Title: Challenge
Author: darkhrse
Pairing: Hikaru
Shidou and Lantis
Fandom: Magic
Knight Rayearth
Theme: #2, News;
Letter
Disclaimer:
Magic Knight Rayearth and all the characters in that anime/manga are
properties of CLAMP. These are used here without permission.
LANTIS WATCHED stoically as the Autozamian shuttle craft settled down gently on the landing pad just outside the palace. The landing pads around the palace were new structural additions as the diplomatic visits from Chizeta, Fahren and Autozam became more and more frequent. Although all visits were categorized as diplomatic, most of them were nothing more than social calls by the visiting royalty for the Magic Knights.
What puzzled the magic swordsman was that unlike the other planets, Autozam's visits were almost always official in nature. Very rarely do any of them drop by just to socialize. It was usually Zazu Torque, who, he heard, had been just recently promoted to Commander and now had his own ship to command. But Zazu always used his personal ship and not an official shuttle craft.
True enough, when the doors opened and the ladder automatically extended, it was Geo Metro who emerged. Lantis stepped forward.
"Geo! Welcome back to Cephiro," he greeted, a smile only barely touching the sides of his mouth.
"And it's good to be back," Geo smiled evenly and looked around, taking deep breaths. "I've forgotten how fresh air was like."
The magic swordsman raised an eyebrow. "I thought..."
"Oh, yeah, the global air filter you helped us create has done wonders for our air. But nothing compares to the real thing."
Lantis gave a lopsided smile. "So anyway, what brings you here? It's usually Zazu who comes over but only when the Magic Knights are here."
"Oh. I guess that means they aren't here. Pity. I would have wanted to see them again."
"I'll make sure to let you know the next time they come over from their world," the magic swordsman said evenly. He could tell that Geo wasn't quite sure how to proceed. "Why don't we go in the palace. Clef is expecting you." He turned to lead the way inside but stopped when Geo cleared his throat.
"Actually, I didn't come to see Clef."
Lantis slowly turned. He saw that the Autozamian was holding a letter of some sort. He didn't notice it earlier. It must have been kept in one of the many secret pockets that the warriors of that planet usually had in their tunics.
"This is for you, Lantis."
The magic swordsman stepped closer and took the letter. Geo tucked both hands behind him, his legs slightly apart in a relaxed parade rest, watching the other's expression as he read the contents of what he had delivered.
"Is Zazu serious?" There was a look of incredulity on Lantis' face when his eyes finally rose to meet Geo's.
"Apparently, he is."
"And you allowed this?"
"We have rules in Autozam and this falls clearly in them."
"Does he know--"
"Yes, he knows that you've participated in this before."
"And does he also know--"
"Yes, Lantis," Geo said, clearly getting a little impatient. "Zazu knows. He knows everything."
"This is ridiculous!"
"That's exactly what I said."
"Why is he doing this?"
"Isn't it obvious?" asked Geo, giving him an eyeful.
Lantis took one look at the expression on Geo's face and then turned away to start pacing. "The rules give me time to think about this, right?"
"You have one week."
---
Hikaru was always happy to be back in Cephiro. She suspected that the people here deliberately make the effort to make their arrivals a festive occasion. She spotted Fuu and Ferio off to the corner of the Grand Hall, looking deeply into each other's eyes as they spoke softly. Umi and Caldina were joking around while Ascot remained within the periphery, fidgeting, wondering, as always, how to best approach the statuesque Water Knight. Hikaru smiled but it was short-lived. Someone was conspicuously absent.
She approached Clef just as La Farga left his side to join Caldina and Umi.
"Hi, Clef."
"Ah, Hikaru," the mage said, nodding as if he knew something.
Hikaru's brows creased. "So...do you know where Lantis is?"
"I knew you'd be asking me that," he replied sorrowfully. "He's in Autozam right now."
The Fire Knight felt the heaviness of disappointment in her chest but strove to hide it. "Well, it must have been an important trip. I mean, to go there even after...you know...he did receive the news that I'd be here today, right?" She hid her hands behind her when she realized that she was fidgeting.
"Yes, he did receive the news. Hikaru, please don't be shocked with what I have to tell you..."
---
"Please calm down, Miss Hikaru."
The red-haired teenager was pacing back and forth in the already narrow confines of the shuttle craft taking them to Autozam. "Are we there yet?"
"No, we're not," Umi said, her fingers drumming impatiently on her armrests.
"Are we there yet?" Hikaru said two minutes after.
"No, we're not," The Water Knight quickly stood and stepped into Hikaru's path. "Hikaru, you're beginning to give me a headache! If you don't sit down, I swear--"
"This is your captain speaking. We have begun our descent..."
"It's about time!" The Fire Knight threw her hands in the air at the invisible speakers. "Wait till I get my hands on that magic swordsman, I swear!"
---
Geo Metro stood with his arms crossed facing Zazu and shaking his head.
"What?" Zazu Torque said without looking up from the instrumentations.
"I still can't believe you're doing this."
"I just wanted to see whether the improvements I've made to the FTO are up to snuff, you know?"
Geo snorted. "Do you really think you can win Hikaru over by doing this?"
"This has nothing to do with Hikaru!" Autozam's chief mechanic and youngest commander gave the other a glare but couldn't hold the eye contact.
"That didn't sound very convincing."
"Shut up, Geo. I'm trying to focus here."
The taller man held up his hands in resignation. "Whatever. You're gonna need it."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Zazu said, slamming his hands on the armrests of his chair.
"Eagle lost to Lantis. Using the FTO. Which part of that didn't you understand?"
"And which part of 'I made improvements to this here FTO' didn't you understand."
"Fine!" Geo said, turning around.
"Fine!" Zazu said, returning his attention back to the fine-tuning he was doing.
"Fine," the taller man said yet again as he took his first step away from the mecha fighter.
"Fine," the chief mechanic countered, shaking his head.
"Good luck out there."
"Fin--" Zazu looked up. He smiled sheepishly. "Thanks, Geo."
Geo gave a nod and a final salute before walking off.
--
"Lantis, open up!" Hikaru said for the umpteenth time as she banged on the door to his chamber.
"Lantis isn't here," came the muffled voice through the reinforced steel barrier.
"Well, if he's not in there, then who are you?" she demanded.
The two other Knights were standing afar off. It was Fuu who was pacing this time. Umi was merely standing with one knee bent, her arms folded across her chest, the fingers of one hand drumming on the arm of the other. Her eyes were narrowing dangerously.
"I have a bad feeling about this, Miss Umi."
The blue-haired teenager raised a delicately sculptured eyebrow. "Me too, Fuu, me too."
"I swear, Lantis, if you don't open this door, I'm going to burn it down!"
With a swish, the door slid open. The magic swordsman was waiting just inside.
"It's about time," the Fire Knight said, glaring at the man in black armor and flowing cape. She faced her friends. "You two, just stay here."
"What?" Umi threw her hands in the air. "That's it! C'mon, Fuu," she huffed and stalked off.
The Wind Knight swung her head to look at both her friends, confusion etched on her face. Finally, she focused on Umi's retreating back when Hikaru had disappeared into the room. "Miss Umi, where are we going?" she asked as she struggled to catch up.
"To see if there are any good seats available."
--
Shock and surprise greeted her when Hikaru appeared in front of her two friends. Both immediately stood up from their seats to face her.
"Miss Hikaru, please tell me you've put an end to this craziness."
"Ladies and gentlemen--!"
The Fire Knight looked up at the announcer's booth at the distance and sighed.
"You're not serious. Are you telling me--"
"On the left corner, please welcome Lantis of Cephiro, piloting the DTO--!"
"I couldn't convince him to give up the challenge," Hikaru said above the roaring applause and cheers, her eyes brimming with unshed tears as she took the seat Fuu had the forethought of reserving for her just in case. Her eyes were on the blue colored mecha that walked onto the arena. It appeared clunky to her. Not at all as sleek as the FTO was. There were what appeared to be missile launchers on both shoulders. In place of hands, it had three grappling hooks. At the center of where the palm should be was a gun hole. Undoubtedly where bullets are fired from.
"On the right corner, it's none other than our own Zazu Torque, piloting the FTO II!"
"Those idiots! I can't believe it! Men are the same everywhere!" Umi took her seat in a huff after staring at the DTO. "All the same. You'd think we'd escape this lunacy on Earth. Only to find that the levels of testosterone here in Cephiro and Autozam are much higher!"
"At least Ferio isn't like that," Fuu said almost to herself, as she also took her seat, the last of the three to do so.
"Yeah, be thankful."
All three looked up as the new FTO walked into the arena. A hush fell on the crowd. Even Umi had nothing more to say as she stared at the mecha. It was white. But that was the only thing this new fighter had in common with its predecessor. It was wider and had more armaments all around. It had the usual shoulder-mounted launchers but there were turrets on top of the launchers. In fact, there were turrets everywhere!
Without warning, the crowd erupted into cheers. The three girls just looked around helplessly.
"The fighters have just received their final instructions," the booming voice of the announcer continued. "Are you ready to RRRRRUMBLE?"
Just when the girls thought it couldn't get any louder, the cheers became absolutely defeaning.
---
Six...Five...
Lantis kept one eye on his instrumentation panel and another at his opponent. So this is what Zazu had been keeping himself busy with.
...four...
He studied the FTO carefully, both from his view screen and the analysis of it being displayed on the onboard computer.
...three...
This new FTO definitely seems formidable. More formidable, at least, than his borrowed DTO. If he was going to win, it would have to be by his wits and on his own battle experience. The question was, should I really strive to win? He knew Hikaru was out there watching. They had a really bad argument about this.
...two...
He couldn't get her to understand that it was a matter of honor. And it wasn't like they were out here to kill each other. It was just a test of piloting and mecha strength. Nothing more. Would Hikaru forgive me for pulverizing Zazu? As if I could.
...one...
Here we go.
--
Whoa! That was fast! "Barrier shields!"
The DTO had instantly taken the offensive when it loosed two missiles at him as soon as the signal to begin came. Zazu had issued the command just in time as the missiles reached him. "Okay, calm down, Zazu," he said to himself. "Track the DTO."
The DTO was circling him at high speeds, firing incessantly, just like he did with Eagle. The chief mechanic spared his instrumentation a split-second glance. The shields were holding at ninety-one percent. "It'll hold. Stay with me, FTO," he said, gently patting the right joystick before grasping it tightly. "Let's show Lantis what you can do."
The FTO sped forward, turned around and loosed two missiles of its own.
Lantis' mecha continued to traverse the gigantic arena in a wide ellipse. He was on an intercept trajectory with the FTO. The two missiles Zazu fired were locked onto the blue mecha, trailing it closely and gaining on it as each second passed.
"I got you now," Zazu breathed, keeping close track of his opponent. When he was within range, he fired a steady stream of rounds from both of the FTO's appendages. His onboard computer told him that the DTO's shields were failing. He just needed a few more seconds.
The chief mechanic scowled when he realized that Lantis was heading straight for him. "What in the wor--!"
The DTO shot upwards and over him with Zazu continually tracking his movement with fire for a split second. The loud warning beep brought his attention back and his eyes widened when he saw that the missiles that he had fired earlier--which a moment ago was behind Lantis--was now about to impact on the FTO!
"Barrier shie--!"
Everything went white. What Zazu forgot about was the fact that he had programmed the FTO to defend itself so the shields had already gone up even before he had issued the command. It was still very close as part of the explosion penetrate the shields, damaging the hull of the FTO.
---
"Zazu!" Hikaru stood up, her hands together, clenched tightly in front of her. She had a pained expression on her face. At the same time, there was also confusion.
Fuu kept her eyes on her friend. She understood what was going on inside of her. Hikaru didn't want either Lantis or Zazu to get hurt. She didn't envy her friend at all.
---
The FTO rolled once more on the ground before coming to a complete stop. Lantis cut of the jets of his DTO as well and came to a rest several hundred meters away from the other mecha.
His instincts were screaming at him to finish the other off. But this was Zazu. He was just a kid, just a little older than the Magic Knights. He activated his comms. "Zazu, are you okay?"
No answer.
Damn. Lantis gripped his joysticks tighter and moved the DTO closer. At the corner of his eye, he saw the shields indicator. It was blinking red. It was down to twelve percent. He had cut the last encounter too close. He would be in deep trouble if his mecha were to be subjected to another barrage of fire. He moved even closer but kept the barrels of the DTO's arms up, ready to fire when needed.
He was already just a few mecha-sized steps away from the fallen FTO. "Zazu, can you read me? Please respond."
Just then, the FTO reared up and aimed its barrel at the DTO. Lantis' eyes widened and opened fire. The barrel of the FTO spewed forth a ball of some sort aimed right at him. Could it be a bomb? No. It began expanding. It was a net!
The net caught the DTO full force, causing it to topple backwards. "Barrier shields!" Lantis commanded although he knew it was over.
The FTO came to a full stand and closed the gap between them. It aimed a barrel at zero distance at the DTO. It fired once.
"Warning!" the onboard computer said. "Shields have failed."
Lantis tried to work the gun arms of the DTO but they were too tangled up in the oversized net that covered its entire length.
"Warning!" it was the onboard computer again. "The FTO is charging its primary weapon."
Primary weapon? The magic swordsman looked up to see that the panels on the FTO's chest were beginning to shift and slide open. It revealed a circular aperture. Tendrils of electricity were arcing all around its circumference. Lantis scowled. Zazu can't be serious. I'm already down. What more does he want?
---
"Finish it. Finish it. Finish it."
All around, the crowd was chanting. Hikaru was turning around, staring at the many Autozamians who were uttering the chant and gesturing with their fists. She whirled around again to face the arena. She could see the FTO preparing to fire on Lantis. Don't do it, Zazu, don't do it!
Umi and Fuu were also standing. Fuu had her hands on her mouth. Umi was just staring at the spectacle, her fists tightly clenched at her sides.
"I've got to do something."
"Whatever it is, Hikaru, it has to be soon."
The Fire Knight's sienna brown eyes turned red and narrowed into dangerous slits. She raised her hand as a stream of fire began circling her. The audience immediately scampered away when they saw and felt the heat. "Flame Arrow!" She directed her spell on the glass that separated the arena from the viewing area. It didn't stand a chance, shattering into countless pieces.
Hikaru leaped forward and through the gaping hole she created. "Rayearth!" she called out to her Rune God while she ran as fast as she could towards the two mechas. When she reached the halfway point, she felt herself being pulled back and upwards. Her clothing transformed to the armor and cape she wore when donning her mashin. The next thing she knew, she was already inside Rayearth and the next step she took placed her between the FTO and the downed DTO. She stretched her arms outward, facing the white mecha and shielding the blue one.
"Zazu!"
---
Zazu's eyes went wide. "H-Hikaru!"
"Tell me you weren't just about to kill Lantis, Zazu."
"I-I...ah..." his fingers instinctively tapped the appropriate buttons to shut down his polaron canon.
"If you're bent on this madness, you're gonna have to go through me."
"And me!"
"And me, as well!"
Zazu eyes looked from right to left to see that there were two other Rune Gods standing beside Hikaru's. "U-Umi. F-Fuu. I'm sorry! I wasn't going to...I didn't mean to--"
"Just back off, Zazu," Hikaru said.
"Y-yeah. Sure! I will," he said even as he started moving the FTO backwards. He kept walking backwards until he heard the computer warn of a collision. Apparently, he had backed his way right up to the far wall of the arena. What have I done?
---
Hikaru rushed towards the DTO's cockpit, still clad in her full battle dress. It was already opened and Lantis was standing, looking a bit dazed. "Lantis!"
"Hikaru, you didn't have to--mmmph!"
The Fire Knight had thrown herself at the magic swordsman, her arms hugging his neck tightly and her lips crushed onto his. It was only for a second though. When she let go, her face was as red as her hair in embarrassment. Her hands shot up to grab fistfuls of his tunic, pulling his face close to hers. "Not a word, Lantis. I didn't know what I was doing. But that will be the last time you do a stunt like this, is that understood?" The fire in her eyes didn't burn out as they continued to glare at him.
Lantis couldn't help the half-smile that was forming on his lips.
Hikaru pushed him back with such force that he fell back onto chair inside the DTO's cockpit. "I can't believe you have the nerve to look so smug! I'm not talking to you ever again!" The red-haired teenager whirled around and stomped off, red cape flowing behind her.
---
"Ah, there you are!" Geo said stepping forward to shake Lantis' hand and slapping him on the back. "That was a great fight."
"Was it?"
"Well, there was an uproar, of course, over the fact that three other mechas, unregistered at that, suddenly appearing when they weren't in the program."
Lantis raised an eyebrow. "How does this affect the relations between Cephiro and Autozam?"
Geo dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry about it, big guy. When the producers saw the jump in their Global Vid Ratings, they were quite pleased. Apparently, the whole thing added drama to the program. The producers just care about the ratings. Oh, by the way," the Autozamian commander gave the other a sly smile, "that kiss Hikaru gave you was broadcast in live Vid all over Autozam." He chuckled and added: "I'm not going to be surprised if the people in Chizeta and Fahren were tuning in as well. That kiss was really something."
"You have no idea," the magic swordsman said, giving the other a wry smile. "So where's Zazu?"
The Autozamian laughed. "Locked in a room with all the producers, enduring the praises they're heaping on him. Poor guy. Oh yeah, almost forgot," Geo reached behind him and drew out a letter.
Lantis merely looked at what the other held in his hand. Geo's smile grew wider.
"No. Way."
"C'mon, Lantis. I'll even let you use my GTO."
But Lantis had already left the room.
Author's Note: This turned out to be longer than I originally planned. I guess I got a little carried away. Hope you guys enjoy it nevertheless. If there's something here that you think was over the top, do let me know. We all want to improve, right? Ja ne!