with darkness clinging to her. She hugged her body as spots of electricity ran over her body. Opening her eyes of scarlet she looked up at her approaching husband and whispered, "I'm sorry."
Falling to his knees frantically the white legend brought his wife's injured body to his chest. Tears surfaced to his eyes as the man dragon whispered, "No, you did well."
The young queen nearly cried out as she saw the woman fall. Hitomi exhaled roughly as she struggled with the air going through her lungs. Was there no hope?…
Letting her head lay against the hot ground the seeress let herself take a rest to think. If her soldiers could not help her then she alone could stop Dornkirk. Hitomi groaned instinctively as her body wracked with pain at the very thought of moving. She was too badly wounded to do much. The powers were still ripping through her blood stream and stabbing through her flesh. Blood continued to pour from her many wounds and her oxygen was coming in staggered loads. It was extremely amazing to believe she was even alive now. Why couldn't she just lay here?…
Opening her emeralds painfully the Angel looked over the battlefield. The lava and black soil surged and boiled as scarlet splinters raked against the world. Hitomi felt a sudden warmth as thought of what would result in her failure. The world would swallowed by this very destruction. The fields and kingdoms of Gaea would fall to this darkness and for a thousand years of suffering would enveloped life. Hitomi firmly pressed her palms against the ground as she whispered, "I won't let this world die…"
Pushing onto her knees the seeress wobbly got up. Outside the guardians noticed their queen rising and felt a swell of fear. She couldn't possible hope to defeat the emperor now! As it was, she was literally bleeding to death and was now striving to get up and fight?! Desperately the soldiers shouted for her to stay down.
"Don't do it!" screamed Nazomi with her eyes wild.
The seeress rose to her feet and staggered for a moment. Carefully she turned towards the center of the dome where Dornkirk laid with blood seeping over her battered skin.
"You'll die, Queen Hitomi!" proclaimed the wave warrior, "Just stay down!"
Slowly she stepped forward marching straight towards destruction. Her clothes flapped noisily behind her as her first strides wobbled.
Sian remained quiet as her fellow warriors continued to shout.
"If you try to defeat Dornkirk, Hitomi, you'll kill yourself" Folken hollered frantically as he waved his arms.
Sian stood still as she blinked and let her tears run down her skin. Even with the extreme suffering the royal was going through she was willing to go even deeper in torment to save this planet. She was doing it all for the planet. Quietly the emerald maiden whispered, "You can do it, my lady. I have faith in you."
Hitomi pushed forward chartering each footfall to grind into the soil. It seemed that with each pace she took her energy grew and gradually expand within her. The destruction that surrounded her screeched in her ears and the display reflected in her eyes as she began to trot towards Dornkirk. Her eyes locked firmly on the emperor as her vigor raced into her limbs. Breathing hard the seeress launched across the world. Flashes of red swam here and there, but she ignored the potential danger determined to get to her adversary. Fire and lava licked at her heels trying to melt her flesh. Flinching from the heat the woman did her best to avoid the extreme hazards. Her heels clobbered through the black clumps of brittle earth as she dodged what she could of the red spears.
Above Dornkirk towered in the mist of the threat scowling at her attempt, "You dare hope that you can stop me?!"
Turning up his powers the lightning grew more intense hitting closer to Hitomi. Fetching her arms up to protect herself from the nearby spears the woman pushed forward. She would not be frightened away. Sadly her limbs did little for real protection as one of the bolts hit her. Crying out the seeress flew back a few feet. Hitting onto her back the woman stared up at the sky of redness. Frantically she got back to her feet ignoring her pain. She refused to let it keep her down. Rushing onward the seeress continued. She took only a few feet though when another lightning shard struck her. Groaning she crumpled to the earth.
Shakily she pushed off the ground, but her limbs gave out and she hit the hard soil again. Heaving from exhaustion and pain the woman took the moment to gasp for air.
Outside the dome, Van watched with anguish. Again his beloved fell and he felt his insides twist. Stay down he wanted to scream. He couldn't bear to watch her crash down again. She struggled to her feet with her chest yanking in oxygen. Weakly she headed forward before another wave of energy hit her down. The thrusting wind drilled her into the ground as she was racked with pain. Van stepped forward unconsciously reaching out to his angel.
Hitomi groaned as she dug her fingers into the soil. With every muscle straining the woman pulled herself up to her knees. Blood and sweat trailed over her bruised flesh. Shuddering gasps exit her throat as she forced her knees to bend. Just a heartbeat after she had achieved her knelt position a lightning bolt hit her from behind like a wild bull and she crashed into the earth.
Van's head shook vaguely as he whispered, "No…"
She couldn't die… She was unstoppable… That's why he loved her so… because of the determination to fight for what was right…
The seeress laid there in torment as her lungs struggled to hold up. Her eyes were dull with fatigue and fuzzy in sight; however a slight glimmer caught her notice. Blinking several times to refocus her vision the seeress focused on the image. Inches from her face laid the glistening jewel of her people, the pendant. The red stone, though dusty, laid perfectly undisturbed on the ebony clumps. The twinkling stars beneath its surface were slightly dim, but at no means snuffed out. There was life still within the stone.
Suddenly something came in front of the jewelry blocking the Angel's view of the precious item. It took Hitomi a few seconds to realize her own hand was in the way of her view. The bloody fingers squeaked like old metal joints as they coiled over the blood drop. Weakly the maiden brought the item to her face divulging in the reflection the jewel caught of her face. The bloody mess she once knew as her numbly stared back her in the petrified crimson. It almost appeared to be as if the stone was saying, "Even if you live through this I'll kill you…"
Heaving a strangled cough Hitomi realized she was fighting against two enemies. She battling not only Dornkirk, but the pendant as well. In the physical plane Hitomi was facing the dark emperor from the past. Every injury she endured came from the corporeal contact she encounter through the battle (be it magic or fists). While in the realm of the spirit Hitomi faced the powers of the curse. Forced to endure the effects of the magic laid within the stone the seeress felt the terrible tortures that went through her body.
Both wanted her dead and neither were willing to let go of their goal…
Another blast of power collided with her back making her rear back her head and scream before hitting the ground again. With the electricity still singing through her blood the seeress got her knees. Her strangled hair fell over her eyes momentarily as Hitomi gasped for air. Placing her hand over her heart the seeress felt the small beat of her organ. Her eyes winced as she took noticed the pendant's pulsating glow was perfectly in sync with her heart. They were growing even closer in their merge…
Feebly Hitomi slid her foot through the soil coming to rest just beneath her. Her red fingers ran over her torn pants to grasp her knee. Taking a deep breath and locking her teeth together so she wouldn't scream the woman stood up. Anguish ripped through her joints as she righted herself into a majestic stance. Perfect ebony wings stretched out behind her as her tattered and bloody clothes fluttered limp in the roaring wind. Determination was stretched in her face as she stepped forward. In the reflection of her emeralds you could see the fire of retribution.
In the currents of the wind you could hear the phrase, "The enemy of your enemy is your friend…"
The seeress scowled at the words echoing in her mind. Why did that stupid phrase flash in her mind now?! In the tangle of her fingers the broken chain of the pendant dangled with the stone swaying to and fro as she walked.
"The enemy of your enemy is your friend…"
A stroke of lightning shattered mere inches from her feet scaring Hitomi into backing up. Growling at her fear the seeress pushed herself to go faster.
"The enemy of your enemy is your friend…"
Blast it! Why wouldn't that voice go away?!
"Because my child I never will leave you…"
Hitomi felt her senses reel for a moment as she breathed, "Joutei…"
"Yes, young one, I am here."
The seeress braced herself as another string of scarlet power brushed by her tearing a part of her vest. Looking up at the sky she saw Dornkirk was growing lost in the red glow of his powers, but she wasn't really look at him, she was looking past it all into the depths of Judgment. The golden god's face came into her vision smiling as he spoke, "The enemy of your enemy is your friend…"
"What do you mean, Joutei?" the Angel asked bluntly, "I don't understand."
"The enemy of your enemy is your friend…"
Hitomi blinked and found herself back in reality almost as quickly as she had left it. Within her hand the chain of the pendant grew hot almost to a level of burning. The seeress quickly opened her hands to see the pendant glowing intensely just as a sudden pain burst through her chest. The blistering heat stabbed through her lungs and gushed through her pours like lava from a volcano. In the depths of her pupils you could see sparks of embers and swirling flames bellowing. In the faint drum of her ear the angel queen heeded her own scream.
Sudden reeling caught the seeress as her mind flashed an image of Dornkirk withering in pain with his cries echoing in the darkness. It had been his scream not hers she realized. Gradually the image of the emperor backed off so you could see his entire surroundings. Abruptly a crimson aura formed around the Zaibach leader forming a glittering teardrop… or was it a blood-drop? A gasp escaped from her pale lips as the seeress realized it was a vision she was seeing of Dornkirk suffering by way of the Ancient Pendant of the Draconians!
Somehow the pendant was able to bring Dornkirk to his knees! But how?!
Looking up at the emperor as he clutched his chest from the pain still coming from the seeress Hitomi tried to think of how to reverse what was happening to her with the curse.
Wait a moment…
Reverse…
Curse…
Gradually a smirk tugged at the woman's lips along with the dimming of her pain. Why had she not thought of that?! With the unlimited powers of Joutei she could do anything imaginable! She could reverse the curse in fact!
Finding new vigor in her blood stream the woman stood up and glared at her adversary with a grin. Softly she stepped forward with plain intent that she had something up her sleeve. The emperor scowled at her approach and targeted more of the lightning bolts her way. Hitomi frowned as the rain of red spears pounded down around her. Several skimmed by her scratching her clothes and flesh. Locking her jaw together she ignored the pain that came from the inflictions and pushed harder towards her target. Sadly, one of the larger bolts hit home. A barely audible cry was wrenched from her throat as she fell backwards with smoke curling from her body.
Groaning Hitomi rose to her elbows and stared up at the ruler. She had to get closer to him for this to work. She just wasn't strong enough to get her powers to reach him. If she could get about fifty yards closer she would possible be able to do it. Grinding her teeth together the seeress pushed off the earth and stepped forward again.
Sizzling electricity flared throughout the atmosphere as Dornkirk unleashed a new wave of power at the Angel. Hitomi, upon catching sight of it, threw her arms over her face just before it hit her. She was thrown head over heels and slammed onto her stomach fifty yards farther than she was before. Digging her fingers into the black ground the seeress feebly picked up her head. All the energy she had was quickly draining from her…
Van pounded his fists against the barrier not caring about the pain that it caused. With his eyes wild he shouted, "No, Hitomi!"
The guardians stared sadly at their king unable to offer any support or comfort; each were desperate for some as well. The dragon king brought his fists down upon the wall again letting the electricity run over his arms. He cried out in pain, but only a moment before crying out his beloved's name again.
"Hitomi!" he moaned loudly, "No!"
Watching her fall again he felt the air his lungs grow thin. Squeezing his eyes shut the man heavily struck down on the dome feeling every bit of the power attacking his body as he did so. Tears fell from his closed eyes as he whimpered, "You can't leave me now…"
Sian wept for the couple as she watched the man batter himself against the extreme power. There was such unconditional love between them. Though they never professed their love repeatedly in front of an audience it was obvious there was a devotional bond to each other.
Unable to take it anymore the guardian rushed over to the ruler and pulled him away from the wall shouting, "Enough, my king! You'll only hurt yourself further!"
The raven man struggled against the hold of the warrior yelling, "No! Hitomi will die!"
The green warrior desperately tried to hold on to her majesty, but he fought like a wild animal against her and she was forced to call for help.
"Nembus! Folken! Help me here before he gets hurt worse!" she cried frantically.
The two other soldiers rushed forward taking the king into a firmer grasp, but Van did not discontinued his struggle; he only fought fiercer!
"You don't understand!" he shouted angrily with sorrow, "She will die if we don't do something!"
"Van" his brother yelled, "There is nothing we can do!"
A fierce look came from the younger sibling as he glared at his brother. Nembus quickly replied, "We have tried, milord, and nothing has worked! Save yourself and rest!"
Van suddenly burst with energy as he shouted, "NO!"
Unexpectedly the guardians were no longer able to hold them and the king wrenched from their limbs. Barreling from the trio the ruler flew at the barrier once again planting his palms firmly against the blood red power. Sparkling waves of energy ran over his body as Van pushed against the wall.
"I won't let her die!" he shouted to no one in particular, "I can't bear to see her die again!"
The forest maiden stared sadly at her king knowing it was useless to stop him. Tears pooled in her silver jewels as she watched his own tears drip from his chin. He was going through such pain right now… after he had been through so much. Hitomi had finally spoken of Van's past to her. She had given the bare overview of how he had lost his family in less than a few years all at once and was forced to be the king he was meant to be at an early age. He had been through two wars and hundreds of battles where blood and rage had blinded him. Going through the torment of watching a friend court the seeress had nearly broken him in two and now with her finally at his side he was being forced to watch her die unable to do anything… for the second time…
Sian couldn't take it any longer. Sniffing away her tears the guardian stepped towards the man. She lost her stride though as she saw the ruler's hands pierce through the wall. She gaped in astonishment as she realize he was able to go through the barrier. As more energy sparked anguish through him Van moaned his torture and was forced to take away his hands to the guardian's displeasure.
With his palms smoking the king fell backwards clutching his hands close to his chest in agony. Sian quickly came over to the ruler as she stared at him in awe. How was he able to do that? Watching him curl into a fetal position the warrior knew the dragon leader would able to change the tides of this battle,… but perhaps a little help was needed…
Closing her silver eyes the maiden prayed in a inaudible whisper, "Dear Joutei, All Mighty, help this man achieve what he desires! Let him help his wife!"
~~~ Judgment ~~~
Joutei snapped his eyes open and stared out of the spiritual portal's door with sharpness. The devil behind him scowled at the new demeanor from his enemy wondering what had occurred outside the realm that had caught the god's eye. Oh yes, Akuma could sense all that went about outside his cell, but nothing had he deemed important enough to disturb the great Joutei from his slumber.
The golden figure smiled softly as he whispered to know one within earshot, "As you wish, child…"
~~~ Mystic Valley ~~~
"As you wish, my child…"
Sian smiled when she knew her prayer would be answer and opening her eyes she waited for the result of her request.
Abruptly a golden stream of radiance poured out from between the ebony gases within the atmosphere forming a spotlight on the injured king. Slowly the man opened his eyes as all the others of the group turned their eyes to the heavens. From above a great voice called down to the White Dragon Ruler in a deep, but soft voice saying, "Rise my child of fused creators! It is time that you made a mark in the history of all things. Step forth and go protect the one you are bound to. With the aid of your guard be her shield in the heat of battle."
Van rose from the ground in awe unable to speak. The whirling spotlight of gold fused onto him making him glow. Staring at his body he saw the sparkles of power become intense and swam over his flesh. Soon several stars of the gold shot away from him and his rubies followed their trail. Soon his fire rubies were on Escaflowne who was being circled by the sun drops.
"With the aid of your guard…"
The two men stared at one another not completing understanding what was happening, but comprehending what was to be done. Both nodded just before the white guard became a pearly transparency of a dragon roaring in silent wonder. Van fell into a tense stance within the gold light as he watched the apparition come streaking towards him. The pearly glow of the legendary lizard shone brightly over the valley and from a far it was a beacon in the darkness as it twisted and swirled around the king. Sizzling from power the Almighty Joutei the two beings became one for the last time. With a clap of thunder and a blinding flash the union was completed.
Left in the wake was Van adorn with white and cream armor that was shaped like Escaflowne. His gloves were sharp like claws and his cape was the leathery fabric of dragon wings. The head of Escaflowne was the king's helmet with the jaws wide open revealing the royal face within the rows of sharp teeth. Jewels were marred in the flesh of the cool armor and twists of gold lingered over the decoration of the display. Just over Van's heart was the brilliant energist of blood that Escaflowne always bore and now had allowed his king to bear. Last was the great sword of the lizard that now dangled from the king's side opposite of his own sword. Van's eyes brightly glowed as the armor that was his partner finally settled and with a hiss of steam the king was ready.
Sian gaped at her king in shock realizing why all this was happening. Her eyes of silver grew wide as she whispered, "No wonder Van can penetrate through the barrier. He has the blood of royal dragons!"
~ So whatcha think now? Do you really think I wasn't going to include Van in this battle?! You've got to be joking! Hitomi and Van are partners and one does not go without the other!
~Anyway, what's next? Van's going to protect Hitomi, but with the armor of Escaflowne on will that kill the dragon? And if Escaflowne and Van are connected will they both get hurt? What about Hitomi? Is she so hurt that she will still die? And if not won't using her powers destroy her? What about everybody back in Fanelia and all of Gaea watching? What will they think about the battle going on? Can't really tell you, but you can surely find out in the final chapter (not sure if I'll put the epilogue with this chapter or not) of The Fate of Two Worlds: The Sequel à Chapter 30: In the Blink of an Eye…. (Coming soon in November!)~