A/N: Yay! Chapter 5!
Sakura Shinguji-Albatou: Well, you'll be very happy with this chapter, Sakura!
strangedream: Actually, the question wasn't random at all. I fixed chapter 2, so now you can know what Elijah is wearing. Like I said in my review of your story: try to think of why Hitomi's soul entered Christina instead of going to heaven or something.
Lady of the Unicorn: Very interesting. You stories, I mean. Pluto is not the world Elijah is from. I guess I wasn't specific enough. whacks head Bad Christina! Bad Christina!
ReddAlice: I hope this is a little more spaced out. I also hope it gets your attention!
KNS ): thank you very much! As I told you in e-mail, you were right about who the Tsubasa no Kami is. Congratulations!
"The Spirit World? But..."
Suddenly, her eyes stopped glowing, and Marth disappeared.
What isa Tsubasa no Kami? This is weird.
Mel set off to find Elijah again, when a man she had never met before suddenly blocked her path, took her right hand, and placed his on the small of her back, and started dancing with her.
"Who are you?" Mel asked, following his lead trying not to be rude.
"Who I am is not important." he spoke with an accent that sounded like a mix of Russian and Mexican, yet a slightly reedy voice. His hair had an odd greenish tint to it, as was his goatee. He had a deep, imposing-looking red cloak draped on his shoulders, and a black turban obscuring his right eye.
"Who you are, however, is important. And I know that you are one of the Phoenix Guardians."
"How do you know that?" asked Mel, trying but failing to keep the sense of alarm out of her voice.
"I saw you on the balcony. It seemed as though you were delusional, talking to no one in particular, when your eyes started glowing. I knew at once what you are, and now you must tell me where to find the Tsubasa no Kami."
Mélanie tried and failed to get away from him. She didn't want to start a panic, but her was holding her tightly.
"I don't know who the Tsubasa no Kami is. Please, let go. You're hurting me."
He let her go, and Mel saw a ring with a pink stone on his middle finger start to glow.
Just like Christina's locket!
The man hurried off, and Mélanie lost sight of him in the crowd.
Like Christina's locket... is it possible..?
She set off as well, determined to locate Christina as quickly as possible.
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Christina felt a little light-headed after the dance. Van had spun her around a little too much.
"Chris-" he stopped, cleared his throat, and started again. "Michia, the stone on your locket is glowing."
Christina looked down, and saw that it was glowing obviously, even in the brightly lit ballroom.
She quickly covered it with one hand.
"Could we sit down somewhere, please?" she asked
"No problem." He led her to a seat, when Mélanie came up to them.
"Chr-, sorry. Michia, I really need to talk to you."
"Um, now would not be a good time." said Van, as one of the brass instrument players did a deep sort of toot-toot-toot, sounding like a foghorn, except in shorter bursts.
"That's the signal for supper. Mel? You better find Elijah."
As he led Christina toward the next room, Elijah tapped Mel's shoulder, offered his arm to her, and led her along behind Van and Christina.
Christina couldn't help feel slightly intimidated being surrounded by all the important delegates and rulers from different countries throughout Gaea, but she kept her head erect and tried to look as though she hadn't a care in the world.
Mel felt small compared to all these people, yet her newfound discovery as the Phoenix Guardian made her suspicious of every person. She held Elijah like a possessive stalker.
"Mel? You seem tense. Are you alright?"
Mel snapped from her thoughts and looked up at Elijah. She smiled, and put her head on his arm.
"Yes, precious."
"Not here Mel. As much as I'd like to be fondling you right now, we have to act formal."
Mel withdrew her head and straightened up. "Sorry."
"It's alright." he replied, then said with a small smile "We can do touchy stuff later. If you're not too tired after this."
"Bet you I will be."
"It's ok. I'll do the action."
"Elijah? Shouldn't we eat now?" Mel said quickly, realizing where this was going. It was obvious he was just joking, but still!
He can act so un-princely at times!
Elijah cleared throat and said "Of course." then led her to a chair close to the head of the table, and pulled it out for her to sit on.
Mel and Christina were on opposite sides of the table, Christina being next to Van, but their newfound ability of telepathy made it no problem.
"I used to be happy when I'd see a fire truck!" Christina said to Mel
"Me too. Now we're surrounded by royalty and important politicians!"
"When we get back to earth, life is gonna be BORING!"
The man who had frightened Mélanie earlier got up to speak, and Mélanie gave Christina a quick telepathic recap of her experience with him, before he delivered his speech.
"On behalf of the Zaibach empire, may I personally thank our hosts, Queen Millerna and King Dryden, for hosting our discussions with the leader of Senik."
Everyone clapped politely as he sat down, though it was obvious that some did it only half-heartedly.
Christina disliked him on principle. He gave her the creeps. And it wasn't just what Mélanie had said. He was just plain eerie.
The dishes were good, but Christina silently agreed to herself that Fanelia's food was more appetizing.
There were branches on conversation going on all over the table, and Christina listened atentively.
"I think it'll be wonderful if Zaibach and Senik reach an agreement." a man on Christina's left said "We'll finally all be together rather than most of Gaea with Senik and one country against. It makes us all so divided.
"Yes, but to Zaibach, this may just be an opportunity." someone across from the man responded "What if they make it seem like Senik has no choice? I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to get what they want via veiled threats."
"Don't start trouble here." a woman to the second man's left chimed in "We're supposed to be welcoming Senik and hoping for the best."
After everyone had finished their meals, and desert was served (a mildly minty green stuff, which seemed a lot like ice-cream), Christina shut herself off mentally. The conversations she heard were all pretty much the same. Some people were happy that the treaties were taking place, others worried. And all of this had Christina worried, as well. When the dishes were cleared, Dryden got up to speak.
"Well, everyone: party over. The treaty discussions will take place tomorrow at 11:00. I sincerely hope everyone enjoyed themselves, and that you all sleep comfortably. Good night, to all."
Van helped Christina up, and offered his arm to hold on to.
"Are you alright, Michia? You seem a little pale."
"It's..." she sighed "I heard people talking up and down the table about the treaties, and I'm worried."
He held her a little closer.
"I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."
"Michia? May I speak with you?" Christina and Van turned to see Serena looking at Christina expectantly
"I'll leave you ladies to chat." Christina saw Van's face take a sombre expression as he left. She cocked an eyebrow in a Spock-like manner, and turned back to Serena.
"What did you wish to speak to me about?"
"Not here. I don't want any unwanted parties listening--." she broke off as the turbaned man from Zaibach passed by.
"You see what I mean?"
"Alright." Christina responded.
Serena led her to a small room a small jog down the hall, and locked the door.
"Christina..." Serena seemed to be having trouble articulating herself "Hitomi could read the future with a deck of... I think they were called Tarot cards. I was just wondering if you could see the future, too."
"Well... I have a deck of Tarot cards. They're not with me though. They're in my room."
"Could you do a reading tomorrow? I'm just so worried about the treaties, and I felt like you're the only one I could talk to. I know you're not Hitomi, but I always used to confide in her, and I felt the same sisterly inclination to you that I felt towards her."
"Well, Mélanie always says I'm a good listener. If you ever want to talk, it's no problem."
"Thank you. I'll escort you to your room, now."
When they got out of the little room, the halls were dark and deserted. As she started toward her room, Christina felt her fear of darkness creep in, until she remembered that Serena was with her. Being with people in the dark, so long as she knew she could trust them, and she felt a positive aura from Serena.
"Serena, can you tell me something?"
"Sure."
"Why do you think Van didn't look too happy at leaving me alone with you?"
"Oh, I don't think it was you being alone with me. Van and I have become very good friends. I think he's probably just worried about us being the last two heading for bed. He's probably worried about Gecko men. Even with me to help, if they're a large enough number if they attack us, they could overpower us easily enough. Gecko men are surprisingly strong."
"Oh." Christina said, ever so slightly shaky.
"Don't worry. It's not like the number of kidnappings by Gecko men has increased or anything. It's just that Hitomi got caught by them once."
"Oh. Okay." Feeling a little more reassured.
"I got face to face with one once. I fought back really hard, it pissed him off so bad he figured he'd rather kill me. He pulled a knife on me. I tried to move it so that it wouldn't be pointing toward me, and the next thing I knew; He was lying on the ground, the knife in between his ribs, a pool of blood forming around him."
Christina held her tongue. Where was Serena going with all of this?
"I wish I could say he was the first man I killed, but he's not. Before Zaibach was taking over, they had kidnapped me as a child. Turned me into a boy. When they started taking over, I was the commander of a regiment known as the Ryuugekitai: The Dragonslayers. Dliandau was my name, then. Dilandau Albatou. I killed a lot of people. It's left scars."
They turned left, and Christina started feeling better. Just a bit more of a jog, and I can sleep. She just realised how tired she felt.
"Mental ones, mind you. I haven't been able to find any physical ones. I used to have one on my cheek, but seems to be gone. Van's glad that it went away. He's the one who made it. I really feel ashamed about those days."
"You shouldn't. It wasn't your fault."
"I know. But..." She stopped. Christina stopped accordingly.
"But?"
"Shush a moment."
Christina perked her ears. Footsteps. Very close. Serena put her hand on the hilt of her sword, at full attention. Someone grabbed her from behind, quickly disarming her and placing a hand on her mouth. Before Christina could react, she felt an arm press hers unmoving at her side, and a hand close on her mouth. The hand was slightly clammy, and felt almost like scales.
Another figure stepped between Christina and Serena. Christina could barely make him out. She could see him turn toward Serena, reach toward her, and then Serena's figure went limp in her captor's arms.
The man between them stepped toward Christina, and she felt a prick sensation on her arm. Then, she was floating away...
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"They're still asleep, sir."
"Can you wake them?"
"Hang on. The blonde one has started struggling against her ropes."
"And the other one? The one we need?"
"She should be waking soon."
Christina opened her eyes.
Looking up, she saw a boy standing over her. Christina gasped. While he was obviously male, he resembled Serena in so many ways. The hair, though grey instead of blonde, fell the same way. the face seemed almost the same shape. The eyes were exactly the same, except that instead of being blue, they were red. He was wearing a golden tiara with a purple jewel set in the middle. Another difference between him and Serena was that, while Serena's skin had a healthy, light tan to it, the boy's skin seemed a slightly sickly pale complexion.
"Well, now." said the boy in a very boy-ish voice. Christina had expected his voice to be deeper, more mature. He was certainly tall enough for one.
"You, we had expected to get. It seems we have your blonde friend to contend with as well. After all, she couldn't have just been left there to alert the others of your disappearance prematurely. They should find that out when they wake up in the morning. However, she's not of any use now." he withdrew his sword.
Christina, realising what the boy was about to do, yelled.
"NO!!!"
At the moment she yelled, several things happened very fast:
With the slight smell of smoke, her ropes broke, and, when she held her hand up to grab the boy's arm that was holding the sword, he was blasted backwards on his feet.
The same thing happened to the one soldier that was with him when Christina merely glanced at him.
Utterly confused, but taking advantage of the opportunity, Christina untied Serena, who immediately stood on her feet, at full attention once again.
"I don't have my sword, but if you can do some more of what you just did, we should be okay."
"I...I'll try... I didn't know I could..." she felt a wave of dizziness. "Oh... I think I'm going to faint..."
"Oh, no you don't!" Serena grabbed her by the shoulders "You stay on your feet. We have to find a way out of here, now. If Zaibach is up to it's old tricks again, then we have to tell the others. Understood?"
Christina swallowed. Serena had shaken most of the cobwebs from her head.
"Understood. But, how do you know it's Zaibach?"
"Because she recognised me." The boy got up, though, thankfully, he was unarmed.
Turning her eyes beside her and Serena, opposite the boy, she saw the boy's sword lying on the floor, not far from where the boy had been standing before he went flying accross the room.
"Recognised you?" Christina asked, right before realisation entered her mind.
"Yes. I am Dilandau Albatou. Now then. What ever are we going to do about the two of you, as it is quite obvious you will not allow me to kill your friend?" as he said this, he crossed his arms , except that one hand was raised to stroke his right cheek, as though thoughtfully.
Christina was quite sure he muttered something that sounded like 'chiku, chiku, chiku.' Whatever that meant.
Then Dilandau's fellow soldier got up, and began to move behind them.
As though struck by an instinct she never knew she could have, Christina's eyes began to glow blue, and the two soldiers bodies jolted as though electrocuted, then fell unconcious on the spot.
Then the door simply blasted open, as though of it's own accord.
"This is our chance." said Serena "Let's go!"
Christina followed her out of the room they were in, and saw that they were in dungeons of some sort.
"We have to get to a window where we can see where we are." Serena deducted.
Moving throughout the corridor, they eventually ran into more guards. Christina's eyes flashed blue, and repeated what she had done to Dilandau and the soldier. And not a moment too soon, as she and Serena heard yells from behind them, and, when they turned, they saw Dilandau and his accompanying soldier racing towards them, swords pulled. Christina tried to render them unconscious again, but nothing happened.
Her eyes would not flash blue, and Dilandau just kept running toward her.
Suddenly, she felt darkness melt the images around her.
"Christina!"
Serena Schezar caught the girl before she fell to the ground.
"Come on, Christina! Wake up!" as the boy who had haunted her dreams for the past three years drew closer, Serena had to make a decision.
It was obvious that Christina would not wake up fast enough, or if she did, she probably wouldn't be able to run. Serena slung Christina over her left shoulder, and stooped to pick up a sword from a fallen soldier.
Then she ran.
Finally reaching a staircase, she managed to keep her balance as she ran up two at a time. Reaching another deck, she momentarily deposited Christina on to the floor.
Using her sword with practiced precision, Serena hit coming soldiers in various places on their bodies. All painful, but wounds they could be saved from.
Hearing Dilandau's yells of "Don't let them get away!" coming closer, and seeing that there were no soldiers in her immediate path, Serena placed the sword in her sword-sheath, and picked up Christina once more.
There was a large window to her left as she ran, and Serena saw that they must be in a floating fortress.
She could see they were still in Asturia, so it must have been the same one that had carried the diplomat Lagren. Boy, was she gonna have a score to settle with that guy.
Coming here under false pretences, and then arranging kidnap.
"Stop right here." Serena heard Christina's voice.
Serena stopped, and placed Christina on her feet.
Christina's eyes were glowing a blue so bright it was obscuring the darkness around them.
Christina turned toward the window, and a large part of it broke. Large enough for them to leave through, if there wasn't too much space between them and the ground.
"Hold onto me, Serena Schezar. For your life."
Christina spoke in a musical voice. So soft, so beautiful.
Serena didn't know why she listened, but she stood in front of Christina, and put her arms around her shoulders.
Christina grabbed Serena's legs, and placed them around her own waist. Then, she ran and jumped out the window.
Serena waited for them to fall, but they only fell a small way, before Serena saw white wings erupt from Christina's back, and began to flap.
They fell very gradually as they neared the palace, and landed softly on the roof.
Serena got off Christina quickly, and just in time, as Christina fell forward. Unconscious once more. Her wings retracted automatically, and Serena picked her up, holding her like she was a baby.
Serena carried Christina down the stairs that led from the roof to the top floor. She could hear a lot of commotion.
Finally reaching the second floor where the guestrooms were, Serena saw a lot of people, running about in all sorts of undress. She finally saw her brother, and called out.
"Allen!"
"Serena! Thank the stars!" Allen ran toward her, still in his armour, Van just behind in his bathrobe.
"What happened? Van got worried when Christina didn't come to bed, that he went to look for her, and he couldn't find either of you, so he went to talk to Millerna, and, before you know it, everyone's looking for you two!"
"I'll explain later, Allen. But everyone in 'our group' should hear it."
"Christina! Is she okay? What's wrong with her?"
"I think she's just tired, Van. I'll explain everything tomorrow."
Serena place Christina in Van's arms, who carried her immediately toward the room they were sharing, when he got halted by Mélanie and Elijah's arrival.
"Thank god!" Mélanie yelled "Where was she? What happened?"
"Serena knows. She said she'll explain to us all tomorrow."
"Well, it'll have to be after the treaties." Elijah yawned "I can't risk being late. I'm liable to sleep in unintentionally after this fiasco. The important thing is that we know where she is now, and that she's safe."
Christina had a very strange dream. The girl she had seen before coming to Gaea, whom she was almost certain was Hitomi, came to her.
"Christina. You must save the three worlds, and bring me back to Van."
"How? I don't understand."
"The powers you discovered tonight will increase and grow more powerful."
"But where do these powers come from? What am I?"
"The Tusbasa no Kami..."
A/N: Whoa. Cliffhanger again. But at least you know who the Tusbasa no Kami is. FINALLY!