Ancient Visions
Previously: Hitomi is trapped inside her mind. Van allows Allen to take her to Balis to be treated by monks. The head monk, Jalin, insists that Allen and his men return to Fanelia, leaving Hitomi. Hitomi sees a vision of a girl being beaten and then a man saving her. Kan and Nika, two monks, almost reach her but something stops them. Invisible guymelefs are on the border. In Fanelia, Van recieves a report about an attack on Balis. He runs to escaflowne but...chapter 8
The red light swirled around Van like flames. Confused, Van felt himself tumbling into the endless light. As he fell, his wings unfurled as a reaction. He tried to steady himself but he still fell senselessly, finally landing with a thud onto a black plain.Sayjin watched in surprise as Van suddenly froze, facing escaflowne's energist.
"Lord Van!" Sayjin called, worriedly.
He watched, horrified, as Van stiffly fell backward onto the hangar floor. "Lord Van!" he yelled and rushed to his side.
Allen heard the commotion and also rushed to Van's side. The young kings eyes were open, but vacant. Sayjin shook the king by the shoulders. Allen put out a hand to stop him
"You can't reach him that way," Allen said softly, "There's only one person that can reach him now. I hope they find eachother."
Van landed in a dark world. He rose slowly to his feet, wings still extended.
"Where am I?" Van said aloud, staring around him at a vast black plain and a starless night sky.
The monastary's bell tower fell with a thunderous crash, bricks spilling about in chaos. Invisble guymelefs were ransacking the small, once peaceful village of Balis. Villagers had either fled or lay dead in the rubble. In the monastery, only Jalin, Nika and Kan remained. The rest had died trying to protect the villagers outside. Hitomi lay, still unconscious, in her cot. Jalin stood and approached the monastary's courtyard.
"Our destiny," Jalin said confidently, "Is to stop them with all the force we have."
Nika and Kan nodded, also rising. THe enemy began to pound at the stone walls. The three last monks of Balis stood, facing the enemy, heads bowed and hands clasped before them. The stone walls caved in suddenly. Three invisible giants crashe into the courtyard, then suddenly stopped. Jalin, Nika and Kan concentrated hard.
"Let us see this enemy," Jalin said forcefully.
Much to the enemy pilots' dismay, the guymelefs stealth cloaks malfunctionned and they slowly became visible. They were red guymelefs, with heavy shoulder armor. The lead guymelef began to surge forward again.
"Let us stop the enemy," Nika said softly.
All three guymelefs were suddenly arrested in motion -- all three stood statue-like. Their pilots frantically tried to make their guymelefs move but to no avail.
"Let us throw them from our sacred place," Kan said in a whisper.
The three guymelefs, and their confused pilots, were suddenly lifted off the ground. An unknown force suddenly threw them backwards, out of the courtyard. The lead guymelef, regained it's feet awkwardly. The pilot inside angrily shifted to flight mode and tried to fly, bullet-like, into the courtyard.
"Let us block this enemy," Jalin chanted.
The flying guymelef stopped suddenly in flight, unable to push forward. Then, with tremendous force, the guymelef was again thrown backward. Silence. Then, crashing steps of another guymelef were heard. The three monks prepared for another battle. But the steps stopped as soon as the guymelef reached the gate. Jalin looked up in surprise. A majestic white guymelef was standing in the wreckage of the monastery walls.
"Escaflowne?" Jalin breathed.
A cold laugh answered him. "Fool," a dangerously quiet voice answered, "Ancient fool. You who knew of Atlantis' great power cannot even recognize this mighty guymelef?"
Jalin gasped. It couldn't be, he thought to himself in panic. The mysterious white guymelef lifted it's arm and sprayed liquid metal over the walls. Strangely, the walls began to melt beneath the metal spray. Jalin opened his eyes wide, coming to his final realization.
"Jalin?" Nika asked a little fearfully.
"No my dear," Jalin answered, bowing his head resignedly, "We cannot defeat the legendary guymelef of Atlantis, Alkemis."
Nika gasped softly, turning to Kan. Another peal of mirthless laughter came from the strange guymelef, Alkemis.
"So you recognize this machine, ancient scholar," the cold voice said, "Did you think this world would be left alone forever? Did you think that I would not return? Know that I have come -- know, as your final thought, that I am Newton." Alkemis, piloted by Newton, raised its arm in their direction.
Jalin sighed and said softly, "Comrades, we have reached the end. But there is one last thing we can do for this world." They faced eachother and clasped hands, concentrating. They stared at eachother one last time, accepting their fate. A soft red glow formed at the center of their circle.The three looked silently at eachother and nodded; Kan with gentle fury in his eyes, Nika with child-like fear, Jalin with sad tiredness. And then all three let their snowy white wings burst from their shoulders --for these were the last three Draconian monks of Gaea.
Newton laughed. And let a spray of liquid metal fly from alkemis' arm.
A sudden thin red pillar glowed around Hitomi on the black plain. She looked around in surprise. Three figures stood around her.
"Who are you?" she asked fearfully.
"Don't be afraid," Nika said, smiling sadly at her.
"We must impart a message to you before we are gone," Kan whipered gently.
"Where are you going?" Hitomi asked innocently.
Jalin, ignoring her question, said softly, "We have been caring for you by the order of Van Slanzar de Fanel. We are the last existing Draconian monks - but soon there will be none."
Nika suddenly gasped and fell to her knees. The other two looked at her sadly. Hitomi rushed over to her.
"No," Nika said, struggling with her invisible pain, "I will do this." She stood again, completing the circle.
"Hitomi," Jalin said, pain beginning to creep into his voice as well, "Newton did this and he possesses the ancient Ispano guymelef Alkemis. It is, like Escaflowne, of Atlantean origin. His is goal is terrible. You must stop him at all costs and at any sacrifice. Your wishes will be the key to defeating him."
The word sacrifice echoed sadly in Hitomi's mind. All three monks cringed.
"Ancient one," Jalin said in a painful whisper, "You must know who you are. You are-"
Nika suddenly screamed letting go of Kan's hand. Kan also fell to the ground, writhing, though silently. Jalin stood still but the pain was evident in his face. "Goodbye Gaea," he whispered. The red light disappeared and the three figures disintegrated before Hitomi's eyes. She fell to her knees, at a loss.
Van, wandering on the black plains of Hitomi's mind, saw a red pillar of light disappear. He began to rush in that direction. He ran but became frustrated and took to the air, spreading his wings. Soon a small kneeling figure was directly in his path. He landed. It was Hitomi.
"Hitomi?" Van asked softly. No answer. He knelt beside her and took her by the shoulders, turning her around. As he did, translucent waves of brown hair cascaded over his hands. In sudden surprise, he dropped Hitomi. She fell, landing senselessly on the ground, normal again.
"Hitomi!!" Van called, again grabbing her and shaking her. Hitomi's eyes gazed vacantly up at him.
"Hitomi. wake up!" he screamed. Her head lolled to one side. Van, not knowing what else to do, clutched her to himeself, holding her tightly in his arms. The pendant touched both their skin and suddenly lighted up. Hitomi blinked.
"Van?" she asked, pulling away slightly.
"Hitomi!" he breathed gratefully and held her even tighter. But the pendant continued to glow and suddenly it shot both of them backwards.
Hitomi's eyes opened with a start. She saw nothing but white. Frantically, she sat up, looking around her. She saw her simple cot and simple room. Where am I? she thought desperately.
We have been caring for you Jalin's quiet voice echoed in her mind.
She stood hurriedly. If that were so then she would see them. She rushed to a small window and tip-toed to look out. A terrible scene greeted her eyes. The monastery courtyard lay in ruins. In the middle of the ruins lay three unmoving figures, horribly disintegrated as if acid had been poured over them. Hitomi's mouth dropped open in shock as she saw the remains of wings all three. She glanced up and her heart skipped a beat. She had seen the mighty white guymelef. But as she studied it, she saw that it was definitely not escaflowne -- it had no sword and a red crest adorned its forehead. She watched intently as a figure jumped down from the cockpit. The man was too far to be seen but he drew a sword and called out. Several red-uniformed men came running and also drew their swords.
"Find the seeress, capture her and bring her to me!" the man yelled.
Hitomi felt fear creep into her and twist her insides into knots. She knew that they were after her. She looked around the room for a closet she could hide in. Perhaps they would just not find her, she reasoned. But the room was overly simple - just four white walls, a tiny window, a small bed and two wooden chairs. In a panic she bolted for the door. But just as she was going to swing the door open, she heard footsteps running by. She backed away silently and grabbed the chair, pushing it under the handle. Then she moved backward slowly, tip-toeing so that her sneakers didn't squeak on the floor. She didn't even see the other wooden chair which she consequently backed into. It fell onto the stone floor with a resounding crash. The running footsteps outside stopped suddenly. Hitomi cursed herself. The footsteps resumed, but this time they grew louder with every second. Hitomi, her fear controlling her mind, grabbed the chair and backed into a corner. She curled into a ball and cowered, trembling as the soldiers began to crash through the door.
Van flew atop escaflowne as fast as he could. The wind blew hard at him but his mind was set on only one thing: reaching Hitomi in time. His heart raced as he approached the village of Balis. It was a waste of rubble and littered with broken bodies. As he prepared to land the dragon in back of the monastery, a strange sight almost caused him to pause -- a white guymelef. But he brushed it aside for the moment, concentrating on Hitomi. He entered the monastery and ran through the halls, sword drawn.
"Hitomi!" he cried, racing through the maze of stone corridors, "Hitomi!"
A red-uniformed soldier rushed at him suddenly. Van stuck him down without a pause, his mind focused.
"You again?" he cursed softly. The sound of wood crashing attracted Van's attention. He turned and ran towards the sound. A shattered and splintered door lay at the end of the corridor. He ran and skidded to a halt in front of the door. What he saw made his eyes wide and his hand clutch fiercely at his sword. Hitomi was cowering in a corner. Two soldiers stood around her, swords drawn. One seemed to have just grabbed a chair from Hitomi and thrown it across the room.
"You!" Van whispered dangerously.
Hitomi looked up at hearing his voice. The soldier turned to face the intruder. Van lifted his sword in both hands, letting his rage rise and boil over inside him. He let loose a terrible yell and rushed the soldiers, killing them even before they could react. The fell to the ground lifelessly. Van panted and dropped his sword, letting it clatter to the floor. He turned and faced Hitomi, who was paler than he had ever seen her. Her eyes were wide with fear. Van walked to her brusquely, knelt and scooped her into his arms, unaware of her soft gasp of surprise. He cradled her tightly, holding her head close to him. A soft mirthless laugh made both their blood run cold. Van let go of Hitomi and reached to retrieve his sword. He then stood in from of Hitomi to face the man who had just entered.
"Newton," Van spat out in disgust.
"I thought I might find you here," Newton said, not a trace of emotion in his voice.
Hitomi gasped. Van inclined his head to the side to look at her. She was shaking and her eyes were wide in horror.
"Hitomi?" Van asked in concern.
"That man..." Hitomi uttered softly, "that man..." Her stunned eyes took him in: Long face, dark hair, piercing green eyes. A voice echoed in her mind, You don't realize my power. Hitomi gasped again. That man, she thought, I've seen that man die
Newton laughed harshly, "Remember me, little one?"
"What are you saying?!" Van yelled, anger rising.
Another laugh. "How foolish those two were. They did not even impart memories to you. Foolish mistake."
Van couldn't stand it. He rushed forward with his sword. But it clashed with Newton's.
Newton, as they stuggled so close, whispered in a taunt, "Don't be rash!"
Van stepped back and sliced again, missing. Newton swong his sword and Van barely blocked it. As they were parrying back and forth, Van heard Hitomi's rapid and frightened breathing. A new resolve filled him. He lunged forward, his strike blocked squarely by Newton. But Van pushed Newton back, knocking him hard against the wall. Newton, stunned for the moment, sank slightly. Taking the opportunity, Van sheathed his sword and scooped Hitomi up. He ran from the room and down the corridor, carrying Hitomi. Swiftly, he mounted escaflowne and escaped into the air, making one broad circle around the once beatiful village. Hitomi clasped her arms around him, and sighed.
"Thank you, Draconian monks," she whispered.
Van whipped around. "How did you -"
But the look on Hitomi's face stopped him. There will be time for questions later he thought. He turned escaflowne and sped towards FAnelia.
Newton exited the monastery, watching the white dragon disappear. For today, He thought, You have escaped. But not for long. All will fall ino my hands soon
"Van, don't you think Hitomi should be resting?" Allen asked quietly. "Balis was completly destroyed," Van said angrily, "And Newton was the one who did it."
Sayjin opened his mouth but Van interupted. "No," Van said shortly, "There were no survivors. The last refuge for Draconians has been destroyed."
Hitomi covered her mouth and sank down. "The last draconian monks..." she whispered.
The young king turned on her. "How did you know?" he demanded.
"They told me," hitomi whispered.
"Who?"
"Three people."
"Jalin, Nika, Kan," Sayjin said softly, "the three greatest." He turned to allen in explanation, "Lord Van's mother, the queen Varie, asked them to build a refuge away from the rest of the world for Draconians to live at peace."
"And now it has been wiped out," Van stormed.
"Alkemis," Hitomi said then repeated louder, "Alkemis!"
Everyone turned to her in surprise.
Hitomi looked around shyly, "They told me that Newton has an Ispano guymelef -- named Alkemis. It's from Atlantis too, just like Escaflowne."
A series of disbelieving grunts followed.
Hitomi grew red and was about to speak but Van interupted. "It may be true. I saw a white guymelef that resembled escaflowne."
Hitomi was about to huff at Van for using the word "may" but Allen held her down by the shoulder.
Sayjin said, "This is an unexpected turn of events."
Another samurai added, "But can it be from Atlantis. She was uncouscious after all..."
"I will speak to Sayjin alone," Van interjected harshly.
Everyone looked at him in surprise. Slowly they tricked out. hitomi looked as if she wanted to stay but Allen guided her out. he had seen the dark look on the young king's face and knew it would be best to leave quickly.
After the door had shut behind them, Allen turned to Hitomi.
"Tired my dear?" he asked gently.
Hitomi looked up at him appreciatively.
"Yes, allen."
He walked her to her room, opening the door then following her in. Hitomi sat on the bed, sighing deeply. Allen sat beside her, taking one of her hands in his.
"Worried about the young king, I see?" He asked.
Hitomi blushed, said nothing and then shook her head.
Allen laughed softly. "Don't worry," he said, "It's not because he doesn't care for you. He needs to discuss urgent things with Sayjin."
hitomi sighed again and rested her head against Allen's shoulder.
The young king had talked seriously with Sayjin. Now Van was walking through the castle halls. His mind mulled over what had just been said:
"Sayjin, I must do this to protect her."
"Lord Van, you cannot shirk the responsibilities of a king just for Hitomi."
"you don't understand- i love her. I need to protect her. It's the only way I can assure myself that she will be safe."
"But what about the Fanelia's well-being, not to mention relations with Basram!"
"If she is killed, the country will be in even more danger, Sayjin"
Van sighed. Sayjin was loyal to him but he couldn't understand this. The young king neared Hitomi's room. He opened the door without thinking. Hitomi sat beside Allen, her hand in his. Van's mouth dropped open. Hitomi looked up, startled. A few silent seconds passed. Then Van turned on his heel and marched quickly away. He reached his study and headed straight for the window. Then he stared, frustration filling his heart. It was soon replaced by a sense of reget and sadness.
Soft footsteps approached the young king. He spun around hopefully. But no, it was Shana.
"Princess," the young king said, "How can I help you?"
The princess moved closer to him, surprising him by her proximity. She stared up into his face. Her lovely violet eyes surprised him pleasantly. And her silk black hair became her well. Shana smiled.
"Are you having troubles?" she asked softly.
Van looked away from her, "None that concern you, princess."
Shana smiled again sweetly, "perhaps you may speak with me. I am here to listen."
"Thank you for your concern."
"I am at your disposal. I know how difficult reigning can become" Shana whispered.
Van said nothing.
"Your people adore you. Whatever choice you make. It will be pleasing to them because they trust you," She continued softly,"They have faith in you -just as I do." Van turned back to her. she was lifting her lovely sweet face up to his. The sudden closeness surprised him. He hadn't beheld her that closely before. He stared at her and she stared back at him, their eyes locked and their faces inches apart.
A sudden gasp made them both turn to the door. Hitomi stood in the doorway,
clutching the frame in disbelief, her eyes wide with hurt.
