Allen marveled at the person standing before him. This was not the sweet and distant sister that he had cared for since the first Zaibach war. This person was a warrior, with all of the strength, skills, and poise that went with it.
"I'm not going to hurt you, Allen," she said. Her voice was rough and strong. This person was definitely not the shy, quiet girl that had been his sister, but neither was she the crazed and bloodthirsty Dilandau.
"What do I call you now?" Allen asked. The battle still raged around them, but Allen was too distracted to notice. Regardless of how it happened, and how different she seemed, this was his sister.
"I don't know," she laughed. "You're my brother. What do you want to call me?"
"Can I still call you Celena?" Allen didn't feel that quite fit.
"Of course," she smiled at him, her eyes sparkling. "It's good to see you again."
Tears welled up in Allen's eyes. This wasn't the broken sister that he cared for after Zaibach. This was the sister he had lost all those years ago; the precocious, energetic, curious, and loving sister he had missed for so many years.
"Celena." He wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. His voice caught in his throat and he fought back the cry that struggled to escape. He felt Celena put her arms around him tentatively, then tightly squeezed him in return.
"I'm sorry, brother. I'm sorry for everything." Her voice was strained, as if she was also fighting back tears.
Allen held her at arm's length to get a good look at her. She wore Zaibach armor, with open rivets along her arms. The skin underneath looked like large, open pores. Celena noticed where he was looking.
"More of Zaibach's experiments," she explained. "They plug into the melef so we have direct control."
Allen looked up into her face. "You remember it all?"
"All of it." Her expression darkened. "I have done such terrible things, Allen."
"You weren't in control, though. It wasn't your fault."
"It was me," she cried. "I'm still that person. I'm still Dilandau. How do I atone for such horrible things? How could I have been capable of such horrible things?"
In her pleading eyes, Allen could see the innocent girl who he had cared for the last couple of years. She was still there. She was so much more than that now, though.
"I am still capable of those terrible things," she whispered.
"But you can choose not to do them," Allen said as he held her gaze. "That is the difference between you and Dilandau."
"I am still Dilandau." Her face stiffened and she looked beyond Allen. She did not have the manic look of Dilandau, but the ferocity for which Dilandau was feared was still written in her posture. "And that is how I will atone."
She walked over to the fallen Zaibach soldier she had run her sword through. She bent down and dug through the collar of his uniform. She pulled out a small device and pressed a button. Allen could hear faint static from the device.
"This is Dilandau Albatou of the Dragonslayers. Fall back to the Zaibach line and await further orders."
Static.
"This is First Commander Rynard. Did you say to retreat? Please Confirm."
Celena pursed her lips and clenched her free hand into a fist. She pressed the button to transmit again. "Yes, I said to retreat. You dare to question my orders? This comes straight from the Strategos. Do as you are commanded."
Static.
"Yes, sir. Orders received. We will retreat and await further orders."
Celena clicked the button again, and the device went dead. She dropped it on the ground and crushed it under the heel of her boot.
Allen stared in open wonder at his sweet younger sister. For a moment, all he could see was Dilandau; a Dilandau that had just called off the attack on Palas.
Celena dusted off her hands and walked back over to Allen. The air rumbled, and both Allen and Celena looked to the sky. The Zaibach fortress was retreating away from the wall as the remaining melefs docked in the fortress hangars. There was no cheering from the wall. There were few soldiers left to cheer.
"I think it's time I spoke to your queen," Celena said.
"Our Queen," corrected Allen. He smiled at her and she smiled back.
"Right." She looked back at the battlefield. "Our Queen."
Hitomi climbed through rubble, slowly working her way back to the palace entrance. She could see Escaflowne and could feel Van's presence. As soon as her mind touched his, he reached out.
You're okay?
Hitomi could feel the worry in his voice. I'm fine, Van. She tripped over a stone.
The Zaibach forces are leaving, said Van.
Hitomi looked to the sky and could see the Zaibach fortress receding into the distance. So that was why she had been left alone as she worked her way back to the palace. It didn't take too long to close the distance to Van. He was standing near the entrance beside Escaflowne. When he saw her coming, he ran to meet her and swept her up in his arms.
"Can you believe it? We finally came out of a confrontation in one piece." He kissed her fiercely. She melted into his arms and kissed him back with abandon. "I was so afraid I might have made the wrong decision to let you go after Dilandau. You don't know how glad I am that I was wrong," he breathed beside her ear as he held her. She could feel the relief wash through him as he held her.
"I might have some idea." Hitomi was ready to lose herself in his kisses, but it wasn't time yet. "Van, there were many people that were not as lucky as us."
"I know," he pressed his forehead against hers. "All the more reason to be grateful for what we have."
They entered the palace together, past the remaining guard.
They heard a commotion behind them as they entered.
"Halt!"
The soldiers were blocking someone from coming through. Hitomi rushed back to find out what it was about.
Allen and Celena stood on the rampart trying to pass the guards. The guards would not let Celena pass. That was no huge surprise. Celena still wore the armor of a Zaibach Dragonslayer.
"This is my sister Celena! I vouch for her on my word as a knight!" Allen was arguing with the guard.
"I'm sorry, sir, but, with respect, we cannot let this person enter freely."
Allen turned to Celena and said something Hitomi couldn't hear. Celena inclined her head and also spoke too quietly for Hitomi to hear. She put her hand on Allen's shoulder and gestured to the battlefield. Allen's shoulders slumped, but he seemed to resign himself to whatever Celena had suggested. One of the guards retreated into the palace and into a side room that must have served as a guard station. Hitomi almost asked him what was going on, but when he returned from the guard station, he carried heavy shackles, and Hitomi guessed Celena's suggestion.
They couldn't let Dilandau just walk into Palas, but they could bring him in as a prisoner.
The guards handed the shackles to Allen, who reluctantly fastened them around Celena's outstretched wrists.
Hitomi and Van watched as the guards led Celena past them. Hitomi could feel the tension radiating from Van standing beside her and she noticed his hand hovered anxiously over his sword hilt. She put her hand on his arm to ease him, and he relaxed under her touch.
Allen trailed behind the guards. He didn't seem to see the surrounding castle. He only had eyes for his sister.
The guards took Celena to a cell in the heart of the palace. Allen kept vigil outside her cell, unwilling to leave her strictly in the hands of the guards who saw her as nothing but a tool of Zaibach. Hitomi filled Millerna in on what transpired on the battlefield, but Millerna still did not trust Celena on Hitomi's words alone.
Van and Hitomi spent a tense afternoon waiting for word as to what would happen next. The battle had ended, but the war was not over. Van practiced sword forms in the courtyard, but Hitomi could tell he lacked focus.
After several hours, Millerna summoned Hitomi, Van, and Gaddes, to the observation area outside Celena's cell. Allen was already there and sat on a bench, his head in his hands. Celena sat in a chair behind the bars, still shackled. Millerna dismissed the one guard who was present. She turned her back on the cell and addressed the gathered group.
"I want nothing that is said here to leave this room." Her gaze swept over her assembled allies. Van and Hitomi both nodded. Gaddes bowed his head. Allen didn't move.
"The prisoner has given us valuable information about the inner workings of Zaibach up to this point," Millerna began.
Millerna still refused to acknowledge that the prisoner was Celena, Hitomi noticed, but she also did not refer to her as Dilandau. Hitomi glanced over at Allen and noticed the glisten of tears on his cheek.
"The sorcerers are in charge. After we defeated Dornkirk, they filled the vacuum of leadership that was left. While they don't have the fate alteration engine, they did still have all the research that led to it." Millerna turned towards the cell. "Please, tell them what you told me."
It did not surprise Hitomi to hear that. After her experience behind the walls of Zaibach, it didn't seem like there was any limit to what the sorcerers were allowed to do. The fact they were now in charge made perfect sense.
"The Zaibach army is many times the size it was in the last war," Celena said. "Dornkirk would not force anyone to fight. He believed everyone had the right to bring about their own future. His fate alteration engine was the ultimate expression of that. He wanted to create a utopia out of people's dreams. He may have forced his will on Gaea, but he allowed his own people the freedom of choice. The sorcerers are not so idealistic." Celena paused, clasping her hands tightly. "They required that every household in Zaibach provide one person to serve. As Dilandau, I helped enforce their decree when I returned." Celena's voice cracked, and she swallowed hard. "If no member of the family was able to serve as a soldier, they were submitted for experimentation instead.
"Our own population was never enough to satisfy the sorcerers' need for test subjects. They turned to neighboring countries and used their cloaked melefs to abduct children. The facilities in Zaibach are filled with hundreds of children from all over Gaia."
Hitomi couldn't stifle a gasp. They had saved only a few. Hitomi had felt so helpless, but at least they saved those children. There were so many more that still suffered, and Hitomi couldn't do anything.
Celena continued. "I was subjected to some of the alterations they deemed successful from their experimentation." Celena opened the sleeves of her uniform and presented the divots in her arms to the watching group. "The melefs were modified with biological material to be able to interface with their operator. These ports are where the melef connects. I was injected with something that binds me to my melef, giving me direct control of the melef just by thinking."
"Escaflowne," Van muttered under his breath. Hitomi reached across the small space between them and clasped his hand.
"I don't know what other experiments they have performed, but the buildings where they perform their experiments are filled with the screams of children, and the incinerators for those that do not survive are running around the clock. As Dilandau, I enjoyed the sound."
Van's hold tightened on Hitomi's hand. She felt a rush of fear pass through him, and felt the echo of his pain from his time imprisoned in Zaibach.
"The sorcerers of Zaibach are convinced of their own superiority and are determined to rule all of believe only through total control will the dream of peace on Gaia be achieved."
Celena's last words hung in the air.
Hitomi's vision blurred and was replaced by the image of melefs walking the burning ground of Gaia. For as far as Hitomi could see in all directions the ground was blackened and drained of all life. She was in Palas. Zaibach melefs stood at every entrance. Zaibach soldiers herded Asturian civilians in chains through the streets. The people of Asturia looked nearly as drained of life as the rest of Gaia. They were walking husks. The smell of death threatened to overwhelm her.
Van shook Hitomi by the shoulders, his eyes full of concern. Hitomi blinked the horrific images from her own eyes.
"What did you see?" Gaddes asked.
Hitomi looked up at him . "They won't stop until they have destroyed everything." She glanced around to the other concerned faces huddled around her, then to Celena, still seated behind the bars. "We have to stop them."
Van pulled her to her feet from where she had collapsed. "We will," he said with more confidence than Hitomi could feel from him.
"I have a suggestion," Celena said from behind the group. Everyone turned to the barred cell. "I can still operate as a Zaibach soldier. I am still the leader of the Dragonslayers. I am supposed to regroup with them to convey further orders. Let me return and serve as your eyes and ears in Zaibach."
"Out of the question," Allen snapped.
"We still don't know if you can be trusted," Millerna said in an even tone, holding a hand out to silence Allen.
Hitomi, can you still hear my mind? Celena's voice rang in Hitomi's head.
Yes, she replied silently. I understand. "I can keep in contact with Celena. I can confirm that she is still with us, and I can relay any messages to Millerna," she said to the group. Van gripped her arm and she met his eyes with determination. "It's the best chance we have."
"We have to decide soon. If I take too long, I won't be able to convince them nothing happened," said Celena.
Millerna eyed Celena while she considered her options. "Over how much distance can you maintain a connection?" she asked Hitomi.
"I don't know, yet," Hitomi replied, "but, I believe it's a lot farther than it used to be."
"I would feel a lot more comfortable with this if you knew for sure," Millerna said.
"No!" shouted Allen. "You can't seriously be considering this!" He gripped the bars of Celena's cell. "I only just got you back, you can't go back out there. What if something happens to you? I forbid it!"
Millerna put her hand on Allen's shoulder. "I haven't made a decision yet, Allen, but if I approve this plan, Celena will go on my orders as Queen. Would you disobey your Queen, knight Caeli?" There was compassion in her voice, but it was balanced with the authority of her position.
"No," he said through clenched teeth.
Millerna turned to Hitomi. "How well do you know her mind?"
Hitomi swallowed. "Well enough to know she is on our side, your highness. She wants to stop Zaibach as much as we do."
Millerna pulled an iron key from a pouch at her waist. She unlocked the cell door and unfastened the shackles. Celena rubbed her wrists where the shackles had chafed them raw. "If you are going to help us, let's formalize these plans somewhere other than a jail cell."
Celena followed Millerna from the cell. Stopping beside Allen, she took his hand from the cell bars and gripped it. "I will come back, brother, I promise, but I have to do this."
He pulled her into a tight hug.
The whole party moved to a council room a level above the cellar. Millerna ordered guards to keep watch over Celena while she was in Palas. Hitomi couldn't tell if it was because Millerna still did not trust Celena, or if it was for Celena's own safety. Van eyed Celena with more suspicion than Millerna. The tension in his body had not abated since Celena first passed the two of them at the entrance.
"I will return and report to Hitomi the current situation in Zaibach," Celena said, as they gathered in their seats in the council chamber.
"It won't matter how much we know if our forces are not strong enough to face them," Gaddes said. "It will, at best, make sure we have forewarning for another attack."
Allen looked coldly at the group. "We will have to recruit more soldiers. There isn't enough time to train them, but commoners with swords is better than no defense at all."
Millerna nodded. "We have already begun requesting aid from all able bodied adults in Asturia. However, I will not stoop to the level of Zaibach and force anyone to fight, even if it means our defeat." Millerna's words hung heavy in the room. In an all out fight, everyone present knew that Zaibach would win. There was no way Asturia could muster up enough forces, and after the last war, aid from their neighboring nations was unlikely to come as well.
"The sorcerers want Hitomi," Celena said. All eyes fell to her. "There is something about her power that they believe they can use. They were very pleased with what they learned from her last time. They are very eager to have her back. Our best chance to defeat Zaibach will be to cripple them from inside."
"No," Van said, determination and anger stiffening his posture. Hitomi put a hand on his arm and could feel the warring emotions inside him.
"Van, if there's something I can do, then I don't mind-"
"That's not what I mean," he almost snapped. "I meant, no, you aren't going back there without me. We do this together, or not at all."
Hitomi squeezed his arm in understanding.
"Celena can bring us both back to Zaibach as prisoners," Van finished. "I was Dilandau's exclusive prisoner last time. I don't imagine they would change that upon our return."
"Agreed," said Celena. "It is the only way I can see us breaching their security at this time, and the capture of the Dragon and the Girl from the Mystic Moon would go a long way to prevent any further questions being asked about my extended absence."
"How do we know this isn't an elaborate ploy to get Hitomi?" Gaddes asked.
Celena and Hitomi shared a look. "I know," Hitomi said.
"Regardless, this risks the fewest lives," Millerna said. "Either it works, and we prevent another war, or it doesn't… and we're no worse off than we are now."
"It's decided, then. Hitomi and I will accompany Dilandau back to Zaibach, as his prisoners." Hitomi could feel the strain in Van. Zaibach was the last place on Gaia he wanted to be, much less back in the clutches of his torturer.
Every face in the council chamber was somber. The future of Gaia rested on their shoulders.
"What is the plan after you are inside?" asked Gaddes, incredulous.
"Our first priority must be to prevent Zaibach from pulling more life energy from Gaia," Van replied. "We don't know how they do it, so we will have to figure that out when we get there."
Millerna agreed. "We must remove the sorcerers from power. That is your next assignment. If we weaken their forces from the inside; free their conscripted soldiers; hobble their guymelefs, our small remaining army may be enough. We would never survive an attack on Palas like the last, but a small invasion force has a much higher chance of making a difference. Clear the way for us, and we will be there."
'Us,' Millerna had said. Did she intend to join the fight? Hitomi could see by the look on Allen's face that he caught her wording as well, and didn't like it.
"I will lead the force," Allen asserted.
"I will," Millerna said.
"I mean no disrespect, but you aren't a soldier. You should be here, safe," he shot back at her.
"Allen," she said, with the compassion of an old friend rather than the authority of a queen, "there is a lot I have done, and a lot I have learned in the time you have been absent from the Knights Caeli. I may not have your experience with a sword, but I have been drilled in tactics since the end of the last war. I will greatly appreciate your presence at my side, and your skill and talent with both blade and leadership, but I will be in command." She suddenly looked tired, and much older than her years. "I have a responsibility to the people of Asturia, and... I have to bring Dryden back, myself."
Hitomi's heart squeezed in her chest. Every one of them had someone going into this fight they couldn't afford to lose. They had heard nothing of Dryden since Allen parted with him in Zaibach. Millerna had no way of knowing if he was still alive. If they lost this fight, they would lose everything.
Hitomi felt very small and insignificant. Who was she? She was just a high schooler from Kamakura. She was nothing special. She shrank in her seat among the soldiers and the royalty that were planning for the last stand to save their world. Then Hitomi reached out with her mind to touch the flow of energy through her, the life-source of Gaia that pulsed through everything and everyone. She felt it in Van, and Allen, and Millerna, and she could see that they were all connected to it. She was no different. The energy flowed through her as surely as it did through every other inhabitant of Gaia, and Zaibach wanted to use it, to suck it all up, to control everyone. It wasn't a question of whether or not she could stop them; she had to. She had to protect the connections they all shared.
Millerna continued. "We will wait, hidden outside Zaibach, until you give us a sign that you have been successful."
"How will they signal us from inside Zaibach?" Allen asked, still skeptical of the plan.
"Escaflowne," Van said, leaning forward. "I can operate it from a distance. I've done it before. Bring Escaflowne with you. When it is time, Escaflowne will lead the way."
"I believe that is all we can do, for now," Millerna concluded. "Once we begin, it will all be up to you three." she nodded at Van, Hitomi, and Celena in turn. "We have one chance. Let us all have a good night's sleep, and we begin the work tomorrow."
Millerna dismissed the gathered confidants. Van and Hitomi left the room holding hands and walked toward the wing of the palace that housed their rooms. Silent apprehension filled the space between them. It was one thing to make plans; it was another to sit quietly with the knowledge that in less than a full day, they would again be in the clutches of Zaibach. Hitomi trusted Celena, but everyone else was trusting her word. She could feel fear radiating from Van. She gripped his hand to provide reassurance, and tried to impress upon his mind her confidence in Celena. He looked at her and smiled sheepishly.
"You could tell, huh?" he said. He lifted her hand to his lips and brushed her knuckles, his breath warm on her skin. "I can't keep anything from you now, can I?"
They were outside Hitomi's room. Van's room was at the end of the hall. "I can't sense anything for sure," she explained. "It's more like I get impressions, unless you let me in."
"How did you get inside Dilandau's mind," Van asked, as he brushed a stray hair out of Hitomi's face.
"I believe it was Celena who let me in. It's her mind too, after all."
"Is that really Celena?" Hitomi could definitely feel the fear oozing from him now. Van was about to put himself back in the clutches of his torturer. Hitomi didn't blame him for still being afraid, despite her assurances. Trust only went so far.
"Sort of," Hitomi said, truthfully. "I think she's more Celena than she has been in a very long time, but that's because the part of her that was Dilandau is no longer locked away, separate from her."
"And you believe we can trust her?" He put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her to his chest.
"Yes," Hitomi replied, wrapping her arms around his middle.
"I trust you," he breathed near her ear. "I don't want to let you go," he admitted. "Once we are in Zaibach, they will separate us." He squeezed her a little tighter.
Hitomi gripped his back with her hands. She didn't want him to go, either. She didn't think she would be able to sleep. She would spend the night thinking of all the ways their plan could go wrong. They were only three people, against an entire army on their turf, and Celena had to maintain the illusion that she was still Dilandau. Once they were in Zaibach again, she would be alone. She revelled in Van's warmth against her. "So, don't go," she said into his shirt, her voice trembling.
He released his grip on her and looked her in the eye, brows knitted together, his hands resting on her shoulders.
"I mean it," Hitomi said. She pushed the door of her room open and entered. Holding her hand, Van followed her inside.