Ok readers, you should shoot me for not posting one of the most important parts of a chapter, the LEMON! This is what I get for not having enough time to proof read before I upload things. I feel like an idiot! However, I have been writing continuing this chapter and it is becoming a little long, so I'm breaking it into two parts. I have other chapters waiting to be finished so keep watching for the new chapters!
EmpKaylenatye
Chapter 12: The Circle Continues (Part One)
The afternoon sun lit the forest below the Crusader. Hitomi sat on a bench in the flight room watching the trees fly by before them. Earlier at breakfast the group had decided that they would head to Astoria and see if they could find any more information there. So now the little ragtag team was out for another adventure. Memories of the last adventure seemed to come to Hitomi in an onslaught. The only way to calm her nerves was to sit and let the scenery pass along with the memories. She barely noticed when Millerna sat down next to her.
"You have been very quiet, what is on your mind Hitomi?"
"I can't help but feel like something big is going to happen, like last time." Hitomi said solemnly.
"Hitomi, Zaibach was stopped for good."
"Yet the Dragon Slayers are back." Hitomi looked into Millerna's eyes.
Millerna felt uneasy at the fearful gaze. "You haven't seen the visions I have, the horror that is coming. We need to figure this mystery out soon and stop who ever is behind the attacks."
Millerna nodded in agreement and stared out of the window with Hitomi. "We should be coming to Palas soon. I can't wait for you to see the rebuilding that has happened since you left. The city is thrumming with more activity than before."
"I am excited to see your home again." Hitomi turned to Millerna with a smile. A muffled shriek from somewhere on the ship sent Millerna and Hitomi to their feet. Merle suddenly came running down the stairs.
"Hitomi, its Ilya!"
"Where is she!" Merle grabbed Hitomi's hand and dragged her to the stairs which led to the upper deck where Scherazade was strapped to the deck. The wind whipped Hitomi's hair around her face making it hard to find Ilya. Standing only a few feet away from the guymelef, the little girl stood planted to her spot. Thinking that the guymelef must have scared the little girl, Hitomi moved closer to find her not looking at the mechanical fighter, but at the sky.
"Ilya you are not to be out here while we are flying. Who knows what kind of strong wind could carry you off the deck." Hitomi knelt next to the little girl. Looking at the little girl's face Hitomi felt a shiver of fear run up her spine. Ilya raised a hand and pointed out to the horizon. Following her finger, Hitomi looked out to the blue sky. There were several black dots on the horizon that seemed to be getting bigger. 'No bird could be that big' mused Hitomi. Ilya mumbled something that Hitomi could barely make out and asked her to repeat.
"The bad men are here."
Hitomi picked up Ilya and ran back to the stairs to find Van. Cradling the girl, Hitomi felt Ilya cling to her for dear life. Nearly tripping over her skirt as she rand Hitomi found Van talking with Allen and Dryden in the dinning room discussing royal affairs. When Van saw the disheveled Hitomi and Ilya he was immediately at their side.
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Folken raised his head off the floor as the slamming of bars from across the way broke him from dark slumber. As the guards left, Folken moved closer to the bars to see who the new prisoner was. All he could see in the dim light was a crumpled up body and seemed to barely breathe. When it finally unfolded its limbs, she tentatively stood on her shaky legs. Turning around, the girl's eyes locked onto Folken.
"Who are you?" asked Folken from his chained position.
"My name is Celena Schezar. Can you tell me where I am?"
"You are in a fortress in the Kasher Mountains."
"What is your name?" Celena walked to the bars of her cell and gripped the cold metal as if her reality might slip away at any moment.
"Folken."
Celena nodded and let her body sink to the floor. "I know why they wanted me, but why are you here?"
"They want me to help their cause, but I have already done too much to Gaea."
"Don't worry Folken. My brother will come to find me. He is the best fighter in all of Gaea, even compared to the king of Fanelia."
"You hold very high regards for your brother; you must love him very much."
"Do you have any siblings?"
Folken turned away from the girls prying eyes, "Yes, but I fear for his life."
"I'll pray for both of our brothers, and may be they will find us."
'Oh Celena, I only hope that they do find us. Who knows what Lady Serra has planned for Gaea.'
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Van stood on the deck of the Crusader and saw the black shapes coming closer. As soon as Hitomi had uttered the words "Dragon Slayers" he bolted to the deck. Now Allen, Dryden and he stood outside watching them come closer.
"We have to land Van. Scherezade can't fly like Escaflowne."
"But we have to keep moving. I won't put Hitomi into danger." 'If only Escaflowne was here I could get rid of them.'
Hitomi walked on to the deck with the still clinging Ilya. She knew that Van wanted Escaflowne. 'If Van hadn't of taken the drag-energist out then he could have called Escaflowne, but to bring that monster into the world would be dangerous. Would Van be able to handle it?' Hitomi shook her head at the evil thoughts. 'No, I can't think like that I have to believe in my friends. I only wish that Van could defend us. I believe that he can do it, he always has!' A warm feeling was felt against her chest and when Hitomi looked down there was a small glowing light coming from her pendant.
A roar to the West startled everyone, losing their concentration on the Dragon Slayers coming from the North. Turing to the slowly setting sun the shape of two dragons were silhouetted against the bright light. A familiar feeling tingled in Hitomi's belly as the silhouettes were being covered up by a pillar of blue light. The pillar landed on the deck of the Crusader. As the light faded, Escaflowne stood on bended knee to his king, holding a drag-energist.
Van looked back at his friends before he steeped towards the guymelef and took the drag-energist. Quickly performing the blood pact, Van placed the crystal into its chamber and climbed into the seat as Escaflowne had obeyed his command. 'Feels like old times, my friend.'
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Dilandau was delighted when he spotted the Crusader pass above the destroyed village. It was a quick job, another to scare the people of Astoria. He told the other Dragon Slayers to follow uncloaked. The thought of seeing terror on their face again was enough to excite Dilandau.
They hadn't been tailing the ship for very long when something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. A blue pillar of light came down on the Crusader, but that didn't make Dilandau happy despite the cheers he heard from his comrades.
"Shut up you fools! The Crusader isn't under attack its…" But the rest of the words were caught inside Dilandau's throat as his nightmare for three years was heading straight for him.
"Time to finish this dragon."
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As soon as Escaflowne left the deck of the Crusader, another entered its ranks. It had made its way onto the ship by a low boarding portal and hid inside the storage room and waited for the ship to arrive at its destination.
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Van felt his blood boiling as it did before. The urge to fight was strong and he would do anything to keep those on the Crusader safe. As the Dragon Slayers came swiftly closer, the dragon changed into fighter mode. The Dragon Slayers quickly followed suit and meet the king on the ground.
Waiting for the first move, the two parties held their ground. One guymelef stepped towards Escaflowne while Van waited for the challenge.
"I have waited for this moment a long time King of Fanelia." shouted the fighter.
'That can't be!' Images of a deranged Zaibach fighter flooded his mind.
"Don't worry, Dilandau, I'll end this battle quickly."
"You'll be eating those words soon enough, Van!"
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Amano had pulled in some comfortable chairs to ease the hours of pouring over translation documents. At one point Yukari had opened the windows, to let the warm breeze move through the stuffy room. The professor was constantly in and out of the room, thinking of more research books to sift through.
Even though it was only late afternoon, Yukari felt her eye lids drooping from the warm air and senseless texts. After her head bobbed for the fourth time, she decided it was best for her to get up and move around. Amano was diligently looking through the books, comparing samples of writing and then moved on since the texts didn't match. Looking over at the professor, Yukari noticed that she wasn't the only one being affected by the beautiful day for Professor Tomoe had dozed off with a book in his arms.
Walking over to the table with the tablet, Yukari just let her hand wander over the stone. The groves of the letters were smooth, not sharp as if it was chiseled. Gazing at the stacks of books around the table, Yukari just started looking over the different books. Many of the books were so old that the pages would nearly crumble every time they flipped through. Lifting the books from the stack to see what was below many of the titles seemed so far from what they were looking for, yet not unbelievable. There were books about the Egyptian pyramids, Mayan temples, American Indian burial grounds, Easter Isle, and other wonders of the world. After picking up a red, leather bound book, Yukari was intrigued by the title.
Taking the book back to her seat, Yukari started looking at the yellowed pages. Amano looked over at Yukari to see her intensely involved with a book. Moving over to Yukari, Amano stood behind her.
"What are you reading?"
"I don't know, the book is in some other language, but the cover is what interested me." Yukari flipped over to the front cover to reveal an engraved picture.
"Isn't that-"
"I think it is. Do you remember Hitomi talking about her adventures? At one time she had encountered someone who had wanted to rebuild this, or something like it."
"What is the fuss over here?" Yukari and Amano jumped at the sudden voice of the professor. Looking over her other shoulder the professor saw the engraved picture.
"Ah, the tower of Babel, what a wonderful mystery."
Amano and Yukari gave each other a passing look. "Professor, what do you know about the Tower of Babel?"
The professor scratched his chin, "The people had built a tower to become closer to the heavens, but it was destroyed. Why do you ask?"
"Professor, that isn't the whole story." said Amano.
"What do you mean?"
Yukari quickly cleared her throat, "Professor, we haven't been telling you about everything. I should start by telling you about my friend, Hitomi."
Thank you again for reading! The second part is almost finished!
EmpKaylenatye