tampered | Log | Open

Log | Open | Completed

When; June 8th; Midday
Rating; PG or PG 13
Characters; Hikaru Shidou, Eagle Vision, and OPEN
Summary; Eagle and Hikaru are sucked into the city during a climactic battle for Cephiro castle.
Log;

[Ooc: The first bit is in Cephiro. When we switch over to the City, anyone may jump in :D]

Leaving the other Magic Knights behind her, the lone Magic Knight raced to catch up with the representative from Autozam. Eagle. Even after he’d revealed that he knew all about the pillar system he had still come to take it. Why?. She’d have to ask him before anything else. If there was a way to avoid bloodshed she’d take it, but more importantly, she never wanted to fight without knowing the reasons behind it anymore. Like the first time they had come to Cephiro.. when they ended up having to destroy the person they believed they’d been summoned to rescue.

Eagle’s FTO soon came into view, still outside of the strong barrier Master Mage Clef had erected but how much longer could it sustain that kind of punishment? The massive castle loomed in front of them. It’s crystallized spires reaching far into the sky. With Cephiro in decline, this castle had been created from the combined effort of everyone’s wills, as a safe haven for all the Cephiro inhabitants. It was also where Emeraude’s crown was residing, anyone deemed worthy possessing a strong will could potentially become the next pillar of Cephiro. A person who must only pray for Cephiro and must never think of anything else, not even her own happiness.

There was no time for that now, she had to stop Eagle.

“STOP IT” The girl exclaimed as soon as she was within striking range. Rayearth, her mecha-like rune god of which she was currently within, glided to a stop near Eagle’s mecha. “You said you knew all about the pillar system… and you’re still willing to go through with this?!?!”. Her tone was accusatory, but in a sense pleading. She didn’t want to fight him. It was odd, they hadn’t known each other for long, but somehow she knew Eagle was a good person. That wouldn’t stop her from protecting Cephiro, the land she’d grown to love. She was going to protect it no matter what!

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Deafening alarms resonated through out the cramped cockpit as the engines screamed their protest. It had been a foolhardy maneuver made even more difficult by the struggle Hikaru had put up. It had been much more difficult to shift ‘Rayearth’ than he had ever imagined it could have been… doubtless due to the power of Hikaru’s strong will.
The FTO’s thrusters were now unevenly balanced and there appeared to be an issue with the coolant system since the warning lights for the mechanism were flashing, frantically trying to gain his attention.

Eagle smiled as considered how mad Geo would be if he had seen such a risky move. His radio should have been filled with the yelling voice of his Second in Command… proving beyond a doubt that Geo really was no where around.

And that wasn’t all… The two other Magic Knights, though clearly alarmed by the situation, still did nothing to help their comrade. He did not know much about those girls individual personalities but he knew enough that if Hikaru were in danger and there had been any way to assist her… they would have acted. So, they did not have the ability to call their rune gods…

Hikaru… When he had met the young lady onboard the NSX she had seemed so innocent and honest. What was it she had said…?

“Wherever we are… This isn't Cephiro!"

Eagle sighed, “So… she was telling the truth after all. This truly isn’t Cephiro.”

It was more a comment to him self than to anyone else, but it helped him come to a decision… well, that and the fact that his FTO’s engines were beginning to fail. Eagle shut off his laser sword and guided his battle worn mecha to the ground, landing rather more heavily than he intended… a few feet away from the red rune god. The hulking mecha kneeled as Eagle shut off the weary engines… preventing any damage that the overheated engine might sustain from long term exposure to such high temperatures. With a hiss of steam the cockpit door flew open and the Commander leapt out landing easily on the ground. He kept his distance from the red rune god as he carefully watched the living machine…

Hikaru… are you alright in there?

The sense of anguish and impotence gradually building inside Umi reached its peak the moment Rayearth crash-landed some distance from where she and Fuu remained, unable to do much but stare at how their best friend battled her opponent. On her own! Despite they'd promised...! Anger all but exploded inside her that very second. This situation... it couldn't have turned out to be worse... to render both of them incapable of doing ANYTHING...

"---HIKARU!!"

With that cry the Water Knight rushed toward the downed red Mashin, knowing Fuu would follow her. They had to make sure their friend was unharmed! If Celes and Windam had been able to enter The City...

What was wrong with that place?? It'd brought Hikaru and Eagle in right from during the Test of the Pillar, Umi was sure of it! There couldn't have possibly been a worst moment to pick! And what had happened there exactly? Had Hikaru been distracted by their presence, by the need to keep the battle away from Fuu and her so they weren't harmed? Umi bit her lip as she approached Rayearth's huge armored body. Otherwise she KNEW Hikaru had the ability to win against Eagle. Without a doubt! Hikaru had become the true Pillar of Cephiro, after all. So, more than helping her, they had managed to...

Shaking her head in anger, she focused on making sure the Knight of Fire was okay. "Hikaru-! Hikaru, it's us! Can you hear us in there!?"

Her glance turned to Autozam's Commander after noticing he was out of the cockpit. "Eagle... WHY did you have to keep fighting her? You're not undergoing the Test! Didn't you hear Hikaru? This isn't anywhere within Cephiro's system!"

The test…?

The young lady was understandably upset so Eagle allowed her angry words to wash over him, listening politely while she yelled at him. He understood her feelings… watching as horrible events took place but being unable to act to prevent them…
That was a cruel position to find ones self in…

The blue haired girl paused, having just inquired after his motivation. Well… she did deserve an answer to her question, as a friend of Hikaru’s.

“I had to be certain that what Hikaru had said was the truth.” His demeanor was irritatingly calm, showing no sign that he had just been in an intense battle. “I had heard that some of the more strong willed of Cephiro’s inhabitants were capable of creating intricate illusions.”

Fuu was following suit, there was no mistaking it, and when Umi rushed to Rayearth and Hikaru's side, she too was accompanying her best friend. It puzzled her, more than it perplexed Umi. How come Rayearth was able to penetrate the City's walls? How come he arrived but Celes and Windam couldn't? Was it because the City chose to take them from that time? Researches, studies, observations, they were still not enough to figure out whatever pattern this City worked with.

Glancing over at Eagle with a serious expression, she could worry about that later. Right now, there was a more pressing matter at hand. "Hikaru-san wouldn't lie about something like this. If there was indeed an illusion, why would your enemy warn you of it?" She replied with a serious tone she rarely used. "To the point that it risked her life and cost her, her victory?"

There was really no sense in arguing with the Magic Knight of wind. Hikaru had been trying to protect the Castle of Cephiro from his attack… would she have lied to insure the safety of that structure…? Would he have lied to protect Autozam…? It was a definite possibility. So, instead of protesting his actions… actions he ultimately did not regret, he instead favored the girl with a disarming smile.

“You make a very valid point… I will consider myself properly chastised then.”

One of said inhabitants showed himself at that moment, albeit not in the customary robes. No, he looked more like any other of the City's residents save for the tell-tale staff he carried. As he approached through the settling dust and smoke, Clef spotted Eagle and Umi conversing. It took only a brief glance at the Autozamian to determine that he was most certainly nothing like Tatra. The disparity between his and Umi's body language, the almost sickening look of calm on his face - no. His intention had been to unobtrusively walk by the pair and check on Hikaru, but since he heard himself more or less being referred to he instead paused when he reached them.

"I would sooner have prevented you from entering at all," he remarked, fixing his gaze up at the invading commander. Fixing an illusion to appear when one's defenses are breached would be a clever maneuver - but not nearly as wise in his opinion as using that willpower to make a stronger barrier. On the other hand, he could not have expected an enemy to be aware of his normally straightforward nature - and perhaps he wanted it that way. "However, your point is granted."

Having said that, his gaze wandered again to the Rune God. It was obvious that Hikaru was in need of medical attention, but what wasn't obvious was how to get her out of there.

That was when he noticed the diminutive kid… no, he wasn’t a child after all, arriving on the scene. Perhaps this was the Master Mage that Lantis had told him about? His appearance was some what different than Lantis had described… but his height seemed about right… and the hair color was spot on. When the newest arrival spoke it left little doubt as to his true identity.

I would sooner have prevented you from entering at all…

That was an odd statement… There had been a barrier around the castle and he had breached that obstacle… Did this Clef not remember that?

Eagle favored him with a smile as well, though this one was tinged with just a hint of smugness, “Yes, I believe that was what you were attempting to do.”

"What do you mean? Clef was attempting...?"

A couple of things seemed mismatched here, though Umi was hardly in a state of mind to give the situation deep thought. In any case she imagined the time difference was to blame for them. Eagle was fighting for his own wish, the way he'd been sworn to do during the Test of the Pillar. Even if the Knight of Water felt her temper burn at what had just happened to Hikaru before her eyes, she could begin to understand the Commander's determination.

But little of this mattered at the moment. The only thing Umi cared about was making sure her best friend was unharmed inside her Rune God's heavy armor. If Hikaru had been injured there was Fuu to help with that, and a hospital nearby.

She shook her head and all but climbed the downed Mahsin's flank as best she could, with the nimbleness that was proper of her element, offering a hand to Fuu as she went. "Forget about that. We're getting Hikaru out of there somehow and making sure she's okay!"

However, considering a Magic Knight was always the one to will herself out of her Rune God's armor, that might prove easier said than done. Umi was hoping Rayearth would release Hikaru at any moment, if the Fire Knight happened to be unconscious inside him.

Several moments passed in complete darkness, and silence. The girl was completely out of it, until slowly but surely, she became aware of the voices around her. Two female voices two male, groggily, she couldn't make out who the owners were or what they were saying.

Was this a dream?. She'd been having a lot of those lately, but never quite like this. Hikaru's eyes fluttered a few times before she managed to completely open them.

Eagle! The events were starting to come back to her as well. Was he still going to fight!? If so, she needed to get back up quickly before he could deliver the final blow. How long had she been out?!

Rayearth moved, but only slightly. She just had a feeling, that.. they shouldn't get up just now. For the moment she just let herself become more aware of her surroundings before acting.

"Umi? Fuu?".

With attention now almost solely focused on Hikaru the Commander from Autozam raised his right arm and looked to the mechanical device resting there. He had not dared to try and scan the area since leaving the protective safety of the FTO’s cockpit… The other Knights, or perhaps some hidden allies might have tried to attack him. But, he could relax… just a little, now that concern had shifted to the possibly injured Hikaru…

That girl… Hikaru… she was taking a long time to get up wasn’t she? He scanned her first and the data he collected was encouraging. The poor girl had been knocked around quite a bit inside that rune god, but she wasn’t too badly injured. Better still, he noticed as the hulking rune god shifted position, she was beginning to come to her senses.

He smiled again, this time full of relief. It might have been odd to be happy to see an enemy recovering like this… but he really didn’t want to kill the girl. He only wanted Cephiro’s Pillar System.

He shifted the focus of his scans to the other two Magic Knights who still appeared to be scrambling around on the belly of Rayearth. The data he had collected on them previously was compared to this newly collected data… Umi, Fuu… They seemed nearly the same as the girls he had met… but the data showed otherwise. There were interesting, subtle differences. Unfortunately he would need more time to analyze that information before he could see any firm results.

Eagle then turned the scan toward the Master Mage him self. Clef was a man of short stature but he was the one from Cephiro with the most magical experience. Lantis had always described Clef as some one who wore long flowing robes and carried a staff much taller than him self that ‘resembled a dragon skull on a twisted branch’. But, this Clef wore much more unusual clothing…
Had he given up every thing Cephiro…?
Then what about the ring?

It was subtle… a gentle shift in stance… a glance over the shoulder… Clef knew he was being scanned? Or at least that was the impression Eagle received when the Guru looked briefly in his direction. Eagle closed his eyes and smiled, it really was just as Lantis had said.

Finally Eagle turned forearm based device to the surrounding area. Its range was significantly less than the range of the FTO, since is was a much smaller unit, but maybe it could give him some idea of where he was. If this wasn’t Cephiro…

Rayearth had shifted enough so that the magic knight could survey the surroundings. Where are we? She thought to herself. The only familiar object, the FTO, loomed a mere matter of yards away.

Her muscles tensed for a moment before noticing that it had been abandoned. Did this mean the battle was over?

If Eagle was no longer going to fight her, there was no reason to remain in her own mecha. Should there be a need, she'd call on Rayearth again later. Oblivious to the other knights, she willed Rayearth to disappear.

The rune god started glowing in a brilliant red light, gently placing the girl on the ground as he disappeared. Umi and Fuu however did not have this luxury. At least they hadn't been too far from the ground.

Seeing the two familiar faces she exclaimed," Umi, Fuu! I'm so sorry. I didn't know you were up there!".

“Hikaru,” Eagle smiled as he looked up from his scans, “Feeling better I see?”

The mechanical device on the Commander’s arm beeped ominously and Eagle spared it a glance. Only the data from the immediate area in which Eagle stood was readily available… but some thing was limiting the range of his scanners. He should have been able to scan a much larger area than this.
It was just like the FTO… His recent exploit had caused the thrusters to become unbalanced but a maneuver, even one as risky as the stunt he had pulled against Hikaru… shouldn’t have been enough to throw the coolant system offline. There was some thing blocking the effectiveness of mechanical devices… a dampening field or maybe magic?

"Eagle!" She exclaimed. "You're okay too?!" Hikaru replied enthusiastically, not realizing that she had been the only one to have crash landed even though upon further inspection it was obvious. There was only one large mecha indent lacing the ground. Beyond that Eagle looked just fine, which was good news.

Glancing at their surroundings didn't provide many clues at all. It didn't look that different from her own world, but it definately wasn't Tokyo or Cephiro. "Clef!?! You're here too?!". She exclaimed when she laid eyes on the short sorcerer. He was dressed oddly, for him, but his features and staff were a dead giveaway. It was going to take some time to drink this all in. None of it made any sense. How were they all dragged into the same alternate universe at the same time? Or, had it been at the same time? Hikaru couldn't be certain. And if this was an alternate universe how could they be sure if any of this was real? Shaking her head she cleared her thoughts and thought about what the best course of action may be.

"I'm not sure where we are, but.. when Rayearth crashed like that it had to have been loud. If anyone's in the area they may be drawn to this place to investigate," Hikaru sounded sure of herself and her words as she continued, "We better get out of here and save the discussions for later". With a swift nod she headed off in some direction, making sure to wait for the others to follow.

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