OoOoOoOo The Vision of Escaflowne: AU oOoOoOoO
Vision XXVIIII: The Mystic Valley Part III
"Shit, I hate cold weather."
Gatti muttered to himself as he put a hand on the window of the Crusade, looking at the cloud skies dully. He closed his eyes, inhaling and exhaling deeply, trying to catch his breath. He coughed again, covering his mouth. He stopped, opening his eyes again.
Damn cold weather…makes the asthma worse…
O o O o O
"Allen?"
Hitomi slid the door open to one of the Crusade's far components. She peeked her head inside. Allen had already poured himself a drink, and he sat at a table, his back towards the door.
"Allen, can I come in?"
"Sure, sure," he said quickly, "I'm sorry."
Hitomi came in, and pulled up a chair and sat next to him.
"I'm sorry you had to see that, Hitomi," he said, having a sip of his wine. Hitomi shook her head.
"It's alright. Listen. Do you have something to tell me?"
There was a long pause in between the two of them. Hitomi implied for Allen to take his time to try and tell her what it was that was bothering him. He put his cup of wine down after taking a rather large sip. He looked straight forward, and then took a couple of breaths. Hitomi sat intently, ready when he was.
"Hitomi?"
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry about acting strangely around you. I know it was rude of me, but…I've been…dealing with some rather…dark things with my past."
"Dark things?"
He took another sip of his wine and looked forward again.
"My father was Leon Schezar. He was an explorer."
"I see," Hitomi said, remembering the tarot reading she had given him so long ago. His father, flying in the face of common sense. Was he going after something so far-fetched that it made Allen angry?
Hitomi took out her tarot cards and began to lay them out on the table, tracing her finger over which one to pick up first.
"It started with a fight," he began painfully, "my mother and father were fighting one day. I was ten. My mother started crying. All I can remember was the door slamming behind my father. I never saw him again."
Hitomi flipped the card over.
Conflict.
"Any records of his final days are in that journal. As I read the pages, I'm constantly reminded of the issues in my life. Chid. Marlene. Millerna. I can't seem to overcome them. He writes about this girl."
The card above it was flipped.
Past.
"There's a girl that he met. And…he says she came from a pillar of light. This blue column of light."
Hitomi stopped short.
"Blue column of light?"
"Yes. Is something the matter?"
"Allen, I came to Gaia in a blue light."
Allen furrowed his eyebrows. Hitomi starred at him.
"Who was this girl?"
"I don't remember her name. I'm sorry."
Hitomi looked slightly discouraged, but continued anyway. Allen cleared his throat. Hitomi flipped over another card as Allen began to talk again.
"He left home to find the Mystic Valley. The records of the Mystic Valley are in that journal."
"That explains why Dryden was so frantic about it, right? He knew about your father."
"Exactly."
"Go on."
"He was in the general area of the Mystic Valley – which he described to be covered in snow with snowy mountains – and he was searching for any links to the goddess and what not. I think truly believed that this girl that came from the blue light was the girl from the Mystic Moon."
The more Hitomi listened, them more her heart yearned to find out who she was.
"He said he…he said he fell in love with her, which meant…"
"…that he was having an affair with your mother."
Allen sighed painfully.
"You know, it wasn't like my mother was a whore, or anything, god she was a good woman," his voice cracked, "She was a good woman…"
Allen paused.
"You know, it was right when my sister disappeared. She needed him, and he left her."
Judgement.
"He was a…bastard," he said painfully, taking another sip of his wine, "A bastard…"
A slight pause.
"I'm very sorry, Hitomi."
"No, it's okay. Keep going."
"He was writing about how he met up with this man. His name was Isaac. They went exploring together. They shared their discoveries. Apparently, they were both interested in the findings of the goddess and the legends of the Mystic Valley."
He stopped. Hitomi looked up. Allen's face was neutral.
"I don't know if this applies to you, so please, don't be scared when I tell you this."
Hitomi froze.
"On their journey, they found a pendant and a staff. The drawings in his notebook are almost identical to your—"
"Allen, this isn't funny," Hitomi said, a shaky voice within her, "What are you saying? That staff was in my grandmother's basement—"
"Hitomi, calm yourself, please—"
"How could it have been on Gaea and ended up in my grandmother's basement!"
"Hitomi, please," Allen raised his hands, "I'm very sorry if I upset you. I didn't mean to. When I saw you for the first time with that staff, I knew, instantly, that…you had to be the one."
Hitomi covered her mouth and her pendant.
"Along the way, my father and Isaac were split up. That's when my father met her."
Who is Isaac? Who is this girl?
"My father…saw her again. After she had gone away in the blue light and come back. And he gave her the staff…and then pendant. He told her to never forget him. And she was taken away by the blue light again. My father never saw her again."
He stopped. Hitomi felt a tear roll down her cheek.
"It can't be, Allen…" she hiccupped, "it just can't be…"
Hitomi collapsed into his chest, Allen holding her tightly.
"I'm sorry. I knew I should've told you sooner. But I wasn't sure. I'm sorry."
Hitomi lifted herself up, and wiped away the wet spots on his uniform.
"I'm sorry," she laughed a bit, "I'm sorry, I got your uniform all wet."
"It's nothing," Allen smiled, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry about it. I can see that this is hurting you more then it hurts me. You have to promise me, though," Allen finished. Hitomi looked at him.
"That when I read that girl's name, you will remain calm, no matter what the circumstances."
Hitomi felt her stomach drop. She lifted herself up, along with Allen, and followed him down the corridors of the Crusade, where Dryden's laughing became apparent to them both. Hitomi felt herself stop in the threshold on the bridge. Millerna looked down at Hitomi.
"Are you alright?" she asked, suddenly.
"Mr. Dryden?" Hitomi asked, "We need to see that book."
Dryden blinked a few times, looking at her semi-tear stained face. He handed it over rather gracefully, Hitomi taking it gratefully and giving a small smile. She flipped through the pages, Allen helping her along.
"Hitomi?" Millerna started.
"The girls name was…Mia Kanzaki," Hitomi felt a wave of tears build up inside of her. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't hold it in. Hitomi burst into tears, collapsing onto the floor.
Millerna blinked.
"Mia Kanzaki?" Millerna asked, "Hitomi, isn't your last name Kanzaki?"
"Mia Kanzaki was my GRANDMA!"
Hitomi burst into tears. She keeled over and laid on the ground of the bridge, Allen starring in pure horror. Millerna and Dryden looked strangely at her. Hitomi held the book close to her heart.
"Mia Kanzaki was my grandma…" she said over and over, "Mia Kanzaki was my grandma…grandma…"
The moment couldn't have been more awkward. Millerna knelt by her side, gently prying the notebook away from her hands and sitting next to her, looking at some of the pages. Allen's father had drawn some pictures of the things that he found. Items, books, treasures. Hitomi's staff.
Millerna covered her mouth.
"Oh my god…Oh my god…" she breathed, "Hitomi…oh my god…"
Hitomi laid on the floor, not really caring where she was at the moment. The ground wasn't comfortable, but to her, the ground was everything. In the same moment, she had everything, but nothing.
"Leon gave both the pendant and the staff to Hitomi's grandmother," Dryden concluded.
"And that's why it was in my grandmother's basement. It wasn't an accident."
It was fate.
"Who said that?"
"Said what, Hitomi?"
Hitomi looked upward. That voice, the one that told her to resist, was calling her again.
Isaac planned this.
"He…what?"
"Hitomi? Are you alright?"
Isaac planned this. He is the one behind this.
"WHO THE HELL IS ISAAC?" Hitomi shouted up to the ceiling.
He is the one behind everything.
Hitomi looked upward. Her eyes fell upon Van. Hitomi gasped. Van was there the entire time. He didn't look angry, but only solemn, as he knew what Hitomi was saying. He walked forward, kneeling to the ground.
Hitomi looked forward at him, as he was at eye-level. Van placed a hand on her shoulder. He pulled her close to him, arms embracing her. Hitomi let herself be enveloped, as she was too weak emotionally to say no to a hug. Hitomi lifted her arms around his neck and held him tighter.
Millerna lifted herself up.
The three of them watched silently as Van held Hitomi close to him, Hitomi crying once again. She rested her cheek on his shoulder.
"Please let me stay like this," she whispered faintly, "Just forget we were ever fighting. Just let me stay like this for a few seconds…please…"
"Okay."
A pink glow emitted from her pendant. Van pushed her gently away, noticing the glow.
KA THUMP KA THUMP KA THUMPITY THUMP THUMP
"VAN-SAMA!" Merle bounded down the hallway, exploding through the threshold and pointing upwards at the sky. Van helped Hitomi up and Hitomi walked forward. There was the collective running of the Crusade crew as they ran through the threshold, Gatti in the crowd.
"Do you see it? DO YOU SEE IT?" Gatti shouted excitedly, "IS THAT IT?"
Dryden flipped frantically through Leon's journal. He roared in aggravation. Everyone turned towards him as he did so. There, a frayed edge where a page used to be was lying smack dab where he needed it.
"OH DAMNIT!" Dryden roared, "A PAGE HAS BEEN TORN OUT!"
There was a collective stare.
"We need to land. Right now," Hitomi said abruptly. Allen nodded at Gaddess, who headed towards the steering wheel. Hitomi's pendant grew lighter and lighter as the seconds ticked by.
"OKAY YOU BUMS! LET'S LAND THIS PIECE OF SHIT!"
"AYE!"
A faint smile came to Gatti's lips as he watched Hitomi, curiously looking on to the beam of light. He coughed hard, grabbing the threshold for support as he did so. Millerna looked at him.
"Gatti, are you alright?" she asked. Gatti shook his head, over his coughing fit, and standing on his own.
"Fine," he replied simply.
The Crusade rumbled and hissed as the engine roared. Hitomi's point of view straightforward at the mountains began to decrease as the Crusade lowered in altitude. The Crusade began to lower dramatically, and Hitomi looked downward.
Below them and slightly in front as the Crusade improved her point of view, was what looked like to be a platform. A glass platform, but it the rest was covered in snow. The Crusade landed with an abrupt THUMP, and Hitomi opened her mouth slightly.
What happened next was beyond anyone's control.
Hitomi's pendant glowed brightly, emitting a light that no one could ignore. A tiny beam of pink light shot from her pendant into the sky, clearing the clouds. Her eyes closed and her body arched forward, the beam of light showing them the path, to what seemed like the Mystic Valley.
"What the…?" Gatti spat. Merle watched in awe.
"What's happening?" Millerna asked.
"The goddess is showing us the way to the Mystic Valley," Dryden said solemnly, and then smiled faintly.
"We should follow this light," Hitomi whispered, "We should follow it…"
"………………"
The snow drifted slightly at the impact of the Crusade's landing. The propellers came to a slow and steady stop, the snow slightly rising and falling as it landed gently on the ground. The hatch of the Crusade opened, letting the Crusade crew as well as the others out of the ship, and onto the cold premises of Northern Gaea.
The beam, still shining brightly from Hitomi's chest, shot towards the sky, brighter then ever before. Hitomi stepped forward, her staff in hand. The clouds parted slightly, revealing the blue sky amidst the cloudy former. Merle let out a shiver.
"It's cooold!" she whined, "Buuuuur!"
Millerna held her place, watching Hitomi walk slightly forward. She noticed that Hitomi's boots began to make a clicking sound as they hit the ground, signaling that what she was walking on wasn't snow.
"Allen," Millerna said to the blonde knight, "Is there a platform underneath this now?"
Allen leaned forward slightly at the noise Hitomi's boots made. Gatti came from behind Millerna, wearily catching himself as he almost fell over. Millerna regarding him slightly.
"Gatti, are you sure you're okay? Maybe you should go rest," she suggested quietly. Gatti shook his head.
"Hitomi!" Van called. Hitomi turned back to him, watching him as he approached her. She let out a small smile before he came within two feet of her.
"It's up there. The Mystic Valley is up there," she said.
"Are you going open the gate?"
"Yes."
"Hitomi?"
"Yes?"
"No matter what happens," he paused, "I'll be right here."
"You promise this time?"
"I promise."
Hitomi grinned and nodded.
"I've got to do this for grandma. If the Mia Kanzaki that came here was Mia Kanzaki my grandmother, that I have to do this. I have to know why. Beyond this gate is every single answer we've been looking for, right?"
"Right."
Hitomi nodded again, brushing a strand of hair from her face as she walked placidly forward, her staff skimming the hard platform beneath. Somewhat far away from where the Crusade had landed, everyone watched with an uneasy curiosity. The light from Hitomi's pendant faded finally, but the eriee clearing of the clouds was still there. Hitomi raised her staff in front of her.
Grandma. If you were the girl that came here and retrieved this staff and my pendant, then I have to know. Guardians of the Mystic Valley, please show me the way.
From beneath Hitomi the snow cleared, and as suspected, a platform from underneath the snow became visible to everyone. A clear, pearl, circle platform with a diameter of almost thirty feet became visible, the ancient gold detailing around the edges. There was a collective gasp from everyone. Gaddess looked at Hitomi with utmost curiosity.
"This is unbelievable," he whispered to Tio, who nodded slightly, "I never thought this would ever happen in my lifetime."
Merle blinked at the strange happenings. The snow had completely removed itself in Hitomi's presence. The clearing in the sky became more pronounced as Hitomi held her staff over her head, twirling it gracefully and dipping it to each side. Hitomi danced, unearthly presences dancing alongside her. She twirled, lolled her head and swished her mighty staff.
An insignia glowed beneath Hitomi. The image of the four circles – the symbol of Atlantis beneath her. A star in the middle became a shimmering yellow as four tarot cards, the ones that Hitomi had thought so little of but gave her so much power had appeared at each direction, glowing their respective colors.
The wind, the water, the fire, the earth, all came shooting out from their cards and towards the boundless sky, towards the clearing. Glowing sparkles of light danced happily and bounced about Hitomi's form.
A thin, gold circle formed in the clearing, Hitomi's four mystical cards surrounding the outline and disappearing. The circle became wider, and a strange, blue color had engulfed the inside, the vortex, the crew supposed. On the outside of the gold circle were ancient carvings of angels, designs, and other things of the like. The lights stopped dancing around Hitomi.
She opened her eyes, stopping in the middle of the platform to look upward at the gate that she had opened. A huge smile came across her face. She pointed upward, jumping up and down. Gatti came running up to her.
"LOOK! LOOK THERE IT IS!" she exclaimed happily, "THAT'S THE GATE!"
Dryden was in pure awe of the display that took place before him. The notebook was locked in his hand and he was frozen in time. His jaw had dropped at least 20 feet and his eyes were as wide as dinner plates. His sunglasses almost fell off the tip of his nose. Millerna looked at him strangely.
"Dryden?"
"Tha…that…loo…look…that…tha…." he raised a shaky finger at Hitomi, and at the mysterious gate that had appeared magically before them, "she…she…how…that…she…what…is…going…on?...she…she….she…."
Millerna smiled knowingly, and patted him on the shoulder gingerly. She walked towards Gatti, who was grinning furiously at Hitomi, who could stop smiling. She turned towards Van, who, unbelievably enough was smiling at her.
"This is it! If we can just get up there, we'll finally be able to understand!" Hitomi smiled.
I'll finally know why I came to Gaea…Why I'm the Chikara Tenshino!
Tears of joy started to stream down her face. Hitomi lunged herself onto Van, almost feeling like Merle, but not caring. She jumped up and down in his arms, and Van looked at Hitomi with a mixture of embarrassment and happiness. Gatti turned his back to them and looked at Millerna.
"What comes next, I wonder," she said, a smile tugging at her lips, "Are you ready?"
"I've been ready," he sighed. Something caught his eye. Millerna looked at Gatti strangely.
"Gatti, are you alright?"
Gatti was too busy to answer her question. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he looked at the oncoming, black airships in the sky.
"OH SHIT!" one of the Crusade crew yelled. Allen turned around and looked at the airships coming towards them. Millerna gasped, putting a hand over her mouth.
"MOVE! LET'S MOVE!" Gaddess yelled.
Hitomi turned around from Van's hold and looked at the commotion. Hitomi's expression changed dramatically. What was a happy, excited Hitomi, was now a distressed, surprised, and fearful Hitomi.
"ZAIBACH?" came Hitomi's distressed voice, "How did they get here so fast?"
"They followed that beam of light," Van concluded. He took her wrist.
"We have to move now."
"LET'S GO LET'S GO LET'S GO!" Gaddess shouted. Merle scampered alongside Van, who held Hitomi's wrist and ran alongside her, Gatti not far behind. The floating fortress came roaring above them.
SNAP!
There was snap below it that made them looked upward at what was happening. A few more followed, echoing across the Gaea's northern mountains.
"OH FOR THE LOVE OF—" Gatti began, but didn't finish. He fell over, clutching his chest. Hitomi stopped short, hearing him fall. Van was still latched to her wrist. Hitomi sped over to his side.
"Gatti!" she cried. Gatti began to make agonizing choking noises as the snow began to fall gracefully. He heaved greatly.
"Oh my god, please not now! You picked a really bad time!"
"Hi…tomi…" he breathed, "Get…out…of…here…"
The asthma was hard for him to control, she could tell. Time was ticking. She turned to Van.
"Help me, please," she commanded. Expecting Van to furrow his eyebrows, which he did, and be stubborn, Hitomi prepared for his reaction. He stood, watching her.
"PLEASE VAN," she begged. Gatti coughed violently, hanging onto Hitomi's arm.
"That snap…" he wheezed, "You have to hurry…that snap…"
"What snap? You mean that sound?" Hitomi's heart pounded in her chest as she clutched his arm, "That sound?"
"Y…yes…you have to hurry…that snap….means… the dispatch…. of the guymelef hanger…I know it…very well…" he smiled faintly. Van's face went rigid with agitation.
"You better not be faking this just to hold us back," he snapped, but stopped because Hitomi was giving him a dirty look. Gatti coughed violently again. Hitomi leaned down to hold him, but Gatti held her back.
"I mean it…get…out…of…here…" he wheezed.
"YO!" Tio called, "WE HAVE TO GO!"
Hitomi began to hoist Gatti's right arm around her shoulder. Hitomi glared at Van.
"YOU HELP HIM, NOW!" she screamed. Van sighed heavily and heaved his other arm over his shoulder. Gatti helped somewhat by hoisting himself up. Hitomi and Van began to run full speed at the Crusade. The vione was right above them. Hitomi felt scared. She wanted to run faster but couldn't. It was the worst feeling in the world. They reached the hatch of the Crusade and heaved Gatti on just as they lifted the hatch.
"SOMEONE GO GET MILLERNA!" Hitomi roared. She set Gatti down. Van did the same. Gatti wheezed violently. Just as Hitomi approached the stairs, Millerna was flying down with her blue bag.
"You get to the bridge. They need you there anyway," she smiled, "I've got this one. Gatti's going to be fine. Don't you worry."
Van whizzed passed Millerna and by Hitomi side, guiding her gently up the stairs.
"I don't care what it takes," he whispered in her ear, "We're going to beat them to the gate. We're going to get to the Mystic Valley before they do, you understand?"
Hitomi bit her lip. Together, they raced towards the Crusade's bridge.
"They saw that beam of light…" Van muttered to himself, "They must've followed it. Damn those bastards," he cursed.
The two of them felt the Crusade lift off the ground in a hurry, the engine roaring violently as it did so. She could hear the yelling up front. The two of them bolted through the threshold and stumbled into the Crusade's bridge. Gaddess heaved the steering wheel over to the right and struggled to straighten it back out again. He yelled into what looked like a phone that connected to the boiler room.
"We're gonna need more then THAT!" Gaddess practically spat in the cup like phone.
"WE'RE GIVIN' HER ALL SHE'S GOT!" came the response. Gaddess groaned.
"It's gonna be a rough one, boss," he said to Allen. Allen nodded.
"Brace yourselves," he looked at Van and Hitomi. The Crusade shook violently.
"We've got two guymelefs!" came another yell through the phone. Gaddess roared back as the Crusade shifted in the air, flying forward.
"Just two?"
"That's what it looks like!"
"YOU BUMS CAN'T COUNT WORTH SHIT!" Gaddess roared, "THERE'S GOTTA BE MORE THEN TWO THERE!"
"No, there's definitely, two, boss!" another yelled back after a slight pause.
Hitomi looked on with concern. Van was behind her, eyeing the situation. Gaddess cursed as the Crusade gave another jolt, thrashing everyone around violently. Hitomi grabbed the Crusade's pillar for support, Van guiding her ever so gently.
"Why just two?" Hitomi asked Van.
Rafina marched angrily down the corridors of the Vione. The shouts of the commanders giving the footsoldiers orders had come to an abrupt stop. Rafina was not happy.
She appeared into the Vione's main control area, where a gigantic window spanned over one wall. She marched up the steps to where Folken stood, broading over his role. Rafina stopped short in back of him. Folken turned around.
"Lord Folken, excuse my rudeness, but just what do you think you're doing?" Rafina angrily snapped, "My dragonslayers were supposed to launch an all-offensive. And here you are sending off those cat whores," she finished.
"Nariya and Eriya will prove to be competent," Folken said calmly, "Be patient, Rafina."
Rafina's eye twitched.
"Set the dragonslayers on stand-by. They have to emerge from the gate one way or the other."
Rafina, somewhat content, flipped her pony tail in an upward direction and turned on one heel, stomping down the steps.
Nariya and Eriya. Ill-fated experiments. I thought we learned our lesson in investing in mess-ups with Dilandau.
"Sister," the gold twin hissed, "Do you read me? The Teiring flies beautifully…"
"Relax Eriya," she replied to her twin, "we've only just begun. Lord Folken is placing so much trust in us. We can't let him down."
"After all…he saved our lives."
The engines of the twin Teiring roared and zoomed after the Crusade, which was flying at the most speed it could.
"THEY'RE GAINING ON US!" Gaddess roared in the phone.
"Those aren't ordinary guymelefs," one of them yelled back, "They're too hi-tech to be the standard Zaibach guymelefs…"
Twin…Merle though dejectedly. Hitomi, in the midst of all the chaos, turned her head towards the catgirl, whose head was down and looking sad.
"Merle?" Hitomi said loudly. Merle looked up and smiled. But it wasn't that Merle-smile. There was something under it.
"Are you okay?"
Merle nodded cutely.
"You better hold onto something," Van suggested. Merle nodded again and ran towards the other pillar clutching with all of her might. Hitomi could see a single tear coming from her furry face.
Van held Hitomi tightly to the pillar as the Crusade violently pulsed forward, the propellers spinning almost wildly. The wind made screeching noises as the Crusade cut through the wind, tearing anything from it's path. The twin guymelefs chased after them. A firey blast missed the Crusade by a inch. Gaddess almost had a heartattack.
"HEY!" Gaddess roared angrily again, "COULD WE GET SOME FEEDBACK UP HERE? WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?"
Allen stood by Gaddess, also relating the response.
"They're firing at us, boss!"
"NO SHIT, TIO!" Gaddess roared back.
"We're giving her all she's got!" another shouted, "If we give her anymore, she'll get out of control!"
"THEN IT'S GONNA HAVE TO GO OUT OF CONTROL! NOT LIKE IT MATTERS NOW! WHAT MATTERS IS GETTING TO THAT GODDAMN GATE BEFORE THOSE ZAIBACH BASTARDS DO!"
There was an awkward silence from the other end of the phone. The Crusade let out a violent jerk, making Hitomi clutch Van's waist. The engines let out a roar, and thick steam began to pour from them, signaling the rush towards the gate. Dryden held his chest. He was sure he was going to have a heart attack.
Hitomi shut her eyes, clutching Van's waist even tighter. Van held onto her, while peeking back at Merle to see if she was alright. She was still clutching the pillar like he had ordered to, but she was looked downward, her eyes tightly shut. The Crusade let out another rumble.
The ship drew closer and closer towards the gate. The gold designs riding along the circle became even more clear, the large circle becoming more large. The Crusade headed dead on towards their destination, almost as though the gate would engulf the Crusade any minute now.
Another firey blast. Gaddess turned the wheel violently, dodging the blow yet again. A white light surrounded the Crusade, blinding everyone. Hitomi shrieked as it came through the windows. Suddenly, it was as though the Crusade felt weightless.
"What's going on?" came a voice from the phone. Gaddess grabbed it angrily.
"LIKE HELL I KNOW!" he shouted back. The readings on the Crusade went haywire. The gauges and meters and what not began to flicker and shake, fluctuating rapidly between the opposites.
"WHERE THE HELL DID THE ALTITUDE GO?" Gaddess shouted, "THE RUTTER AIN'T RESPONDING!"
"What going on up there?" came another voice. Gaddess shouted angrily.
"I DON'T KNOW!"
I hope Gatti and Millerna are alright, Hitomi thought regrettably. Van clutched her tightly to himself. Hitomi felt, for a few minutes, safe. Like she wanted to stay here for the rest of her life. The warmth, the meadowy, grassy, outdoor smell that was undeniably Van's filled her senses.
The Crusade began to bounce up and down rapidly, vibrating and shaking in a violent nature, rocking it's passengers around. Hitomi held Van so tightly, that she was sure she was cutting off his circulation.
"EVERYONE HOLD ON TIGHT! IT'S GONNA BE A ROUGH LANDING!"
The Crusade began to make a downward plummet. Everyone braced themselves.
CRASH!
The light was gone. Replaced by a more tender atmosphere. Hitomi had fallen to the ground, on her side. Van sat up against the pillar. Merle was still clutched to the pillar. Dust and smoke filled the bridge. Gaddess was coughing furiously. There was an awkward silence. Gaddess had stopped coughing and everyone was silent, almost as though they were all passed out.
Weakly, Hitomi rose to her feet, limping as she did so. She peeked out the broken windows of the Crusade and mess that it had created, into a single ray of light that peeked in from the darkness. She let out a gasp.
The ruins of a infamous city surrounded the Crusade. The beige and worn cities were covered in ivy and overgrown weeds, and the bricks were warped and cracked. The fountains were broken, and the land was barren.
Hitomi blinked.
Wait a minute…wait a minute!
The Mystic Valley…The Mystic Valley is the ruins of Atlantis!
Hitomi's eyes flashed an eriee silver color again.
I…I…feel strange…
"Hitomi?" Van called to her. Hitomi didn't respond. Hitomi's head lolled to the side as she clutched the broken side of the Crusade. Sprinkles of light danced around her, and Hitomi began to dissolve into thin air.
"HITOMI!"
Van tripped as he got up. Van jumped into what used to be Hitomi. The balls of light jumped in the air at his abrupt movement. Hitomi was gone.
O O O O O O O O O
FMBz notes:
Kay, so, how about that for a fairly quick update, huh? I kind of half-assed it, but you know…it's a bad cliffy, isn't? Oh no! Where did Hitomi go? Stay tuned…the next chapter will explain all.
Inda: Thank you for reviewing! I live, indeed! I'm going to finish this if it's the last thing I do...I can't stop now:3 The big moment may be coming soon...
Jossi-31: Thank you:3
M: Thank you:3
sakura-kaleido: Hahaha, Gatti loves Hitomi, but Van loves her more, and he's a brat when he doesn't get his way...XP
Macky: Thanks for reading!
whitetiger0809: I'm glad you love the fic! Van and Hitomi will clear up some things soon, but it won't be for a while...stay tuned!
one-winged-angel: Aww, thank you so much! I'm really glad you enjoy it! Sadly, you'll feel even more bad for Dalet when you find out about his past...before Azalea...-ahem- moving on, there's still some things that haven't been cleared up between these best friends, regarding the rivalry, Azalea, the angst, the emo-tasticness of Dalet, and much, much more...I'm actually still deciding whether to kill one or keep one alive, or kill both of keep both of them alive. Something has to happen, but since I'm debating on making a sequel to Esca: AU, Dalet may have to stay alive...
Chica De La Luna Fantasma: Van won't severly injure Gatti. :3 ...yet...
FMB
