Disclaimer: AX: Defenders of the Universe or the now revised to Aeon X (according to the writer, creator Dexter Roxas), not owned by me. Please follow the A.X. Zero Genesis, the prequel story of the original Funny Komiks' A.X. and watch out for the remake of AX. 1 and 2. ( LOL plugging XD)
Chapter V
The Protected
"W-Wait...What?" Keiko responds incoherently unbelieving that this piece of information has slipped their grasp.
"Kaze.", Hikaru's voice was heard from a few meters as he approaches the two. The dark-haired young man could hear a hint of alarm from his voice.
"Hikaru? Did you hear him?" Keiko asked immediately. "It could be mistaken since she has been with Forg most of the time. "
"Let's discuss this somewhere safe." Hikaru tells them.
***A.X.***
'Why is he not answering? Maiden looks thoughtfully at her mobile phone. She has been trying to reach Forg's phone line several times during the whole day to no avail. She wondered if he is deliberately ignoring her calls which is unusual because he would always pick up at the first ring- at least in all those rare times she would try to drop him a call.
She attempts to dial his number once more but decided against it.
I think I'll just drop by. she thought to herself.
She was about to go down a flight of stairs to set off for the school car park, when she heard faint sounds of voices in the direction of what she thought an empty hallway.
Maiden ignores the chatters and proceeds to walk towards the nearest staircase when a whiff of the conversation caught her attention.
A familiar voice exclaimed her name quite loudly that her feet pauses midstep down a staircase leading to the ground floor hallway. She turned to where the voices are coming from suddenly curious of what is being discussed in the chatters. She carefully threaded to a hidden spot behind a pillar and subtly turns her head towards the small group.
Her eyes widened slightly as she saw their homeroom teacher Ms. Keiko and not only that, Hikaru and the student who approached their lunch table earlier that day are with her too.
She picks up a hint of panic and alarm in Ms. Keiko's voice. She's not hearing everything she says but she heard her mention Forg's name too.
Forg?
Her eyebrows furrowed and she strained her ears to hear out what they are about to say next but then they appear to be leaving the premises.
She is suddenly alarmed.
Her curiosity gets the better of her that she wanted to follow the three to wherever they are heading. A part of her thinks that she probably misheard their teacher but a better part of her feels the need to know what is going on around her.
And she hates not knowing.
Maiden waited for the small group to enter an enclosed portion of the hall so that she may utilize the shades and more pillars to conceal her from view while not losing them from her sight. They turned to what seemed like the direction of the school library and she promptly stalked behind. She watches the three made a pass inside the library double doors. She waited a few beats before going in as well.
Once inside, she quickly hid behind one of the shelves and scanned the whole place. There seems to be no other students around and she strained her ears again to hear out any sounds that would give cues to the whereabouts of the people she has been spying on. She stealthily walks in the alley of shelves looking around.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw them heading towards a north wall. She hid once more behind a shelf and peered in a small space above the books. She saw Hikaru press a hand to a wall of a tall shelf to open a partition.
No.
It's a secret door.
A door disguised as a shelf.
Maiden sweat dropped. Her heart thumped erratically at the sight of something she feels like she shouldn't stick her nose to. She heaved a sigh to ease the tension in her chest when they disappeared in the darkness of what she supposed a secret room.
She, again, waited a little more before making a move and towards the spot they entered to.
Sweat formed in her temple as she nervously looked around worried that there might be onlookers who could see what she is up to. She slowly lifts a hand to touch the same spot on the shelf where Hikaru pressed his hand on.
She squinted her eyes and pressed them tightly scared of what might be the outcome of her prying.
***A.X.***
"I'm curious. When did you notice that about Maiden?", Keiko couldn't help but ask as soon as they entered the second door to the meeting room.
"Noon time today." Kaze answers quietly as the three of them takes their designated seats in a round table.
Keiko gives a questioning look to Hikaru as if asking how it had been to him since he is the one who was able to spend more time with Maiden's presence ever since she stepped inside their classroom.
Hikaru momentarily closed his eyes and sighed in defeat before answering the unspoken query.
"I've actually considered her as our last person."
***A.X.***
Using her good arm, Maiden pushes against the secret door to where Ms. Keiko and the two other students went to.
"Nothing, eh?" She furrowed her eyebrows disappointed that the door didn't budge. "I guess...only them has 'access' to the passage", She muttered to herself lightly pounding the shelf as she loses her will to pursue her little quest.
"...!" Her breathe hitched in her throat when all of a sudden her hand that was pressed against the shelf passes through the solid wood. An unknown force pulls her in onto the other side of the secret door.
***A.X.****
"I commend Kaze's ability to sense the souls of individuals.", Hikaru continues. "Something the rest of us are lacking in our department..." He pauses looking back and forth at his two audiences. "...which is why I needed to call for this meeting today.
"The time I saw Maiden at the entrance, I could somehow see the difference in her aural projection. However there is a distinct trail in her that I couldn't seem to grasp..."
"Because there seems to be nothing to grasp..." Keiko finished his sentence getting a grasp of what he has in mind.
"Exactly."
"But how can we be sure about her being our last person if we cannot...-", Keiko trails off. "No way, Hikaru!"
***A.X.***
Maiden slowly opens her eyes and uncrosses her arms she didn't realize she put in a protective stance over her face.
H-How did I ... She looked all around her, seeing only an empty hall and when she glanced behind where she headed from, she saw nothing but a solid wall. She began to feel apprehensive.
She sees no lighting system but the place where she is standing is well-lit enough to see there were two routes left and right leading to shadowy darkness.
Where could they be?
The air began to feel cold. She wondered how so when there seems to be no working air conditioning system or open air passages. She tried not to let her mind wander on unwarranted thoughts of ghosts or any element of that kind but things around her are becoming shady and mysterious and scary.
There could be another secret door somewhere. They couldn't have gotten away that quick, Her mind reasoned out wanting to distract herself from the growing coldness of the hallway.
It could be just around here. She walked towards the wall across her and pressed her palm against the cold marble surface. She was startled when she felt a cold wind blew on her feeling them most on her hair and face. She whirled around her growing more tensed at the sensation of being watched.
There must be a door somewhere where the wind passes through., She repeats to her mind again, trying to distract her own train of thought.
She started walking to the right wing of the hall towards the source of the wind and it was growing colder as she walks further.
Unbeknownst to her, she is under the watch of someone concealed in the shadows ever since she stepped inside the hall. The observer lifted a hand, palm directed to the clueless young lady.
"Reveal your secret."
As if on cue, a sudden gust of wind struck Maiden's figure. The watchful eyes widened marginally in shock of the scene that befell its owner.
An invisible barrier automatically wrapped itself around the girl and as it happens the force of his wind disperses into soft blows that bring coldness to the hall.
She doesn't appear like she is aware of anything that's happening around her, but she seems conscious of the cold.
Anxious as she was, Maiden could only look around still watchful of her surroundings looking for any passage that may lead her to Hikaru's group.
An internal panic stirred inside the onlooker. The three people in the meeting room don't seem aware of Maiden. Having entered the hall with ease and untraced is one thing and being able to deflect his tests is another. He couldn't allow her to go further because while there is a probability that she is the last of the guardians, they couldn't risk falling victim to an enemy's trap if ever she isn't.
I'm sorry...I must stop you for now.
In a snap of his finger, the entire hall went pitch black.
Maiden let out an audible gasp at the sudden darkness of the hallway. Her heart drummed in her chest completely feeling scared. The air went still and she could no longer make out the direction of the wind but nonetheless, her first thought dictates she had no choice but to resume her detour.
When she took a step forward she felt as though she tripped on something and she is falling. She could only brace for the impact.
****A.X.***
"Maiden will manifest skills. We will know when we see one.", Hikaru said thoughtfully.
"Just like what happened with Forg then.", agreed Keiko.
"The test is to bring it out of them because what differentiates our group to the worlds is the inner power of our guardian hearts. It is natural for the rest of us who came mostly from magical worlds to display our abilities, but to them, it will take obvious manifestations of the essence of their guardian heart abilities."
The two listeners nodded in agreement.
"If that is the case then, probably Maiden is the last of you."
The three of them turned to the direction of the voice.
"Naoru, I thought you cannot make it.", exclaimed Keiko.
"I had to deal with some student affair on my way here."
"On your way here?", Hikaru asked quickly picking up his choice of words.
"Yes...actually.", he paused looking around. "Are you aware you have been followed?"
****A.X.***
It's dark.
There is faint sound of buzzing and it's getting louder little by little and then there's vibration. Maiden realizes she's slowly coming to her senses and it's her phone ringing. Her eyes snapped open and she quickly lifted her head up.
W-What...happened?
Her eyes were greeted by the sight of the library –the tall shelves filled with books and the empty seats, the faint afternoon sunlight and the tall grandfather's clock hitting quarter to six in the evening.
The ringing of her phone turned a notch louder this time making her jump. She hastily retrieved it from her bag to answer the call.
Forg?...Oh...
"Finally...", said Forg relief evident in her voice. "Where were you?"
There was pause before Maiden could answer.
"I...I fell asleep in the library...", She answered, distractedly.
"You… what?"
"I said I fell asleep in the library!", She answered irritated this time not because Forg has been pushy as he always been but by the confusion of everything that's happening. She remembers following Hikaru's group early on and entering a secret hallway and then...
"I mean that's unusual, you ought to have gone home at least about two hours ago...", Forg goes on. "Your mom and dad have been ringing your phone nonstop so did I. I'll hang up so you can call them back right now, okay?"
Maiden's mind was still in a whirlwind of thoughts. His litany pales in the background of her mental struggle as she tries to remember what took place in the hallway.
"Maiden, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'll call my parents and go home in a bit.", she answered slowly gaining composure. She quickly ended the call and then looked up her missed calls. There were three from her father and ten from her mother.
She sighed to herself.
It's going to be a long night.
She pressed the call button to ring her mother's number as she expected her worrying at peak this time all the while tidying up the table free of her stuffs and a library book.
Wait..a book?
Her mom picks up at the first ring and she speaks up calming her frantic nerves before she go on and on about her worrying while distractedly flipping open the pages of the book when she noticed a small note sticking out in the leaves.
"Mom, I'm fine. I was in the library…I'm sorry…I "
She picks up the note containing a neat scribble.
'If you want to know about it, meet me at the rooftop tomorrow after class' -N
Her eyes went wide.
Her mother's voice on the line breaks her stupor once more.
"Your chauffeur has been waiting in the school gates honey, hurry up and be home now.", her mother said more calmly.
"I'm sorry, Mom." She says softly, as guilt begins to plague her now along with the confusion slowly stringing
"See you, honey."
"See you..." she answered instantly not particular if she's answering her mom or the note in her hand."Tell Dad, I'm sorry and I'll be there in a few.", she amended.
Once she hung up the call, she quickly stands up and inserted the book in the space in the nearest shelf taking the note with her.
She hurried to the door down to the empty halls and head straight to the school gates not bothering to look around.
She almost ran.
She doesn't know why but after everything that occurred to her in that hall, she felt she needed to get away from the school as quickly as possible and be in the safe confines of her parents' home.
She was fully unaware of the eyes watching her from a distance.
"Naoru's probably right.", says Keiko.
Naoru kept silent, eyes never leaving the girl as she boards a big black car.
The other two males in the small group are more quiet than usual.
Hikaru still couldn't believe his ears when Naoru recounted the events that took place in the hall and the fact that they weren't able to sense Maiden's signature and that she has almost reach the meeting room without them knowing. There seems to be something off. This kind of sly ability of hers falls out of the Guardian's code. He hopes that she isn't using her powers in her own accord because she will definitely be a subject of suspicion but if she isn't what does that make of her?
"We will find out then.", Hikaru answered firmly after a beat.
***end of Chapter ***
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Author's Note: Last night I dreamt of FK and A.X. having live action actors playing the role. I was so giddy about it I immediately looked for Maiden but she wasn't around. In my dream, it was also shown that Funny Komiks is resuming publication and the first page of four for AX features Belle in her blue attire before she claimed her Phoenix power. I don't know. Maybe I just missed the series a lot.
Edit: I got the idea of Maiden being 'a protected', being because of several instances she keeps escaping violent attacks from their enemies in the original comics not matter if she is being protected/ saved by Hikaru or thru some lucky chances, like being the only guardian who has never been inside a crystal cage. I'd like to think that she is immune to some kinds of assaults, the reason for which will be revealed in the next chapters to come.