THE GIRL FROM THE MYSTIC MOON
Was it all just a dream? How did I get to this strange world? Maybe it had something to do with the cards.or maybe my pendant. All I know is one minute I was with my first love Amano and my best friend Yukari and the next minute, I was swept up into the clouds with that strange boy who slew that awful dragon! I found my self on a planet where the Earth and Moon hang in the sky, and where the creatures are too frightening to imagine.
"So you went to the Mystic Moon? And you brought this girl back with you?" one of the wolf-men asked Van. "Yeah, well, she seemed to have followed me home." "Excuse me, but what is the Mystic Moon?" Hitomi asked. "Look! The blue moon up there!" The wolf-man pointed at to Hitomi. "That's where Van Fanel brought you from." "The Mystic Moon?" Suddenly, Hitomi saw another vision.
She could see a village being burnt to the ground, similar to what she saw in her previous visions. She could see something move within the air and a giant claw appeared, slicing through soldiers.
"What's wrong?" Van asked, seeing how worried Hitomi looked. "N.nothing." "Now that you mention it, the Mystic Moon has been a lot brighter than usual," the wolf-man explained. The sun rose and the caravan stopped. "Look! Below us is Fanelia, little lady," the wolf-man said. Indeed, a large kingdom laid before them and she could see the people racing towards the gates, awaiting for their return. Hitomi wondered what was with all the people and Van hopped off the large ox. "Lord Van?!" Van faced the crowd when a girl raced towards him with short pink hair and in an orange outfit. But this was no ordinary girl. She had cat ears, claws, even a tail. "Lord Van!" she shouted with joy. "Merle!" The little cat-girl hopped into Van's arms, hugging him. "I'm so glad you made it back safe. You know, I was so worried about you Lord Van!" Merle said, as she began to lick his face just as a cat. "Hey! Come on! Everyone's watching!" Van said, pushing her away. "I'm just so glad to see you!" Merle replied, ignoring what Van said before and continued to lick him. "Great, first a wolf-man, now a little cat-girl," Hitomi said. "Lord Van!" Four large soldiers stepped up to them and Merle finally backed off. "Welcome back," the leader said. "I, Van Fanel, have completed the task of dragon slaying and have returned with this drag-energist," he said. "That's the real thing alright! A drag-energist!" the soldiers said, completely amazed at his accomplishment. The soldiers bowed to him. "We four generals of the Samurai of Fanelia verify this to be true, Prince Van," the leader said. "I'm honored, thank you," the prince replied. He's a PRINCE?! Hitomi thought.
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"I'm so sorry, Folken. But I'm not going to the Mystic Moon. Not until I fulfill my former duty," Lybra said, opening up her Guymelef. She looked around, noticing she was in a large forest. "I know Fanelia is nearby, but if I'm not mistaken, I should be in the outskirts of Asturia." Lybra hopped down Jemineye and landed on the ground with a thud. Before she could even stand up, her neck met the sharp end of a sword. "Well, well, well. What have we here?" Lybra glanced around her and saw several soldiers holding her in restraints. "Commander, this Guymelef is from Zaibach," one of the soldiers said to the handsome commander. "Zaibach, eh? What is Zaibach's top spy doing alone in Asturia's territory?" he questioned, lowering the sword. "It's none of your business," she snapped. "You haven't changed, Lybra. Gaddess, take the Guymelef back to the castle," the commander ordered. "Hey! Be careful with Jemineye! That was given to someone very special to me!" Lybra cried. "Jemineye.that is an interesting name for a Guymelef like that. We'll take good care of it. Now.if you'll come with me," the commander said, leading Lybra to his castle.
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"That's a pretty stone!" Merle said, holding Hitomi's pendant by the chain, watching the stone swing back and forth. "I think I'll keep it!" Merle dashed out the room, still holding on to Hitomi's pendant. Merle went on all fours and ran like a cat down the corridor, Hitomi following. "Where do you think you're going, little cat burglar! I'll teach you not to mess with an athlete! Give that back, NOW!" Hitomi shouted, dashing after the little cat-girl. Hitomi glanced at a door as she ran and skidded to a halt. "What was that?" She walked back and saw Prince Van and the Samurai leader clashing swords. "You're not charging aggressively Lord Van! You have to come at me as if you mean to kill me!" "I know, I don't like mortal sword combat," Van replied. "Stop Lord Van! It is a poor thing for a man who is about to become king of all Fanelia to hold such weak sentiments," the large general said. "It's not like I'm becoming king because I want to!" Van snapped back. "Lord Van!!" The general glanced at Hitomi. "It looks as if we have a visitor." Van turned around as well and Hitomi stuttered. "I.I'm sorry! I didn't mean to disturb you." "Oh, it's you," Van replied, sounding very annoyed. "Hmph! That's the matter with you foreigners. You have no manners whatsoever!" Merle said, sitting next to Hitomi. "Hey! Cat-girl! Give me back my pendant!" Hitomi demanded. Merle shoved the pendant back at her and ran towards Van, hugging him again. "I've heard what happened. It appears that Lord Van owes you his life. After the ceremony, we will do all in our power to return you safely to the Mystic Moon," the general said. "You can really do that?" Hitomi asked. "Of course. A Samurai of Fanelia never lies!"
"Van Fanel, king of Fanelia, I bestow upon thee this sword as proof of thy accession. Long may you reign!" Van took hold of the sword, becoming the new king of Fanelia. "Hey, what's that?" one of the lookouts asked as they something move within the air. A giant claw appeared and the claws sliced the lookouts, then disappeared again. The ground began to rumble and the road began to break apart. Many soldiers came to fight with weapons, but they were squished by this unknown force. The people gathered by the castle, frightened. "It's a Zaibach attack!" one of the patrolmen shouted. "We're under siege! Get the women and children to the mountains! I'm gonna need every able-bodied man I can get! Let's go!" "An invisible enemy!" the leader said. "Balgus!" three soldiers cried. "Fight them off with your melefs! I'm counting on all three of you!" the general ordered. "What shall I do, Balgus?" Van asked. "I want you to take your guest, lady Hitomi, to the shrine. If it becomes necessary, take Escaflowne and flee!" Balgus directed. Hitomi watched the civilians run in panic as the invisible enemy was taking out Fanelia's Guymelefs one by one. Balgus grabbed his large broad sword and prepared for battle.
At the shrine, Hitomi watched Van pull out his sword. He ran his thumb over the edge, letting the blood drip on the energist. Van held it up as it began to glow. "I, Van Fanel, new king of Fanelia, bind myself by blood pact to thee, Escaflowne. Thou sleeping dragon, AWAKE!" Van recited. Hitomi watched as magic from below shattered the rock cocoon above them, revealing a large, beautiful, silver Guymelef. "That's.from my dream!" Hitomi remembered. Van jumped up to the large pink crystal and slowly inserted the drag-energist. The crystal glowed and the energist began to beat as a heart. The large melef opened up and Van hopped in. "Van! What are you going to do?" "Join the battle," he replied, preparing for battle with the Guymelef. "Great! Just like the old text said! I can do this!" Van began to walk, mobilizing the Guymelef. "What are you doing! Hurry up and hide!!" Van shouted to Hitomi. The door broke apart and Van could see the enemy entering. Escaflowne pulled out a large hilt, the blade shooting out from it. Hitomi saw an invisible giant to the side, ready to kill Van. "Van, to your left!" Escaflowne turned left and before the giant's claws could strike, Van blocked it, slicing through the giant, revealing a large blue Guymelef. Hitomi saw another invisible Guymelef behind Van and called out to him, but he was too busy with the first one. Suddenly, Balgus leapt into the air and sliced the claw right off with his large sword. "You majesty! Take the lady Hitomi and get out of here while you can!" Baglus ordered. "I won't turn my back on my enemy!" Van protested, slicing through another invisible Guymelef. This Guymelef took the claws and combined them to form a large sword and before it could split Escaflowne's head in half, Balgus blocked it. The general hopped onto the Zaibach melef and jammed his sword into its head. "Get out of here!" he orderd. Escaflowne shoved the enemy to the ground and knelt before Hitomi. "Let's go! Hold on!" Van called out. Escaflowne grabbed Hitomi and raced out of the shrine, only to find corpses of soldiers and the kingdom in flames. "That's enough Balgus! Retreat!" Suddenly, within the flames, another claw appeared and shot a sharp piece of steel, which went right through the general. "Your majesty. Take the Escaflowne and flee and someday return. And rebuild our native home and reunite the people of Fanelia," were his last words before he collapsed to the ground, dead. Hitomi cried out as the invisible Guymelefs began to appear again. Suddenly, Hitomi's pendant glowed again and Escaflowne, Van, and Hitomi were once again wrapped in bright light. "I don't believe it." Merle said, watching the sight from the mountains with the people. "LORD VAN!!!"
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"How's the report, Lybra?" the commander of Asturia asked, seeing smoke from the distance. "Not good, commander. The kingdom of Fanelia was completely burnt to the ground. All the Samurai were killed and the survivors are in the mountains. The king has fled with a large, silver Guymelef," Lybra explained. "Very unusual. And you say Zaibach is behind this?" "Only Zaibach uses stealth cloaks which allow them to become invisible. It's a cheap defense that Dilandau uses quite frequently." "I see, but what could you make of the bright light we just saw?" "I'm not so sure, but if you grant permission, commander, I would like to look more into the situation personally," Lybra requested. "Permission accepted, Lybra. And if you happen to find that Moleman, report to me immediately," the commander said. "Yes, sir." "We'll leave at once, as I will come with you. And there's no need to be formal, Lybra. You don't have to always call me 'sir' or 'commander'. It's Allen."
Was it all just a dream? How did I get to this strange world? Maybe it had something to do with the cards.or maybe my pendant. All I know is one minute I was with my first love Amano and my best friend Yukari and the next minute, I was swept up into the clouds with that strange boy who slew that awful dragon! I found my self on a planet where the Earth and Moon hang in the sky, and where the creatures are too frightening to imagine.
"So you went to the Mystic Moon? And you brought this girl back with you?" one of the wolf-men asked Van. "Yeah, well, she seemed to have followed me home." "Excuse me, but what is the Mystic Moon?" Hitomi asked. "Look! The blue moon up there!" The wolf-man pointed at to Hitomi. "That's where Van Fanel brought you from." "The Mystic Moon?" Suddenly, Hitomi saw another vision.
She could see a village being burnt to the ground, similar to what she saw in her previous visions. She could see something move within the air and a giant claw appeared, slicing through soldiers.
"What's wrong?" Van asked, seeing how worried Hitomi looked. "N.nothing." "Now that you mention it, the Mystic Moon has been a lot brighter than usual," the wolf-man explained. The sun rose and the caravan stopped. "Look! Below us is Fanelia, little lady," the wolf-man said. Indeed, a large kingdom laid before them and she could see the people racing towards the gates, awaiting for their return. Hitomi wondered what was with all the people and Van hopped off the large ox. "Lord Van?!" Van faced the crowd when a girl raced towards him with short pink hair and in an orange outfit. But this was no ordinary girl. She had cat ears, claws, even a tail. "Lord Van!" she shouted with joy. "Merle!" The little cat-girl hopped into Van's arms, hugging him. "I'm so glad you made it back safe. You know, I was so worried about you Lord Van!" Merle said, as she began to lick his face just as a cat. "Hey! Come on! Everyone's watching!" Van said, pushing her away. "I'm just so glad to see you!" Merle replied, ignoring what Van said before and continued to lick him. "Great, first a wolf-man, now a little cat-girl," Hitomi said. "Lord Van!" Four large soldiers stepped up to them and Merle finally backed off. "Welcome back," the leader said. "I, Van Fanel, have completed the task of dragon slaying and have returned with this drag-energist," he said. "That's the real thing alright! A drag-energist!" the soldiers said, completely amazed at his accomplishment. The soldiers bowed to him. "We four generals of the Samurai of Fanelia verify this to be true, Prince Van," the leader said. "I'm honored, thank you," the prince replied. He's a PRINCE?! Hitomi thought.
**********
"I'm so sorry, Folken. But I'm not going to the Mystic Moon. Not until I fulfill my former duty," Lybra said, opening up her Guymelef. She looked around, noticing she was in a large forest. "I know Fanelia is nearby, but if I'm not mistaken, I should be in the outskirts of Asturia." Lybra hopped down Jemineye and landed on the ground with a thud. Before she could even stand up, her neck met the sharp end of a sword. "Well, well, well. What have we here?" Lybra glanced around her and saw several soldiers holding her in restraints. "Commander, this Guymelef is from Zaibach," one of the soldiers said to the handsome commander. "Zaibach, eh? What is Zaibach's top spy doing alone in Asturia's territory?" he questioned, lowering the sword. "It's none of your business," she snapped. "You haven't changed, Lybra. Gaddess, take the Guymelef back to the castle," the commander ordered. "Hey! Be careful with Jemineye! That was given to someone very special to me!" Lybra cried. "Jemineye.that is an interesting name for a Guymelef like that. We'll take good care of it. Now.if you'll come with me," the commander said, leading Lybra to his castle.
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"That's a pretty stone!" Merle said, holding Hitomi's pendant by the chain, watching the stone swing back and forth. "I think I'll keep it!" Merle dashed out the room, still holding on to Hitomi's pendant. Merle went on all fours and ran like a cat down the corridor, Hitomi following. "Where do you think you're going, little cat burglar! I'll teach you not to mess with an athlete! Give that back, NOW!" Hitomi shouted, dashing after the little cat-girl. Hitomi glanced at a door as she ran and skidded to a halt. "What was that?" She walked back and saw Prince Van and the Samurai leader clashing swords. "You're not charging aggressively Lord Van! You have to come at me as if you mean to kill me!" "I know, I don't like mortal sword combat," Van replied. "Stop Lord Van! It is a poor thing for a man who is about to become king of all Fanelia to hold such weak sentiments," the large general said. "It's not like I'm becoming king because I want to!" Van snapped back. "Lord Van!!" The general glanced at Hitomi. "It looks as if we have a visitor." Van turned around as well and Hitomi stuttered. "I.I'm sorry! I didn't mean to disturb you." "Oh, it's you," Van replied, sounding very annoyed. "Hmph! That's the matter with you foreigners. You have no manners whatsoever!" Merle said, sitting next to Hitomi. "Hey! Cat-girl! Give me back my pendant!" Hitomi demanded. Merle shoved the pendant back at her and ran towards Van, hugging him again. "I've heard what happened. It appears that Lord Van owes you his life. After the ceremony, we will do all in our power to return you safely to the Mystic Moon," the general said. "You can really do that?" Hitomi asked. "Of course. A Samurai of Fanelia never lies!"
"Van Fanel, king of Fanelia, I bestow upon thee this sword as proof of thy accession. Long may you reign!" Van took hold of the sword, becoming the new king of Fanelia. "Hey, what's that?" one of the lookouts asked as they something move within the air. A giant claw appeared and the claws sliced the lookouts, then disappeared again. The ground began to rumble and the road began to break apart. Many soldiers came to fight with weapons, but they were squished by this unknown force. The people gathered by the castle, frightened. "It's a Zaibach attack!" one of the patrolmen shouted. "We're under siege! Get the women and children to the mountains! I'm gonna need every able-bodied man I can get! Let's go!" "An invisible enemy!" the leader said. "Balgus!" three soldiers cried. "Fight them off with your melefs! I'm counting on all three of you!" the general ordered. "What shall I do, Balgus?" Van asked. "I want you to take your guest, lady Hitomi, to the shrine. If it becomes necessary, take Escaflowne and flee!" Balgus directed. Hitomi watched the civilians run in panic as the invisible enemy was taking out Fanelia's Guymelefs one by one. Balgus grabbed his large broad sword and prepared for battle.
At the shrine, Hitomi watched Van pull out his sword. He ran his thumb over the edge, letting the blood drip on the energist. Van held it up as it began to glow. "I, Van Fanel, new king of Fanelia, bind myself by blood pact to thee, Escaflowne. Thou sleeping dragon, AWAKE!" Van recited. Hitomi watched as magic from below shattered the rock cocoon above them, revealing a large, beautiful, silver Guymelef. "That's.from my dream!" Hitomi remembered. Van jumped up to the large pink crystal and slowly inserted the drag-energist. The crystal glowed and the energist began to beat as a heart. The large melef opened up and Van hopped in. "Van! What are you going to do?" "Join the battle," he replied, preparing for battle with the Guymelef. "Great! Just like the old text said! I can do this!" Van began to walk, mobilizing the Guymelef. "What are you doing! Hurry up and hide!!" Van shouted to Hitomi. The door broke apart and Van could see the enemy entering. Escaflowne pulled out a large hilt, the blade shooting out from it. Hitomi saw an invisible giant to the side, ready to kill Van. "Van, to your left!" Escaflowne turned left and before the giant's claws could strike, Van blocked it, slicing through the giant, revealing a large blue Guymelef. Hitomi saw another invisible Guymelef behind Van and called out to him, but he was too busy with the first one. Suddenly, Balgus leapt into the air and sliced the claw right off with his large sword. "You majesty! Take the lady Hitomi and get out of here while you can!" Baglus ordered. "I won't turn my back on my enemy!" Van protested, slicing through another invisible Guymelef. This Guymelef took the claws and combined them to form a large sword and before it could split Escaflowne's head in half, Balgus blocked it. The general hopped onto the Zaibach melef and jammed his sword into its head. "Get out of here!" he orderd. Escaflowne shoved the enemy to the ground and knelt before Hitomi. "Let's go! Hold on!" Van called out. Escaflowne grabbed Hitomi and raced out of the shrine, only to find corpses of soldiers and the kingdom in flames. "That's enough Balgus! Retreat!" Suddenly, within the flames, another claw appeared and shot a sharp piece of steel, which went right through the general. "Your majesty. Take the Escaflowne and flee and someday return. And rebuild our native home and reunite the people of Fanelia," were his last words before he collapsed to the ground, dead. Hitomi cried out as the invisible Guymelefs began to appear again. Suddenly, Hitomi's pendant glowed again and Escaflowne, Van, and Hitomi were once again wrapped in bright light. "I don't believe it." Merle said, watching the sight from the mountains with the people. "LORD VAN!!!"
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"How's the report, Lybra?" the commander of Asturia asked, seeing smoke from the distance. "Not good, commander. The kingdom of Fanelia was completely burnt to the ground. All the Samurai were killed and the survivors are in the mountains. The king has fled with a large, silver Guymelef," Lybra explained. "Very unusual. And you say Zaibach is behind this?" "Only Zaibach uses stealth cloaks which allow them to become invisible. It's a cheap defense that Dilandau uses quite frequently." "I see, but what could you make of the bright light we just saw?" "I'm not so sure, but if you grant permission, commander, I would like to look more into the situation personally," Lybra requested. "Permission accepted, Lybra. And if you happen to find that Moleman, report to me immediately," the commander said. "Yes, sir." "We'll leave at once, as I will come with you. And there's no need to be formal, Lybra. You don't have to always call me 'sir' or 'commander'. It's Allen."