The Song of Eternity

Canto 2 : Gaia

Verse 3

Dead?

Back in the land where the wheels were set in motion,

Long thought dead,

Gazing upon their own memorials,

Surprised by a ghost from the past.

            Eiko stopped for a moment to catch her breath before she entered Alexandria.  She had been walking for the past day ever since she returned to Gaia.  "Been a long time," she whispered as she entered the city and headed towards the castle.  As she walked, she thought back to what happened when she left Parm. 

            "It needs more power," she heard Deklin speak quietly as the soft glow covered all of them.  She tried to keep an eye on Deklin, but was occupied with frantic attack on Ashura.  She, Amarant, and the others were frantically trying to subdue the monster while staying in close contact long enough for the crystal shards to do their thing.  Once they were all close to him at the same time, the crystals in their jewelry started to glow, bathing them all in a light, but not doing anything. 

            She felt the light gaining substance, slowing her down.  She looked over and saw Deklin sweating, feeding mana into the pendant he stole from Pearl.  The light gained enough substance that she and the others finally stopped moving.  She watched as Deklin continued to feed mana into the crystal until she was blinded by white light and had to close her eyes. 

            When she opened them, it was dark.  She recognized the place as the void between worlds.  She could hear a sort of music, triumphant for most of it, but them extremely sad as she emerged from the void and landed on the ground near a forest.  She couldn't remember the words, but understood what it meant.  It spoke of someone returning and causing great joy at the cost of his own happiness. 

            After she gathered her bearings, finding she was alone she started walking until she recognized where she was and made her way to Alexandria. 

            She allowed herself to smile as she walked toward the castle, she was home again.  Her pace slowed as she began to notice several things.  The city itself was dirty.  It looked like it had been through a war and no one bothered to rebuild it properly, there were rocks laying everywhere.  She did not spot any knights or city guards either.  Before she got to the castle, she stopped when she heard a noise in a grove of trees.

            She followed a small worn path to a clearing with six gravestones arranged in it.  She studied the three that looked older and saw herself, Vivi, and Amarant's names.  She laughed a little when she realized that they were all alive and well and that everyone had considered them dead.  She stopped laughing as she saw the names on the three other stones.  Travis Starmore.  Albert Steiner.  Zidane Tribal.  She whirled around with tears in her eyes only to see a blurry figure standing there.  She sniffed and blinked her eyes to clear her vision and recognized the figure.

            "Vivi…I mean Deklin," she cried out as she embraced his surprised form.  "What happened here?"  She looked up and asked him as he held her close until she stopped sobbing. 

            "I've been here since yesterday.  As near as I can figure from talking to the townsfolk, there was a war.  We lost.  Garland and the Terrans are here somewhere.  Something about a floating city.  We need to get out of here, the city is occupied, don't trust any genomes you see, they are Terrans," Deklin explained.

            "Where will we go?"

            "Treno or Danguerro, you will be safe there," came a familiar voice from the path.  Garnet stepped into the clearing quickly, checking behind her as she talked.  "They will discover me missing soon, you need to leave.  You are in danger here."

            "Thank you for your help," Deklin said before nodding and heading out the path.

            "Dagger?  How did you find us here?"  Eiko asked as she gave her old friend a hug.

            "Vivi found me yesterday, I was going to meet him here now.  You're lucky you showed up when you did," she stopped talking as Deklin came back down the path.

            "Guards coming. We have no more time," he said with urgency.

            "Hurry, Treno auction house, find Nathan and Mikoto," Garnet said as Deklin grabbed Eiko and the both disappeared in a puff of smoke.