Chapter 2- Arrival
The ride was over. The bright light was gone and the twirling had stopped. Mina slowly opened her eyes. She was lying in a lush green field, out in what looked like the countryside. It was warm and there was a light breeze.
Where am I? Thought Mina. Right away she had noticed that she was no longer Sailor Venus, but back in her school uniform.
"Artemis? Rei? Lita? Are you here?" Mina shouted as she stood up and began looking around for possible friends that had been pulled along with her. She also noticed that, thankfully, the dragon was no where in sight either. As she was glancing around she looked skyward and gave out a startled yelp.
"The Earth! It's in the sky! Where am I?"
Mina continued to stare but was interrupted by her communicator. Mina quickly opened it. She could tell some signal was trying to get through, but the picture was all static.
"...Mina....hear us....where....Mina...," was all she could make out.
"Guys," she answered into her communicator, "I'm fine, but I don't know where I am. I can see the Earth and the moon in the sky! Guys...." Mina finished as she watched her communicator die. She tried to use it a couple more times, but it was no use.
Well, I can't stay here all day.
Mina headed in the direction of what looked like a city in the distance.
Palas, capital of Asturia, palace
Van, Allen, and Merle were together again after a year. After Hitomi returned to Earth, Van and Merle returned to Fanelia to help rebuild their homeland, while Allen and the Crusade flew all around Gaea cleaning up after Zaibach. Bands of Zaibach warriors still roamed around trying to convince the people, mostly by force, that the mighty Zaibach empire would be back some day. Allen had been rounding up these bands but he was tired after a year of it and needed a break. When Van and Merle heard Allen had returned they decided to visit their friend and get away for a while.
The three of them were sitting together in Van's ready room. (Since he is the King of Fanelia, he got extra nice rooms for him and Merle to stay in.)
"It's good to hear about Fanelia's progress, Van." Allen said as he sipped at his wine. "I look forward to the day when the repairs are complete. If you ever need any type of help, please ask me."
"Thanks Allen," answered Van. "Fanelia's starting to look like it's self once again. More people return each day and we all work hard at clearing out the burned land and starting over. We've just started on the castle not to long ago, but it's slow going. It's hard, emotionally, to see the destruction and be reminded each day about what happened, but one of my advisors says it's part of the healing process: to see the progress and the change each day, to build hope." Van sighed as he too sipped at his wine.
Allen looked over at Merle and she slightly nodded her head with sad eyes.
So, Allen thought, he's still upset by Hitomi's departure. He must really miss her to still be depressed. Merle's letters mentioned that he was blue, but this can't be healthy.
"Van..." Allen started, "I know you miss Hitomi and I'm sorry you can't be with her, but I..."
"You what Allen!" Van interrupted, suddenly standing up and pushing his chair back. "You wish there was something you could do! Well, there's nothing you can do! Hitomi made the decision to leave, to leave me, and...." Van stopped. Allen and Merle were staring at him with wide, sympathetic eyes. Van sighed and ran a hand through his jet-black hair.
"I'm sorry my friend. I shouldn't have gone off on you like that. You're right, I do miss her, but it's something I have to deal with. She made the decision...I thought I would adjust, but..."
"Oh Lord Van..." cried Merle. She ran up and wrapped her arms around him. "We all miss Hitomi. She was a good friend and a good person. I hate to see you so sad all the time. I...I wish she would come back."
"Oh Merle." Van said as he smoothed her hair. Merle had grown a lot in a year. She now had longer hair and had traded her sandals in for brown, soft leather, shin-high boots. She wore a brown tunic with yellow stripes that went down to her knees that was slit in the sides to give her easy maneuverability.
Van had grown too. He had grown taller and a little more muscular. He kept his raven locks the same length and always wore Hitomi's pendant around his neck. He recalled times where it would seem to warm up when he thought of Hitomi, or the times he thought it got ever so brighter. Van liked to think that that was when Hitomi was thinking about him. But he shouldn't be thinking about her, it hurt too much.
Allen came over and rested a hand on Van's shoulder. Van raised his head and nodded thanks. He inwardly smiled. Allen seems the same as always, he though. His long blond hair still handing loose around him and his uniform as crisp as ever. Van could see that Allen was about to say something, but something behind Van caught Allen's attention. Van watched as Allen's jaw dropped and eyes widened.
"Van..." he started to say.
Van and Merle turned around and faced the window. They both saw a pillar of light retreating from the countryside.
Hitomi? Thought Van as he instinctively reached for the pendant. It wasn't warm or brighter at all. He looked at it in confusion.
"Let's go!" Shouted Allen as he started to run out of the room. "We'll take the horses."
Van and Merle were right behind him.
********** ********
As Mina continued to walk, she realized she was headed towards a large city.
Wow, she thought, as she admired the city from a far. It must be huge, and it has a palace. I've never seen a palace before. Well, the moon palace doesn't count, that was a different lifetime. Mina stopped and put her hands on her forehead to block the sunlight. Mina could she ships coming and going from the harbor in the distance, and travelers in carriages and horses headed towards the city. Mina even saw what looked like slow moving planes far off in the distance. Then she noticed a couple of objects headed directly at her, coming from the city.
Uh Oh, she thought, I should have expected this. That light that brought me here must have been spotted. Well, I'll just explain to whomever shows up what happened and I'm sure they'll see I mean no harm. But Mina was worried. She started to sweat a little and tug on her skirt. But will they believe a dragon brought me here? Maybe...maybe I should hide or.... But there was no where for Mina to go. Okay, I have to be strong, she thought. I am, after all, Sailor Venus, and I've been through worse. She decided to continue towards the city.
********* *********
Could it really be Hitomi, Allen thought. He and his horse were in the lead of Van and Merle, who shared a horse. Allen glanced back and saw hope in his friend's eyes. I hope it's her for his sake. Allen sighed. Hitomi once meant something more to Allen then just a friend, but she had turned him down and chosen Van. Allen wasn't use to rejection, but he had let her go, seeing how happy she made Van.
They continued to ride hard towards the area where they had seen the pillar of light. As they came over a ridge, Allen could make out someone in the distance heading their way. The person was alone and was coming from the assumed location of the pillar of light.
As the gap between them was shrinking, Allen could tell that it was a girl with really long hair. Allen right away felt disappointed. It couldn't be Hitomi; her hair couldn't have grown that much in one year, Allen thought. Oh well, I guess we still need to find out who she is and why she is here. Allen couldn't bear to look back at Van.
They were almost on top of their mystery girl when she stopped walking. Allen and Van slowed their horses down and came to a stop a couple of meters in front of her.
Allen was immediately taken back by her beauty. She had beautiful, long, golden hair, big blue eyes, and a strong, confident stance, and a uniform on similar to what Hitomi wore.
"Good Afternoon. My name is Minako Aino. I was hoping you could help me...."
NOTE: Let me know what you think!
The ride was over. The bright light was gone and the twirling had stopped. Mina slowly opened her eyes. She was lying in a lush green field, out in what looked like the countryside. It was warm and there was a light breeze.
Where am I? Thought Mina. Right away she had noticed that she was no longer Sailor Venus, but back in her school uniform.
"Artemis? Rei? Lita? Are you here?" Mina shouted as she stood up and began looking around for possible friends that had been pulled along with her. She also noticed that, thankfully, the dragon was no where in sight either. As she was glancing around she looked skyward and gave out a startled yelp.
"The Earth! It's in the sky! Where am I?"
Mina continued to stare but was interrupted by her communicator. Mina quickly opened it. She could tell some signal was trying to get through, but the picture was all static.
"...Mina....hear us....where....Mina...," was all she could make out.
"Guys," she answered into her communicator, "I'm fine, but I don't know where I am. I can see the Earth and the moon in the sky! Guys...." Mina finished as she watched her communicator die. She tried to use it a couple more times, but it was no use.
Well, I can't stay here all day.
Mina headed in the direction of what looked like a city in the distance.
Palas, capital of Asturia, palace
Van, Allen, and Merle were together again after a year. After Hitomi returned to Earth, Van and Merle returned to Fanelia to help rebuild their homeland, while Allen and the Crusade flew all around Gaea cleaning up after Zaibach. Bands of Zaibach warriors still roamed around trying to convince the people, mostly by force, that the mighty Zaibach empire would be back some day. Allen had been rounding up these bands but he was tired after a year of it and needed a break. When Van and Merle heard Allen had returned they decided to visit their friend and get away for a while.
The three of them were sitting together in Van's ready room. (Since he is the King of Fanelia, he got extra nice rooms for him and Merle to stay in.)
"It's good to hear about Fanelia's progress, Van." Allen said as he sipped at his wine. "I look forward to the day when the repairs are complete. If you ever need any type of help, please ask me."
"Thanks Allen," answered Van. "Fanelia's starting to look like it's self once again. More people return each day and we all work hard at clearing out the burned land and starting over. We've just started on the castle not to long ago, but it's slow going. It's hard, emotionally, to see the destruction and be reminded each day about what happened, but one of my advisors says it's part of the healing process: to see the progress and the change each day, to build hope." Van sighed as he too sipped at his wine.
Allen looked over at Merle and she slightly nodded her head with sad eyes.
So, Allen thought, he's still upset by Hitomi's departure. He must really miss her to still be depressed. Merle's letters mentioned that he was blue, but this can't be healthy.
"Van..." Allen started, "I know you miss Hitomi and I'm sorry you can't be with her, but I..."
"You what Allen!" Van interrupted, suddenly standing up and pushing his chair back. "You wish there was something you could do! Well, there's nothing you can do! Hitomi made the decision to leave, to leave me, and...." Van stopped. Allen and Merle were staring at him with wide, sympathetic eyes. Van sighed and ran a hand through his jet-black hair.
"I'm sorry my friend. I shouldn't have gone off on you like that. You're right, I do miss her, but it's something I have to deal with. She made the decision...I thought I would adjust, but..."
"Oh Lord Van..." cried Merle. She ran up and wrapped her arms around him. "We all miss Hitomi. She was a good friend and a good person. I hate to see you so sad all the time. I...I wish she would come back."
"Oh Merle." Van said as he smoothed her hair. Merle had grown a lot in a year. She now had longer hair and had traded her sandals in for brown, soft leather, shin-high boots. She wore a brown tunic with yellow stripes that went down to her knees that was slit in the sides to give her easy maneuverability.
Van had grown too. He had grown taller and a little more muscular. He kept his raven locks the same length and always wore Hitomi's pendant around his neck. He recalled times where it would seem to warm up when he thought of Hitomi, or the times he thought it got ever so brighter. Van liked to think that that was when Hitomi was thinking about him. But he shouldn't be thinking about her, it hurt too much.
Allen came over and rested a hand on Van's shoulder. Van raised his head and nodded thanks. He inwardly smiled. Allen seems the same as always, he though. His long blond hair still handing loose around him and his uniform as crisp as ever. Van could see that Allen was about to say something, but something behind Van caught Allen's attention. Van watched as Allen's jaw dropped and eyes widened.
"Van..." he started to say.
Van and Merle turned around and faced the window. They both saw a pillar of light retreating from the countryside.
Hitomi? Thought Van as he instinctively reached for the pendant. It wasn't warm or brighter at all. He looked at it in confusion.
"Let's go!" Shouted Allen as he started to run out of the room. "We'll take the horses."
Van and Merle were right behind him.
********** ********
As Mina continued to walk, she realized she was headed towards a large city.
Wow, she thought, as she admired the city from a far. It must be huge, and it has a palace. I've never seen a palace before. Well, the moon palace doesn't count, that was a different lifetime. Mina stopped and put her hands on her forehead to block the sunlight. Mina could she ships coming and going from the harbor in the distance, and travelers in carriages and horses headed towards the city. Mina even saw what looked like slow moving planes far off in the distance. Then she noticed a couple of objects headed directly at her, coming from the city.
Uh Oh, she thought, I should have expected this. That light that brought me here must have been spotted. Well, I'll just explain to whomever shows up what happened and I'm sure they'll see I mean no harm. But Mina was worried. She started to sweat a little and tug on her skirt. But will they believe a dragon brought me here? Maybe...maybe I should hide or.... But there was no where for Mina to go. Okay, I have to be strong, she thought. I am, after all, Sailor Venus, and I've been through worse. She decided to continue towards the city.
********* *********
Could it really be Hitomi, Allen thought. He and his horse were in the lead of Van and Merle, who shared a horse. Allen glanced back and saw hope in his friend's eyes. I hope it's her for his sake. Allen sighed. Hitomi once meant something more to Allen then just a friend, but she had turned him down and chosen Van. Allen wasn't use to rejection, but he had let her go, seeing how happy she made Van.
They continued to ride hard towards the area where they had seen the pillar of light. As they came over a ridge, Allen could make out someone in the distance heading their way. The person was alone and was coming from the assumed location of the pillar of light.
As the gap between them was shrinking, Allen could tell that it was a girl with really long hair. Allen right away felt disappointed. It couldn't be Hitomi; her hair couldn't have grown that much in one year, Allen thought. Oh well, I guess we still need to find out who she is and why she is here. Allen couldn't bear to look back at Van.
They were almost on top of their mystery girl when she stopped walking. Allen and Van slowed their horses down and came to a stop a couple of meters in front of her.
Allen was immediately taken back by her beauty. She had beautiful, long, golden hair, big blue eyes, and a strong, confident stance, and a uniform on similar to what Hitomi wore.
"Good Afternoon. My name is Minako Aino. I was hoping you could help me...."
NOTE: Let me know what you think!