Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (10)

Escaflowne ~ A Vision Reborn (10)

Paths Intertwine

By *~A White Rose Petal~*

A/N: I'll let this out early. I was wondering though -- could you check this place out? http://www.merlesroom.homestead.com/ Thanx! THIS IS LONGER THAN THE OTHERS! I had a stroke of inspiration, and I wanted to get as much in it as possible.

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WARNING: BLOODY and GORY! GORY and BLOODY! Got that?

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Summary:

Van, Merle, and Allen set foot for the forest...

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Jin gets ready for another fight (ß gory, I described it pretty well for me…)

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Zatera was looking around the town. People seemed to be extremely nervous, at least more than usual. He tried to ask one of the shop owners but they just said that they were too busy to bother with him and that they needed their shops to look cleaner than what it ever was before. Zatera looked at the woman who just shooed him out of her embroidery shop. He tilted his head to the side as she walked back in. 'I wonder what's with her?' He thought.

"Oh Zatty! Guess what!" Said a sweet little voice. He groaned and acted dead on the sidewalk. Whoever said his name landed gracefully on her feet, her green cloak covering her completely. Zatera however, who has been through this before and knew very well who it was.

"What do you want Kate?" 'You!' She thought. She didn't let it show on her face though.

"What do you mean Zat?" Zat looked up at her, looking angry.

"You were just on the roof, and yelled 'Guess what!' so now what do you want or do I need to give you another speech?"

"I'll live without one." Zatera huffed up.

"Well?" He asked again. Kate looked at her hands. "KATE!?"

"Ugh! You aren't patient are you Zat? Arg! You know, if you really want to know…"

"What?" Zatera said looking to the ground, in a way of showing defeat.

"Say…a date?" She said looking to the sky.

"WHAT?! NO!" Zatera exploded.

"Fine! Than I won't give you the information!"

"That's fine with me! I'm not that desperate!" Zatera said. He turned around and started pouncing back to another store for cover before he went into Death Forest. Katy put her index finger under her chin and rubbed it. Her eyes snapped open.

"ZATERA!" She yelled. "WAIT!" Zatera started to slow down and caught his breath. Also letting her catch up.

"What?" He asked looking at her. Katy slowed down to catch her breath. She grinned when she looked back up at him.

"Zatera, the king of Fanailia's here!"

"So? You already told me that!"

"Yes, but-"

"Everybody's shops need to be spick and span when he comes right?" Katy did a fake faint.

"I never thought that you would catch up Zat!" She said sarcastically. He shook his head at her and put his palm to his forehead. He took it off and looked over into the distance, where the dark forest was. "What are you looking at Zat?" She asked. She started to slowly move over to his side, hoping they would get a 'moment' together. Zatera, however, noticed what she was doing and started to walk over the other way.

"It's 7:30ish, shouldn't you be going on a date or something?" He asked looking at her.

"You want one?"

"No. I want you to get away from me…" He said. He would have finished it if there hadn't been a crowd erupting, as it seems, all over the place.

"Oh Zatty!" Katy said, "It's Lord Van! Come on! Let's go see!" She was about to turn around and grab his wrist if needed, but he wasn't there.

~*~
"JIN!" Zatera yelled as he ran into the kitchen. Hitomi was washing her hands and Jin was reading her book again, both coming back from the unicorn incident.

"You two have a way of always running into here while I'm reading don't you?" Hitomi asked put her book down. "Well?" she asked.

"Lo-Lord Van…" Hitomi immediately dropped the rag that was in her hand and grasped the sink.

"Wh-what?"

"He's supposed to be getting supplies for something from what I can tell." He said, plopping down into a chair form the other side of Jin.

"Supplies for what?"

"No idea." Zatera said as he grabbed an apple and took a bite out of it. "Hmm…we need to go to a different store for fruits." He said absentmindedly. Jin saw Hitomi edge over to the room she was using (Jin's) and open up the door. She turned her attention back to Zatera.

"Why do you need to go to a new store?"

"Because that one is owned by Katy's aunt."

"Katy, Katy, is that, that girl who you come home barfing about as you say?"

"The same one."

~*~

Hitomi sat on the bed staring at her hands. She thought that she should be crying right now. She wasn't. She thought that she should be smiling with pure joy. She wasn't. All she was doing was staring down at her hands, thinking about what she did with the others…Merle, Allen, Millerna, and of course Van. Then she knew why she had to be alone with her thoughts that she didn't seem to have. 'Their going on another adventure…' She thought. She laughed a laugh with no humor in it at the word 'adventure', 'And I'm not in it." She thought.

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"Your majesty! Your Majesty!" Merle mimicked. It wasn't to be cruel to the villagers, it was just to get on Van's nerves. She was succeeding very well.

"Merle, shut up." He said dryly. "If I have to endure this much longer I'm going to faint!"

"I'm glad you're not going to die!" She said back at him, sticking her tongue out at him. He just groaned. Allen however was ignoring them, in his mind he was reviewing all deaths in Death Forest, and how they were done. Studies proved they died quickly, but the way they died usually takes a slow time. Even he wasn't sure what his battle skills could do to the Juearo Hateto *. They were following a group that wanted to show that they could get rid of the phantom once and for all. 'I hope this gets us somewhere…' Van thought.

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Jin was drinking some hot chocolate and reading the last paragraph in her book. 'As Hagrid had said, what would come, would come…and he would have to meet it when it did.** FINISHED!' She thought.

"Now for a stretch." She said as she started to stand up.

"Wanna good stretch?" Zat asked. Looking up at her with his don't-kill-the-messenger look plus the Get-ready-for-a-fight face put together. "I hear someone coming, left side by the tall maple Jin!" jin groaned and waved her hands at him.

"I'm going, I'm going…" She groaned as she brought her hands behind her back and walked out of the door.

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"JUEARO HATETO!" A man yelled along with many others. The group that Van, Allen, and Merle were following. They looked as the man in front started to wave his torch around in circles. It's flames dancing against the trees green leaves, making eerie patterns on them.

"WOMAN PHANTOM! ARE YOU SCARED?" One of them yelled. The group started laughing at this but it was soon silenced. Merle signaled to Van that she was going to get a better look. When he nodded his head, she leaped off the ground and straight onto the tree trunk on the other side of her. Merle got to what seemed like a perch. She gaped at the spectacle before her, not much different from what Hitomi had. A girl in whether pants and a white shirt, holding a staff in her hand, against all of those men? 'Impossible, right?' Merle thought as she looked at the girl. She seemed collected, as if she has done this before. Merle had to remind herself that she did.

"If I was scared I would have surrendered to the first battle I fought." She said back to him with no emotion. Her eyes seemed dull. As if she was bored standing there. The first one grabbed his sword and pulled it out. He charged at her, merciless. With no prevail. Merle's eyes widened. The girl picked up her staff and made one of it's ends go through the first one. He hit his head on the tree, blood started running out of it without fail. Merle recoiled at the sight. It was making her sick to her stomach. There were seven others there. She walked over to the man and picked him up by the collar. She pushed his head back. She stopped when she heard a snap, loud enough to be mistaken for as a small bomb. Though Merle was above the fight, she thought that she saw a glint of sadness in her eyes. 'Would you want to kill like that?' She asked herself understanding the girl's grief. She looked down at Van and Allen, both who saw the girl by now. Both looked a little pale, not expecting to see that apparently, as they saw worse before.

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'So that's how they die so fast…' Allen thought. He didn't really want to think it but it was a question that bothered him all the time they started coming, 'She must be able to put the bones right back in place afterwards to hide how they died quickly, or made sure that they did.'

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Jin looked at the battle she was fighting. None of the other men come close to her. It was one of the few times when she disposed of the leader first. But nothing really new. They all started to tense up, they started to grab their swords. They all charged at her at the same time. Jin put her hands in the very middle of her staff as the swords started to cut through it. She pulled down with all of her might, bringing two swords that stuck to her staff with it. She picked them up, one at a time, as fast as she could and through them into a bush nearby. She stuck her staff into the throat of one of them and pushed it straight down. She could hear his gasping as he took his last breaths but she ignored it. She always ignored it. The other one seemed to have disappeared. She felt a fist on her back. It sent her tumbling forwards.

"AH!" She gasped. She put her elbow pointing down for it to take up most of the shock. She rolled over when she felt the sword start to swing down on her. She heaved herself off the ground ignoring the pain in her back. 'I can tend to it later,' She thought, 'I've got other things to worry about right now!'

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Merle heard a sound behind her but she ignored it. The fight was more interesting than some creature going back to it's home to her. She felt a hand go over her mouth.

"Who are you and who are your companions?" The voice said coldly. Merle shivered from it. He slowly removed his hand from her mouth so she could speak. When she started to turn around he stopped her before she could see his face.

"Don't, just answer." He said. Merle looked down to the fight again. She took a deep breath and let it out.

"M-My na-name is M-Merle…" She said carefully. She felt him lighten his grip on the back of her dress lighten.

"Your companions?" He said. Merle grinned inside knowing that this might catch the person who was behind her off guard.

"My companions are Lord Van, and Sir Allen." She said clearly. She heard a small whisper behind her "They look different in those clothes…". She put all of her attention back to the fight. She looked to her right to see who the boy was, only to find a tawny looking teen cat like herself, except a boy basically.

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Hitomi was sleeping in her room. She hadn't woken up since she put her feet under the covers. She fell asleep almost instantly. Relief for her. The only problem was a vision came during it.

~*~ VISION {Hitomi's POV} ~*~

I was running. My legs urged me to move. I don't remember what I was running from, just that I was running. It makes no sense! Why run if I have nothing to run from? Suddenly I halted. I looked around the dark room that I was walking in now. I heard chanting in a language that sounded so familiar to me! Like I heard it as a child and it clung to me for all of these years. I even knew what a few words meant like Chye [sounds like - shy] means crown and that yesad [SL - ye - sad (like it looks)] means power! I saw cloaked figures come up to the cauldron that seemed to appear out of nowhere. They then started speaking in my native tongue. It sounded so odd and familiar rhyme…wait…not a rhyme, a prophecy…

Powers join,

Magic swells,

The night nears,

As day dwells.

Lightning will flash,

Silver will strike against it,

Forces never seen,

Shan't fret.

The secret reveals

On the night of destiny,

When one is caught

By ones' trap

May the killer

Go and join the presel ***

Both shall fight

Till the enemy is killed

Shall they not

A dark period will loom

It's sky darkened with black,

Fear, terror and doom.

I recoiled. It wasn't the nicest little piece of 'poetry' I ever heard.

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She heard one of the men leaving the fight. She put a finger into the air, indicating one. The others looked at her, wondering what she was doing. They heard a scream, but didn't look back.

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Merle saw Jin put her finger into the air. She looked over at the boy only to see him pouncing to the ground.

"Huh?" She thought aloud. Her curiosity got the better of her. She dismissed this fight and went over to the other side of the tree. She saw the boy jumping onto a mans back. He brought his claw forward and put them right at the sides of his head and brought them back. Merle just stood there, looking astounded.

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"Well…seems like you three are the only ones left eh? Don't think I'm going to let you off. I'm in a bad mood and I want to let off some steam." She said standing to her full height.

"And don't think that we won't!" Said one of the men. He seemed to be second in charge or taking the spot over at least. Jin looked at him, eye blazing.

"Who sent you?"

"We sent ourselves."

"Yeah right - I was able to beat it out of different groups, did you come from Wanda 's army?" She asked.

"Lady Wanda has nothing to do with this."

"Give me the information and you live - or die a painless death. Depends on how long you keep me waiting." She said, glaring at them. One of the men came forward.

"We-we did co-come from L-Lady Wan-Wanda, Juearo Hateto." He said. He seemed to be trying to do it easily as possible. Stuttering as he did. Jin looked at him.

"What have you to live for?" The man looked startled but smiled and nodded his head.

"M-My wife is five months pregnant…"

"You may leave."

"Thank you!" He said smiling. Something he never thought he would do to the woman phantom. He turned around and ran back to the village.

"You two didn't answer me. How come?" The men looked at her as if she was crazy. In their minds, she was.

"Be-because we are not cowards!"

"I believe you are not a coward, but whoever sent you was…" Jin mused. Her anger was rising again. "And it was you who kept on pestering me…" She said. Both men had their swords out stretched. They charged at her and she blocked, the pain started coming back. She couldn't ignore it. "Arg!" She said as she fell to the ground. She heard the men reaching down to pick her up but what surprised her was that the men both fell to the ground with their own blood. 'Somebody snuck up on them, and I couldn't hear them…' She thought. 'Ty!" She thought. She put her fists on th ground but instead felt herself being picked up.

"Let go Tyler." She said.

"I'd rather not, it's rare to see you like this…"

"AGH! I'm trapped." Jin joked. She didn't fight though, her back wouldn't allow it.

"Where's the annoying fur b-" He said but stopped. Both of them heard a sound from the right side of them. "Who goes there?" He said to the area he heard the sound. Allen came forward.

"We are sorry to to-"

"Who the hell are you?" Jin asked. Allen was about to answer when he saw Merle and a cat boy come down. Van himself came out.

"Annoy Cat! I wish to grant a wish from you!" Tyler said squeaking his voice up to the cat boy. Who started into a position to pounce until he saw the Jin was in Tyler's arms.

"Damn." He cursed silently.

"As I was saying. I am Allen-"

"The one knight let's see here something knight of Austria?"

"Pretty much." Allen said shaking his head sadly at Zatera who didn't know the full thing but knew who he was.

"I'm Merle! That's Lord Van!" She said. She was probably the less pale of the three who were still recovering from how the girl killed with her staff. Mainly because she met Zatera, but only a little. Jin nodded her head.

"Why have you come?" She asked.

"To find someone." Van said, speaking up for the first time since the fight.

"I believe I know where she is. Follow Tyler or Zat, whoever."

"Tyler or Zat?" Allen asked.

"This lug is Tyler." Jis said pointing to the blond haired boy who glared at her.

"And the cat teen there is Zatera."

~*~

Merle chose to follow Zatera. They were jumping off tree branch to tree branch, all the way to Jin's cabin. It got harder and harder for Merle to follow when the thickness of the trees got thicker and thicker.

"A little help?" She asked. He turned around and grabbed her hand and pulled her up, getting them very close.

"Heh, heh…" Zatera laughed. He got out of the position as soon as possible along with Merle. They both pranced down to the bottom of the trees just in time to see the other group coming out from the brush. They all looked around and started to head inside.

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"Where is she?" Van asked immediately.

"Who's there?" Said a weak voice from another room. Jin was about to reply, but he ran into the room before she could.

"Hitomi?"

"Van!"

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A/N: DONE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I still don't know whether or not I should continue THANKIES! So could you tell me in your reviews? Thanks!

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*-Look in chapter three for reference (Chapter 4 in chaptering system!)

**- Which boook did this come out of? Hehe.

***- A Zantaki word learn about it in later chapters!