Magic Knight Rayearth Fan Fiction ❯ Echoes of Destiny ❯ Beginning of Rebirth ( Chapter 3 )

Echoes of Destiny
Beginning of Rebirth

***

After the Magic Knights returned to the castle, Lantis stalled in the fatally open air of Cephiro as he tried to figure out what had happened.

He knew without being told that the seemingly simple yet extraordinary magic was performed by a person from Fahren. The aura felt exquisitely exotic and crimson as opposed to Chizeta's golden elegance and Autozam's technology -- of course, all Autozam had were mechanical objects; they knew nothing of magic and thought it never existed until Lantis "came into town". And Cephiro's magic was far more formed yet chaotic than anything else Lantis had ever come across.

However, he knew nothing about what the magic had done except for disabling the FTO -- or even Eagle -- somehow. Lantis dearly hoped that it was the FTO that was damaged and not Eagle; after all, Zazu could fix virtually anything manmade. He refused to imagine what kind of damage the spell would have done to a human being.

Even with the FTO immobile, and if Geo had been left in charge of the NSX, and if Geo really was Eagle's best friend, wouldn't he have tried to help?

Unless, Lantis considered with a saddening heart, the NSX had somehow been damaged by that same magic, even though it had not seemed to touch the titanic battleship. He hated to think what would happen to his three companions if they really had lost the battle.

After the Fahren magic had been completed, the Djinn of Chizeta carried the FTO first to the Bravada and then to the Dome of Fahren. Only a half hour later, the NSX jettisoned a transport to the Bravada, and now, nearly fifteen minutes later, it still had yet to return.

Yes, Lantis was steadily growing impatient to find out what had exactly happened, though he decided to believe the worst: Chizeta and Fahren had joined forces against Autozam, and the crew of the NSX had apparently lost.

It was too unbelievable to be true; Lantis knew the Eagle and Geo pair far better than he knew almost anything else, and they would never let that happen under any circumstances. Eagle was far too stubborn, and Geo was far too loyal. That aside, Zazu was also an excellent mechanic. He repaired items faster than any magic could ever hope to do.

But what other explanation was there?

No. You're just missing something very important, he scolded. There IS another explanation. It will just take plenty of patience to find out what it is.

Until then, he decided to head back into the castle. Watching the aftermath of the battle was doing him no good at all.

Primera had stayed quiet ever since the Knights went back and had only asked one question: "What do you think happened?"

His only answer had been a head shake. The pixie knew when he needed some quiet time to think.

Now that he was headed back, Primera obviously thought that he now knew the answer. "Do you know now?" she asked.

"No."

"Then why are you going back? They're just going to scold you," she said, and then put a heavy emphasis on the next word, "again."

Ah, yes. Lafarga. He had to face Lafarga. That could prove to be... discomforting.

"Really, why does everybody think you're some sort of spy from Autozam or something?" Primera huffed. "You just came back from there and they never asked you anything. Like if you had friends from there or anything. And even if you were, then the nonliving creature would not have attacked you."

Primera paused as if she was waiting for him to respond, but by now, she knew him well enough to get nothing. She sighed as she landed on his shoulder and sat down primly.

"Then again, if you came back with even just a theory as to what had just happened -- because you looked confused -- they would suspect you more. Why did you even try? Maybe you did make some friends from the other countries...?"

She finally quit talking as soon as he breached the castle's barrier, for she knew that it was for the best.

Lantis could feel her anxiety whenever someone gave him a doubtful glare. While Primera knew his personality more than anyone else could -- save for Eagle -- she knew absolutely nothing about his circumstances: why he always went outside into the dangerous catapults of rocks and land, why he came back to Cephiro when he did, and why he always felt uncomfortable whenever he was accused of being a traitor. However, she liked him enough to feel empathy for him, and, in another sense, the insults were thrown right at her as well because of her devotion to him.

She was no good at blocking her feelings from herself like Lantis trained himself to do ever since he first left Cephiro, so coincidentally, Primera was perhaps more hurt than Lantis. She was pretty good at hiding her feelings with her obnoxious proclamations of love, but somewhere deep down, she was wounded.

That was the truth behind Lantis's desperation from Primera. She was hurting herself by being with him; why did the pixie code of honor had to be so cruel?

He rode the seijyuu through the watery portal of the castle and as soon as he jumped to the cold metal floor, he immediately called the ebony horse back. Thanks to the Fahren magic, Cephiro was tearing up more rapidly than ever before; the world could not survive without a Pillar at this rate.

Lantis scowled at those words. He would not let another Pillar emerge, no matter what the cost.

In any case, Guru Clef may want to see him.

He took that back. Lantis knew that Guru Clef wanted to see him; there was no question about it.

Silently, he marched towards the throne room with the concerned Primera quietly gliding by his side. He felt her eyes studying him, but she dared not say anything. She was worried that someone may hear her and get the wrong idea of his -- and even her -- loyalties.

And that someone was waiting for him outside of the throne room doors.

"What took you so long?" Lafarga snarled.

"The Doushi needs to see me," Lantis said, dodging the question. He brushed past the swordsman, but the taller man grabbed his arm. Two pairs of eyes met, and neither of them were friendly.

"I would have believed you to not be a spy if you had helped the Magic Knights in the battle," said Lafarga. "Was the attack against you just a stunt?"

Lantis shoved his arm away from Lafarga's grip. "That is none of your concern. Primera, wait out here."

"Eh? But--"

"Stay."

"Lantis--" Lafarga began again, but Lantis gave him an impatient look that ultimately quieted the blonde.

Lantis took another step forward, and when he was absolutely certain that Primera would not follow, the doors opened. He could feel Lafarga's glowering eyes piercing into the back of his skull, but he paid it no further mind. He felt bad for leaving Primera out with him, but when the Guru wishes to speak with somebody, normally, he wishes to speak with that somebody alone.

He stepped inside of the throne room, and the doors closed silently behind him. Guru Clef stood in front of the scarlet chair but still above the golden, circular platform. His face was plastered with one of troubled perplexity with anxiety dancing in his eyes.

"Lantis," said Clef, "I have been expecting you."

Even though Lantis already knew the answer, he asked the question anyway: "What is it you wish to speak with me about?"

"It is unfair of me to make such presumptions," he replied, "but would you happen to know what happened out there during the battle?"

Lantis shook his head. "No."

"As I understand it, when you returned to Cephiro, you came from Autozam."

"That is correct."

Clef suddenly looked bashful. "Would you happen to have... met anybody while you were there?"

"I knew two of the men who are in charge of the Autozam," said Lantis. It was no use lying to his former teacher or even dodging the question like he had with others.

Clef was a clever man because of his age of over seven hundred, and the tense he used did not go unnoticed. "You 'knew' two of the men...?"

"If I knew them now, I would understand what had happened," Lantis explained. "Apparently, they have changed drastically since I last saw them; I cannot comprehend the actions behind their motives anymore."

"I see," the guru answered as he stared at the circular skylight. "But the stability of this land is getting worse. We need to find another Pillar."

The magic swordsman narrowed his eyes. That again.

Clef turned back towards him, and Lantis returned to his normally silent and expressionless stare.

"Lantis, why did you return?"

***

"Geo-san?"

Tatra turned to see a burly blur of green and beige storm out of the centre of the Bravada and frowned with concern. It had only been a short while since she and Tarta had left the two Autozam commanders alone to talk, even if Tarta was not at all pleased with the idea. ("They may be scheming something up!" she had insisted and proceeded to criticizing and questioning Tatra's previous decisions.) From the conversation Tatra had with Eagle, he would not release the information so soon, and from the last negotiation, she knew that Geo was a very patient man.

What could have gone wrong?

She started towards the fleeing figure only to be stopped by Tarta, who grabbed her arm firmly. "Neesan, don't even bother."

Tatra sighed and made sure that she would not sound as annoyed as she really was. She turned towards Tarta and said quietly, "If you do not trust him, then you will not have any objections to my stopping him from returning to his battleship."

Tarta looked taken aback, and for a fleeting moment Tatra wondered if she had used too harsh of a tone. Luckily, her sister's grip weakened, and Tatra was able to gently pull away from her to pursue her guest.

"Geo-san, wait!" she called as she quickened her walk.

Finally, after a couple of more times of calling and catching up to him, Geo stopped in the middle of the corridor with the large portal to the outside and the small Autozam transport in clear view. Tatra halted five strides behind him, but Geo still did not turn around.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you," he said firmly with a hint of regret. "I don't think it was really worth it, in the end..."

"What are you talking about?"

Geo did not answer.

Tatra narrowed her eyes. "You seem upset with Eagle-san. Something went wrong, did it not? Surely you did not hear anything about his plans, but that cannot be the only reason..."

"It's nothing you should be concerned with," he said.

"Geo-san, if you are leaving without your friend, your commander, we still have full custody of him. Until you bring him back to your battleship with you, everything that happens on the Bravada that involves him does concern us," she retorted politely. "Instead of allowing my sister and I to gather information from him, why can you not make it easier on us and tell me what is troubling the two of you?"

Geo hesitated for a while before he spun on his heel with a look of distress. "It's more personal than that. If I had known that this was going to result, I would have never put you or your sister or Princess Aska through all that trouble."

"We would still be enemies?"

"I think a cease-fire would have come naturally, in the end," he replied. "Ever since I found out about his illness... I no longer had any heart to fight, and I still wouldn't, even if I knew how things would develop. I still don't. I don't want to fight anymore."

Tatra studied Geo's strained, downcast eyes. He was right; it certainly was more personal than she originally assumed and suspected, and it was something that she could not interfere with; Geo and Eagle would have to resolve everything on their own. It was none of her business. And yet...

"I suppose I am the one who should apologize," Tatra began. "I was the one who forced you two to talk--"

"Don't doubt yourself," he said with a small smile. "You did what you knew what had to be done. I even wanted to talk to him, even if I didn't know the first thing to say to him. You did the right thing back there, and I thank you."

Tatra grinned weakly back as Geo finally brought his head up to meet her eyes. His was filled with so much despair that it nearly made her feel his helplessness, but she had to stay strong, but his next three words almost made her falter.

"I mean it."

"You have been doing a lot of thanking lately," she said, brightening up her smile a little. "You really are a nice guy."

"I owe everything to you," he replied. "To you... the princess of Fahren... and even your sister. I don't think I could ever repay you three. But... ever since that talk..." Geo frowned again. "It didn't go as hoped. Or planned. I hoped to get Eagle's true intentions. I wouldn't have been angry."

"Eagle-san was thoroughly convinced that you would be," said Tatra solemnly.

"I know. That's why he refused to tell me... anything."

"But that isn't why you are upset."

Geo turned his head away. "No, it isn't."

Tatra followed his gaze and saw that he was staring at his ship. He really was longing to get back, get far away from Eagle as possible, and yet...

"Geo-san, please tell me," she said softly as she stepped closer to him, placing a gentle hand on his arm, "what happened?"

A flash of misery shot through his eyes before he slowly closed them. "Why is it that I feel like I can trust you?"

"I think it is probably because we both gained a level in trust in each other during the negotiations," Tatra replied. "It took a while, but it eventually came on both sides."

"This isn't something I would tell Princess Aska or your sister..."

"Then maybe there is something more, but Geo-san, we are getting off the topic," she said. "What happened between you two?"

He hesitated with slowly clenching fists. He breathed deeply in rounds of six, swallowed, and finally answered in a rasped voice, "I think... our friendships is ruined. Because of me. I snapped."

Tatra brought her eyebrows together. "What do you mean?"

"I don't think that Eagle was... thinking clearly at all when he said it, but maybe he was right, or maybe he knew that this was going to happen," he said at first slowly, and then quickly picked up the pace of his words. "But he said something along the lines that we weren't the best of friends anymore. We couldn't trust each other. I didn't care so much about the trust at that point because I had hoped that we could get it back, but... when he said those words, I was so upset that I... left."

He shook his head, and his posture turned weak.

"Why do I have to be such an idiot?"

Tatra managed a smile. "Even though I have deemed you the nicest man to ever exist, even though I still consider you to be so, I will admit that you are no saint; you are only human. You must cherish everything dear to you and will do whatever it takes to preserve it, and if you think you have lost it, you would react accordingly."

"The thing is, his friendship is all I ever gave everything for," he said. "I gave up my life for him. Hell, I even went as far as betraying a close friend of ours for him, and I even betrayed him for his sake. And to hear him say as if he were dead certain that there was no possible way for us to continue our friendship... living isn't exactly my top priorities."

Tatra widened her eyes. "Are you saying--"

"No, no, I'm not quite that stupid," Geo replied with a laugh. "I know that there's more out there to live for, and what'll happen to Zazu if the two of us were suddenly gone from his life? That and I couldn't be so selfish after putting you through the trouble that you had. It wouldn't be fair."

"But have you lost the will to live?"

"No, but if I don't find anything else soon, I might. I'm not a strong man."

Tatra smiled as she brought a hand to the side of his face. "You just think that your friendship is ruined. Something that deep, that profound, could not be destroyed with one conversation and a course of action. I do not care how long you two have been friends; you just had an argument. Surely not a simple one. It is not my place to judge. But do you not think that something horrible that happened in a conversation can be mended in another one?"

Geo sighed. "I don't know..."

"I am not saying that you have to do it right away. You need some time to calm down and get your thoughts and emotions in order and allow him the chance to do the same," she said.

"All right," he said with a nod. "I'll be back in an hour or so--"

Tatra laughed and took her hand down. "That isn't what I meant! You can stay here. It will be fine; and besides, going back to work would not be the best idea for what you have to do. That, and it would be too much hassle. Why don't you stay here? As long as you have to before you and Eagle-san can get another chance to talk. I am sure you must be hungry."

"I don't want to impose. I think I've done enough of that."

"You won't be," she assured. "I will be honored if you stay."

Geo chuckled. "Typical words."

Tatra beamed. "It's true."

"Well, when you put it that way, I guess it'll be okay," he said.

"Excellent!" Tatra replied. "Have you ever tried any food from Chizeta?"

"Once or twice; imports are pretty expensive in Autozam."

"Well, in Autozam, I am sure that it was cooked just like leftovers. No, no, we do not have any of that onboard the Bravada. Would you like to have some?"

"That sounds great."

Tatra smiled and turned around with Geo's wrist in her grasp as she led him down the corridor. Yes, he needed time to sort out his feelings, but before he could do that, he needed to clear his mind completely. What better way than introducing him to new food?

"Princess--"

"You can just call me Tatra."

"Tatra, then... has anyone ever told you how intelligent you are?"

"Eh?"

"I guess not, but I'm not lying when I say you are. You compliment me far too often, far too much, and I think I owe you one. And I think you are the nicest woman to ever exist."

Tatra suddenly felt uneasy at those words and looked away. "Thank you," was all she managed to say.

And despite her discomfort, something warm ignited in her heart that even she could not explain.

***

Tatra had always been good at reading people, and her air-headed attitude was always a cover-up to hide her true feelings and her true personality.

What Tarta wouldn't give to see that Tatra again.

To no surprise, she blamed Tatra's change of manners on that damned Autozamian sub-commander.

There was something about him that jarred Tarta immensely, but she could never put her finger on what it was. Sure, through Tatra and Eagle's talk, Tarta learned more things about the sub-commander than she would have ever discovered on her own. He was, indeed, a good person, and had yet to do anything to prove otherwise. Even Eagle never seemed upset at him although he had clearly gone back on his orders, and the sub-commander had done so only because of his devotion to his best friend.

But Tarta didn't know why she was so sympathetic towards Eagle but absolutely hostile on the subject of Geo Metro. All she knew was that she just didn't like him, and that reason was too childish for her to accept.

After Tatra turned the corner and out of Tarta's view, the younger sister went back into the centre and saw Eagle in the same exact spot she had left him in. She narrowed her eyes slightly; despite the sub-commander's actions as he left, Tarta knew that nothing had been schemed. Well, successfully, at least. If there was something planned, Eagle would be up and about and not having the look like he had just lost his best friend--

Tarta blinked. Was that it? No, it couldn't be. She was jumping to conclusions again.

She coughed loudly. "Um, Eagle..."

He didn't budge.

"Are you all right?"

There was a short pause before Eagle slowly turned his head around with a false, cheerful smile that was eerily similar to the one Tatra had always given her until very recently.

"There is nothing wrong. Thank you for your concern."

"Then why did... your friend... walk out of here all pissed and everything?" Tarta kept her accent in check but paid no mind to language. "That sure didn't look like 'nothing'."

"He has a bad temper."

"That tells me nothing."

Eagle turned back around and positioned himself so that Tarta would not be able to his facial expressions. That left her pretty upset.

"Look, just because for some strange reason I trust you doesn't mean I trust your friend," Tarta continued with a scowl embedded into her voice. "Don't ask me why. I just don't."

"Like I said--"

"I don't care. Why did he run off all pissed and everything and you stayed here lookin', well, for ah lack of betta words, like someone jus' died?"

Eagle giggled. "There's the accent the people of Chizeta are famous for having. Neither you nor your sister showed any signs of it, and I was beginning to wonder if it was just a myth."

Tarta felt her face boil. "Don' stray off the subject!"

He attempted to subdue his laughter, but Tarta could still hear it pretty well from the doorway. She coughed and went back into the formal accent as was proper for the royal family.

"I swear, you and Neesan are so alike sometimes."

"Likewise for you and Geo."

Tarta widened her eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, I am a rather observant person; I just happen to notice things most people don't."

"Even while you're blind?"

"Personality similarities can be noticed even by the deaf. And I am only temporarily blind, remember that. Besides, you don't need to use eyes to notice your best friend's would-be identical twin. Maybe that's why you have issues with Geo when he has never been cruel in his entire life."

"Are you implying that I'm--"

"I just compared you to Geo, and I just said that he has never been cruel. What I'm implying is that you are just as gentle deep down," he said. "Unless you were about to say something else."

Tarta bit her lip. Damn, he was just as good as Tatra sometimes.

"No, I wasn't," she admitted. "But... we are still straying from the original topic. What happened between you two? I didn't hear any yelling, so it couldn't have been an argument--"

"It was."

Tarta blinked. "Oh." She hesitated. "Well..."

"Things haven't been going well between us since the first time I approached you and the Fahren princess. This was bound to happen sometime, I suppose."

Tarta was at a loss for words. When she was back in Chizeta, she never got out much, and her only companions were Tatra and their cousins. Which wasn't much of company, but Tarta always made do with what she had. And with her to suddenly come across a friendship so meaningful only to have it tainted before she could fully discover the true worth of it left her with no words of advice or comfort.

"Oh," was the only intelligent thing she could manage. And even 'intelligent' was iffy.

After a few more seconds, she finally said, slowly, "So you two weren't scheming anything up?"

"Like I said before, Geo isn't the type of man to deceive. Once he claims his loyalty, he will stick by it and will only change it... for its sheer well-being..." He shook his head rapidly. "Even though Geo is a fighter by nature, he loves peace. He will not be starting up another fight with Chizeta or Fahren for a very, very long time."

Tarta stared at Eagle for a while, having no response to the small lecture, and for a moment wondered what her sister and the sub-commander were up to. She felt her nose wrinkle in disgust, but it was soon replaced with eyes of concern as Eagle suddenly snapped his head up.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Is the color of this table violet?"

She frowned. "What?"

"Is the color of this table violet?"

"Yes... why?"

"I think my vision is returning."

Chapter Four: Spring Rain