Aand here's yet ANOTHER Esca fic from me...I might be starting too many projects at once but...I needed a "during the day" project that wasn't depressing like "Ghosts" (here's how I write: every night I write a little of "White Nymph" in a notebook, then type a chapter once it's done; I schedule time for "Judecca" every other Tuesday--if you're bored, I suggest you check out my REMSG stuff as it's really my favorite project, especially "Judecca", which does indeed have Esca people in it--and to break up my homework I always have a chapter of something else open.) Wow, sorry for the shameless plug there. My bad.

Anyway, here's my attempt at an Escaflowne fanfic that doesn't revolve around an obscure...ah, who am I kidding? But at least everybody else should feature prominently...I don't own this. And if anyone knows which Madoushi goes with which name, please let me know. I'm dying here.

Advancement, Episode 1: The Pillar of Light

Black cloaks rustling around the young man's unconscious body, the four men huddled in a frantic conference. An ill omen, to be sure, had visited them in the sprawled figure on the hard metallic form--the necklace glimmering red around his neck even in the pale, flickering candlelight was proof of that. Yet these men had made their careers out of twisting omens to their favor. They would not be baffled so easily.

"What called him?"

"It's hard to tell. Yet nothing called our Lord here, when first he came. Perhaps it is the same with this one."

"Is it definite he's from the--"

"Look at him. What kind of clothes are those?"

"..."

"Exactly. He's another unknown element, that's for certain. The question, then, is not how he came but why."

On the floor, the young man stirred restlessly, scowling at his sudden headache from hitting the floor. One of the black-cloaked men swiftly bent down and slipped something into the younger's mouth; he settled again, the anaesthetic pill buying the conspirators a bit more time to arrive at a course of action.

"The wheels of fate are moving again," than man who'd given the boy the pill said almost to himself. "But in what direction do they turn?"

"Towards us, of course," the eldest of the small gathering replied, speaking up for the first time. "Think on it. All the projects we embarked for the rebirth of the empire are completed--or will be shortly. We know where the prototype is and we have new soldiers for him. The Machine has been repaired and awaits one who can harness its power. Do we wait for the alliance to discover these, or do we take action first?"

"So what do you say we do?" one of his companions asked, adjusting his round glasses on his long nose.

The elder smiled, looking down at the sleeper. "Contact General Adelphos at the consortium in Palas. Tell him to call off the elections. We have found our country a new Emperor."

ooooooooo

The glowing pendant jerked the young king out of an unintended nap, causing him to start in his chair. All eyes in the meeting room turned to him; he covered the offending object with a gloved hand and averted his eyes, embarrassed.

"Van-sama?" his companion whispered once the meeting had continued. "What's wrong?"

"Hitomi's pendant," he whispered back. "Find Allen, Merle. I need to talk to him." Nodding, the catgirl bowed and slunk out of the room. Everyone let her go; she hadn't been contributing to the discussion anyway.

Shifting restlessly, Van snuck a peek at the pendant before focusing again on the speaker, a delegate from Cesario concerned about the energist exports coming from Asturia's portion of the now-divided Zaibach Empire. So much had happened since he had been given the red gem; yet it had never reacted to a thing before. What would set it off, in the middle of a perfectly normal day?--

No, he had to concentrate on the meeting. What was happening? Cesario thought they'd been duped by Asturia during the reconstructive partitioning of Zaibach a year ago. He had half a mind to speak out against the delegate, to call his bluff, but decided no good would come of it. During these meetings, he usually just stewed in his chair until the time came for Fanelia's representative to make a speech. Then he'd give his opinions on everything the others had said thus far and sit back down again. Not the most subtle or extravagant of systems, but it had worked for him so far.

It had also, the young king had been surprised to learn, earned him the favor of the last man in the room anyone would have thought likely to befriend Fanelia's king. General Adelphos Gein, head of the once-formidable Zaibach military, found the king's blunt, emotional honesty appealing after years of serving a leader who prized his secrets above all else. Though his proffered hand of friendship was slighted for a time by Van, who had been unable to even look at a Zaibach citizen without a slow rage boiling in his gut, the general's straightforward dealings in the councils and genuine concern for his country's citizens slowly chipped away the wall Van had put up around himself. Adelphos's belief in his people was admirable and his belief in his God even stronger--though Van found the last, in a man whose army had razed a peaceful country unprovoked, rather unsettling. Despite this, the king of Fanelia had come to have great expectations for the country that had once been his nemesis, as long as the head of the Red Copper Army was at the helm.

He rued those thoughts ironically moments later when a soldier dressed in full Zaibach regalia sprinted into the council chambers and began speaking in furious, hushed tones to the general. Adelphos listened patiently, eyes slowly widening until he finally stood and, interrupting the still-prattling self-righteous Cesarians, requested an immediate halt in proceedings due to unforeseen developments in Zaibach's capital. He needed to speak with some colleagues in the empire immediately and thus would be forced to return to his ship and communications equipment. Princess Eries, as host and head of the council during her father's illness and the absence of the heir-in-law to the Asturian throne, granted the request immediately; her shoulders sagged slightly with what Van took for a moment to possibly be relief. Which left Van, to his own satisfaction, able to seek out the man he'd sent Merle after.

"Her pendant glowed during the meeting," he reported plainly the minute Allen Schezar, younger sister in tow as per usual, entered the guest room given to Fanelian delegates. The knight's eyebrows contracted.

"Hitomi?...But why?"

"I don't know," Van replied grimly, though in reality his heart felt like it was suffocating in his chest. If the light from the pendant heralded what he thought it did--what he wished it would--nothing that could have happened in Zaibach could possibly dismay him now. After a year of waiting, of forcing himself to leave her alone, would he finally get the reunion he so shamefully wished for? "But there's a good chance, I think, that she's come back. Zaibach got upset about something almost immediately after. So either they have their own separate problem--or they've detected something. And they always knew before every time we were taken somewhere."

"But wouldn't she wish to--"

"She'd probably arrive in Fanelia again. It's where she expects me to be." Van paced the room, hand on the hilt of his sword in an old habit. "Allen, if she's back--"

"Go to her," Allen advised, stopping Van mid-pace with a supportive hand on the king's shoulder. "Fly to Hitomi. I'll make your apology for you to the council. You're the one she'd want to see first."

Van ducked his head, blushing. "You're not Fanelian. You can't."

"I'm sure they'll understand," said Allen, his voice misting over in wistful hope. "Celena has been asking so many questions about Hitomi..."

"Has she come?" the girl asked, threading her arm around her brother's. "I want to see her again."

He smoothed her ash-blond hair gently. "I hope so, Celena. Van, go ahead. Don't worry. We'll take care of things here. Go look for her."

Van smiled and headed for the door in as controlled a walk as he could; he felt like running or maybe even skipping. "Thank you. I'll be back soon."

oooooooooooo

Susumu Amano didn't know he was asleep. He didn't know he was in the basement of the palace of a country feared the world over for its technology, or that the men responsible for most of that technology were at that very moment deciding to add him to their next great plan. In his mind, he was five hours back in time and embroiled in a very irate long-distance phone conversation.

"Transferring during my senior year is just plain stupid!" he snapped into the receiver, normal good humor temporarily evaporated in the heat of the moment. "I don't see why we have to come over at all; you lasted a year without us just fine."

On the other end, his father sighed heavily. "Economics, Susumu. You think it's easy, paying rent on two apartments? Besides, it doesn't feel right keeping the family split like this. I don't like being alone in this flat and I'm sure it hasn't been easy for you or your mother."

Susumu sighed. He knew his father was right, knew he was being selfish. But still...England. It was so far away, so different. He'd be leaving an entire way of life behind...to say nothing of other things he'd have to abandon.

"Father, what about my activities? The track team needs me; I think we stand a chance of making nationals again if we just push ourselves a little harder, Wouldn't it help my college applications to have another national championship on my resume?"

"It would help them more to see you adjust well to a new environment. This isn't like you, Susumu. I don't want to have this discussion if you can't behave maturely about it. Put your mother on."

He slammed the receiver into the cradle instead, regretting his rashness almost immediately but too indignant to redial and apologize. He still hadn't told his father the real reason for his reluctance to move, wasn't sure the man would appreciate it. No one in his family save himself felt stirred by romanticism. None of them understood his feelings. They didn't even try.

He debated calling the girl whose face flitted into his mind but decided not to put her through that trial. Listening to her half-crazed boyfriend spew venom at his immediate family probably topped the list of ways Yukari didn't want to spend her Saturday afternoon. No, he respected her too much to put her through that. She felt free to confess all her emotions to him, and he kept them close in his heart. But his own personal life remained just that. He didn't consider it of interest to anyone but himself.

"Susumu? Who was that on the phone?" His mother walked into the room, carrying one of the many boxes she'd already started packing in preparation for the move. Rushing to her side, he took the box for her.

"Here, that's too heavy. I'll get it for you...oh, the phone? No one important."

"You sounded upset."

"I'm not. I'm fine. See?" He smiled. "Is there anything you need help with upstairs?"

"No, I think we're done for the day..."

"Then I'm going out. I'll be back soon." Stacking the box on top of a small pile of its brethren, he pulled on his sneakers and tried to walk casually out the apartment. The force with which he slammed the door shut betrayed his facade.

As soon as he was out of sight of the apartment complex, Susumu stretched and broke into a run. The evening air whistled through his chin-length brown hair, cooled his face and--hopefully--his temper. Given time to contemplate, he repented his self-absorption bitterly. Of course his father would want them all to be together. They were family, after all, and the man had been living alone in a foreign country for a year. Naturally he'd miss them. Susumu missed him. They'd never been close, but a father was a father and a son, a son.

He breathed deeply, trying to run the conflict out of his system, sweat it free through physical activity. Everything magically simplified itself while he was out running: nothing mattered but the next step forward and the wind in his face. Focused on one thing only--the goal toward which he sprinted--the rest of the world just slipped quietly away.

Presently his goal lived about thirty blocks from him, in the more suburban area of the city. He couldn't talk to Yukari about his problems, but he'd come across another mystery which her best friend would probably be eager to help him explore. Slapping his chest softly with each step, a red-and-silver pendant dangled from a chain around his neck; he'd found it in his mother's jewelry box as he helped her pack and asked if he could keep it. Her eyes had widened, but when he explained he merely wanted to show it to a friend of his who had once owned something similar, she had sighed and agreed. Since then, he'd experimented with the pendant: it behaved exactly the way the younger girl's had, swinging back and forth each second without slowing down. Hadn't she said hers was a gift from her grandmother?

But thinking of Kanzaki segwayed all too easily into thinking of Yukari, and he really didn't want to do that. If he did...no, it was no use, he was still angry no matter how much he feigned compliance; he didn't want to go to England at all; he wanted to stay in the only home he'd ever known, with the most fantastic girlfriend a boy could ever have. Her good spirits...her friendly smile...her selfless concern for others...he would never run into another Yukari, and how could he let her go, knowing that?

You must be joking! a strange but familiar-sounding voice accused in his mind.He abandoned his home and his family to find some woman? Pathetic.

"You don't understand," Susumu whispered to the unknown speaker. "You don't know her." Yukari...she had cared about him for so long, and he had good as ignored her, completely blind. But she'd forgiven him, given him another chance with her. Taking that chance was the best thing he'd ever done. The past year with her had been the best of his life, every day illuminated by her warmth and her mere presence. Could he let it end so soon?

I've heard enough of this!

"Then go away," he muttered, not in the mood to be berated by strange voice...but no, it wasn't strange at all. It was his own voice, perhaps a bit older. Condemning him. He was in no mood to be condemned by any one, and especially not himself.

"I can't help it," Amano pleaded through clenched teeth, the pendant's motion against his chest beating a tempo through his whole body. "I don't want to go. I want...I want something to happen so I can't go! I don't want to see my father again!" His eyes, bleary with tears, squeezed shut; something flashed brilliantly and suddenly his feet weren't pounding pavement any more...he was flying, floating away...he was midair...

Opening his eyes, he screamed and fell.

Then everything went black again.

oooooooo

His head hurt terribly; the landing, he thought, must have jarred it. The chronology had replayed itself in his mind, but he still couldn't bring his memories up to lying on a metallic floor lit only by what looked like blue gas candles. And he definitely didn't remember any old men in black-and-green cloaks.

Pushing his sore body off the floor, he sat and stared around. "Where..."

A flurry of activity greeted his motion.

"He has awoken!"

"He lives!"

"Do not forget..."

"Let me help you, Lord." One of the men--the oldest, it seemed, his face fierce above a pointed beard, took Susumu's arm and assisted him to his feet. "Allow me to welcome you to Gaea."

"...What?" Blinking, he looked around, completely flummoxed. "I don't know what you're..."

"Of course His Majesty is disoriented. The journey from the heavens is not an easy one. Allow me to explain." Removing his hand from Susumu's arm, the man rewrapped himself in his cloak in the same batlike manner as his colleagues. "In our empire's desperate hour of need, you have been sent do deliver us, just as our previous ruler descended from above to save us from desolation. Welcome to the Zaibach Empire, Emperor from the Mystic Moon."

"Excuse me?" Angry and frightened, Susumu spotted a window and rushed to it, determined to get at least his bearings before dealing with the strange men any further. A quick glance at the surroundings only served to confuse him further. Outside, a hazy green smog hung over a golden city; tilting his head upwards to try and ascertain his position from the night sky, he gasped. The moon was there, just as it should have been, if a bit too large. But next to it...

"You see?" asked the old man. "You have left your homeland for our benefit. The Mystic Moon, which you see above you, has sent you to us. This is your home now, Emperor of Zaibach."

One by one, the men sank into deep kneeling bows, capes crumpling around their feet and wreathing their prostrate forms further in shadows. Susumo balanced himself against the windowsill; on his chest, the pendant glowed. In the back of his mind, visions of a day he could not with his waking mind remember began to glimmer as well--memories of another flash of light, of a dragon and a boy who spoke in an alien tongue. And then another pillar had come, taking with it...

"Kanzaki," he breathed to himself, looking up at the blue-green planet hanging in the sky above him. "What's going on?"

oooooo

a/n: Thanks for reading! BTW, the story derives its name from the translation of Amano's first name, "Susumu"...I always thought it was odd they never bothered to explain why he looked like Allen, and wanted to try my hand at a continuation fic, so this came about. Oh, and all chapter titles are going to be named after stock Esca features (like wings, fate alterations, wishes, etc...)

Coming up next: Amano meets Adelphos, gets fed a bunch of lies, and tries his hand at altering fate. Van fights it, and someone gets caught in the crossfire...