Disclaimers Notice: The only thing I own is the way in which I chose to use the characters and setting (oh, and a few of my own creations…)

Authors Beginning Note: My update is a bit early (I know-you all are just hating me for it too) but I wouldn't have been able to update any other time. Next week I may not be able to update-just to let you all know ahead of time. If I do, nothin to it, if not you have been warned.

Shout it outs!

B/c I am so short on time, I can't do them this week. I'm very srry! Look at it this way, update now w/o shout out, or update in 2 weeks w shout out.

I do thank you all for reviewing! I love the support and hearing your ideas!

Chapter 41

Atlantis

Chihiro's POV

"Child, you must get up." Aleesandra whispered in my ear.

"No. I just want to die." A sharp sting hit my cheek and her eyes turned cold.

"Never wish away your life! It is too precious."

"What is my life with out him?" I screamed. She stood up and left me to the floor.

"Child! A life is worth more than anything any world of creature has to offer! It is too easily lost."

"I don't care!"

"Do you think you are the only one hurting? The only one in pain! There are thousands out in Kamikakushi who are dieing all for the sake of Ahrima's pleasure! This world is depending on you!"

"Why me!"

"I don't know! As queen, I wish I knew everything, maybe then I could save all in my race and heal all peoples and worlds. The God has a plan in mind, of that I am sure and you are the one he wants! You are the one to save these two worlds."

"But how can I go on."

How can I go on…Haku…he was my motivation…I guess…I guess I took the world…for granted…it just never…really mattered that it was in danger…just Haku…just Haku…just Haku…

My mind played like a broken record.

"If you die! Than so does this world!" I felt the sprinkling of feathers rain on me like a springtime shower. I looked up through sore red eyes at Aleesandra.

She's hurting…she's hurting just like me…why is she crying…tears don't fit her…they don't fit at all…not on her strong…delicate face…

"Don't cry." I whispered.

"I can't help it. I am an Ariala. As one I feel and share others pain. That's why I cry and shed my feathers. I do it for you Child." I drawled in a long breath, unsure of myself.

"Child, you have close companions. You are never truly alone." I thought back to my dream.

So then…is that what is to be…Rin was there…so…I wasn't alone…but I was still sad…

"I can never be happy again." I whispered.

"No one is asking you to. All we ask is for you to save out loved ones." My shoulders shook.

"I…I'll try." I whispered. Feeling weak, she practically carried me to the seat I was in and began to replay the hologram.

"Kamikakushi was created for the purpose of harboring the Spirits of Earth. On Earth, when it was still young, many creatures lived. Man was not the only one to think logically, beyond basic instinct, but other powerful creatures too. Many creatures were very powerful possessing magic. The world was peaceful for many years, but slowly roles began to shift and instead of equality, a new reign made itself clear." I numbly sat there. A part of me followed her words perfectly, sitting there almost as if nothing had happened. Another part was lost to the whole being of me.

"Creatures began to claim themselves as gods and forced man to worship them, or man became foolish and idolized an especially powerful creature making it a god. In either case, the result was the same."

A new image popped up and I looked in slight surprise.

"That's earth." The queen gave the slightest of nods. It looked slightly different than most globes, consisting of more islands, or larger landmasses, or no land in certain places at all. It was a perfectly defined sphere and if I looked closely enough I could see slight waves in the water.

"Japanese goddess of the sun-Amaterasu" A small picture screen with a red border appeared next to the sphere with a picture of what I presumed to be the god. A small red dot appeared on Africa.

"African god of wind and air-Amon"

"Irish goddess or war, death, and rebirth-Badb"

"Sumerian god of air and storms-Enlil"

"Norse goddess of beauty, war, wisdom, and magic-Freya"

"Greek god of merchants-Mercury"

"Chinese goddess of prostitutes- P'an-Chin-Lien"

"Finish god of fields and crops-Pekko"

"Aztecan god of civilization and learning-Quetzalcoatl or Quetzal"

"Indian god of hero's-Rama"

"German god of wisdom, art, war and death-Wotan"

With every new name came a picture of a god or goddess, and a small dot marking from which territory they came from.

"All of these beings were no more than what is now called spirits here in Kamikakushi. As such powers of many of these beings were abused, the world began to fall into a constant war. The largest, and most costly of these would be that of Atlantis, or, as it is now called-Areliatis. A time, during the reign of the first king, Atlas; a powerful winged spirit of water; began to conquer and expand his territory across to other lands. In doing so he crossed into territory that other spirits; who had claimed themselves gods; and thus invoked their wrath. A war was waged causing the death of thousands. The highest death toll was placed upon the humans whose race was beginning to dwindle. The war lasted for 500 moon cycles."

"Upon seeing such devastation that the Atlantians had caused some of the most powerful spirits joined their powers and created a parallel world to that of Earth and banished Atlantis, as well as many of its people into it."

"This world was the beginning of Kamikakushi." I shook my head. As he had spoken he showed images of the war that had been somehow recorded of maybe reenacted. It was sad, and scary.

It's amazing any survived…

"When Atlantis was banished, a few of its people were left on Earth. Some created havoc and others tried to rebuild what had been ruined."

"Many thought that with that Earth could finally live in peace. Alas this was not to be so. The creatures all saw their destructive ways to human life and those that weren't banished willingly left to the world of Kamikakushi. Few remained of any or these races. The fairies, brownies, goblins, and a few Atlantians remained on Earth."

"A divide upon both worlds was made and crossing either was made almost impossible except upon certain cycles or conditions."

"Sequence Halt." Aleessandra spoke. All movement of the hologram ceased.

"Computer, Start sequence on the Blacksmith Aki."

"Commencing sequence." The image of the male elf slowly disappeared and was suddenly replaced with a young teen girl. She had fair skin, pointed ears, a long graceful face, slender body, and was wearing tight green pants with a loose belted tunic. Her hair was bound in a ribbon at the middle of her back.

"The black smith Aki was a spirit from Japan. He was one of the few whom refused any form of worship or idolization. His craftsmanship was beyond comparison to that of most any. His powers ascertained to that of metalworking and gemery work. Aki was the infamous blacksmith who made both simple and complex weapons for warriors who fought against Atlantis. His specialty was is swords."

"As irony would have it, Aki himself never wielded a sword against any creature. This lead to his capture by the Atlantian's who wanted him to make weapons for them. No matter the threats made against him, he refused and was sentenced to death. The princess Arelinita…"

"What! What did she say…!"? I snapped to attention, but was exhausted to could only throw my hands onto the table in loud expression. I didn't catch the next few sentences she said in my outburst.

"Pause" The girl stood with her mouth open as she was put on pause.

"Yes. The very companion of which you call Rin; The Head Mistress of the bath house; is none other than the first Princess of Atlantis."

"But that's not possible! She has no wings! And…wow…that would make her so old…" I lost my words after that. The queen nodded.

"Technically speaking, it should be she who sits upon the throne, not I. However, she abdicated Her place to the throne a long time ago. The loss of her wings was, as you will see a great tragedy. As for how young she is, is quite common, though unexplainable. Many spirits age slowly, and others more rapidly. Quite possibly it has something to do with the mix of blood in the Spirit line. Now, may we continue?" I swallowed and fell back into my chair, nodding.

Rin…is a princess…she really…wow…no wonder she knew what to say…I bet it was Rin who lead Enuresis and Vai here…

"Back in Aki's homeland, his absence did not go unmissed. His sister Akiko was planning a full-scale attack upon Atlantis. This required power and a vast amount of knowledge. She recruited some of the most ruthless, powerful, and cunning. Her initial attack day was held off due to some new information she received of the Princess's engagement to the Black Smith Aki, who was only allowed to marry her if he stayed on as the official weapons expert."

I looked at the first image of Aki and gasped.

"That…that's…"

"Aikia?"

"But how did you?"

"You will find out." I stared at the picture. He looked like a 20-year-old boy. Masculine, but with a kind face. Black unruly hair fell loosely across his forehead and his eyes were a cream honey. He stood tall and calculating. He wore a strange metal armor that moved like cotton that covered his legs in the form of pants, his feet like boots, and his chest and back like a tunic. A few circlets adorned his arms, but those were for decoration only. He moved around an abandoned white room with a few smashed columns as he tested a strange weapon.

This weapon had a 'p' shaped handle, that had a small 3" point at the bottom end and a curved razor that could appeared out of the curve of the "p" At the other end was a long whip that had a double bladed axe.

"On the day of their planned wedding, Ahrima attacked."

I saw Rin dressed in a long flowing white gown made of silk. Her gown was simple, but far from plain. Her curvaceous hip was made all the more seemly by a silver katana which shone and flickered against the light. Her hair was pulled away from her face by a strong of pearls, which were woven in and out of her locks. A single teardrop pearl fell upon the middle of her forehead. Most amazing of her appearance however were her beauteous wings, which even made Aleessandra's seem sordid.

"The vows hadn't even been said before the city was struck. The Princess and Aki the Blacksmith, along with the Princess's two young brothers and threeyounger sisters were escorted to a safe haven in the palace."

"Not finding Aki, Akiko kidnapped the Queen who had been fighting, and ransomed her life for Aki. Aki the blacksmith willingly left the city to his sister to save the queen, who was immediately returned."

I closely examined the woman who certainly bore a resemblance to Aikia. Her hair was a black midnight sheer with red strips, which were braided in tangles of crowns on her head making her look royal. Her figure was nearly flawless and she showed it off in a formfitting outfit made of the same special metal Aikia wore when he was trying out that odd weapon. An assortment of weapons appeared in her hands as she fought off Atlantians. Not only weapons came to her fingertips, but an array of magic that she openly splurged on to kill her victims. Most dangerous of all of her however, seemed to be her sparkling amber eyes.

"The princess however would not stand for this arrangement. She went after Akiko and the dueled for Aki. This battle ended by a dangerous blow. Princess Arelinita nearly died because of the loss of her wings."

I gasped in horror and my eyes filled in tears to see Rin's wings fall in a mass of feathers and blood. She tipped onto ground in a heap, holding her sword as she fainted. Her face was grimy and sweat covered. Her snow white dress was torn and ruined. The image became snowy, like a bad TV reception and completely disappeared leaving the Elf girl to stand alone in front of us.

"Why the Princess was not killed by Akiko is a mystery that was never discovered. Princess Arelinita was rushed back to Atlantis after having been found by one of the Royal Court Guards. The whole wing tissue on her shoulder blades had to be removed, thus making it impossible for her to ever regrow them. After her full recovery, Princess Arelinita quickly abdicated the throne to her eldest sister ;starting the tradition that the first female instead of male in the hosehole would inheirit the crown; and disappeared."

"End Sequence. Start Sequence Aikia and Ahrima" The images of Aki and Akiko stood out as they destroyed a village. They looked different however. Very different. From their clothes, to the way they held themselves.

Aki looked to have changed the most. Aki used spells and magic to terrorize his prey.

Akiko used many methods to torture her victims. It was sick. They laughed into the faces of children, old men and women, spirits, the ill, the strong…. the list was endless. The village was completely destroyed.

"These two beings once Akiko and Aki, went under a different name after Atlantis was banished to another world. They were the strongest warriors and were almost undefeatable. The last appearance of the abdicated Princess Arelinita and a group of strong spirits quickly defeated the two siblings, and they too were banished into Kamikakushi. Not much is known of the beginning years of the history of Kamikakushi, however old scrolls and texts state that Aikia and Ahrima had terrorized many in Kamikakushi for years before they suddenly disappeared. None of these three legendary figures were ever seen again."

"End Sequencing." Queen Aleessandra stood up. She seemed weary, though the signs barely showed.

"Come, we should go."

How can she act so normal…so much has happened…this is…just to much…to much to absorb…all of that...it all makes sense…almost too much…I feel so rushed…as if I've been cramming for tests occurring all in the same day…this is just…she expects me to be this great big hero…its too much… how can I be a hero when Rin couldn't even beat Ahrima and Aikia on her own…all that blood…all that pain…too much…Rin must have went through almost the same thing I did…only she had to fight against Aki…he didn't die…

I tried to imagine having to go through what Rin did, but it was incomprehensible. As it was, his mere death was incomprehensible, let alone what Rin went through.

I felt my blood rush to my head and my body slip into a sweet black pillow.

Authors Ending Note: Definately a HUGE filler chapter. It explains a lot but doesn't completley affect the story. Took a lot to think up all of that.

Well, what will happen now? With Chihiro slowly falling into deep depression, will she be able to find the strength to go on and save Kamikakushi and earth? Or will all fall under the wrathful hands of Aikia and Ahrima? What more twists and plots are to be formed? I guess you'll have to wait.

Till Then

Felize de Pasquas! (roughly Happy Easter in Spanish!)