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aforementioned thingamajigger. Okay?
A/N: HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IS NO ONE OUT THERE??????!!! ISN'T ANYONE
READING THIS???? IF YOU ARE I DON'T KNOW IT BECAUSE I HAVE A PATHETIC
AMOUNT OF REVIEWS. If you are reading this please, PLEASE leave a review,
I haven't had anyone leave a review for weeks. I guess no one likes my
stories.
The Healing of the Angels Part 11
Hitomi's mind was the first to know of the destruction. She heard screams and crashing buildings as if from far away; she felt a hot breeze blow on her face. She breathed in and choked on ash, tasting the grit in her mouth.
The most horrifying thing about this not quite vision was what she felt. She felt the terror and horrible pain of the Atlantians. Her skin seemed to grow tight as it was drawn into her, her body ready to break apart with the pressure of it. She gasped with the effort of keeping it inside. She doubled over in agony, squeezing herself tightly to contain the power of their pain, her eyes squinted shut.
"Hitomi! What's happening?" Van turned to see what was wrong. He could feel the reverberations of what she was feeling through their link but nothing clear cut. All he could feel was her panic and a brief sensation of pressure.
"Van! Pull up quickly!" Folken spun him around and Van took hold of the controls just in time to pull away from the looming mountain peak, higher than the others and surrounded by clouds.
It was dangerous flying here. One small lapse in alertness could very well be one's last. Van's actions weren't fast enough and Escaflowne's tail smashed into the peak. They began a crash course toward the Eastern wall of the Mystic Valley. Van found Hitomi huddled in a corner. I can't lift her like this! Van began to pry at her arms, which were wrapped tightly about her abdomen, but she wouldn't budge. All her muscles were tense and her skin was feverish.
"Van we ca carry her," Folken said, moving to one side of Hitomi and beginning to lift her while Van quickly moved to her other side to help. Just an instant before Escaflowne hit the hard granite of the mountain, Folken and Van spread their wings. Their downward course (not straight down more like diagonal) ended abruptly as they struggled with their burden, trying to get Hitomi to the relatively safe ground.
Hitomi became unable to handle the pain any longer. It surrounded her and overflowed into Van. His body twitched in response and he went limp, half- concious, leaving Folken to support the weight of three without assistance. Folken struggled in air for a moment until gravity forced the three of them swiftly toward the forbidding mountain.
But they didn't smash against the unyielding rock killed on impact. The worst they suffered was the inward pain they had already been feeling. All three of them were suspended in a column of light, just inches from the craggy rock.
Folken, the only one conscious enough to see let alone register what was going on, was shocked to notice they were not the only ones suspended in this light. A whole country's worth of people and the country to follow them, also floated in the light, moving steadily downward, jerking occasionally as if keeping the land and people from falling to the ground and being destroyed was an enormous effort.
Two people floated at the head of it all, not far from where Folken and his companions were. One of them he immediately recognized as his ally, his informant, Altasni.
The light emanated from her, and though he knew she would have had no trouble generating this enormous amount of power if she were in her natural form, he knew that her human body seriously limited her powers. He saw the shriveled and drained body beside her and knew that some one had made an enormous sacrifice for the good of everyone. These were desperate times and they called for desperate measures. Or acts of redemption.
"Hold on Altasni. Once the column reaches Gaea everything will be okay," Folken whispered fiercely. At least he hoped so. What else could he hope for?
Two sc reams brought his attention back to Van and Hitomi. They had both gone unconscious. White waves of power rippled from them and were quickly sucked into Altasni like water being sucked down a drain. The chunk of land plummeted for a split second while Altasni converted the power into something she could use and then resumed its steady decline with renewed strength and speed.
There was a crash as Atlantis hit the floor of the Mystic Valley and a roaring sound as it sank in until the cobblestones of Atlantis were level with the floor of the valley. Folken fought down a hysterical urge to shout "Land ho!"
The column of light faltered and disintegrated leaving a lot of the citizens to fend for themselves in terms of landing, which was okay because all members of Atlantis receive wings upon entering (even Naria and Eriya, cool huh?) Un fortunately for Folken he had two people to support along with himself. He felt gravity start to weigh them down again, but Van and Hitomi were suddenly ripped from his grasp in a new column of light as he was swept up in still another and transported to the ground below.
* * *
Folken's mind clicked on suddenly, like turning on the light's in a dark room. His eyes did not open, his ears did not hear, he was trapped alone in his own mind.
Not quite alone Folken. As your ally, I have some favors to ask of you in return for my much-needed information. I brought Atlantis down safely, and kept it from destroying Gaea. My people are alone in this world now with no one to teach them how to live again and no one to lead them.
This problem must be remedied and I don't have the power to do it myself after bringing Atlantis down safely and transporting Hitomi and Van back to Fanelia where they will be out of harm's way. You must lead the Atlantians as their king. That is the price I ask for my priceless information and help. Lead them.
I can't do that. I can't lead them well. I can't deal with all of their problems and their fears and their hate.
You'll learn. You're already well on your way. And as you learn from them, teach them. Teach them love. I promise you they can learn.
But can the rest of the world learn to love them? Can we all coexist? Or are we destined to destroy each other?
There's only one way to find out. He heard Altasni laugh and FELT her smile, like a bubble of happiness.
That reminds me. There are two certain catgirls who deserve a reward. They gave themselves in an effort to save Atlantis and Gaea. I kept them safe for you; now I command that you marry Naria and Eriya. I think that will please them, don't you? She smiled again, but the bubble popped as she remembered something else.
There is one more thing I have to ask of you. Take the body that lies next to mine and bury it in an honored place. He got the impression of tears. Write on his monument: The greatest way to honor those who have given themselves in times of pain and grief is to make sure it never happens again.
Who was he?
Some one I loved.
He opened his eyes to her fading words There is no destiny. A crowd of people stood around him in a wide ring, seeing he was awake and giving him his room. A man, bolder than the rest, stepped forward to help him sit up. His movements were awkward and he looked uneasy, as did the rest of the crowd.
"Are we alive?" the man asked Folken desperately, for all the world like a frightened child.
The Healing of the Angels Part 11
Hitomi's mind was the first to know of the destruction. She heard screams and crashing buildings as if from far away; she felt a hot breeze blow on her face. She breathed in and choked on ash, tasting the grit in her mouth.
The most horrifying thing about this not quite vision was what she felt. She felt the terror and horrible pain of the Atlantians. Her skin seemed to grow tight as it was drawn into her, her body ready to break apart with the pressure of it. She gasped with the effort of keeping it inside. She doubled over in agony, squeezing herself tightly to contain the power of their pain, her eyes squinted shut.
"Hitomi! What's happening?" Van turned to see what was wrong. He could feel the reverberations of what she was feeling through their link but nothing clear cut. All he could feel was her panic and a brief sensation of pressure.
"Van! Pull up quickly!" Folken spun him around and Van took hold of the controls just in time to pull away from the looming mountain peak, higher than the others and surrounded by clouds.
It was dangerous flying here. One small lapse in alertness could very well be one's last. Van's actions weren't fast enough and Escaflowne's tail smashed into the peak. They began a crash course toward the Eastern wall of the Mystic Valley. Van found Hitomi huddled in a corner. I can't lift her like this! Van began to pry at her arms, which were wrapped tightly about her abdomen, but she wouldn't budge. All her muscles were tense and her skin was feverish.
"Van we ca carry her," Folken said, moving to one side of Hitomi and beginning to lift her while Van quickly moved to her other side to help. Just an instant before Escaflowne hit the hard granite of the mountain, Folken and Van spread their wings. Their downward course (not straight down more like diagonal) ended abruptly as they struggled with their burden, trying to get Hitomi to the relatively safe ground.
Hitomi became unable to handle the pain any longer. It surrounded her and overflowed into Van. His body twitched in response and he went limp, half- concious, leaving Folken to support the weight of three without assistance. Folken struggled in air for a moment until gravity forced the three of them swiftly toward the forbidding mountain.
But they didn't smash against the unyielding rock killed on impact. The worst they suffered was the inward pain they had already been feeling. All three of them were suspended in a column of light, just inches from the craggy rock.
Folken, the only one conscious enough to see let alone register what was going on, was shocked to notice they were not the only ones suspended in this light. A whole country's worth of people and the country to follow them, also floated in the light, moving steadily downward, jerking occasionally as if keeping the land and people from falling to the ground and being destroyed was an enormous effort.
Two people floated at the head of it all, not far from where Folken and his companions were. One of them he immediately recognized as his ally, his informant, Altasni.
The light emanated from her, and though he knew she would have had no trouble generating this enormous amount of power if she were in her natural form, he knew that her human body seriously limited her powers. He saw the shriveled and drained body beside her and knew that some one had made an enormous sacrifice for the good of everyone. These were desperate times and they called for desperate measures. Or acts of redemption.
"Hold on Altasni. Once the column reaches Gaea everything will be okay," Folken whispered fiercely. At least he hoped so. What else could he hope for?
Two sc reams brought his attention back to Van and Hitomi. They had both gone unconscious. White waves of power rippled from them and were quickly sucked into Altasni like water being sucked down a drain. The chunk of land plummeted for a split second while Altasni converted the power into something she could use and then resumed its steady decline with renewed strength and speed.
There was a crash as Atlantis hit the floor of the Mystic Valley and a roaring sound as it sank in until the cobblestones of Atlantis were level with the floor of the valley. Folken fought down a hysterical urge to shout "Land ho!"
The column of light faltered and disintegrated leaving a lot of the citizens to fend for themselves in terms of landing, which was okay because all members of Atlantis receive wings upon entering (even Naria and Eriya, cool huh?) Un fortunately for Folken he had two people to support along with himself. He felt gravity start to weigh them down again, but Van and Hitomi were suddenly ripped from his grasp in a new column of light as he was swept up in still another and transported to the ground below.
* * *
Folken's mind clicked on suddenly, like turning on the light's in a dark room. His eyes did not open, his ears did not hear, he was trapped alone in his own mind.
Not quite alone Folken. As your ally, I have some favors to ask of you in return for my much-needed information. I brought Atlantis down safely, and kept it from destroying Gaea. My people are alone in this world now with no one to teach them how to live again and no one to lead them.
This problem must be remedied and I don't have the power to do it myself after bringing Atlantis down safely and transporting Hitomi and Van back to Fanelia where they will be out of harm's way. You must lead the Atlantians as their king. That is the price I ask for my priceless information and help. Lead them.
I can't do that. I can't lead them well. I can't deal with all of their problems and their fears and their hate.
You'll learn. You're already well on your way. And as you learn from them, teach them. Teach them love. I promise you they can learn.
But can the rest of the world learn to love them? Can we all coexist? Or are we destined to destroy each other?
There's only one way to find out. He heard Altasni laugh and FELT her smile, like a bubble of happiness.
That reminds me. There are two certain catgirls who deserve a reward. They gave themselves in an effort to save Atlantis and Gaea. I kept them safe for you; now I command that you marry Naria and Eriya. I think that will please them, don't you? She smiled again, but the bubble popped as she remembered something else.
There is one more thing I have to ask of you. Take the body that lies next to mine and bury it in an honored place. He got the impression of tears. Write on his monument: The greatest way to honor those who have given themselves in times of pain and grief is to make sure it never happens again.
Who was he?
Some one I loved.
He opened his eyes to her fading words There is no destiny. A crowd of people stood around him in a wide ring, seeing he was awake and giving him his room. A man, bolder than the rest, stepped forward to help him sit up. His movements were awkward and he looked uneasy, as did the rest of the crowd.
"Are we alive?" the man asked Folken desperately, for all the world like a frightened child.