Tetsu Hiou 'Lost Secrets'
~Chapter 3~
By Gina-chan
A metallic smell wafted through the door as Sora sat, shivering. Loud explosions were heard down the hall. Sora twisted her hands around nervously. What could she do? She heard a scream. Sora pulled her knees close to her body. It was probably safest in here, anyway. As soon as she thought that, the door was shoved opened by a man, dressed in a red shirt and tan pants. He had a sword, which was in his hand.
"W-who are you?" Sora said, frightened of the stranger.
"It's alright. I'm not one of them. I'm here to rescue you," the man said. Sora heaved a sigh. She looked at the man. He had shaggy black hair and brown eyes. There was something familiar about him…
"Well? Are you gonna sit there staring at me all day or are you going to come?" the man said impatiently. Sora stood up, grabbing her duffel bag. The man seemed a little surprised at the sight of her duffel bag. His surprised look turned to a frown, though, as Sora ran up to him.
"Come on," he said, motioning out the door.
"Where?" Sora questioned as she followed him down the hallway. The man started running, and Sora jogged after him.
"To the Crusade," he muttered.
"Crusade? I hope that's a good thing…" Sora trailed off, her hands clasping on her pendent. They ran together, down the labyrinth of hallways that seemed to go on forever.
"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Sora finally asked.
"Yes!" he snapped back. And, as if like magic, they arrived at their destination. They stood in an open-air hanger, with a levi-ship hovering, ready to take off at the captain's orders.
"That's the Crusade?" she said in disbelief. The man nodded.
"Come on, we haven't got much time," he said, picking up Sora and leaping up onto the deck of the Crusade. Sora gaped, wide-eyed, as she looked around at the middle-aged men surrounding her.
"What are you guys doing? Get back to work! Launch the Crusade and set a course to Fanelia," a long, blond haired man said, stepping out from the crowd of men. The men dispersed, and the blond haired man stepped out in front of Sora.
"My name is Allen Schezar, captain of this ship," he said, holding out his hand to Sora. Sora clasped it.
"Sora," she replied.
"Sora…" Allen muttered, shaking her hand. Sora let go and pointed to the man beside her.
"I don't know his name yet!" she said. He turned towards her and bowed.
"I'm sorry, milady. Van Fanel, king of Fanelia," Van said, straightening up. Van…king of Fanelia…where had she heard that before?
"You're a king?" Sora said, eyebrows raised. Van nodded. There was a sudden loud thud as the Crusade took to the air. Sora ran over to the edge of the ship.
"Wow…" she whispered, watching the Floating Fortress that she had just been in disappear behind them. Allen walked behind her and stood beside her.
"Who where they?" Sora questioned, looking at Allen.
"Zaibach. The 'bad guy', if you will. That's one of their Floating Fortresses," Allen explained.
"Why did you attack?" Sora asked. Allen hesitated for a moment.
"Well, we had heard reports of their fortress and decided to investigate," he finally said.
"But that doesn't explain why you attacked them," said Sora. Allen sighed.
"Twenty years ago, there was a great war, here on Gaea. Zaibach was the enemy, trying to change the fate of Gaea for their own purposes. Zaibach was destroyed. That's why we attacked today. We don't want what happened before to happen again," said Allen. They both stood silent for a second.
"Oh," Sora said softly. A soft breeze blew, tossing their hair in front of their faces.
"Boss! Boss!" one of the men yelled, coming up behind the two.
"What is it, Gaddes?" Allen asked.
"Zaibach 'Melefs! Six of them, coming from behind!" Gaddes exclaimed.
"Shit!" Allen cursed. "Gaddes! Keep Sora safe! I'll go attack in Schezarade. Have you warned Van?"
"Yessir. He's already in Escaflowne," said Gaddes.
"Good," said Allen, running below deck.
"W-what's going on?" Sora asked.
"Come on, I'll take you somewhere safe," Gaddes said, leading her inside the ship. He led her around into a room that looked like a cockpit. A few other men were around, busy at the controls. Gaddes took to the helm as Sora stood behind him.
"Are those 'Melefs?" Sora asked, pointing to the two giant mechanical robot-like things that dropped down out of the ship and onto the rocky hills below. Gaddes nodded.
" 'Melefs is an abbreviation of Guymelefs. The whitish one is Escaflowne, piloted by Van, and the gray one is Schezarade, piloted by the boss," Gaddes said.
"Take 'er down! Land 'er on the small hill left of the boss!" Gaddes ordered. The men did as ordered, and landed the Crusade on the hill. They all got a better view of the incoming battle. Six Guymelefs flew down from the sky, landing in front of Van and Allen. One was red, and the rest were a shade of blue.
"What do you want?" Allen questioned them, trying to avoid battle.
"You kidnapped our prisoner. We want her back," a familiar voice said harshly.
"Hadrin…" Sora whispered, watching them intently.
"That's not going to happen. She belongs to us now," Van replied calmly.
"You'll have to go through us to get to her," Allen challenged.
"Sounds good!" Hadrin yelled, leaping towards Allen, his crim-claw out and ready to kill. Allen blocked him with a thrust of his hand and flung it to the side.
"Attack!" Hadrin yelled, and the other Guymelefs started attacking Van. Sora could hardly keep up with everything; both sides were moving so swiftly. She watched as Van hacked off the arms of a blue Guymelef. That 'Melef retreated at once. Others followed, as Van dispelled of them, one by one, cutting off weapons or arms. Soon all of the blue Guymelefs had retreated and only the red Guymelef, Hadrin, was left to oppose Van and Allen.
"Incompetent fools…" Sora heard Hadrin mutter. "You've one this battle, but you've yet to win the war!" And with that, Hadrin flew off in the direction of the other Guymelefs. Sora sighed with relief. At least no one got hurt…
Gaddes lead her down into the hanger, where Van and Allen were just coming out of their Guymelefs. Sora stood behind, in the shadows, as Gaddes went up and congratulated Allen.
"Gaddes. No need for that," Allen said in response to Gaddes praises. "We'll take off at once. Same course." And with that, they were on their way again.
It was a bright, sunny day when they arrived in Asturia. A sea breeze greeted Sora as she got off the Crusade. She looked around, breathing in the salty air deeply. Allen, Van, and the other crew members followed.
"Meet back at the castle at sundown," Allen told Gaddes and the others. The crew members cheered, and went off on their ways. They had landed near the ocean, in fact they had landed at the sea port. Sora looked around at the strange people, taking in the sights. Who knew how long she would be stuck on Gaea…
Allen grasped her shoulders and pulled her along to a carriage that had just arrived. They climbed.
"Greetings, Queen Millerna," Allen said. Van and Allen bowed their heads as they sat down. Sora glanced at Millerna, who was already seated in the carriage. Millerna nodded in greeting.
"Who is this?" Millerna asked, pointing at Sora.
"This is Sora," Allen said.
"Oh, no…she's not from the…Mystic Moon, is she?" Millerna asked, dreading the answer. Allen nodded slowly. Millerna twisted her hands out of uneasiness. She took a sharp breath.
"Was the ship you attacked from Zaibach?" Millerna finally asked. Allen nodded again. Millerna looked out the window.
"I hope history doesn't repeat itself…"
Sora flopped down on the huge canopy bed. They had arrived at Queen Millerna's castle, and she had been given one of the rooms. She set her duffle bag on the bed and took out a picture. She looked at and sighed. It was a picture of her, Arashi, and Daichi. Tears welled up in her eyes.
"Will I ever see them again?" Sora wondered. She put the picture away and took out her CD player. Sora thrust the headphones on her ears and pushed play.
I guess you could say I'm a little afraid.
What if you go away?
I've seen it before, I've been here before.
If I have to love myself, tell me how to love myself.
What's there to love about myself?
I just want to see that as a person you want me.
But I'm feeling the pain of all
these bags in the way,
And I'm thinking you're just gonna run away,
And I can't catch you.
I guess I would say that I want you to stay.
'Cause you have this strange knack,
adds glow to my black as you chase it all away.
And I hope that you can see I will someday leave these things.
I am waiting to be free.
But I'm feeling the pain of all these bags in the way,
And I'm thinking you're just gonna run away,
And I can't catch you.
Oh, I want to catch you.
[Okay, first off, the song, I Can't Catch You, is ©Six Pence None the Richer. Second off, I know Sora's Japanese and that normally she wouldn't be listening to an American group. Third off, if the song doesn't make sense now, hopefully it will later.]