::Me love reviewers! ^_^ When I didn't get any reviews for the second chapter I wondered if it was worth updating. Then I got one! Rereading this fic I keep looking at the lines and wincing, thinking 'Have the right idea, but that wreaks of bad writing.' Sadly, fixing it all would probably add a lot of details the story doesn't really need. For the sake of keeping the plot moving, I left most of it as is::

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A few days later the conference got underway. Hitomi, Merle, Millerna, Dryden, Alan, Selena, and some others sat in chairs along the edge of the room as spectators. Chid did well for his age, and didn't let the older men intimidate him. Hitomi had shown Van the yellow pendant the morning of the first meeting, and he'd told her to use any of his books she thought could help. Despite the best attempts of many, the atmosphere in the conference room wasn't all that friendly, putting everyone on edge.

First was the issue of Hitomi's credibility as a seer. Chid and several others spoke for her, but proof of her skills was needed. So, under immense pressure and scrutiny, Hitomi used her pendant to locate a particular ruler's hometown on a map. That settled, she could safely sit along the wall and act like a part of it, listening. After the first day not much had been settled. The King of Gous insisted on using his own forces and police to obtain the harmful power, but the other rulers insisted on an international group going in to make sure no one nation took the energist to abuse its power.

Hitomi opted to eat breakfast with her family and friends the next morning instead of with Van. Her parents were quite interested in politics, and she agreed to try and get them seats on that day's conference. Yoii decided he'd rather stay away from the whole thing and Merle said she'd show him around the city. That day's talks were almost as argumentive as the day before, and Hitomi could sense Van's frustration. He wasn't angry with any one man, it was just the whole, slow process. He agreed with letting each man have his say, but it was just taking too long.

She'd brought one of the few books on Atlantis from Van's library to read that day. While the King of Basram argued about some trade route being disturbed, she opened it up to the first page and started reading. The inner voice read the book to her, and pretty soon, she'd tuned out the whole conference. Once in a while she'd make a note on the piece of paper she'd stuck in the back of the book, but otherwise it was as if she were in a trance or having another vision. Millerna watched Hitomi nervously, wondering if the young woman always looked like that when reading. Then she noticed Hitomi's parents sitting beside her. Her father was paying attention to the conference, but her mother was reading the book along with Hitomi, her expression the same.

Hitomi read for hours. When a break for lunch was called, her father had to shake her and her mother awake. Hitomi closed the book, marking her place with the notes she'd taken, and followed them out. Lunch was full of people's opinion about the conference talks thus far, and not much of it was good. This ruler complained about that, and that one complained about this, etc.

When the talks resumed that afternoon, Hitomi was again in attendance, but she read alone, her mother watching the men bicker about Zaibach and how their country had suffered more. Millerna noticed how quiet Van was, his face looking as calm and smooth as an isolated lake with no breeze. Hitomi once again dedicated herself to the book and its voice. She read on rather quickly until she reached the part about the period of time just after Atlantis' fall.

The book said that to create a pure Gaea, free of their corrupt power, the Draconians needed to call upon the four basic elements and the one power they could count on to not be corrupted, their hearts. To make this pure world they used the five pendants. The green pendant went to the people close to animals and they stood for the north. The white pendant was sent to the people close to the air and flight and stood for the south. The blue pendant went to the people of the sea and stood for the west. The yellow pendant went to the people close to fire and heat and stood for the east. The last pendant had been carved from a dragenergist, a dragon heart, and it contained the power to activate the elements of the other four. Together they created Gaea, and were quickly separated when the peoples of Gaea went their separate ways.

Abruptly the book ended. Hitomi blinked and closed it. Well, she thought, looking over her notes. The green pendant probably can be found with the cat clans, they're always trying to protect wildlife from poachers and misuse. The white pendent could either be with some hidden enclave of Draconians or near that place with the floating rocks they use for airships. The blue pendant has got to be with the mer-folk. Dryden told me about them, he bought one to set her free, so they must exist and it seems they would be the most likely to have it. I have the yellow, and isn't Fortuna Temple an extinct volcano? There are volcanoes near there, so it fits. But how did Alan's father come across this pendant?

Hitomi fingered the pink stone absently, and then sighed and looked over her notes again. At least she had some idea what they were capable of and how they worked. She didn't quite understand why she'd seen them in a world colored red, but the future would yield the hidden meaning behind the vision soon enough.

That evening, Hitomi shared her findings with Van and a few of the others she felt needed to know. Dryden looked over the book while Chid examined the pendant in awe of its power. Van looked concerned. "Hitomi," he said in a tone that made everyone look at him in alarm. "What if your vision is telling us that we will need to use the pendants to create yet another world after destroying this one. If these foolish wishes continue, we will need that power just to cleanse Gaea so it can remain. It has only been about six years since Dornkirk used his machine to grant everyone's wishes, and it almost destroyed us. Can Gaea stand any more without falling apart?"

Dryden winced. "Did you have to think so grimly? I mean I doubt these wishes will have the same devastating effects as the whole machine did. For one, this is just one person's wishes with only a fraction of the power used before."

Hitomi looked over at him. "Yes, but after a while the pressure can build up, and must be released. You're familiar with earthquakes, right? It might work the same way, just more dramatically.

"Van's right, Gaea can only stand so much of this before it destroys itself like Atlantis."

Then Dryden held up a hand. "Ah, but was Atlantis truly destroyed?"

Van frowned. "What do you mean?"

Dryden shrugged and said, "Well, when we went to the Mystic Valley, we went through some portal to the capital of Atlantis. How could there be ruins if it was completely destroyed? And wasn't Atlantis originally on the Mystic Moon? It's still up there, and people live there. And they are thriving, unless I'm mistaken."

Hitomi nodded. "You have a point. I wonder if those alive on Earth today are descendents from Atlantis, and if so, why we have no wings." They sat in silence for a while mulling over their theories and thoughts. "Still," she said after a moment or two, "We should try to collect the other three pendants."

Chid nodded and said, "I think Sir Alan would like to try for it. It is a quest, you know, to find the three last elemental pendants." The others looked at him, but he ignored their looks and gazed at the yellow pendent hanging in front of his face. "He might be very up to it indeed."

To Hitomi's great relief, Alan accepted the quest when she mentioned it. "Besides," he said, "I might as well go for it while I'm still young." Hitomi laughed at this, but Alan had a point. He was nearing the end of his prime, and Van could now win two out of three bouts. The Crusade arrived a few days after the second day of the conference. Originally it was to pick him and Selena up on their way back from a cargo run, but Gaddes and the rest of the crew rejoiced at the idea of a little adventure.

Hitomi watched anxiously as they lifted off. Van put his arm around her and said, "Don't worry, Alan will find them if they can be found." Hitomi just hoped her source was dependable enough. Dryden had read the book, and agreed with her findings. It had taken him a couple of days to translate it, but she enjoyed the assurance of a second opinion.

That evening at the conference, the accumulative nations agreed to send only a small international force under a Gous general into the desert where Hitomi had located the offending power. When the paper was signed, wine was distributed and they toasted the endeavor. Then Van stood up and the respective kings and reigning dukes fell silent. This man who'd been so quiet during the talks was about to say something of clear importance.

Van set down his glass and held out an arm to Hitomi sitting along the wall. "Gentlemen, I see this as a fit time to announce my engagement." Several surprised looks crossed some faces. One of those so shocked was the King of Basram, who had been convinced Van would never marry. "To Lady Hitomi of the Mystic Moon."

A cheer went up around the room. Chid then led a toast and agreed on the spot to attend the wedding. Not about to be out-done by an eleven-year-old, several other kings, including the ruler of Austuria, agreed on the spot. Some held back for fear of leaving their countries for anything more than matters of national security. Van and Hitomi graciously accepted offers for chefs and florists and decorators to be sent to help with the occasion.

Then Hitomi realized how truly brilliant this move was. Van had ended the conference on a festive and positive note. Men who could have gone off resenting each other, were instead wondering how they could arrange things back home so they could visit again. The optimistic announcement seemed to leave no question as to whether or not the mission would succeed. The pending struggle to obtain that dangerous power in the desert seemed less devastating and significant than it really was. Hitomi just hoped Alan could find those pendants.

At their first opportunity to talk in private, her parents immediately demanded to know when this decision had been made, her mother's argument ending with a teary, "And I want to go home!"

Hitomi held her mother in a hug and said, "If that was really the case, and you truly wished to leave here, then that blue beam of light would have taken you away already. If you truly wish it, it will come." Her mother stared at her.

"You speak like someone who knows, so I'll believe you," Mrs. Kanzaki said. "But I still need to go back, even if I truly don't want to. I could've used your support, but you're marrying that king of yours and won't be able to come." Her face was pale and full of pain.

Hitomi felt her fear rise up. "Mom, what are you saying?"

Mr. Kanzaki took his wife in his arms and looked at Hitomi with sad eyes. "We came to the United States because your mother  wanted to see it and see how you were doing there. But, she's got cancer, honey. An inoperable brain tumor, which hasn't responded to other forms of treatment."

Yoii locked eyes with Hitomi over their mother's head, ready to let tears slip. Hitomi was in shock. She slowly detached her mother from her father's embrace and took her into her own arms. Then she started sobbing and they both wept. Why? She thought. Why am I crying when I should be happy beyond words?

Van found them like that, huddled together as a family, the pain he saw and felt in Hitomi's eyes sent him back to his childhood, when his father had died and the haunted look of loss in his mother's eyes. "Hitomi," he said, "what's wrong?"

She buried her head in his shoulder and cried. When she had had a moment to calm down, she looked up at him with her tear-streaked face and said, "My mother is going to die, Van."

He looked at her with alarm. "You had a vision of her death?"

Hitomi shook her head. "No, but she has a brain tumor which is slowly killing her. There's nothing we can do for her here, but none of the things back at home worked either."

He seemed to hesitate and finally he said, "Hitomi, there is something we can do for your mother."

Hitomi's eyes went wide. "What? What is it?"

They were all looking at him now, "The blood of a dragon is known to cure all ailments. It's the ultimate antidote, and can help a warrior who lost the use of a limb regain it. The problem is it's hard to get. You saw Folkin, and you watched me fight, so you know how dangerous it is."

She bit her lip and looked at her mom. Then she turned to Van and said, "But who would do it? Who could possibly accept such a challenge? Who would want to?"

He was about to say he'd do it, but Yoii spoke first. "Let me, it's my mother." They all stared at him.

Mrs. Kanzaki stared at her son. "How can you, Yoii? You don't know anything about fighting."

Hitomi and her father traded looks. "Yes he does," Mr. Kanzaki said. His wife stared up at him. "I took him to my brother's dojo when he was six, and he's been going ever since. He works there now as an assistant." He looked at Van. "He knows how to use a sword, and use it well."

Van looked at Yoii, gave him a careful going over, and nodded. "I suppose you could do it. I must warn you, keep close by, because after the death of the dragon the blood only keeps its potency for two hours. It's best if you don't kill it at all, but I can't think of many occasions when both the knight and the dragon survived."

Mrs. Kanzaki looked at her son with concern. "Yoii, please, don't risk yourself."

Yoii looked very old and wise when he turned and put his hands on her shoulders as he said, "Mother, I have to do this. We need you alive, all of us, especially Hitomi. Don't let her wedding day be your funeral." Then he turned to Van and said, "Is there any special training I should get before going out?"

Van nodded and said, "Follow me." He led Yoii down the hall, past the first armory, to the second. He unlocked the door with a large key from a ring in his pocket. Inside was all the equipment the Fanalian kings used to kill dragons to claim the throne. Van selected a suit of armor, a collapsible shield, and a sword. He held them out for Yoii to examine. Yoii went over them with expert fingers and Van felt a little better knowing that he wasn't sending Hitomi's little brother to certain death.

"Come over here and I'll show you how to use it," Van said, and he led Yoii down the hall to an indoor practice court. To his relief, it was empty. He showed Yoii how to put on the armor, how to open the shield, and let him try some passes with the sword. "Don't worry, a little practice and you'll have the hang of it," Van said. He meant it, Hitomi's brother was a natural. Yoii was obviously well trained, even if it was a style different from anything Van had ever seen before.

While Yoii could spend the next few days in the practice courts, Van could not. Mr. Kanzaki supervised instead, and Mrs. Kanzaki helped Hitomi make plans for the wedding. The clash of cultures for the next few days was like a maelstrom. Mrs. Kanzaki wanted the wedding one way, planners from other countries kept coming in and offering their own opinions.

Hitomi moaned as she looked at the long list of decorations one of the planners wanted. "Why couldn't we just elope?" she asked Van. He chuckled, but said nothing.

Finally, Hitomi and Van sorted through all of the proposals and found one acceptable to a nation in the midst of rebuilding. They would hold the wedding in the garden on the lawn and invited over two hundred guests. It was the minimum number of invitations the couple could manage.

Then Hitomi had an idea. This was her wedding after all, and she wanted her friends to be there. She wrote out the invitations herself and concentrated. When she opened her eyes, the letters were gone. With a grin she went to tell the cook to make adjustments for a few more guests.

A week before the wedding, Millerna, Dryden, and Selena showed up. Hitomi wondered why Alan hadn't come, then remembered that he was off searching for the pendants. It hadn't been that long, barely a month. King Aston was in the coach behind them, and he grumbled about traveling to Fanalia twice in five moons at his age.

Chid arrived the day before the wedding, and Hitomi greeted him first like a king, then like a friend once they were in less public company. Late that afternoon she stood on the roof staring up at Gaea. It was risky, but she'd given her friends clear instructions. Wait on a roof or in the open. Wear your best clothes, look nice, and above all, be polite when you get here. Also, don't attempt if you have heart problems.

She stood on the roof and held the pendant in front of her. Oh please, oh please, she thought. Then a beam of light shot down from the sky. The people below gasped and pointed, as three figures floated down to stand before Hitomi in utter shock. "Yukari!" Hitomi cried, and she hugged her friend.

"Hitomi? How?" Yukari said. She returned her friend's embrace though. Next was a quick hug for Amano and then a bear hug for Lisa, her friend from school.

Hitomi smiled at them and said, "I'm glad you all made it. I was worried for a second there that I wouldn't be able t get you to come."

Amano held Yukari's hand and looked around them. "Where are we?" he asked.

Hitomi waved a hand at the view behind them and they turned, gasping. "Welcome to Fanalia. I came here several years ago. You probably don't remember it because when I returned it was as if I'd never been. I returned to the same day I'd left." Then she held her hands in front of her and said, "Look up."

She heard gasps. "But that's…" Lisa said. Despite being able to only speak English, Lisa could be understood as clearly as if she'd been speaking fluent Japanese. Hitomi wondered about it for a moment, then decided it was just something about Gaea's effect on people from the Mystic Moon.

"As far as the people of Gaea are concerned, we are from the Mystic Moon, not Earth. You won't know what most of the guests will be talking about, but I think Yoii and my parents will enjoy talking to someone from home. Please, follow me." Hitomi led them down the stairs and through the halls to a couple of rooms next door to her parents' room. "You can stay here tonight. The wedding is tomorrow, so I apologize for making you get dressed up, but it's the best way to not lose things." Especially since it keeps a particular Merle person from going through your bag…

Lisa accepted the whole thing quickly. In fact, Hitomi hadn't noticed even a glimmer of disbelief in her friend. Hitomi talked with Yukari and Amano for a little while in their room, explaining things. Yukari was all excited that her friend was getting married to a king, then settled down after an awkward pause and said that Amano was just fine for her.

Hitomi left them to mull over things before the big day and went to talk to Lisa. When she entered the room, she saw Lisa had already changed into the nightgown set out for her and was staring at the view of Earth out her window. "Lisa—" Hitomi started.

"You don't have to explain Gaea to me, Hitomi," Lisa said. "I've been here before." Hitomi sat down and let her friend explain. "I could tell the first time I saw you at track that you'd been here, and were running from the dreams that it leaves behind. I was the same, but I was a child when I came to Gaea. I lived here until I was about six, a few years. Then a blue light appeared and took me home.

"My parents were scared. I'd grown three years' worth in one night. They took me to the doctor and did tons of tests, but I was normal. I tried to explain Gaea to them, but they wouldn't listen, so I gave up. To keep my sanity, I started running. Running is more acceptable than story telling. So while I'm legally 21, I'm actually more like 24."

Hitomi put her hand over Lisa's. "If you want," Hitomi said, "you can stay. Van wouldn't mind, I'm sure of it."

The hope in Lisa's eyes could reduce a person to tears. "Really? I can live here on Gaea? Really?" Hitomi nodded. Lisa jumped up and hugged her fiercely. "Oh, thank-you, Hitomi! How could I ever repay your for the gift you've given me?"

Hitomi smiled. "By attending the wedding I brought you here for."

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She was nervous. Her mother and Yukari and a million maids rushed around her to finish making little touches to her hair and her gown. In the Fanalian style, it reached the ground in front of her, and trailed behind for several feet. The veil was made of silver, and the embroidery on the gown was a pattern of dragons in flight. She'd decided to wear the pendants instead of the large, heavy necklace she'd been presented with.

"Hitomi," said her mother. She looked up from her study of her necklaces. "It's time."

Hitomi followed her mother down the hall and waited at the back of the garden while everyone was seated. When the music started, her father walked her down the aisle. There were hushed whispers and comments made to neighbors as she passed, hopefully good ones. She was at the altar all too soon, and she numbly took Van's hand.

In a daze, she recited her vows, and looked into Van's eyes as he said his. What are you thinking? she wondered. Then the priest said, "You may now kiss the bride."

Van lifted the veil and they gazed at each other. Then they kissed, and Hitomi heard her heart beating in her ears. No, she heard two hearts, beating at the same time. Then she felt warmth against her chest and she pulled away from Van and raised a hand to the pink pendant. She felt it pulsing in her hand, and she let it go. What was that all about?

He escorted her down the aisle and out to the reception area set up under the trees. She heard a bird sing and looked up. It was a beautiful day, warm with a light breeze and sunny. Perfect. Then they started to receive the congratulations of all 234 guests. Hitomi noticed tears in her parents' eyes, and her brother Yoii came up with Merle. Another romance from the Mystic Moon? Hitomi mused over the idea as she greeted Chid and King Aston.

A couple of the last people in line, Millerna and Dryden came up and the Princess said, "That was a beautiful wedding, Hitomi. You did a wonderful job."

Remembering that Millerna's own wedding had been interrupted by Folkin's luck soldiers in pursuit of her, Hitomi said, "I just wish yours hadn't been ruined because of me." Millerna shook her head.

"It wasn't your fault. Oh, and look who showed up in the nick of time," Millerna turned to her right and Hitomi saw Alan crossing the clearing towards them.

"Alan!" she cried and he gave her a hug. "You made it back! How did your search go?"

He smiled down at her with a twinkle in his eyes and said, "You'll just have to wait a little longer."

Then Lisa rushed over with a couple of glasses. "Come on you two," she said, handing the glasses to Hitomi and Van. "You can't miss the well-wishing toasts to your future!" Hitomi grinned and silently wished she'd worn a gown like Lisa's. It was a deep blue evening gown that was simple, if a little clingy. Rhinestones ran along the hem and neckline in intricate swirls like the rhinestone tattoo on Lisa's shoulder. It was sleeveless and had a throw of the same deep blue as the dress. Lisa's hair was piled up in dark brown waves.

"Lisa," Hitomi said," I'd like you to meet Alan Schezar, a Knight of Caeli." Then she turned to Alan and said, "Alan, this is Lisa Grout, a friend of mine from the Mystic Moon who spent a few years here as a child. Perhaps you could help catch her up on some things?" Later Van accused her of match making, and she didn't try to deny it.

Their wedding night was amazing, and when the couple emerged from their chamber two days later, it was to see Hitomi's brother off on his search for a dragon. Hitomi and Van spent the rest of the day opening wedding gifts in the company of their friends. Hitomi had sent Amano and Yukari back to Earth after the reception, but Lisa seemed to have spent the past two days in Alan's company.

One of the last gifts showed signs of hasty wrapping, and there was no card. "It's from me," Alan said. Hitomi and Van looked at him suspiciously, and Hitomi unwrapped it. She opened the box and gasped.

"Oh, Alan," she said. She took out the three pendants and they glittered in the light that came through the window. Van took them from her hand and put them around her neck, one by one. The second the last one was on they began to pulse. The occupants of the room let out shouts of surprise as they were drowned in a bright golden light.

Then Hitomi saw the vision again. She jumped as someone put their hand on her shoulder. She knew without turning around that it was Van, and looked over to see that they were all there. Her parents, Alan, Merle, Millerna, Dryden, Selena, Lisa, all of them. Van looked around and said, "Is this the vision you were talking about?"

Hitomi looked around and said, "Yes." She held out her hand, the pink pendant rested in her palm. Then she watched Lisa come forward with the white pendant.

"What am I doing with this?" she asked. Hitomi felt her neck, the pendants were all gone.

"I don't know," she said. Van stared at the beach and began to feel ill. He swayed and collapsed, his stomach doing flip-flops and his vision spinning. "Van!" Hitomi cried.

Suddenly, they were back in the castle. Hitomi was kneeling by Van, who lay unconscious on the floor. "Van!" she said. Then she looked at Alan and Dryden and said, "Help me get him to bed." They picked him up and carried him into his room. Van was pale, and his breathing shallow. "Oh, Van," Hitomi whined.

Merle tried shaking him, but he didn't stir. "Wake up, Lord Van!" she said. He didn't move. "Oh…" she said, sniffing. Then a guard banged into the doorframe, his face red and his breath coming in gasps.

"Sirs, Queen, Lord Yoii just fell out of the sky!" Hitomi ran from the room. She dashed down the hall, following the guards who pointed her in the direction of the front gate. She burst out into the sunlight and saw Yoii lying on the courtyard steps, a healer leaning over him.

Hitomi knelt by his side and looked him over. A small trickle of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. Clutched in his hand was a leather-wrapped metal bottle. Guessing at its contents, Hitomi pried the lid off. It was half full of a green liquid. "Dragon's blood," the healer whispered, and she stared at Yoii.

Hoping there was enough, Hitomi tipped some of liquid into Yoii's open mouth. One heartbeat passed, two, and she briefly considered giving him more when he gasped and his eyes opened wide. He sat up and leaned over to one side, coughing. "Are you Okay?" Hitomi asked him. "Yoii?"

He stopped hacking and looked up. "I got it, didn't I? Now Mom will be fine." Then he stood up and groaned. "That's quite a kick in the gut. I feel like new."

The healing woman stared. "But—but your ribs were broken!"

Yoii smiled and said, "Ah, the miracles of dragon blood. If it weren't for this pendant here I'd've been a goner." Hitomi stared at the green pendant. She felt around her neck, they were all gone except for her original one. Then she recapped the bottle and led Yoii inside.

Van was waiting, and told the castle doctor to mix a mouthful of dragon's blood with an equal amount of wine to dilute it. Hitomi watched her mother anxiously as she drank the mixture. Mrs. Kanzaki grimaced at the taste, but her color improved almost immediately. Abruptly, she straightened and smiled. "It's gone! The headache is gone!" Hitomi jumped up and gave her mother a hug, then her brother, and her father, and Van.

Lisa came up to Hitomi and held out the white pendant. Hitomi shook her head. "It's not for me, that's clear enough. Not only did we all see the vision with me holding only one pendent, but that one was in your hand. No, it was meant for you." Then she turned to Van and said, "When did you wake up? One second you're in bed, the next you're giving the healer tips on dealing with dragon blood cures."

Van grinned and gave her a light kiss. "I woke up a minute after you left to check on Yoii." Hitomi kissed him back.

"Enough, you two," Merle said. Van and Hitomi paused and smiled, but kept kissing. "You might want to think about taking it elsewhere?" Hitomi blushed and Van laughed, and take it elsewhere they did.