AN: Ooooo……guess what!? I CUT MY HAIR!!!AGAIN!!!!!!! This out-of-nowhere statement means absolutely nothing to those of you who have never met me personally, but there are several people who rea4d my story whom I got to school with (Shinigami-sama, Moony, Padfoot, etc.) or are family members (DIMB, Tonks, etc.) who may want to know this information. But for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, let's just say my hair is now VERY short…I'm talking about Hitomi short…except I don't have green eyes…actually, I think I kind of look like Tea from Yu-Gi-Oh, but I sure hope I don't act like her…do I *shrug* Oh well, if I do, make sure to let me know and I'll stop, cause that means I talk way too much!!!

In case you didn't already notice, I'm basing a lot of my characters on old myths and legends. Well, I'm adding a new character this chapter and I feel like I should offer an explanation of who she is since many people do not know her story. Her name was Cassandra and she was a human who was blessed by the Greek god's to have the gift of prophesy but he curse of no one believing her. Even when she predicted the fall of the Troy and of the Trojan horse, no one believed her. So, there you have it. Now, you won't be confused at who this person is. For more information on her, look up her name on Encarta or some Encyclopedia if you wish, but for now, ON WITH THE STORY!!!

Disclaimer: Normally I'd write something funny, but, I don't have time, so,  I DON'T OWN ESCAFLOWNE…..poo…

Chapter Fifteen: Startling Revelations

Phoebe almost panicked when she received the message from Calypso that the Sirens were to kill Hitomi. It happened sooner than she had expected. Now, Phoebe was on a race to find the seeress before the others did. Hitomi was vital in Phoebe's plan to defeat the Atlantis Machine. She and Lord Van were the ones who had defeated the Atlantis Machine before, and now, they needed to do it again. Otherwise, her mission was a lost cause. But for now, Phoebe spent all her energy into finding the seeress and her companions before the other Siren's did.

Phoebe shuddered at the thought of how she had become a Siren. Years ago, while all other countries were fighting Zaibach, Circe remained a neutral party and didn't join the war. Truthfully, Circe was too busy with their own scheme for power. They were hunting for a jewel from Atlantis, and as far as they knew, only two existed. One of them, belonging to the seeress known as Hitomi, was inaccessible due to her deep involvement in Gaea's war. As for the other…

Phoebe raised her hand to her chest and clutched the pendant that was hidden beneath her gown.

…She managed to retrieve it before Circe could get a hold of it.

'But not without a cost…'

Indeed, in the fight to find the pendant before Calypso could, Phoebe lost her entire family and her one true friend who, surprisingly, held a great resemblance to Hitomi. Her friend Cassandra was a fortuneteller, much like Hitomi was. Phoebe had quickly made friends with the bizarre girl and they remained together for many years. Then one day, Cassandra received a vision of the future. She saw the destruction that would occur if someone were to, again, try and harness the power of the Atlantis Machine. She also had mentioned the importance of the Jewel of Atlantis in order to make the Machine to run properly, however in her vision, the results lead to disaster. Cassandra immediately told her vision to Phoebe, and in return, being a loyal Siren at the time, told Cassandra to inform Queen Circe. Not wanting to let the story leak that their plans wouldn't work, Queen Circe had Cassandra killed under the pretext that Cassandra was a Zaibach spy.

…Phoebe was the only person alive who knew what was coming if Circe had it's way. She vowed to spend the rest of her life fighting to prevent the awakening of the Atlantis Machine, and she succeeded. Phoebe discovered the Atlantis Jewel before anyone else, and since then, it has been in her safekeeping. But then it was discovered that when the seeress returned to the Mystic Moon, she left the other Jewel behind in the possession of Lord Van. Since then, Circe's eye has been on Fanelia, and despite Phoebe's efforts, Calypso was now the current possessor of an Atlantian Jewel. She had all the keys she needed. And now, she was getting rid of those who have the power to thwart her plans. Once again, it was up to Phoebe to stop her.

Phoebe needed to find the seeress before the other Siren's did.

…luckily, fate seemed to be in Phoebe's favor that day…

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Hitomi skidded to a stop and stared at the dead end in front of her. 'Crap!'

She whirled around and saw their pursuer blocking the only way out. While Merle and Celina looked worried, Hitomi's eyes widened in surprise.

"Phoebe!"

Hitomi began to feel relieved that the woman in front of her was only Phoebe, but then she remembered whom Phoebe worked for, and suddenly, Hitomi wasn't sure if she could trust her anymore. Meanwhile, Merle and Celina cast a quick glance at Hitomi after her surprised outburst, and then returned their worried faces at Phoebe.

Surprisingly, Phoebe merely raised one of her gloved hands and placed her fingers to her lips, silencing the trio.

"You three are in a lot of trouble."

Celina took a step forward and make a blatant gesture as she toughed the hilt of her sword.

"You're going to be in more trouble if you don't get out of my way!"

Hitomi interjected. "Celina, don't…"

"I'd advise you to get him back under control Celina!" Phoebe spoke in an icy, forceful tone that made both Hitomi and Merle shiver. Celina's eyes glazed over for a moment and she toughed her and to her forehead.

"Are you well again?" Phoebe asked in the same tone as before.

Celina wasn't going to answer her, but words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stifle them.

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Good. Now, come with me."

Phoebe turned and began walking away, but the trio didn't move. After a few paces, when it was obvious that the girls were not going to follow, Phoebe stopped and turned her head back in their direction.

"If you don't come now, the other Sirens will find you, and you don't want that to happen."

"Isn't that what want that to happen."

"Isn't that what you are?" Celina growled. "I don't trust her."

Phoebe, once again, put on a threatening tone. "Is that you or Dilandau talking?"

Celina's eyes flashed, and for a moment, it looked as though she meant to leap forward and kill Phoebe, but she recollected herself again and strained to remove her hand from her swords hilt.

"Honestly, I don't know." Celina replied finally in monotone.

Merle piped in. "But she works for Calypso. That's reason not to trust her, right?"

Hitomi paused for a moment and stared into Phoebe's eyes, full of determination and power. Hitomi looked past this and used her dowsing ability to try and search within Phoebe, using her past encounters with the woman from Circe in order to guide her. When she found what she was looking for, Hitomi came out of her short dream-like state and replied to Merle's unanswered question.

"That is a reason Merle, but I'm not sensing any deceit from her, are you?"

Merle crossed her arms. "How should I know? I'm not the one with the special powers."

"It doesn't take special powers…"

"Can your little huddle wait ten minutes? We need to get out of this castle." Phoebe interrupted.

"Why?"

Phoebe paused for a moment, thinking of the best way to phrase her response. "Ears are everywhere."

"No kidding. I've got two of them, right here." Merle pointed at the two fur covered ears that were pricked up in alert.

"Merle, we should at least hear what she has to say."

"Fine, but why do we have to go outside? Why can't we just talk here?"

"Because she's afraid that someone will hear us."

"How do you know?"

Celina sighed in slight irritation. "Because she said so."

Merle couldn't think of anything to say. Instead, she bowed her had and growled as she tapped her foot repeatedly. Hitomi looked from Merle to Celina. Since she wasn't receiving any further objections, Hitomi nodded and looked back to where Phoebe patiently stood.

"Alright, we'll come."

Phoebe's features released some of its tension, but she still held a domineering aura. "Good. This way, hurry."

Phoebe turned and guided them back in the direction they had come. Before getting far, Phoebe warned them not to talk, not even a whisper, and the trio reluctantly complied. At first, it seemed as though Phoebe were leading them to the back of the castle in the direction of the forests and gardens, but then she would take a wrong turn and they'd be heading in the opposite direction. Occasionally, they found themselves walking down the same corridor, passing the same tapestry or window. Merle, Celina, and Hitomi all exchanged puzzled looks, but they remained reticent. Twice, Phoebe would walk to a door, stop right in front of it with her hand on the doorknob, wait for several minutes, then open it and walk through as if nothing had happened. The three girls that trailed behind never said a word, but stored in their minds several questions that they were going to ask later.

After several detours and traveling around in circles, the four women finally reached the main entrance to the gardens, just as Hitomi had thought, though she couldn't imagine why it had taken them nearly twenty minutes to get there when they could have done it in five. Just before they were about to leave the archway, Phoebe stopped once again, this time, with her arms outstretched. She whispered softly that Hitomi almost didn't hear her.

"When I say so, run as fast as you can to the trees. Don't stop till you're safely hidden."

They waited for only a minute, though it seemed like an eternity. Merle and Celina wanted answers. They didn't like being dragged around like this. Hitomi, on the other hand, still remained patient, knowing there had to be a logical answer as to why Phoebe was acting so strange.

Before they had time to broad on the subject, Phoebe lowered her arms and said, in a horse whisper, "Now!"

Phoebe leapt forward, easily pulling away from the other three. When Celina and Merle saw how fast Phoebe moved, they pushed themselves to go faster, sensing the urgency that they get hidden as quickly as possible. Hitomi could have pulled ahead of Phoebe with almost no effort at all, but she wasn't going to leave her companions behind. Instead, she urged them on by moving ahead of them by a few feet, giving them a target as they struggled to run faster. They jumped over low bushes and plants, ducked under trees, dashed around taller shrubs, never slowing down and trying to keep Phoebe in their sight, which was difficult because of her insane pace. But finally, when exhaustion almost began to take its toll, the line of forest trees came into sight. They were almost there. The four of them put on another burst of speed, using all the energy that remained to them, and shot themselves into the shadows of the forest. They caught up with Phoebe, who had stopped running and was waiting for the three others, and bent over to catch their breath. Phoebe also was breathing quicker than normal, but she remained upright.

"I know you're tired, but we need to walk a little further into the forest before we can talk."

Without another word, they followed her into the darker shades of the forest, still determined to receive answers.

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After their encounter with Hitomi, Calypso and Van continued the rest of the day walking around the land of Fanelia, their arms always intertwined with one another. They did not have any particular place to be, so, they spent the day together, enjoying each other's company…

…or so it would have seemed to an outsider's eye.

Calypso was glowing. She had successfully driven Hitomi away from Van. There was no way she would dare face Van again or do anything to get in his way. Calypso's chest swelled with happiness and pride, knowing that she had ridden herself of one of her most burdensome obstacles. By the end of the day, Hitomi, Celina, and Merle would all be dead and out of her way. The Sirens would deal with them. She spent the rest of the day soaking herself in her pride, always aware that the most difficult task in her plan was conquered. What's more was she wasn't afraid of showing her happiness. She exercised every effort to remind Van of what she had accomplished, with his help. She showed Van the entire incident over and over again in his mind, completely helpless to make the images stop. She also delighted in the fact that every time he was forced to watch it again, his contempt towards her grew. She could feel his anger burn like an inferno. She knew he wanted to kill her, but knowing that he had no power or control of his own body, only infuriated him more. And Calypso couldn't have been happier.

As Van's anger grew, it became increasingly difficult for Calypso to restrain him and keep control over his actions. He had no idea how much of a strain it was for Calypso to keep him in line, otherwise, he would have fought even harder. Calypso was gifted in hiding her true emotions. But regardless of how herd he fought, she would not relinquish her power. In fact, she loved the challenge. For too long she had been controlling men who gave no inkling of a struggle. She found most men to be quite boring. But Van was…different. He had a spark. He had ceaseless, enduring energy. There was a passion and a fire within him that Calypso couldn't help but become attracted too.

Perhaps when Circe's plans were over, she'd keep him alive after all…

…Waste not…want not…

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"Calypso is not who she appears to be."

"Yeah, tell us something we don't already know."

Hitomi, Celina, and Merle followed Phoebe for several minutes in the darkened forest when the trees suddenly ended and revealed a small clearing. After announcing that they had reached their destination, the three younger women sat down in the long grass and rested themselves. Phoebe, however, remained standing, insisting that she had important information that needed to be addressed. The three women agreed to listen, although Merle did so grudgingly, and wasn't afraid to make obvious her distrust for the dark haired woman.

"She had a special power that she's hidden from you."

"Again, we already know that."

Phoebe's eyes narrowed. "How could you know? Who told you?"

Celina spoke up for the first time since being in the castle. "Dilandau told us."

"You're foolish for letting him free, even for a moment."

In a flash, Celina was on her feet. "And I'm starting to think we're the foolish ones for following you here."

Merle also stood up. "Yeah, and I still don't trust you."

"Quite frankly it doesn't matter if either of you trust me." Phoebe shifted her glance to Hitomi. "It only matters that you trust me." She knelt down in front of the seeress and held out her hand. Hitomi looked at it, confusion and apprehension written all over her face. "Let me show you something."

Hitomi swallowed. She raised her own hand till it was only an inch away from Phoebe's. Hitomi hesitated then firmly locked her hand onto Phoebe's.

Images flashed before Hitomi's eyes. Sights, smells, sounds, all downloaded into her mind. Years of experiences were absorbed in seconds. It was as if Hitomi were re-living someone else's life. Phoebe's life, at least certain parts of it. Many of the images showed two specific girls. On of them was a younger version of Phoebe. The other was a girl of about the same age with gray-blue eyes and long sandy brown hair. She looked so familiar but Hitomi couldn't quite place the girl. Her name was…

"Cassandra!"

The brown haired girl sat upon a stone bench that surrounded a fountain. She looked up at the other woman who had called her name. The black haired woman ran up to her friend and sat beside her.

"Hey Phoebe."

"Where've you been? I was looking all over for you."

"I'm sorry, I just needed some time to think."

"Oh. Well, it must be serious if you had to find time to think, miss know it all." Phoebe playfully nudged Cassandra's shoulder with her own, bringing a smile to her friend's face. "You want to tell me about it?"

Cassandra nodded. "My dream hasn't gone away. I've had it every night since that day when I first told you about it. It's always the same."

Phoebe's playful demeanor lost its flare. "That means it wasn't a dream. You're having a vision of the future."

Again, Cassandra nodded. "I don't know what to do. I mean, this is what we live for! This life, it's all we have. If this vision comes to pass, then we're no better than the Zaibach scum who are building the Fate Alteration Engine."

Phoebe put a comforting hand on Cassandra's shoulder. "We won't let that happen. We'll tell Queen Siren about your vision. Then maybe she'll alter her plans so the vision won't happen."

"No, I don't want you to go. Its bad enough I've kept my seeing abilities hidden from the Queen. I don't want you to get in trouble." Cassandra drew herself up. "Besides, this is something I need to do, for myself, by myself. You understand?"

Phoebe smiled and gave her friend a warm hug. "Of course I understand. You do whatever you feel is right within your heart."

Hitomi's surroundings faded and the two friends disappeared. Then a new scene materialized. Phoebe was alone in her bedroom, pacing back and forth at the foot of her bed. She was waiting for someone and worry was written all over her.

'Phoebe!'

Phoebe stopped pacing and looked wildly around to see where the voice had come from.

"Cassandra?"

'Phoebe, can you hear me?'

The voice didn't seem to come from a specific place and it was muffled as it echoed around the room. Phoebe repeatedly whirled around as the echo confused her into thinking the voice was moving to a different location, completely unaware that the voice was only inside her head.

"Yes, I can hear you, but how are you…"

'I can't explain now, just listen!'

There was panic plainly shown in her friends voice, so, Phoebe remained silent.

'The Queen has betrayed us! She is going to continue in her plans! She doesn't care about the consequences!'

"What!? Is she crazy!?" But Phoebe's question was unanswered.

'It's up to you now. I need you to make sure my vision does NOT come to pass. Listen, the Queen is looking for a Jewel of Atlantis. You must find it before she does. Protect it! Don't let her have it! Otherwise all is lost…'

 Phoebe frowned. "Cassandra, what's going on? Why are you talking like this?"

'…I don't have much time left…Please…don't let it happen…you are Gaea's only hope…'

Phoebe began to panic when she realized what was really going on. She realized why her best friend sounded so frightened and why her message was being passed on so quickly.

"Why are you even talking to me right now? Run you fool! Run!!!"

'I cant…I…she's got me…don't let her…pr…ect the jewel…don't forget…Fan…lia has the other ma…'

The echoing suddenly went silent.

"Cassandra!"

No response.

"Cassandra…"

The image faded once again. Hitomi returned back to the real world and she found herself looking into the present day Phoebe's eyes. The sun that had been shining brightly before was now almost completely set. Hitomi felt a cold breeze against her face and realized that she had been crying. Phoebe withdrew her hand and stood up, never leaving Hitomi's gaze.

Celina and Merle were standing in the center of the clearing and were having a heated conversation. When Celina glanced past Merle and saw that Phoebe had finally stood up, she silenced the cat girl and pointed past her. Immediately, they both ran over to where Hitomi was sitting. They reached her just in time to hear her ask Phoebe a question.

"The Queen killed her?"

"No, Calypso did."

Hitomi gasped. "Calypso! That same woman who married Van?"

"Yes."

Merle became upset. "Wait a minute. What's going on? Who did Calypso kill?"

Phoebe made no notion to answer the question. Instead, Hitomi filled Merle and Celina in. "Her friend Cassandra, many years ago. Cassandra knew that the Fate Alteration Engine would destroy Gaea if it were activated again. She tried to warn the Queen of Circe but the Queen turned on her and had her killed." Merle nodded in acknowledgement, but she was still confused. Hitomi also had many more questions to ask. "Phoebe, why did you show me that? The Fate Alteration Engine was destroyed. It's not coming back again…" Hitomi's eyes widened. "…is it?"

Phoebe nodded. "Another machine was built, right here in Fanelia. The Second Atlantis Machine."

Everyone's eyes widened in shock.

AN: Hi, I was going to make this chapter a lot longer, but this is the last day of school before spring break, and since I don't have internet access at home, I'm posting what I've got so far. I think you all deserved it. I take way too long to write these chapters, and for that, I am truly sorry. Please be patient with me. Next chapter, I think everything will be revealed…the plot I mean. And, if I feel like it, another encounter between Van and Hitomi…heh heh…it's gonna be good!!!

      Thank you to everyone who reviewed and is about to review. They really help my moral!

Oh, over break, I'm going to be writing a one shot and then I'll probably post it the Tuesday I get back from break. It's a true story that happened to me the other day, but I'm going to write it as if it happened to Hitomi. I hope you'll all like it. It's gonna be called "Hummingbird" or something like that.

Here are a few shout outs:

Shinigami-sama: There, are you happy? I posted something. Oh, by the way, that Inu Yasha chibi doll is SOOOOO CUTE!!! And the comic too! I can't get it out of my head! Well, that's all for now. See ya at school!

Dilandau is my Boyfriend: Have you checked your mail lately?… Love ya and I miss you a lot. I hope you are doing okay. PLEASE REVIEW!!! And update your Yu-Gi-oh story!!! Please!!!

Tonks: Hey, this is for you too. Update your stories! Both you and Harry take longer to update than I do, and that's pretty bad. LOL. Feel free to write any time. I'd love to hear from you…please don't make me beg. Love ya Sis!

Moony: Well, what do you think? Please tell me what you think!!! You know where I live, so, it's not like I'm going anywhere…lol. Love ya sis!!!