Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne, only this plotline.

Summary: "Do you know why you see the feather or what it means?" The woman asked Hitomi with fake intrigue. "Yes, it means. . . he is calling me."

The Vision of Escaflowne
—My Cure—

"How long has it been?" The unidentified figure asked of her.

"Since when?" Hitomi slowly cocked her head to the side.

"Since you visited that place. . . Gay-uh?" The figure, now identified female by the high-pitched voice, asked while tapping the object in her hand against something.

"You mean Gaea?" Hitomi's voice was monotone, as it was always. She opened her eyes, trying to adjust to the dull lighting.

"Yes, sorry. My mistake." The feminine figure stopped tapping the object, was it a pen? and wrote what sounded like scribbles on what she was formerly tapping on. Hitomi's eyes focused on what she was writing on. It was hard in the dim light. It looked like a notepad. Yes, that was it. A notepad.

"Um. Two. . . three years?" Hitomi narrowed her glazed over eyes as if trying to recall some faint memory. "Yeah, three years. I was in my last year of middle school, ninth grade." She nodded her head and looked back down at her hands.

"How old were you?" The woman asked her with an innocent voice.

"I was fifteen. . . and so was he." Hitomi whispered the last part as an afterthought. She looked up and squinted at the ceiling light to the side. The woman took no note and scribbled again on the paper.

"Pardon?" The woman snapped her gum and tapped the pen a few more times.

"I said I was fifteen. Yes. . . fifteen." Hitomi was now looking at the woman in a perplexed manner. Where was she? It looked like some sort of office. When did she get there? She could barely remember anything. What was her own name, again? Ha— Hu— what was it? It was barely beyond her reach, begging to be found. But it was to no avail. She could not remember.

"Oh, I thought you said something else." She scribbled again. "Do you see any objects that remind you of Gaea?"

"Yes. I can see. . . a feather. A white feather." More scribbling with the dreaded pen came to her oversensitive ears.

"Do you know why you see the feather or what it means?" The woman asked Hitomi with fake intrigue. She didn't realize the woman was faking, nor that she was "intrigued". She didn't realize anything at all in her foggy mind. All she could see was a black-haired woman in front of her with a red blouse and a khaki skirt. Something was telling her that her appearance should make her remember something. . . something important. But nothing clicked. Nor had it clicked for the past three years.

"Yes, it means. . . he is calling me."

—

"And you are not certain when she received those cuts on her wrists and arms?" Mr. Kanzaki slowly shook his head with a pathetic look on his face. "Or the other scars?" Another sad look.

"My wife always took care of the emotional needs of Hitomi and her younger brother, but now that she's gone. . . All I know is that the past three years have been bad for Hitomi. Just overnight, she changed. At first she was strong and independent, then she sulked, and it kept spiraling worse and worse and worse until now where she can never remember where she is or even who she is! Please, what is wrong with my daughter?" Mr. Kanzaki was pleading. It had been so long since he saw his daughter laugh or cry or even yell at him. She was just. . . blank. Hitomi had become devoid of all emotions over the past three years. She no longer was burdened with emotions, she was on the brink of blessed, blessed insanity. It wouldn't be long until she was tempted to step beyond that fine line, never to be salvaged back.

"I believe she has Schizophrenia. It seems as if all she can remember are these delusional memories. Little by little they have become her life, her very being." The woman paused, thinking of what to say next to the pitiful middle-aged man who cared so much for his daughter, but was three years late. "Both Hitomi and yourself mentioned three years ago, when she was fifteen. It is very common to develop Schizophrenia during adolescence. There are many factors that can lead to a mental illness such as Schizophrenia. Tell me, is there any blood relative of hers that has any mental illness? Or if she ever had a break down or a bad experience such as a rape, abuse, or a death in the family, especially around the age of fifteen? Think carefully, please."

Mr. Kanzaki sat in his chair, thinking for a few moments. "No, I do believe there isn't any on my side. I don't know the history of my in-law's very well, but I cannot recall any illnesses or eccentricities other than Depression here or there. And as for her behavior, she was happy at fifteen. She was one of the best track stars at her middle school, she had good friends, her grades were excellent. I just don't know what happened to it all."

"Hmm. Illnesses such as Depression and Bipolar, or Manic Depression, in the family can contribute to developing Schizophrenia. Other things that can contribute are heightened stress on the mother during pregnancy, childhood traumas, and critical comments or behavior from those around her. Especially from friends or those very close to her." The woman sat there tapping her nails on the cherry wood desk in front of her. It was truly sad the cases she had to go through every day. What was she going to do with this new patient?

"The poor child, I suggest you take out all the gluten from her diet for three months, and see what that accomplishes. There are many possible disorders she could have, but usually having a gluten-free diet can calm down the symptoms and increase the function of the body. I will see her once every other week to check on her progress. If the diet does not help then I will have to do some tests on her and most likely prescribe some medicine or a different type of treatment such as psychotherapy." He nodded his head to what she said, trying to make sense of it all. What happened three years ago to make her like this?

"Before you leave, I would like to know how she was before her. . . symptoms started to develop. If I know her personality, then I will know where to go and how close we are to achieving our goal."

"You really think you can cure her?" His eyes lit up with hope.

"I don't know if anyone can cure her, but I can most certainly help, Mr. Kanzaki."

—

It was dusk and the summer heat was finally dissipating after a long day in the sun. The men were closing up shop and heading home to a warm meal and family. There was one man who, after an exhausting day of nothing but work, work, work, refused the former and wished he had the latter. If only Hi— "Lord Van! What are you doing up there?" Merle called up to King Van Slanzer de Fanel who was standing on top of the newly built castle. It hadn't even been two months since they finished rebuilding the castle and almost all of the civilian housing, now that he thought about it. He was grateful that it was all over, but he also cursed that fact because of what he knew was imminent. How was she d— "Lord Van?! I know you are up there! Answer me!"

"What is it, Merle?" He called to the cat-girl below him. Merle looked up at him, and, even though there was two stories' distance between them, knew the bittersweet look upon his face. He was trying not to think about her. Merle mentally cursed the girl they all loved for leaving him, no, them all. Stupid girl, she doesn't know what he does not to think about you. "Merle?"

"Lord Van, we all already ate, but I saved you some food!" When she received no reply she shouted, "When she comes back she won't want to find some wimpy, anorexic stick waiting for her!" That definitely struck a nerve and before she knew it Van had come to a halt five feet from the ground via his draconian heritage. When seeing the murderous look upon his face she added "Well, at least you came. . ." and gave a nervous laugh.

Merle thrust the bowl of stew at Van and gestured for him to take it, but he just looked at it. "Lord Van, she's being strong and you need to be strong, too. For her. She wouldn't want you melancholy all the time and grumbling incoherent things whenever you have an opportunity. You are shutting off all of your friends, Allen and his crew, Millerna, Chid, Dryden, Ruhm. . . you are even shutting me out. And for what? Nothing good comes from this. She'll come back when she does, you just have to be patient." He nodded his head at her words and took the bowl and spoon.

"Thanks, Merle. I can always count on you." He gave her a smile as she walked back inside. "It's getting cold. . . I wonder— are you cold, too?"

—

Hitomi sat in the waiting room, once again. It was her fifth visit to the woman who had no name. To her, it was the "pen-lady". She never asked her for her name, oh, no. She only answered questions. And even that was to a certain extent. She remembered so little.

Still waiting, Hitomi looked up to the lights and saw a feather floating down. It was such a pure white color, it reminded her of what was it called? Sna—? Sne—? No that wasn't it. It was cold and white and flaky. What was it called? And as she remembered the coldness of the object, as soon as the feather drifted to her hand, she felt an icy surge that sent shivers down her spine. It was as if a freezing draft suddenly swept into the waiting room, without anyone else noticing. How can no one else notice? It is like it is snowing— snow! She remembered. Snowflakes are beautiful. . . Only one of the same, just like there is no other him here on Earth. A forlorn look took over her face as she tried to remember who "he" was.

As another feather came down she lethargically grabbed it out of the air and a whisper, tiny and almost inaudible, came to her ears, and hers only. "When are you coming back to me?"

She closed her eyes as tears threatened to break. Why was she crying? Whose was that voice? Why couldn't she remember?! Before the feather dissolved, as they always did, she brought to her face and whispered to it. As it disappeared, she smiled. Maybe, he can help me.

"Kanzaki, Hitomi?" The door opened and the "pen-lady" came and held out her hand to her. "Let's go, sweetheart." She snapped her gum and took her to another private room. Seated, once again, she brought out her freakishly annoying pen and that notepad and opened her mouth. "Let's start, shall we?"

"He asked me when I was coming back to him."

"E— excuse me?" The "pen-lady" was thrown off guard. Hitomi never said anything but limited answers. She had never said 'hello' or told her anything without being asked. She scribbled on the page with much haste. As she looked back up and saw her hold out her hand and close it around some imaginary object. As she brought it to her mouth to whisper back to it, she saw Hitomi's soulless eyes regain some light to them - they looked like a dying ember about to shine its last. It was almost nonexistent, but it was there. She scribbled more onto her notepad and began another session, this one, maybe not as fruitless as the others.

—

Van shivered with the wind. It chilled him, not because it was exceptionally cold, but because there seemed something. . . supernatural to it. Van rubbed his hands up and down his arms, feeling his goose bumps. What is it about this wind? Van looked up and was surprised to see a long, white feather floating on the wind, heading his way. He held his hands out and the feather dropped into them. As soon as it fell upon his gloves he heard a muddled voice saying "Where do I go?". He held his head as the feeling of a brain fog hit him hard. It felt like he knew nothing, the dying lights dimmed to the point he could barely make out shapes, and his very being went numb.

He recovered sooner than he thought he did, and he noticed he still clutched onto the feather. Before it could fly away, he whispered to it "Go wherever your heart leads you. Use it as your guide." Van was astonished at how the feather vanished before his very eyes. Was it even there to begin with or is my mind messing with me?

Van stood there, in the courtyard, waiting. He did not know what to do next. Half of him was waiting for another feather, the other half was trying to reason with himself that none of it was real. He looked up to where the Mystic Moon met the sky, and found another feather heading towards him. It dropped, once again, on his hands and he heard the voice a little clearer. "I don't know how. Will you help me?" He found the feminine voice familiar, but could not place it. Once again he whispered. "Of course, who are you?" The feather dissolved again into nothingness and he stood, waiting for another feather message.

—

"Why can't I remember?" She whispered once more.

"Did you say something, sis?" Mamoru cautiously asked Hitomi. You always had to be careful around her. Whenever you spoke or even moved, it had to be slow. With fast movements or being startled, Hitomi would go into a frenzy and sometimes have seizures. He looked to see her smile and lift her hands up like she was releasing a bird. Wait! Smile? Hitomi didn't smile. She never released even a bit of emotion. Never. But, there she was, smiling. She looked so hopeful, but still troubled.

Hitomi leaned forward as much as her seatbelt would allow her to. She looked like she was catching something fragile. She brought it to her. "You don't remember who you are?" Mamoru thought he heard a voice say that, somewhere. It was male, obviously, but he didn't know who. He looked around the car trying to find out where the voice came from. Then he heard "No, I cannot remember anything except another place called Gaea." coming from Hitomi. He looked again, cautious, and he saw a white feather dissolve into nothing in her hand.

He heard her. She responded to that voice. They were talking through a feather. Wait, I am going crazy! He told himself. There was no voice, Hitomi hardly ever talks, and you cannot communicate through a feather! Mamoru shook his head and looked forward at the seat in front of him and tried to concentrate on staying sane. He didn't want to end up practically brain dead, like Hitomi. . . but he could not forget the feather.

"Are you on the Mystic Moon?!" The cry was louder than the soft voice he heard before. He looked again and Hitomi was holding another white feather. "I don— I know your voice! Could you be. . . him?" The feather disintegrated from her hands, again, and Mamoru knew this was going to be only the beginning of his madness.

—

"I don— I know your voice! Could you be. . . him?" Van stood there, with the feather in his hand, not knowing what he could or should do. Could I be who? She said she could not remember anything, not even who she was. But she remembered someone else. Someone obviously dear to her. She must have been in love with that person but lost almost all of her memory, poor girl. She said she could remember Gaea and she knew my voice. Van stood still in realization. It couldn't be her! Could it?

Van saw the feather begin to fade, so he hurriedly shouted to the feather. "Follow the pendant! It will guide you to me." And at that he ran into one of the back entrances to the castle.

—

"Follow the pendant! It will guide you to me." Hitomi closed her eyes. Pendant? What pendant? And then a pink jewel ran through her mind. It swung back and forth on a chain. To the left and then to the right and then over again. She closed her eyes even tighter and concentrated.

"Hitomi? You can get out of the car now. . ." Mamoru told his sister quietly. He was still a bit creeped out about the feather incident to put it lightly, but their father had gone over to a neighbor's house for some reason or another (Mamoru wasn't exactly listening to his father talking, but instead the feathers) so it was his obligation to watch over her.

Left. Right. Left. Right. Behind me? Hitomi opened her eyes. She knew which direction to go to 'him'. He had said the pendant would guide her to him, right? Then going backwards must be the right way! She tried to get out of her seat, but found that she couldn't move an inch.

"Hold on, 'Tomi." Mamoru told his sister. "Let me unbuckle you, first." Little did Mamoru know that unbuckling her would bring more than a little trouble into his life. As soon as the 'click' was heard, Hitomi passed Mamoru and started running down the driveway! "Hitomi?!"

Mamoru knew that Hitomi was once on a track team years ago, he just didn't know she was still such a good sprinter!

She ran down to the sidewalk and turned right with Mamoru struggling to keep up. I've wanted to deny it, but this just confirms her crazy state!

At the end of the block she crossed the street going left. When Mamoru got a glimpse of her, he saw that her eyes were tightly closed. She was running blind! "This is going to end nowhere but badly. I just know it. . ." Mamoru panted as he was falling farther and farther behind his older sister.

—

As Van found himself at his family's cemetery where Escaflowne also slept, he slowed his sprint. He had finally found her! He knew he had. Something was trying to pull them together, wanted them together. But what was this seemingly supernatural force and why did it want the two of them together? Did Gaea need the two of them because another war was about to start? Does it matter? You've found her Although Van kept telling himself that he'd found Hitomi and that anything else that might happen would be second priority, he still felt as if something was about to change. Maybe not something crucial, but something.

And then Van thought about it. Hitomi doesn't remember anything. . . Is she okay? He sat down on the cold ground next to Escaflowne and looked up towards the night sky. The Mystic Moon was shining particularly bright this evening. I hope nothing happened to her. I couldn't bear it if she were hurt. Or even if she had amnesia. Van slowly closed his eyes and sighed. She did promise me that she would never forget. . .

And I definitely haven't forgotten about her. I couldn't if I wanted to. Van looked up at the Mystic Moon in longing for the person he missed the most.

Maybe, if I wish hard enough, she'll come back to me. Van took the pendant she'd given him three years ago and held it in his closed hand. He shut his eyes once more, raised his hand that carried the pendant to his mouth, and whispered to it. Using all the power in his heart, he said aloud his deepest wish.

—

"Hitomi, what gives?" Mamoru had finally caught up as Hitomi slowed. He knew he was futilely talking to her, but sometimes you just feel like talking to things that can't talk back. So he did. "Why are we by the track at my middle school?" But Hitomi just sprinted down the concrete stairs to the track with energy he didn't possess. "Here we go, again. . ." He grumbled trying to catch up again.

Hitomi reached the bottom of the stairs where it met the track just as a white feather blew her way from high up in the sky. She reached up for it, waiting for the feather to find its way back to her. Mamoru was running down the stairs as fast as his legs could take him and it seemed that right as he reached his sister, so did the feather. "Come back to me, Hitomi. . ."

There was no mistake; it was the same voice as before! "I'm goin' crazy, goin' crazy, goin' crazy. . ." Mamoru chanted as he held onto his sister's shoulder.

Hitomi looked up to the sky and smiled. Before Mamoru could say anything to question it, a white beam of light swallowed them up and he found his feet lifting off the ground. In instinct, he held onto his sister even tighter. Hitomi, on the other hand, seemed relaxed. "Let's go, Mamoru." She said with a smile. He is waiting for us. . .

—

Van dropped the pendant against his chest after half an hour had passed and no beams of light or even another feather had appeared. He was beginning to doubt that she would come back. In fact, he thought that maybe some supernatural force out there saw his misery and decided to play with the little hope he had left.

Maybe she. . . Van looked up at the two moons in the sky and saw a light traveling from the Mystic Moon to. . . Could it be?

Within seconds the trees around him were filled with a blinding light. He closed his eyes briefly until the light dissipated. "Van!" He heard his name called and opened his eyes to see Hitomi and. . . another man? No, not a man. More like a teenaged boy.

Hitomi seemed to snap out of the daze she was in almost instantly, while the other guy she was with was still coming to his senses. "Hitomi!" Van rushed over to her and embraced her to make sure that this was all real. She returned it and he felt cold tears sliding down his neck onto his chest. This is definitely real. She's back! "I'm so glad you're back. . ."

"Whoa!" The teenaged boy said as he stood up. "My head feels like it is gonna explode. . ." Followed by a "Gaea exists?!". He began to freak out when he saw the Earth in the sky. "Could this day get even weirder? Or maybe I'm going crazy! I guess I finally cracked like Hitomi. . ."

"Hey, that's not nice!" Hitomi left Van to hit Mamoru in the head.

"Hitomi. You just talked." He informed her like it was the oddest thing that he had ever seen in his life. "You never talk."

Hitomi hit him again. "That's enough, Squirt!"

"So, tell me this. When you left this place did you receive Schizophrenia, or did you just do a fine job of fakin' it?" Mamoru asked Hitomi.

"I don't know." She told him honestly. "When I came back to Earth the last time I felt fine, but little by little I felt myself fade away. Like a part of me was being called elsewhere." She shrugged. "But now that I came back here, everything just clicked all of a sudden. I know I didn't fake it, and I also know I didn't have it to begin with."

Van walked over to the two siblings. "Hitomi, who is this, and what is he talking about?"

Hitomi sighed and introduced the two. "Van, this is my little brother, Mamoru. Mamoru, this is King Van Slanzer de Fanel of Fanelia."

"You mean to tell me, this guy is a king?" Hitomi nodded. "A king of a country?" Hitomi nodded again. "But he is like, your age!" Mamoru protested.

"So?" Hitomi said. "There have been lots of kings in history that were coronated when they were even younger than you." Van nodded.

Mamoru didn't look impressed. "So, did you ever figure out what was calling you here, assuming you meant here?" He changed the subject, obviously not winning his argument. He didn't know what it was about this guy, but he felt like he could trust him, and that made him feel uneasy.

"I think so." Hitomi told him. She walked over to Van and stood before him. "You still have it, right?"

Van nodded and pulled the pendant from beneath his shirt and over his head. "You don't mean that. . ." Hitomi confirmed Van's thought with a nod. "So you were getting sick because the pendant was away from you."

"Somewhat. It was because you wishing to be close to me." Van's eyes widened. "Slowly, you were draining the life out of my body until I was nothing but a shell." Van looked down at the ground because of shame. I let my emotions get the best of me, and it hurt Hitomi. . . I hurt Hitomi. "But I'm okay, now, Van! It was also because you wished for me to be near you that I actually could come back. I couldn't go back without the pendant no matter how hard I tried. It was all you."

Van smiled and pulled her back into her arms. "Okay, okay." Mamoru literally pushed them apart after a moment or two. "Break it up, you two. This is way too lovey-dovey for my tastes." Hitomi blushed at her little brother's actions, but Van just laughed.

"Seems your brother is a little protective of you." Van said after he was done laughing.

Hitomi looked at her brother. "Is that so?" Mamoru crossed his arms against his chest and stubbornly looked away with a 'hmph'. "You know what I think, Mamoru?" Hitomi walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him. "I think this is a beautiful beginning."

And it was.

—Fin—

A/N: Wow! After over a year, I finally finished this! Man, I don't know how many sit-downs it took to finally just get it all written out. I had to do a lot of research on Schizophrenia and I hope this made sense. I'm glad Mamoru got to go to Gaea. As you can see, he's starting to develop the powers Hitomi has. Especially since he's about fifteen, now (the same age Hitomi was when she went to Gaea). I think I'll leave this as a oneshot, since I have absolutely NO idea where to go after this. Well, hope you liked my first non-Teen Titans fanfic. Until next time!

Signed,
Her Sappiness