I do not own InuYasha or Magic Knight Rayearth in any way, shape or form!

Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speech

'The' – Thoughts

PLEASE READ BEFORE BEGINNING CHAPTER!

AN: Okay, so the chapter looks and sounds a bit wonky from my angle, but then whether or not it sounds well will depend on you readers. But yay! I got another one up! Though, this did turn out much longer than I thought it would…

Now, I'm still working on writing out battle scenes, so please bear with me! I might be able to picture how I want the battle to look, but putting it into words was never a strength of mine. I always either say too much or too little. Case in point with the rest of my fics. So I'm going to do my best here, and hopefully I don't end up sound like someone on a sugar high spitting out everything as quick as lightning!

This chapter…the timeline in the manga was extremely condensed and honestly, if it weren't for a few details here and there, it would've seemed like everything happened quickly in the span of a few days or even less. The anime was a little better with showcasing time movement, but it still feels like in some instances that everything is happening right after each other.

The battle between Chizeta, Autozam, and Fahren, took place a little over a fourth of the way into the third volume, it seems. And right after that, the Road to the Pillar opened up. A little too quick for my tastes, but it's still a favourite of mine as far as series goes, so I deal.

I also know that there have been questions on when Kagome will meet Lantis. The answer: Not for a while. She will meet him and that will be when everything begins to fall into place. It's true that I could have just as easily started off in an AU and placed Kagome in a position to meet Lantis sooner. But, in order for this story work as I want it to (not that I planned it to be as it's turned out), Kagome's appearances won't be so much until the end of MKRII. The end is drawing near, but depending on how I section off the chapters and how I organize my writing, it's difficult to say.

Anyway, I hope you all like this and please remember to review, but if you've nothing polite to say then don't bother saying anything at all!

~A Match of Two Souls~

oO-The Clash of Worlds-Oo

"What's going on?" Hikaru ran into the throne room. "I saw Autozam's ship outside!"

"Chizeta and Fahren have ventured further into Cephiro as well," Lafarga informed her. "From what I can tell, they are fighting Autozam, but for what reason, I don't know."

Fuu's expression turned pensive. "Do you think—?" She gasped, cutting herself off.

"What?" Umi asked worriedly. "Fuu? What are you thinking about?"

The Knight of Wind looked worried. "Clef-san," she addressed the mage, "To be a candidate for the Pillar, a Road is created of mental energy to venture through Cephiro and find the Road to the Pillar, correct?"

The lavender-haired man nodded. "Being a land where the Will determines strength, an outsider can travel through Cephiro should they wish for it hard enough. A Road, however, declares the intent to find the Road to the Pillar. How they find it, or where it is, I don't know." He grimaced. "If there was one person who would know, it would have be Princess Emeraude, but she never spoke of it to me. There was much she never confided in me."

Fuu looked stricken. "Fuu?" Ferio prompted. "Fuu, what's wrong?"

The green-eyed blonde took a deep breath. "Chizeta and Fahren have declared themselves as Candidates for the Pillar, just as Autozam. But of the three who has been the most persisitent?"

Realization descended upon the chamber.

"Autozam," Caldina breathed out. "Those guys were gutsy enough to cut through Fahren and Chizeta's Roads. So maybe…"

"This is their declaration," Lantis finished. "Autozam seeks to be the only Candidate for the Pillar. Eliminating the competition would only make it simpler in their eyes to find the Road to the Pillar."

"They're going to fight?" Hikaru asked, watching the projection Clef had conjured onto the ceiling.

"Well, they're definitely not tossing fruit!" Primera huffed.

"They're too close to the castle," Umi observed, biting her lip. "Even if they're not directly in front of us, they're still close enough that the castle might get caught up in their brawl."

Lafarga and Lantis nodded in agreement.

"Then we'll go," Hikaru declared. "We said we would protect Cephiro, and right now, this castle and the people in it are the only things left of Cephiro."

"She's right," said the Knight of Water.

"We will protect Cephiro with everything we have," Fuu spoke with determination ringing strong in her voice.

"Rayearth!"

"Windam!"

"Selece!"

The chamber watched as the three teens were engulfed in the magic of their element before disappearing with nary a sound.

'Good luck, Young Women from Another World,' Clef thought.

An ecstatic laugh echoed on the wind. "That's it, my pet! Go and show these pathetic imbeciles what true fear is!"

Obsidian eyes focused on the NSX and crinkled with a manic sort of joy. "Find what belongs to me!"

-NSX-

"Fire Ragna Cannons at 50%," Eagle commanded.

"Roger!" a crew member responded. "Firing Ragna Cannon!"

BA-BOOM!

Geo looked up from his screen to the sandy-blonde. "You're sure about this, Eagle?"

The Autozam Commander pursed his lips and nodded. He turned to a small comm-screen and pulled up a link to the docking bay. "Zazu," he greeted, "Is the FTO ready to go?"

'Wait, what?!' chocolate eyes widened and snapped up to look at Eagle. 'When did he plan this?'

"You bet!" Zazu grinned and shot a thumbs-up to the commander.

"Thanks," Eagle smiled. "Continue assault on the Bravada and DreamChild," he ordered the rest of the crew. "Keep our shields up and avoid using the Ragna Cannon until the last possible moment. Use everything else in our arsenal, but I want the Roads of Chizeta and Fahren collapsed! As my second, Geo has full control of the situation from now and until I come back."

"Roger!" everyone saluted.

"Oi!" Geo shouted. "Oi, Eagle! Eagle!" He ran out of the room and grabbed his friend's arm before he could reach the docking bay. "What the heck? When did you plan this? You agreed to a battle with Fahren and Chizeta, not a single-man assault on Cephiro!"

"I have to go, Geo," Eagle told him. "There is something I need to find. I just need you to give me cover as I leave."

"What?" the spiky-haired man asked. "What's so important that you have to go behind everyone's backs?" He forced the blonde to turn to him when he continued having his back turned. "Look at me!"

Geo stifled a gasp when he looked into the clouded amber eyes. "Eagle?"

"I need to go," the sandy-blonde said, elbowing his friend into letting him go. The Commander of the NSX fled to the docking bay, leaving behind a worried Geo.

'What's going on?'

-DreamChild-

"Increase shields to maximum capacity!" Asuka ordered. "Redirect power from the boosters if needed! I don't want Autozam breaching our defenses!"

"Yes, Princess!" the crew replied in tandem.

Chang'an and SsangYong watched on with pride. The former was proud of the little princess for proving him and everyone this ship wrong. Yes, she would make a fine ruler one day. The latter was just happy his princess no longer had to hide behind a façade. She could finally be herself.

"SsangYong," she turned to the boy, "Please bring a brush, ink, and paper!"

"Lady Asuka!" Chang'an groused. "Surely you will not—"

"You may believe We are not ready, Chang'an," Asuka looked at him, "but this is war. We do not have the luxury of only using what little you may think is appropriate for Us. We have made Our descision, and We shall honour it with everything We can spare."

This stopped the Regent in his tracks. It was true that having made the decision, it was only right to follow through whole-heartedly. And Autozam, it seemed, was not holding back, either. There was one thing, however. "What about Chizeta, My Lady?"

Violet eyes lowered in thought for but a moment. "They seem to be no threat to us. All attacks will be focused on the NSX of Autozam. We will not engage the Bravada unless their sights turn to us." Her eyes shifted to the Chákàn. "I believe those Twin Princesses are of the same opinion as Us."

"Here, Lady Asuka!" SsangYong dashed into the room. His arms full with a blank scroll, a single brush and a shallow inkwell. He laid out the items on the ground before his princess and stood back at her side.

"Thank you, SsangYong," Asuka smiled at her friend and servant. Face falling into a determined expression, she picked up the brush, dipped it into the well, and began painting on the scroll.

"Tear through the scroll!" Asuka chanted, hands forming symbols all the while. "Our secret art! Let the Dragon Rise from the Picture!" The scroll flashed as the image lifted off the page and disappeared from view.

"Well," Chang'an said as he, SsangYong, and Asuka looked into the Chákàn, "At least it actually is a dragon this time." They watched a dragon tear through a cloud, its shape mirroring that of the DreamChild.

"Hm," Asuka mused, "We liked the Giant SsangYong much nicer…"

The young boy only flushed red in response.

-Bravada-

"Ohh, look!" Tatra cooed. She pointed to the image of Fahren's dragon in the mirrored platform beneath their balcony. "She made a dragon this time!"

"Neesama!" Tata growled. "This is no time to play! We must counter Autozam's attacks!"

"And Fahren?" Tatra gestured to the image of the created dragon again. "What will we do about them?"

Tata puffed out her cheeks, flushing. "…they don't look like they're planning on attacking us. They're focusing more on Autozam."

"So…?" the elder princess prompted, smiling.

"So," the younger sighed, "it's possible we're both fighting for the same thing: To protect Cephiro." She huffed. "We won't attack the DreamChild, but the moment that little illusion princess starts using her stuff on us, I'm giving her a dose of Djinn!"

"I would expect nothing less from my darling baby sister," Tatra crushed her younger sister to her chest, loving on her mercilessly.

"Nee—Neesama!" Tata struggled out of her older sister's embrace. "Why don't we just summon our Djinn now?"

"Oh!" Tata dropped her sister to clap her hands together gleefully. "That sounds like a delightful idea!"

'That sister of mine!' Tatra rubbed her backside as she glowered at her elder sibling.

Clasping their hands, standing back to back, the sister chanted, "Come to me my Guardian Spirit! My Djinn!"

A whirl of magic circled their forms before diving into the mirrored platform with a ZING!

"They're definitely getting serious," Umi observed, watching Fahren's dragon and Chizeta's Djinn take shape and begin attacking the NSX in tandem.

"But do you notice," Fuu said as they flew their Mashin towards the battle, "That both Chizeta and Fahren are focusing solely on Autozam, and not each other?"

"It's almost like they're trying to keep Autozam away from the palace," Hikaru's eyes shifted from each ship to the directions the attacks took. "Could Chizeta and Fahren be trying to help us?"

"Anything is possible," Umi shrugged. "So let's give 'em a hand! Water Dragon!" she summoned her watery beast and launched it at Autozam's battleship.

"Guardian Wind!" Fuu cast a windy barrier over the Barvada to prevent Autozam's missiles from making contact.

"Fire Arrow!" Hikaru shot her fiery projectile at the ship, but to no avail as its shield repelled it.

Suddenly, Autozam's missile hatches opened and released one projectile each. But instead of being targeted at either the Bravada, the Mashin, or the DreamChild, they collided with each other.

BOOM!

A bright light filled the area, blinding everyone.

No one noticed the tiny streak of light that was the FTO zipping towards the palace.

~AMatchOfTwoSouls~

"The barrier encompasses the entire structure," Eagle murmured, piloting the mech around the shield erected around the Crystal Palace. "It seems to continue below ground as well," he looked at the scan results on his monitor.

"But if all compiled data is applied, the weakest point of the barrier would be," amber eyes watched the image narrow down to a lower section of the centermost pillar, "Here."

'Forgive me, Lantis,' Eagle took a deep breath. He tightened his hands over the controls and focused them on his calculated target. He aimed his blasters and began firing of at the designated spot.

-Crystal Palace; Throne Room-

Clef slumped the floor, clutching his head in pain.

"Guru Clef!" Lafarga and Presea rushed over to the fallen mage. "What's happened?" he asked.

"The barrier is being attacked," Clef managed to get out. "If this keeps up, I won't be able to hold it for much longer!" he twitched his fingers and looked up at the ceiling. The image focused on the castle, more specifically, where the FTO was blasting the barrier around the castle.

'Eagle,' the cobalt eyes of Cephiro's only Cail narrowed.

"What about the girls?" Caldina asked. "Can't we get 'em to help?"

"A distraction," Lantis spoke. "While Autozam is keeping to its declaration, they're also using it as a distraction. That Mech belongs to the Commander of the NSX. The question is: Why come here when the battle is out there?"

Clef flinched.

"Guru Clef," Lantis knelt down before the slumped form of the lavender-haired man, "Is there something you've not told us?"

At this, everyone's eyes turned to the mage. "Clef?" Presea asked. "Is this true? Have you kept something from us?"

"I—" Clef was cut off by another wave of pain, this one larger than the first. "The…barrier…is broken…" he turned his teal eyes onto Lantis' form. "Go…hidden…chamber…below gardens…"

The dark-haired swordsman nodded and ran off.

'Hikaru!' Clef reached out with the last of his strength.

Adieu,

TsukiyoTenshi