A Strange Illusion

Disclaimer: Unlike the rest of the human population, I alone seem to be afflicted with the overwhelming urge to confabulate often on the most superfluous subjects imaginable. What this has to do with disclaiming is yours to decide.

Prologue:

Hmmm……so now we know that poor Lantis is in love with Hikaru, too….and poor Eagle….and Hikaru is….clueless. As always. Ah, well.

Hehe! I love writing about Ascot…he's such a baby!

Well….I don't really have anything to say….and you're not here to read about what I think…..so on to story! Chappy 7!

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"Nova."

The word, spoken quietly, still managed to ring out across the huge stone chamber, resounding off of the walls and making the sound turn startlingly sinister. In one corner of the chasm, a golden spark suddenly appeared, shimmering and gleaming for a moment, and then suddenly expanding to form a girl-shaped figure made of golden light.

Moments later, the light solidified into the grinning, insane features of Nova, dressed in her usual black clothing that was reminiscent of the Magic Knight's armor.

"Yes, Debonair mama?"

Her voice was high, girlish, but with a grating quality that made chills run up the spines of any who heard it. Lady Debonair's voice was hardly more comforting.

"How is the Fire knight?" Debonair always refrained from speaking the Magic Knights' names, avoiding mentioning them as though she was far too highly superstitious.

In answer to the question, however, Nova frowned, her eyes turning slightly red.

"I was almost finished when someone came and interrupted me. Everyone wants to stop me from playing with Hikaru!" Nova finished with a screeching whine and a pout, both far too young to be on her youthful face. Debonair stood from her dark throne, gliding over to the opposite side of the chamber, away from the pouting girl.

"It will be alright, Nova. You will have yet another chance very soon. Very soon, indeed."

A dark smile graced the shadowed face of the enemy of all Cephiro. A slight, grating chuckle emerged from Debonair's black lips, and a moment later Nova's high-pitched laughter joined it. The sounds grew louder and louder around the chamber, echoing off the walls and resounding into the night, where those who heard it shivered in their beds and wished they were somewhere else.

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The light was bright, warm, and comforting. She couldn't see where it came from, but she leaned back on the soft grass with a sigh, unwilling to open her eyes to find out.

Ahhh…it's so beautiful.

Even with her eyes shut, Hikaru could feel the soft breeze, the lovely flowers, the stately trees that rose up around her. The scene was so peaceful Hikaru had a hard time believing it was real.

"That's because it isn't."

Hikaru jerked where she lay, but didn't open her eyes, unwilling to disturb her serenity. The voice sounded familiar, like an echoey version of…Clef?!?

Who are you?

She didn't speak the words, but nevertheless she knew whomever it was had heard.

"I'm whatever you want to call me. Right now, I'm your alarm clock."

Hikaru's eyebrows creased. The voice was different this time, sounding suspiciously like Ferio.

Alarm clock?

"Yes, Hikaru-san. I am here to wake you up." Now Hikaru could definitely say it was Fuu.

Eyes still shut, Hikaru's fine eyebrows drew together in confusion. Wake me up? But I'm not asleep!

"Oh, Hikaru! You've been dreaming this whole time, silly!" Umi's voice now reached her ears.

Dreaming? Then…what happened? Why am I asleep?

Ascot's voice answered. "Actually, we hoped you knew the answer."

Hikaru's mind flew back, remembering, thinking, trying to piece together some kind of picture from the fragments she remembered.

I was talking to Eagle…then Umi and Fuu wanted to say goodbye…I went to sleep…I was very tired…I dreamed…and then Nova…Nova…!

"Yes, Hikaru. Remember." Lantis' deep voice echoed strangely.

"Hikaru, remember and come back to us." She recognized the words as Eagle's.

I remember…Nova fought me…And I was losing…and she said something…Nova…she said…

And then Hikaru remembered, and in the deepest part of the castle, suddenly, her eyes opened.

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"Oooh…."

The soft sound jerked Lantis out of his light doze. He had been napping, sitting in the same chair he had appropriated when he came into this room. The same chair he had been sitting in for over twenty-four hours. During that time, he had refused five meals, watched silently as Umi, Fuu, Ferio, Ascot, Caldina, Lafarga, and even Clef (after he had finally woken up from such exhaustive use of his powers) had come in and talked to the comatose Hikaru. According to the Master Mage, Hikaru was simply sleeping off the tiring healing. But no matter how many reassurances that he was given, Lantis had refused to move from his place beside Hikaru's bed. It was close to five-o-clock in the afternoon now, and Lantis had dozed off around four-thirty.

"Uhn…"

Lantis jerked up, the hand that had supported his head now falling away. He saw Hikaru frown, saw the lines of her mouth move slightly as she finally, finally woke up. He leaned over the bed, intent on Hikaru's pale features, praying that she would open her eyes.

A slight moan, a twitch of a fine-boned hand, and Hikaru blinked, then opened her eyes fully to meet Lantis' worried gaze.

"Lantis…?"

Her voice croaked slightly, for she had had nothing to drink for a very long time, and her throat was somewhat raw. Lantis' face relaxed into a relieved grin.

Hikaru's eyes widened. It was the first time she had seen Lantis smile: it looked somehow odd on his face, as though it was unnatural. But it also gave him something she had been unable to see in him before: happiness.

"Lantis…" she whispered, "what happened?"

Lantis' smile stiffened about the edges.

"I'm not sure. I found you on your bed, hurt…." He let his sentence trail off, trying to keep from picturing her battered body. He took a breath, then continued. "I took you to Master Clef, and he healed you for the most part…no, no, don't get up! You must rest!"

Hikaru had been trying to sit up in her bed, but Lantis firmly pushed her down, keeping her from moving.

Hikaru smiled up at him.

A short pause followed.

And then suddenly, Lantis pulled back, his face tinged with the faintest hint of red.

Hikaru lay back, confused.

What is wrong with him? Is he…blushing?

"I'll…I'll go tell the others that you…that you're awake." Lantis muttered quickly, standing and nearly running out of the room.

Hikaru watched him leave, flabbergasted.

Was Lantis…embarrassed!?!

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Lantis stormed down the hallway, embarrassed and not liking it.

What is wrong with me? What in the Pillar's name was I doing!?!

He turned a corner, his cape billowing out behind him in his unchecked speed.

I have already decided that I would simply not do anything about loving her. She will never have a clue! I should have been able to keep that promise, but no more than five seconds after she wakes up, I almost kiss her! What was I thinking!

His hurried step sent people hurtling out of the way, watching him as he passed, confused as to his apparent agitation. He hadn't really realized what precisely he was doing when he looked down at her, so soft and warm in his arms. He had looked at her then, so fragile, so lovely, and suddenly he had felt as though he should die if he did not kiss her.

He had reached the chambers of the other Magic Knights, and Umi and Fuu were soon rushing down the corridors, towards Clef's chambers and Hikaru. Lantis followed them.

Stupid, stupid! She'll never love you, you can never tell her, leave it at that!

But as he opened the door for the other two knights, walking in behind them and keeping his eyes averted from the bed where Umi and Fuu were crying over the smiling Hikaru, he suddenly realized what a terribly, terribly difficult task that would be.

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"Oh! Careful, there's a lot of rocks here!"

Fuu's comment floated over the few trees and bushes in the arbor. Umi sighed and put her hands on her hips, looking wearied.

"Fuu, you can't keep such a close watch on her! She can walk!"

A laugh trickled over to where the two other Magic Knights were turning to look at a weakly smiling Hikaru. She stood beside the largest tree in the small garden. Actually, she was leaning, for beside her on one side was Lafarga, and Ferio supported her other side. She chuckled lightly at the other two girls, but the distraction caused her to stumble slightly.

"Hikaru! Are you alright? What happened?"

Umi was by her side instantly, shoving Ferio out of the way. Both the Magic Knights would have given anything to be the only ones helping Hikaru recover, but the war demanded their attention. Debonair had launched another attack with her fear-strengthened creatures, and no one knew how long the palace would hold with the rapid crumbling of their world. But Ferio, who could not be risked for his status as Prince, and Lafarga, who could not do anything else anyway, had enlisted to do this small task in light of helping the Magic Knights with the larger one.

Umi, reassured as to Hikaru's wellbeing, finally backed off and allowed the affronted Prince to regain his place. Fuu chuckled at the water knight's overprotectivity, and Umi had to smile ruefully.

Hikaru had awoken almost twenty-four hours before. Since then, the others in the palace had gotten some rest, but both Umi and Fuu had been forced into battle at least once each. With the increasing frequency of attacks, it was clear that neither Magic Knight could be spared to take care of their companion, no matter how dear. Clef had had the least sleep, though Presea was on the verge of ordering him into bed. Lafarga, Caldina, Ascot, and Ferio had all rested to their heart's content, unable to do anything else. Lantis had hardly left Hikaru's side, though he made no move towards her and said nothing to anyone, including her. He was also not allowed out into battle at present, and so his presence near Hikaru's side had become almost second nature.

Up until a few moments ago, the magic swordsman had been settled into the tree, comfortably resting on a branch, seeming asleep except for his unwavering glare towards the convalescent knight. Now he had disappeared to who knows where, and Lafarga, for one, was feeling much safer with him gone.

"Hikaru, you shouldn't do so much so soon! Clef says that-"

Ferio snorted at Umi's comment.

"Celf says this, Clef says that! Let Hikaru breathe for a moment!"

The others laughed, and Hikaru chuckled with them, a small, pattering sound. She still had a broken leg and fractures along some of her ribs, but she could walk with help, and her mind was sound. But she seemed...sad, somehow. She had told them that somehow Nova had broken into her room on that night, and they had fought. Hikaru had, obviously, lost, but Nova was prevented from killing her by Lantis' timely arrival. For some reason, she always looked so false when she said this, but for the time being, it was enough that she was alive, and the others didn't press.

"Actually," she said, speaking up for the first time in several minutes, "I am feeling a little weak. Maybe we could rest for a bit…?"

The reaction to her comment was instantaneous. In moments, she was propped up with pillows and blankets, comfortable in a large chair, and with Umi offering to fluff her pillows and make her tea. Hikaru, a little startled by the speed with which Umi had gotten everything done, smiled happily and accepted the drink.

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"Oh, she's alive!"

Eagle flung his arms over his head, thanking his lucky stars singly and by name. Then weariness overcame jubilation, and in complete bewilderment of feeling he collapsed back onto his pallet. Lantis, watching his reaction voicelessly, simply waited for Eagle to recover himself.

After a moment, the Autozam commander spoke again, his voice shaky.

"When…when will she come see me?"

Lantis shook his head, implying that not only did he not know the answer, but that he wasn't sure he wanted to give it. Eagle let the implications fly by him in the utter relief of these moments. Hikaru was alive! She was breathing! She hadn't gone and gotten herself killed before…

And there Eagle froze again, preferring the safer ground of questions as to Hikaru's wellbeing, of which he had many and none would be answered swiftly. He had no desire to inform Lantis as to his recent upheaval of feeling for the wounded Magic Knight. But Lantis was talking again, and Eagle's attention returned to him.

"Eagle, I might…I think…I believe I need some assistance."

Eagle's eyes widened. Lantis, not only stuttering, but asking for help?!? The thought was absurd.

"Eagle…" Lantis took a breath. He had recognized his own feelings long before this, but actually articulating them was difficult. Eagle watched his once-friend expectantly.

"Eagle, I think I am…I believe I may be in-"

BOOM!

The explosion rocked the chamber. Lantis was on his feet in an instant, already drawing his lightning-like sword and running out of the room.

"Lantis!" Eagle called.

"I will speak with you later. I need to find out-" And the rest of his words were cut off as the swordsman of Cephiro rushed up the hallway to the source of the disturbance.

Eagle, his hand still outstretched where he had tried to hold his friend back, make Lantis tell him what was wrong, finally let his arm drop, defeated. He had almost gotten back to that close camaraderie that he and Lantis had had all those years on Autozam. It was not as though they had ever been blood-brothers, but at the very least they had trusted each other. Now, though…now it was different. Now they were fighting for opposite sides in a war that could mean life or death for any number of people.

But even as Eagle thought these things, another, more desperate shadow seized him. His lungs squeezed together as suddenly his sickness made itself known. Horrible, wracking coughs tore his throat as his lungs were ripped out of his chest. On and on they went, terrible things, dry and hacking. Minutes passed, interminable in the horrid pain of his illness. Blood spattered his hands as he tried to cover his mouth, to keep the wrenching coughs within his body, to keep from coughing his lungs out.

And finally, when he thought he could bear no more, the coughing eased, and the metal band 'round his chest loosened, and he could breathe.

Eagle collapsed onto his bed, weariness claiming his mind. He lay down on the hard pallet, his eyes drifting shut even as he moved, and unconsciousness, desperately needed after the excitement of the past few days, finally claimed him.

He dreamed.

It was the same as it had been. He was in a room filled with water, with a great door in one side of it and a pillar of light in the center of the room. The door led to somewhere he desperately wanted to be. However, he was unable to move, because he was chained to the floor. His chains were oddly colored, reminding one of the bright red of blood. He could just reach the light in the center of the room. He wanted to get to the light, and it was in his quest for the light that he had found this room. But during his quest, he knew he had found out about this glorious chamber, just beyond the great door, and now he could not help but wish to get to it.

He knew that from where he stood there was a choice: He could try to get to the door, and the light would disappear forever, or he could get to the light, and his chance to open the door would be gone. He desperately wanted the light, and the chains would be gone if he could get to it. But the longing for what was in the chamber was growing greater by the second, and he could hardly contain it. However, he knew that if he went to the chamber, the chains would drag him down into the water, and he would only be in the chamber for a moment.

So he stood there, unsure, unknowing, not even breathing in an attempt to somehow discover the right answer.

Then, suddenly, a large shadow appeared. First it seemed to hover over the light, guarding it somehow, and then it shifted over to the doorway, and Eagle felt it's anger burn against him. All because the commander wanted to go to the doorway. But the shadow was also light, on one side, and Eagle saw the light and realized how good it was. It only looked shadowed from his side of the chamber. So Eagle realized that if he fought his way to the chamber, and through the shadow, he would hurt this light, and that in turn would hurt him, and he did not want that.

But his desire for the thing in the chamber was growing stronger than ever, and soon Eagle feared that chains or no chains, shadow or no shadow, he would simply have to have whatever it was.

And just when he was about to move, for the light or the chamber, he didn't know…

He awoke.

He jerked up in the small pallet, staring around himself wildly for a moment before realizing his surroundings. Then he sat back, breathing hard, trying to resettle himself.

He knew what some of the things in his dream were: the light was the Pillar, the chains his illness. If he had the power of the Pillar, he could heal himself. But he did not know, did not want to know what the chamber represented, or what the shadow was.

He did not know the meaning of his dream.

But now, he could not bear to find out.

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Sooooo…………any guesses as to what Eagle-love is dreaming about? Ooh! Ooh! I know!

And you should to. It was pretty, obvious, I admit……but I wanted it to be. To point out how very upset Eagle must be to not be truthful with himself. Even when he can admit he's dying, he can't admit he's in a one-sided love…..

Or is it one-sided? Hikaru hasn't had the chance to say which one she loves, yet. And that scene in the prison chamber was a little bit of a give-away…..perhaps we will have little redheaded Eagles running around the castle next year!

Ohohoho! Read on, dear reviewer! We shall see what we shall see! Hmhmhmm!

Oh, and do please review! Your comments are incredibly encouraging. I can't even thank you all enough!

Arigatou!

Ja ne!