By: indo-silverphoenix
Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or Angel or "Broken" by Seether
Chapter One: The Vision
I guess you could say the trouble started a week after I arrived in LA. I had moved into the Hyperion with the other slayers. My roommates were nice in the beginning, always talking about how we would hang out when summer vacation was over and school started again. Let's just say it didn't turn out that way
The girls were sitting down to dinner like they did every night before patrol. Hitomi was sitting with her roommates talking as usual when suddenly, Hitomi's head seemed to explode with pain as she saw images flash in her mind. When they stopped, Hitomi fell to the floor, unconscious.
When she finally came to, Giles and Willow were leaning her. Giles asked her if she was okay. She nodded. Then he asked her what happened and she only told him one word. "Vision."
Things went downhill from there. My roommates refused to share the room with me and kicked me out, telling me to share the room with the other freak. And here I thought we were all freaks already. So I went upstairs to where they said this "other freak" was staying and things went back uphill.
Hitomi knocked on the door of room thirteen. When no one answered, she opened the door and entered the room. The first thing she noticed was how dark the room was except for one lamp. Then she noticed a girl sitting on the ground, her back facing Hitomi and her legs crossed. She seemed too focused on something in front of her to notice Hitomi's entrance.
She walked forward until she could look over the girl's shoulder to see a pencil spinning in the air in front of the girl. "Wow!" The girl jumped and the pencil went zooming across the room and embedding itself into the wall. The girl turned to Hitomi with a glare on her face.
"Come to poke fun at me too?" she said, her voice filled with hate.
"No, not at all. I was told that this was going to be my room from now on."
"Wait a minute, you're the girl who had the vision during dinner." Hitomi nodded and the girl's glare faded to a warm smile. "Welcome to room 13. My name is Val Vernel and I will be your roommate."
Hitomi took the moment to look the girl over. Her dark brown hair was in a braid that hung over her shoulder. Her eyes were a deep maroon almost burgundy. Her clothes consisted of a red shirt that was a little too big for her and a pair of black, baggy pants. If Hitomi didn't know better, the girl could almost pass for Van's twin sister.
School started and Val and I started a new circle of friends that became know as 'The Outcast'. We were a group of misfits, having nothing in common what so ever, from our fashion sense to our choice of music. We were the kind of people that could get along with anyone, if only given the chance. I, myself, became drawn to Val's sense of style. But while her colors were red and black, mine were green and black.
We became used to the duo life of a slayer. High school seniors by day, fighters against the forces of evil by night. And in between…regulars at Lorne's karoke bar.
Hitomi and Val walked into Caritas at exactly 5:30 p.m., just as they had done for the past month. All the other regulars, even the demons and vampires, greeted them as they entered. Both would smile and wave as they made their way over to the bar, order two Diet Cokes (which I do not own), and then speak with Lorne in between acts. But tonight would be different from the others. Tonight, Hitomi had an important request. She wanted Lorne to interpret her vision from a month ago.
Lorne, of course, agreed, always wanting to hear the two sing at least once. Hitomi begged Val to sing with her. For some reason, Hitomi had a feeling that she was involved with the vision. Val agreed, half-heartedly.
"Now, I have the huge honor of introducing, the two gorgeous ladies, Hitomi and Val with a recent hit."
The music started and the girls stood in the center of the stage, mics in hand.
V: I wanted you to know I love the way you laugh
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away
I keep your photograph and I know it serves me well
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain
VH: 'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away
V: You've gone away, you don't feel me, anymore
H: The worst is over now and we can breathe again
I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away
There's so much left to learn, and no one left to fight
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain
VH: 'Cause I'm broken when I'm open
And I don't feel like I am strong enough
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away
'Cause I'm broken when I'm open
And I don't feel like I am strong enough
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away
V: You've gone away
You don't feel me here anymore
The bar was silent for a moment before it erupted in a chorus of applause. Lorne walked up on the stage clapping vigorously. After taking a mic, he could only say one word: amazing. Then the girls walked to the side of the stage and waited while Lorne introduced a slimy, Fungus demon.
"Ladies, that was great. You blew them away you slayed 'em, you…"
"LORNE!"
"Alright, don't get your crossbows in a twist. So, here's how it goes, you, my dear were right about ruby eyes over here. She is a missing piece to a puzzle that will save two worlds. A few more people will be joining your…quest. Don't know who exactly, but you'll know once you see them. Bring them back to the club and I'll confirm it, alright.
"Now girls, you need to go the sun has almost set and you need to be at the cemetery when it does."
And with that we rushed out of the bar, grabbing our bag of weapons from the bouncer along the way, and headed out into the warm LA night air.