Chapter 13: Atlantis
The morning air was chilly and Hitomi was glad she had decided to borrow jeans and a sweater from Yukari. She had her hair up in a sloppy bun on the back of her head so it didn't blow in her face as she stared at the strange set of islands from the deck of the boat. They had finally arrived to the spot which her pendant had pointed to on the map. It had taken another day to reach it and in that time Hitomi had started biting her nails again. Although her pendant pointed to this location, she had her doubts. They were tricked once by that old man and they didn't know anything about him or how much power he possessed. He'd been able to attack them on Gaea and trap her mind here on Earth. Hitomi sighed. They would know soon enough if this was the right place.
The sun was just beginning to rise, but the morning sky was hidden by fog and a gloomy atmosphere. It was quiet; no jumping fish, no seagulls, no other boats. The islands themselves didn't look like islands, but tiny mountains in the middle of the ocean. There was just a small portion of rocky beach on each before they shot upwards. It seemed that the tips of Atlantis had hidden themselves well, until now.
Hitomi heard two people come up behind her. Amano gave a low whistle and Yukari whispered 'whoa' under her breath.
"How could these mountain-islands be missed?" Yukari said, quietly. "Why are they not on any maps?"
"They must have been hidden by magic." Hitomi replied. "From what I saw in my vision, while in Freid years ago, and from what Duke Freid told us, the Atlantians created Gaea by turning their wishes in to power. But something happened and the power got out of control and it destroyed all of Atlantis. He also said the Atlantians had become conceited and declared themselves gods. That's very similar to the story from the textbook; the people angered the gods and the gods destroyed Atlantis." Hitomi paused for a moment to think while Van and Kylenia quietly joined them. "There must have been great amounts of energy or magic or wishes being used at the time, and at some point between creating Gaea and destroying Atlantis, more things must have happened. For one, magic was left to hide the ruins; second, some of the Atlantians must have transported themselves to Gaea because we know the Draconians are descendents of the Atlantians. But we won't know the details until we get there."
Everyone glanced over to the mountain-islands. "We should go." Kylenia said softly. "Gaea doesn't have much time left." Van and Hitomi nodded in agreement.
"Let us come with you!" Amano said suddenly. "We can help!"
"We can't let you." Van said, putting his hand on Amano's shoulder. "We can't bring you along knowing it is going to be dangerous."
"I'm sorry you guys." Hitomi said, cutting Yukari off before she said anything. "Van's right, we could never do that. Plus, we do have to follow directions. The prophecy said 'only three may enter' and that's Van, myself, and Kylenia."
"We don't know how long it will take or what the outcome will be, but we need you two here to stay with the boat." Van continued. "The three of us will take that emergency vehicle out and you will keep the boat here or circle the islands."
Yukari started to say something, but stopped. Her eyes filled up with tears, but she held them back. "I guess all we can do is wish you a safe journey and speedy return." Yukari said quietly. Hitomi walked over and hugged her friend.
"You've done so much for us already, Yukari." Hitomi said. "I promise, we'll find our way back. Believe it or not, we've done things like this before." Hitomi pulled away and Yukari started to smile.
"My little adventurer." Yukari whispered. She gave Hitomi another quick hug and then pulled away. "Okay, you should take packs with food and water and anything you might need, even a few weapons. Perhaps the first aid kit too." Yukari said as she began shouting out orders. Hitomi sighed in relief and prepared to head out.
Van didn't watch as Amano and Yukari waved from the boat as he, Hitomi, and Kylenia sped away in the inflatable life boat. Van never liked looking back, especially when he was headed towards a battle. He used to do the same thing in Fanelia when he took Escaflowne out to battle. The next time he wanted to see Amano's boat was when they were returning.
Hitomi was controlling the small motor at the back and he and Kylenia were sitting in front of her. Hitomi and Van were wearing rain ponchos, but for some reason Kylenia had refused to wear one. Van stole a glance at her. She was silent and stared straight ahead. She appeared calm, but Van had to wonder. She had been awfully quietly lately and acting stranger than normal. Van couldn't shake the feeling that she knew more than she was telling.
"Should I just keep going?" Hitomi yelled over the wind and hum from the motor. They had just entered the cluster of islands and the arrangement of the mountain-islands left many routes to choose from. Since they didn't know what they were looking for, Van wasn't sure what to say.
"Head in that direction." Kylenia said, startling Van. She was pointing off to the northeast.
"Why over there?" Van asked.
"Although I sense strange magic all around us, I can't sense anything over there." She said to Van. Kylenia's magic hasn't failed us yet, Van thought. There's no reason why it should now...unless she can be tricked too.
"Should we go that way?" Hitomi shouted, since she hadn't heard Kylenia's explanation.
"Yes!" Van shouted back. "But we should be prepared for anything." He said as he gripped his sword. Hitomi nodded and reached under the poncho to take hold of her pendant. Van noticed Kylenia's grip on her staff tighten. Van started to scan the area and he cleared his mind and concentrated, like Hitomi had taught him many years ago, so he'd be able to sense anything that appeared.
They headed in the direction that Kylenia had pointed to, but they had to take a round about way of getting there since they couldn't travel through the mountain-islands. Van was starting to think that they had entered a very bizarre maze, but just then the boat turned the corner and entered a large opening. Van's jaw fell open at the sight. The clearing was a secluded area surrounded by very high cliffs and the water was relatively still compared to the waves on open water, but it was the mountain sides that had shocked Van. Straight ahead of them, on the north face was a gigantic carving of a dragon. It was positioned in the center of the mountain face, but didn't take up the whole mountain. It was carved with its wings folded but claws outstretched and jaw open, as if roaring. To the east was a gigantic carving of a wolf. The wolf had its head raised as if howling at the moon. To the west was another gigantic carving of a dolphin, jumping out of the water. Van's first thought was how someone could carve these huge figures on the side of a mountain.
"I think we're expected." Hitomi said as she turned off the motor and let the boat drift towards the center. "I wonder if these were carved by hand or with magic?"
"The prophesy..." Was all Kylenia seemed to be able to say.
Van continued to look around, feeling very in awe of his surroundings, but he also started to get tense. Was this the entrance? He happened to be looking backwards so he saw when Hitomi's pendant started to glow.
"What! I didn't do that!" She said as the others looked at her questioningly. A deep gong rang through the clearing and caused the boat to bounce slightly as the water reacted to the sound. A second later, a figure of light appeared behind the carving of the dolphin. The figure looked like a human with long hair whose arms were held downward, but it also had wings that were spread out behind it. The light figure was even bigger than the carving, the bottom reaching to the waters edge and the top reaching to the edge of the cliff.
A sudden intake of breath from Kylenia caused Van to spin around and he saw that she had gone very rigid and her eyes had clouded over. Van turned to see Hitomi staring at Kylenia with surprise. Her eyes met his and he could see fear and worry in hers. But before he could do anything, another gong rang out. Van spun around and saw an identical winged figure of light appear behind the carving of the wolf. Fear gripped his heart and he spun back to see Hitomi go rigid.
"HITOMI!" He yelled, as he watched her eyes glaze over. Van cursed and squeezed the hilt of his sword, wishing for something to fight to make this all stop. He turned back towards the clearing and waited for the third figure to appear. The other two were motionless, except for the play of light coming from them. The gong rang out again and Van watched helplessly as the third figure of light appeared behind the carving of the dragon. Van tensed himself, determine to fight anything that tried to control him, looking around desperately for the source. Without warning, Van suddenly stiffened as he felt what could only be an invisible spectre jump into his skin and take over. He tried to move but he couldn't control his body.
"Welcome Dragon." Voices whispered in his head. Van knew that his eyes had probably glazed over by now. All he could do was fight to keep consciousness. He could still see through his eyes, even though he felt detached from them. He watched as the figures in the mountain side slowly reached their arms out so their hands were touching. The pink light grew stronger behind him and he knew Hitomi's pendant was getting brighter. He thought he saw a thin, pink bubble go around the boat but he didn't have time to study it further. Faster than he ever thought possible, a whirlpool opened underneath them and their boat was being pulled down. Van lost consciousness just as he felt them start to fall.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The goddess's hair floated around her body as if a gentle breeze was stirring around her. She reached out a hand towards Kylenia and Kylenia swam the short distance between them and clasped her hand.
As soon as the goddess's hand closed about hers, it was like time had come to a stop. She too was now standing in the ocean as if there was a solid surface below her feet and no currents to push her around. Her lungs no longer burned for air and everything was quiet.
'My daughter,' the goddess said in to her mind, 'I have chosen you.'
"I will gladly serve you all my life." Young Kylenia replied automatically, which echoed strangely through the still waters.
'Daughter,' the goddess continued in her mind, 'before you accept to become one of my own, I fear I must elaborate on the task I have chosen you for.' The goddess paused for a moment. 'In the near future, our very existence will be threatened from a foe we can not battle or even see. It will attack all life and all could be lost.'
Young Kylenia grew nervous. Nobody had ever told her that the goddess would give her a choice. For one thing, it was the greatest honour to be chosen by the goddess; no one had ever turned it down. All the children had been taught the ritual acceptance by the Mystics, but they never mentioned this. What probably scared Kylenia the most was that the goddess appeared worried, possibly frightened. And what was she talking about? Was everything going to die?
'But there is hope.' The goddess continued. 'There is one chance to save all we love. Three people have been foretold who together can save the planet when the time is right. Their coming has been written in the stars as well as the tasks and responsibilities they will have to bear. Daughter, you are one of those three.'
Kylenia's eyes widen and she didn't know what to say. A sapphire light formed in the goddess's empty hand and when she brought it up, Kylenia saw the most beautiful blue jewel attached to a long golden staff.
'Your task will not be easy, but it will be the most important...'
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Lola suddenly came awake as she started to choke on some liquid being poured down her throat. She sat up, bumped her head, and fell back down again, luckily on to something soft.
"Whoa! Carefully there!" She heard as she started to cough. Patrick's anxious looking face looked down at her. "Sorry about that, Miss Lola, that never happened before." Lola rubbed her forehead where she had hit it and looked around. She was lying on a pile of pillows and blankets underneath a large, wooden table.
"What happened? Where are we?" She asked, still dazed.
"You don't remember? Hmm...I hope that's not a bad sign. Well, I'm also not exactly sure what is going on, but I think the castle was attacked! There was this horrible noise and then the ceiling starting caving in and Master Fron pushed us aside and-" Patrick stopped talking when he saw Lola's stricken face.
"Master Fron." She whispered as fresh tears fell down her face. It all came back to her in a rush. She and Master Fron were in Patrick's room, checking up on him, when he finally woke up. Minutes later, the Storm unleashed and the room caved in on them. Master Fron pushed her and Patrick to safety but he was hit by a falling beam. Lola was there with him when he died. She took a second to stop crying and took a deep breath. "What's happened since then?"
"Well," Patrick continued, "you pulled us into this room and we dove under this table for cover. This room was falling apart too and when the dust finally cleared, you were out cold. I feared something had hit you in the head. Unfortunately, the rubble is blocking the door and I'm too weak to clear it, so I pulled off the blankets and covers from the bed and brought it under here. This still seems to be the safest place to be since bricks still fall every now and then. Whoever built this table though should be knighted!" He said has he patted it fondly.
"But what was I choking on?" Lola asked as she propped herself up.
"Oh, this." Patrick said as he held up a flask. Lola recognized it as the flask Master Fron had told her to take just before he died.
"His medicine..." She said.
"I just figured you needed it, we both needed it. So I've been getting you to drink it and you happened to wake while I was doing it this time."
"I think I could use another sip." She said with a weak smile. Patrick smiled back and opened the stopper and handed the flask to her. She took a big gulp and twitched a few times as it seemed to burn down her throat. "Yikes, that's strong!" She said, coughing a bit, but she could feel her strength returning.
"Miss Lola, I think we should try to get out of here. I have no idea what is going on, but I hear others yelling in the distance, but they can't seem to hear me, or they can't get to us. Are you feeling good enough to get up?"
Lola nodded and let Patrick help her up. She pushed her raven hair away from her face as she surveyed the room. There were large gaps in the ceiling and that horrible red sky was still swirling above them. Fallen bricks and wood were scattered around the room, completely blocking the doorway. The entire room looked unstable. Lola took a few steps closer to the door and took a closer look at the debris. Patrick watched as she viewed the rubble from different sides and attempted to push a few blocks.
"If we could get this pile to collapse, we might be able to climb over it." She said, turning to Patrick.
"Eh?"
"Take a close look." She said as she waved him closer. "There are lots of gaps in the center of the pile, due to the random way it piled up when it fell. Now, I believe that piece of wood in there is acting like a keystone and if we can remove it, the entire pile will collapse on itself and we'll be able to climb over."
"A keystone? Like in an archway?" Patrick asked.
"Yes! Except for the obvious fact that this is not an arch, but I think it's using the same principles." Lola said moving away and looking at the pile again. "I want to do this in a way where we won't be near the pile when it collapses."
Patrick glanced around the room and his eyes fell on the curtain cords for the bed. "Ahh!" He exclaimed as he carefully hobbled over to get them. "These should work!" He said as he held them up for Lola to see. He walked back to her but a thought occurred to him. "Um, how do we get this around that piece of wood?"
"Very carefully." She said as she pushed up her sleeves and took the cord from him. Patrick opened his mouth to stop her but he hesitated. Lola knew that it was a risky task and she was probably the best one to do it.
"No wait, hold this for a second." Lola said as she gave the cord back to him. She pulled her sleeves back down and then proceeded to rip the bulk of the material off until her arms were bare to the elbow. "That's better." She said as threw the material to the floor and took the cord back.
Patrick held his breath as he watched her kneel and reach in to the debris pile with the cord. A few tense moments later, she was back on her feet smiling. "It's done." She said, holding up the other end of the cord. Patrick exhaled and followed her back under the table. "I'm not really sure what will happen, but we should be safest under here."
"Let me help you pull." Patrick said, grabbing hold of the end of cord.
"Okay, it's one, two, three, pull. We just need a powerful tug to move the keystone. Ready?" Patrick nodded.
"One...two...three...PULL!"
Lola and Patrick tugged with all their available strength and they fell back as the keystone popped out of place. The rubble pile immediately started to fall in on itself. Pieces of wood and stone toppled down and clattered around the two of them and Patrick reached over and pulled Lola towards him and positioned them so their faces were towards the floor. They both waited until the noise stopped and then they slowly got up.
"It worked!" Patrick cried with a triumphant laugh. "It should be no problem to climb over that. You're brilliant!" He said with another shout and embraced her.
"Let's get out here." She said, returning his smile. They carefully made their way over to the door. Lola decided to go first since Patrick didn't have on any foot ware and she hoped she could pick out a safe passage for him. Her first few attempts were difficult, mainly because the hem of her dress kept getting caught. She stopped and examined her dress.
"Well, it's already ruined." She said just before she reached down and started tearing the bottom portion of her dress until it was about knee level. "Much better. This way Patrick." She said as she made her way over the rubble.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A cold trickle running down her face woke Hitomi up. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the night sky above her through a rock opening, very high up. Are we in a cave, she thought, but where? She pushed the dripping lock of hair off of her face and realized she was lying down inside the lifeboat with her legs hanging out. She was wet, but only damp, and she saw puddles of water gathered inside the raft. She looked over and saw Van sprawled out on his stomach in the front and Kylenia leaning against the side, still gripping her staff. Hitomi had trouble sitting up so she started rocking back to move her legs and the motion woke up Van and Kylenia. Kylenia's eyes fluttered open and she slowly started to get up while Van sprang up, hand going reflexively to the sword still at his side and looked around.
"Is everyone okay?" He asked tensely.
"Yes." Hitomi said, still trying to get up.
"I believe so." Kylenia said, squeezing out a portion of her robes.
Van came over and helped Hitomi up and immediately pulled her in to hug. It was a little awkward since they still had their life jackets and rain ponchos on, but it was very comforting. Van must have been really worried when I froze like that, Hitomi thought. It freaked me out too, especially when I couldn't say or do anything when Kylenia and Van went through the same thing. And then being swallowed by the ocean like that, I'm kind of glad I blacked out.
"I'm okay Van. I have a feeling that all that had to happen for us to get here." She said as she pulled away.
"I guess so." Van said. "You think we made it?"
"I hope so."
"Look! On the walls." Kylenia said. They looked over to see Kylenia leaning closer to the wall to study some white markings. As they came closer, they could see that they were very faded white images of a dragon, a wolf, and a dolphin, identical to the ones they saw earlier, but not as huge. They looked around some more and found two other figures on either side of the cave entrance, the same 'angel' image that had appeared before.
"If we really are where we think we are," Hitomi started, "then my guess is that those two images are pictures of Atlantians." They stood in silence for a moment and then Hitomi broke it by lifting her poncho over her head and unzipping her life jacket and throwing it back inside the raft. Van followed suit and Hitomi found her pack in the boat and opened it up and pulled out a radio transceiver.
"Hello. Hello? Come in, Yukari. Do you copy?" Hitomi said a few times into it.
"Is it broken?" Van asked.
"I don't think so." Hitomi said as she put it back in her bag. "I just think the signal can't get through. Not that I really thought it would work, but it didn't hurt to try. But for now, let's try to dry off so we can go out there and explore."
A few minutes later, they were looking out on the lost city of Atlantis. They were standing on the side of the mountain, not too far up, but high enough to see the city. Hitomi's jaw dropped at the sight. The city must have been magnificent in its prime, but now it was falling apart. Whether the initial destruction had caused it or just time, the once great city was only a shadow of what it used to be. Some structures had survived but many had crumbled, but they were able to make out what they were or what they used to be. There were many buildings, large and small, a coliseum, an amphitheatre, market squares surrounded by tall pillars, cobbled pathways, living apartments, and more. In the center, stood a very tall building that seemed to swirl around as it rose up and ended in a point. Hitomi gasped as she realized that she had seen it twice before: in a vision at Freid and in a vision at the Sanctuary of the Mystics.
"That's where we need to go." Hitomi said, pointing to the strange looking building.
"It's what you saw in your vision, isn't it?' Van asked.
"Yes. Whatever we need to do, needs to be done over there."
Hitomi noticed Van was looking around with a strange expression on his face. At one point he even bent down to pick up some dirt, felt it between his finger tips, and then slowly dropped it. "What's wrong, Van?" she asked.
"Something's...not right. For one thing, is it really night?"
"Eh?"
"Check your watch. Has enough time passed since we left Amano and Yukari for it to be night?" Hitomi looked and saw Van was right.
"We only left them two hours ago! It should be sunny."
"I don't know where we are or what any of this is," Van continued, "but it seems almost artificial. I don't hear any familiar night noises, like crickets or owls, and I don't even feel a breeze."
"I think you're right." Kylenia spoke up. She was looking up at the stars above them. "I can not find any familiar constellations in the sky."
"What does it all mean?" Hitomi asked.
"I don't know." Van said with a shrug. "Let's just keep it in mind."
"It think I can see a light coming from that building." Kylenia suddenly said. Hitomi looked towards the city and soon she could see the very faint light too, coming from the place they needed to go. It appeared to be pulsing, but very slowly. Hitomi's mind started to race and suddenly she was filled with dread. She quickly pulled out her pendant and carefully glanced at it. It too was pulsing, but so lightly, they had not noticed it.
"I have a very bad feeling that the light is the heartbeat of that building and if it's somehow connected to Gaea, we have to hurry." Hitomi said, trying very hard to keep her voice steady.
"We still have an enemy out there, don't forget." Van said, making sure to look both of them in the eyes. "Stay alert and on guard and don't hesitate to protect yourself." Hitomi nodded and snapped open the strap that kept her hunting knife secure, so she would be able to access it quickly. She took a deep breath and turned towards Van.
"Let's go."