A/N: Okay! Apologies for chapter two if it was too confusing so there's a quick guide to my new 'original' characters at the bottom, some are key to the story! I hope I haven't added too many.

Sorry for the wait! Chapter four will be longer and so will take longer to arrive!

And woops – I don't own Escaflowne or anything to do with it so this counts for previous and future chapters.

Wahhh! Why isn't Van real?

Woo! My most reviewed story! Arigato Gozaimas!!!!!!!

Thanks again for reading and reviewing to:

Sakura Kaoru-Chan – who has channelled something!

Draconian Kitten (and Arienhod) – the guide is at the bottom!

Honeypots – update here!

Thepinkmartini – character guide! Tell me if it helps or doesn't!

Mysisterisasquijum – knows what she's talking about!

InLuvWidVan – who guessed correctly *something.* lol

Jav-chan – thank you for patiently waiting!

Sneedlle – who liked the confusion! Yay!

Okay here it's going to start to kick off again and we have the 'old' crew all back together. Fingers crossed things go smoothly …

N/B: Italics towards the end signify the people talking in the projection. It'll make sense!

Chapter 3: Questions and answers?

Van hadn't visited his favourite window spot for a whole two days, but not intentionally. The shock of Hitomi Kanzaki's family turning up in Gaea in his own gardens had completely unbalanced him. He had managed to calmly suggest that they stay in the Palace, which they warily accepted. Merle seemed to take offence at how suspicious they were but Van had a slight understanding of how they felt. After all he too had been picked up by a pillar of light, albeit whilst trying to kill a Dragon, and landed on a foreign planet and been slapped by a teenage girl.

Although said girl he fell in love with. So maybe it wasn't so bad he smiled wistfully.

However in his view, surely Hitomi's family should have been less frightened than they had been as their daughter/sister had done it before. And therefore they would have recognised the pillar of light and reasoned that they were on Gaea. But that wasn't his concern, he now had to factor in her parents. And this could be problematic.

But surely they wouldn't refuse a King, would they? From the past few discussions he had had with the select few that knew of his preparation, they hadn't thought of any possible problems that could arise. Then this happened. Was it really a problem? For all he knew, Hitomi's family could be beneficial to him.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a messenger and hot on his tails was Merle almost bouncing in excitement as the messenger announced,

"Your Majesty, The Crusade has arrived with Sir Allen and the Asturian King and Queen." Van looked up from his desk where he had been reading an important letter and nodded.

Just as expected his friends had arrived earlier than arranged, probably due to Dryden's pestering for an earlier departure date for his 'holiday.' Of course as the host it was anything but a holiday for Van, but he loved the company. It was a pleasure to hear the corridors filled with voices and having people around him he counted as friends. Soon enough the corridors would be filled with the voices he would love, he hoped.

Van stood up from his desk covering the letter with a few documents that were highly important in his view. But the letter was also an equal priority. He took Merle's arm in his and strolled down the corridor whilst being almost dragged along by Merle who wanted to see their friends. After the war, things changed. People changed. Merle's babble was testament to it.

"Ne, Van-sama. Do you think Millerna will bring Duke Chid with her? And Celena, I wonder if she's grown her hair. And don't be playing cards with Dryden, he cheats. Millerna told me." He smiled fondly at his sister's excited chatter. During the war, Millerna had referred to Hitomi as his servant girl which to this day made him inwardly chuckle. She had not even looked at or addressed Merle. Now they were firm friends, Merle having learnt various arts of healing from her. He knew as well as Millerna that true friends were hard to come by when in a position of power, no matter what rank your friends held.

And Celena Schezar. She had been experimented on by Zaibach and her alter-ego had caused the destruction of Fanelia. At first meeting her, he had expected to see a flicker of the murderous Dilandau in her, but she couldn't be more different. After a few encounters, Van had accepted her as Allen's sister and nothing more. She had adapted quite well to life after Dilandau and from what Merle had told him, had her own band of admirers. Something which Allen had begrudgingly accepted as Celena paid them no attention.

Millerna, Celena, and Merle had formed a trio in the same way Dryden, Allen and he had after the war; their friendships strong bases for trust over political matters and they cared for one another. The ravages of war had affected all of them and one person brought them all together, even Celena who hadn't personally met her as her true self. Nonetheless the effect of Hitomi on all of them had brought them together.

Van and Merle made their way down the main staircase and into the long hallway that arrived out onto the landing space for any leviships, of which he himself now owned one. Though he personally preferred a horse as he rarely travelled so far to have need of the leviship and he had an edge over everyone else in Gaea, he could fly.

They stepped out into the bright spring sunshine and Merle let go of his arm to run out to their guests and embraced Celena tightly who fervently returned the gesture. Allen wasn't far behind her who walked past the two ladies to bow ceremonially before Van who rolled his eyes and held his hand out to him. Allen smiled and pulled him into a hearty 'man's' hug before letting go, beaming at him and stepping aside for his reigning monarchs to approach.

Dryden and Millerna were an interesting couple. After Dryden's departure to Zaibach to help with the aid after the war, Millerna had realised what she had let go of and a month after had chased after him, demanding as his wife to come back and join her at her coronation. He refused and she broke down. Many suspected that she would run to Allen Schezar her past love, but to their surprise she was coronated alone and jubilantly. A year after her plea, Dryden returned and without any bitterness Millerna welcomed him with open arms. Dryden was naturally protective of his wife, but Van noticed how even more attentive Dryden was this time around. He wondered if there was an announcement to be made soon.

The two of them made their way towards Van and both embraced him. Celena and Merle had joined the congregation and it was Dryden who broke the silence by asking,

"Well, where is she?" Merle looked at the Asturian King who although was intelligent, made no sense to her at this point so she politely as possible asked,

"Where's who, Dryden-sama?"

To make her even more confused, Allen jokingly punched Van's arm and asked,

"You shouldn't hide her from us Van. Where is Hitomi?"

"Hitomi?" Merle asked, mystified, and then it clicked. Apparently it had for Van too and before her as he calmly shook his head and said,

"She's not here."

"What?" Millerna asked, mystified as Merle previously was.

"What do you mean? We all saw the pillar of light."

"Exactly, and on your birthday. Birthday wish right?" Allen said, winking comically having assumed that Van was pretending not to know where Hitomi was. He wasn't very far off the mark.

Van sighed tiredly after his own council had harassed him over the pillar of light, "There was a pillar of light. But it wasn't Hitomi who came."

"Then who?" demanded Celena who, having never met Hitomi was eager to do so and felt baffled as Hitomi's name was almost synonymous with the pillar of light in Gaea.

"Hitomi's family." Van answered, but was cut off before continuing any further by Allen,

"Hitomi's family? So where is she? Why wasn't she with them?" an apt question in Merle's mind as Van seemed unconcerned about Hitomi's family arriving without her.

"You did call for Hitomi, right Van?" Dryden asked.

Even Merle was curious to know the answer. She had been with him when the pillar of light had appeared, but he seemed as shocked as she had. She hadn't even seen him use the pendant Hitomi gave him nor an energist. But Van too, seemed to be incapable of answering the first question. He sighed and gestured towards the palace,

"The pillar appeared of its own accord. I have no idea why, I didn't wish for it. And I haven't properly spoken to her family yet. They slept most of yesterday and I haven't had a chance to talk to them yet, but I was planning to today."

"Can we see them?" Celena asked, curious to meet people from the Mystic Moon and ones connected to Hitomi for that matter. To everyone's surprise it was Merle, who piped up,

"They may come from another planet, but they're probably as confused as we are. We should be respectful to them and try and answer the questions that they have before throwing at them the ones we have for them." Celena blushed slightly, aware that her curiosity had seemed slightly disrespectful as if wanting to see the circus.

The others heeded Merle's words, Van proud of his sister for being so thoughtful; though he knew she was speaking from her own past. He was no longer allowed to ruffle her hair so he placed her arm through his again, smiling his praise for her, getting a grin in return.

"I think it would be good for them to ask whatever questions they have. But I suppose a few more people to see them won't hurt." Van conceded and their guests followed them into the Palace and towards the wing the Kanzaki family minus one from the Mystic Moon were staying in. All of the group were aware the family would probably have questions for Van especially, but they too were curious about what had happened to the Seeress from the Mystic Moon. Specifically why she hadn't returned with them, and why not?

In the guest wing which Kenzo, Haruka and Mamoru Kanzaki had been guided to there was a continuous air of shock about where they were currently situated. The facts were these.

The Kanzaki family minus one were going to Tokyo on a weekend trip and so they had bags with them of clothes and various weekend break necessities.

In Mamoru's case it included his Nintendo DS, his mp3 player which had been illegally modified to hold three times the capacity of songs, his mobile phone which had no reception as he had checked it four times already and his state of the art Samsung video camera which took digital photos as well.

If he had been in a balanced sense of mind he would have been bummed he didn't have his laptop to occupy him. But he had too many thoughts already to have need of something else to divert him.

Haruka Kanzaki had fainted shortly after arriving in the bedroom they had been given. A servant had heard the noise of her hitting the floor, as her husband had been too dazed to notice, had knocked before entering and left quickly before returning with a glass of water.

Her husband, Kenzo had almost thrown it out of the servant's hand but Haruka who had revived a few seconds before, gratefully took it from the proffered hand and sipped cathartically as if it would cure her of whatever she felt she was suffering from.

Mamoru, being the most adventurous of the three had opened a door, that didn't connect to his parents' room or to the corridor outside. And he discovered a sitting room that was far more luxurious than any he had ever been in. The closest in comparison would have been rooms in the Imperial palace they had visited on a school trip to Kyoto last year. But this was far bigger, in perfect condition and in current use. It was twice the size of their living room with three plush and extremely comfortable sofas. There were huge bay windows to the right of the room which held views of exotic gardens, the same gardens he assumed they had appeared in.

One of the windows had a small balcony which he gingerly stepped out onto as if expecting something to attack him. But there was nothing but the view.

Even a teenage boy like him who preferred staring at a computer screen, fast cars, and occasionally pretty girls, could appreciate the beauty of the panorama in front of him. The gardens which stretched quite far into the distance, were the foreground to a cluster of tall, sharp mountain peaks that were probably snow covered in winter.

From the balcony he could look to his left and right. In both directions there were the edges of a city sloping out to the city walls which then flattened to meadows, some small towns he could see in the distance. But to his left, which was west, there looked to be a large dense forest far away bordering into what probably were cloud topped mountains again.

But what caught his eye in that direction were the two moons lazing in the sky. In his mind, it looked like something out of a well-detailed anime series. He was awe-struck by it.

He could see earth from the perspective of an astronaut or even better as he could see the moon as well! The world looked huge in the sky and so intricate with the seas, landmasses, and clouds in the atmosphere. If he hadn't been as weirded out as he was he would have taken pictures. The not shocked part of him made a mental note that it would make a cool desktop background.

Back inside the room was a fireplace which like everything else in the room was highly ornate and probably extremely expensive. And at the curve of the fireplace at the top was a dragon gilded into the metalwork. Mamoru was content in his own way to wander round the room examining all the lavish decorum of the room but he wasn't fully attentive. He was distracted by what had happened.

Not to say he was too worried, from what he remembered of his sister's tale Gaea was peaceful when she left and didn't seem to be at war at the moment as far as he could tell. If anything he was rather excited to be on another world, despite what had happened after Hitomi's return from Gaea.

He used a different door to the one he had entered by, suspecting it led to his parents' room. He opened the door and found his father sitting on the plush bed with a nervous expression on his face, not registering him entering the room. His mother however had been seated by the window to their room, her eyes roving over the landscape but not absorbing anything.

She turned to him and got up and pulled him close to her. "Mamoru! Where did you go? I opened the door to the room you were in and you weren't there! Don't frighten me!" Her voice trembled as she spoke, her eyes glassy.

"Kaa-chan, I was only looking around…"

"Yes but it's not safe!" She murmured worriedly.

"What do you mean it's not safe Kaa-chan? We're not in the dungeons by any means. You should come and see the sitting room and the view!" Mamoru replied slightly baffled as to why his mother felt unsafe here. Completely mystified and unsure of what was going on, fair enough. But unsafe?

"You're staying here with us tonight." His father finally woke from his reverie, "You and your mother will take the bed, I'll stay awake and keep watch."

"Keep watch? What for?" Mamoru was getting more and more confused by his parents' erratic behaviour, after all, Hitomi had told them about Gaea. Nevertheless his mother agreed with his father's idea. He was rather tired though after the shock of the beam of light picking them up and planting them on another planet like something out of Star Trek. As well as the sudden proof of Hitomi's account of her time considered missing. So he nodded and laid down on the bed fully clothed, after kicking off his shoes in the room he had been given. He fell asleep rather quickly.

Haruka and Kenzo Kanzaki however were unable to sleep, still shell-shocked in the knowledge of where they were. Even more shocking was the fact that they had arrived on another world where their daughter had once been. Or rather where Hitomi thought she had been in their eyes. It was real. Hitomi hadn't lied to them.

When Hitomi had reappeared after being missing for three days, wandering into the house as if she had just come from school, she received an almighty reaction from her angry, terrified, and finally relieved parents. Upon asking where in Buddha's name she was she replied she didn't know. Her parents who weren't very strict as there hadn't been a need for it came down on her like a ton of bricks, demanding to know where she had been.

Hitomi looked rather sad but made no angry response and was rather docile in replying that she was walking home from track practice one day and then couldn't remember anything. The next thing she could remember was finding herself in front of her house. To be fair, in hindsight she played the disorientated, and slightly frightened 'victim' of memory loss marvellously. Her parents were so shocked and taken in by her performance they didn't question her.

But a crack began to grow between them. Hitomi on one side, quietly suffering with what they thought was concern over suffering amnesia, and her parents and brother on the opposite side. They didn't know whether to question her tale, and why would she lie anyway? But Hitomi seemed so lost and they were unable to help her so they did nothing. They pretended it never happened. And so Hitomi became more and more isolated from them, not intentionally, but she could easily see how the atmosphere changed when she entered rooms. How they were on edge around her, wary of her, expecting her to suffer a mental breakdown in front of them.

Then things took a turn for the worst. She would scream the house down in the middle of the night; her family rushing in to stop her attacker. And each time they would find her sound asleep, writhing in the midst of a nightmare. Names would be yelled out, begging for help, wailing in despair. So the concerned family sent her to a counsellor.

The Kanzaki family believed that Hitomi had been tortured in some way in her three days missing and was starting to subconsciously remember. But the counsellor did not help as Hitomi became more distressed at night. So a psychiatrist was visited and that only put more strain on the damage between Hitomi and her family. The psychiatrist could tell Hitomi wasn't telling her or her family everything.

Hitomi was ready to fly apart at this time so she started to talk, discussing Gaea as if it were just a dream, aware that if she said it was real she would be put in a padded cell. And she felt relieved to have someone to talk to. But it didn't help. The psychiatrist told her parents she was suffering from delusions as dreams were never that vivid or grotesque. Hitomi must be making these ideas up and in extreme detail. Kenzo and Haruka asked their daughter where these stories were coming from and arguments were started. Things got out of hand.

So imagine the shock after everything they had suffered with their daughter, turned out to be real. Kenzo Kanzaki was still unsure, his absolute logic shook to the core. Firmly focused on the question whether he was either mad or someone had slipped him an extreme dose of a hallucinogenic. The world he had lived on for 53 years had disappeared beneath his feet and he had landed on another planet apparently.

And people, a man whose name Hitomi had spoken in the past was real, was standing in front of him. His only concern was to get back to his sanity, sobriety; or if this was indeed real to get his family back home safely and as soon as possible.

Haruka Kanzaki was dumbstruck. From what she remembered of Hitomi's words, Gaea; where they now were, had been in the midst of a war. From the screams she had heard and the withdrawn, inexpressive girl Hitomi had become, Gaea was not somewhere she wanted her or her family to be. But a tiny voice, her conscience perhaps murmured gently,

He's a King. Hitomi fell in love with a King. Her Prince Charming. She smiled faintly at the thought that the man who had offered them a place to stay had been number one in Hitomi's heart.

Haruka was no romantic by any means. She had indeed once been a teenage girl with dreams of the perfect man who would sweep her off her feet and love her so powerfully. Kenzo had been a man that loved her which was enough and they had been happy with their two children growing up. Haruka held no ambitions to be famous or powerful or rich. Happy was all she wanted.

But Hitomi didn't fit in with that. A few months after her now acknowledged return from Gaea she had changed. No longer the happy go lucky child she had been, she was placid and thoughtful. Many parents would dream of having such a considerate child but it disturbed Haruka. Haruka could see in her daughter's eyes that she had witnessed something. Something bad, horrific even and it had altered her. But Hitomi wasn't talking and Haruka didn't know how to. So it led to what had happened.

Along with these thoughts flowing through her conscious, Haruka realised something. That if Hitomi had been with them still, she would have returned to Gaea. She would have seen the Fanelian King again. But she wasn't and she wouldn't be aware of this until they went back home. She would call her daughter the first chance she would get and talk to her.

Haruka resolved this instantly and more so to find out as much as she could about the people Hitomi must have loved so much she was saddened to be parted from them. That way Haruka could tell her daughter of them and give her messages from the people she must have cared about a great deal. With this change in attitude and sudden resolve, Haruka lay down beside her son and fell asleep.

The next morning, Mamoru awoke first and was surprised to find out where he was. The truth hit him like a sucker punch from a drunk man. He sat up and saw his mother curled up in the bed, her hands gripping the corner of the pillow. His father was still sitting in the chair by the window but had broken his promise to stay wide awake in case of 'danger.' What was he expecting? Ninja assassins to mistake them for royalty and kill them? Mamoru shook his head slightly and slid gingerly off the bed onto the floor.

He carefully opened the door to the room he had been given and rifled through his bag. He had thought about it before falling asleep and it had returned to him upon awakening immediately. Mamoru wanted to talk to his sister. Here they were on Gaea, with Van the man she talked about. And she was back on Earth none the wiser. It was cruel. So very cruel.

So he would ring her and tell her. And then pass the phone to Van. By the look on the man's face when they had appeared, he had not expected them. And he guessed that the two hadn't spoken in five/six years due to his sister's morose nature. The least he could do for his sister was to give her a chance to speak to the man she obviously cared for. He found his mobile tucked under his DS.

Sliding it out from under a pile of squashed clothes, he switched it on. He covered the speaker so the chiming sound wouldn't wake his parents. Unlike him, they seemed worried and even fearful to be on Gaea. He saw it as an opportunity. Who else aside from his sister could say they had been to another planet. Not those dumb NASA morons who kept failing to launch space probes. It would be exciting, like being in Final Fantasy or Dungeons and Dragons. Didn't Hitomi mention a robot mecha that was the shape of a dragon?

Mamoru shook his head. He wasn't here to gloat. He was going to call his sister and make amends.

The screen appeared before him and he hastily went through his contacts list for her number, scarily long as it was. He pressed the green button and held the phone to his ear, excitedly waiting for the dial tone and Hitomi's voice so he could tell her the good news! But nothing happened. No dial tone, no beeping, no answer machine or operator. He stared at the top left hand corner and it dawned on him.

There was no reception. Gaea from what he had caught was similar to Feudal times or even the beginning stages of the Industrial Revolution. There were no phone masts or satellites to provide phone service. He sighed and switched the phone off.

A short while later his parents woke and found him sitting cross-legged on the floor by his father's chair, staring out the window. It was only then Kenzo and Haruka Kanzaki truly looked out onto the mountains of Fanelia that naturally bordered the city and then they looked up. Being the only other people aside from their children to see this they were truly awed by the sight of the Earth so clear in the sky above them. The whole family stayed there watching the earth, taking in the sight that very few other people from earth had experienced. And they were seeing it for free.

They received all three and rather sumptuous meals in their sitting room that day. They talked little, still absorbing what was going on around them and where they were. Each in their own thoughts about their location, situation and most importantly Hitomi. Regret was one emotion they all shared.

That night Mamoru was allowed to sleep in the room he had been given separately, Hitomi's parents slept in theirs. It was not to say that they were happy, cheerful or comfortable with their surroundings. The word alien was suited for their circumstances but they had each recognized that they were there at the mercy of the Fanelian King. And that they would wait for him to approach them for questions to be given and answered.

Mamoru was comfortably playing on his Nintendo DS while lounging on what was probably the most comfortable sofa he had ever sat on. His phone switched on and flipped on the table in front of him if by any chance a signal would appear so he could call his sister.

His father was sat across from him, hands folded together, silent. Mentally preparing for the King to arrive.

Kenzo had spent the day previous in shock, which dissipated into regret at how he had acted towards his daughter. And now he wanted to talk. This man, a King apparently whose name Hitomi had cried out in her sleep, despairingly. How had he known her? His daughter had been fifteen, this Fanel boy better have treated her decently. But he couldn't exactly be rude to the man who had hospitably offered complete strangers lavish rooms and food for two days now.

He would have to be careful and at the same time expect to find out how he and his wife and son could return home.

Haruka however, was wandering about the room. She was amazed by the room that Mamoru had opened the door to yesterday evening. And in daylight it shone brightly. The various objects around the room captivated her. It was all so luxurious. She was in a palace, staying at a palace.

The Ritz in London had nothing on this.

She happily pottered around the room numerous times gazing at various objects, amazed at how intricate it was. The fireplace adorned with the Dragon was by far the most impressive object in the room, the carving looked to be made out of obsidian, was it supposed to be ironic? No fires had been lit recently as it was rather warm so it was spotless, but a palace naturally was spotless wasn't it?

Haruka was curious about more important subjects too. She wanted to know why they had been summoned from Earth. Had this Fanelian King been calling for Hitomi? She wanted to speak to him as well. Try to understand what had happened to her daughter whilst here that had made her friends with a King of all people.

All of a sudden footsteps were heard and not one person but a group. The Kanzaki family minus one looked towards the door. Kenzo paled considerably, Haruka walked briskly towards the sofa her husband sat on, joined him and ran her hands over her brown cropped hair, trying to make herself look as presentable as possible if indeed the King was coming to speak with them and with others from what they could hear.

"Mamoru, switch off your gameboy!" she murmured, worriedly. This man who they believed to be approaching them was a King and demanded respect, and that meant his full attention. Besides what if they thought it was a weapon?

"It's a Nintendo DS Kaa-chan," Mamoru dryly replied, though he too sounded slightly nervous at meeting a King of all people.

"Whatever it is switch it off!" His father ordered and Mamoru did so.

Van strode along the corridor with his friends in tow. He too was very interested in how Hitomi's parents and brother had suddenly appeared without any warning. He hadn't summoned them. Nor had he tried to summon Hitomi. There was no need. He would have to write to someone who understood this and ask them what could have caused it. But his focus was Hitomi's family. The situation would have to be explained to them as well as answering any questions they may have for him.

He hoped that the presence of his sister and four friends tagging along wouldn't frighten them any further. Though the servant who had been providing them with their meals the past two days had mentioned how wary they were the yesterday morning, but last night had been rather calm. So hopefully they wouldn't be as scared as they had been two nights' previous. He could feel his friends' anticipation at meeting not only more people from the Mystic Moon, but Hitomi's family.

They all were curious as to how she was and what she was doing. He hoped it wouldn't be long before they found out.

The two groups of people, both within the room and outside the door felt the suspense mount dramatically. And the door opened. Three sets of eyes stared at a young man who had slightly messy jet black hair and eyes that could only be described as wine coloured. He radiated authority and for a man who was only three or four years older than Mamoru he seemed to hold the knowledge and wisdom of someone twice his age.

Mamoru stood up, after watching anime with royalty in it, and bowed,

"Van-san. Thank you for allowing us to stay in your palace." Both his parents were shocked at how he had once again took their place in speaking to the Royal, and was rather polite in contrast to his usual behaviour. But it was the outburst of someone who had accompanied Van that shook everyone out of the staring contest they all seemed to be having.

"It's Van-sama actually." Mamoru noticed the catty voice belonged to a girl who looked oddly like a cat. He stared at her, mouth agape. Van cleared his throat and murmured,

"It's alright Merle. They're not my subjects so they don't need to call me that." He then turned to his guests,

"Mr and Mrs Kanzaki, Mamoru-san. I would like to introduce you to my sister Merle." She was still glaring at the boy who was still staring at her, and not in a way she appreciated. Mystic moon people obviously had no manners.

"And these are friends of mine. This is Allen, his sister Celena, Dryden and Millerna, his wife. They all met Hitomi when she came to Gaea." Van gestured to each person as he mentioned them. The Kanzaki family seemed barely able to cope with the fact they were on another planet, let alone remember names and faces. Still he had been raised to be polite, and so he was.

"I've come to see you to discuss the nature of your visit and to answer any questions you may have. I hope we can help you as your daughter and sister," " he nodded to Mamoru, "helped us." He articulated. Mamoru this time did not reply as he was still staring at the girl who he had now noticed had a tail, flicking behind her dress.

So Haruka managed to respond, "Of course Your Majesty. We would be very grateful for that, and thank you deeply for allowing us to stay the past few days." She had immediately noticed the amount of people the young King had brought with him so she turned to her son and said,

"Mamoru come and sit with us so everyone can sit down." Mamoru heard his mother's words and managed to tear his eyes away from the girl who was far better than any cosplayer he had ever seen.

Picking up his DS and flipping his phone shut, he walked round the table to sit beside her.

Van noticed how Hitomi's mother wanted her son to sit next to her. She may have seemed placid and friendly but she was still unsure of where she was. Mamoru's move from one sofa to another set everyone else in the room moving. Haruka and Kenzo shuffled along to sit him in between them. Allen, Celena, Millerna, and Dryden sat opposite the Kanzaki family.

Finally Van sat down on the sofa that was next to the Kanzaki's, sitting in the nearest seat to them. Merle joined him, her eyes narrowed slightly at Hitomi's brother, so he prodded her side gently to make her aware that her staring at him wasn't going to make him any more uneasy than he already was.

But it had been Mamoru who had spoken to him twice in place of his parents, so maybe he was adapting to where he was faster than his parents; perhaps his bond with Hitomi was stronger. That Hitomi had told him more about her time here.

The atmosphere in the room was tense enough with just the Kanzaki family, having no idea how they ended up on another planet, and another planet that they hadn't believed in until even a few hours previous for some of them. Van had expected a barrage of questions to come from them. But they sat there observing the people that had joined them.

To everyone's surprise it was Celena who spoke up, her hatred of silences well-known and asked,

"How is Hitomi, Mr and Mrs Kanzaki? Is she well?" The Kanzaki family minus one turned their attention onto the pale blonde haired girl who seemed rather frail in appearance, but her eyes too seemed to be slightly wistful, if not downright sad.

Mamoru who had finally stopped staring at Merle's ears trying to guess whether they were battery operated, cleared his throat and said in a remorseful voice,

"We don't know."

The majority of the people shuffled curiously, their gazes clearly questioning what do you mean you don't know. Which was then voiced by someone who had immediately taken a dislike to the boy or perhaps all Mystic Moon teens upon first meeting them,

"Why don't you know? Where is she?" as well as being curious, Merle felt angry. Hitomi's family had appeared and Merle dared to hope that they could give Van something to smile about but here they were not knowing about their daughter. Van remained calm and silent.

"She left Japan, the country where we live to go to another, Italy almost a year ago. We haven't really heard from her." Haruka explained, but the strain in her voice hinted that the Kanzaki family were hiding something.

"So that's why she isn't with you?" the brown haired bespectacled man asked, almost rhetorically.

He was taken over by Merle who asked,

"Can you contact her? Hitomi received a message from someone whilst she was here. Didn't she Van-sama?" she looked for confirmation, and he nodded. Merle could tell from her adopted brother's posture that he didn't appear shocked by Hitomi's family's revelation. In fact he didn't seem to pay any attention to it.

It had taken a few minutes for Kenzo to take it what was being said, though little had been explained to them. If anything they were more interested in Hitomi and where she was. His main thought was how to get home. So he mustered his courage, ignoring the previous question and asked,

"Your Majesty. We are very grateful for your having let us stay here for the past two days. Not that we haven't appreciated your hospitality but I would be most grateful if you could help us to get back home."

Mamoru stilled at his father's words. Why was he in such a rush to leave? Why did he seem so afraid of being on another planet? It was a free holiday for crying out loud! And way better than visiting Tokyo for a few days. Aside from his remorse over the dealio with his sister, a tiny cheeky voice spoke up about wanting to see the Guymelefs. Real life Gundam!

Haruka too was shocked by her husband's words. Indeed they would have to get home at some point, but what about their daughter? After everything she had gone through, the least they could do would be to ask her friends how they were and what messages they had for Hitomi before leaving. And it was quite rude of him to cut across the young woman's question.

She didn't want to offend these people who obviously wanted to know about their daughter. So she ignored her husband and replied to the young lady, who albeit looked like a cat, seemed interested about Hitomi.

"My son, Mamoru has a mobile phone which he can contact Hitomi with. Hopefully we can reach her for you."

All eyes turned to Mamoru, and it felt more nerve-wracking than getting caught listening to Linkin Park in maths and having to write on the board in punishment. He nodded and flipped open his phone which chirruped to life, surprising and fascinating the Gaean inhabitants of the room. He looked at Van, the man who was supposedly Hitomi's love-interest in some way and yet he had not seemed disappointed by their news.

Gingerly he addressed him, "I tried it before and it didn't work, but maybe it will this time." He smiled and tried to sound hopeful, aware of his father's rudeness and wanting to rectify it. But he instinctively thought it was impossible due to his earlier try and the assumed absence of phone masts in the country.

He pressed buttons on this shiny, silver communications device which looked so alien to Merle and the others, because it was. Mamoru flicked down his contacts list to Hitomi's number which had added digits for the Italian network. He inwardly sighed and pressed the dial button. To his surprise and of course the people from Gaea, a loud ringing noise started.

Merle leaned forward slightly to witness what was happening. Celena had grabbed her brother's hand, in slight worry as to what the device in Hitomi's brother's hand would do. Allen too seemed slightly wary of it and squeezed back, both sets of eyes on the device in front of them. Dryden looked at the silver gadget in the boy's hand and assumed it would be similar in someway to the communications devices in Guymelefs in that it would produce a line of communication for them to speak to Hitomi and for her to respond.

But the focus of attention switched from the LGKP235 to the pink beam of light that appeared from the red shard on the chain around Van's neck. He reached up and felt the pendant glow as the beam spread out into a projection as it were. All eyes focused on the projection as a fuzzy image started to appear and speak. It was an image of a young woman sitting crossed legged, with a shadowy figure sitting behind her, both seemingly oblivious that they had appeared on the table in front of the nine people sitting round it.

Four people in the room recognized the girl apparently sitting crossed legged on the table. The others watched unaware, but all were enraptured by what was taking place. The woman in the projection started to speak.

"Afternoon Shi! How are you on this glorious fine day?" She cheekily grinned in Van's direction at whomever she was talking to and the people in the room heard a male growl in response,

"Piss off!" The girl laughed gently and replied mockingly,

"Awww, are you not feeling well?"

The male voice who was outside of the projection murmured, "You know damn well Hitomi, how shit I'm feeling this morning," the other five occupants of the room gasped in amazement at who they were staring at. Her outline was slightly misty but her features were clear enough albeit pink in the light of the projection.

"Afternoon," she happily corrected, "Well breakfast is ready for you," Hitomi gestured in front of her and there was a growl from the man who was apparently sitting opposite her but out of focus.

"Thanks. You're not that mean after all."

The honey haired woman nodded, smiling gently, then turned slightly and her head yanked back towards Van,

"Oww." Her male companion paid no attention so she asked, "Can you hear that?" To which the room heard a muffled reply of,

"What?" As the man was apparently eating his food. Hitomi sighed, rolling her eyes,

"That," she deadpanned, "I think my phone's ringing. Can you get it please?" She placed her hands together as if in prayer, her eyes pleading, and received a sleepy reply.

"Why can't you get it?" Hitomi pointed with both hands behind her, and a third, female voice answered,

"I'm braiding her hair moron. Now go answer the bloody thing! You're not the only one with a headache." Hitomi smirked slightly in response to the female's comment. But before she could ask the male again to get her phone, he yelled out,

"AMANO! Get Hitomi's phone!!!!"

"He left, this morning, to check on the new house."

The male grumbled at her response and replied stubbornly, "Could have said so. I wouldn't have shouted and made my head worse. Why aren't you like us this morning anyway?" Hitomi grinned at her friend's comment and benignly replied,

"Because my friend, I know when I've had enough." The male voice scoffed,

"That's the point Mimi, you're not supposed to know when you've had enough. So you keep drinking until you realise how shit-faced you are and then you decide you've had enough."

Hitomi scoffed back at the comment and retorted, "No, that's just your ridiculous reason for getting so drunk. I like being of sound mind, thank you. Makes your drunken antics far more entertaining. And will you answer the phone!" She ended sharply. The male voice continued nonchalantly,

"Meh. It's far funnier when you're drunk actually. And you can get it afterwards." He referred to the phone, "It's probably one of the boys ringing to gossip about nothing as they do every other week. You can call them back later. I want to eat breakfast."

"And I want my headache to go away!" The other female replied threateningly, "Pick up the damn thing, I'm as hungover as you."

The people in the room sat in shock as Mamoru's phone cut off and another tone started saying the number was unavailable, and at the same time the projection from Van's pendant vanished. Van held his hand up to the pendant around his neck in wonder at what they had just seen. Of course it was Merle who broke the silence,

"What was that!?" A sentiment shared by eight people in that room, despite all being shocked by what had occurred.

Character Guide:

Takeshi Manabe (Shi) – friend, housemate and older-brother figure to Hitomi. Dark hair, hazel eyes, tanned, 6ft 1. His brother is the Daimyo (feudal lord) of the Mystic Valley. Is capable of seeing and reading auras and possibly hypnosis.

Satsuki Haneul (Kiki) – friend, housemate and older-sister figure to Hitomi. Blonde hair, grey eyes, 5ft 7. Is cousins with Takeshi and his brother. Has a four year old daughter Mayu. Mother is a mystic and her brother is Takeshi and Kakeru's father. Is a fortune-teller via palmistry and viewed as a sorceress by the outside world.

Ryuu – A grandfather figure to Hitomi, Satsuki, Takeshi, and Amano. Is a powerful sorcerer, who is training Takeshi, Satsuki and Hitomi to develop their gifts. Grey cropped hair, green eyes, 5ft 7.

Kakeru Manabe – older brother to Takeshi, and older brother figure to Hitomi. Dark hair, brown eyes, 5ft 11. Wishes to formally adopt Hitomi into his clan. Daimyo of the Mystic Valley. Wife – Hana is pregnant with their first child.

A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope the guide helps, although I can't give away too much or I'll ruin the plot. Any questions please feel free to ask, it's what I'm here for. Opinions too are what I crave!!!! Let me know what you think! Let us pray to Escaflowne that reviews are numerous and informative to the author!

See you all next time!!!

Sina xx