Escaflowne
The energist started to react, and then black smoke comes from Escaflowne. Hitomi goes up to the face mask and grabs it. Black smoke continues to rise out of Escaflowne, as if there was a fire inside. Hitomi slips her arms inside Escaflowne and seem to melt into it
"Hitomi!" Allen shouted as he tried to get her out, but it was too late, her mind was already pulled into whatever Van was trapped in.
Just as that happened, Escaflowne's energist stopped glowing and it went completely silent. Hitomi's body layed still outside.
Chapter XI
Lost Paradise
Hitomi runs through a lot of fog and then sees an army of marching men that looked like they were dead more or less they were. She struggles to get pass them, trying to get to Van, who was in the middle of all of them.
"Van! Van! Can you hear me!" Hitmoi shouted as she tries to make a grab for him, but when she touched him, she went through him and his image disappears, "Van!"
Outside, Milierna checks on Hitomi, but her diognoisis was not good.
"She's stop breathing..."
Hitomi awakens in a place where winged people fly all around her. It is a peaceful, roman like landscape. It almost felt like-
"No...this can't be heaven."
"Well, we all like to think of heaven like this," someone else speaks behind her. "But this is just the generic style that we think of it as. Heaven's far more beautiful than this."
She turns around to see a man dressed in a kimino with a katana at his side, but right next to that sword where a second japanese sword should have been, was a chinese looking straight sword. There was something familiar about this man. She looks to the weapon he was wearing and on the sheath was a symbol that she would not forget in her life.
"A white rose?" It was her her family emblem. Something that was part of her family for centuries, but from all the stories she've heard from about her family, one ansestor has always amazed her and he carried a chinese sword with the family emblem on it, "You can't be?"
"Yes, I am. Shinji Kanzaki is my name if you've forgotten. I would technical be over 100 by now. It's so nice to finally meet the destinied one."
"Destinied one?"
"That is why you are here...it is fate that lead you to this moment, but it was all you alone that was the cause of all this."
"What are you talking about?"
"There isn't a lot of time to reminisce about life and how things have changed in the era you live in...right now you are looking for someone, right?"
"Yes. Do you know where Van is?"
"...he's around here somewhere..."
Hitomi stands on a nearby balcony as a winged person flies by. She looks over, a few hundred feet from her and sees a cliff, with a lone tree on it. Van sits below it. Hitomi starts to run, but Shinji stops him.
"Wait." Shinji takes his chinese sword and throws it to Hitomi, who catches it clumsely "This is for you."
"Ummm..."
"What? Is something wrong with it?"
"It's nothing like that...but is this really real?"
"You tell me...I can't give you this-" he holds his katana, "Jason already has inhierted it. That sword you are holding belongs to your family. Take it as a symbol of who you are...and besides, you're stuck on Giaea. It's dangerous out here if you are not escorted by a man. This is not Earth."
"But...but I don't even know how to use a sword. This is the first time I've ever even held one."
"Oh really?" Shinji said as if she was joking, "You'll remember eventually. It's in your blood. You might not know it. All you have to do is just call upon it and you'll know how to use it."
Shinji Kanzaki then disappears with a smile on his face.
"See ya,"
Hitomi didn't really understood what he just told her, but then runs through the city attempting to get to where Van was. She eventually reaches it. Van kneels, with his head lowered behind his knees.
"Van, lets go home. Everyone's waiting." Van doesn't respond. He just continues to sit there, shaking nervously. "Van...?"
There was then a sudden shaking from the ground and Hitomi lost her balance and fell forward. She managed to stop falling by using her new sword as a cane to support on.
"What the...?" The ground around then starts to collapse and Hitomi goes to Van to wake him, "Van! Snap out of it, Van!"
The cliff around then starts to crumble.
Outside in reality again, everyone was really worried about the two.
"We should try to at least recover Hitomi." Allen said
"No!" Merle shouted and jumps on Hitomi, shaking her about, "Hey, you stupid girl! Don't give up! Make sure you bring Lord Van back with you! Hey, are you listening? Lord Van!"
Inside the dream-vision, Hitomi hears Merle call,
"Merle?"
A pillar of light appears from the tree and surrounds Hitomi and Van. The entire cliff collapses and falls into the growing pool of lava. Van is unresponsive as he and Hitomi fall into it.
"Van! Van, fly! Van!" Hitomi shouted as she fell with Van.
As the tree collapses into the lava, Van's wings burst out of his back, and he grabs Hitomi. They fly up away from it. Back in the real world, Hitomi's hands slip off of Escaflowne. The energist glows and Escaflowne's normal color returns. Escaflowne's cockpit opens and Van slowly crawls out. Hitomi awakens with Merle on top of her. Then, something started to glow in her hand as she felt like she was holding onto something. The ligt from her hand grew into a long narow object and when the light faded away, it revealed to be the sword that Shinji gave her.
"This is..." Hitomi looks at the sword.
Meanwhile, Dilandou was in the Vione, holding a rose as he looked over a balcony.
"They were all incompetents. Guimel, Dallet, Shester, Gatty, Violle...You won't be recognized if you die in battle like that." Dilandau flicks the rose he was holding over the edge of the fortress. He has a sudden vision of a girl crying.
"Don't leave me alone! Don't leave me alone!" the girl in his head shouted out.
"Alone?" Dilandou lost himself and collapes.
In another room elsewhere, Folken talks to Dornkirk.
"The power spot is in our hands...however..." Dornkirk said to Folken
"About the dragon, right?"
"Exactly. The fate of the dragon is covered in a mist, and is barely visible."
"Leave it to me. I've already made the next move."
"Capture the dragon!"
Meanwhile, back with everyone else on Dryden's ship. Van holds up his sword. His hands shakes. He remembers the Dragonslayer's screams of death as if he was there again. Van collapses to his knee. He looks at his sword. Then, for a monet it looked like it was stained with blood again.
"Why do I shake like this?...Am I starting to loose it?"
Hitomi was watching from not too far away.
"Oh Van..." Then, Allen approached her, "Allen. Jayson."
"You don't have to worry about Van." Allen said,
"But he's been like that since then."
"It's an ordeal which swordsmen have to overcome. I had the same experience back then when I was younger. I was so young. Conceit and arrogance draw you into a mist of fear."
Flashback
Allen flashes back to an encounter in the woods from years before. Allen encountered a mysterious man in his youth as a rouge swordsman. He felt too proudly of his skills and picks fights with others to prove his supperiorness.
"Is it you who's been picking fights with swordsmen recently?" the man asked Allen
"If you're scared of fighting..." young Allen said, "...leave all your money and I'll spare your life."
"You seem to have some background. What's your name?"
"Allen Schezar. C'mon!"
Allen charges at the mysterious man, but his slash was swipe clean and he lost his balance and fell to the ground.
"You have good aptitude, but your conceited swordsplay will never shine."
"Kill me!"
The swordsman walked closer and the light revealed him to be Balgas.
"Why? Are you in a hurry to die?"
"I have no family or house. The sword is everything! I can't live in disgrace once I've lost!"
"In swordplay, power and technique aren't important. The key lies within you. Train yourself."
End of flashback
"And that is how I met my master, Balgas." Allen continued, "He enlightened me when I was dissolute. Lording the sword means training oneself. But I haven't come close to my Lord, I..."
Hitomi smiled a bit at the modesty and tries to reasure him
"That's not true. You're brilliant, strong and compassionate. I don't really know anything about the sword, and he probably won't listen to me...but if it's you, he will. Because you're wonderful, and everyone trusts you. That's why I like you..." Hitomi realized that the last thing she said was a bit too much, "Please take of Van, won't you?"
Hitomi turns away to walk and then breaks out in a run. Allen smiles a bit, catching a bit of the second thing she said to him.
" 'Like,' huh? Sometimes I see a demon in you, Hitomi." Allen was about to walk out to Van and then he just realized something about Hitomi today that he never did before when he looked at her, "Did I just saw her wear what I think it was?"
As Hitomi stops running and she then noticed some added weight on her lower side that is slowing her down. She then stops and felt her side and then it hit her that she had completely forgotten the sword that she tied onto her waist belt from earlier. It fitted her so well that she forgot that it was even there. She takes the sword from her belt and looks at it, admiring the designs on it. She then unsheaths a bit of it, revealing the blade that was mirror polished. Then, on her reflection on the sword she had another vision.
The vision was quick and was flashing by her at a great speed before she can comprehend the images, but most of it contained a swordsman who used this sword before her time in the ages that required it. She recognized one of the places was China during WWII. She saw a man holding the katana that Jason, her cousin had, and was wielding it against Chinese soldiers. Then, she flashed back before that and saw a woman that looked like her and she was training with the sword that Hitomi was holding. Then, she flashed back again and saw Shinji, her ansestor, who lived back in a time of Japan where the way of the sword was dying. She saw him sitting with two children...his children. He gave his katana to the girl and the chinese sword to the boy.
The katana would later fall into her cousin, Jason Chang, and now the other sword falls to her. As she finished the vision, she sheaths the sword quickly. She then walks away.
Later, she found a training room, so she could be alone. She stands in the middle of the dojo with her sword to her side. She was wondering what she was doing here. She never had practice with a sword in her life. But when she picks up this sword, it almost felt like she had been a swordsman all her life. It felt different and she wanted to see if Shinji was right. She takes the scabbard with her left hand and takes the hilt of her sword with her right. Then, she slowly drew the blade, hearing every sound of the blade passing through the sheath as she pulls gentlely. The sword was light, double edged, and the hilt fits only a hand and a half, so the weapon was a one-handed one bascily. But she saw on the blade of the sword that there was a part of it near the hilt that was not an actual blade. The area starts from the crossguard and extends for about 3 inches. It was an area of the blade that was blunted, where she can fit her other hand on it so her weapon can be used with two hands instead of one. It was created so a person defending with the sword can apply more strength behind it when blocking.
Hitomi takes the sword up to her face. The sword pointed up and a quarter of her face reflected on the blade. she twisted the blade to the side and points it forward with one hand. She then almost leaned forward and slashed downward, then upwards and then stabs forward again. The moves were precised and fast in a level that a beginner could not have possessed. She then slashes to the side and then to the other and pulls the sword back to her, blade pointed forward and her left hand behind the sword, pushing the bottom of it. She did some fencing moves for a bit and the jumps forward a bit, while swing the sword back toward her, and when she fell back down forward, she swung the sword back forward again.
Hitomi smiled a bit, noting that maybe that it was her past obseverations on Jason, while he practices that made her aquired some of these skills, or perhaps that Shinji was right. But the moment she drew this sword, she had became a swordsman. Sensing a presence in the room from behind her, she quickly spun around 180-degrees and attack, but to only scare whoever was behind her, only to have her sword cross another blade.
The blade she crossed was a katana, and she can plainly see the serpent dragon design that reflects off the blade. The user was Jayson. She pulls back a bit and bows her head to him.
"Am I interrupting something?" Jayson asked.
Hitomi blushed a bit, now feeling awkward that she was holding a sword.
"No, uh...I was, uh...I was just." Then she saw Jayson's eyes change and he was not Jayson Fanel, but Jason Chang, her cousin.
"It seems that it is time for you to have this." Jason said as he sheaths his blade. Hitomi did the same, "It was only a matter of time before it falls to you. Though usually nowadays, the male of the family takes the sword passed down from the last generation."
"You knew about this sword?" Hitomi asked, but then answered her own question, "Of course you did. For your sword is the brother of this sword."
"I see that you've unlocked some of the secrets of the family as you wielded it."
"I was just seeing if I was able to use it. I've never held a sword before. How was I able to do all that?"
"It comes from your blood, the blood of a warrior, be it male or female. I can't explain it, but I call it where the spirit of the pass generation is sealed in the soul of the next, and if the next generation is strong enough to unlock it, he or she will possess the abilities of the past."
"I see..." Hitomi in fact was a bit more confused than before, but didn't want to say anything.
"Well...shall be begin?" Jason puts a hand on his sword and slow draws it.
"But..."
"You have to believe..." Jason said as he drew the rest of the sword and points it down, "Now draw."
Hitomi does so, but with some nervousness. This will be her first time fighting with her sword, and she was a bit scared. After she drew the blade she was sort of breathing heavily, but she closes her eyes and remembers the advices Jason gave her and what Shinji said to her.
"Just believe in it..."She said to herself, "Call upon your heritage and it'll all come to you..."
For a moment that felt like eternetity. Time stops around her as she tries to find that thing which she was looking from deep in her heart and soul. She awakens it and opens her eyes. Her heavy breathing pattern slowed to a relaxed pace and she stared back at Jason with determined eyes.
"Now...attack me." Jason said, but he made not movement to go into a stance himself.
Hitomi readies herself, turing to her right side and then bends her right knee back and stretched her left knee as well for a charge. Then pulls her sword back and had her left hand lead off the sword. The moment was tense and neither made a move for a few lond seconds and then Hitomi screamed her first battlecry and thrust forward in a speed that only a runner like herself can do, but the force of the thrust propelled her into the air and bit and she came down on Jason and stabs.
Jason dodges the attack by sliding his entire body to his right the moment Hitomi came down. Since she missed, he attack stabs through the wooden ground of the dojo. She reacted quickly as Jason retaliates from the attack by slashing down on her, but she brought her sword back up and blocks. Then, the two both jumps back. Jason takes his sword with two hands and holds naturally in a formless stance. Hitomi takes up her sword with both hands, right on the hilt and left on the blade. She held her sword to her left side, pointing up.
Then, Jason sheaths his sword and gets in what is called a Battou-justsu stance. His right hand at the ready to draw his sword, and his knees bent for a forward charge when he draws is. Hitomi was about to attack, but then right when she blinked, Jason appeared to have disappeared and reappears behind her in an instant, which was just her mind playing tricks on her for not being able to keep up with the speed of Jason that was almost god-like. She turned around to defend against an attack and the two crossed blades.
Unknown to the two of them, Allen had been watching from the outside the whole time.
"Don't know how to use sword, eh." he said repeating the words Hitomi said to him.
Jason and Hitomi seperates again and Jason attacks again, spinning counter-clockwise to his left and slashes diagonally and then again in a tornado-like attack two times, and pulls back at Hitomi counters and fights back. She attacks with a slash straight down from above, but Jason blocks the attack, using his left hand to support his sword from the weigh of Hitomi's attack and then parries her sword to his left and then jumps up quickly and it seemed that he curled into a ball as he jumped into the air just right above her and summersaults forward, bring his sword around from behind him like a buzz-saw would and came down upon her, but was blocked. For a moment, it seemed that he was in the air for two long as he and he crossed blades and she turns around quickly, with Jason still coming down on her and pushes him off. He flips and lands a few feet in front of her. He held his sword again with both hands in a formless stance at the ready and so does she in the same manner.
Hitomi sort of smiled at the "fun" she's having with this as a sweat falls from her forehead. She approaches Jason, bring her sword up over her head for another attack and then brings it down but was blocked again and then Jason rolls behind her. He then sheathes his sword for another Battou-justsu, but Hitomi felt something different in this one and responded by holding her sword in an odd stance if it was with her left hand around the crossguard of the sword. She was doing all this by memory and didn't even knew what she was trying to attempt.
"This is...this stance is for..." Hitomi said to herself in her head as she tries to remember what kind of stance is the one she was using, and it slowly came to her. "This is called... Watoujutsu...Kofuku Zetousei..."
"She is using that move..." Jason said to himself as he readies to himself, "...in response to my Amakakeru Ryu No Hirameki...if either of us makes one wrong move...it would mean death to either...or both even...She is more skilled that she thinks."
The moment dragged on for too long as either waited for either to make a first move.
Then, all this time, Allen from outside was watching with amazement and then coughs a bit, which signalled both to attack. The two came at each other in the manner of all swordsmanship. Fight as to kill the oppononent, even if practicing. The two attacks were so fast that Allen was not even able to see it almost. The attacks cancelled each other off. Jason was standing on one side one room, sword pointed up from the draw, and back to Hitomi. Hitomi was on the other side, back also facing him. The two stood down and turned to face each other.
"...Good," Jason said, "And that was just your first try. Well done."
Hitomi's eyes then returns to normal and she blushed at the comment,
"It was harder than I thought."
"You'll get used to it." then Jason laughs a bit, "Heh...God, I haven't had that much fun for a long time...I've never thought that you would become a worthy opponent for me."
Jason let what he said sink in his head.
"Hmmmm..." Jason wondered and it sent a tingling feeling down his spine, "Does that mean she can hold her own with Van and even...Allen? We ARE almost a match."
"Is something wrong?" Hitomi asked seeing that his mind is elsewhere,
"What? No."
"I think you are wondering if I can match Van and Allen."
"Well, you know me best."
Hitomi sheaths her sword,
"To be honest...I was a bit terrified that I can do all that. It just came to me so fast. Like...someone else was controlling my body."
"Like I said, you'll get used to it." Jason then changes back to Jayson, "My. My, Hitomi you were absolutely amazing."
"Uh, thank you."
"I wouldn't expect anyone from Jason's family to do less with swords."
"It's really nothing to be mentioned."
"Well aren't you modest. I'll see you later. I've got to go talk to Van." but then, Jayson stops a bit, "Oh, I almost forgot."
Jayson picks up a big wide box that was on ground.
"This is for you. I think you needed a change of clothing since, you've been wearing the same thing since the last time I saw you."
Hitomi opens the box and inside was a blue kimono. It was dark blue, and simple in design. There was also a hair ribbon next to it.
"This is...how did you get something like this here?"
"I've sort of 'borrowed' it from Zelda, when I found it among her wardrobe. I think it suits you. And I think this fits you better when you want to use your sword again. This female kimono was designed for beauty and for function."
"Uh, thanks,"
Jayson leaves the room. Just as Jayson left, Hitomi heard clapping from behind her and turned to see Allen.
"Allen."
"That was most impressive Hitomi. You keep all these secrets from everyone. I wonder what else you are not telling us."
"Well, I..." Hitomi was a bit embarassed, "I didn't know I had it in me."
Hitomi then noticed that Allen was holding something under his arms.
"What's that?"
"Oh this?" Allen takes the book, "It's something I brought for show to Dryden. I think it might help us."
Elsewhere, Dryden and Millerna was in the library.
"The mysterious power of Hitomi, who came from the Mystic Moon... Van, a descendant of the Dragon Clan...Escaflowne...And Zaibach, which is after the power spot... Mysterious incidents that take place one after another...It's so frustrating. Something's coming to my mind."
"Dryden... thank you."
"For what? I don't need your smooth words. It doesn't cost you a bit to bow."
"Your way of saying... I had reconsidered about you, and I was going to apologize for my lack of manners."
Dryden laughs a bit,
"That's it. Thats more like you. My mind's full of dirty thoughts. I'll do anything to get your attention."
"But... I..."
"Allen? I don't care. I get everything I want. Well, it's alright. Instead...I want you to do me a favor."
The two went to see Allen, who hands over the book that he was carrying.
"It's my father's final log, from his study."
"Oh, this is it!" Dryden said
"Is that really useful?" Milerna ask
"Sure it is. This might solve all the mysteries surrounding you."
"Mysteries...?"
"It's Atlantis."
"Atlantis...?"
"My father often told me your father was after the secret treasure of Atlantis. Let me borrow this for a while."
Dryden then leaves.
Meanwhile, Hitomi was leaning on a windowsill, with a sort of depressed look on her. She remembered that one line she said to Allen. "I like you". And it made her wonder about it. She had put on the kimono that Jason gave her earlier. It really did fit her perfectly. She felt more blend into her culture back on Earth when she put it on.
"Geez, why did I say that? I'm like a fickle girl." She then picks up her sword again, "Now why can't I keep my hands off of this. I've only gotten this sword for barely a day and now I feel like it's been my best friend for like...forever."
"-That's a really nice sword you got there, Hitomi," Milerna's voice said from behind Hitomi.
Hitomi turns and blushed in embarrassment.
"I never knew you were such a swordsman, heh, or rather a swords'woman'. From what Allen had told me from what he saw, you are truly a wonder. We've known you long enough, but you've seem to have more surprises waiting to show us."
"Oh this?" Hitomi shows her sword to Milerna, who takes it to have a look at the blade and unsheathes it, "It's just a family heirlome."
"Well, you've cretainly know how to use it." Milerna then puts the blade away and gives it back, "Hitomi..."
"Yeah?"
"I want your opinion about my friend."
"Sure. What is it?"
"She...sort of has a boyfriend, but he's a bit of playboy, and she found out that he has a secret child."
"That's not right." Hitomi showed a face of disgust.
"Listen, I'm not finished."
"Ok,"
"But another guy, who seems to be rich and kind...came to her and said that he loved her...." Milerna sort of fades a bit after that,
"And...what?"
"What do you think she should do?"
Hitmoi sort of smiles a bit...since it was too obvious that Milerna was talking about herself. Hitomi had had these kinds of conversations before with her older friends back on Earth...and a bit from the "Memories" of her ansestors from her sword. The wisdom from it made it more obvious that it would normally. But Hitomi sort of played along being the friend, but sort of made a little joke of it.
"Well...What she should... If I found out I was hanging around with him when he'd had a child, I'd never talk to him."
"Why not?"
"Men like those in my world are looked down upon my the morally right. He sounds like he approaches any woman,"
"But he's actually a wonderful person."
"And the other guy isn't?" Hitomi was doing this on purpose to make Milerna think.
"Looks are ok..."
"And he has love and a financial background, doesn't he? Then, he's the right one. My world seemed to accept those with financial background more, but it's the same difference."
"It sounds so calculating."
"What about going steady with both, like him?"
"How immoral!" Hitomi smiled at the thought of that.
"What about giving up on both..." Then Hitomi jumps from where she was sitting and sort of dance like a ballerina with the back of her right hand over her forehead and does a sort of a dramatic scene, " ...and becoming a tragic heroine?"
"No way! You talk as if you don't care about me-I mean my friend! What about the feelings she has?"
"That's the point after all. In any case, it's natural to follow one's own feelings."
"Own feelings..."
"Should I read their fortunes? To find which one is most suitable for her. I'm usually right, if it's about someone else."
"Are you stupid?!" Merle was listening the whole time and jumps out to intervene, "What's with that fortune telling bit? Before you read someone else's fortune, why don't you make up your own mind?"
"My mind?!" Hitomi was confused a bit,
"Which one do you love, Lord Van or Allen?"
Milerna looked pretty shock from the question but Hitomi never looked more indecisive in her life.
"Which one!?"
"I...I dont know...What kind of a question is that?!" Hitomi then looks a bit upset, "You just jump right out and ask me that."
Another one's source of the short temper she was having was coming from the sword and the memories of the souls inside her. She was starting to have a problem controlling it.
"Who are you to ask me that?! It is my own problem. I don't need you to bring it out!"
"Just make up your mind!" Merle shouted as she bends down.
Merle jumps up to sort of do another mock attack on Hitomi, claws out, but Hitomi saw that coming 10x's faster than Milerna and right when Merle jumps up a bit, she was unable to do that actual pounce at Hitomi, because Hitomi drew her sword and points it to Merle's neck. Merle was stopped dead in her tracks. And for the first time, Merle had a look of fear for her life from Hitomi. Hitomi's eyes were a dark crimson that was almost not human.
Hitomi finally snaps out of what seemed to be a trance and her eyes returned to normal. She withdrew her sword and realized what she was doing. She was panting.
"Uh...I..." Hitomi puts her sword down and was still in shock at what she did. "I'm..."
Then, Hitomi turns and runs out of the room. When she thought she was done, she stopped and leans on a wall around the corner. She breathes heavily from the running and still from the shock of pointing her sword at Merle...with that look on her face. She saw it reflected off of Merle's eyes and saw someone that was not her...but more like someone that was apart of her.
Hitomi takes her sword, which was still out and looks at the blade and sees the red eyes on her face. She blinked a few times, and the eyes were blue again.
"What...what just happened?" She asked herself.
And from the shadows, where Hitomi was not able to notice for the moment in the state she was in, Jayson was watching.
"She's starting to have trouble adjusting to her heirtage, already," Jason said to Jayson,
"She'll manage," Jayson said to Jason. "She's a strong girl. I know she is."
"No...you don't...I do...You just know what I know. But that knowledge doesn't belong to you."
"Whatever...Should we help her?"
"No...she must live with it. In time, she will able to control the gift she has."
"And if not?"
"Then...she is doomed..."
Elsewhere, two cat-like women sat atop their Guymelefs, looking over Dryden's ship as it passes by. They looked like Merle, but a lot older. One was a "golden" color, and the other was a "silver" color.
"Eriya, that's the one, isn't it?" the golden one said
"How fortunate to find it in a place like this, isn't it Naria?" Eriya said
"He said that was our kind of luck." Naria said
"Let's give them a greeting, and make it a gift for Lord Folken."
"Great idea!"
The two jumped into their Guymelefs, and then jumps off the cliff they were on and down onto Dryden's ship. The two Guymelefs made a big impact when they landed on the moving ship.
"I hope they don't bored us with their petty resistence." Naria said,
"I hope so...cause I'm just itching for a fight!"
Inside theship, Reeeden runs to tell Allen.
"Hey boss, it's Zaibach! Zaibach's Guymelefs are..." but Gadess interrupts
"What?"
"They're after Van," Jayson said as he turns and runs toward the hanger.
In the hanger, Van was getting on Escaflowne.
"Lord Van!" Merle shouted
"Van!" Hitomi shouted with, "You haven't fully recovered yet! Oh no, what should I do?"
Jayson enters the hanger and tries to get on Excalibur, but a sharp pain came from his shoulder. There was an old wound on it, that wasn't fully healed.
"Damn it." Jayson grabs it, "I must of strained it when I practiced with Hitomi."
Jayson lost his balance and leaned on his melef for support. Hitomi runs to him.
"Jason!"
"I'm alright...heh, next time I spar with you, I'll have to look out for myself more...Shit, I can't help Van with this kind of wound on me."
"Oh, no. You can't help Van! What can we do?" Jason looks back at Hitomi and smiles a bit, "What?"
Escaflowne was already outside, battle ready. Van lands in humanoid mode and takes out his sword.
"I won't lose like last time," Van said to himself.
Van attacks, but was blocked by the speed of the Tearing model's agility. He was knocked back and fell a bit, before regaining his balance. As Van got his balance back up, Naria jumps at him and scratches his face, causing Van himself to bleed in the face. Then, Eriya knocks him to the ground. Van swings his sword at her, but she grabs his arms to stop him. It was then, when Van saw through the Melef and sees the pilot behind it.
"A Woman? No...she's different!"
"The Torso is opened!" Eruya shouted and punches Escaflowne's stomach, and hence punching Van in the gut.
Van knocks her over and holds it's sword to her head, but Naria attacks him from behind. Van starts shaking again and thinks about the Dragonslayer's deaths again.
"No...no, not now!" Van was losing it again.
"What's wrong with him? Eriya asked
"He seems to be scared. Dilandau was defeated by a guy like him?"
"No wonder Lord Folken's worried. Let's finish it."
But, when Naria was about to attack, Excalibur come from behind her and she was knocked away. Excalibur was a bit off balanced itself, which was a bit unusual for it. Jayson was always a smooth pilot.
It was revealed that Hitomi was the pilot.
"Geezzz," Hitomi said to herself, "I got to be more serious to him next time. No means no! Dear God, how did I end up doing this? First I know how to use a sword really well, and now I'm a Guymelef pilot?"
Hitomi gets her bearing back and charges at Eryia and cuts through her claws.
"You're hit was a bit imbalanced," Jayson's voice said to Hitomi's head,
"I know! I know!" Hitomi was trying to concentrate, "Just let me do this by myself!"
She attacks again and pushes the two cat girls back away from Van all the to the otherside of the ship.
"Great, now this is getting anoying!" Naria said
"Come on, we can take him!" Eriya said, thinking it was Jayson that was the pilot.
Then all of a sudden, Merle runs in front of Escaflowne. Naria and Eriya look in shock. They flash back to when they were children. One of them protected the other from a crowd.
"I won't let you..." Merle said, "I won't let you kill Lord Van!"
"Merle?!" Van said as he snaps out of it,
"Merle?" Hitomi said
"Ah, great. She's ruining the mood!" Eriya said
"She is, but she is one of us...that's enough for today!"
The two then took off into the distant. Merle was a bit shocked at what she just did and fell to her knees. Van jumps out of his melef.
"Merle!" Van shouted
"Oh, Lord Van...Lord Van, I'm glad. I'm so glad you're safe... Lord Van!" Merle hugs him.
"Merle..." Van then looked up t see Excalibur bends down to one knee as the cockpit opens up, "Jayson?"
Van WAS expecting Jayson to come out, but he was shocked to see Hitomi.
"Hitomi? Hitomi walks up to him, "You saved me yet again, Hitomi"
"You seemed have the habit of getting yourself into situations where you need saving." Hitomi smiled.
It was then, when Van noticed the new look Hitomi was showing him. Parts of her blue kimono sway with the wind and she was holding her sword with her left hand. For the first time, again, she looked beautiful to him, but in a sense the strange aura of mystery still shrouds around her when he looked down to see that she was holding a sword.
Hitomi took noticed and takes up her sword,
"Oh this? This was a gift from Jason."
"I see. It suits you well."
Later on, everyone was gathered at Dryden's study. Dryden was still reading the book Allen gave him and then laughs.
"Ah! There it is! I found it. I found it! As I thought, all the mysteries lie in the Mystic Valley"
"Mystic Valley?" Hitomi asked
"It's the legendary place of the Dragon Clan, Draconians."
Elsewhere on the Vione, Naria and Eriya was with Folken.
"Did it go well?" Folken asked the two.
"Yes. All training was completed smoothly." Naria responded
"I see." Folken sort of smiled, "Good girls."
"Who are those sorcerors who came with us?" Eriya asked
"They came here to take Dilandau with them. I don't know the details. I'm hated by the sorcerors."
"They must be envious of you, Lord Folken." Eriya said
"We hate sorcerors, too." Naria said
"No, you shouldn't say such things about the sorcerors. Originally, I was a sorceror."
Upon hearing this, the cat girls lean on Folkens lap, to say sorry.
"We're sorry" Naria said
"Lord Folken, we've missed you." Eriya said
"You're our mental nourishment."
"I apologize to both of you." Folken holds then closer to him, "Lend me your strength."
"We know. Our bodies..."
"...and our hearts, are yours, Lord Folken."
Back at Dryden's ship,
"That was a pain." Dryden said, "It took me a while to figure out that it's written in characters of the Mystic Moon."
"Of Earth?" Hitomi said to herself, then Jayson intrudes
"It's latin." Jason said, "I've studied it before, in my times at Hyrule. It is a very old languge that is not even used anymore on the Mystic Moon."
"Oh, I see." Dryden said, "Well, that settles it. We're going to the Mystic Valley."
"Young Lord, restrain yourself." the small assistent said, "You've caught Zaibach's attention. Nothing good will happen."
"You can go home. I've decided to go to the Mystic Valley. Go back to Palas with the ship."
"No way. We lost our cargo, and you're not going back! How do I explain this to the Lord?"
"I'll write to him. He won't mind if I say I'm here with Princess Millerna."
Upon hearing her name, Milerna moved in to say something, but couldn't get it out right.
"Dryden, I..."
"You'll go, because Allen's going."
"Why do I have to go?" Allen asked, now being a bit stubborn.
"You have to, right? Because your father gave up his house, family and properties...to find the Mystic Valley. It's well known in Asturia. Even I knew it."
Allen seems quite pissed off.
"Allen's father..." Hitomi said to herself.
"I'll go, too" Van said, "The Mystic Valley is the homeland of the Dragon Clan. I want to see the origin of the blood circulating in my body...and the secret between that land and Escaflowne"
"Man, is it just coincidence that brings all those related to the Mystic Valley here?"
Later, everyone got on the Crusade and took off. The Crusade was then trailed by two Hyrulean warships that came from the clouds.
"The Enterprise and the Hyperion will be accompany us to the Mystic Valley." Jayson said, "In case Zaibach will follow us to there."
Dryden was reading from the diary.
"In the year when the crystal is in the northeast. On the 12th of Green. I'm heading for Asguld Continent, the dark land no one has ever entered. Yes, I'm sure the Mystic Valley is there. If I get there, I should find the power that creates miracles... ...that I've searched for a long time. Yes, it's the power of Atlantis."
It was a stormy night long ago. A ship is in a storm and is in bad condition.
"No, the rudder isn't working!" a crewmen of the ship said, "It was impossible from the start, in a storm like this!"
"Captain, it's bad! The Energist won't cool down!"
"Damn, it's the curse of the Dragon Clan! Humans shouldn't have entered this sector! Guys, let's turn the ship around!"
But Allen's father grabs the captain and points a knife a this throat.
"That's not what you promised. Keep going. I paid the amount you wanted."
"You fool! The ship won't hold together at this rate! You know that, don't you?!"
"You sold your life to me."
Lightning strikes the ship, causing it to crash into the ocean. Leon is seen leaning on a piece of driftwood in the water.
"I wonder how many days have passed. I recalled that girl's voice...and her appearance, in my dizziness, and...Asguld Continent appeared before me. God has guided me. This is my fate."
Allen hears this from Dryden and was mad again.
"Fate?!"
Back in the flashback, upon reaching land, Leon starts walking. "A play of fate brought that meeting in my youth...and sudden separation. I have to ascertain my feelings for her etched deep in my mind. The Mystic Valley has everything...everything I want."
Allen was having a problem swallowing this in.
"Ridiculous! Was it only to find a girl, that he abandoned his house and family? How pathetic."
"An interesting father, isn't he?" Dryden said
"What?"
"It sounds much better than mine, whose only concern is money. I like his way of life."
Meanwhile, back on Earth at Hitomi's home. Amano, Yukari, and Hitomi's mother, sat down together.
"Have you found any clues yet?" Amano asked
"No. Sorry. It wasn't your fault, so don't worry."
"I still dream of Hitomi running towards me," Yukari said "...while I wait at the station as usual...and she says, "Hello," but I always wake up at that moment..."
Yukari starts crying. Amano puts his hand on her shoulder.
"I dream of Hitomi too." Hitomi's mother managed a smile "She should be fine. There must be many hardships for her, but I'm sure she will be fine...Jason is with her. And the protection of her family is with her..."
Back on Giaea in the Crusade.
"I can't see anything." Reeden said "It's just ocean as far as the eye can see. Sarge."
"Keep going straight. Dryden said it's in this direction."
"Can we trust him?"
"The Boss said okay, so we have no choice."
On the Enterprise, Jayson and his team were readying themselves for anything. In the armory, Jayson's friends were arming themselves for any battles that will take place. They were not taking any chances. They grabbed their swords and then firearms, like rifles and handguns. Each of them put on armor of their own.
Jayson walks in the room and the dozen soldiers, plus his own buddies, stood up at attention to greet him and then back to their preparations. Jayson walks to Kyle, his first officer on the ship.
"How are things going?"
"We're almost ready." Kyle said, "If Zaibach even tries to come to us, we'll be ready for them."
"I hope so. Because we were completely surprised when those Tearings came out of nowhere. We're either not as sharp as we always were or Zaibach has some more tricks to show us."
"We have 30 Guymelefs all together with Hyperion's melefs. Then, there's Escaflowne and Allen's melef is almost done being repaired."
"Good." Jayson looks out the window, seeing a storm going. "We should prepare for the approaching weather. It's not combat time yet."
Jayson leaves the room and later appears on the bridge.
"All hands secure your stations." Jayson announced throughout the ship, "We'll be approaching some bad weather up ahead. Be prepare for anything."
Back at the Crusade, Dryden continues to read.
" 'On the 16th of Blue, a blizzard and a rocky stretch blocked my way... ...as if it were testing the one seeking trught. But in that place...' "
In a flashback, Leon reaches a cave when he was wandering in the snow.
" '...I met an old man. There is another who believes in the existence of the Mystic Valley and is searching for it. When I asked his name, he said, Issac. I never got his last name though.' "
Issac was a really old looking man, He had somekind of machinery strapped to his back, like a life support system.
Back on Earth, Hitomi's mother brings out a photo album.
"I've never told this to anyone...but I'd better tell you. My mother told this to me once. It was when I was Hitomi's age. On the way home from a summer festival, she was surrounded by a light. When she woke up, she was in a place she'd never seen before."
Amono and Yukari were shocked from what she just said.
Back to the flashback of Leon's story.
"Issac's story was very interesting. He was looking for the Mystic Valley to solve the mystery of Atlantis. Surprisingly, he said he came from the Mystic Moon, just like that girl."
Hitomi hears this and was surprised.
"From my world?"
"Yeah, like you!" Dryden said
Back on Earth, Hitomi's mother shows the two a picture of Hitomi's grandmother when she was about Hitomi's age. Hitomi's grandmother looked almost exactly like her, but her hair was long and dark black. She was wearing a kimono that looks like the one Hitomi is wearing now. Another picture of her, she was dressed in a sort of martial arts uniform and was holding the same sword that Hitomi has now.
But for the moment, Amono and Yukari were shocked.
"That's..." Amono said
"She looks like Hitomi!"
"This is my mother," Hitomi's mom said
Back on Gaiea, Hitomi finds herself traveling back in time, to the moment when Leon first saw the girl from the Mystic Moon.
"That's Allen's father." Hitomi said and then sees a pillar of light before her. A figure appears within the figure. She was Hitomi's grandmother, "She is!-It can't be."
Leon reaches the top of the cliff. He walks up to the girl and kneels before her, holding up her hand as the sun sets. Later, Leon made a fire and he listened to her story of where she came from.
"I can't believe that you're an inhabitant of the Mystic Moon. I started this journey to get rid of my fetters. But that sounds meaningless when I look in your eyes. Will you forgive me?"
But suddenly, the pillar of light appears again, returning her to the Mystic Moon. Leon reaches out for her, but its too late.
Then, Hitomi thinks of her grandmother and remembers the last time she saw her. She had never really seen her grandmother at her age, but when she saw her, other memories intrude.
"Grandma?"
Meanwhile in Zaibach, a sorceror sees General Adelphos.
"General Adelphos, I've come to request permission for Dilandau to return home"
"A sorceror wants permission...? Although he's under my command now, you sorcerors are the ones who sent him to me. Let me hear the reason."
"He's sick. Chief of Staff Folken informed me."
"How unusual for that devil to become sick."
"We'll return him to you once he's recovered."
Dilandou was carried off in a ship and they fly to Zaibach
Back at the Vione, Folken talks to Dornkirk.
"Asguld...? They must be heading for the Mystic Valley." Dornkirk said
"The legendary Mystic Valley...?"
"Right. It's the homeland of the Dragon Clan, the Atlanteans. They must've figured it out."
Leon's story continues.
" 'On the 3rd of White, Isaac and I reached a field of heavy fog. The Mystic Valley must be beyond this. However, Isaac disappeared before I knew it. We were seperated by this thick fog...? Could that mean... No, I should concentrate on reaching the Mystic Valley. If I get there, the mysteries of Atlantis will be solved. Then, I should be able to see that girl again. If I could see her, I could-' "
But Allen was still in rage over this.
"I can't take this." Allen walks out.
"Are you running away?" Dryden asked "Trivial things like this can disturb a Knight of Heaven. How interesting."
"I don't think I'm going to like you."
"That's fine. I don't either."
"Dryden, that was rude." Hitomi said, as she walks out to follow Allen.
"Great, another girl's gonna hate me." Dryden said as he looks back to the book, and found ot he lost his spot.
Hitomi finds Allen in a corner, looking upset.
"Allen."
Allen turns to greet her.
"Hitomi?"
"Yeah,"
"How embarrassing it was for me..."
"No, it wasn't. I..."
"There's no way I can forgive my father...a man who abandoned his family."
"That's not true. You kept your father's diary. You could have thrown it away, but you didn't. I think it's because, somewhere in your mind, you want to know about your father. You're a kind person. You can't hate someone so much. If your heart truly despaired, I...no one would like you. You want to forgive your father don't you?"
"I might have been afraid...to know the reason he abandoned me. Maybe I can't accept it in my heart."
"Allen..."
"I wonder if you could forgive me."
Back to Dryden. Van was on the bridge with him.
"Once we pass this, we'll be very close." Dryden said.
"I'll look around. You stay here, Merle." Van walks out of the room.
Van walks out into the hall. Meanwhile, Allen steps up close to Hitomi. The ship suddenly shakes while passing some flying rocks. Hitomi falls into Allen's arms.
"God, even the floating rocks are flying around!" Gadess said "Reeden, keep watching ahead! If we crash into one, it's all over!"
"Right,"
At Enterprise.
"Watch out!" Jayson shouted, "The ion storm is causing the wild leva stones to go nuts."
"Damn it!" Marcus said as he banks the ship left to avoid another stone.
"If we can't go around it, we might have to blow them into pieces to get across!"
Back on the Crusade, Van walks in, and is shocked at what he sees. Dryden comes in shortly after.
"There you are. We're almost there. Let's go to the bridge."
The three ships cleared the storm.
"Clearing sky..." Dryden said, "The Mystic Valley's ahead of us..."
They arrive at a snowy area, devoid of any landmarks. It was a barren land. The landscape confused everyone. They were expecting something different, like a lost city or something besides this nothingness.
"Is this the Mystic Valley?" Hitomi asked
"There's nothing here." Van said, stating the obvious
"This isn't right," Dryden said, "I'm sure of...wait, what's this?"
"What is it?" Allen asked
"A page has been torn out."
Then, Paile was looking through the parascope and saw-
"Sarge, here comes a Zaibach floating fortress!"
"What?!"
On the Enterprise.
"They're here." Jayson said, "Battle stations. Tell the Hyperion to get ready too."
Over at the Fortress.
"Asturian ship spotted!" a Zaibach lookout said, "It's being escorted by two Hyrulean warship!"
"Naria, Eriya, can you hear me?" Folken said
"Yes, Lord Folken. ready anytime." Naria said
"We'll bring your brother back." Eriya said
"I'm counting on you."
"Let's do it." Naria said
"I know, Sis." Eriya said
The two Teraings flew out of the fortress and toward the three ships ahead, followed by several dozen Alseidies.
"Their coming!" Allen shouted
"Are they going to force us to the ground?" Gadess said, "Paile, how's Scherazade?"
"No! We haven't even finished half of it!"
As the other Zaibach units grew closer, one of them were shot. From the Excalibur, Jayson was holding a guymelef size rifle and then jumps off the ship to do battle. He was followed by his team.
"Tracking about 38 units up ahead!" one of the soldiers back in the ship said
"All units engage!" Jayson shouted as he drew his sword
Back on the Crusade, Hitomi remembers what he grandmother said to her back then.
"Hitomi...Your wish will come true, if you wish strongly. Hitomi, keep this."
"Grandma, let us see the Mystic Valley. Show it to everyone. Please, Grandma."
"After coming this far..." Dryden said "I want to see the Mystic Valley."
"Mother, what do you expect me to do...?" Van said
"I can't die here." Allen said to himself, "I'll settle the matter with you in the Mystic Valley."
Naria and Eriya broke through Jayson's line and decends on the Crusade.
Back on the Vione,
"Van, what do you want to see in the Mystic Valley?" Folken asks.
Then, Escaflowne's energist glows, enveloping the small fleet of ships whole in a pillar of light. Naria and Eriya's Guymelefs are knocked away, as well as their forces. A portal appears above the ship and draws them in.
"Impossible. The gate to Atlantis has opened." Folken said
Jayson looks up and sees the opening.
"All units, return to the ships. The gate's been open!" His group flew back to their respective carriers. The opening was sucking everything else inside, "This is going to be one ride."
All three ships and the Guymelefs outside disappeared into the portal.
To be continued...
The energist started to react, and then black smoke comes from Escaflowne. Hitomi goes up to the face mask and grabs it. Black smoke continues to rise out of Escaflowne, as if there was a fire inside. Hitomi slips her arms inside Escaflowne and seem to melt into it
"Hitomi!" Allen shouted as he tried to get her out, but it was too late, her mind was already pulled into whatever Van was trapped in.
Just as that happened, Escaflowne's energist stopped glowing and it went completely silent. Hitomi's body layed still outside.
Chapter XI
Lost Paradise
Hitomi runs through a lot of fog and then sees an army of marching men that looked like they were dead more or less they were. She struggles to get pass them, trying to get to Van, who was in the middle of all of them.
"Van! Van! Can you hear me!" Hitmoi shouted as she tries to make a grab for him, but when she touched him, she went through him and his image disappears, "Van!"
Outside, Milierna checks on Hitomi, but her diognoisis was not good.
"She's stop breathing..."
Hitomi awakens in a place where winged people fly all around her. It is a peaceful, roman like landscape. It almost felt like-
"No...this can't be heaven."
"Well, we all like to think of heaven like this," someone else speaks behind her. "But this is just the generic style that we think of it as. Heaven's far more beautiful than this."
She turns around to see a man dressed in a kimino with a katana at his side, but right next to that sword where a second japanese sword should have been, was a chinese looking straight sword. There was something familiar about this man. She looks to the weapon he was wearing and on the sheath was a symbol that she would not forget in her life.
"A white rose?" It was her her family emblem. Something that was part of her family for centuries, but from all the stories she've heard from about her family, one ansestor has always amazed her and he carried a chinese sword with the family emblem on it, "You can't be?"
"Yes, I am. Shinji Kanzaki is my name if you've forgotten. I would technical be over 100 by now. It's so nice to finally meet the destinied one."
"Destinied one?"
"That is why you are here...it is fate that lead you to this moment, but it was all you alone that was the cause of all this."
"What are you talking about?"
"There isn't a lot of time to reminisce about life and how things have changed in the era you live in...right now you are looking for someone, right?"
"Yes. Do you know where Van is?"
"...he's around here somewhere..."
Hitomi stands on a nearby balcony as a winged person flies by. She looks over, a few hundred feet from her and sees a cliff, with a lone tree on it. Van sits below it. Hitomi starts to run, but Shinji stops him.
"Wait." Shinji takes his chinese sword and throws it to Hitomi, who catches it clumsely "This is for you."
"Ummm..."
"What? Is something wrong with it?"
"It's nothing like that...but is this really real?"
"You tell me...I can't give you this-" he holds his katana, "Jason already has inhierted it. That sword you are holding belongs to your family. Take it as a symbol of who you are...and besides, you're stuck on Giaea. It's dangerous out here if you are not escorted by a man. This is not Earth."
"But...but I don't even know how to use a sword. This is the first time I've ever even held one."
"Oh really?" Shinji said as if she was joking, "You'll remember eventually. It's in your blood. You might not know it. All you have to do is just call upon it and you'll know how to use it."
Shinji Kanzaki then disappears with a smile on his face.
"See ya,"
Hitomi didn't really understood what he just told her, but then runs through the city attempting to get to where Van was. She eventually reaches it. Van kneels, with his head lowered behind his knees.
"Van, lets go home. Everyone's waiting." Van doesn't respond. He just continues to sit there, shaking nervously. "Van...?"
There was then a sudden shaking from the ground and Hitomi lost her balance and fell forward. She managed to stop falling by using her new sword as a cane to support on.
"What the...?" The ground around then starts to collapse and Hitomi goes to Van to wake him, "Van! Snap out of it, Van!"
The cliff around then starts to crumble.
Outside in reality again, everyone was really worried about the two.
"We should try to at least recover Hitomi." Allen said
"No!" Merle shouted and jumps on Hitomi, shaking her about, "Hey, you stupid girl! Don't give up! Make sure you bring Lord Van back with you! Hey, are you listening? Lord Van!"
Inside the dream-vision, Hitomi hears Merle call,
"Merle?"
A pillar of light appears from the tree and surrounds Hitomi and Van. The entire cliff collapses and falls into the growing pool of lava. Van is unresponsive as he and Hitomi fall into it.
"Van! Van, fly! Van!" Hitomi shouted as she fell with Van.
As the tree collapses into the lava, Van's wings burst out of his back, and he grabs Hitomi. They fly up away from it. Back in the real world, Hitomi's hands slip off of Escaflowne. The energist glows and Escaflowne's normal color returns. Escaflowne's cockpit opens and Van slowly crawls out. Hitomi awakens with Merle on top of her. Then, something started to glow in her hand as she felt like she was holding onto something. The ligt from her hand grew into a long narow object and when the light faded away, it revealed to be the sword that Shinji gave her.
"This is..." Hitomi looks at the sword.
Meanwhile, Dilandou was in the Vione, holding a rose as he looked over a balcony.
"They were all incompetents. Guimel, Dallet, Shester, Gatty, Violle...You won't be recognized if you die in battle like that." Dilandau flicks the rose he was holding over the edge of the fortress. He has a sudden vision of a girl crying.
"Don't leave me alone! Don't leave me alone!" the girl in his head shouted out.
"Alone?" Dilandou lost himself and collapes.
In another room elsewhere, Folken talks to Dornkirk.
"The power spot is in our hands...however..." Dornkirk said to Folken
"About the dragon, right?"
"Exactly. The fate of the dragon is covered in a mist, and is barely visible."
"Leave it to me. I've already made the next move."
"Capture the dragon!"
Meanwhile, back with everyone else on Dryden's ship. Van holds up his sword. His hands shakes. He remembers the Dragonslayer's screams of death as if he was there again. Van collapses to his knee. He looks at his sword. Then, for a monet it looked like it was stained with blood again.
"Why do I shake like this?...Am I starting to loose it?"
Hitomi was watching from not too far away.
"Oh Van..." Then, Allen approached her, "Allen. Jayson."
"You don't have to worry about Van." Allen said,
"But he's been like that since then."
"It's an ordeal which swordsmen have to overcome. I had the same experience back then when I was younger. I was so young. Conceit and arrogance draw you into a mist of fear."
Flashback
Allen flashes back to an encounter in the woods from years before. Allen encountered a mysterious man in his youth as a rouge swordsman. He felt too proudly of his skills and picks fights with others to prove his supperiorness.
"Is it you who's been picking fights with swordsmen recently?" the man asked Allen
"If you're scared of fighting..." young Allen said, "...leave all your money and I'll spare your life."
"You seem to have some background. What's your name?"
"Allen Schezar. C'mon!"
Allen charges at the mysterious man, but his slash was swipe clean and he lost his balance and fell to the ground.
"You have good aptitude, but your conceited swordsplay will never shine."
"Kill me!"
The swordsman walked closer and the light revealed him to be Balgas.
"Why? Are you in a hurry to die?"
"I have no family or house. The sword is everything! I can't live in disgrace once I've lost!"
"In swordplay, power and technique aren't important. The key lies within you. Train yourself."
End of flashback
"And that is how I met my master, Balgas." Allen continued, "He enlightened me when I was dissolute. Lording the sword means training oneself. But I haven't come close to my Lord, I..."
Hitomi smiled a bit at the modesty and tries to reasure him
"That's not true. You're brilliant, strong and compassionate. I don't really know anything about the sword, and he probably won't listen to me...but if it's you, he will. Because you're wonderful, and everyone trusts you. That's why I like you..." Hitomi realized that the last thing she said was a bit too much, "Please take of Van, won't you?"
Hitomi turns away to walk and then breaks out in a run. Allen smiles a bit, catching a bit of the second thing she said to him.
" 'Like,' huh? Sometimes I see a demon in you, Hitomi." Allen was about to walk out to Van and then he just realized something about Hitomi today that he never did before when he looked at her, "Did I just saw her wear what I think it was?"
As Hitomi stops running and she then noticed some added weight on her lower side that is slowing her down. She then stops and felt her side and then it hit her that she had completely forgotten the sword that she tied onto her waist belt from earlier. It fitted her so well that she forgot that it was even there. She takes the sword from her belt and looks at it, admiring the designs on it. She then unsheaths a bit of it, revealing the blade that was mirror polished. Then, on her reflection on the sword she had another vision.
The vision was quick and was flashing by her at a great speed before she can comprehend the images, but most of it contained a swordsman who used this sword before her time in the ages that required it. She recognized one of the places was China during WWII. She saw a man holding the katana that Jason, her cousin had, and was wielding it against Chinese soldiers. Then, she flashed back before that and saw a woman that looked like her and she was training with the sword that Hitomi was holding. Then, she flashed back again and saw Shinji, her ansestor, who lived back in a time of Japan where the way of the sword was dying. She saw him sitting with two children...his children. He gave his katana to the girl and the chinese sword to the boy.
The katana would later fall into her cousin, Jason Chang, and now the other sword falls to her. As she finished the vision, she sheaths the sword quickly. She then walks away.
Later, she found a training room, so she could be alone. She stands in the middle of the dojo with her sword to her side. She was wondering what she was doing here. She never had practice with a sword in her life. But when she picks up this sword, it almost felt like she had been a swordsman all her life. It felt different and she wanted to see if Shinji was right. She takes the scabbard with her left hand and takes the hilt of her sword with her right. Then, she slowly drew the blade, hearing every sound of the blade passing through the sheath as she pulls gentlely. The sword was light, double edged, and the hilt fits only a hand and a half, so the weapon was a one-handed one bascily. But she saw on the blade of the sword that there was a part of it near the hilt that was not an actual blade. The area starts from the crossguard and extends for about 3 inches. It was an area of the blade that was blunted, where she can fit her other hand on it so her weapon can be used with two hands instead of one. It was created so a person defending with the sword can apply more strength behind it when blocking.
Hitomi takes the sword up to her face. The sword pointed up and a quarter of her face reflected on the blade. she twisted the blade to the side and points it forward with one hand. She then almost leaned forward and slashed downward, then upwards and then stabs forward again. The moves were precised and fast in a level that a beginner could not have possessed. She then slashes to the side and then to the other and pulls the sword back to her, blade pointed forward and her left hand behind the sword, pushing the bottom of it. She did some fencing moves for a bit and the jumps forward a bit, while swing the sword back toward her, and when she fell back down forward, she swung the sword back forward again.
Hitomi smiled a bit, noting that maybe that it was her past obseverations on Jason, while he practices that made her aquired some of these skills, or perhaps that Shinji was right. But the moment she drew this sword, she had became a swordsman. Sensing a presence in the room from behind her, she quickly spun around 180-degrees and attack, but to only scare whoever was behind her, only to have her sword cross another blade.
The blade she crossed was a katana, and she can plainly see the serpent dragon design that reflects off the blade. The user was Jayson. She pulls back a bit and bows her head to him.
"Am I interrupting something?" Jayson asked.
Hitomi blushed a bit, now feeling awkward that she was holding a sword.
"No, uh...I was, uh...I was just." Then she saw Jayson's eyes change and he was not Jayson Fanel, but Jason Chang, her cousin.
"It seems that it is time for you to have this." Jason said as he sheaths his blade. Hitomi did the same, "It was only a matter of time before it falls to you. Though usually nowadays, the male of the family takes the sword passed down from the last generation."
"You knew about this sword?" Hitomi asked, but then answered her own question, "Of course you did. For your sword is the brother of this sword."
"I see that you've unlocked some of the secrets of the family as you wielded it."
"I was just seeing if I was able to use it. I've never held a sword before. How was I able to do all that?"
"It comes from your blood, the blood of a warrior, be it male or female. I can't explain it, but I call it where the spirit of the pass generation is sealed in the soul of the next, and if the next generation is strong enough to unlock it, he or she will possess the abilities of the past."
"I see..." Hitomi in fact was a bit more confused than before, but didn't want to say anything.
"Well...shall be begin?" Jason puts a hand on his sword and slow draws it.
"But..."
"You have to believe..." Jason said as he drew the rest of the sword and points it down, "Now draw."
Hitomi does so, but with some nervousness. This will be her first time fighting with her sword, and she was a bit scared. After she drew the blade she was sort of breathing heavily, but she closes her eyes and remembers the advices Jason gave her and what Shinji said to her.
"Just believe in it..."She said to herself, "Call upon your heritage and it'll all come to you..."
For a moment that felt like eternetity. Time stops around her as she tries to find that thing which she was looking from deep in her heart and soul. She awakens it and opens her eyes. Her heavy breathing pattern slowed to a relaxed pace and she stared back at Jason with determined eyes.
"Now...attack me." Jason said, but he made not movement to go into a stance himself.
Hitomi readies herself, turing to her right side and then bends her right knee back and stretched her left knee as well for a charge. Then pulls her sword back and had her left hand lead off the sword. The moment was tense and neither made a move for a few lond seconds and then Hitomi screamed her first battlecry and thrust forward in a speed that only a runner like herself can do, but the force of the thrust propelled her into the air and bit and she came down on Jason and stabs.
Jason dodges the attack by sliding his entire body to his right the moment Hitomi came down. Since she missed, he attack stabs through the wooden ground of the dojo. She reacted quickly as Jason retaliates from the attack by slashing down on her, but she brought her sword back up and blocks. Then, the two both jumps back. Jason takes his sword with two hands and holds naturally in a formless stance. Hitomi takes up her sword with both hands, right on the hilt and left on the blade. She held her sword to her left side, pointing up.
Then, Jason sheaths his sword and gets in what is called a Battou-justsu stance. His right hand at the ready to draw his sword, and his knees bent for a forward charge when he draws is. Hitomi was about to attack, but then right when she blinked, Jason appeared to have disappeared and reappears behind her in an instant, which was just her mind playing tricks on her for not being able to keep up with the speed of Jason that was almost god-like. She turned around to defend against an attack and the two crossed blades.
Unknown to the two of them, Allen had been watching from the outside the whole time.
"Don't know how to use sword, eh." he said repeating the words Hitomi said to him.
Jason and Hitomi seperates again and Jason attacks again, spinning counter-clockwise to his left and slashes diagonally and then again in a tornado-like attack two times, and pulls back at Hitomi counters and fights back. She attacks with a slash straight down from above, but Jason blocks the attack, using his left hand to support his sword from the weigh of Hitomi's attack and then parries her sword to his left and then jumps up quickly and it seemed that he curled into a ball as he jumped into the air just right above her and summersaults forward, bring his sword around from behind him like a buzz-saw would and came down upon her, but was blocked. For a moment, it seemed that he was in the air for two long as he and he crossed blades and she turns around quickly, with Jason still coming down on her and pushes him off. He flips and lands a few feet in front of her. He held his sword again with both hands in a formless stance at the ready and so does she in the same manner.
Hitomi sort of smiled at the "fun" she's having with this as a sweat falls from her forehead. She approaches Jason, bring her sword up over her head for another attack and then brings it down but was blocked again and then Jason rolls behind her. He then sheathes his sword for another Battou-justsu, but Hitomi felt something different in this one and responded by holding her sword in an odd stance if it was with her left hand around the crossguard of the sword. She was doing all this by memory and didn't even knew what she was trying to attempt.
"This is...this stance is for..." Hitomi said to herself in her head as she tries to remember what kind of stance is the one she was using, and it slowly came to her. "This is called... Watoujutsu...Kofuku Zetousei..."
"She is using that move..." Jason said to himself as he readies to himself, "...in response to my Amakakeru Ryu No Hirameki...if either of us makes one wrong move...it would mean death to either...or both even...She is more skilled that she thinks."
The moment dragged on for too long as either waited for either to make a first move.
Then, all this time, Allen from outside was watching with amazement and then coughs a bit, which signalled both to attack. The two came at each other in the manner of all swordsmanship. Fight as to kill the oppononent, even if practicing. The two attacks were so fast that Allen was not even able to see it almost. The attacks cancelled each other off. Jason was standing on one side one room, sword pointed up from the draw, and back to Hitomi. Hitomi was on the other side, back also facing him. The two stood down and turned to face each other.
"...Good," Jason said, "And that was just your first try. Well done."
Hitomi's eyes then returns to normal and she blushed at the comment,
"It was harder than I thought."
"You'll get used to it." then Jason laughs a bit, "Heh...God, I haven't had that much fun for a long time...I've never thought that you would become a worthy opponent for me."
Jason let what he said sink in his head.
"Hmmmm..." Jason wondered and it sent a tingling feeling down his spine, "Does that mean she can hold her own with Van and even...Allen? We ARE almost a match."
"Is something wrong?" Hitomi asked seeing that his mind is elsewhere,
"What? No."
"I think you are wondering if I can match Van and Allen."
"Well, you know me best."
Hitomi sheaths her sword,
"To be honest...I was a bit terrified that I can do all that. It just came to me so fast. Like...someone else was controlling my body."
"Like I said, you'll get used to it." Jason then changes back to Jayson, "My. My, Hitomi you were absolutely amazing."
"Uh, thank you."
"I wouldn't expect anyone from Jason's family to do less with swords."
"It's really nothing to be mentioned."
"Well aren't you modest. I'll see you later. I've got to go talk to Van." but then, Jayson stops a bit, "Oh, I almost forgot."
Jayson picks up a big wide box that was on ground.
"This is for you. I think you needed a change of clothing since, you've been wearing the same thing since the last time I saw you."
Hitomi opens the box and inside was a blue kimono. It was dark blue, and simple in design. There was also a hair ribbon next to it.
"This is...how did you get something like this here?"
"I've sort of 'borrowed' it from Zelda, when I found it among her wardrobe. I think it suits you. And I think this fits you better when you want to use your sword again. This female kimono was designed for beauty and for function."
"Uh, thanks,"
Jayson leaves the room. Just as Jayson left, Hitomi heard clapping from behind her and turned to see Allen.
"Allen."
"That was most impressive Hitomi. You keep all these secrets from everyone. I wonder what else you are not telling us."
"Well, I..." Hitomi was a bit embarassed, "I didn't know I had it in me."
Hitomi then noticed that Allen was holding something under his arms.
"What's that?"
"Oh this?" Allen takes the book, "It's something I brought for show to Dryden. I think it might help us."
Elsewhere, Dryden and Millerna was in the library.
"The mysterious power of Hitomi, who came from the Mystic Moon... Van, a descendant of the Dragon Clan...Escaflowne...And Zaibach, which is after the power spot... Mysterious incidents that take place one after another...It's so frustrating. Something's coming to my mind."
"Dryden... thank you."
"For what? I don't need your smooth words. It doesn't cost you a bit to bow."
"Your way of saying... I had reconsidered about you, and I was going to apologize for my lack of manners."
Dryden laughs a bit,
"That's it. Thats more like you. My mind's full of dirty thoughts. I'll do anything to get your attention."
"But... I..."
"Allen? I don't care. I get everything I want. Well, it's alright. Instead...I want you to do me a favor."
The two went to see Allen, who hands over the book that he was carrying.
"It's my father's final log, from his study."
"Oh, this is it!" Dryden said
"Is that really useful?" Milerna ask
"Sure it is. This might solve all the mysteries surrounding you."
"Mysteries...?"
"It's Atlantis."
"Atlantis...?"
"My father often told me your father was after the secret treasure of Atlantis. Let me borrow this for a while."
Dryden then leaves.
Meanwhile, Hitomi was leaning on a windowsill, with a sort of depressed look on her. She remembered that one line she said to Allen. "I like you". And it made her wonder about it. She had put on the kimono that Jason gave her earlier. It really did fit her perfectly. She felt more blend into her culture back on Earth when she put it on.
"Geez, why did I say that? I'm like a fickle girl." She then picks up her sword again, "Now why can't I keep my hands off of this. I've only gotten this sword for barely a day and now I feel like it's been my best friend for like...forever."
"-That's a really nice sword you got there, Hitomi," Milerna's voice said from behind Hitomi.
Hitomi turns and blushed in embarrassment.
"I never knew you were such a swordsman, heh, or rather a swords'woman'. From what Allen had told me from what he saw, you are truly a wonder. We've known you long enough, but you've seem to have more surprises waiting to show us."
"Oh this?" Hitomi shows her sword to Milerna, who takes it to have a look at the blade and unsheathes it, "It's just a family heirlome."
"Well, you've cretainly know how to use it." Milerna then puts the blade away and gives it back, "Hitomi..."
"Yeah?"
"I want your opinion about my friend."
"Sure. What is it?"
"She...sort of has a boyfriend, but he's a bit of playboy, and she found out that he has a secret child."
"That's not right." Hitomi showed a face of disgust.
"Listen, I'm not finished."
"Ok,"
"But another guy, who seems to be rich and kind...came to her and said that he loved her...." Milerna sort of fades a bit after that,
"And...what?"
"What do you think she should do?"
Hitmoi sort of smiles a bit...since it was too obvious that Milerna was talking about herself. Hitomi had had these kinds of conversations before with her older friends back on Earth...and a bit from the "Memories" of her ansestors from her sword. The wisdom from it made it more obvious that it would normally. But Hitomi sort of played along being the friend, but sort of made a little joke of it.
"Well...What she should... If I found out I was hanging around with him when he'd had a child, I'd never talk to him."
"Why not?"
"Men like those in my world are looked down upon my the morally right. He sounds like he approaches any woman,"
"But he's actually a wonderful person."
"And the other guy isn't?" Hitomi was doing this on purpose to make Milerna think.
"Looks are ok..."
"And he has love and a financial background, doesn't he? Then, he's the right one. My world seemed to accept those with financial background more, but it's the same difference."
"It sounds so calculating."
"What about going steady with both, like him?"
"How immoral!" Hitomi smiled at the thought of that.
"What about giving up on both..." Then Hitomi jumps from where she was sitting and sort of dance like a ballerina with the back of her right hand over her forehead and does a sort of a dramatic scene, " ...and becoming a tragic heroine?"
"No way! You talk as if you don't care about me-I mean my friend! What about the feelings she has?"
"That's the point after all. In any case, it's natural to follow one's own feelings."
"Own feelings..."
"Should I read their fortunes? To find which one is most suitable for her. I'm usually right, if it's about someone else."
"Are you stupid?!" Merle was listening the whole time and jumps out to intervene, "What's with that fortune telling bit? Before you read someone else's fortune, why don't you make up your own mind?"
"My mind?!" Hitomi was confused a bit,
"Which one do you love, Lord Van or Allen?"
Milerna looked pretty shock from the question but Hitomi never looked more indecisive in her life.
"Which one!?"
"I...I dont know...What kind of a question is that?!" Hitomi then looks a bit upset, "You just jump right out and ask me that."
Another one's source of the short temper she was having was coming from the sword and the memories of the souls inside her. She was starting to have a problem controlling it.
"Who are you to ask me that?! It is my own problem. I don't need you to bring it out!"
"Just make up your mind!" Merle shouted as she bends down.
Merle jumps up to sort of do another mock attack on Hitomi, claws out, but Hitomi saw that coming 10x's faster than Milerna and right when Merle jumps up a bit, she was unable to do that actual pounce at Hitomi, because Hitomi drew her sword and points it to Merle's neck. Merle was stopped dead in her tracks. And for the first time, Merle had a look of fear for her life from Hitomi. Hitomi's eyes were a dark crimson that was almost not human.
Hitomi finally snaps out of what seemed to be a trance and her eyes returned to normal. She withdrew her sword and realized what she was doing. She was panting.
"Uh...I..." Hitomi puts her sword down and was still in shock at what she did. "I'm..."
Then, Hitomi turns and runs out of the room. When she thought she was done, she stopped and leans on a wall around the corner. She breathes heavily from the running and still from the shock of pointing her sword at Merle...with that look on her face. She saw it reflected off of Merle's eyes and saw someone that was not her...but more like someone that was apart of her.
Hitomi takes her sword, which was still out and looks at the blade and sees the red eyes on her face. She blinked a few times, and the eyes were blue again.
"What...what just happened?" She asked herself.
And from the shadows, where Hitomi was not able to notice for the moment in the state she was in, Jayson was watching.
"She's starting to have trouble adjusting to her heirtage, already," Jason said to Jayson,
"She'll manage," Jayson said to Jason. "She's a strong girl. I know she is."
"No...you don't...I do...You just know what I know. But that knowledge doesn't belong to you."
"Whatever...Should we help her?"
"No...she must live with it. In time, she will able to control the gift she has."
"And if not?"
"Then...she is doomed..."
Elsewhere, two cat-like women sat atop their Guymelefs, looking over Dryden's ship as it passes by. They looked like Merle, but a lot older. One was a "golden" color, and the other was a "silver" color.
"Eriya, that's the one, isn't it?" the golden one said
"How fortunate to find it in a place like this, isn't it Naria?" Eriya said
"He said that was our kind of luck." Naria said
"Let's give them a greeting, and make it a gift for Lord Folken."
"Great idea!"
The two jumped into their Guymelefs, and then jumps off the cliff they were on and down onto Dryden's ship. The two Guymelefs made a big impact when they landed on the moving ship.
"I hope they don't bored us with their petty resistence." Naria said,
"I hope so...cause I'm just itching for a fight!"
Inside theship, Reeeden runs to tell Allen.
"Hey boss, it's Zaibach! Zaibach's Guymelefs are..." but Gadess interrupts
"What?"
"They're after Van," Jayson said as he turns and runs toward the hanger.
In the hanger, Van was getting on Escaflowne.
"Lord Van!" Merle shouted
"Van!" Hitomi shouted with, "You haven't fully recovered yet! Oh no, what should I do?"
Jayson enters the hanger and tries to get on Excalibur, but a sharp pain came from his shoulder. There was an old wound on it, that wasn't fully healed.
"Damn it." Jayson grabs it, "I must of strained it when I practiced with Hitomi."
Jayson lost his balance and leaned on his melef for support. Hitomi runs to him.
"Jason!"
"I'm alright...heh, next time I spar with you, I'll have to look out for myself more...Shit, I can't help Van with this kind of wound on me."
"Oh, no. You can't help Van! What can we do?" Jason looks back at Hitomi and smiles a bit, "What?"
Escaflowne was already outside, battle ready. Van lands in humanoid mode and takes out his sword.
"I won't lose like last time," Van said to himself.
Van attacks, but was blocked by the speed of the Tearing model's agility. He was knocked back and fell a bit, before regaining his balance. As Van got his balance back up, Naria jumps at him and scratches his face, causing Van himself to bleed in the face. Then, Eriya knocks him to the ground. Van swings his sword at her, but she grabs his arms to stop him. It was then, when Van saw through the Melef and sees the pilot behind it.
"A Woman? No...she's different!"
"The Torso is opened!" Eruya shouted and punches Escaflowne's stomach, and hence punching Van in the gut.
Van knocks her over and holds it's sword to her head, but Naria attacks him from behind. Van starts shaking again and thinks about the Dragonslayer's deaths again.
"No...no, not now!" Van was losing it again.
"What's wrong with him? Eriya asked
"He seems to be scared. Dilandau was defeated by a guy like him?"
"No wonder Lord Folken's worried. Let's finish it."
But, when Naria was about to attack, Excalibur come from behind her and she was knocked away. Excalibur was a bit off balanced itself, which was a bit unusual for it. Jayson was always a smooth pilot.
It was revealed that Hitomi was the pilot.
"Geezzz," Hitomi said to herself, "I got to be more serious to him next time. No means no! Dear God, how did I end up doing this? First I know how to use a sword really well, and now I'm a Guymelef pilot?"
Hitomi gets her bearing back and charges at Eryia and cuts through her claws.
"You're hit was a bit imbalanced," Jayson's voice said to Hitomi's head,
"I know! I know!" Hitomi was trying to concentrate, "Just let me do this by myself!"
She attacks again and pushes the two cat girls back away from Van all the to the otherside of the ship.
"Great, now this is getting anoying!" Naria said
"Come on, we can take him!" Eriya said, thinking it was Jayson that was the pilot.
Then all of a sudden, Merle runs in front of Escaflowne. Naria and Eriya look in shock. They flash back to when they were children. One of them protected the other from a crowd.
"I won't let you..." Merle said, "I won't let you kill Lord Van!"
"Merle?!" Van said as he snaps out of it,
"Merle?" Hitomi said
"Ah, great. She's ruining the mood!" Eriya said
"She is, but she is one of us...that's enough for today!"
The two then took off into the distant. Merle was a bit shocked at what she just did and fell to her knees. Van jumps out of his melef.
"Merle!" Van shouted
"Oh, Lord Van...Lord Van, I'm glad. I'm so glad you're safe... Lord Van!" Merle hugs him.
"Merle..." Van then looked up t see Excalibur bends down to one knee as the cockpit opens up, "Jayson?"
Van WAS expecting Jayson to come out, but he was shocked to see Hitomi.
"Hitomi? Hitomi walks up to him, "You saved me yet again, Hitomi"
"You seemed have the habit of getting yourself into situations where you need saving." Hitomi smiled.
It was then, when Van noticed the new look Hitomi was showing him. Parts of her blue kimono sway with the wind and she was holding her sword with her left hand. For the first time, again, she looked beautiful to him, but in a sense the strange aura of mystery still shrouds around her when he looked down to see that she was holding a sword.
Hitomi took noticed and takes up her sword,
"Oh this? This was a gift from Jason."
"I see. It suits you well."
Later on, everyone was gathered at Dryden's study. Dryden was still reading the book Allen gave him and then laughs.
"Ah! There it is! I found it. I found it! As I thought, all the mysteries lie in the Mystic Valley"
"Mystic Valley?" Hitomi asked
"It's the legendary place of the Dragon Clan, Draconians."
Elsewhere on the Vione, Naria and Eriya was with Folken.
"Did it go well?" Folken asked the two.
"Yes. All training was completed smoothly." Naria responded
"I see." Folken sort of smiled, "Good girls."
"Who are those sorcerors who came with us?" Eriya asked
"They came here to take Dilandau with them. I don't know the details. I'm hated by the sorcerors."
"They must be envious of you, Lord Folken." Eriya said
"We hate sorcerors, too." Naria said
"No, you shouldn't say such things about the sorcerors. Originally, I was a sorceror."
Upon hearing this, the cat girls lean on Folkens lap, to say sorry.
"We're sorry" Naria said
"Lord Folken, we've missed you." Eriya said
"You're our mental nourishment."
"I apologize to both of you." Folken holds then closer to him, "Lend me your strength."
"We know. Our bodies..."
"...and our hearts, are yours, Lord Folken."
Back at Dryden's ship,
"That was a pain." Dryden said, "It took me a while to figure out that it's written in characters of the Mystic Moon."
"Of Earth?" Hitomi said to herself, then Jayson intrudes
"It's latin." Jason said, "I've studied it before, in my times at Hyrule. It is a very old languge that is not even used anymore on the Mystic Moon."
"Oh, I see." Dryden said, "Well, that settles it. We're going to the Mystic Valley."
"Young Lord, restrain yourself." the small assistent said, "You've caught Zaibach's attention. Nothing good will happen."
"You can go home. I've decided to go to the Mystic Valley. Go back to Palas with the ship."
"No way. We lost our cargo, and you're not going back! How do I explain this to the Lord?"
"I'll write to him. He won't mind if I say I'm here with Princess Millerna."
Upon hearing her name, Milerna moved in to say something, but couldn't get it out right.
"Dryden, I..."
"You'll go, because Allen's going."
"Why do I have to go?" Allen asked, now being a bit stubborn.
"You have to, right? Because your father gave up his house, family and properties...to find the Mystic Valley. It's well known in Asturia. Even I knew it."
Allen seems quite pissed off.
"Allen's father..." Hitomi said to herself.
"I'll go, too" Van said, "The Mystic Valley is the homeland of the Dragon Clan. I want to see the origin of the blood circulating in my body...and the secret between that land and Escaflowne"
"Man, is it just coincidence that brings all those related to the Mystic Valley here?"
Later, everyone got on the Crusade and took off. The Crusade was then trailed by two Hyrulean warships that came from the clouds.
"The Enterprise and the Hyperion will be accompany us to the Mystic Valley." Jayson said, "In case Zaibach will follow us to there."
Dryden was reading from the diary.
"In the year when the crystal is in the northeast. On the 12th of Green. I'm heading for Asguld Continent, the dark land no one has ever entered. Yes, I'm sure the Mystic Valley is there. If I get there, I should find the power that creates miracles... ...that I've searched for a long time. Yes, it's the power of Atlantis."
It was a stormy night long ago. A ship is in a storm and is in bad condition.
"No, the rudder isn't working!" a crewmen of the ship said, "It was impossible from the start, in a storm like this!"
"Captain, it's bad! The Energist won't cool down!"
"Damn, it's the curse of the Dragon Clan! Humans shouldn't have entered this sector! Guys, let's turn the ship around!"
But Allen's father grabs the captain and points a knife a this throat.
"That's not what you promised. Keep going. I paid the amount you wanted."
"You fool! The ship won't hold together at this rate! You know that, don't you?!"
"You sold your life to me."
Lightning strikes the ship, causing it to crash into the ocean. Leon is seen leaning on a piece of driftwood in the water.
"I wonder how many days have passed. I recalled that girl's voice...and her appearance, in my dizziness, and...Asguld Continent appeared before me. God has guided me. This is my fate."
Allen hears this from Dryden and was mad again.
"Fate?!"
Back in the flashback, upon reaching land, Leon starts walking. "A play of fate brought that meeting in my youth...and sudden separation. I have to ascertain my feelings for her etched deep in my mind. The Mystic Valley has everything...everything I want."
Allen was having a problem swallowing this in.
"Ridiculous! Was it only to find a girl, that he abandoned his house and family? How pathetic."
"An interesting father, isn't he?" Dryden said
"What?"
"It sounds much better than mine, whose only concern is money. I like his way of life."
Meanwhile, back on Earth at Hitomi's home. Amano, Yukari, and Hitomi's mother, sat down together.
"Have you found any clues yet?" Amano asked
"No. Sorry. It wasn't your fault, so don't worry."
"I still dream of Hitomi running towards me," Yukari said "...while I wait at the station as usual...and she says, "Hello," but I always wake up at that moment..."
Yukari starts crying. Amano puts his hand on her shoulder.
"I dream of Hitomi too." Hitomi's mother managed a smile "She should be fine. There must be many hardships for her, but I'm sure she will be fine...Jason is with her. And the protection of her family is with her..."
Back on Giaea in the Crusade.
"I can't see anything." Reeden said "It's just ocean as far as the eye can see. Sarge."
"Keep going straight. Dryden said it's in this direction."
"Can we trust him?"
"The Boss said okay, so we have no choice."
On the Enterprise, Jayson and his team were readying themselves for anything. In the armory, Jayson's friends were arming themselves for any battles that will take place. They were not taking any chances. They grabbed their swords and then firearms, like rifles and handguns. Each of them put on armor of their own.
Jayson walks in the room and the dozen soldiers, plus his own buddies, stood up at attention to greet him and then back to their preparations. Jayson walks to Kyle, his first officer on the ship.
"How are things going?"
"We're almost ready." Kyle said, "If Zaibach even tries to come to us, we'll be ready for them."
"I hope so. Because we were completely surprised when those Tearings came out of nowhere. We're either not as sharp as we always were or Zaibach has some more tricks to show us."
"We have 30 Guymelefs all together with Hyperion's melefs. Then, there's Escaflowne and Allen's melef is almost done being repaired."
"Good." Jayson looks out the window, seeing a storm going. "We should prepare for the approaching weather. It's not combat time yet."
Jayson leaves the room and later appears on the bridge.
"All hands secure your stations." Jayson announced throughout the ship, "We'll be approaching some bad weather up ahead. Be prepare for anything."
Back at the Crusade, Dryden continues to read.
" 'On the 16th of Blue, a blizzard and a rocky stretch blocked my way... ...as if it were testing the one seeking trught. But in that place...' "
In a flashback, Leon reaches a cave when he was wandering in the snow.
" '...I met an old man. There is another who believes in the existence of the Mystic Valley and is searching for it. When I asked his name, he said, Issac. I never got his last name though.' "
Issac was a really old looking man, He had somekind of machinery strapped to his back, like a life support system.
Back on Earth, Hitomi's mother brings out a photo album.
"I've never told this to anyone...but I'd better tell you. My mother told this to me once. It was when I was Hitomi's age. On the way home from a summer festival, she was surrounded by a light. When she woke up, she was in a place she'd never seen before."
Amono and Yukari were shocked from what she just said.
Back to the flashback of Leon's story.
"Issac's story was very interesting. He was looking for the Mystic Valley to solve the mystery of Atlantis. Surprisingly, he said he came from the Mystic Moon, just like that girl."
Hitomi hears this and was surprised.
"From my world?"
"Yeah, like you!" Dryden said
Back on Earth, Hitomi's mother shows the two a picture of Hitomi's grandmother when she was about Hitomi's age. Hitomi's grandmother looked almost exactly like her, but her hair was long and dark black. She was wearing a kimono that looks like the one Hitomi is wearing now. Another picture of her, she was dressed in a sort of martial arts uniform and was holding the same sword that Hitomi has now.
But for the moment, Amono and Yukari were shocked.
"That's..." Amono said
"She looks like Hitomi!"
"This is my mother," Hitomi's mom said
Back on Gaiea, Hitomi finds herself traveling back in time, to the moment when Leon first saw the girl from the Mystic Moon.
"That's Allen's father." Hitomi said and then sees a pillar of light before her. A figure appears within the figure. She was Hitomi's grandmother, "She is!-It can't be."
Leon reaches the top of the cliff. He walks up to the girl and kneels before her, holding up her hand as the sun sets. Later, Leon made a fire and he listened to her story of where she came from.
"I can't believe that you're an inhabitant of the Mystic Moon. I started this journey to get rid of my fetters. But that sounds meaningless when I look in your eyes. Will you forgive me?"
But suddenly, the pillar of light appears again, returning her to the Mystic Moon. Leon reaches out for her, but its too late.
Then, Hitomi thinks of her grandmother and remembers the last time she saw her. She had never really seen her grandmother at her age, but when she saw her, other memories intrude.
"Grandma?"
Meanwhile in Zaibach, a sorceror sees General Adelphos.
"General Adelphos, I've come to request permission for Dilandau to return home"
"A sorceror wants permission...? Although he's under my command now, you sorcerors are the ones who sent him to me. Let me hear the reason."
"He's sick. Chief of Staff Folken informed me."
"How unusual for that devil to become sick."
"We'll return him to you once he's recovered."
Dilandou was carried off in a ship and they fly to Zaibach
Back at the Vione, Folken talks to Dornkirk.
"Asguld...? They must be heading for the Mystic Valley." Dornkirk said
"The legendary Mystic Valley...?"
"Right. It's the homeland of the Dragon Clan, the Atlanteans. They must've figured it out."
Leon's story continues.
" 'On the 3rd of White, Isaac and I reached a field of heavy fog. The Mystic Valley must be beyond this. However, Isaac disappeared before I knew it. We were seperated by this thick fog...? Could that mean... No, I should concentrate on reaching the Mystic Valley. If I get there, the mysteries of Atlantis will be solved. Then, I should be able to see that girl again. If I could see her, I could-' "
But Allen was still in rage over this.
"I can't take this." Allen walks out.
"Are you running away?" Dryden asked "Trivial things like this can disturb a Knight of Heaven. How interesting."
"I don't think I'm going to like you."
"That's fine. I don't either."
"Dryden, that was rude." Hitomi said, as she walks out to follow Allen.
"Great, another girl's gonna hate me." Dryden said as he looks back to the book, and found ot he lost his spot.
Hitomi finds Allen in a corner, looking upset.
"Allen."
Allen turns to greet her.
"Hitomi?"
"Yeah,"
"How embarrassing it was for me..."
"No, it wasn't. I..."
"There's no way I can forgive my father...a man who abandoned his family."
"That's not true. You kept your father's diary. You could have thrown it away, but you didn't. I think it's because, somewhere in your mind, you want to know about your father. You're a kind person. You can't hate someone so much. If your heart truly despaired, I...no one would like you. You want to forgive your father don't you?"
"I might have been afraid...to know the reason he abandoned me. Maybe I can't accept it in my heart."
"Allen..."
"I wonder if you could forgive me."
Back to Dryden. Van was on the bridge with him.
"Once we pass this, we'll be very close." Dryden said.
"I'll look around. You stay here, Merle." Van walks out of the room.
Van walks out into the hall. Meanwhile, Allen steps up close to Hitomi. The ship suddenly shakes while passing some flying rocks. Hitomi falls into Allen's arms.
"God, even the floating rocks are flying around!" Gadess said "Reeden, keep watching ahead! If we crash into one, it's all over!"
"Right,"
At Enterprise.
"Watch out!" Jayson shouted, "The ion storm is causing the wild leva stones to go nuts."
"Damn it!" Marcus said as he banks the ship left to avoid another stone.
"If we can't go around it, we might have to blow them into pieces to get across!"
Back on the Crusade, Van walks in, and is shocked at what he sees. Dryden comes in shortly after.
"There you are. We're almost there. Let's go to the bridge."
The three ships cleared the storm.
"Clearing sky..." Dryden said, "The Mystic Valley's ahead of us..."
They arrive at a snowy area, devoid of any landmarks. It was a barren land. The landscape confused everyone. They were expecting something different, like a lost city or something besides this nothingness.
"Is this the Mystic Valley?" Hitomi asked
"There's nothing here." Van said, stating the obvious
"This isn't right," Dryden said, "I'm sure of...wait, what's this?"
"What is it?" Allen asked
"A page has been torn out."
Then, Paile was looking through the parascope and saw-
"Sarge, here comes a Zaibach floating fortress!"
"What?!"
On the Enterprise.
"They're here." Jayson said, "Battle stations. Tell the Hyperion to get ready too."
Over at the Fortress.
"Asturian ship spotted!" a Zaibach lookout said, "It's being escorted by two Hyrulean warship!"
"Naria, Eriya, can you hear me?" Folken said
"Yes, Lord Folken. ready anytime." Naria said
"We'll bring your brother back." Eriya said
"I'm counting on you."
"Let's do it." Naria said
"I know, Sis." Eriya said
The two Teraings flew out of the fortress and toward the three ships ahead, followed by several dozen Alseidies.
"Their coming!" Allen shouted
"Are they going to force us to the ground?" Gadess said, "Paile, how's Scherazade?"
"No! We haven't even finished half of it!"
As the other Zaibach units grew closer, one of them were shot. From the Excalibur, Jayson was holding a guymelef size rifle and then jumps off the ship to do battle. He was followed by his team.
"Tracking about 38 units up ahead!" one of the soldiers back in the ship said
"All units engage!" Jayson shouted as he drew his sword
Back on the Crusade, Hitomi remembers what he grandmother said to her back then.
"Hitomi...Your wish will come true, if you wish strongly. Hitomi, keep this."
"Grandma, let us see the Mystic Valley. Show it to everyone. Please, Grandma."
"After coming this far..." Dryden said "I want to see the Mystic Valley."
"Mother, what do you expect me to do...?" Van said
"I can't die here." Allen said to himself, "I'll settle the matter with you in the Mystic Valley."
Naria and Eriya broke through Jayson's line and decends on the Crusade.
Back on the Vione,
"Van, what do you want to see in the Mystic Valley?" Folken asks.
Then, Escaflowne's energist glows, enveloping the small fleet of ships whole in a pillar of light. Naria and Eriya's Guymelefs are knocked away, as well as their forces. A portal appears above the ship and draws them in.
"Impossible. The gate to Atlantis has opened." Folken said
Jayson looks up and sees the opening.
"All units, return to the ships. The gate's been open!" His group flew back to their respective carriers. The opening was sucking everything else inside, "This is going to be one ride."
All three ships and the Guymelefs outside disappeared into the portal.
To be continued...