After Hotaru's announcements and confessions had escalated into yelling and blaming, they had eventually calmed down into a briefing. For the next two hours Hotaru had shared as much information as he could afford to with the defenders of Cephiro. The enemy's abilities, their motives and strategies, as well as order of events.
Once in a while, Hotaru had been interrupted by curious questions about the future or popularity of some characters. As Magic Knight Rayearth hadn't exactly been his favorite anime in his previous life, he wasn't too certain for the popularity ranking. As for the future of the characters, Hotaru had simply told them the truth that the story didn't continue beyond two seasons. In terms of the events left in the second season, he shared only the necessary details, as he didn't know if his information was even valid at this point.
Once Hotaru was done talking, he had interviewed the Magic Knights on their nightmares. Just as Hikaru had learnt Nova's name earlier today while napping, Umi and Fuu had learnt the names of their shadows too; Luna and Terra. However, beyond learning their names, the two girls only could give vague descriptions on their shadows; a mermaid and a beautiful tengu. Hotaru in turn had shared a description of his shadow, Romeo, who was a child-like imp.
While Hotaru had an idea what had caused Nova's birth, none of them had any clues as to why Luna, Terra, Romeo, or Alcyone's shadow had been born. Hotaru had theorized that his guilt for constantly lying had been the catalyst and the reason why his shadow was so small.
With all the information available on the table, Hotaru had come to a clear conclusion about their situation. Just like in the original series, they would need the full support of Autozam, Fahren, and Chizeta, if they hoped to have any chance of winning. With Debonair's faction being twice its original size, they couldn't afford to lose a single ally.
Once the two hours were up, Hotaru had requested that they would stop the discussions for the day. His throat was starting to hurt from all the talking and his audience seemed like they needed time to digest everything he had told them.
As the meeting came to an end, everyone exited the meeting room one at a time, going their separate ways. When Hotaru exited the room, there was an awkward silence in the corridor, as he walked past the others. Caldina and Lafarga, who he had shared drinks with, looked at him with suspicion. Ascot and Ferio, who he had played cards with, turned away from him. Sierra, Presea, and Clef, who had had great expectations of him, didn't seem to know what to make of him. And the Magic Knights who he had traveled and fought with, kept their distance.
Trying to stay strong and not let it get to him, Hotaru put his hands in his pockets and walked past them broodingly. He didn't say a word or look anyone in the eye, just walked past them like he owned the place.
I never imagined I would get the junior high treatment for a third time. Not that it matters, I have more important things to take care of before I worry about their feelings. I just hope Alcyone is home…
As they watched him leave, the Magic Knights could no longer see the man in the same light. Their fellow teenage comrade who had been brought into this mess of a world against his will, was no more. Instead, they looked at a middle-aged man who had intruded upon their journey with full knowledge of everything. While they still remembered their time together, it was those memories that added to the pain of it all.
"I can't believe we shared a room together with him…" Umi shuddered, feeling uncomfortable with the thought of it.
"He lied to us from the very moment we first met and fooled us until now," Fuu muttered angrily. "It is hard to discern what he said was true and what was not."
"He protected us so many times…" Hikaru sniffed, her heart aching, "but was it all just to get what he wanted? Adventure and an easy life?"
Remembering their times together, Hikaru refused to believe that Hotaru had only used them to achieve his goals. Yet the fact that the man she had once thought of almost as her brother had kept such a secret from her, meant she couldn't be certain of anything. He had only let her learn the truth once things got so out of hand, he could no longer be certain of his or Cephiro's future.
He wants things to stay the way they were when he first learnt of our story and knows who the next Pillar is… Does he not care about how the Pillar feels? Or does he know it to be the only way for Cephiro to be saved?
As other people around began to have their discussions, Hikaru could barely hear herself think. Although the sanctuary had been a place of great relief and a safe haven for her, it now felt cramped and oppressive. Everyone was angry, upset, and scared by what Hotaru had told them. And for one reason or another, Hikaru couldn't help but blame herself for it.
"Lantis, where do you think you are going?" she heard Lafarga ask in a strict tone.
Turning around, Hikaru saw that Lantis had finally left the meeting room with Primera. He had a stern yet focused look in his eyes, signaling he had something in mind.
"I am going outside to clear my head," Lantis said in a firm voice. "I need time to think things through…"
"Oh, you're gonna meet up with your Autozam buddies again?" Umi asked with her hands on her hips.
"Lantis would not do that!" Primera yelled, hovering above the magic swordsman's shoulder. "You heard what that brute said! We know who our true enemies are!"
"He also kept unusually quiet about Lantis," Caldina pointed out acutely, "maybe Hotaru didn't want to blow his cover for his own safety."
Before Lantis could find the words to retort, Hikaru spoke out, "I'll go with him!"
Everyone turned to look at Hikaru with a surprised expression, not having expected this sort of demand from her. What surprised them even more was just how adamant and serious Hikaru was.
"I also need time for myself to think things through," Hikaru said, tired of all the fighting and arguing. "At the same time, I can keep an eye on Lantis."
While Hikaru was adamant in her decision, Umi was equally as adamant in her objection, "I'm against it! You can't go! Absolutely not!"
"I am against the idea as well," Fuu concurred, standing tall.
"Me too," Presea objected. "It's too dangerous for you to go outside the castle."
"Boss told us that the enemy will try to strike at us when we are alone," Ferio pointed out. "If this is true then us splitting is not going to be a good idea. You would be walking right into Nova's hand."
Hikaru felt a cold shiver run down her spine at the thought of this. The idea that Nova could try and attack her when she went outside had crossed her mind, but it was only a possibility. However, at the same time, while she had been frightened by her nightmares, she now knew the exact cause behind them.
"If she does come then so be it," Hikaru said without backing down.
Once again, everyone was in shock, causing Clef to speak out, "Hikaru, you heard what Martin said. Nova is a foe you would be foolish to face alone."
"He also said that I managed to defeat her!" Hikaru continued. "Presea, Sierra, does reforging a broken Escudo weapon make it more powerful?"
The two master blacksmiths looked at each other, before Presea admitted, "No, it does not. The only thing that can make an Escudo weapon stronger is the heart of its wielder."
"Then it is all up to me," Hikaru said before walking over to Lantis. "Is it okay if I come with you?"
Lantis thought about the offer, unsure how to feel about having someone intrude on his alone time. Furthermore, if there truly was the danger of Hikaru's shadow attacking them, she was a dangerous companion to have around. If she did come with him, they would both be looking after each other, for one reason or another. However, turning her down didn't seem like an option, for there was an air of familiarity to her.
"If I say no, does it mean you will still go outside on your own?" Lantis asked, looking into Hikaru's eyes.
"Yes."
"Will you accept the term that if we get attacked by your shadow, that we will retreat for backup?"
"Yes."
Letting out a short sight, Lantis nodded, "Very well."
I was right. She is just like I was when I was younger.
"Well, if you're going then so am I!" Umi declared self-assuredly.
"You can't," Hikaru denied. "Two Magic Knights shouldn't leave the castle! What will happen when the battleships from Fahren and Chizeta attack? Or what if the shadows attack here when we're gone!"
"Then it would be a larger problem to not have all three in one place," Fuu pointed out worriedly.
"It'll be fine!" Hikaru insisted, getting a bit frustrated. "Like I said, if someone attacks, we will come back!"
Seeing that there was no way of changing the mind of the leader of the Magic Knights, everyone slowly accepted her little outing. The only one to put up a resistance was Primera, but once Lantis reminded her that he was allowed outside thanks to Hikaru, she stopped complaining.
Two floors below the meeting room, was the central tower's bar. Its walls and counters were made out of red granite, petrified wood, and cherry brown hardwood. The room was lit up by golden sconces with glowing pearl-like lamps on top of them. The bar had round tables with red tops, booths with curved black leather couches, and simple wooden chairs. In front of the bar counter, there were five bar stools, but no one working behind it.
It was a cozy open bar with a wide selection, yet the establishment was almost empty. Whether it was due to people not being in the mood to drink or since it was early in the day, only one person sat on one of the bar stools. A brunette young man who had poured himself a glass of the strongest smelling liquor he had found.
Having reverted his armor back into a pair of gauntlets, Hotaru had placed them on the bar counter. This allowed him to better grip the tumbler glass in his hands, from which he sipped slowly. In addition, it allowed him to relax after sitting in his armor for two hours straight. While the armor was easy to move in, staying put in it left him sweaty and sore.
Hotaru knew he had to face Alcyone sooner or later, but he was not in the right mindset for it. While he did not plan on getting drunk, he was still far too wound up and angry for such a difficult conversation. Having no one else to turn to or anyone who could relate to his troubles, he figured ranting to himself with a glass of who-knows-what was the best he could do.
"What a shit show…" he spoke in English, as there was no reason to keep up appearances anymore. "I should have given more thought to how to break it down for everyone. It's a good thing I am not a public speaker…"
"Puu puu-puu pu puupuu," he heard sympathetic chirping from next to him.
Turning to the right, Hotaru saw Mokona sitting next to him on a bar stool. It was a bizarre sight to see a fluffy, egg-shaped, rabbit fay sitting next to him in such an atmospheric environment. And yet, Hotaru wasn't all too surprised to see Mokona sitting next to him. Nor was he surprised to see the gem on its forehead glowing yellow.
"Let me guess; you want to know if I know," Hotaru sighed, pouring Mokona a drink.
"Puu."
"And you want to know if I am going to tell the others?" he pushed a shot glass in front of it.
"Puu," Mokona nodded, before swallowing the glass whole.
Hotaru took another swig from his tumbler glass, before putting it down on the counter, "Now, I do not want to make you into my enemy. I have enough of those as of right now. But I don't do anything freely. So, I want you to answer a certain question for me, in exchange for my silence. Okay?"
Spitting the shot glass out onto the bar counter, Mokona nodded, "Pu-puu."
Looking at his reflection in the mirror behind the bar, Hotaru asked philosophically, "Did these worlds exist before the authors wrote their stories about them, or did the authors create the worlds by writing about them?"
With a serious look on its face, Mokona answered, "Puu pudu pudu puu-pupu pu puu puu-pu puu-puu."
"Naruhodo," Hotaru switched back to Japanese. "Alright, your secret is safe with me."
"Puu-puu pupupu puudu?"
Hotaru looked at his almost empty glass, before answering, "Apologize to Alcyone, I guess."
"Puru pudu pupu pu-puu pudu," Mokona wiggled its ears.
"You're right…" Hotaru sighed deeply, finishing his drink. "I should have told Alcyone all of this first before I addressed everyone at once. I just… thought it would save some time and effort and not have her make a scene about me lying to her."
"Pu-pu puu."
"If she doesn't want me back? Well… I suppose I am used to being alone. As long as I live, there's always another day and another opportunity. Doesn't matter if anyone cares about me, I just keep going forward regardless."
"Pupuu!" Mokona shouted and jumped into Hotaru's lap.
Seeing the little sacred beast trying to hug him with its nubby little arms, Hotaru chuckled, "Heh… I appreciate it."
"HAAAAAAAAAA!" Hikaru shouted, cutting her way through a group of monsters.
Almost as soon as Hikaru and Lantis had made their way outside the Sanctuary and the valley that surrounded it, they were attacked by monsters. Although Hikaru had promised to come straight back if attacked, she didn't find monsters to be a reason for concern. While they didn't allow her a peace of mind, the monsters were good for taking out her frustration.
Right now, she was fighting against a group of slimy slug-men with an alien-like appearance, with Lantis following from a reasonable distance. As her greatsword cleaved through them, they popped like bubbles of tar. But as soon as she turned around, Hikaru saw the monsters reforming back together. The bluish gray human sized monsters had two eyestalks on their heads with purple eyes, and a third one as a tail. They stared at Hikaru quietly, almost as if unimpressed by her attack.
Yet, having faced foes like this before, Hikaru knew what to do, "Flame Arrow!"
She threw a powerful spiraling fireball from her finger directly at her enemies, causing a huge explosion of fire and heat. The area around her was bathed in orange light and the heat of her spell could be felt from a hundred feet away. Once the blast dissipated, all that was left of the monsters was a flaming crater.
Taking a breather to calm down, Hikaru stared at the crater, "Monsters… I think they're much stronger now than before."
Walking over to her composedly, Lantis stated, "All monsters in Cephiro are materializations of the heart. The fear of people who have lost their Pillar creates powerful monsters."
Looking up at him, Hikaru muttered, "Just like Hotaru said…"
"Right," Lantis nodded, looking up at the stormy sky, "it does make sense that a monster like he described could have been brought to life by the Pillar's death."
"Everyone is so worried and angry… that they blame Hotaru for all of it," Hikaru sniffed, looking down at the ground. "But it is not just his fault, it is ours too…"
Seeing the red-headed girl start to tear up, Lantis corrected her, "It is not your fault either. None of this would have happened if not for the Pillar system. But right now, assigning blame won't get us anywhere."
"Right..." Hikaru nodded, wiping her tears into her sleeve.
As she pulled away her arm and opened her eyes, Hikaru was greeted with the sight of the rocky remains of Cephiro. Everywhere she looked, she could see stony peaks like the teeth of a giant monster. At a distance, she saw the glowing crystal fortress that all of Cephiro's life had been concentrated in. And above it all, the forever dark and stormy sky that reminded everyone of their impending doom. It truly looked like the world came to an end beyond the horizon.
"It really… has changed," Hikaru sighed sadly while reminiscing.
It had been little over a month when Cephiro had still been lush and green. Thick forests with lush canopies and great diversity in plant life. Vast meadows and colorful fields of flowers that one could spend hours on end admiring in the gentle sunlight. Clear skies that promised that the day would be good and peaceful. And rivers so clear and clean that one could drink from them directly.
That Cephiro is no longer…
As Hikaru eventually snapped out of her thoughts, she noticed that Lantis was nowhere to be seen. Turning around, she could spot Lantis waiting for her, before walking away from the Sanctuary. Guessing he wanted her to follow him, Hikaru rushed after the magic swordsman, following the back of his light blue mantle.
Sitting on Lantis's shoulder, Primera kicked her feet, "Hey, Lantis. Did we really need to have that short girl tag along with us? I'm sure she could handle herself if she had gone out alone. Honestly I'm surprised anyone else dared to go outside aside from you, Lantis."
Running up a hill to catch up with Lantis, Hikaru found herself out of breath surprisingly quickly. She hadn't gotten as much exercise lately as at the start of their journey, but even then, moving felt difficult. The air felt thinner and less fresh, making it harder for her breath. While Hikaru didn't have the highest grades in her class, she could tell that the lack of plant-life and the planet breaking down were to blame.
As she was about half way to catching up with Lantis, Primera flew in front of her face, looking up snootily, "You're so slow! I wonder if size has something to do with walking speed?"
"Sorry…"
"Then again, I am small, but I can fly…" Primera praised herself, not noticing Hikaru running past her. "So it's a breeze for me, really!"
Finally catching up to Lantis, Hikaru did her best to keep up with the tall man. Although she had faced Zagato before, she had never seen him up close. Now that she was standing next to his little brother, the shortest of the Magic Knights felt like a small child next to him. Her head only reached up to Lantis's midriff, making her feel like she was walking next to her big brother Satoru.
As she walked next to him, Hikaru noticed she was having no difficulty keeping up with Lantis. At first, she thought the hill had gotten less steep, but then she noticed the way he walked.
Wait, is he, by any chance, walking slowly to match my pace?
Looking up at the man in dark armor, Hikaru couldn't help but notice how he looked less scary from this angle. In fact, he looked quite handsome and at peace, despite the heated debates just a few moments ago. And yet, there was a hint of longing in his sky-blue eyes, like a lone wolf in the winter. It was completely different to someone like Hotaru, who always looked like he either had something in mind or was after something.
"Here we go!" Primera spun a pirouette in the air before coming to an elegant stop. "How is it? My graceful flight…"
Looking around, Primera noticed she was alone, with no one to appreciate her performance. Hikaru and Lantis were already some ways away from her, making Primera feel a twinge of jealousy.
"W-Wait… Wait a minute!" she flew after them as fast as she could.
As Hikaru turned around to smile at the little fairy's flustering expression, she heard a deep and loud roar from behind her. As she turned around, she could see a giant one-eyed monster, ready to pounce on Lantis.
"Lantis!" Hikaru warned him.
The monster was over four meters tall, its vaguely humanoid body seemingly made out of solid uniform rock. It had no head, only a yellow eye with a red iris at the top of its chest. Its shoulders were broad and sharp and two sharp stony protrusions grew downwards from its back. It had large bulbous fingers, which it was holding out widely as it was about to grapple onto the swordsman in front of it.
Noticing the monster, Lantis reached behind him and pulled out the seashell shaped handle of his magic sword. Activating his sword, a blade of pure white energy was projected from its handle in the shape of a broadsword. Taking a long step back to get out of the monster's reach, he raised his sword into the air.
"Lightning Call!"
A blue lightning bolt struck the blade of the magic sword, causing it to change color. As the stony monster towered over him while charging straight forward, Lantis brought his sword down. The lightning jumped forward from his blade, striking the monster in its chest, causing it to roar out in pain. While the spell at first seemed to do no damage to the monster, it soon exploded in a fiery blast.
As the smoke cleared, not a trace was left of the monster, letting Lantis to calmly store away his sword. Seeing how effortlessly he had dispatched the monster, Hikaru couldn't help but stare in a slight shock. Her heart was still beating loudly from the sudden bolt of lightning that had ended the fight in under five seconds.
"Amazing…" Hikaru gasped, complimenting Lantis. "Clef told me that you were the only magic swordsman in Cephiro."
Lantis had already been walking ahead, before deciding to talk, his voice heavy and deep, "That was a long time ago. Nowadays, I think Hotaru might be a second."
"I think Hotaru told us he was a paladin," Hikaru thought back on the night he first brought Alcyone over. "Though I do not know the exact difference between a magic swordsman, a paladin, and a Magic Knight."
"The differences are subtle," Lantis answered, talking while walking. "What makes Magic Knights who they are is their connection with the legendary Mashin. As for a magic swordsman and paladin, the key difference comes in mastering your magic and swordsmanship skills."
"I see…" Hikaru nodded along while following behind, until she realized something. "Then, do you think he has mastered them? He is technically my first student."
This caused Lantis to raise an eyebrow in shock and admiration. While he could tell that Hikaru wasn't a slouch in swordsmanship skills, her having been the one to teach Hotaru came as a surprise. For someone so young to be so skilled and capable of passing on that skill, was truly remarkable. And yet, he couldn't give the same praise to her student…
"He has a lot of refining to do," Lantis said in an analytical tone. "It is hard to judge his swordsmanship because of his… unique style. He leaves himself full of openings when attacking and faces attacks head-on when being defensive."
Hikaru smiled awkwardly while listening to Lantis's breakdown, remembering Hotaru's near-death experiences, "That does sound like him… If it were anybody else, he would already be dead. But… I guess he already died once…"
The two of them continued walking while talking about things they had in common. This didn't seem to be a long list in itself, as Lantis seemed to dislike sweets. Once they had talked about swordsmanship techniques, Hikaru brought up the topic of older brothers. Once certain Lantis was okay with the topic, Hikaru proceeded to tell him all about her three brothers. Before Lantis could start talking about Zagato in turn, a flying monster attacked them.
The one-eyed olive-green monster glided towards them on the dragon-like skin-flaps under its arms—
"Flame Arrow," Hikaru cast casually.
The monster was quickly incinerated, falling to the ground in glowing embers. As Hikaru sighed and tried to remember what they were talking about before the interruption, she felt something cold against her head.
"Rain?"
For the first time since she had returned to Cephiro, rain was falling from the sky. At first, she was happy for the dry wasteland to get some rain, but then remembered there was nothing left to grow. Furthermore, the gentle rain quickly ramped up into a heavy downpour, prompting Lantis and Hikaru to find shelter. Finding the nearest forward leaning cliff, they rushed under its overhang. While it didn't provide perfect cover, it was better than nothing.
As the rain continued, some of the water dripped down the side of the cliff and onto Hikaru's head. Before she had time to take a step back and lean against the dirty and cold cliff, Lantis lifted his arm over her. Using his mantle, the tall man created a simple shelter around the short girl, protecting her from the rain and wind.
Slightly flustered from the gesture, Hikaru stammered, "Oh, um… It's all right. I'm fine. I'm pretty tough… I won't catch a cold or anything."
Despite her objections, Lantis remained stationary, seemingly not bothered by using his mantle as a makeshift umbrella. Instead, he looked like he was deep in thought as he gazed into the rain.
Smiling slightly, Hikaru looked at the ground, "Thank you…"
As they waited out the rain, Hikaru finally had the time to think now that she had let out some steam. Remembering back on the heated discussions of the meeting and the bad blood that it had generated, left a bad taste in her mouth. However, at the same time she couldn't help but wonder if it was all warranted or not.
Hotaru… why did you lie to us? Why did you come with us to this world if you knew what it was going to be like? You were so confident about saving Cephiro, but I don't know if it can be saved anymore… No, you wouldn't have said you would stay if that were the case. But you still knew about the Pillar, you knew the sacrifice they were making, and you knew we would kill them. How can I trust you to care about what happens to the next Pillar of Cephiro?
Hikaru's trail of thought was interrupted by the flash of lightning and the roar of thunder, as two nearby bolts of lightning lit up the sky.
"I wonder if a storm is coming," Hikaru thought out loud, trying to make small talk. "Oh, wait, there are no storms or typhoons here. Lantis, you've never seen one, right?"
"I have," he answered with a deep voice.
"But I thought that in Cephiro…"
"When I was traveling in other worlds," Lantis specified.
"Right… You said you visited Fahren forty years ago…" Hikaru remembered from earlier this morning.
"That was a long time ago," Lantis sighed wistfully.
Seeing his sad expression, Hikaru asked worriedly, "Hey… Were you ever lonely traveling alone?"
Having traveled through Cephiro with her friends, Hikaru found it difficult to imagine a journey much longer on her own. If she had had to do her journey to become a Magic Knight all on her own, she probably couldn't have handled it. To travel between worlds like Lantis did, must have been lonely without any companions.
But while Hikaru was showing sympathy, Lantis was taken aback by this question. No one else had ever asked him if he had been lonely, even when meeting people on other worlds. Sure, he always had his horse with him, but while it was a loyal beast, it wasn't much for conversation or reminiscing. Looking back on his life, he had in fact been lonely when on the road. Not that he hadn't made friends on his journey.
As they stared into each other's eyes, a blue-haired figure bumped between them, "Hold it! Hold it! Hold it!"
Having stayed underneath Lantis's mantle, Primera had flown onto his shoulder, looking down at Hikaru. The fairy seemed angry and upset, her long blue hair messier than usual, as she slowly flew down to Hikaru's level.
"What's with this mood?" Primera asked, her hands on her tiny hips. "Lantis is mine! Don't put him in any funny situations!"
"Funny?" Hikaru blinked confused, before suddenly being jumped on. "Woah!"
Hikaru only had a fraction of a second to react, as a small white creature jumped into her arms. It took a moment for her to realize what was going on, but she soon realized she was holding a very wet and slippery Mokona in her hands.
"M-Mokona!" Hikaru yelled in surprise, but smiling widely. "Did you follow me all this way in the rain?"
Mokona nodded with a smile at Hikaru, at which point she asked, "Hu-uh? Where did Primera go?"
Without a warning, Mokona hopped down onto the ground from Hikaru's arms. It made subtle yet weird gurgling sounds, before opening its mouth so wide its lower jaw reached its belly. As Mokona's maw opened, Primera quickly flew out of its mouth, gasping and flailing their arms and legs frightfully.
Dropping onto her rear on the ground, Primera turned around frightenedly on her fours. Her voice was shaking and her lip trembling, as she stared at Mokona with her yellow eyes.
"Y-You tried to e-eat…," Primera stuttered, before getting her voice back. "You were trying to eat me! You were just going to swallow me whole! And why does your mouth smell like alcohol? I swear if I smell like your breath, I will—!"
Watching the two small fays arguing, Hikaru couldn't help but chuckle at their antics. But as she did so, Lantis moved his mantle away from Hikaru. At first, she thought that Lantis was angry at her for laughing at Primera, but then realized the rain had stopped. And yet, she swore she could hear the distant echo of rain, until she looked up into the sky.
The constant high-pitched sound seemed to come closer, reminding her of the sound of the engines. Unable to see anything at first, Hikaru's eyes widened as something blew a hole in Cephiro's thick cloud cover. In the middle of the hole, she could see a bright flickering light.
Running out from underneath the cliff, Hikaru could see the light descending to the ground. As it came closer, she could spot a familiar white and green mech in front of the light. The light was coming from the exhausts of the giant robot's wings, which shifted color as the engines slowed down during its descent.
"That's… Autozam's…" Hikaru stared with her eyes wide, trying to remember the name of it.
"The FTO…" Lantis gasped, staying close to Hikaru. "Eagle. It seems Hotaru was right."
"Yeah," Hikaru nodded.
The FTO landed with a thud right in front of Hikaru. Although the FTO was standing at the bottom of a small hill, it still towered way above her. Hikaru had to look all the way up in order to see the robot's purple-visored head.
"Konnichiwa, lady Magic Knight," the giant robot greeted her. "I see you're alone today."
Trying to remain brave, Hikaru yelled out to ask, "How do you know that I'm alone?"
"The last time we met, I took your biological data along with your battle data," Eagle answered, watching Hikaru through the monitors of his cockpit.
Hotaru was right, they do collect our data… Hikaru's eyes widened.
Eagle chuckled at her reaction quietly, before addressing her again, "You've helped me immensely by being here alone.
As the FTO took the safety off of its weapon systems, its machine gun fingers moved around. Activating the battle mode of its aerial protocols, Hikaru could hear the engines in its wings starting up. The air around her was blowing past her, as the thrusters heated up.
Remembering what Hotaru had told her, Hikaru yelled, "I know what you want! Can't you give up on the Pillar of Cephiro?"
"I cannot," Eagle answered honestly. "My country needs the Pillar system."
Realizing there was no talking things out, Hikaru prepared for battle. The red gem on her chest plate glowed brightly, before her basic armor transformed into her caped Magic Knight armor. She then summoned her greatsword from the red gem in her left glove, before raising it up high above her.
"Rayearth!"
Summoning her crimson red giant robot, it appeared behind her in a flash of light. Her body transformed into red energy, before being absorbed into the gem on Rayearth's chest. Standing tall and proud, Rayearth prepared to face its foe, brandishing its large shield with flames spewing out from its back.
"It truly is amazing," Eagle admired the Mashin. "I wonder what that Mashin uses for mobilization."
Using thermal imaging, he took a closer look at the Mashin's internal structure. While the hottest parts of the robot were unsurprisingly the flames on its back, Eagle was surprised to find that Rayearth's face and gems were almost as hot. Even then, the rest of the Mashin's body was evenly high temperatures throughout, almost as if a living warm-blooded creature was inside.
As he continued scanning, Eagle spotted a smaller figure standing behind Rayearth. As the sensors zoomed in on the figure, Eagle felt like there was something familiar about it. Switching over to standard camera view, he soon discovered himself to be right.
Trembling in his cockpit, Eagle gasped agitatedly, "Lantis…"
"Eagle!" Lantis addressed his old friend. "We don't have to do this! I know why you are here! Just listen to us!"
Gritting his teeth, Eagle swallowed deeply before smiling, "Unfortunately that is not possible. I have come with the exact purpose of testing out FTO's new upgrades. FTO, go."
Activating the booster wings, the FTO quickly soared straight up into the sky. Hikaru only had time to gaze at her foe above her, before the white mech started firing from its right arm. She lifted her shield up as blue projectiles rained down on her that impacted with her shield. While the bullets didn't do much damage to Rayearth, she could feel slight shocks course through her body with each hit. Blue sparks rained around her, as the electrically charged bullets peppered her.
Getting fed up with this, Hikaru flew straight up at her opponent, quickly ascending to the same altitude.
"Flame Arrow!" Hikaru yelled, launching a giant ball of fire at Eagle.
Calmly and confidently, Eagle whispered, "Auto Shield."
As the fire spell struck FTO, an energy barrier appeared around it, blocking the spell. By the time the flames dissipated, Rayearth was already right in front of FTO. Having summoned her sword, Hikaru struck FTO at its wings as quickly as possible. But as her sword was about to connect, a white streak of bright light blocked her sword.
"Nani?" Hikaru gasped, her eyes widening.
Before Hikaru could react, the gauntlet on FTO's right arm popped open before a plasma wrist sword protruded from it. Right before Eagle could slice down at the Mashin, Hikaru managed to raise her shield to block it. However, the plasma sword quickly melted its way through the red shield, cutting it in half.
Hikaru screamed in pain as the blade cut into her arm and the lower half of her shield fell to the ground. Primera screamed in terror as the giant clawed hunk of red metal fell right in front of them, before exploding in a pillar of fire.
"Pu-pu PUU!" Mokona chirped in shock, seeing the Mashin get damaged.
Even Lantis gritted his teeth nervously, as he started getting worried over the upgrades Eagle had talked about. His worries were replaced with new ones, as he watched Rayearth falling from the sky with a smoking trail behind it. As the red Mashin was about to hit the ground, it straightened its trajectory before flying horizontally, close to the ground. As Rayearth flew over Lantis, the FTO wasn't far behind.
Seeing the FTO closing in on her quickly, Hikaru decided to take a page from Hotaru's book. Pressing her feet against the ground to halt Rayearth's momentum, Hikaru quickly thrusted back the pointy back end of her shield. Expecting the FTO to run right into her shield, Hikaru was surprised as the white mech stopped on the dime right behind her.
"I don't want to hurt a girl like you any further," Eagle said with a gentle voice. "Will you please cooperate?"
Gritting her teeth, Hikaru considered surrendering, but with everything that had happened today, she wasn't ready to give up. Grabbing the handle of her sword tightly with both hands, she turned around and attacked.
Like before, the streak of light appeared right where her sword was, blocking her off. As she pressed against it harder, sparks started flying in every direction. Frustrated, Hikaru started slamming her sword against the FTO from multiple different directions, each blow being parried.
"Auto Shield," Eagle said proudly. "It is an upgraded form of our old shield technology. Instead of spreading the power output of the shield generators to the entire body of FTO, we concentrate it onto a single spot. An assistant computer calculates the correct angle of attack within milliseconds, and blocks it automatically."
As Hikaru continued attacking and her frustration continued growing, her sword became wreathed in flames. But despite Eagle reading a major increase in power in the Mashin's attacks, the Auto Shield held out respectably.
"We created it in order to combat Commander Hotaru," Eagle continued, letting his opponent tire themselves out. "We may not be able to match what he is capable of, but we can find ways to counter it."
"Hotaru…" Hikaru gritted her teeth, before sighing in frustration. "Very well. I will cooperate."
Remembering the intel Hotaru had shared with everyone, Hikaru knew that her and Eagle had become friends in the original course of events. While she found this hard to believe right now, she realized her options were limited. But not nonexistent.
"I will peacefully follow you to NSX," Hikaru agreed, before raising Rayearth's finger. "But, only on one condition."
"And what would that be?" Eagle asked, knowing when to be diplomatic.
Looking behind the FTO, Hikaru answered, "I want Lantis to come with us. He will act as my bodyguard."
"Hikaru…" Lantis gasped, realizing what she was after.
Taken aback as well, Eagle considered the Magic Knight's offer, before accepting, "Very well, you will be treated as diplomatic guests of Autozam."
As the FTO lowered its weapons and Hikaru did the same, Lantis summoned his horse. As he got on top of it, he turned over to his fairy companion.
"Primera, I want you to stay behind," Lantis said with a deep and quiet voice.
"But Lantis! I want to come with you too!" Primera objected, fluttering in front of his face. "What if something happens to you?"
Trying to stay calm, Lantis looked her in the eye and explained, "I want you to go and let others know what has happened to us. We will need backup if the discussions go south or if Eagle tries something. I am counting on you."
"Co-Counting on me!" Primera blushed, her wings fluttering as she brought her hands to her mouth.
Primera spun in the air out of joy a few times, spreading faint amounts of fairy dust around her. Her heart was fluttering as much as her wings, while her legs wiggled back and forth in the air.
"It shall be done, Lantis my love!" Primera smiled while posing elegantly. "Come on you rabbit frog, let us make haste!"
"Puu?" Mokona tilted its head, seeing Primera flying towards the Sanctuary.
At the thirtieth floor of the Sanctuary's central tower, Hotaru was standing at the door of his apartment, gathering courage. Though he was wearing his Double Armor, he had never felt as naked in either of his lives. The pitch-black obsidian door seemed heavy and foreboding for the first time since he had moved in. He could see the silhouette of Alcyone's back on the black surface of the curved door and imagine her angry expression. Though he had taken time to calm down and think things through, he had no idea what he would say. After all, he had no idea what Alcyone would even say to him.
Opening the door slowly, Hotaru felt a cold breeze flood out into the corridor from the apartment. Looking around carefully, he made sure that nothing in the room was frozen before entering. As he did, he soon spotted Alcyone sitting in the living room armchair, her tall slender body sunken into its soft cushions.
Although her long black hair obscured most of her face from the side, Hotaru could tell that Alcyone was still angry. Her red lips were curved downwards and he could see some tears reflecting light off of her bosom. Although this wasn't the first time he had come home to an angry girlfriend, this was the first time it actually hurt him to talk to them.
"A-Alcyone… I am sorry," Hotaru forced out of him, almost choking on his guilt.
Is that all you got to say for yourself? You have a lot of nerve to speak to me! How dare you show yourself here again? Did you think you could deceive me your entire life? Get out! Hotaru had expected these and many other responses, and yet, Alcyone's silence felt far more unnerving.
"…I know you are angry, and you deserve to be," Hotaru confessed, hanging his head low. "I should have told you the truth, but I didn't think you would have believed me…"
A painfully long moment of silence passed, as they both stayed still, not moving a muscle. The temperature in the room seemed to be going up, until Alcyone moved in the arm chair, raising her head up a bit.
"…Is that how little faith you had in me?" Alcyone asked under her breath. "But of course… Why would you have put your faith in a villainess like myself?"
"That— That is not true!" Hotaru corrected her. "I trust you with my life! I wouldn't have saved you if I didn't trust you."
"Then do you doubt my intelligence?" Alcyone turned towards him, staring at him lividly. "Did you really think I wouldn't have believed you? Even when it would have been easy for you to prove it, like you did today?"
"No! Nothing or the sort," Hotaru denied once more, "I wanted to tell you and I was planning to, but only after all of this was over…"
Alcyone's big indigo eyes were glued to him, as her gaze became more and more disheartened, "Why? Why would you possibly want to wait until then to tell me?"
"…Because I didn't want you to get hurt," Hotaru admitted, knowing how foolish it had all been. "Debonair, she has eyes and ears everywhere. Even this conversation we are having right now, she can hear it. I didn't want to lose you to Debonair's influence like in the original story. I thought that if I kept my mouth shut, we would be better off, but I was wrong…"
While Alcyone listened to Hotaru's words patiently and analyzed his reasoning, she couldn't find it in her to forgive him. The amount of trust she had placed in this lime-eyed man was staggering, yet he hadn't trusted her anywhere near as much. For the last hour or so, she had tried to think of reasons why Hotaru wouldn't have trusted her. But every time she thought she had found the answer, she only got hurt more by the implications of it.
"You said Emeraude's death is what caused her birth. Why didn't you tell me before that?"
Clenching his fists, Hotaru thought back to those days, trying to find a reason for it, "Because we had only been together for a short while back then… I didn't want to bring it up to worry the girls, or the truth about Emeraude and Zagato."
"So you thought it was okay to just lie to us?" Alcyone snarked back at him. "To keep us all in the dark about who you really were? Why in the name of Cephiro's Pillar did you think that was a good idea!"
"Because I haven't told anyone!" Hotaru snapped under the pressure. "For the past eighteen years I have lived as Hotaru with nobody else knowing! I died, Alcyone! I really did! My past life might as well have been buried wherever the Hell my previous body is at! Why dig it up!?"
Alcyone's pupils narrowed as she stared at him coldly, "You really don't get it, do you?"
A cold sweat dripped down the back of Hotaru's head as Alcyone stared at him. Trying to quickly think of different reasons why she would be angry at him under pressure, quickly made him feel frustrated. As Alcyone's cheeks started to flush with anger, Hotaru was starting to feel the animosity as well. With his insecurities starting to kick in, Hotaru decided to force Alcyone to spit out the answer herself.
"Well maybe I lied to you, but it's not like I was using you!" Hotaru yelled out, trying to put things into perspective. "It's not like I was making you do war crimes like Zagato!"
As planned, Hotaru could see Alcyone's brow raise and her emotions flare out. As it looked like she was about to talk, she seemed to calm down slightly, which sent a jolt of dread through Hotaru. As she began to speak, her voice slowly increased in volume.
"Zagato may have lied and used me for his own purposes, but at least he didn't break my heart AFTER sleeping with me!" Alcyone yelled, her face red with anger and sadness.
"That's…! I mean…" Hotaru tried to defend himself, his face turning pale.
"I didn't sleep with anyone before you because I couldn't," Alcyone teared up, her voice pained and hoarse. "I was saving to have my first time with someone special, someone I knew, someone I could trust and love with all my heart!"
As Hotaru remained frozen Alcyone lowered her voice, staring at him through teary eyes, "But I guess you didn't feel the same, because you sure didn't trust me enough to let me know the real you. Was I not special to you? Did our love mean so little to you?"
Unable to look her in the eye, Hotaru was shivering as the realization of how badly he had hurt Alcyone hit him. When he had slept with Alcyone, all he had thought of was making sure that both of them would enjoy it. As someone who had experienced his first time decades ago, he had never thought of just how much that night had meant for her.
Of course you're special to me! I love you more than words can express!
Those words were on Hotaru's lips, but as he looked deep inside of him, he was not in any position to speak them. He truly had hurt Alcyone in a way that not even Zagato ever would have. And as things stood, he could no longer find it in him to justify his actions or secrecy. All he felt was a mind clouding sinking feeling and a sickening, gut-wrenching guilt that left him with just one option.
"I-I'm… sorry…" Hotaru stuttered, before trudging over to the front door.
Without anything trying to stop him, Hotaru walked out of the apartment through the obsidian door. Alcyone watched from the side, remaining still as if holding her breath. As the door closed quietly, the two of them were left alone to process their feelings. Hotaru slammed his fists against the wall opposite to him in anger and despair, while Alcyone placed her hands over her face in heartache and frustration.
With the sound proof crystal wall between the two, they both began to cry for their lost love.
Escorted by Eagle, Hikaru and Lantis had followed him over to NSX, flying across the skies. Even with their great speed it had taken a while, as the NSX was outside Cephiro's stratosphere. Once they reached the green and silver battleship, Hikaru had been nervous to approach the enemy base. She had worried they might fire upon them on sight, but instead Eagle had guided them over to FTO's launch bay.
While Hikaru and Lantis simply unsummoned their Mashin and horse, Eagle had to park his mech first. As this would take time, he had ordered a few soldiers to escort his guests to a waiting room. The room was a small and simple one with silver walls and bluish metallic floor. There was a large black monitor on one of the walls but no apparent way to turn it on. Two metallic sofas with red rubbery cushioning flanked a round metallic table.
Before leaving, the soldiers requested Lantis and Hikaru to hand over their weapons. Seeing that the soldiers were carrying some type of futuristic guns on them, Hikaru felt apprehensive about handing over her glove. However, seeing Lantis hand over his magic sword, Hikaru felt more confident about giving them her magic gem.
Left alone in the room, the two of them sat down on the couches to wait. It wasn't long that the silence and a lack of topic to discuss turned awkward, prompting Hikaru to shimmy nervously in her seat.
"So… Do you feel like we can do it?" Hikaru asked, fiddling with her braided ponytail fretfully.
Lantis was quiet for a moment, before answering, "While they may have taken our weapons, I feel confident we can defend ourselves with just our magic."
"That is good to hear…" Hikaru smiled, before quickly correcting herself. "No, no, no, no! I mean… You think we can convince Eagle to join our side?"
Realizing his mistake, Lantis's expression turned more serious. He thought about what he had learnt today and what he knew about Eagle, wondering how his old friend would react.
"It's hard to say," he admitted, tapping the table with his finger while thinking. "Eagle has always been stubborn and fully dedicated to his causes. Furthermore, our story… Our information on what is going on is hard to believe."
"Yeah…" Hikaru nodded quietly. "I think I now understand why Hotaru didn't want to bring it up in the first place."
As the two of them thought about the absurdity of their current situation, the door of the waiting room was eventually opened. Expecting to see more armed soldiers, Hikaru was surprised to see a young boy around her own height. He wore a less armored military uniform and a large green hat with goggles. Furthermore, he seemed incredibly happy.
"So it's true! Big brother Lantis!" Zazu laughed merrily, rushing over to the man in black armor. "So great to see you again!"
"Zazu, it's been a while," Lantis smiled slightly, before standing up. "Are you doing well?"
"Yeh!" Zazu nodded, shaking Lantis's hand. "Just today I finished the upgrades on the FTO. What do you think? Pretty slick right?"
"You were the one who did all that?" Hikaru asked in shock. "But you're so young…"
Zazu grinned victoriously and lifted his thumb up, "You're looking at Autozam's number one mechanic! I started working as soon as Eagle came back last time! Of course, Eagle was the one to give me the ideas for the upgrades. So what do you think?"
"They're… very impressive," Hikaru forcefully admitted, still feeling the sting of defeat.
"Always great hearing the praise of such a cute girl!" Zazu beamed, raising his arms up into the air.
Hikaru was taken aback by such a powerful reaction. She wasn't used to being called cute by people other than her brothers.
"Zazu," Lantis interrupted him. "Do you really believe those upgrades will be enough to defeat Hotaru?"
As if a bucket of cold water had been dropped on him, Zazu's body twitched violently. He rubbed the back of his head and tapped his foot, trying to form an educated guess.
"Honestly I think at this point it would end in a stalemate," Zazu admitted, deep in thought. "That guy is tough enough to still withstand all of FTO's weapons. We need to continue with the upgrades, but for now, it should be enough to prevent the FTO from being shredded."
"I see. Thank you for sharing your military secrets with us," Lantis said in a dry tone.
"Crap! I have been had!" Zazu pulled his hat over his face. "Please do not tell Geo, he will chew me out and never stop teasing me about it…"
Chuckling at the antics of the two guys, Hikaru smiled sweetly, "Don't worry Zazu, your secret is safe with us."
"Aah… cute and merciful," Zazu sighed romantically, before signaling them to follow him. "Now, we really must be going or the others will get suspicious. This way."
Grabbing hold of Hikaru's arm, he walked them outside the waiting room. Following Zazu along the futuristic hallways of NSX, they came across an incredibly long and large, octagonal corridor. The corridor was full of openings on the sides and on the ceiling, with a single track running along the bottom of it. In front of each opening was a small platform and in front of the platform they were standing on, there were two hovering vehicles.
They looked like large scooters with wings and boosters instead of wheels underneath them. One of them was green with yellow accent pieces, the other silver with blue ones. With Zazu sitting down on the green one, he then gestured to Hikaru to sit behind him. Lantis sat down on the silver one, his long legs leaving no room for another passenger.
Before Zazu could start off his engine, Lantis had already gone ahead of him. Not wanting t6o lose sight of his guests, Zazu quickly rushed after him, forcing Hikaru to grab hold of him tightly.
"Hang on tight or you'll fall off!" Zazu warned her after the fact.
"Right!" Hikaru nodded, wrapping her arms around his waist.
As they zoomed through NSX's central highway, Hikaru was amazed by the size of the ship. While it looked huge from the outside, she had only ever seen it from the perspective of a Mashin. She had seen battleships before on Earth in books and tv, but never had she imagined a ship so big it had its own highway,
"Hey, what's your name?" Zazu asked her, turning his head.
"Shidou Hikaru," Hikaru answered, politely.
"Shido…" Zazu tried remembering her full name.
"Everyone calls me Hikaru."
"Hikaru, huh?" Zazu smiled, watching forward again. "Even your name's cute…"
Hikaru blushed again, but was interrupted as they soon came to one of the exits. With quick and steady braking, they turned around the corner and continued their way through the exit. Flying through other corridors, they eventually reached what seemed almost as if a residential district.
This area of the ship was fitted with round buildings that reached the ceiling, with small gardens in front. The gardens were simple patches of grass with small bushes next to the walls. Finally, they came to a halt in front of a large, round, purple building, with Lantis's speeder parked next to it. The swordsman in black was waiting for their arrival in front of the house, looking relieved to see them. Zazu got off of his speeder before helping Hikaru off of it.
"What took you two so long?" Lantis asked Zazu, sounding slightly disappointed. "I was worried something might've happened."
"Oh come on!" Zazu snarked while slapping him on the chest plate. "Only you and Eagle drive that recklessly! There's a reason we have speed limits!"
As the two of them continued arguing, the door of the house was opened from the inside, revealing a very tall man. He stood a few inches taller than Lantis, had a muscular build, short black hair, and an unamused expression.
"Will you two stop making such a racket! People are trying to relax after hours," Geo scolded them both, before spotting Hikaru. "Oh, hello there little miss. Welcome aboard NSX and come on in."
With the large man stepping out of the way and showing her in, Hikaru carefully walked into what she expected to his house. The space inside was large and futuristic, divided only by walls with no doors in sight. The walls were green metal and the floor looked like brass, with the roof made out of large panels that projected light evenly throughout the apartment. There was a couch, a modern-style kitchen area, what looked like training equipment, a round table, and several countertops. Many surfaces had monitors on them and the table had a futuristic coffee machine.
On the red upholstered couch, sat a young man with white hair and brown eyes. He wore a green military outfit, with a beige cloak over it. His right arm was equipped with a large mechanical gauntlet. On his right shoulder, he wore a golden, star-shaped pauldron and around his head a mechanical headband. A single wire connected his headband to his mechanical gauntlet. From his more extravagant than usual outfit, Hikaru figured that this was their leader.
Facing the two officers, Hikaru bowed politely, "My name is Shidou Hikaru, nice to meet you. Please take good care of me."
As Eagle stood up, Geo couldn't help but smile while leaning over Hikaru, "Well aren't you a polite little one. My name is Geo Metro, are you really one of those legendary Magic Knights, Hikaru-chan?"
"Yes," she nodded proudly. "I know I don't look like much, but I am a Magic Knight!"
Realizing he hadn't introduced himself properly, Zazu ran next to Geo, "I'm Zazu! Zazu Torque. Nice to meet you."
"S-Same here…"
Clearing his throat, Eagle caught everybody's attention, having been interrupted twice now, "Sorry for the delay, but I am Eagle Vision of Autozam. Commander of NSX."
Despite her being wary of Eagle at first, she couldn't sense any hostility from him. And once she saw him smiling at her warmly, it felt like she was talking to one of her older brothers. She really could get the feeling that they would be allies later on, but something told her this would be difficult, just like Lantis had said.
"Oh, by the way…" Geo asked carefully. "Are you really a girl, little miss?"
As Hikaru looked confused, Zazu added, "The people of Cephiro's mental states can affect their age, right?"
"I-It seems so…"
"Well then, are you actually an older woman then, little miss?" Geo asked, leaning down to Hikaru's eye level.
"Could you be much older than me?" Zazu asked excitedly. "I-I don't dislike older women, though."
Seeing his underlings going mad over their guest, Eagle couldn't help but chuckle over their curiosity. The NSX had no female staff on board, so they rarely got to talk to women, leaving them a bit rusty.
Hikaru shook her head vehemently, "I turned fourteen this year."
"Fourteen? Yeah! She's younger than me!" Zazu raised his fists victoriously.
"But she's not shorter," Geo patted Zazu on the head teasingly, aware of his friend's preferences.
Looking at Geo challengingly, Zazu declared, "I'm gonna keep growing!"
"Oh? Why don't you grow taller than the FTO?" Geo grinned, before thinking back. "Actually, that might not be out of the question in Cephiro…"
"She is not native to Cephiro," a deep male voice spoke out.
Everyone turned around, seeing Lantis enter the house finally. He had been listening to the talks outside, letting Hikaru do the talking, as it seemed she had a plan. However, the conversation had quickly turned into flirting amongst his old friend group, prompting him to take the initiative. After all, they were on a clock.
"That is right," Hikaru nodded. "I am from what you would call another world…"
Hikaru had to stop her explanation, as she saw the men stare at each other. While Zazu was quietly looking up at the others, there was an intense staring contest going between Lantis, Geo, and Eagle. It didn't seem like they were angry at one another, but Hikaru felt the friction between them.
"So Lantis, you finally decided to show up again," Geo spoke, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. "I knew we might bump into you, but you really decided to go on a diplomatic mission to see us?"
"The circumstances required that," Lantis spoke firmly. "I do not wish to start a fight if there is no need for that. But know that I oppose your plans for invading Cephiro."
"Yeah, I was afraid you would think so," Geo nodded, before turning to Eagle and staring at him furiously. "Why did you bring him on board! You know he can kill us all if he so chooses if we don't have the O-series!"
Both Hikaru and Zazu jumped as they heard Geo yell, realizing the seriousness of the situation they were in. But despite the alarmed words of his second in command, Eagle just chuckled with a smile.
"Calm down Geo. We both know Lantis would not do that unprovoked. Also, it was Miss Hikaru's decision to take him with us, as he is her bodyguard."
Seeing Eagle giving him the look, Geo knew that, while he really didn't want to, it was time for him to give them privacy.
"I see," Geo said, before picking Zazu up under his arm like a bag of rice. "Well, cute little miss, I'll see you later."
"Hey!" Zazu yelled out while being carried off. "See you later, Hikaru!"
Hikaru watched in shock as Geo bowed down to get through the door, while Zazu waved at her from behind his large friend. While she was familiar with the antics of her brothers, these four seemed like an even more peculiar group of friends.
With the representatives of three different worlds left alone, Eagle walked over to a panel in the kitchen. By pushing buttons on a command console, he opened a hidden compartment. From it, he picked up a blue case with a green bow wrapped around it.
Placing the case on the table, Eagle asked, "I know Lantis is not a big fan of sweets, but would you like some, Shidou Hikaru?"
Pressing the button on the case, it opened up, revealing various kinds of shiny, colorful candies. As a connoisseur of sweets, they all looked delicious and intriguing to Hikaru. With Eagle preparing something akin to either coffee or tea to go with them, Hikaru was already on her way to sit down.
"Are you pilfering Geo's stash again?" Lantis asked, halting Hikaru in her tracks.
"You know me too well," Eagle smiled, while finishing to pour the coffee. "But don't worry. He has another stash hidden in his bedroom."
"I feel bad for Geo for stealing his sweets," Hikaru said guiltily, until her stomach grumbled, "but I could go for a snack…"
Having still not eaten anything today, Hikaru was glad to be able to sit down for a little break. She took a cup of warm brown liquid, which tasted similar to coffee but with a walnutty and chocolaty aftertaste. After warming herself up, she grabbed a few handfuls of the candies, before eating them one at a time.
As Eagle had mentioned, Lantis didn't seem to care for the sweets, only taking a cup for himself. Unlike the swordsman, Eagle added a few round hard candies into his drink, letting them melt in it before drinking. Despite the earlier hostilities, the atmosphere was very cozy in Hikaru's opinion, making her almost forget that there was a war going on.
Knowing they couldn't just sit back and enjoy a teatime, Hikaru tried breaking the ice, "So umm, you two have known each other for a while, right?"
"That is correct," Eagle smirked nostalgically. "Out of all the countries he visited, I think Lantis stayed in Autozam the longest. Right?"
After a long and slow sip, Lantis answered shortly, "That's right."
"So how did you two meet?" Hikaru asked, trying to keep the conversation going. "I can tell you were all pretty good friends."
"That was…"
"Oh we were great friends," Eagle interrupted Lantis, leaning forward on his stool, while sipping his drink. "We did everything together. Racing on hover bikes, competing on target ranges, picnics in the botanical spheres, and playing video games. As for how we met, well, you're familiar with FTO, right? That white machine you fought against."
Hikaru nodded, after which Eagle began to tell his tale.
Around the time Lantis came along, there was a test for fighters. These are pilots tasked with piloting giant robots of the O-series, similar to the FTO. The initial training is long and arduous, requiring several years of drills before the candidates are allowed anywhere near a cockpit. Once the basic training is done, they are allowed to start piloting drills, which take another few months.
Once the fighters are ready for actual combat, they are put through combat tests that are open to the public. In these tests they are made to face off against already experienced fighters, to see how they fare against stronger opponents. Sometimes the newcomers win, but most of the time they are just expected to show off full comprehension of flight and combat systems under pressure.
On that day I was one of the fighters ordered to break in the new meat. I was getting comfortable while in the zone with a steady winning streak, until Lantis here showed up. Apparently, he was helping out a fighter in-training, who had twisted his wrist in a freak accident. No one had checked his credentials and just allowed him to get inside the cockpit, but we only found out about this after the fact.
Confident of my victory, I took off and started flying circles around him, hoping that the newbie pilot would be able to keep up at least a little. At first, he just stood there motionlessly, ignoring all the prompts and computer guided lock-on mechanism. And then he just fired his rocket launcher, scoring a direct hit on the FTO's left wing. My flight was interrupted and I crashed into the ground, with my momentum and the ground doing the rest of the work, knocking me unconscious.
When I came to, I heard the audience cheering, and realized that my FTO had lost for the very first time.
"So I met him, wondering what kind of person he was," Eagle chuckled while grinning widely. "You can imagine my surprise when he told me with a deadpan expression that he had never piloted an O-series before."
"Mhm," Hikaru nodded, smiling back. "My dad thought the same way when I beat him in a sword fight when I was six."
While Lantis had been secretly smug about his victory, he almost choked on his drink hearing about this. He didn't know much about people from Hikaru's world, but defeating one's parent in a sword fight as a six-year-old? It was a universally insane feat. Even Eagle seemed to go pale hearing about this, wondering if she was a prodigy or if her father was just terrible.
As everyone finally calmed down and Hikaru having regained her blood sugar, she put down her cup, "Eagle, I want you to tell me in your own words; why is Autozam trying to invade Cephiro?"
Although Hikaru remembered most of Hotaru's speech from earlier today, there were some things he simply hadn't remembered. He had told them that in the manga version, Autozam was struggling with a polluted atmosphere. As for their version of the story, he had only remembered that Eagle required Cephiro's pillar system for Autozam to continue existing.
Eagle's smiling expression slowly but surely turned more serious, as he closed his eyes. Opening them once more, Hikaru could tell by Eagle's expression that this laidback man truly was a military commander.
"Autozam is a country that's extremely mechanized. Quantifying mental energy and using that as the force to drive the nation forward."
"Mental energy?"
"It is similar to Cephiro's willpower-based magic," Lantis explained, having seen many types of magic throughout his journeys. "It doesn't do much on its own, but mental energy can be used to power their technology."
"I see…" Hikaru nodded, trying to wrap her head around it.
"Autozam is a fully-automated world," Eagle continued his tale, standing up from the table and pacing around the room. "Everything from simple infrastructure to constructing new buildings and facilities was automated. A social order that grew even out of human hands. And one day, the limit suddenly fell on us. The world was so mechanized that as the price for convenience, it took mental energy from the people."
Turning around, Eagle looked at Hikaru grimly, "You can imagine what happened to a country upheld by mental energy, once the source was gone."
Hikaru looked at him confused, "Took the mental energy…?"
"He means the mechanized world is consuming more mental energy than they can provide it, despite several sections of their society being shut off," Lantis explained. "There are people currently forced to live in capsules and act as energy sources to keep the vital functions of the society running."
Hikaru gasped, covering her mouth, as the mental image made her almost sick. The idea of who knows how many people having to live as human batteries, was terrifying.
"If the social and civil unrest keeps increasing, it may lead to the collapse of our civilization. At this rate, Autozam will be ruined," Eagle admitted, before looking at them with a gentler demeanor. "Therefore I am seeking a larger source of mental energy. In other words, something with the power to support all of Cephiro, the Pillar system."
"But the Pillar is…" Hikaru started, before she was interrupted by Lantis.
"I told you before," Lantis said with an ominous tone. "The pillar of Cephiro is by no means almighty."
Ignoring Lantis's words, Eagle walked over to one of the counters. Reaching out to another hidden compartment, he pulled out Hikaru's glove with the magic gem, as well as Lantis's magic sword.
"I believe these are yours," Eagle said while handing them over. "I'm sorry we borrowed them. These items… When we tried to measure their mental energy, it went off the scale."
Sitting back down, Eagle looked at his guests with a serious expression, "While the Pillar system may not be all powerful, it will be enough. Once the Autozam is fully powered, we will make sure to not let our technology outgrow our mental energy production capabilities again."
"But being the Pillar... It is a very sad and lonely existence," Hikaru pointed out, placing her glove back on sadly. "You cannot love anyone other than the planet, and are forced to spend the rest of your life alone."
Eagle nodded, "I am aware. And I am willing to make that sacrifice. Not just for Autozam, but for the people of Cephiro as well."
Hearing such an answer, Hikaru's heart skipped a beat. Perhaps Eagle truly was the person best fit to be the pillar, but at the same time, she didn't want him to hurt. Only the noblest souls could choose to become the Pillar, but it was those who least deserved to suffer the fate of becoming one.
Before Hikaru could speak up, Lantis spoke out, "I cannot allow that, Eagle."
"I knew you would say that," Eagle closed his eyes. "But we both know that Cephiro cannot exist without the Pillar and neither can Autozam. So please, help me become the Pillar, as a favor to an old friend."
With Eagle offering his hand to Lantis, he stood up, before swatting the hand away.
"Lantis…" Hikaru and Eagle gasped simultaneously.
"You think you can handle being the Pillar. You are wrong," Lantis said, looking down and speaking with a pained voice. "I watched for over a century as the pillar system ruined the lives of my brother and Princess Emeraude. She too believed she could handle the sacrifice, but eventually all Pillars have to end their lives. For eternity without anyone to love, will drive anyone to the brink of insanity sooner or later. And then, yet another one has to be sacrificed for the Pillar system…"
Although he was still hiding it, Eagle had never before seen Lantis this emotional. And yet, he knew he could not back down.
"Yes, but is that not the way of this country?" Eagle said, trying to stay strong despite his friend's objections. "Let me do this for their sake. Even if my life will have a sad ending, it will be better than two worlds having a terrible one."
"I cannot…" Lantis stared at Eagle with his sky-blue eyes, "for I seek to end the Pillar system."
Both Hikaru and Eagle were in shock, as the magic swordsman picked up his sword. He was not hoping to start a fight, that much was clear. But he also was prepared for one.
"That is the reason why I arrived back in Cephiro," Lantis admitted, thinking back on a time long since passed. "I wanted to make sure that the tragedy of Zagato and Princess Emeraude would never again repeat. I don't know how I will do it, but I think I know a person who does…"
"Hotaru…" Hikaru's eyes widened.
"Eagle, in the Sanctuary, we have a man who knows more about the current circumstances than either of us could possibly imagine," Lantis explained, trying not to reveal too much. "I am sure he already knows of my motives and holds the information to save both of our worlds, without the need for you to sacrifice yourself. But before that, we need your help against a foe that threatens both of our worlds. A monster that neither side can defeat alone."
"…Is Commander Hotaru the one you speak of?" Eagle asked, raising an eyebrow. "Did he tell you about all this?"
"Yes," Lantis admitted, nodding conformingly.
Eagle placed his left hand in front of his mouth, thinking about what Lantis was saying. The prospect of this all seemed too good to be true, which made him suspicious.
Commander Hotaru is a master tactician and a deceiver. Lantis is a good-natured person who would never try to deceive anyone, let alone me. But depending on how much he really knows, sending Lantis out to recruit me would be the exact move Hotaru would make. This foe might be just an excuse for us to put our guard down and give up on the pillar system. If Commander Hotaru knows Autozam is struggling, he might be stalling for time in order to cause our world to collapse. I have no choice but to put their information to the trial.
"In that case, is he aware of my other reason for becoming the Pillar of Cephiro?" Eagle asked, looking them both in the eye.
As soon as he asked this, Eagle could see both of their eyes widen, as this question came to them as a surprise. As Hikaru and Lantis looked at each other, he had his answer.
"What other reason?" Hikaru asked innocently.
Eagle closed his eyes disappointedly, "If your commander's intel doesn't include that bit of information, then I am sorry. I cannot put my faith into his words."
"Eagle, what other reason are you talking about?" Lantis asked impatiently from his friend.
(Hikaru…)
Hearing a voice in her head, Hikaru gasped frightenedly, "Nova?"
(I can finally meet you Hikaru!)
"This presence…" Lantis shivered, turning towards Hikaru. "Hikaru!"
Before Lantis could grab hold of her, the magic gem on Hikaru's glove glowed bright red. The next thing either of the men could see was a flash of bright white light, after which the young girl was gone.
"What happened?" Eagle asked, worried this might be some attempt at sabotage.
"The foe that I mentioned to you…"
As the flash of light faded, it took Hikaru a moment to get used to the darkness surrounding her. As she looked around, she was worried she had been sucked into one of her nightmares. But as the afterimages faded from her eyes, she realized she was back on Cephiro.
The skies were darker than usual, implying that it was evening. She couldn't see the light of the Sanctuary anywhere, speaking volumes of just how far away from everyone she was. All she could see around her were the sharp stony peaks of the fragmented Cephiro.
Her senses sharpened and the hairs on the back of her head stood up, as she heard footsteps approaching her. The steps were calm and steady, with all the time in the world. As she stared into the dark, a short figure about her own height materialized a hundred feet away from her. She could sense a dark and foreboding, yet familiar presence surrounding her, as the figure approached.
Once the elf-like figure came closer, Hikaru could recognize her pink hair, silver armor, and black outfit. Realizing this was no dream and that her nightmare had become reality, Hikaru prepared herself.
"Nova…" Hikaru stared at her unflinchingly.
"Finally," Nova smiled, hiding her eyes behind her forelocks. "Finally we meet, Hikaru."
Having already introduced herself a few times today, Hikaru placed her hand on her chest, "I am Shidou Hikaru. Nice to meet you, Nova."
Though she had promised to run as soon as Nova appeared, Hikaru stood her ground firmly. Between Eagle, Hotaru, Aska, and Alcyone's double, she had already had enough fights that didn't accomplish anything. She wasn't going to run, for she knew this was a mess that she herself would have to clean up.
"Konnichiwa, Hikaru," Nova smiled, looking at her with a twisted grin. "I'm Nova. The one who will kill you."
Author's Afterword: This chapter was a refreshing change of pace. So far the story has been heavily focused on Hotaru, for obvious reasons. But this time, I was able to shift focus over to Hikaru and Lantis. While Lantis coming to NSX with Hikaru from the start seems small, it created a whole new dynamic to how some of the familiar scenes happened. In addition, thanks to Hotaru's revelation, I was able to remove a surprisingly large chunk of scenes from episodes 8 and 9.
As for what stayed, the anime is extremely vague about Autozam and the past between Eagle and Lantis. I found myself balancing between keeping things canon while adding new stuff. The battle with FTO in the flashback shows what happened, but what is the story behind getting Lantis into the cockpit of GTO? Not to mention Eagle's story about what is going on in Autozam leaves a lot for interpretation.
The most painful part to write in this chapter was the scene with Alcyone and Hotaru. Obviously, the one affected the most by the revelations of Hotaru's past is Alcyone, who was the most enamored by him. While I did enjoy writing all the romantic scenes between the two early on, it is those scenes that add to Hotaru's sins. Furthermore, considering how vengeful she is, it won't be easy to get her to forgive.
Same goes for the other characters, as after lies come to light, it is the strongest relationships that take the longest to rebuild.
As always, reviews and speculations are welcomed and appreciated. My thanks go to our recurring anonymous Guest for your review on the last chapter!