1Her eyes felt heavy. Hitomi awakened. Some time had passed. The sky was now dark, with the two planets glowing above. Where was she now? Brown hair fell over her face as Hitomi sat up, holding her warm head. Everything looked unfamiliar to her. Wooden walls surrounded her. Bookshelves of strange reading and equipment sat across form her. Where was she now?
No one else was in the room with her. She glanced down at her lap and slipped her hand in her coat pocket once more. Her cards sat inside. It wasn't a dream. But...how did they get there? She left them at her old home years ago. Something very strange was going on. Hitomi didn't like it. Not one bit. Where was everyone? When Hitomi got out of the strange bed, she realized something she had not before. Looking out the windows, she saw that she was moving! She was floating in the air!
Hitomi walked over to the door of the room and slowly opened it. She had to figure out what was going on. The hallway was dimly lit with torches along the walls. Empty. After taking a deep breath, Hitomi tip-toed out of the room and down the hall. Her nerves were making her a little shaky. So she decided to slide against the wall, cautiously walking sideways. Her eyes pointed out a light at the far end of the hall. She could hear voices coming from the room. Whomever was in that room surely knew what was going on. Here I go...Hitomi thought to herself as she neared the door. Her hand shook a bit as it reached the golden door handle.
Before she could open it, the door swung open from the inside and a tall man stared at her. He had short brown hair and wore a strange outfit, with bronze armor covering his shoulders and chest. He had a wide grin on his face and he placed a hand on his hip.
"Hey there, lil lady! Glad to see you're awake!" his voice was deep but welcoming. "Come on in."
Hitomi held herself a little and slowly walked into the room. It looked like the heart of...well...whatever she was in. A few men were in the very front, turning various wheels and pressing buttons. They had to be pilots. Lights were flickering and torches burned around them. Hitomi glanced around her side to see a few men sitting and talking over a table covered in maps. Muttered voices spoke about a battle in a place called Asturia. How the Kingdom had fallen. They all sounded angry and upset. One of them had long, blonde hair. His eyes were a deep blue and his face looked very familiar. He was pointing to a spot on the map below him. Hitomi's eyes narrowed. Was he the man she saw at the café?
"Commander! Look who came to join us!" The man behind her said. The blonde look at her and his face brightened.
"Hitomi? It's great to see you standing! Millerna was so worried!" He exclaimed and walked over to her. He placed his strong hands on her shoulders and smiled at her warmly. "Are you alright?"
"Who...who are you..?" Hitomi muttered. "What is this?"
"Who am I? That's a silly question..." He replied.
"The queen did say she was talking strangely under that fever, Boss." The other man said. The two looked at each other and the blonde nodded.
"Hmm..that's true, Gaddes," he said while turning back to Hitomi. "It's Allen. Allen Schezar. Remember me now?" Allen tilted his head slightly, causing some of his hair to fall over his face. Hitomi gazed into his large eyes for a moment. He did look familiar. A strange feeling came over her. Were they romantically involved at one point? No. She would've remembered that. Hitomi slowly shook her head with a frown.
"I...I'm sorry. I don't know who you are, or where I am..." Hitomi sighed. Allen frowned and turned to his men at the table.
"Are there guymelifs anywhere in side, Gaddes?"
Guymelifs?
"No, Sir. We're clear for now."
"Good. I'm going to take Hitomi and get her something to eat. If something happens, alert me immediately."
"Hai." The men all bowed as Allen took Hitomi's hand and led her out of the room.
"Are you sure you don't remember anything, Hitomi?" he asked as they walked down the hall. Hitomi lowered her head.
"No...but everything seems familiar. Um...what are those guymelif things you mentioned?"
"Hmm. That fever really must've harmed you.." Allen replied. "Well, maybe if I show you, you'll remember."
"What do you mean?"
"Follow me," he said and took her down a long flight of stairs. They ended in what looked like an aircraft hanger. Hitomi saw a very large machine-like monster, almost exactly like the ones she saw in the battlefield. "This is a guymelif. Schezarade, to be precise. This is the one I pilot." Hitomi's eyes were wide with awe. "I fight with it."
"You...fight with it?"
"Yes." Allen turned and pointed to another one. "And that, is the Escaflowne."
Hitomi followed his direction and gawked at the white guymelif. It was the same one she saw in her vision and on the battlefield. Escaflowne...?
"Escaflowne?"
"Do you remember anything, Hitomi? Do you remember who pilots it?" Hitomi walked over towards the large mecha and stared up at it. Her eyes felt drawn to the ruby-colored chamber in the front.
"I..."
A strange image of a flying mechanical dragon appeared in her head. "Dragon...a white dragon..." Hitomi whispered.
"Hitomi?" Allen walked beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Her stomach began to rumble. Allen smiled.
"Sounds like you're hungry. Why don't we go get some food now?" Hitomi looked at him and nodded.
"Alright..." Allen took her hand once again and they left the hanger, returning to the regular passages of the ship. "What is this thing called, Mr. Schezar?" Hitomi asked.
"Haha. No need to call me that, Hitomi. Just call me Allen. And this is the Crusade."
"Crusade?"
"Mhm. It's the ship I command."
"Oh.." Hitomi frowned. These strangers all knew her. But why couldn't she remember them? The two soon reached the cafeteria section of the ship. Allen called out the cook and had him prepare them a small meal. The tray Hitomi was given had various types of meat and vegetables. Some looked familiar, some did not. Hitomi was so hungry that it didn't matter. The two sat down and she started to eat.
After gulping down a large cup of wine-like liquid, Hitomi sighed. "Much better..." she said. She felt her cheeks fill with warmth as she blushed, realizing how animalistic she had just acted. She bowed her head to Allen. "I am so sorry. I feel so embarassed!" Allen only laughed.
"Don't be. It's alright." Hitomi lifted her head and smiled. "You know...it's been a long time, Hitomi. A lot of things have happened since you left."
"Since I left?" Hitomi looked puzzled. Allen turned to the side and rested his arms on his knees, looking down at the floor.
"When you left, Millerna became the new ruler of Asturia and decided to change the binding law of marriage. She made it so we could marry. When you left, my heart ached. I knew Millerna wanted me to be with her, so I consented and we wed. I became the king of Asturia."
"King of Asturia?" Hitomi tried to remember. He was the king of the place those men were talking about? Was she and this Allen a couple?
"Celena lived with us. It was nice to feel like I had a family once again."
"Celena?"
"My sister." Allen turned to face Hitomi. His face was filled with much sadness. "About 6 months ago, Celena began to act strangely. Everyone thought that once Zaibach fell, the spell they had experimented with on her would disappear. But it didn't. Celena started to change back into Dilandau. We tried to medicate her, but nothing we tried would work. And finally, last month, she changed into Dilandau and ran away from the castle. Since then, he has been burning everything in his path on a quest to find Van."
Dilandau? Van?
"I...I wish I knew what you were talking about, Allen. But...I...I don't.." Hitomi frowned and turned away from him. "This is hopeless..."
"Hitomi..." Allen sighed sadly. "I wish there was something I could do to jog your memory..." Just then, Allen jumped from his seat. "That's it! I'll take you to see Van."
"Van?"
"Come with me," Allen grabbed Hitomi's hand and pulled her out of the cafeteria. They strolled brickly down another set of hallways and he knocked on a wooden door. The door slowly opened and a strange creature peered behind the crack of the opening.
"Who's there?" A small feminine voice asked cautiously.
"Merle, is Van awake?" Allen asked. The door opened a little more and the torchlight revealed a most interesting sight. Before Hitomi and Allen stood a strange-looking girl. She looked like a mix of cat and human, with light brown fur all over her body. Black triangular stipes covered her bare arms, legs, and the sides of her face. Long orange hair flowed pasted her shoulders, a few strands in braids. Large ears poked through the sides of her feline face. A long, orange dress and shorts covered her private areas, with a long silver medallion dangling around her neck. Puffs of white fur covered her shoulders and wrists. Her piercing blue eyes darted between Allen and Hitomi abrasively.
"Yes. Why?" The girl asked sternly, her ears twitching. A slender tail appeared from behind her, swishing to the side in curiosity.
"Tell him I have someone for him to see," Allen requested. Merle sneered and turned around.
"Van-sama! Allen is here with someone for you!" She cried out in a high-pitched cry. Hitomi leaned to the side to see who she was talking to.
"Let him in, Merle." A young man said. Merle nodded and backed away from the door so the two could enter.
Hitomi glanced at the young man as he sat on his bed, holding something in his hands. His faced turned in their direction and his face brightened. His hands opened and a small pendant fell from his fingers, hanging in the air. "Hitomi! It really is you!" He cried happily. Allen smiled and took a few steps back while the young King stood and walked over to embrace her. He hugged her tightly.
"I took her to get some food. The fever seems to be gone. But, I'm afraid something is wrong, Van." Allen said. Van turned to him.
"What do you mean?"
"Who...who are you?" Hitomi stared at Van. Her face was frozen in fear. Those same ruby eyes. The same messy black hair. He was the bleeding corpse from her dream!
"She has lost her memory. She doesn't remember any of us. I don't know why." Allen responded slowly as van looked at Hitomi in shock.
"You...you don't remember me?" Van frowned in disbelief, holding the pink pendant tightly in his hand. Hitomi looked at him, sad and confused.
"Leave us." Van's voice was strong and cold. Allen nodded and left the room. Merle frowned and followed. Hitomi grew scared once again. Van looked at her, still in shock.
"Please...don't hurt me. I...I don't know anything..." Her voice quivered. Her body shook. Tears started to form in her eyes. Van's face softened.
"You really don't remember, do you?" he asked. Hitomi shook her head. He lifted one of his hands and the pendant inside fell downwards in front of her face. "What about this? You remember giving this to me?"
Hitomi looked at the pendant.
"It's the pendant I lost at the track! How did you get it?" Hitomi exclaimed. Van's face fell.
"You gave this to me before you left Gaea. You promised me you would never forget me..." he said and turned away from her. "You lied..."
Hitomi watched him walk across the room and hunch over. " You LIED!"
"I...I'm sorry..." Hitomi sniffled. "I wish I could remember..."
"What happened? What happened to you?" Van's voice was emotional. As f he was holding back tears.
"What do you mean?"
"It was five years. Five years ago when you left. Don't you remember anything? How we met?"
"How we met?" Van turned to her, his face pale.
"I was battling a dragon, remember? I appeared on the Mystic Moon and you ran into me. I saved you and your friends from that dragon. And you followed me back here."
"I ran into you? Saved my friends from a dragon?" Hitomi shook her head. A hand of hers rose to the side of her face. Her mind raced as she tried to remember.
"Do you remember Folken? Prince Chid? Dornkirk? Any of them?" His voice grew urgent. "I wanted you to stay with me. I didn't want you to leave. Why couldn't you have just stayed with me? You promised me you wouldn't forget..." He started to chuckle. "You said you wouldn't, even if you grew old."
"...even if I grew...old?" Hitomi's eyes grew large and she froze.
"And the Fate Alteration Machine! Don't you remember any of that? Our...our love stopped Gaea from being destroyed!" Van threw his hand out as he spoke.
"Our...love?" Hitomi felt like she was unable to move. Everything grew so cold. Van turned back around and slammed a fist against the table.
"This is impossible This can't be happening! How could you forget?"
"A dream..." Hitomi said as if in a trance. Van looked at her.
"What?"
"A dream...it was all a dream..." Hitomi repeated. She looked as though she was in shock. Her mouth gaped wide open and her eyes didn't blink. "I dreamed it all.."
"Dreamed it all? What are you saying?" Van walked towards her. As he did, the pendant in his hand began to glow. "What the...?" he whispered and felt pulled towards Hitomi. The glowing increased until everything turned white.