Disclaimer: See chapter one

Chapter Two

Story Telling and Questions Answered

- - - - Palace of Asturia - - - -

"You're going to wear a hole in the floor if you keep pacing like that."

"Calm down.  It's not like we're waiting for a messenger to tell us we've won or lost a battle," the King of Asturia said to the younger ruler.

"That messenger might not be so far off, Dryden.  I still can't believe that you agreed to this!  Have you already forgotten what Zaibach tried to do?"

Van looked like he was about to draw his sword.

"Will you calm down?" the room's third occupant exclaimed.  "That was over five years ago under the rule of a crazy old man.  We will meet with the new emperor and then make judgments, not before."

"But…"

"No 'buts;' as Queen of Asturia, and your senior, that's final!"

"Millerna, you're only a few months older than he…"

Dryden was interrupted as a messenger burst into the room.  He hurriedly bowed and launched into his report.  "Your Highness, your representatives of Basran and Freid are here, and the representatives of Zaibach will be here in under an hour.  The other representatives wish to begin the meeting immediately to discuss speculations as to why Zaibach has made this move."

Dryden stood.  "Thank you.  We shall begin as soon as the representatives are settled in."  The messenger quickly left the room.  Dryden turned to Van and Millerna.  "Well, let's go."

"About damn time," Van muttered under his breath.  He took a deep breath and let it out.  "Hitomi, gods, give me patience," he muttered as he followed the others out the door.

- - - - Outskirts of Asturia - - - -

"Why the hell do I have to stay in this stupid carriage?  Why does Adelphos get to ride on horseback?  And why can't we just fly?" a familiar, annoyed platinum-haired pyromaniac screeched from inside a carriage bearing the Zaibach insignia.

The carriage's only other occupant sighed.  "I told you the last three times you asked, Dilandau.  If you are seen and recognized before we reach the palace, we may be attacked.  Adelphos gets a horse as our escorts are his troops, and we cannot fly because we do not want to intimidate the other representatives of the Gaian Alliance."

"Why not?"

"Because they are on a hair trigger.  We require their help and not their hostility."

"If we can't do anything about that thing, how are those weaklings going to stop it?"

"They're not.  But they can't defend against them at least for a while.  Most mortals won't be able to do much against that Shadow for long."

"So you are going to ask your little brother to use the Escaflowne for us?"

"No, I'm going to ask Van if he can get a message to Hitomi.  If she is who I think she is, she may be the only one who can do anything to help us."

"Eh?  Who do you think she is?"

"The light needed to banish this darkness."

The carriage rolled to a stop.  A guard opened the door and held it for the two passengers.

Adelphos dismounted and strode up to it.  "M'lord, we have arrived," he said with a bow.

Folken slid out of the carriage, ignoring the cry of "Finally!" from behind him as the pyromaniac flung himself from the carriage.  "Good.  We would like an audience immediately."

Several Austrian guards approached them and escorted Folken, Dilandau and Adelphos into the palace.  As they approached the main hall, Folken could make out shouts of disapproval.

Apparently the other representatives have started without us, he thought.  As one of the escorts entered the hall to announce them, the talk ceased immediately.  The doors opened wide, and the three representatives of Zaibach entered.  There was silence as everyone stared at the newcomers.

The announcer cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Presenting the general of the bronze army of Zaibach, General Adelphos, the general of the head of the Platinum army and his majesty of Zaibach, Emperor Folken Stratagos."

There was utter chaos.

Many of the representatives were screaming at Dilandau. Allen was on his feet, looking about ready to draw his sword. People were screaming in outrage, while Van looked torn between attacking Dilandau or rushing at Folken though to attack him or to embrace him was uncertain. Dilandau looked ready for a fight and Folken was trying to remain calm. Adelphos is tense, ready to defend himself and his emperor if necessary.

Dryden rose to his feet. "SILENCE!" he roared, startling everyone present into following the order. Everyone stared at him for King Dryden Fassa Aston never raised his voice. "That's better. Now Lord Folken, Dilandau, and Adelphos, won't you have a seat so that we may continue this meeting?" The three representatives for Zaibach sat. "Good. Now this meeting was called because Zaibach wanted to make a proposition to all of Gaia. It has also come to my attention that numerous caravans have gone missing within twenty miles of the Zaibach border, and that you three know something about that. Why don't you tell us all what you came here for? But I think that we would all appreciate for you to begin by telling us how you, Folken Lacour de Fanel Stratagos, are emperor of Zaibach instead of a member of the Fallen*." Dryden sat down and all eyes turned to Folken.

"Of course. Five years ago, as most of you know, I had left Zaibach to help you. I had recovered a fate machine from the wreckage of the Vione, and with Hitomi's help, summoned a beam of light to transport me to Dornkirk's throne room. Hitomi watched as I flew to him and slew him," Folken began, but was interrupted.

"Flew, what do you mean flew?" A Basram official cried.

"I am half draconian," Folken replied.

"What? You are one of those accursed demons? Die!" The official leapt to his feet and drew his blade. Adelphos also leapt up but several Austurian guards seized the Basramian before he could lunge. "Let go of me! He is a demon! He must be killed before he curses us all," he cried, struggling.

Dryden spoke. "Lord Carnol, if you can not contain yourself, you will be imprisoned for the remainder of your stay here. Draconians are no demons, merely scapegoats, so please, sit DOWN!" Dryden was glaring at Carnol, who quickly sat down and shut up. "Please continue, Folken."

Folken nodded. "Thank you Lord Fassa. When I struck Dornkirk, who was more metal than man at the time, my sword shattered. The old man died, but I was struck by the end of my own blade and fell. I know that I died that day, and yet when I awoke, I was very much alive. The broken blade was on the floor next to me as if it had never struck me. There was no evidence of injury on my body, aside from the thin white line where I remembered the tip of the blade entering my chest. I almost passed it off from my imagination, if my blood had not stained the deadly shard that lay beside me."

"How is that possible?" Millerna exclaimed. "A wound like that should have been fatal, but it sounds like you healed from it in minutes!"

"I believe that it was Hitomi. As I fell, I heard her; she was distraught. She had warned me of my demise, and I had gone through with it anyways. I believe that she used her abilities to revive me, although I also believe that it was unintentional. I don't think that Hitomi knew what she was doing, but those are only theories. I have no way of knowing if this theory is accurate.

"Few people in Zaibach knew of my betrayal, but even fewer people enjoyed Dornkirk's methods. I have been his second in command, after his advisers, who had been killed at some point. After the war, I was chosen to take Dornkirk's place, and I have spent the last five years trying to repair the damage Dornkirk's idealistic methods had caused to the people.

"Three months ago, about the same time the caravans started disappearing, a scout from the area reported a dark anomaly of some sort. I sent three small ships, a total of seventy-five people to investigate. Four men appeared on foot, telling stories of how the anomaly resembled a huge dark shadow. They spoke of how they had gotten closer to get a better view of the anomaly, and the shadow seemed to detach from the ground and flung itself at them. The shadow engulfed two of the ships, and damaged the third. The remaining ship made an emergency landing upon a ridge a couple of kilometers away from the shadow. Six people disembarked, while the rest attempted to repair the ship from the inside. Kyle, the pilot, spotted a small piece of the 'shadow' splattered on the damaged levistone. It was a tar-like substance, dripping unto the ground. Kyle poked at the substance with a stick he had broken off from a tree. The substance sprung to life and wrapped itself around the stick. It seemed to drain the life from it as the leaves shriveled up and died. Kyle yelled warning to the rest of the crew, and they came to investigate. The substance cocooned one of the soldiers, which fell to the ground. It slid off an armored skeleton, and seemed to swell. Kyle fled as the substance reduced most of his crew to skeletons and grew to over twentieth its normal size. Kyle and three others ran for three days to report this. We sent several unmanned scout drones to investigate this shadow. It appeared to consume any living matter it comes in contact with. As it eats, it is growing and spreading in every direction. Nothing we throw at it seems to slow it down. Two weeks ago, it was over forty kilometers in diameter, and by our calculations, it will reach Freid's border within a week."

"WHAT? A week? How dare you suggest that some shadow is approaching our border? Are you attempting to scare us into lowering our guard for some sort of attack from you, while we are worrying about some ludicrous idea such as that?" A Freid official cried out.

"I'm not trying to start a panic. I am merely trying to warn you of this imminent threat," Folken said, calm as ever.

"Do you actually expect us to believe-"

"You don't have to believe us, moron," Dilandau spoke for the first time. "You can just name us liars and die when the shadow engulfs your country. Nothing seems to even slow it down, even when we burned much of it away!" Dilandau looked angry, and he was glaring at the official.

Dryden spoke up again. "If it will please this council, I will send a scout ship to verify this story.  You are all welcome to remain here until it returns.  However, from what I have heard here Folken, you came here for help.  And yet, from what you have told us, we cannot help you.  But it sounds like you believe someone can.  Who?"  Dryden looked curiously at Folken.

At first, Folken did not speak.  He merely shifted his gaze to his younger brother.  Then, he spoke.  "Escaflowne will fare no better than Dilandau.  However, I wonder, if you had any way to contact Hitomi?"

Van broke his long silence.  "Hitomi?  What does she have to do with this?"

Folken lifted his gaze to the large windows, and the Mystic Moon that lay beyond it.  "If I'm right, absolutely everything."

 - - - - Cape Canaveral - - - -

The hanger was dark.  There was a faint glow, enough to see the other figure's outline, but not enough for Hitomi to tell where the glow was coming from.  The woman who brought Hitomi to the hanger spoke.

"First off, my name is Mercury Kala Haze.  You may call me Kala or Fenrir, whatever suits you best at the time.  To answer the rest of your questions, I will have to tell you a story.  Please hold any and all inquiries until I'm done, OK?"

"Um… sure."  Hitomi was confused, but something was telling her to trust Kala.

"Alrighty then!  You already have the memories; you just don't know how to access them yet.  You will be able to eventually, but until you can, you will probably get confused, and I'll try to straiten things out the best I can.  The story begins before the creation of Gaia.  Actually, it began at the beginning of time, but I'm picking it up at the beginning of Atlantis to shorten the story.

"Atlantis was protected by a goddess, known as the Tsubasa no Kami, the goddess of wings.  She created the people of Atlantis, and watched them develop.  She and her counterpart, the Shinigami, were created by the Universe itself in order to maintain the Balance of positive and negative energies in the Universe.  Her chosen name was Sorahikari, or Skylight.  The Sinigami's chosen name was Yamiriku, or Dark Earth, and the Two immortals stayed together where ever they went.  The two of them had chosen Earth as their home and the Atlantians as their primary people.  They lived in peace for thousands of years in their balance and harmony.  Both of the Two were capable of great destruction and great healing, but as long as their balance was not overthrown, they kept each other in check.  The Atlantians knew of the Two's power, and revered them as gods.  Over the years, the buildup of the Two's constant energy flow began to solidify, forming a small, pink gem.  The Two did not care about the crystal; they cared only about maintaining the Balance.  The Atlantians were both awed and jealous of the Two's power, so the prince of the created people approached the Two's sanctum. He asked them if they would be so kind as to grant him and his people power like theirs.  He received no answer.  The Two cared little for requests of mortals, they cared only for the Balance, thus, the prince was ignored.  Angry at the rejection, the prince tried again.  When he received the same result, he began to become frustrated.  He spotted the stone swirling within the energies, and snatched it.  The Two paid him no heed, for the gem's absence would not disrupt the Balance.  Plus, it held less than a fraction of their power, but enormous power to the Atlantians.  They used it to grant their wishes, and believed it to alter their "fate"."

Hitomi's eyes widened at this information, she said nothing.  Kala continued her story.

"Two hundred years passed, and the prince-turned-king was kept alive with the gem's power.  He became even more corrupt and greedy as he aged; he lusted for even more power.  He used the pendant to create creatures of terrible power to conquer neighboring countries and add them to his own Empire.  The Two detected this shift, but did not act out against it, for it was not a great enough threat to take their attention away from the Balance, even for a short period of time.  The Balance was precarious and must be maintained, for It was a mighty boulder and the pendant and it's creations were a fly.  But a fly could tip a boulder if placed too precariously.  The Two finally turned toward the spreading chaos and turned the minions, later known as dragons, against Atlantis.  The dragons killed most of the population of the winged people, and burned the city to the ground.  The corrupt king tried to banish the beasts, but the gem was only a battery of power, and was too weak for such a task.  Horrified, he fled to the sanctum of the Two.  He begged for forgiveness, for salvation, but was ignored once more.  After all, he was a mere mortal, the Balance was so much more important.  Furious at being abandoned by his gods, he flung the crystal at Sorahikari.  The spent gem immediately absorbed a portion of her energies to replenish itself, creating a vacuum.

"The fly became a hummingbird, and the boulder tipped.

"Surprised at the sudden difference in power, the Two were unable to maintain the Balance.  The chaos caused is what sank Atlantis and the surrounding lands into the sea.  The corrupt king was absorbed and destroyed in the swirling energies.  The Two were horrified.  The Balance was overloading, darkness would engulf everything, and then all things would cease to exist.  It would be another Big Bang.  The Two could not allow that to happen.  They had to 'shut down' the Balance before it surged, and the only way to do that was to completely remove the energies powering it: the Two themselves.  Yamiriku's power was drained away by creating Gaia, and his soul itself was sealed there.  Sorahikari used all of her remaining power to send the remaining Atlantians there, along with the Dragons and other numerous species. Yamiriku's power could be regulated by being siphoned into Gaia's core, but Sorahikari did not have that option.   In a last ditch attempt to preserve the Balance, she split her soul in two, and incorporated the now-mortal souls into the human cycle of reincarnation.  Each half of her soul would reflect the current power of Yamiriku, in order to preserve the Balance.  When the incarnation's power reached a certain level, the half-soul would regain its memories as Sorahikari. 

"The recharged gem it attracted to the source of its power, and tends to always find it's way to one of Her incarnations.  However, both of the incarnations have the same aura. So once the gem finds one, it cannot locate the other because it believes that it is already with its target.  Do you understand, Hikari?"

Hitomi stared at Kala.  Images rose in her mind, images of Atlantis.  Scenes of it's rise and fall, of it's people, of the woman standing before her.  "Yes, I remember.  A little, anyway."

"Good, because Van is trying to contact you, but is getting a busy signal.  The pendant's power is almost depleted once more, so you won't be able to establish a connection.  There's always voice mail, though.  Listen to what he has to say, and then I'll finish my thought."

Kala looked very proud of herself for thinking of voice mail.

Hitomi was quite confused, but she knew she could trust the Fenrir.  She closed her eyes and focused on Van's aura somewhere in the sky.

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*= The warriors that were killed in battle were often referred to as the Fallen.

            So?  Like it?   Hate it?  Tell me!  I hope people like this.  I'm not going to post the next chapter until I get at least 12 reviews.  Cara, you and the other people who know me personally cannot review more than once per chapter.  Esca-lover, thank you for the kind welcome.  Constructive criticism is requested, so hit the little button that say "Go" and review!

Kala: If you're begging for reviews that bad, you really need to get a life.

Me: Shut up, or I'll have typhoon hang you upside-down on a flagpole and throw books at you, half-goddess or not!

Kala: Shutting up.

Me: Speaking of Typhoon, for those who have played Wild Arms 3, Typhoon looks kinda like Lombardia in flight form crossed with Escaflowne in high-speed form and a jet fighter aircraft.

One last time, please, please, PLEASE review!

Lombardia Dragoncraft